"But, sir," continued Barry.
"Oh, go to the devil, sir," roared the colonel. "The case is dismissed."
Barry saluted and left the room.
"Is the man an infernal and condemned fool, or what is the matter with
him?" exclaimed the colonel, turning to his adjutant in a helpless
appeal, while the orderly room struggled with its grins.
"The devil only knows," said Major Bustead. "He beats me. He is an
interfering and impertinent ass, in my opinion, but what else he is, I
don't know."
It is fair to say that the sergeant major bore the chaplain no grudge
for his part in the affair. The whole battalion, however, soon became
possessed of the tale, adorned and expanded to an unrecognisable extent,
and revelled in ecstasy over the discomfort of the C. O. The consensus
of opinion was that on the whole the sergeant major had come off with
premier honours, and as between the "old man" and the "Sky Pilot," as
Barry was coming to be called, it was about an even break. As for the
Pilot, he remained more than ever a mystery, and on the whole, the
battalion was inclined to leave him alone.
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