"The Government wanted to shovel money into the working man's pockets, in fact," the General said. "Money for nothing. . . . or votes, I suppose." "But that isn't the point, sir," Macmaster ventured to say. "All that Chrissie was asked to do was to say what 3 x 3 was." "Well, he appears to have done it and earned no end of kudos," the General said. "That's all right. We've all, always, believed in Chrissie's ability. But he's a strong-tempered beggar." "He was extraordinarily rude to Sir Reginald over it," Macmaster went on. The General said: "Oh dear! Oh dear!" He shook his head at Tietjens and assumed with care the blank, slightly disappointing air of the regular officer. "I don't like to hear of rudeness to a superior. In _any_ service." "I don't think," Tietjens said with extreme mildness, "that Macmaster is quite fair to me. Of course he's a right to his opinion as to what the discipline of a service demands. I certainly told Ingleby that I'd rather resign than do that beastly job. . . ." "You shouldn't have," the General said. "What would become of the services if everyone did as you did?" Sandbach came back laughing and dropped painfully into his low arm-chair. "That fellow . . ." he began. The General slightly raised his hand. "A minute!" he said. "I was about to tell Chrissie, here, that if I am offered the job--of course it's an order really--of suppressing the Ulster Volunteers . . . I'd rather cut my throat than do it. . . ." Sandbach said: "Of course you would, old chap. They're our brothers. You'd see the beastly, lying Government damned first." "I was going to say that I should accept," the General said, "I shouldn't resign my commission." Sandbach said: "Good _God_!" Tietjens said: "Well, I didn't." Sandbach exclaimed: "General! You! After all Claudine and I have said. . . ." Tietjens interrupted: "Excuse me, Sandbach. I'm receiving this reprimand for the moment. I wasn't, then, rude to Ingleby. If I'd expressed contempt for what he said or for himself, that would have been rude. I didn't. He wasn't in the least offended. He looked like a cockatoo, but he wasn't offended. And I let him over-persuade me. He was right, really. He pointed out that, if I didn't do the job, those swine would put on one of our little competition wallah head clerks and get all the schedules faked, as well as starting off with false premises!" "That's the view I take," the General said, "if I don't take the Ulster job the Government will put on a fellow who'll bum all the farm-houses and rape all the women in the three counties. They've got him up their sleeve. He only asks for the Connaught Rangers to go through the north with. And you know what _that_ means. All the same . . ." He looked at Tietjens: "One should not be rude to one's superiors." "I tell you I wasn't rude," Tietjens exclaimed. "Damn your nice, paternal old eyes. Get that into your mind!" The General shook his head: