‘Ha, hum!’ he cried; ‘now a little more smart, please. Right dress. Eyes front. ‘Shun!’ The trumpeters were all rigid. ‘We’ll have a little practice in field-calls after trumpet practice,’ he said. ‘Captain Norreys complained to the trumpet-major that at the field-day last Friday, when the colonel’s trumpeter sounded “Skirmishers out,” the trumpeter of the leading squadron sounded “Threes about.” Ha, hum! a disgraceful thing. If the officer I mentioned, one of the finest in the service, had not at once noticed it, such a thing might have led to the regiment getting mixed up and so have disgraced itself in the eyes of the headquarter staff.’ Who the guilty party was Jack did not know; but he heard a voice, a rather shamefaced one, say, ‘It was done in the excitement of the moment, sergeant, and I noticed it directly I’d sounded. The calls are so much alike.’ Sergeant Linham blew down his nose furiously. ‘Not a word--not a word. How dare any trumpeter get excited, especially on such a paltry excuse as a field-day. By the Lord Harry, if the old 17th ever has to face an enemy in the field again, if it ever again hears the hum of bullets and sees the colour of a foeman’s eyes, what will happen to it? Now, I want to know!’ No one answered. ‘Speak, you toads! What will happen? Am I to ask a dozen times? I repeat, I want to know!’ On again getting no answer--for Sergeant Linham was a terrible martinet on parade, and no one dared be familiar--the irascible sergeant, drawing himself up and placing his stick beneath his arm, cried, ‘You can’t tell me. I knew you couldn’t. You’re too ignorant, so I’ll tell you. At the battle of Chillianwallah, where I was attached to the 9th Lancers, a certain English cavalry regiment--I won’t say which, for they afterwards wiped out their disgrace--this regiment was advancing to charge the enemy when some one sounded “Threes about,” whether by mistake or wilfully don’t matter. The regiment turned and galloped back, riding over infantry, breaking into guns, and Heaven knows what. My squadron of the 9th cut in and saved the situation, or it might have led to the defeat of the army. When the engagement was over the colonel of that regiment blew his brains out and the corps will be known as the “Threes about,” as long as the service lasts. That’s the result of getting excited and sounding wrong calls. Now, you toads, ‘shun!’ Not a man or boy had moved while the sergeant had been speaking; but he glared round as though every one had been on the shuffle. ‘Sound the scale up and down!’ he cried; and this was done. ‘You, Blair, fall back two paces,’ said the sergeant, ‘and keep your ears open. Try and get the calls fixed in your memory.’ The trumpeters then went through the different camp-calls on the trumpet, and very pretty they sounded. Many of the short calls Jack, who had a very quick, musical ear, was able to remember; but the long ones, like ‘Reveille,’ were too complicated.