single-stick in the evenings, till the native population, who
had a lust for sport in every form, wished to know whether the white men
understood wrestling. They sent in an ambassador, who took the soldiers
by the neck and threw them about the dust; and the entire command were
all for this new game. They spent money on learning new falls and
holds, which was better than buying other doubtful commodities; and the
peasantry grinned five deep round the tournaments.

That detachment, who had gone up in bullock-carts, returned
to headquarters at an average rate of thirty miles a day, fair
heel-and-toe; no sick, no prisoners, and no court martials pending. They
scattered themselves among their friends, singing the praises of their
lieutenant and looking for causes of offense.

"How did you do it, young un?" the adjutant asked.

"Oh, I sweated the beef off 'em, and then I sweated some muscle on to
'em. It was rather a lark."

"If that's your way of lookin' at it, we can give you all the larks you
want. Young Davies isn't feelin' quite fit, and he's next for detachment
duty. Care to go for him?"

"'Sure he wouldn't mind? I don't want to shove myself forward, you
know."

"You needn't bother on Davies's account. We'll give you the sweepin's of
the corps, and you can see what you can make of 'em."

"All right," said Cottar. "It's better fun than loafin' about
cantonments."

"Rummy thing," said the adjutant, after Cottar had returned to his
wilderness with twenty other devils worse than the first. "If
Cottar only knew it, half the women in the station would give their
eyes--confound 'em!--to have the young un in tow."

"That accounts for Mrs. Elery sayin' I was workin' my nice new boy too
hard," said a wing commander.

"Oh, yes; and 'Why doesn't he come to the bandstand in the evenings?'
and 'Can't I get him to make up a four at tennis with the Hammon
girls?'" the adjutant snorted. "Look at young Davies makin' an ass of
himself over mutton-dressed-as-lamb old enough to be his mother!"

"No one can accuse young Cottar of runnin' after women, white or
black," the major replied thoughtfully. "But, then, that's the kind that
generally goes the worst mucker in the end."

"Not Cottar. I've only run across one of his muster before--a fellow
called Ingles, in South Africa. He was just the same hard trained,
athletic-sports build of animal. Always kept himself in the pink of
condition. Didn't do him much good, though. 'Shot a