man who brought the Regiment the kudos of having best Man-at-Arms and
Heavy-Weight Champion of India would be forgiven a lot.

And Damocles de Warrenne blessed the Divisional Boxing Tournament,
Assault-at-Arms, and, particularly, the All-India Heavy-Weight
Championship.

Occupation, labour, anodyne.... Work and deep Sleep. Fighting to keep
the Snake at bay. No, fighting to get away from it--there was no
keeping it at bay--nothing but shrieking collapse when It came....

From parade ground to gymnasium, from gymnasium to swimming-bath, from
swimming-bath to running-track, from running-track to boxing-ring,
from boxing-ring to gymnasium again. Work, occupation, forgetfulness.
Forget the Snake for a little while--even though it is surely lurking
near--waiting, waiting, waiting; nay, even beneath his very foot and
_moving_....

Well, a man can struggle with himself until the Thing actually appears
in the concrete, and he goes mad--but Night! Oh, God grant deep sleep
at night--or wide wakefulness _and a light_. Neither Nightmare nor
wakefulness _in the dark_, oh, Merciful God.

Yes, things were getting worse. _He was going mad. MAD_. Desert--and
get out of India somehow?

Never! No gentleman "deserts" anything or anybody.

Suicide--and face God unafraid and unashamed?

Never! The worst and meanest form of "deserting".

No. Stick it. And live to work--work to live. And strive and strive
and strive to obliterate the image of Lucille--that sorrow's crown of
sorrow.

And so Trooper Matthewson's course of training was a severe one and he
appeared to fear rest and relaxation as some people fear work and
employment.

His favourite occupation was to get the ten best boxers of the
regiment to jointly engage in a ten-round contest with him, one round
each. He would frequently finish fresher than the tenth man. Coming of
notedly powerful stock on both sides, and having been physically
_educated_ from babyhood, Dam, with clean living and constant
training, was a very uncommon specimen. There may have been one or two
other men in the regiment as well developed, or nearly so; but when
poise, rapidity, and skill were taken into account there was no one
near him. Captain Chevalier said he was infinitely the quickest
heavy-weight boxer he had ever seen--and Captain Chevalier was a
pillar of the National Sporting Club and always knew the current
professionals personally when he was in England. In fact, with the
enormous strengt