"What became of Mr. Doyle?" asked Waring, as he thrust a bare arm
through a narrow aperture to receive the spoil. "Don't let him get
drunk; _he's_ got to go to review, sir. If he doesn't, Colonel Braxton
may be so inconsiderate as to inquire why both the lieutenants of 'X'
Battery are missing. Take good care of him till the review, sir, then
let him go to grass; and don't you dare leave me without Florida water
again, if you have to burglarize the whole post. What's Mr. Doyle doing,
sir?"

"Peekin' froo de blin's in Mr. Pierce's room, suh; lookin' fo' de
oade'ly. I done told him de cunnle was ahter him, but he ain't, suh,"
chuckled Ananias. "I fixed it all right wid de gyahd dis mawnin', suh.
Dey won' tell 'bout his cuttin' up las' night. He'd forgot de whole
t'ing, suh; he allays does; he never does know what's happened de night
befo'. He wouldn't 'a' known about dis, but I told his boy Jim to tell
him 'bout it ahter stables. I told Jim to sweah dat dey'd repohted it to
de cunnle."

"Very well, Ananias; very well, sir; you're a credit to your name. Now
go and carry out my orders. Don't forget Captain Cram's wagon. Tell
Jeffers to be here with it on time." And the lieutenant returned to his
bath without waiting for reply.

"Ye-as, suh," was the subordinate answer, as Ananias promptly turned,
and, whistling cheerily, went banging out upon the gallery and
clattering down the open stairway to the brick-paved court below. Here
he as promptly turned, and, noiseless as a cat, shot up the stairway,
tiptoed back into the sitting-room, kicked off his low-heeled slippers,
and rapidly, but with hardly an audible sound, resumed the work on which
he had been engaged,--the arrangement of his master's kit.

Already, faultlessly brushed, folded and hanging over the back of a
chair close by the chamber door were the bright blue, scarlet-welted
battery trousers then in vogue, very snug at the knee, very springy over
the foot. Underneath them, spread over the square back of the chair, a
dark-blue, single-breasted frock-coat, hanging nearly to the floor, its
shoulders decked with huge epaulettes, to the right one of which were
attached the braid and loops of a heavy gilt aiguillette whose
glistening pendants were hung temporarily on the upper button. On the
seat of the chair was folded a broad soft sash of red silk net, its
tassels carefully spread. Beside it lay a pair of long buff gauntlets,
new and spotless. At the door, brillia