I jumped off, and staggered towards the Lieutenant. "You're drunk, you dirty pig!" he screamed. "You shall have eight days' _Salle de Police_ for drunkenness." Then turning towards the Sergeant, he went on, "Sergeant, can't you see that man is drunk? Get him taken to the cells at once. Why couldn't you have seen before that he was drunk?" "I'll teach you, you blackguard!" he added, turning to me. I said: "Sir, I am not drunk, I am ill." "And you dare reply!" he again howled; "you are always answering back! We will see what that will cost you. Sergeant," he said to de Lanoy, "you will put down eight days' _Salle de Police_ to this drunken swine for having come to stables helplessly intoxicated, and having made impertinent remarks to an officer." I at once realised that if such a report reached the Colonel my punishment would be altered to at least fifteen days' prison, and seven days' cells, in solitary confinement, on bread-and-water, and that it would further mean a disgrace for me from which I should never recover. Fortunately, at that very moment, I caught sight in the distance of our regimental doctor, and without asking leave I ran to him for all I was worth. "Sir," I said, "Lieutenant Pernot has just accused me of being drunk, and I implore you to examine me, as I am not drunk, but seriously ill." The doctor told me to follow him to the dispensary, and as I was doing so Sergeant de Lanoy came hurrying along. "Decle," he said, "Lieutenant Pernot has sent me to bring you back to him at once, and he threatens to have you court-martialled for having refused to obey his orders when you were told to go to the cells." The Surgeon-major, who had caught the message, turned round to de Lanoy, "Go and tell Lieutenant Pernot," he said, "that Decle is coming to the dispensary with me by my orders, and there is an end of it." De Lanoy returned to the Lieutenant, but before we had reached the staircase leading to the dispensary he returned once more, saying that the Lieutenant insisted on my going back to him, whether the Surgeon-major liked it or not. The latter, whose temper was shortish, asked in a voice shaking with rage whether de Lanoy was quite sure that he had exactly repeated the Lieutenant's words. "Yes, sir," replied de Lanoy. "Very well," said the Surgeon-major, "tell Lieutenant Pernot that I, Surgeon-major Lesage, holding the rank of Captain, order Lieutenant Pernot to come to me at once." As de Lanoy hesitated, the Surgeon-major angrily added, "Do you hear me or not? You had better tell your Lieutenant to hurry up." We did not wait long, for Lieutenant Pernot soon arrived, and had evidently been hurrying, as he was nearly breathless. "What the deuce do you mean," said the surgeon, "by countermanding my orders?" "Well," replied the Lieutenant, pointing to me, "that man is drunk."