"This is Meehan," said a voice. "Those shots just now were fired by Major Aintree. He came down on the night train and jumped off after the train was pulling out and stumbled into a negro, and fell. He"s been drinking and he swore the n.i.g.g.e.r pushed him; and the man called Aintree a liar. Aintree pulled his gun and the n.i.g.g.e.r ran. Aintree fired twice; then I got to him and knocked the gun out of his hand with my nightstick."
There was a pause. Until he was sure his voice would be steady and official, the boy lieutenant did not speak.
"Did he hit the negro?" he asked.
"I don"t know," Meehan answered. "The man jumped for the darkest spot he could find." The voice of Meehan lost its professional calm and became personal and aggrieved.
"Aintree"s on his way to see you now, lieutenant. He"s going to report me."
"For what?"
The voice over the telephone rose indignantly.
"For knocking the gun out of his hand. He says it"s an a.s.sault. He"s going to break me!"
Standish made no comment.
"Report here," he ordered.
He heard Bullard hurrying up the hill and met him at the foot of the steps.
"There"s a n.i.g.g.e.r," began Bullard, "lying under some bushes--"
"Hush!" commanded Standish.
From the path below came the sound of footsteps approaching unsteadily, and the voice of a man swearing and muttering to himself. Standish pulled the ex-cowboy into the shadow of the darkness and spoke in eager whispers.
"You understand," he concluded, "you will not report until you see me pick up a cigar from the desk and light it. You will wait out here in the darkness. When you see me light the cigar, you will come in and report."
The cowboy policeman nodded, but without enthusiasm. "I understand, lieutenant," he said, "but," he shook his head doubtfully, "it sizes up to me like what those police up in New York call a "frame-up.""
Standish exclaimed impatiently.
"It"s not my frame-up!" he said. "The man"s framed himself up. All I"m going to do is to nail him to the wall!"
Standish had only time to return to his desk when Aintree stumbled up the path and into the station-house. He was "fighting drunk," ugly, offensive, all but incoherent with anger.
"You in charge?" he demanded. He did not wait for an answer. "I"ve been "saulted!" he shouted. ""Saulted by one of your d.a.m.ned policemen.
He struck me--struck me when I was protecting myself. He had a n.i.g.g.e.r with him. First the n.i.g.g.e.r tripped me; then, when I tried to protect myself, this thug of yours. .h.i.ts me, clubs me, you unnerstan", clubs me!
I want him--"
He was interrupted by the entrance of Meehan, who moved into the light from the lamps and saluted his lieutenant.
"That"s the man!" roared Aintree. The sight of Meehan whipped him into greater fury.
"I want that man broke. I want to see you strip his shield off him--now, you unnerstan", now--for "saulting me, for "saulting an officer in the United States army. And, if you don"t," he threw himself into a position of the prize-ring, "I"ll beat him up and you, too." Through want of breath, he stopped, and panted. Again his voice broke forth hysterically. "I"m not afraid of your d.a.m.ned night-sticks," he taunted. "I got five hundred men on top this hill, all I"ve got to do is to say the word, and they"ll rough-house this place and throw it into the cut--and you with it."
Standish rose to his feet, and across the desk looked steadily at Aintree. To Aintree the steadiness of his eyes and the quietness of his voice were an added aggravation.
"Suppose you did," said Standish, "that would not save you."
"From what?" roared Aintree. "Think I"m afraid of your night-sticks?"
"From arrest!"
"Arrest me!" yelled Aintree. "Do you know who"s talking to you? Do you know who I am? I"m Major Aintree, d.a.m.n you, commanding the infantry.
An" I"m here to charge that thug--"
"You are here because you are under arrest," said Standish. "You are arrested for threatening the police, drunkenness, and a.s.saulting a citizen with intent to kill--" The voice of the young man turned shrill and rasping. "And if the man should die--"
Aintree burst into a bellow of mocking laughter.
Standish struck the desk with his open palm.
"Silence!" he commanded.
"Silence to me!" roared Aintree, "you impertinent pup!" He flung himself forward, shaking his fist. "I"m Major Aintree. I"m your superior officer. I"m an officer an" a gentleman--"
"You are not!" replied Standish. "You are a drunken loafer!"
