I immediately told my name, showed my identification disc and engraved silver cigarette case and some cablegrams that I had just received from home.

The Colonel looked up with bleary eyes and said, "Shall I put him in the guardroom ?" but the adjutant had been convinced by my papers that I was innocent and he said, "I think we can let him go, Sir." It was a great relief to me, because guard-rooms were not very clean.

I was just making my way from the garden when out came the young despatch rider.

I bore him no malice for his patriotic zeal.

I felt that his heart was in the right place, so I said to him, "You have taken the part of this unknown officer, and now that you are sure I am all right, may I ask you what you know about him ?" "I don't know anything", he said, "only that I met him and he asked me the way to the Brigade, and as I was going (p.