26 May, evening; by the river

At a prompting glance from the redcoat, Trooper Giles cleared his throat. "I was down 'long the river, sir, for a drink, when that fellow come up from behind and shoved me in." He pointed at Newbury. "We'd run 'cross him this mornin', sir, after a bit of a search. Checkin' for permission tickets, sir. He was kinda shifty 'bout it all."

"It was me that arrested him, sir," Smith offered. "Right on the riverbank where it happened."

Vickery could well believe Newbury would be 'kinda shifty' where provosts were concerned, especially after recent events.

"So you were having a drink. You definitely saw that it was him? Because I cannot believe that one of my men would be so stupid as to be seen doing something like that. Especially if he can't run away. You will have noticed that Newbury is nursing an injured leg."

Captain Vickery had finally arrived. The presence of his officer, with Pye following close behind, heightened Newbury's feeling of dread. It'd be the noose for him, he had convinced himself of it. Served him right for sticking up for Pye, didn't it.

He couldn't even nod acknowledgment of Jenny's whispered assurance. The severity of what he was being charged with - what he'd set himself up to be charged with - had finally sunk in. If he wasn't already feeling wobbly to the point of toppling over... he stared into the flickering shadows created by the fire and found himself resenting Pye for creating such a bad situation in the first place.

"Sit down before you fall down, Newbury," Vickery said, seeing Newbury clutching at the tree to try to stay upright. "There's no reason for you to pass out, after all."

Giles nodded. "It was him, sir. I saw his cuff, and that rent in his sleeve there. And his face too, when I was tryin' to get back onto the bank."

"It was also proven that he was physically capable of such an act," the redcoat lieutenant drawled. "By a reenactment of the event."

Sit down? Newbury blinked, then eased himself onto the ground with as much dignity as he could muster. Which wasn't much, considering the pop from and subsequent giving out of his knee. He managed to control the fall enough to keep from dropping like a stone, but it was still far from graceful.

Perfect.

"That's ridiculous," Jenny scoffed, not having yet left.

Pye tugged at the reins of the horse. He was still seated on its back, finding little courage of slipping off. Vickery had assured that his way back went smoother than the way there. He'd even ridden more comfortably, though he still clung to the horse more than needed and still felt he would fall of at any given moment. Now he was here and feeling awful. Newbury was prosecuted. The man, whom he knew for a fact, had done nothing wrong. Who had probably gone to go drink, or shave or whatnot. Foolish as it was to do it during the night - atleast the latter - it wasn't a crime.

He saw Giles was convinced it was that man, but if he had seen him, it could only be, because Newbury had gone and drunk his fill. But he had not shoved the lad in. No, he might've seen it happen, or hear it, but he hadn't done it.

Pye stared at the packs, feeling that this was worse than if he were under the scrunity of the captain. He was betraying one of the men who had become his mates in the rifles. He was letting him take the blame. He was just quiet, and that was enough to make him guilty of that.

"...Sir,.." He spoke out, gazing at Vickery. He ached all over. Earlier from a few low lying branches that nearly brought his hat of his head, and from the ride that had a man who did not know how to protect himself or ride properly, whimper, and now, he just ached because his fellow rifleman might hang, just because of him.

"...The trooper's lying.." If nobody had found out who had done it, then it would've been a perfect plan, but now. Now it wasn't. "....Newbury.. he couldn't have done it. He didn't do it." He shook his head, his horse pulling at its reins and thrusting its head forward. Could the damn lad stop pulling on his reins and stop twitching them, and at best relax them already!

"He..., he just wants a scapegoat." It was a blunt accusation. "...n'..he.. he wants to make you forget that they... the men.." He indicated the open packs, with silver spoons, and all sorts of ware. "...they stole, they looted.. they.." He was speaking out of turn, he felt, but Newbury hadn't done it and both knew that. "That's... why they can't be trusted on their word. The trooper, he did it just..did ..it couse they can't accuse us of lootin' as well, n' can't accuse that rifleman also being wrongfully here... 'Couse he has a paper.. um.. ticket. They couldn't earlier.. so they want to now, for something. But he didn't do it." He'd have rather received a beating from Newbury, than see him hang.

"So you were pushed into the water, from behind, and recovered yourself quickly enough to make a positive identification in near-darkness of the man who did it? One who, moreover, has a wounded leg which means he needs to hold onto a tree just to stay upright." Vickery was not altogether convinced; Newbury might not be the cleverest Rifleman in his Company, but he certainly was not so stupid as to do what he'd been accused of doing, and to get caught doing it.

Giles nodded, ignoring the protests from the other mounted greenjacket. "That's so, sir. It was proven to be his doin', 'cause he did it twice over for showin', at the 'tenant's order."

Vickery blinked. "So... he did it twice, to prove he could have done it. And not one other Rifleman of the 60th was asked to show that he could have done it. When they are all in perfect health."

"That's so, sir." Giles nodded again, this time not letting any doubt show through. "No other rifleman was present at the scene, except this one."

"And does it not strike you as strange that this one would be so foolish as to be seen to have pushed you in if he was indeed the only Rifleman in the vicinity at the time?"

This time, Giles let the faintest glimmer of disgust flash across his face. "No sir, I don't."

"If your position and his were reversed, would you really do that if you were alone and there was the slightest possibility you might be seen and identified as the man who had done it?"

"Men'll try anythin' 'gainst us," Giles answered. "Even if they end up gettin' caught at it."

Vickery sighed in disgust. "Newbury. It seems you were down by the river. I take it you had a good reason to be there?"

The question stirred him out of his half-daze. "Yes sir... I was headin' down there for a wash and shave, sir," Newbury replied. "Saw that trooper there 'head of me... couldn't really pass it up, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Rifleman Pye here seems to think you didn't do it. Is there any reason he would think that, if you did, in fact, do it?" And why admit to doing it, if he hadn't?

There was something going on here that Vickery didn't get. He wondered if he would ever get to the bottom of it, or if it was one of those mysteries he was doomed, as an officer, never to know the answer to.

Pye was an idiot, Newbury thought. "I don't know, sir."

"It seems to me that you should be extremely thankful that the man who ended up involuntarily going for a swim is not an officer or an NCO." And quite what punishment the provosts were going to push for, Vickery didn't know.

"Yes, sir." Newbury dropped his eyes down to his boots. Was it going to be over now?

The redcoat officer cleared his throat. "Will you be taking responsibility for him, sir?"

"I will." Quite what he was going to do with his errant Rifleman, he couldn't say, though.

"Very well, sir." The redcoat turned toward the short rank of provosts. "Where is your officer, then?"

Newbury grimaced, pulling himself to his feet. He sensed it would be time to move somewhere else. "Sir," he said dully once he was back at rigid attention.

"All right." He turned to unfasten the leading rein from the borrowed horse, and looped its own reins over a nearby branch. "You Riflemen come with me. Wait. Who's got your rifle and sword, Newbury?"