26 May, evening; by the river

"If he learns to keep his head, he'll be as safe as houses," Vickery replied. "Thank you for owning up, Pye. Now let's get this over with and you can go back to them."

"..Yes, sir." 'Do I have to?' did not come in question to be said. He frowned though as he began the walk, back in the direction of the provosts. "..Will they be punished for looting.. sir?" He asked, not yet there.

"Looting? Who's been looting? Not those two, I hope." They hadn't, to his knowledge, been accused of that, and if they had, the dunking of a provost would have been overlooked in the face of the more serious charge.

"The provosts, sir." He answered quietly. Their packs were...uh.. on display when we were there." He didn't want to point out that Vickery might've missed those and he couldn't say what had happened without having proof he could've only seen them by being there with everyone else either.

"I have no idea what will happen to them if they've been caught looting," he said. "That would be for their officers to decide, I should think." He wasn't going to ask why, not after the earlier trouble.

"Yes sir." Atleast their kit had been stunk up, their blankets swiped in shit. He smiled at the thought and continued, at a lighter pace. Actually, it managed to turn out for the better after all. Atleast nobody would hang, or part. He looked on ahead, spotting the provosts and their cursed horses again.

Right. Dismissed. Newbury rendered his salute with a snap that was entirely forced before turning to trudge away. The sooner he was tucked into his wagon - alone - the better.

Vickery spotted the provosts and their fire. The redcoat officer was still with them, and he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or annoyed about that. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence, and Pye's.

Pye didn't very much like that the redcoat officer was there, though perhaps he should've been grateful, that his punishment was as light. He spied the provost that he'd pushed out of the crowd and stopped by the captain when he did, perhaps waiting to be told, when he was to speak.

"I hope you don't mind us interrupting you," Vickery said. "One of my men has something he needs to tell you." He looked at Pye. "When you're ready," he said, addressing him in a quieter voice.

Pye straightened, held his chin a bit higher, his hands at his sides. He didn't look directly at Giles when he spoke. "...I pushed..the trooper into the water.." He bit his lip. The horse's bags, that Giles owned, were empty. He had forgotten that. Shit, shit, shit. His faltered a bit, then continued. ".. I am, ..sorry." Still he did not look at Giles. The sorry could well have been for not seeing the man drowned, but it was also an apology. "It wasn't the other rifleman..." He concluded, somewhat pointedly. Giles was revealed as a liar still, and he did his part. Odd how there was good that came from it, even with bad.

"It was not Private Newbury?" Lieutenant Cobb asked, sounding incredulous.

Trooper Giles glowered at the bold young greenjacket. "Sure it was him, I saw him."

"Rifleman Newbury says it was him," Vickery replied, emphasising the rank title. "Rifleman Newbury admitted to it under the understandable, yet misguided,belief that he was somehow protecting a younger and more impulsive comrade."

Pye observed the captain and then turned to stare at Giles boldly. "You shivered from the cold... your horse rubbed its nose against yer coat.. and then you yer knotted its reins .. n' then you went to the creek. You knelt there.. and took water into your palms, I think. N'.. you swept your tails. back... up, probably not to get them wet." He stared straight at Giles, his gaze unwavering, but blank all the same.

The redcoat blinked, once, then turned toward Giles. "Are all of those actions accurate, Trooper?"

Resentment showing plain on his face, Giles could only nod. Cobb frowned. "That is another charge to be laid upon you, then. Damn your eyes!"

There was the faintest tug at the corner of Pye's mouth. Though triumph was sweet, the lad managed to keep it all perfectly contained. It turned out better than he'd expected, and not as bad as he had feared. The apology was almost as desirable, when it seemed to point to the trooper as being a liar.

He looked at Vickery, wondering whether this was all he was expected to do or whether the captain wanted more. He lowered his gaze only as he thought back to the fact he must've betrayed the trust placed in him by the captain as well. Well, next time, if he meant to do it again, he would only be sure that nobody would be found to have a finger pointed at them. IF.

