McAuslan in the Rough

McAuslan in the Rough, the second volume of George MacDonald Fraser's stories featuring "Old Private Piltdown" (as the court-martial defence called him), includes such episodes as the desert mystery of Fort Yarhuna, the Great Regimental Quiz, the search for a deserter in a native town threatened by epidemic, McAuslan in love, and his finest and funniest hour - as a caddy to that rugged Caledonian eminence, the Regimental Sergeant-Major, in a golf game whose importance makes the Open Championship look like a seaside putting competition. As his chronicler reminds us: "McAuslan is always with us. He was probably at Cannae and Pharsalia, and hasn't washed since. And you can bet that he'll be there, more or less at attention, with his rusty rifle and his buttons undone, when the ranks fall in for Armageddon."