The Captain was summoned to Horsham in Sussex, to be charged with deserting his post, cowardly conduct and disobeying strict orders to hold the line. He desperately tried to explain the situation, but the generals just tutted and coughed. 'In my day, sire, you would have been shot on the spot. Blind coward's pardon, they called it,' and he let out a huge wheeze and started to go bright red. Unbeknown to the Captain was the fact that the red-faced general's son was coming up the ranks and some space at the top was needed. A court-martial was set for ten o'clock the next day at East Grinstead. It meant certain death by firing squad by the hands of his own countrymen. He took the next coach and arrived at the hotel in good time. Being an officer meant he was granted one last night, and with a heavy heart, he looked up at the beaming windows and the warming interior of the Dorset Arms as the coach clattered down the passage to the stables. The striking white full moon cast deep shadows across the garden, smoke from the chimneys danced like graceful ballerinas, swirling about the rooftops. next »