By the end of August we were made fast to the north railway jetty at Portsmouth, and, as I knew they would—my troubles began. They were mostly connected with unpaid bills, so I won't bother you with them; but it was Grainger, my trusty servant, who was more angry at them bothering me than I was myself.
"'Ere's a 'ome-comin', sir," he said mournfully, as he was packing my gear and snorting at the condition of my worn-out plain clothes; "'ere's a 'ome-comin', and arter all we've done for "The Corps", to say nothink of the wound in your for'ud, and that 'ere jab in the leg, and those trouses and serges, abso—lutely ruinationed. We can't 'ardly turn you out fit to march the de—tachment into barracks, sir, that we can't."
One thing gave him a little pleasure, and that was producing an eyeglass which he'd carefully preserved in a corner of a drawer. I thought that I had broken my last one before leaving Aden, but he had been keeping this one to make certain that, when the time came for marching into barracks, I should have one jammed in my port optic. "They'll think there's summat gone wrong with us, sir, if you don't 'ave it—up in the hofficers' mess."
Some of us had expected to be made a fuss of when we arrived at Portsmouth; but it was four months since the papers had been full of our exploits, and everyone had forgotten all about them—and us.
Old "B.-T.'s" leg was all right again, and he and I got Old Bax to advance us some pay, and had a couple of days in London together. We ran up against—whom do you think? Old man Hobbs and Sally—my little princess looking absolutely sweet. They had come along across Canada.
We helped them choose a dressing-bag for Ching, of the Huan Min. It was fitted with more things than I dreamt could be crowded into a bag—everything gold-mounted, and costing a small fortune.
What the Christopher Columbus old Ching would do with it, "B.-T." and I couldn't think; and we knew, jolly well, that the only thing he would want to find in it was my little princess herself.
We dined with them at their hotel, and next night "stood" them a theatre, and supper afterwards.
Old "B.-T." wasn't in very good form, because I'd cut him out with the little princess—my little princess—and he'd been saddled with old man Hobbs, and didn't like it a little bit.
They'd asked us to spend some of our leave with them up in Scotland; but "B.-T." had the "hump", and refused, though you may bet your life I was going, if I could only raise enough money to pay my fares.