Thus Peter was awakened the seventh morning out--and in a place he had not observed the previous night. It was as good a place as usual, if not better, except for the smell of fish that had gone before. Clearly it had been a fish shop, business suspended some time. There were certain scaly trays on the sloping showboards to the street; scales glistened among the cobwebs of the low ceilings; also the floor was of turf, and doubtless very full of phosphor, an excellent base for rose-culture. The place dwindled and darkened to the rear, from which the head and shoulders of Samarc presently emerged, and a moment later Little Spenski, his companion, sat up and rubbed his eyes. These two, invariably together, were men of a rapid-fire battery, to meet their pieces lower in the fields, and attached for the present, as were Boylan and Mowbray, to the staff of General Kohlvihr's command.
Boylan disdained answer. He was strapping a pigskin legging over a bulging calf, always a severe strain. He looked up presently, reached across and touched his forefinger to Peter's chin then to his own, which bristled black and gray.
“Young man, you've got a secret,” he remarked darkly.
Peter smiled. He kept his razors in the same case as his tooth-brush, and the case had not been mislaid so far. He could shave in the dark.
“You're either not of age, or your face is sterile,” said Boylan.
“The floor of this fish shop isn't,” said Peter.
“I've been with you the last forty-eight hours straight. No sign of life in that time.”
“You went out looking for fresh meat at sundown. You were gone---”
“I was gone just five minutes, because the train wasn't up. You had tea on when I came back.”
“Peter, that will do once more, but I've got a suspicion. No man living can shave in the saddle--so you won't be able to spring that one. Besides, you are willing to discuss the matter.”
“No,” said Boylan; “I couldn't remember if they told me. New town every night. The only thing to name a town is a battle. God, smell the wood smoke--doesn't it make you keen?”
Boylan looked at him. “What are we out for?”
“Apparently the column is out for blood, but I thought you might mean breakfast.”
“The column will get blood, right enough,” said Boylan, “whether it gets breakfast or not. What's the news, I wonder?”