Part 3 (1/2)

This evolution brings the accused face to face with his judge. He has been deprived of his cap, and of everything else ”which may be employed as, or contain, a missile.” (They think of everything in the King's Regulations.)

”What is this man's crime, Sergeant-Major?” inquires the Captain.

”On this sheet, sir,” replies the Sergeant-Major....

By a ”crime” the ordinary civilian means something worth recording in a special edition of the evening papers--something with a meat-chopper in it. Others, more catholic in their views, will tell you that it is a crime to inflict corporal punishment on any human being; or to permit performing animals to appear upon the stage; or to subsist upon any food but nuts. Others, of still finer clay, will cla.s.sify such things as Futurism, The Tango, d.i.c.keys, and the Albert Memorial as crimes. The point to note is, that in the eyes of all these persons each of these things is a sin of the worst possible degree. That being so, they designate it a ”crime.” It is the strongest term they can employ.

But in the Army, ”crime” is capable of infinite shades of intensity.

It simply means ”misdemeanour,” and may range from being unshaven on parade, or making a frivolous complaint about the potatoes at dinner, to irrevocably perforating your rival in love with a bayonet. So let party politicians, when they discourse vaguely to their const.i.tuents about ”the prevalence of crime in the Army under the present effete and undemocratic system,” walk warily.

Every private in the Army possesses what is called a conduct-sheet, and upon this his crimes are recorded. To be precise, he has two such sheets. One is called his Company sheet, and the other his Regimental sheet. His Company sheet contains a record of every misdeed for which he has been brought before his Company Commander. His Regimental sheet is a more select doc.u.ment, and contains only the more noteworthy of his achievements--crimes so interesting that they have to be communicated to the Commanding Officer.

However, this morning we are concerned only with Company conduct-sheets. It is 7.30 A.M., and the Company Commander is sitting in judgment, with a little pile of yellow Army forms before him. He picks up the first of these, and reads--

”_Private Duns.h.i.+e. While on active service, refusing to obey an order_. Lance-Corporal Ness!”

The figure upon the prisoner's right suddenly becomes animated.

Lance-Corporal Ness, taking a deep breath, and fixing his eyes resolutely on the whitewashed wall above the Captain's head, recites--

”Sirr, at four P.M. on the fufth unst. I was in charge of a party told off for tae scrub the floor of Room Nummer Seeventeen. I ordered the prisoner tae scrub. He refused. I warned him. He again refused.”

Click! Lance-Corporal Ness has run down. He has just managed the sentence in a breath.

”Corporal Mackay!”

The figure upon Lance-Corporal Ness's right stiffens, and inflates itself.

”Sirr, on the fufth unst. I was Orderly Sergeant. At aboot four-thirrty P.M., Lance-Corporal Ness reported this man tae me for refusing for tae obey an order. I confined him.”

The Captain turns to the prisoner.

”What have you to say, Private Duns.h.i.+e?”

Private Duns.h.i.+e, it appears, has a good deal to say.

”I jined the Airmy for tae fight they Germans, and no for tae be learned tae scrub floors--”

”Sirr!” suggests the Sergeant-Major in his ear.

”Sirr,” amends Private Duns.h.i.+e reluctantly. ”I was no in the habit of scrubbin' the floor mysel' where I stay in Glesca'; and ma wife would be affronted--”

But the Captain looks up. He has heard enough.

”Look here, Duns.h.i.+e,” he says. ”Glad to hear you want to fight the Germans. So do I. So do we all. All the same, we've got a lot of dull jobs to do first.” (Captain Blaikie has the reputation of being the most monosyllabic man in the British Army.) ”Coals, and floors, and fatigues like that: they are your job. I have mine too. Kept me up till two this morning. But the point is this. You have refused to obey an order. Very serious, that. Most serious crime a soldier can commit.

If you start arguing now about small things, where will you be when the big orders come along--eh? Must learn to obey. Soldier now, whatever you were a month ago. So obey all orders like a shot. Watch me next time I get one. No disgrace, you know! Ought to be a soldier's pride, and all that. See?”

”Yes--sirr,” replies Private Duns.h.i.+e, with less truculence.

The Captain glances down at the paper before him.