not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."

"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the health
of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast was
duly honoured.

"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."

"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
indulgence the night before."

"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass more
of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been to
the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
good thing when it was too late."

"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said, laughing.