Then we may 'heef' foreign for another year or
eighteen months. Then we do sea-time in the war boats----"
"_What-t?_" I said.
"Sea-time," Bayley repeated. "Just like Marines,
to learn about the big guns and how to embark and disembark quick. Then
we come back to our territorial headquarters for six months, to educate
the Line and Volunteer camps, to go to Hythe, to keep abreast of any new
ideas, and then we fill up vacancies. We call those six months 'Schools,'
Then we begin all over again, thus: Home 'heef,' foreign 'heef,'
sea-time, schools. 'Heefing' isn't precisely luxurious, but it's on
'heef' that we make our head-money."
"Or lose it," said the sallow Pigeon, and all laughed, as men will, at
regimental jokes.
"The Dove never lets me forget that," said Boy Bayley. "It happened last
March. We were out in the Second Northern Area at the top end of Scotland
where a lot of those silly deer forests used to be. I'd sooner 'heef' in
the middle of Australia myself--or Athabasca, with all respect to the
Dove--he's a native of those parts. We were camped somewhere near
Caithness, and the Armity (that's the combined Navy and Army board that
runs our show) sent us about eight hundred raw remounts to break in to
keep us warm."
"Why horses for a foot regiment?"
"I.G.'s don't foot it unless they're obliged to. No have gee-gee how can
move? I'll show you later. Well, as I was saying, we broke those beasts
in on compressed forage and small box-spurs, and then we started across
Scotland to Applecross to hand 'em over to a horse-depot there.
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