PapaWickhadbeenaCommissionerinhisday，holdingauthorityoverthreemillionsofmenintheChota-BuldanaDivision，buildinggreatworksforthegoodoftheland，anddoinghisbesttomaketwobladesofgrassgrowwheretherewasbutonebefore。
Ofcourse，nobodyknewanythingaboutthisinthelittleEnglishvillagewherehewasjust’oldMrWick“andhadforgottenthathewasaCompanionoftheOrderoftheStarofIndia。
HepattedBobbyontheshoulderandsaid：“Welldone，myboy！”
Therefollowed，whiletheuniformwasbeingprepared，anintervalofpuredelight，duringwhichBobbytookbrevet-rankasa“man“atthewomen~swampedtennis-partiesandtea-fightsofthevillage，and，Idaresay，hadhisjoiningtimebeenextended，wouldhavefalleninlovewithseveralgirlsatonceLittlecountryvillagesatHomeareveryfullofnicegirls，becausealltheyoungmencomeouttoIndiatomaketheirfortunes。
“India。”saidPapaWick，“istheplaceI’vehadthirtyyearsofitand，begad，I’dliketogobackagainWhenyoujoi~ntheTailTwistersyou’lheamongfriends，ifeveryonehasn’tforgottenWickofChota-Buldana，andalotofpeoplewillbekindtoyouforoursakesThemotherwilltellyoumoreaboutoutfitthanIcan，butrememberthisSticktoyourRegiment，Bohhy~sticktoyourRegimentYou’llseemenallroundyougoingintotheStaffCorps，anddoingeverypossiblesortofdutybutregimental，andyoumaybetemptedtofollowsuitNowsolongasyoukeepwithinyourallowance，andIhaven’tstintedyouthere，sticktotheLine，thewholeLineandnothingbuttheLineBecarefulhowyoubackanotheryoungfool’sbill，andifyoufallinlovewithawomantwentyyearsolderthanyourself，don’ttellmeaboutit，that’sall。”
Withthesecounsels，andmanyothersequallyvaluable，didPapaWickfortifyBobbyerethatlastawfulnightatPortsmouthwhentheOfficers’QuartersheldmoreinmatesthanwereprovidedforbytheRegulations，andtheliberty-menoft~eshipsfellfoulofthedraftsforIndia，andthebattleragedfromtheDockyardGateseventotheslumsof232
Longport，whilethedrabsofFrattoncamedownandscratchedthefacesoftheQueen’sOfficers。
BobbyWick，withanuglybruiseonhisfrecklednose，asickandshakydetachmenttomanoeuvreinshipandthecomfortoffiftyscornfulfemalestoattendto，hadnotimetofeelhomesicktilltheMalabarreachedmid-Channel，whenhedoubledhisemotionswithalittleguard-visitingandagreatmanyothermatters。
TheTailTwisterswereamostparticujarRegimentThosewhoknewthemleastsaidthattheywereeatenupwith’~side。”ButtheirreserveandtheirinternalarrangementsgenerallyweremerelyprotectivediplomacySomefiveyearsbefore，theColonelcommandinghadlookedintothefourteenfearlesseyesofsevenplumpandjuicysubalternswhohadallappliedtoentertheStaffCorps，andhadaskedthemwhythethreestarsshouldhe，acoloneloftheLine，commandadashednurseryfordouble-dashedbottle-suckerswhoputoncondemnedtinspursandrodequalifiedmokesatthehiatusedheadsofforsakenBlackRegimentsHewasarudemanandaterribleWhereforetheremnanttookmeasures[withthehalf-buttasanengineofpublicopinion]tilltherumorwentabroadthatyoungmenwhousedtheTailTwistersasacrutchtotheStaffCorps，hadmanyandvariedtrialstoendureHoweveraregimenthadjustasmuchrighttoitsownsecretsasawoman。
WhenBobbycameupfromDeolaliandtookhisplaceamongtheTailTwisters，itwasgentlyhutfirmlyborneinuponhimthattheRegimentwashisfatherandhismotherandhisindissolublyweddedwife，andthattherewasnocrimeunderthecanopyofheavenblackerthanthatofbringingshameontheRegiment，whichwasthebest-shooting，best-drilled，bestset-up，bravest，mostillustrious，andinallrespectsmostdesirableRegimentwithinthecompassoftheSevenSeasHewastaughtthelegendsoftheMessPlatefromthegreatgrinn...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：