But the commanding officer wished leniency. "You see us all," he hastened to say. "Commissioned officers and dancing-men. Pretty shabby—"
"Oh, Captain!" said a lady.
"And pretty old."
"Captain!" said another lady.
"But alive and kicking. Captain Starr, Mr. Bainbridge, the Doctor, and me. We are seven."
Augustus looked accurately about him. "Do I understand seven, Captain?"
"We are seven," the senior officer repeated.
Again Mr. Albumblatt counted heads. "I imagine you include the ladies, Captain? Ha! ha!"
"Seven commissioned males, sir. Our Major is on sick-leave, and two of our Lieutenants have uncles in the Senate. None of us in the churchyard lie—but we are seven."
"Ha! ha, Captain! That's an elegant double-entender on Wordsworth's pome and the War Department. Only, if I may correct your addition—ha! ha!—our total, including myself, is eight."