The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-01

in the line of fire, aid the nice knobbJ
stick it i'm on the cokernut. Off rolled
is at and down fell Col. Rufus Pepper.
ton.
"Carry off the wounded" calls AIRY,
preparin' to throw up the other sticksI
but the next moment the Colonel was on
is legs and maxim straight for AIRY.
The gardnger aud two or three other
men rushed out of the park at the samt
time, and 'eld the Colonel back, while
one of 'em went and fetched the per.
leece.
That evcnin' me and AIRY was in Jail:
and the last words of the perleeceman, as
he 10 ked the doors, was these. with 9
pleasin' smile:
"Ths is six months 'ard; that's what
it isl"
'Ere's tarblow for yer, sir. Me and
AIRY a!orc the beaks. Three Justices
on the bench. Pcrleecemcn in bloc.
Court crowded. Old CO onel reppcrton,
look n sava,er and more ycllower than
ever, with nasty bit of scar where the
nice knobbly stick it is cokernut. Me
and my mate in the dock. The evidence
was all give, and 1 was discharged with
a warnin' ne"er to be guilty no more. ]
didn't leave the court, but stood as close
as I could to the dock, where my poor
mate was standin'.
Things looked very black for i'm.
Its twelve months ard" whispers
the pcrleeccman to me; "that' what it is.
Yer see" he SAYS, "ow bl the Chair
mans nose is. He always goes in for
twelve months 'ard when is nose is that
'olor. 1t amt drink, it's undisgestion.
It's beautiful b!oo." says the perleece-
man, as I think must ha' been bit of a
hartist like; ''it's a beautiful bloc, and
with the two red noses alongside of i'm,
as is sittin' there, it makes very pretty
pie tur'."
The three judges put their 'eads to-
gether, and the old gent as carried the
bloc nose about says to AIRY very SOL
emn:
"Have you anything to say for your
SELF"
"Hc's never -goin' to 'ang 'im9" I says
to the perleeceman; and then I ups and
says to the Judge: "Please yer honor's
worship, my lord" says, ''the reg lar
charge is only three SHES a penny" l
says, ''as no doubt your majesty have
often 'ad a 60 at the nuts yerself at that
price. us is not extravagant. Three SHES
a penny is the rcg'lar price, my lord,
aud AIRY only 'ad one shy. Let i'm of
easy, my lord" I says, winkin' very
respectful.
They turned me out of the court neck
and crop, but got in afore the row was
over, and I 'ears the Judge say again:
prisoner, ha you anything to say
for yoursclfa'
AIRY pulls ITSELF straight up, puts is
'and to is 'ead, salutin', and says very
short:
"Yesm
"What. pray3" says the proprietor Of
the bloc beak. :
This" says AIRY, and I wouldn't
have believed as ten million 'orscs could
ha' drawed such speech from i'm:
'.There stands the Colonel" AIRY says,
''and e I stand. The Colonel is ERE to
send me to Jail, and I am 'ere to go to
Jail. You sit there to sentence me to
iail. and all the crowd of people ere are
waiting to hear me sentenced. There is
the Colonel, and ere am I, face to face.
Face to face, CO Q, for the second time
in our lives. Now, I'm just going to tell
about the fr.t time, and then let the
Go onel send me to quod."
"Prisoner," says the bloc nose, as was
"this is all beside the
point"
"Sir Frederick" says the Colo ell
'Iet the man 60 on, beg of you," and
on AIRY went to scene the FIST, just like
q theyatre.
sThe place is burnin' plain in India,
and the time is the Mutiny. An officer
has tainted, and lies white and 'elpless
on tie earth, with the colors of the regi
mcnt clutched close and tight in both
hands. He lies apart from the torn and
battered ranks he's been tryin' to ho!d
together. A few rebels make a wild
rush at the flag. The fag-the fag-iS
wrenched from the fingers, and they ride
away. Then the officer comes to, and
he groans, the colors! The colors! For
mercY's sake, bring me back the COL
orsn
"He tries to stagger on foot, but falls
back again, too sorely wounded to rise;
and again he sobs out: For mercy's sake,
bring me back the colorsr
"A stragglin' soldier of another Brit
ish regiment, cut off from the rest, hur-
RIGS by. Look! he hears the c;y, gives
one look at the officer and one at the fly
ing rebels who carry the captu: ed flag.
He springs on riderless charger, gives
rein, and goes for death or the flag!
"The minutes pass on. and at last the
soldier rides back with the colors
wrapped round bis cart and, as he puts
them once more into the officers white
fingers, they are died a de per red by the
blood which is flowin' from q wound in
the soldiers breast.
"Colonel, where is the scar gave you
because you treated me and my mate like
thieves, and refused fair warning2"
Like q man in a dream the Colonel
'eld is finger to the scar on is fore'ead.
Off AIRY filings is coat, tears open lis
shirt, and 'olds is finger to big, jagged
scar near is noble cart.
"And 'ere." he says, 'is the scar of
the wound which that common soldier
bore for youm
I never knowed properly what 'ap-
pencd after that. But remember get
tim on form and y ling "Ooray!" till
were again chucked out. l remember
the Colonel springin' into the dock,
shakin 'Arry's and and callin' i'm Com
rade.' Then I remember i'm turnin' to
the three noses on the bench and sayin';
is1Nl,;, ,ro1loot fo1Ior,,o otor,, 10 fr.o