Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-06-20
paling cheek

Two nights after this, as Capt. Buxton
was sulkily going the rounds of the SEN
| tries, he made discovery which greatly
| enliveued an otherwise uneventiul tour
as officer of the day. 1t had been his
general CuIom on such occasions to take
| the shortest WY across the parade to the
| guard house, make brief and perfunctory
| inspection there, then go on down the
| hi! to the creek valley and successivelv
visit the sentries around the Stables. If
the night Were wet or cold. he went back
the same way, ignoring the sentries at
the coal and store sheds along Prairie
| avenue. This was a sharply cold night
and very dark. but equally still. 1t was
between II and l o'clock-nearer than
Pas he climbed the hill on his home
ward way, and, instead of taking the
short cut, turned northward and struck
for the gloomy mass of sheds dimlv dis
cernible some forty yards from the crest.
lie had heard other officers speak of the
fact that Mr.. Haynes lights were burn
ing until long after midnight. and that
dropping in there. they had found him
seated at his desk with a green shade
over his eyes, studying by tie aid of two
student Jumps; booming TO be general
probably was the comment of captains
Of BuXtons caliber, who, having grown
old i'll the service and.in their own inno-
rance, were fiercely intolerart of lieu
tenants who strove to improve in pro-
fessional reading instead of spending
their time making ont the company mus
try rolls and clothing accounts, as they
should do.
Buxton wanted to see for himself what
the night lights meant, and was plunging
heavily ahea' through the darkness.
when suuucniy Drou@nu 10 Il stiuu "
the sharp challenge of the septrv at the
coal shed. He whispered tho mystic
counterSign over the levelod bayonot of
the infantryman, swearing to himself ut
the regulation which puts an officer in
such ''stand-and-deliver attitude for
the time being, and then, by way of get
ting square with the soldier for the
sharply military way in which his duty
as sentry had been performed, the cap
tam proceeded to Catechise him Us TO his
orders. The soldier had been well
taught, and knew all his responses" by
rote-far better than Buxton, for that
matter, as the latter was anything but an
e:,cmplar of perfection in tactics or sen
try duty; but this did not prevent Bnx-
tons snappishly telling him he was
wrong IN several points and contemptu-
ously inQuiring where he had learned
such trash. The soldier promptly but
respectfully responded that those were
the exact instructions he had received at
the adjutant's school, and Buxton knew
from experience that he was getting on
dangerous ground. He would have stuck
to his point. however, in default of some
thing else to find fault with, but that the
crack of a whip, the crunching of hoofs
and rattle of wheels out in the darkness
quickly diverted his attention.
whats that, sentry he sharply in
qured.
"A carriage, sir. Leastwise, l think
il must be-"
"Why don't you know, sir7 1t must
have been on your post"
mo, sir; it was way off my post II
drove up to Lieut., Haynes about half an
hour ago"
"Where'd it come from FRONT" asked
captain, eagerly.
Prom town, sir, | suppose" And,
leaving the sentry to his own reflections,
which, on the whole, were not compli-
nentary TO his superior officer, Capt.