ied to go by our guard. At that time the law was that
no civilian could be on the streets after half-past eight. 'Twas called
the curfew law there.

"Well, Colonel Blank came up in a carriage at about ten in the evening.
He wasn't in uniform, mind you, lad. Well, the sentry on number one
post, who didn't know the colonel, stopped his carriage, of course.

"'I'm Colonel Blank,' says the man in the carriage. 'Corporal of the
guard,' calls the sentry. 'I'm Colonel Blank,' says the man in the
carriage to the corporal of the guard. Now, the corporal didn't know the
colonel either. So the corporal bawls, 'Sergeant of the guard.' That was
I, that night, and I didn't know the colonel, either. So I asked: 'Beg
your pardon, sir, but do you know any of the officers of this command?'

"'Name the officers,' says the man in the carriage. So I named them.

"'I don't know one of your officers,' says the man in the carriage.

"'Then I'm sorry, sir,' says I, 'but I'll have to ask you, sir, to step
into our guard-house until some officer of your regiment comes over in
uniform and identifies you.'

"At that the man in the carriage puts on an awful scowl, draws himself
up very stiff, and answers, 'I'll do nothing of the sort, Sergeant.'

"'I beg your pardon, sir,' says I, 'but if you are Colonel Blank, then
you know very well, sir, that you'll have to step inside the guard-house
and wait.'"

Sergeant Brimmer chuckled heartily over the recollection.

"And did Colonel Blank obey you, and go inside and wait?" asked Hal.

"Did he?" asked Brimmer, looking surprised. "Of course he did. What's a
guard for in the Army, if it can't enforce its orders? And it was past
midnight when we finally got an officer, by telephone, to come over and
go bail for his colonel's identity. Then, of course, we turned the
colonel loose."

"Did he complain against you?" queried Private Hal.

"Who? Colonel Blank? He's too good a soldier," laughed Sergeant Brimmer.
"And he's General Blank, now. Before he left, the colonel complimented
me on my fitness for guard duty."

"A sentry, or a corporal or sergeant of the guard is a pretty big
soldier, isn't he?" smiled Hal.

"In some ways," nodded the sergeant, "he's a bigger man than the
President. The President is only the head of the nation, while the
sentry on post is the whole nation itself!"

Noll had the last two hours before daylight on post that night, but
nothing happened to him except the arrival of th