"Stalky told me that Macnamara was a simple godsend to him," said Dick
Four. "I used to see him in Mac's tent listenin' to Mac playin' the
fiddle, and, between the pieces, wheedlin' Mac out of picks and shovels
and dynamite cartridges hand-over-fist. Well, that was the last we saw
of Stalky. A week or so later the passes were shut with snow, and I
don't think Stalky wanted to be found particularly just then."

"He didn't," said the fair and fat Abanazar. "He didn't. Ho, ho!"

Dick Four threw up his thin, dry hand with the blue veins at the back of
it. "Hold on a minute, Pussy; I'll let you in at the proper time. I went
down to my regiment, and that spring, five mouths later, I got off
with a couple of companies on detachment: nominally to look after some
friends of ours across the border; actually, of course, to recruit.
It was a bit unfortunate, because an ass of a young Naick carried a
frivolous blood-feud he'd inherited from his aunt into those hills, and
the local gentry wouldn't volunteer into my corps. Of course, the Naick
had taken short leave to manage the business; that was all regular
enough; _but_ he'd stalked my pet orderly's uncle. It was an infernal
shame, because I knew Harris of the Ghuznees would be covering that
ground three months later, and he'd snaffle all the chaps I had my eyes
on. Everybody was down on the Naick, because they felt he ought to
have had the decency to postpone his--his disgustful amours till our
companies were full strength.

"Still the beast had a certain amount of professional feeling left.
He sent one of his aunt's clan by night to tell me that, if I'd take
safeguard, he'd put me on to a batch of beauties. I nipped over the
border like a shot, and about ten miles the other side, in a nullah,
my rapparee-in-charge showed me about seventy men variously armed, but
standing up like a Queen's company. Then one of 'em stepped out and
lugged round an old bugle, just like--who's the man?--Bancroft, ain't
it?--feeling for his eye-glass in a farce, and played 'Arrah, Patsy,
mind the baby. Arrah, Patsy, mind'--that was as for as he could get."

That, also, was as far as Dick Four could get, because we had to sing
the old song through twice, again and once more, and subsequently, in
order to repeat it.

"He explained that if I knew the rest of the song he had a note for me
from the man the song belonged to. Whereupon, my children, I finished
that old tune on that bugle, and _this_ i