d!" remarked Lacey, sharply.

Jerry's face began to wrinkle all over, and there was a peculiar twinkle
in his eyes as they met his master's.

"Yes, sir, the gun's gone off a quarter of a hour ago."

"There, be off!  Call me in time to dress for parade."

"Yes, sir; of course, sir.  Very sorry, sir.  My mistake, sir.  But
don't you see how it was?"

"No; I'm too sleepy to see anything; but don't make any more such
mistakes."

"No, sir--cert'nly not, sir; but don't you see, sir, how it was,
really?"

"No; unless you'd had too much coffee!"

"Well, sir, then, as you will keep on thinking it was coffee or
something else, I must, for my character's sake, sir, explain."

"Not this morning, Brigley, thank you; some other time."

"Won't take a moment, sir," persisted Jerry.  "You see, I'd got
thinking, sir, through having had a hawkward experience of the sort,
that you might do something of the kind; and I was actually meaning to
walk in and stop you, when there was that tremenjus noise, and I thought
you'd made it."

"And I did not!" said the lieutenant, angrily.  "Now be off!"

"No, sir, it wasn't you," said Jerry, grinning; "and it only shows how
easy we can make mistakes.  You see now, sir?  It was the morning gun."



CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

A SECRET'S LIMIT.

"He might have told me," Jerry said to himself.  "I've done all I could
for him, and kep' his secret when I've felt at times as if I must shout
out `Sir Richard' all over the barracks.  I call it mean: that's what I
call it--mean!  It ain't as if I hadn't shown him as he might trust me.
I should have said a deal to him in a fatherly sort o' way to show him
that it wasn't the kind o' thing for a gen'leman to do.  I should have
pointed out to him as he did wrong last time in going off, and what a
lot of injury it did him; and he knew it, or else he wouldn't have kep'
it so close, and gone without letting me know.  But once bit twice shy,
and I'm not going to be bit again.  I'm not going to break my heart
fancying he's made a hole in the water.  That's what set me t