travel books: facings. Denis's uniform had seen long service and many owners. It had cost him ten and six, and did not pretend to fit him. The shoulders were too broad, and when he tightened his belt, bulging pleats appeared round the waist. His face was small and in his high peaked cap he looked an odd sight. No wonder they laughed. He had taken the wire out of his corps cap to level things up and had been ticked off by Freeman, who was a cadet officer. Denis put on his puttees. He was good at winding puttees and rolled them round from the outside at a great pace. He tucked the strings in at the top and stood up. He flattened his cap down on his head and went off to school. There were four companies in the Eton O.T.C. and G company. Denis had been over a year in G company, where all the dwarfs of Eton were to be found, and had only joined the corps proper, when he got into tails. At a quarter to nine books

Books > Old Books > Decent Fellows (1930)

Page 61

CHAPTER VI

facings. Denis's uniform had seen long service and many owners. It had cost him ten and six, and did not pretend to fit him. The shoulders were too broad, and when he tightened his belt, bulging pleats appeared round the waist. His face was small and in his high peaked cap he looked an odd sight. No wonder they laughed. He had taken the wire out of his corps cap to level things up and had been ticked off by Freeman, who was a cadet officer.
Denis put on his puttees. He was good at winding puttees and rolled them round from the outside at a great pace. He tucked the strings in at the top and stood up. He flattened his cap down on his head and went off to school.
There were four companies in the Eton O.T.C. and G company. Denis had been over a year in G company, where all the dwarfs of Eton were to be found, and had only joined the corps proper, when he got into tails.
At a quarter to nine Denis walked over to Cannon Yard and chose a rifle from the rack. The rifles had had their share in one of England's earlier wars, and the soldiers of the day had doubtless grumbled at their bulk and weight. They kicked like horses and bruised painfully. Denis had once won a shooting competition at butts ; but the sergeant had noticed a pair of five's gloves protruding from his coat and he had been disqualified and given a week's extra drill. The rifles had long blunt bayonets, which could never have caused the enemy any serious inconvenience. During the annual inspection of the corps a boy fainted on the point of his bayonet, but no blood was shed. The bayonet supported his chin and the weight of his body until the inspecting general had passed by and the boy could be removed. It was always very hot on inspection days.
" Hon parade," piped the school sergeant-major. " Hon parade." "Slow ... Hipe," roared Sergeant Taunton a few minutes later. The ancient rifles were hoisted to the slope in a clattering sequence. " Presen ... Hipe," and Denis found himself displaying his weapon like a prize exhibit at a baby show. The sergeant-major pointed out in a high falsetto that his feet were wrongly crossed. Spencer-Mace