New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-15

battered, laughed alone over his supper ina
evening. ~ ~,
Three days passod-a fourth and fifth. The
week drew to a close and Alulvaney did not re
turn. lie, his royal palanquin and his SIX at
| tendants had vanished into air. a very large
and very tipsy soldier his feet sticking out oil
the litter OF reignng princess, Is not thing To
travel along the ways without comment. LEI
no man Of all the country round has seen any
such wonder. He was, and he not; and
Learoyd suggested the immediate smashment oil
Dearsley as a sacrifice TO his ghost Ortherls IN
sisted that all was we'll, and in the light OF past
| experiences his hopes seemed reason bic.
| when Mulvaney goes up the road" said he
'es like to go "a very long ways up, specially
when 'es SO blue drunk e is now. But what
the niggers somewhercs about. That don't look
good. i he drink must ha died out in i'm by
this, unless 'es broke "A bank, an then-Why
| don't e come back? II didn't ought to ha'
gone off without u.s."
Even Ortheris's heart sank at the end of the
seventh day, for half the regiment were out
securing the countryside, and Learoyd had been
| forced 10 fight two men who limited openly that
Mulvaney had deserted. TO do him justice. the
colonel laughed at the notion. even when it WAS
put forward by his much-trusted adjutant
| MulVaney would as soon think of deserving
| as you would" said he. " No; he's either fallen
into mischief among the villagers-and yet that
isn't likely for he'd blarney himself out of the
| Pit: or else he is engaged on urgent private
affairs-some stupendous devilment that we shall
hear OF AT mess after it has been the round of the
barrack-rooms: The worst Of it is that | shall
have TO give him twenty-eght days confinement
at least Tor being absent without leave, Just when
| most want him to lick the new batch of recruits
into shape. i never knew a man who could put
a polish on young soldiers as quickly as Mulvaney
can. How deoS he do ii ?"
win barncy and the buckle-end Of belt
SIR said the adiutant. He is worth couple
Of non commissioned officers when we are dealing
with an irish draft, and the London lads seem
| to ADORE MN: The worst Of it is that If he goes
to the cells the other two neither TO hold nor
bind tlll he comes out again. | believe Ortheris
breaches mutlny on these occasions. and know
! that the mere presence Of LearOyd mourning for
| Mulvaney kills all the cheerfulness of his room
The sergeants tell me that he allows no man to
laugh. when he feels unhappy. They are queer
gang
For all that, I wish we had few more Of
them. like a well-conducted regiment but
these pasty- faced shiftyeyed, mealy mouthed
young slouchers from the depot worry me some
times with their offensive virtue. They don't
seem to have backbone enough to do anything
but play cards and prowl round the married
quarters. | believe I'd forgive that old villain
on the spot if he turned up with any sort of ex.
PLANTATION that could in decency accept
Not likely to be much difficulty about that,
SIR said the adjutant. Mulvaney's explana-
| lions are only one degree less wonderful than his
| performances. They say that when he was in
the Black Tyrone be fore he came to us, he was
discovered on the banks of the Liey trying TO sell
his coloneTs charger TO a Donegal deal,r as a
perfect lady's hack. ShacSbolt commanded the
! Tyrone them
"Shackbolt must have had apoplcxy at the
thought of his ramping warhorses answering to
that description He used to buy unbaclled devils
and tame them by some pet theory of starvation.
| What did Mulvaney say?'
That he was a member of the Society for
| the Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals, anxious
10 sell the poor haste where he would get some
thing 10 fill oil: his dimpes' Shackbolt laughed.
but fancy that was why MG!vanev exchanged
to ours
I like him and believe he likes me-
mat evening, TO cheer souls,
Lcaroyd, Ortheris and l went into the waste to
smoke out porcupine All the dogs attended,
hut even their clamor-and they began to discuss
the shortcomings Of porcupnes before they left
cantonmentS-could not take us out of ourselves.
\ large, low moon turned the tops OF the plume
grass to silver, and the Stunted camclthOrn bushes
and tamarisls into the likenesses of trooping
devils. The smell of the sun had not left the
earth and LITTLE aimleSS winds blowing across the
rose gardens TO the southwark brought the scent
of dried roses and water. Our fire once started,
and the dogs craftily disposed to wait the dash
of the porcupine, climbed to the top of a rain
Scared hillock of earth and looked across the
scrub scanned with cattle paths white with the
long grass. AID dotted with sDots of level pond
bottom, where the snipe would gather in winter
This said Ortheris, with sigh. as he took
in the unkempt desolaton of it all =" this is san,
culinary. This is unusual sangunary Sort O.
mad country Like CRATE when the fires put
out by the sun lie shaded his eyes against
1 1Re m mGde of it all Quite right. I'd dance
too if I wasn't so downheart.'
There pranced portent in the face of the
moon-a huge and ragged spirit of the waste, that
famed its wings from afar. II had risen out OF
the Garth it was coming toward us, and Its out
line was never twice the same. The toga, table
cloth, or dressing-gown, whatever the creature
wore. took a hundred shapes once II stopped
n neiGhbOrlng mound ana nung all us arms anu
legs 70 the winds -
:" Nv. but that scarecrow as got 'em bad'
said Ortheris Seems like II e comes any furder
we'll ave to argifv with i'm"
Iearoyd raised himself from the dirt bull
clears his tanks of the wallow. And as bull
bellows so he, after short minute at gaze, gave
tongue 10 the stars
Mulvaaney! Mulvaaneyl hoo!"
Then we yelled altogether, and the figure
dppcd into the hollow, till, with crash OF rend-
ing grass, the lost one strobe, up to the hight OF
tho fire and disappeared to the waist in a wave
of iovous dogs. Then LearOyd and Ortheris gave
greeting. bass and falsetto together, both swal-
lowing a lump in the throat.
You damned fool!' said they, and severally
nourdcd him with their fists.
Go caSy." he said, wrapping huge arm round
each would have you TO know that am a
god IN hc treated as Such-though, by my faith,
I fancy I've got to go to the guardrOom just like
privit soldier
The latter part of the sentence destroyed the
suspiconS raised by the FORMER. ANY one would
have been justified in regarding Mulvanev as mad.
lie was hateSS and shorlcsS. and his shirt and
trousers were dropping off him. But he wore one
,rcndrouS garment-a gigantic cloak that fell from
coliar hone TO hpel-of pale pink silk wrought all
oycr in cnnningest needleworI Of hands long stree
dead with the loves of the Hindu gods. The
monStrous figures leaped in and out Of the light
~ tbe fire az ne settled the folds around him.
Ortheris handled the stuff respectfully for
r,omont while ! was trying to remember where I
had seen il before. Then he screamed: What
ave YOU done with the palanquin? You're wearin'
the linin'.'
81 am" said the Irishman, an by the same
,o,,cn the 'brcidery is scrapin' my hide of I've
lived in this sumpshus counterpane for four days
Me- SON. | begin to understand why the naygur
;e no use Widout me boots, an me trousies
Iil,e an openwork stocking on gyurl'S leg at
dance. I begin TO feel like a naygurman-al fear
mi and tmoreous. Give me pipe an I'll
lie lit pipe, resumed his grip of his two
friends. and rocked to and fro in gale OF
laughter.
said Ortbarc ctarpI,- ~ ,,o;,,.