``Whydidn’tyouspeakofthissooner？’’heasked。
``Ah，yes，thatisfair，’’saidtheGeneral，quickly。``Iknow，thatitislate，andIregretit，andIseethatwecauseyou，inconvenience;buthowcouldIspeaksoonerwhenIwasignorant，ofwhatwasgoingon？，Ihavebeenawaywithmytroops。Iama，soldierfirst，apoliticianafter。DuringthelastyearI
havebeenengagedinguardingthefrontier。Nonewscomestoa，Generalinthefieldmovingfromcamptocampandalwaysinthe，saddle;butImayventuretohope，sir，thatnewshascometoyou，ofme？’’
Claypressedhislipstogetherandbowedhishead。
``Wehaveheardofyourvictories，General，yes，’’hesaid;``and，onyourreturnyousayyoufoundthingshadnotbeengoingto，yourliking？’’