"I was getting desperately tired of doing nothing and, after you had gone off with your wife, on the afternoon of the marriage, I began to feel desperately lonely.

Of course, I have always been accustomed to have a lot of friends round me; and I began to feel a longing to be with the regiment again and, if we had not agreed to go out together, I think I should have taken the next steamer." Six weeks later Lisle rejoined his regiment, where he was heartily welcomed.
"Now you are a brevet major, Mr.Bullen, I am afraid that you will cease to be useful to us all; for of course we cannot be sending an officer of that exalted rank about to do our messages.

However, several nice boys have joined, while you have been away." "I shall always be happy to be employed," Lisle laughed, "and I dare say I am no older than many of the subalterns." "I suppose you have had hard times ?" "Very hard.

I thought that the Tirah business was about as hard as one would have to go through, in the course of one's soldiering; but I was greatly deceived.

When I say that for six months I hardly ever had dry clothes on, and that I waded something like a hundred rivers, you may guess what it was like.
"And we had our full share of fighting, too.