come to the ears of
Gholam Singh, who would at once order the men to keep silence
concerning it.

Gradually his nickname changed, and he became known among the
sepoys of the regiment as the "young sahib." He protested against
it, but in vain. It was not, however, without its advantages. At
the end of a long march, the men who had brought in firewood always
handed him some. Men would offer to clean his rifle, cook his
dinner, and do other little offices for him. He would, however,
never accept these kind offers.

"Why do they call you sahib?" one of the English officers asked
him, when he heard him so addressed.

"I do not know," he answered. "It is a silly joke of the men. I
have protested against it, without success. If they chose to call
me 'colonel,' I could not help it. I suppose it is because they see
that I am, like the white officers, always cheerful and good
tempered. There is certainly no other reason that I know of."

"The regiment have taken to call Mutteh Ghar 'the young sahib,'"
the officer reported, at mess that day. "I asked him about it, and
he says no doubt it is because he is, like us, always good tempered
and cheerful."

"He is certainly very unlike the others," the major said. "I have
no doubt the men consider it a great compliment, to him, to call
him so."

"Do you know, colonel," one of the subalterns said, "the idea has
struck me that he may be young Bullen, who may have joined the
regiment surreptitiously, instead of going down to Calcutta."

There was silence among the others.

"It can hardly be that, Macdonald," the colonel said, "though it is
certainly curious that we seemed to feel that we knew his face,
when he came up before us. The young scamp could never have played
such an audacious trick upon us."

"I don't know, colonel," the major said, "he is just the sort of
lad that would try such a scheme. I know I have twice seen him
talking with my butler; who was, as you know, Captain Bullen's
servant."

"Well, it may possibly be so," the colonel said, "but at any rate
it is only suspicion, and we had better leave the matter as it
stands. If it is young Bullen, I don't know that he has done a bad
thing for himself. If he goes on as he has begun, his experience
will go a long way towards getting him a commission; and he will be
a great deal better off than if he were grinding up for two years
in England. Such a strong recommendation as I could give him would
be of great value to