"It wouldn't be agreeable, I know," I admitted. "But anything to save Eagle, no matter how we sacrifice ourselves." "I don't somehow hear Lady Di echoing that, though I agree with you. Only there's more in the thing than you seem to see, because you keep your eyes fixed on one spot. If Lady Diana's engaged to Major Vandyke, then he'd have no incentive to strike at another man who was gone on her. It would be the other way round. The chap who had lost her would be the one, if any, to be up to melodramatic stunts. It might be said about March that he risked trouble for himself, for the pleasure of having a smack at Vandyke; putting the blame on him for a mad order to fire off guns at the good little Mexicans, for instance, do you see?" I did see, and seeing, suffered a sharp stab of disappointment. Tony had taken my one weapon out of my hands. He was right. I had been wrong, while thinking myself cleverer than he. "There must be some other way of clearing Eagle," I said desperately. "I hope so, with my whole heart; although I've always had a sneaking admiration for Vandyke, too. He's such a dashed fine-looking chap, a credit to the army, and all that. To clear March--really clear him, without leaving a stain of carelessness even--means to ruin Vandyke. For March can't be made white as snow without Vandyke being proved a liar, and--by Jove, yes, a traitor to his country!" "That's what he must be proved," I said. "It'll be a tough proposition. As I see it, there's no proof." "It must be found." "That's easy to say. But if there's any, it ought to be found by the court." "When will the trial come on?" I asked. "In a few days. I don't know yet just when." "In the meantime, Eagle is under arrest?" "Yes. It's sickening." "Aren't his friends--I mean among the officers--indignant?" "They're mighty sorry, all broken up, and don't know what to think. But, of course, Major Vandyke's got a good many friends, too. As for the Fort Bliss officers, they're so wild about the whole business that I'm afraid they're a bit prejudiced against March--those of them who don't know him personally. You see, there was an awful row on the hill after the firing--but I didn't mean to tell you about that----" "Why not, as I know the rest? I suppose some of them arrived----" "I should say they did arrive! That's too slow a word. The noise shot 'em out of their blessed beds--those of 'em who had gone to bed--and brought the others out of any old place they happened to be in: club, hotel, friends' houses. The first thing we knew, we had the General Commanding on us. They know _some_ language, those grand old Johnnies! Poor March! He was up against it, I can tell you. His worst enemy would have been sorry for him." "Fiends! What did they do?" I gasped.