Ross; dissatisfied with Ross's answers, he concentrated his mind on the
business for twenty-four consecutive hours, at the end of which period he
was the master of it in more senses than one. Since that time Ross has
ensured the efficient running of his office by keeping out of it when it is
busy. When for appearance sake he has to be there he does as his Mr. Brown
tells him, and never wastes the latter's time by arguing.

In the Army, all fleas have bigger fleas upon their backs to bite 'em. Were
this not so somebody would have to act upon his own responsibility, and
that, as you will admit, would make war an impossibility. Accordingly in
every department there is a series of authorities, starting with "other
ranks" at the bottom, proceeding in an ascending scale of dignity and
worth, and disappearing through a cloud of Generals into an infinite of
which no man knoweth the nature. Thus, with Ross's business (to take the
tail end of it) the letter which the Corporal writes the Lieutenant signs
on behalf of the Major. It is when the Major wants to do something more
active that trouble arises. Let us take an incidental matter of
administrative detail for example, setting it forth, as all military
matters should be set forth, in paragraphs, separately numbered:--

1. Lt. Ross possessed a bicycle, motor, one. No. 54321 L/Cpl. Burt
possessed feet, two, only. Ross had no occasion, ability or disposition to
ride a motor bicycle. No. 54321 could neither do his business nor enjoy
life afoot. Accordingly, No. 54321 rode the bicycle, while, for the
purposes of what is known to better people than ourselves as Establishment,
Ross owned it. But that was in the good old days, before Traffic and Police
and all the Others interested themselves.

2. The first thing Traffic did was to say that all owners of motor bicycles
must own cards, and produce them when demanded. That was easy: No. 54321