’We all knew how devoted Brown was to the captain. We didn’t exactly hate him ourselves, ma’am, but he was Brown’s own personal property, according to his view. He never would accept promotion as he wanted to go on being his servant, and there was always trouble if any one wanted to have a hand at cleaning up the captain’s things or making him a bit more comfortable, if you can be comfortable in hell, if you’ll excuse the word, ma’am. We used to call him Brown’s Archbishop, if you’ll not think it a liberty for me to name it, ma’am?’ ’Go on,’ I said, ’I love to hear it.’ ’Well, we was in a trench that night, with orders to hold on no matter what it cost. The Germans got the range and we was pretty well wiped out before they rushed it. We was all dead beat and wore out for want of sleep. After they had rushed it, Captain Fotheringham got some of the wounded and the last remaining men, only five, I think, together where the trench was narrowest, and he told us again what the orders was, and how we must still hold on, as time was everything, and that if we could even now keep them back a bit the reliefs might come up and so save a lot of lives. I could see he thought we hadn’t got a dog’s chance by the kindness in his face. He put us men behind him, me next to him, in case he fell, so that I could take command, and the two corporals behind me, and Brown, being the only private, was at the back, the last. We waited, we could hear the Huns coming down the trench, doing their devil’s work they was, killing the wounded as they lay. Suddenly Brown pushed past me and the others and went and stood in front of Captain Fotheringham. ’"Get behind me Brown," said the captain, thinking, I suppose, he hadn’t understood the order. He was not the type of officer men disobey deliberate, ma’am. But Brown said,— ’"I will not, sir." When the captain saw that Brown did not intend to move, all the kindness went out of his eyes and his face hardened, and with a kind of fury he said,— ’"Are you mad, Brown? Get behind me." ’"I will not, sir," said Brown again. ’The captain looked at him—you know how his eyes go when he’s very angry? ’"You refuse the order, Brown?" ’"Yes, I do, Master Ross." ’Then the captain’s face suddenly softened and he said,— ’"The last one, after all the years, Sam?" ’"No, _because_ of all the years," said poor old Brown. ’Then we saw the Germans coming round the bend and the captain moved a step or two forward where the trench was slightly wider, and for the only time in all his soldier life he changed an order. "Oh, you funny old ass, Sam, you can stand beside me, then." ’"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," said Brown; you know his funny way, ma’am. ’Never saw such shooting, absolutely deadly, first one shot and then the other, till there was a pile of Germans blocking up the trench, and just as the reliefs came up a shell came over and got them both.’ The sergeant’s voice broke and he cried quite unashamedly.