Coppy persuades Winkie to keep silent about the matter, since he is engaged to Miss Allardyce, but they haven't announced it yet.

Three weeks later, Winkie sees Miss Allardyce ride her horse across the river in an attempt to prove her mettle.

When Winkie's riderless horse returns to the cantonment, E Company immediately marshals and sets out to find him.

Uncle Harry is kind to Punch, but Aunt Rosa, a domineering Christian, treats him only with scorn and contempt.

Things take a turn for the worse when Uncle Harry, the only person besides Judy who shows Black Sheep any kindness, dies.

A child, named Toby (the eponymous 'His Majesty the King') is generally ignored by his parents and is raised by a nurse, Miss Biddums.

The narrator explains that it is generally known that the regiment known facetiously as the 'Fore and Aft' suffered an embarrassing defeat on their first foray into the battlefield.

But the honour for the victory goes to the two drummer boys who died while showing bravery greater than that of the men they served with.