The Point Of Honor: A Military Tale Page 5

at LieutenantD'Hubert. "How did you come by that scratched face? Both sides too--andsymmetrical. It's amusing."

  "Very," snarled Lieutenant D'Hubert. "And you will find his slashed armamusing too. It will keep both of you amused for quite a long time."

  The doctor was mystified and impressed by the brusque bitterness ofLieutenant D'Hubert's tone. They left the house together, and in thestreet he was still more mystified by his conduct.

  "Aren't you coming with me?" he asked.

  "No," said Lieutenant D'Hubert. "You can find the house by yourself. Thefront door will be open very likely."

  "All right. Where's his room?"

  "Ground floor. But you had better go right through and look in thegarden first."

  This astonishing piece of information made the surgeon go off withoutfurther parley. Lieutenant D'Hubert regained his quarters nursing a hotand uneasy indignation. He dreaded the chaff of his comrades almostas much as the anger of his superiors. He felt as though he had beenentrapped into a damaging exposure. The truth was confoundedly grotesqueand embarrassing to justify; putting aside the irregularity of thecombat itself which made it come dangerously near a criminal offence.Like all men without much imagination, which is such a help in theprocesses of reflective thought, Lieutenant D'Hubert became frightfullyharassed by the obvious aspects of his predicament. He was certainlyglad that he had not killed Lieutenant Feraud outside all rules andwithout the regular witnesses proper to such a transaction. Uncommonlyglad. At the same time he felt as though he would have liked to wringhis neck for him without ceremony.

  He was still under the sway of these contradictory sentiments when thesurgeon amateur of the flute came to see him. More than three days hadelapsed. Lieutenant D'Hubert was no longer _officier d'ordonnance_to the general commanding the division. He had been sent back to hisregiment. And he was resuming his connection with the soldiers' militaryfamily, by being shut up in close confinement not at his own quartersin town, but in a room in the barracks. Owing to the gravity of theincident, he was allowed to see no one. He did not know what hadhappened, what was being said or what was being thought. The arrivalof the surgeon was a most unexpected event to the worried captive. Theamateur of the flute began by explaining that he was there only by aspecial favour of the colonel who had thought fit to relax the generalisolation order for this one occasion.

  "I represented to him that it would be only fair to give you authenticnews of your adversary," he continued. "You'll be glad to hear he'sgetting better fast."

  Lieutenant D'Hubert's face exhibited no conventional signs of gladness.He continued to walk the floor of the dusty bare room.

  "Take this chair, doctor," he mumbled.

  The doctor sat down.

  "This affair is variously appreciated in town and in the army. In factthe diversity of opinions is amusing."

  "Is it?" mumbled Lieutenant D'Hubert, tramping steadily from wall towall. But within himself he marvelled that there could be two opinionson the matter. The surgeon continued:

  "Of course as the real facts are not known--"

  "I should have thought," interrupted D'Hubert, "that the fellow wouldhave put you in possession of the facts."

  "He did say something," admitted the other, "the first time I saw him.And, by-the-bye, I did find him in the garden. The thump on the back ofhis head had made him a little incoherent then. Afterwards he was ratherreticent than otherwise."

  "Didn't think he would have the grace to be ashamed," grunted D'Hubert,who had stood still for a moment. He resumed his pacing while the doctormurmured.

  "It's very amusing. Ashamed? Shame was not exactly his frame of mind.However, you may look at the matter otherwise----"

  "What are you talking about? What matter?" asked D'Hubert with asidelong look at the heavy-faced, gray-haired figure seated on a woodenchair.

  "Whatever it is," said the surgeon, "I wouldn't pronounce an opinion onyour conduct...."

  "By heavens, you had better not," burst out D'Hubert.

  "There! There! Don't be so quick in flourishing the sword. It doesn'tpay in the long run. Understand once for all that I would not carve anyof you youngsters except with the tools of my trade. But my advice isgood. Moderate your temper. If you go on like this you will make foryourself an ugly reputation."

  "Go on like what?" demanded Lieutenant D'Hubert, stopping short,quite startled. "I! I! make for myself a reputation.... What do youimagine----"

  "I told you I don't wish to judge of the rights and wrongs of thisincident. It's not my business. Nevertheless...."

  "What on earth has he been telling you?" interrupted Lieutenant D'Hubertin a sort of awed scare.

  "I told, you already that at first when I picked him up in the gardenhe was incoherent. Afterwards he was naturally reticent. But I gather atleast that he could not help himself...."

  "He couldn't?" shouted Lieutenant D'Hubert. Then lowering his voice,"And what about me? Could I help myself?"

  The surgeon rose. His thoughts were running upon the flute, his constantcompanion, with a consoling voice. In the vicinity of field ambulances,after twenty-four hours' hard work, he had been known to trouble withits sweet sounds the horrible stillness of battlefields given overto silence and the dead. The solacing hour of his daily life wasapproaching and in peace time he held on to the minutes as a miser tohis hoard.

  "Of course! Of course!" he said perfunctorily. "You would think so. It'samusing. However, being perfectly neutral and friendly to you both,I have consented to deliver his message. Say that I am humouring aninvalid if you like. He says that this affair is by no means at anend. He intends to send you his seconds directly he has regained hisstrength--providing, of course, the army is not in the field at thattime."

  "He intends--does he? Why certainly," spluttered Lieutenant D'Hubertpassionately. The secret of this exasperation was not apparent to thevisitor; but this passion confirmed him in the belief which was gainingground outside that some very serious difference had arisen betweenthese two young men. Something serious enough to wear an air of mystery.Some fact of the utmost gravity. To settle their urgent differencethose two young men had risked being broken and disgraced at the outset,almost, of their career. And he feared that the forthcoming inquirywould fail to satisfy the public curiosity. They would not take thepublic into their confidence as to that something which had passedbetween them of a nature so outrageous as to make them face a charge ofmurder--neither more nor less. But what could it be?

  The surgeon was not very curious by temperament; but that question,haunting his mind, caused him twice that evening to hold the instrumentoff his lips and sit silent for a whole minute--right in the middle of atune--trying to form a plausible conjecture.