Checking the picquets, 11th June

Pye stared at Vickery almost as if he had just grown a second head. Then his expression might just have resembled a lad, who has been stunned into silence. Captain Vickery , THE captain Vickery, was offering to teach him to read and to write and to be smarter than he was and he thought it was possible and he had a serious look on his face. A friendly, serious look on his face, which meant that he was not pulling his leg and he was not trying to make him the butt of his joke.

"I..." He shuffled, blinked and inhaled, just then realising that he had even stopped breathing and he was starting to lack the air.

"Sir, if...It would be too much for me to ask,..to.. for that. But.. but I'd like to learn." He looked sheepish, embarrassed. "that is, only if you would not mind to ..though it.. that would be too amazing and unreal and I can't ever imagine, am I sleeping and dreaming sir? Though I swear I promise I would not dare dream something like , like that.. couse I know it would be too much for me to think I could..you would.." He inhaled again as the last had been spoken fast even if haltingly every few words.

"I am perfectly serious," Vickery replied, trying not to laugh at the utterly flabbergasted expression on Pye's face. Not that he could see it very well in the dark, but it was perfectly intelligible in the man's speech. "And no, you are not dreaming," he added. "It will take some work, though." From both of us, he thought, though he didn't say that aloud.

"Of course. I know that, sir. Any sort of learning takes time and work. Ain't marchin' like you know it, jus' after you try it firs' time. " He smiled brightly. "Oh.. and then.. then I can practice an' all with Freddie. Couse sir.. the other sir, Torrington, sir, him is going to teach too. An'.. and mebbe..." He shut up and blushed a deep red.

"Sorry, sir. It's jus' quite exciting, and it .. it's somethin' you don't get every day and not everybody knows it. You know?" He looked thoughtful. "..'specially comin' from a sir like you or 'im... it's a special privilege. Promise to work hard till I can read like I was makin' it up on the spot. That fast!" He grinned sheepishly. "Not that I ever do make things up on the spot, promise."

"It's 'officer'," Vickery pointed out gently. "'Sir' is the form of address - how you talk to an officer. but when you're talking about them, the word is 'officer'." He smiled, and wondered if Torrington was teaching Rottlaender to read in English or German. Probably English; he wasn't aware that the Engineer spoke enough German to teach Rottlaender to read the Rifleman's own language.

"You ought to stop worrying so much about what I think of you," he added, then corrected himself, speaking a little drily. "Or rather, stop being over-anxious about it, anyway."

"Yes, sir. Understood." He was smiling still, and was quite proud and happy and wondered why either of the men would even want any of the boys to know how to write.

"Sir, " He began quietly and gazed again at Vickery. "Is there a reason you'll need us ter write fer...?" He asked boldly enough.

"Well, it will help when it comes to promotion," Vickery pointed out. "And it'll be useful in the meantime, too, of course."

"Promotion? Me? Us?" So, Freddie was certainly on the good path to get promoted. He was literally sugar high efficient, and very smart and he would know two languages soon, though.. if Pye considered that, so would he. He was learning it now, and he was getting quite good at it and rather proud that he was saying it pretty close to how it was supposed to be said also by sound.

"..." He was pretty speechless then slowly he smiled and added in a soft: "T' day I was let ter transfer ter t' 60th was...it really changed everything, sir." Even if he would never get promoted, just to have someone suggest it as a possibility. It was interesting, confusing, exciting and unexpected.

"I don't see any reason why you should not eventually be promoted," Vickery replied. "Although you should not expect it to happen overnight, of course. You will have to be a proficient Rifleman in order to be considered for promotion, of course, but I think that is possible - with some work, naturally."

It was a little amusing at just how flummoxed Pye was at even the suggestion that he might eventually be promoted."

"After all, who knows how long this war will go on for?" he added, thoughtfully.