The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-11-14

lluAl taCASt 44Chu AiC IA saS paAo ~
that whale.boat."
A fez crowned head bobbed up in the
gtern.sheets, divideditseii in exact halves
with one flashing grin. and bobbed
down again. The man of the battered
breeches, clad only in n Norfolk JACKIE
and gray flannel shirt, went on witt
bis clumsy sewing, while Dick chuCklct
over his sketch.
Some twenty whale.boats were nuz
cling sand.bank which was dotted with
English soldiery OF half dozen corps
bathing or washing their clothes. A
heap Of boat.rollers, commissariat-boxes
sugar.bags, and flour, and small.arm
amnunition.cases showed where one o
the whale.boats had been compelled t
unload hastily; and a Iegimental car
penter was swearing aloud as he tried
on wholly insufficient allowance o
white lead, to plaster up the sun.parchct
gaping seams OF the boat herself.
First the bloomin' rudder snaps,
said he to the world in general; "ther
tho mast goes; an then, 8 'elp me
when she cant do nothin' else, sht
opens 'erself out like a cock.eyed Chi
nese lotus"
Exactly the case with my breeches
whoever you are" said the tailor, with
out looking up. "Dick, wonder wher
shall see decent shop again.
There was no answer save the inces
SAINT angry murmur Of the Nile, rs il
raced round basalt-walled bend ant
loaned across a rock ridge half mile
up stream. 1t WIS as though the brown
| weight OF the river would drive the
white men back 10 their own country
The Understandable scent Of Nile mud il
the air told that the stream was falling
and that the next few miles would be
no light thing for the whale.boats tc
overpas5. The desert ran down al
most to the banks, where among gray
red and black hillocks, q camel CORPS
was encamped. No man dared, even
for day, lose touch OF the slow.movine
boats; there had been no fighting fol
weeks past, and throughout that time
the Nile had never spared them. Rapid
had followed rapid, rock rock. and
island group island group, till the rank
and file had long eince lost all count o!
direction ond very nearly OF time. They
were moving somewhere, they did moi
know why, to do something, they did
not know what. Before them lay the
Nile, and at the other end OF it was one
Gordon, fighting for dear life, in town
called khartoum. There were columns
OF British troops in the desert, or in one
OF the many deserts there were columns
on the river, therewers yetmore columns
waiting to embark on the river; there
were fresh drafts waiting at Assiut and
Assuan there were lies and rumors run.
ming over the face OF the hopeless land
from Suakim to the Sixth Cataract, and
men supposed generally that there must
be some one in authority to direct the
general scheme OF the many movements.
The duty OF that particular river column
was to keep the whale boats atloat in the
water, to avoid trampling on the vii.
lagers crops when the gangs tracked"
the boats with lines thrown from mid.
stream, to get as much sleep and food rs
was possible, and, above all, to press on
without delay in the teeth Of til churn.
ing Nile.
With the soldiers sTeated and toiled
the correspondents Of the newspapers,
and they were almost as ignorant as
their companions. But it was above
all things necessary that England at
breakfast should be amused and thrilled
and interested, whether Gordon lived or
died, or half the British army went TO
pieces in the sands. The Soudan CAM
paign was q picturesque one and lent
itself to vivid word.palnting. Now and
again Special" managed to get slain
which was not altogether disadyant.
age to the paper that employed him
and more often the hand.to-hand nature
Of the fighting allowed OF miraculous
escapes which were worth telegraphiny
home at eighteenpence the word. There
were many correspondents with many
corps and columns-from the veterans
who had followed on the heels of the
cavalry that occupied Cairo in 80, what
time Arab Pasha called himself king,
who had seen the first miserable work
round suakim when the sentries were
cut up nightly and the scrub swarmed
with spears, to youngsters jerked into
the business at tho end OF telegraph
wire to take the place Of their betters
killed or invalided.
Among the seniors-thcse who knew
every SHIFT and change in the perplex.
ing postal arrangements, the value OF
the seediest, weediest Egyptian yarron |
offered for sale in Cairo or Alexandria, |
who could talk telegraph CLERK into
amiability and soothe the ruilled vanity
Of q newfy.appolnted stati.oilicer when |
press regulations became burdensome-
vas the man in the flannel shirt. the
black.browed Torpenhow. He repre-. |
sented tho Central Southern Syndicate |
in the campaign, as he had represented |
4 in the Egyptian war, and elsewhere.
The syndicate did not concern itself
greatly with criticisms OF attack and the |
like. 1t supplied the masses, and all it |
demanded was picturesqueness and
abundance OF detail. There is more Joy
in England over one soldier who in.
unfortunately steps out OF a square to |
rescue a comrade than over twenty gen.
erals Shaving even to badness over The !
gross details OF transport and commits.
Iariat.
He had met at Suakiln young man, |
hitting on the edge Of q recently. aban.
loned redoubt about the size Of hat
box, sketching clump OF shcll.torn |
bodies on the gravel plain.
What arc you for, 2' said Torpenhow.
The formula Of tho correspondent is |
that OF tho commercial traveller on the |
road. l,1ffsRl .l,l5,.. ~. n s.,
MY own hand" said the young man, |
without looking up. Have you any
tobacco ~ i;sHl n ~
Torpenhow waited till the sketch was |
finished, and when be had looked at it |
SAID. What's yanr business here 2"
"Nothirg. There was a row, so I came. |
I'm supposed to be doing something
down at the nainting.slips among the |
boats, or else Pm il. charge OF the con.
aenser on one Of the water.ships. I've
forgotten which, r. II 80
You've cheek enough to build a re.
doubt with" said Torpenhow, and took
siocS OF the new acquaintance. "Do Won
always draw like that ~ -
me young man produced more
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