Aintree could not break the silence. Amazement, rage, stupefaction held him in incredulous wonder. Even Meehan moved uneasily. Between the officer commanding the infantry and an officer of police, he feared the lieutenant would not survive.
But he heard the voice of his lieutenant continuing, evenly, coldly, like the voice of a judge delivering sentence.
"You are a drunken loafer," repeated the boy. "And you know it. And I mean that to-morrow morning every one on the Zone shall know it. And I mean to-morrow night every one in the States shall know it. You"ve killed a man, or tried to, and I"m going to break you." With his arm he pointed to Meehan. "Break that man?" he demanded. "For doing his duty, for trying to stop a murder? Strip him of his shield?" The boy laughed savagely. "It"s you I am going to strip, Aintree," he cried, "you "hero of Batangas"; I"m going to strip you naked. I"m going to "cut the b.u.t.tons off your coat, and tear the stripes away." I"m going to degrade you and disgrace you, and drive you out of the army!" He threw his note-book on the table. "There"s your dossier, Aintree," he said.
"For three months you"ve been drunk, and there"s your record. The police got it for me; it"s written there with dates and the names of witnesses. I"ll swear to it. I"ve been after you to get you, and I"ve got you. With that book, with what you did to-night, you"ll leave the army. You may resign, you may be court-martialled, you may be hung. I don"t give a d.a.m.n what they do to you, but you will leave the army!"
He turned to Meehan, and with a jerk of the hand signified Aintree.
"Put him in a cell," he said. "If he resists--"
Aintree gave no sign of resisting. He stood motionless, his arms hanging limp, his eyes protruding. The liquor had died in him, and his anger had turned chill. He tried to moisten his lips to speak, but his throat was baked, and no sound issued. He tried to focus his eyes upon the menacing little figure behind the desk, but between the two lamps it swayed, and shrank and swelled. Of one thing only was he sure, that some grave disaster had overtaken him, something that when he came fully to his senses still would overwhelm him, something he could not conquer with his fists. His brain, even befuddled as it was, told him he had been caught by the heels, that he was in a trap, that smashing this boy who threatened him could not set him free. He recognized, and it was this knowledge that stirred him with alarm, that this was no ordinary officer of justice, but a personal enemy, an avenging spirit who, for some unknown reason, had spread a trap; who, for some private purpose of revenge, would drag him down.
Frowning painfully, he waved Meehan from him.
"Wait," he commanded. "I don" unnerstan". What good"s it goin" to do you to lock me up an" disgrace me? What harm have I done you? Who asked you to run the army, anyway? Who are you?"
"My name is Standish," said the lieutenant. "My father was colonel of the Thirty-third when you first joined it from the Academy."
Aintree exclaimed with surprise and enlightenment. He broke into hurried speech, but Standish cut him short.
"And General Standish of the Mexican War," he continued, "was my grandfather. Since Washington all my people have been officers of the regular army, and I"d been one, too, if I"d been bright enough. That"s why I respect the army. That"s why I"m going to throw you out of it.
You"ve done harm fifty men as good as you can"t undo. You"ve made drunkards of a whole battalion. You"ve taught boys who looked up to you, as I looked up to you once, to laugh at discipline, to make swine of themselves. You"ve set them an example. I"m going to make an example of you. That"s all there is to this. I"ve got no grudge against you. I"m not vindictive; I"m sorry for you. But," he paused and pointed his hand at Aintree as though it held a gun, "you are going to leave the army!"
Like a man coming out of an ugly dream, Aintree opened and shut his eyes, shivered, and stretched his great muscles. They watched him with an effort of the will force himself back to consciousness. When again he spoke, his tone was sane.
"See here, Standish," he began, "I"ll not beg of you or any man. I only ask you to think what you"re doing. This means my finish. If you force this through to-night it means court-martial, it means I lose my commission, I lose--lose things you know nothing about. And, if I"ve got a record for drinking, I"ve got a record for other things, too.
Don"t forget that!"