four years and is still a cornet in our regiment! No doubt the king
would be glad to promote him if he specially distinguished himself,
but as he has had no opportunity of doing so, he will probably work
his way up in the regiment as everyone else does."

Two or three more officers came up and joined the party, and
presently Captain Ronsfeldt strolled away and joined another group.
It was not long before he engaged Stauffen and Ritzer in
conversation.

"You have Major Drummond in with you, have you not?"

"Yes," Stauffen said shortly. "Who is the young fellow, do you know
him?"

"Yes, he first joined our regiment as junior cornet. It was less
than two years and a half ago. I was senior lieutenant at the time,
and now I am pretty well up on the list of captains, thanks to the
work we have done and the vacancies that death has made."

"And that boy has gone over your head, and is now walking about as
a major, with the order on his breast. It is enough to make one
sick of soldiering. Who is he related to?"

"He is related to Marshal Keith," Ronsfeldt said quietly.

"Ah! That explains it."

"I don't think you quite understand the case, Stauffen. Certainly
you don't, if you think that there has been any favouritism. I
don't think anyone ever heard of Frederick promoting a man out of
his turn, save for merit; and I suppose there is no one in the army
who has won his rank more worthily, and who is more generally
recognized as deserving it. I have never heard a single word raised
against the honours he has received.

"When he rides through the camp men nudge each other and say, 'That
young fellow in staff uniform is Major Drummond;' and there is not
a soldier but tries to put a little extra respect into his salute."

"Are you joking, Ronsfeldt?" Ritzer asked in astonishment.

"I was never less so, Ritzer;" and he then gave them an account of
the manner in which Fergus had obtained his promotion.

The two officers were silent when Ronsfeldt concluded.

"We have made fools of ourselves," Stauffen said at last, "and we
must apologize, Ritzer."

"Certainly we must," the other agreed heartily. "It seemed to us
that his trying to make us put aside the respect due to his rank
was a sort of affectation, and really impressed it more
disagreeably upon us. We took him for an upstart favourite; though
we might have known, had we thought of it, that the king never
promotes unduly. Who could possibly have believed that a yo