Everybody looked at John again, and awaited his answer in dead silence.

"There are more than a hundred thousand men in the regular British army,
and as many more in the Indian army, and twice as many more volunteers,"
he said, in a rather irritated voice.

This statement also was received with the most discouraging incredulity.

"There are three thousand men in the British army," repeated the old
lady, in a tone of certainty that was positively crushing.

"Yah, yah!" chimed in some of the younger men in chorus.

"There are three thousand men in the British army," she repeated for the
third time in triumph. "If the Captain says that there are more he lies.
It is natural that he should lie about his own army. My grandfather's
brother was at Cape Town in the time of Governor Smith, and he saw the
whole British army. He counted them; there were exactly three thousand.
I say that there are three thousand men in the British army."

"Yah, yah!" said the chorus; and John gazed at this terrible person in
bland exasperation.

"How many men do you command in the British army?" she interrogated
after a solemn pause.

"A hundred," said John sharply.

"Girl," said the old woman, addressing one of her daughters, "you have
been to school and can reckon. How many times does one hundred go into