The Senator's countenance had again become sombrely indifferent. "I see. But you weren't directly rebuked for incapacity, were you? No; of course you weren't. But--I mean--did any of your superior officers suggest that you were 'no good,' or anything of that sort? I mean--did you come off with a clean slate?" Caspar took a small time to digest his father's meaning. "Oh, yes, sir," he cried at the end of his reflection. "The Commissary was in such a hopeless mess anyhow that nobody thought of doing anything but curse Washington." "Of course," rejoined the Senator harshly. "But supposing that you had been a competent and well-trained commissary officer. What then?" Again the son took time for consideration, and in the end deliberately replied "Well, if I had been a competent and well-trained Commissary I would have sat there and eaten up my heart and cursed Washington." "Well, then, that's all right. And now about this charge up San Juan? Did any of the Generals speak to you afterward and say that you had done well? Didn't any of them see you?" "Why, n--n--no, I don't suppose they did ... any more than I did them. You see, this charge was a big thing and covered lots of ground, and I hardly saw anybody excepting a lot of the men." "Well, but didn't any of the men see you? Weren't you ahead some of the time leading them on and waving your sword?" Caspar burst into laughter. "Why, no. I had all I could do to scramble along and try to keep up. And I didn't want to go up at all." "Why?" demanded the Senator. "Because--because the Spaniards were shooting so much. And you could see men falling, and the bullets rushed around you in--by the bushel. And then at last it seemed that if we once drove them away from the top of the hill there would be less danger. So we all went up." The Senator chuckled over this description. "And you didn't flinch at all?" "Well," rejoined Caspar humorously, "I won't say I wasn't frightened." "No, of course not. But then you did not let anybody know it?" "Of course not." "You understand, naturally, that I am bothering you with all these questions because I desire to hear how my only son behaved in the crisis. I don't want to worry you with it. But if you went through the San Juan charge with credit I'll have you made a Major." "Well," said Caspar, "I wouldn't say I went through that charge with credit. I went through it all good enough, but the enlisted men around went through in the same way." "But weren't you encouraging them and leading them on by your example?" Caspar smirked. He began to see a point. "Well, sir," he said with a charming hesitation. "Aw--er--I--well, I dare say I was doing my share of it."