world as mere civilians, they were born again into a regiment as infants are born into a family, and it was that military birth alone which counted. </p> <p> At the sight of Lieut. D&rsquo;Hubert standing before him very bleached and hollow-eyed the heart of the old warrior felt a pang of genuine compassion. All his affection for the regiment&mdash;that body of men which he held in his hand to launch forward and draw back, who ministered to his pride and commanded all his thoughts&mdash;seemed centred for a moment on the person of the most promising subaltern. He cleared his throat in a threatening manner, and frowned terribly. &ldquo;You must understand,&rdquo; he began, &ldquo;that I don&rsquo;t care a rap for the life of a single man in the regiment. I would send the eight hundred and forty-three of you men and horses galloping into the pit of perdition with no more compunction than I would kill a fly!&rdquo; </p> <p> &ldquo;Yes, Colonel. You would be riding at our head,&rdquo; said Lieut. D&rsquo;Hubert with a wan smile. </p> <p> The colonel, who felt the need of being very diplomatic, fairly roared at this. &ldquo;I want you to know, Lieut. D&rsquo;Hubert, that I could stand aside and see you all riding to Hades if need be. I am a man to do even that if the good of the service and my duty to my country required it from me. But that&rsquo;s unthinkable, so don&rsquo;t you even hint at such a thing.&rdquo; He glared awfully, but his tone softened. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s some milk yet about that moustache of yours, my boy. You don&rsquo;t know what a man like me is capable of. I would hide behind a haystack if . . . Don&rsquo;t grin at me, sir! How dare you? If this were not a private conversation I would . . . Look here! I am responsible for the proper expenditure of lives under my command for the glory of our country and the honour of the regiment. Do you understand that? Well, then, what the devil do you mean by letting yourself be spitted like this by that fellow of the 7th Hussars? It&rsquo;s simply disgraceful!&rdquo; </p> <p> Lieut. D&rsquo;Hubert felt vexed beyond measure. His shoulders moved slightly. He made no other answer. He could not ignore his responsibility. </p> <p> The colonel veiled his glance and lowered his voice still more. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s deplorable!&rdquo; he murmured. And again he changed his tone. &ldquo;Come!&rdquo; he went on, persuasively, but with that note of authority which dwells in the throat of a good leader of men, &ldquo;this affair must be settled. I desire to be told plainly what it is all about. I demand, as your best friend, to know.&rdquo; </p> <p> The compelling power of authority, the persuasive influence of kindness,