want a
stripe, Bill--I'm happier as I am. It means a lot of extra work an'
trouble, an'----"

"Did you tell him that, son?" Shorty Bill hooked himself over on his
arm and proceeded to fill his pipe.

"Yes, I told him that: and he----"

He did not finish his sentence for a moment or two; he seemed to be
turning something over in his mind. Then he burst out: "He talked a
lot of rot about responsibility."

"Cut it out. It's you that is coughing up the rot. Listen here a
moment, an' I'll tell you what the Honourable James said. Got a
match?" He took the proffered box and carefully lit up. "He
first-ways told you that he'd had his eye on you for some time, an' he
was pleased with 'ow you was doing. That may have been a lie or it may
not, but the Honourable Jimmy knows more'n one cottons to. Then he
told you what a gran' thing it was to be in this regiment, and that to
be in a position of responsibility was grander still. Then he told you
that no man worthy of the name of a man ought to be afraid of
shouldering responsibility. An' lastly he said: 'Will you take the
stripe?'"

Reggie was staring at the speaker amazed. "Lumme! you might have been
there, Shorty. How did you know?"

"Because he offered the same thing to me six months ago," returned the
other shortly. "Now see here, boy: that there aristocratic Johnny is
the goods. It don't matter a damn to me if a man's a duke or a
coal-heaver as long as he's the goods, and the Honourable Jimmy is.
So's the ole man. An' what he says--goes. He's right d'you see, son;
he's right." Shorty brought his fist down into his open palm. "I've
been watching you lately, an' you're worth teaching--you've shown that.
But now you've begun to feel your legs, you're inclined to think you're
a bit bigger cheese-mite than you really are. You want a bit o'
sobering up; an' there's nothing like taking on responsibility to sober
up a man. As soon as you start looking after other fellows, you begin
to realise you ain't the Lord High Emperor of the whole outfit."

"But I don't want to look after other fellows, Shorty." Our friend's
tone was dubious. "Why, good Lord! I'd be bossing it over you if I
took the stripe."

An enigmatic smile wreathed gently over Shorty's face. "Don't you
worry about that; I'll chance it." Then he turned suddenly on the man
lying beside him. "You've got to take it--this bally little stripe in
this funny old army. Otherwise you're a quitt