"..Anything else.. sir?" He asked subtly, more quietly than he had spoken earlier.

"I don't think so, Pye. Not here, at any rate. Thank you for your time, Lieutenant, and I am sorry to have interrupted you." Though judging by the look on the Provost's face, Pye hadn't made any friends in that quarter. Vickery would have to keep an eye on the lad in case the man tried anything against him later.

"I think somewhere private for a few moments should do," he added, speaking quietly so that only his Rifleman could hear him.

The feeling of triumph was gone. Pye felt dread as he realised Vickery wished to speak to him in private. He nodded curtly, still the same blank expression on his face, when he turned to follow Vickery away from the group of men, provosts and officers alike. "Sir." He said to aknowledge he understood and meant to follow wherever the captain wished to take him for the private discussion or maybe a scolding.

"All right, Pye, this way," he said, and led the lad away from the provosts and their camp-fire. "I'm not going to give you a talking-to, but i am going to ask you to think about two things. One, what you did isn't the sort of thing I expect of my Riflemen, no mater what the provocation. Two, Rifleman Newbury stuck up for you - was prepared to take whatever punishment I handed down to him, so long as you stayed out of trouble. For that, I will take it no further with you, because you seem to me to be the sort of lad who doesn't make the same mistake twice, and I hope you will learn from this."

"Sir.. I'm sorry , sir." This time the apology was genuine. He lowered his gaze and stared at the floor, a frown on his face. Newbury shouldn't have been there. The man had enough on his mind and had been in enough trouble to last him a life time. He didn't know how to take his willingness to take the brunt of the punishment for him. Why did he do it? Just because there was a rifleman in need?

"..I'm sorry to have disappointed you, sir." He sighed. "...n' for havin' Newbury brought.... brought down into this."

"I think Newbury's involved simply because that's the sort of man he is. He does have a tendency to rush into things without thinking of the consequences." He sighed, and smiled. "I'm not disappointed in you, Pye, just in your actions tonight. And I accept your apology. Just don't do it again, and we'll say no more about it."

"Sir. ..can't promise anything but I will... I will try." Pye felt, perhaps wrongfully, that he ought to be honest with his final answer. He felt relieved, almost glad that Vickery was upset not with him but what he he done. Frankly, it was better he knew the small extent of that too. If he'd have known about the smelly bits, the loot and all, no it was better to remain forever a secret.

He smiled faintly, nervously. "...I hope I .. never need to ride a horse again.. 'twas dreadful, sir." And it hurt!

"That's all I expect. For my men to try." Vickery chuckled. "I think, if my first experience on horseback had been tearing pell-mell along a road in the dark, I would probably feel the same way. I don't expect you to have to do that again at any time in the near future, I promise."

It probably didn't help that, whereas Vickery had proper overalls with leather reinforcing the inside legs, Pye had done it wearing issue woollen trousers, which wouldn't protect from the chafing of the stirrup-leathers.

"Thank you, sir." He'd do it if ordered, but boy did he hope it was never ordered again. Even now he felt that riding was just a cruel thing to do to a man. The animals he didn't care for, since they were probably having the most fun tossing a man about anyway. But a man would just have to seriously enjoy pain to ever climb into a saddle. Walking was much better, on any and all accounts!

"...beg pardon sir, but.. how do you ever...enjoy riding? The animals are completely untrustworthy, n' intent ter throw you off." He barely held on, and since he hadn't fallen he considered it a miracle. Funny how he was only then realising that the captain probably had other places to be. Bugger, he hoped he hadn't just done something wrong.

Vickery chuckled. "Oh, they're not as bad as that," he replied. "It does help if you wear the right things, of course. That's why so many officers wear boots." He smiled, though it was likely Pye couldn't see it, in the dark. "Come on, and I'll introduce you to Phoenix properly."