"Recall your order, sir, and I shall have no reason to refuse to obey it."
"Do you refuse to obey my order?"
"It would be against my conscience, General."
"Your conscience is not in question. Your only duty is to carry out the will of your superior."
"When I accepted my commission in the army did I lose my rights as a human being, sir?"
"Don't talk to me about losing your rights. In the face of duty an officer loses father and mother, wife and child. According to the King's regulations, you are a soldier first, remember."
"No, sir; according to the King's regulations I am first of all a man."
The General bridled his gathering anger and answered—
"Of course you can ask for a written order—if you wish to avoid the danger of blame."
"I wish to avoid the danger of doing wrong, sir," said Gordon, and then, glancing towards his father, he added, "Let me feel that I'm fighting for the right. An English soldier cannot fight without that."