Sergeant Thunder carried a small tin box that was being passed around from one to the other and I heard the clink of coins as they were dropped in […]. I could just make out Sergeant Thunder’s low, growling voice. “That’s the best we can do, boys […]. I’m not supposed to tell you this—the major said not to—and make no mistake, I’m not in the habit of disobeying officers’ orders. But we aren’t at war anymore, and anyway, this order was more like advice, so to speak. So I’m telling you this ’cause I wouldn’t like you to think badly of the major. He knows what’s going on right enough. Matter of fact, the whole thing was his own idea […]. What’s more, boys, he’s given us every penny of his pay that he had saved up—every penny. It’s not much, but it’ll help.”