As for the square in which the marquee had been erected, that remained a perfect chaos till the morning, the colonel having given orders that nothing should be touched as soon as the fire had been extinguished and the escaping gas securely stopped where the great pipe--not the original cause of the mischief, but that which had been broken by the explosion-- stood amongst a heap of charred relics of the supper; while, to insure that such articles of jewellery as had been lost in the terrible struggle should be in safety, sentries were posted, and soon after the barrack yard was cleared of all save those who had special business there. Hours elapsed before the last carriage rolled away with its scared occupants; for in the cases of those who had come from a distance the servants had not been ordered to attend till two and three o'clock. At last, though, there was peace, and the officers of the 205th gathered in the mess-room to partake of a cup of coffee and a cigar before seeking their beds, as, utterly fagged out, they sat for some time talking over the events of the evening. "Well, gentlemen," said the colonel, at last, "I hope you are satisfied with our ball." "Satisfied!" cried the major. "Sir, I should like to court-martial the scoundrel who left that gas escaping!" "Humph! Yes; but not a military offence," said the colonel. "Well, doctor, you've been growing horribly rusty lately; this ought to make you work easily and well!" "Not my style," said the doctor. "Hysterical, frightened women and singed dandies not my class of work! A good respectable gunshot wound, a leg off, or a bayonet probe, if you like; but this sort of thing--bah! Why, if it had not been for our flute-player and Sir Mark Frayne, I should have been nowhere!" "But where's Lacey?" said one of the officers. "Ah, where's Adonis?" cried another. "Poor old chap, he looked more like a chimney-sweep when he was pulled out!" "Yes, it was a narrow squeak for him; but I have not seen him since he came to." "Had a bath and gone to bed," said one of the subalterns; "and I feel as if it would do me good." "He was a bit scorched, one of the town doctors said." "Here, who is waiting?" cried the colonel. One of the servants appeared, with half-washed face, but clean hands, and a moustache burned to a stubble. "Go and see if Lieutenant Lacey's man is there, and send him up to his master's quarters. Let him say that I shall be glad to know how he is; but he is not to be disturbed if he is asleep." "Beg pardon, sir; not asleep." "How do you know?" said the colonel, sharply. "I am Mr Lacey's servant, sir. He went home with two ladies, sir, about two o'clock, sir, and hasn't come back." "Then he can't be very bad!"