"Don't excite yourself like this," remonstrated the other. "That young
man's people are very influential, you know, and it looks bad enough
on the face of it. The general had to take notice of their complaint at
once. I don't think he means to be over-severe with you. It is best for
you to be kept out of sight for a while."

"I am very much obliged to the general," muttered Lieutenant Feraud
through his teeth.

"And perhaps you would say I ought to be grateful to you too for the
trouble you have taken to hunt me up in the drawing-room of a lady
who..."

"Frankly," interrupted Lieutenant D'Hubert, with an innocent laugh, "I
think you ought to be. I had no end of trouble to find out where you
were. It wasn't exactly the place for you to disport yourself in under
the circumstances. If the general had caught you there making eyes at
the goddess of the temple.... Oh, my word!... He hates to be bothered
with complaints against his officers, you know. And it looked uncommonly
like sheer bravado."

The two officers had arrived now at the street door of Lieutenant
Feraud's lodgings. The latter turned toward his companion. "Lieutenant
D'Hubert," he said, "I have something to say to you which can't be said
very well in the street. You can't refuse to come in."

The pretty maid had opened the door. Lieutenant Feraud brushed past
her brusquely and she raised her scared, questioning eyes to Lieutenant
D'Hubert, who could do nothing but shrug his shoulders slightly as he