trouble."

"And the best public servants, Mr. Dale"--this was Sir John, who had
unexpectedly raised his eyes--"are those who take most and make
least;" and he lowered his eyes and went on reading the documents.

"First," said the Colonel, "there is your correspondence with the
staff at Rodhaven. Here it is. We have gone through it carefully--and
there's plenty of it. Well, the plain fact is, it has not impressed us
favorably--that is, so far as you are concerned."

"Sorry to hear it, sir."

"No, I must say that the tone of your letters does not appear to be
quite what it should be."

"Indeed, sir. I thought I followed the usual forms."

"That may be. It is not the form, but the spirit. There is an
arrogance--a determination not to brook censure."

"No censure was offered, sir."

"No, but your tone implied that you would not in any circumstances
accept it."

"Only because I knew I hadn't merited it, sir."

"But don't you see that subordination becomes impossible when each
officer--"

Sir John interrupted his colleague.

"Mr. Dale, perhaps short words will be more comprehensible to you than
long ones."

Dale flushed, and spoke hurriedly.

"I'm not without education, sir--as my record shows. I won the Rowland
Hill Fourth Class Annual and the Divisional Prize for English
composition."

Sir John and the Colonel exchanged a significant glance; and Dale,
making a clumsy bow, went on very submissively. "However you are good
enough to word it, sir, I shall endeavor to understand."

"Then," said Sir John, with a sudden crispness and severity, "the
opinion I have derived from the correspondence is that you were
altogether too uppish. You had got too big for your boots."

"Sorry that should be your opinion, sir."

"It is the opinion of my colleague too," said Sir John sharply. "The
impudence of a little Jack in office. I'm the king of the castle."

"I employed no such expression, sir."

"No, but you couldn't keep your temper in writing to your superiors,
any more than you could in managing the ordinary business of your
office.

"Who makes the allegation?" Unconsciously Dale had raised his voice to
a high pitch. "That's what I ask. Let's have facts, not allegations,
sir."

"Or," said Sir John, calmly and gravely, "any more than you can keep
your temper now;" and he leaned back in his chair and looked at Dale
with fixed attention.

Dale's face was red. He opened and shut his mouth as if taking gulps
o