Colonel West is one of the officers at the dinner Edgar attends in Mandalay, at the residence of the Commissioner of the Northern Division. Colonel West hates Doctor Carroll because he believes Carroll's piano is responsible for the death of his men. He angrily tells Edgar that reinforcements to his position were delayed because they were helping take the piano to Mae Lwin instead. After the dinner Captain Nash-Burnham tells Edgar that this is not true, that the reinforcements were not due for another week anyway and the transportation of the piano had nothing to do with it.
