The colonel chuckled. "Well," he said, "there's sense in that. Go on."
"Soldiers tell me," said Storm, "that each regiment has a battalion at home feeding one oversea."
"With drafts, yes."
"Yours, Colonel, if I've got it correct, sent out a lot of drafts, one time and another."
"That's true."
"Drafts from Torres Vedras, Fuentes d'Onoro, Talavera, Toulouse, Quatre Bras, Waterloo——"
"Hold on. We lost men, a lot of men in those engagements, but——"
"Drafts," said Storm. "I've met the Other Battalion, and they say they'll be jolly glad to welcome good old—well, they called you 'Old Cat's Whiskers.'"
"They did, eh? Beastly cheek!"
"They say you'll have seniority, whatever that means."