THREE HELIOS . 
4T 
stood him in very little stead. Officers are 
chary of recommending for promotion a man 
who has earned the whole-hearted contempt 
of two-thirds of the regiment and the hatred 
of the rest. Furlcigh remained a private, 
while younger men than he, who had been 
bred in the slums of London, and whose 
education began and ended with the three 
R’s, rose to be lance-corporals — and gave him 
orders and abuse. 
The iron of it sank deep into his soul, and 
he grew worse tempered than he had ever 
been, and sulky and morose. Also — and that 
was the last and the most important of the 
recruiting- sergeant’s rules— he took to drink ; 
the canteen got his pay and what was left of 
his self-respect. The cells were the next 
acquaintance that he made. Every pay-day, 
almost, found him sentenced to them for 
“ drunk and resisting the guard,” or “ drunk 
and disorderly,” or just plain, ordinary drunk. 
It was in the cells that light dawned on him 
in the shape of Copeland, newly joined. 
Second-lieutenant Copeland looked through 
the iron-barred window of the cell, and recog- 
nition was mutual and instant. Fifteen 
minutes later the cell door opened to admit 
Copeland, and the sentry marched away to 
the end of the flagged promenade in front, 
and stood there out of ear-shot. 
44 Are you in under your right name ? ” 
asked Copeland. 
44 Yes,” said Furleigh. 
“ Were you after a commission ? ” 
“ No,” said Furleigh. 
44 Well, even if you had been, you’ve lost 
all chance of getting it now, of course ; so 
there’s no use in talking about that. Don’t 
you think you’d better purchase your dis- 
charge, Furleigh ? Don’t you think you 
might do better out of the army ? I’d give 
you the money myself, and give you some- 
thing else besides to start you after vou’ve 
left.” 
Now, if human nature were not what it is 
known to be — quite inexplicable, and if every 
man had not some different kink in him that 
leads by devious byways to his pride, this 
story might seem incredible. 
44 I suppose you don’t want me in your 
half-company ? ” asked Furleigh. 
44 Candidly, 1 don’t.” 
“ Does anybody else know that you’ve 
recognized me?” 
44 Not a soul.” 
44 Very well, then; don’t let them. Keep 
it dark, and keep me in your half-company.” 
44 But look here, Furleigh ! See sense ! 
The thing’s impossible ! I can’t carry on, 
Vol. xlvi. — 5. 
and say nothing, and let you blackmail me, 
for that’s what, it will amount to 1 ” 
44 Blackmail you ! You mean little sneak ! 
If I’d wanted to blackmail you, d’you think 
that I’d have not done it before this ? We 
were both of us to blame for that business, 
but T got found out and took the blame, and 
you, you dirty little underhanded trades- 
man’s son, you let me take it, didn’t you, 
and said nothing ? Now you want to buy 
me out of the army, do you, and get me out 
of sight again, and out of mind ? Try if you 
dare ! Hold your tongue, Copeland, and 
I’ll hold mine.” 
“ But, Furleigh ” 
44 That’s all ! ” said Furleigh. 
44 But, you know, 1 sha’n’t be able to do 
you any favours ; I shall have to treat you 
the same as all the rest.” 
44 If you so much as dare to show me a 
single favour I’ll expose you that minute ! ” 
44 But ” 
Furleigh came one pace nearer, and spoke 
to him through clenched teeth. 
44 I want you to clearly understand,” he 
said, 44 that what I say now is final. Leave 
the army yourself, if you like ; but don’t 
you dare to try to get me out of it, or even to 
get me transferred. And don’t you dare to 
let anybody know who I am, or what you 
know 7 about me, or what I know about you. 
And if you elect to stay in the army, don’t 
you dare to treat me differently to the rest. 
I’ll take no favours of any kind from a little 
cad like you ! ” 
That incident did the trick for Furleigh. 
He came out of cells, two clays later, a changed 
man, and the canteen saw no more of him. 
He was determined to show Copeland how a 
gentleman behaved under stress of circum- 
stances, and the delight he took in doing it 
gave him something to live for, and changed 
his whole appearance and his point of view 
and his relation to the service. 
lie took a keen delight now in every form 
of soldiering ; and because Copeland, who 
had no birth at ah to speak of, was making 
himself unpopular by his snobbery among 
his brother officers, Furleigh chose to forget 
his birth and prove that a gentleman can 
survive any form of disaster with credit to 
himself. 
His eyes never met Copeland’s eyes, save 
in the course of duty, and then only as they 
would have met another officer’s. He placed 
no difficulties in Copeland's way ; he obeyed 
his orders, and he neither avoided him nor 
got in the way of him. He behaved to him 
exactly as he did to any other officer — that 
