"And to think that this paragon has been mistaken for an ordinary plebe! It is incomprehensible! Mr. Frazier—Captain Frazier—will you have the goodness to read that just once more?"
Frazier would have refused, but some lingering grain of sense told him the better course was now to obey. Once more he began, his progress this time being punctuated by occasional muttered exclamations—"Astonishing!" "Prodigious!" "I knew there was extraordinary power in that face the first time I set eyes on it!" "Merciful heavens! to think that we were on the point of asking a man so distinguished to sing for us!" This was too much for Connell. From the dark interior of the tent came a gurgle of suppressed laughter. Instantly two or three yearlings heard him, heaved him up on his feet, and hustled him forth into the company ground. Unparalleled audacity!—a plebe laughing at the recital of the deeds of Major-General Frazier! The circle gave way to right and left, and Connell was shouldered into the midst, and made to stand facing his luckless tent-mate until the second reading was finished. Then, even as poor Benny was hoping that Connell's coming was to distract in a measure their attention from himself, the same deep voice was heard declaring that this was too important matter to be kept from the rest of the corps. "March over to A Company!" was the word. Benny never knew how it was done. In the twinkling of an eye in silence the mass began to move, Benny and Connell borne helplessly along. Resistance was useless. Not a hand was laid upon them, but not a gap was seen through which they could escape. In another moment all B Company, except its plebe contingent, reinforced by detachments of Third Class men from all over camp, was crowded into A Company's street, and gravely presenting Major-General Frazier to the officials of the right flank company, and demanding the third reading of _The Examiner's_ clipping. Poor Benny! Not until the tattoo drums began to beat far over across the Plain was he released from limbo. During that time he had been exhibited in every street in camp, had favored all four companies with extracts from his biography, and was bidden to be able to recite it _verbatim et literatim_ on the morrow on pain of having to read it ten times over for every slip.