The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-19

quietly as may be- aud so aIo" Tue sep 70
60 in the regiment. Consider, my dear fell
low, you were killed"
No more Of your chaff" rejoined Tom
Byng. Lets have sherry and bltters.
don't think any of our fellows would care to
get their step at my expense.
mo. old man. returned the other, as they
made their way to the counter, Pm sure
they wouldn't And nobody can be more
pleased than myself that that Russian mis-
calculated the thickness Of your head"
And now a gentleman in his shirt sleeves,
called by courtesy waiter announced to
Lockwood, the presiding genius OF the feast,
that dinner was ready; aud the conUtUes,
some half dozen in number, troOped into the
back room to do it justice
Are you going to run that big bay horse
of yours. Fleming, for the Division Cup
next week. If they don't make the hurdles
too stiff he ought to have a great chance"
said lockwood, the keen edge of their appe
ttes being somewhat appeased.
YES replied Hugh, mes improved
good deal in his jumping OF late"
well he need to." remarked al officer of
the rifles II was over the course yester-
day, aud they've got q stone wall in IL that
will take soma doing, | can tell you. It's
good four foot and a half high, and no give
about it. a real proper crumpler for those
who happen to hit IL nard."
"W ell," rejoiaed Hugh, laughing, 81
shall find out if the Bantam can jump
anyhow"
For your sake it, to Be devoutly hoped
he can - said the riheman. However, the
| nesting will be great fun, and we want
something - wake US up bit, this - trench
work is getting monot)nous. 'Pon my
word l haven't heard a joke or good story
| for the last week"
Right yo1 are" said Byng, gravely.
The whole thing is getting slow, deuced
| slow. If it wasn't FOR Mickey Finn I'd have
| forge: ten how to laugh"
And who's Mickey Finn" inquired
Lockwo
"a distinguished ornament of my COM
pany," said ByDg, with a very poor opn-
| ion Of those WHO guide and direct him. We
were down in the trenches the other night,
| and amongst the mon was young recruit
| only just out from England Whether the
| poor fellow was a little fustered, it being
his first time under fire, or whether, as he
| said, he had strayed little from his party
and lost his way, l don't know, but Mr.
| Finn took it into his sagacious head that
the boy was trying to desert. Well, he got
| hold Of a young non-commissioned officer
| and they made the boy a prisoner. And
| then came the formulating a charge against
| him, They could not bring him up for de-
sorting, because he obviously had not de-
| serted they had only caught him strayiug
him before tie colonel with attempting to
enter Sebastopol without leave The chief
| burst out laughing when he heard the
| charge, and exclaimed:
why, confound it, that's what we've
all been doing ever since we came here"
"And what did Mr.. Finn say?n inquired
| Lockwood.
20, he was heard discoursing to his COM
rades the whole afternoon on the subject,
| saving:
Its without lave, mind you, makes the
| difference He is evidently firmly imbued
that, IF they'd only permission he aud a
few Of his pals would be inside Sebastopol
| In no time"
II know the sort" said the hussar.
there's no end to that fellows jaw, but
! he'll fight as long as hem jaw and ask for
no better diversion. But you're wrong
! about the siege. you fellows that half live
| in the trenches can't see it, but to men like
myself VINO only have a look round occa-
| sionally, it's palpable how close we're creep
ing in. 1t cannot he long now, at all events,
before you have shy at the town"
Lockwood w right in his prognostica-
| ton, but what he did not dream of was that
the desperate assault, when delivered,
should result in failure, and that in less than
| three hours both French and English would
| have been driven back, and nothing left
them but to bury their dead-nearly three
months more destined to elapse before the
| famous siege was brought TO an end
However, the dinner came to an end, the
bill was paid, and horses and ponies called
for, and then swinging themselves into the
saddle the majority Of the party rode off in
the bright moonlight across the plateau
to their respective lines. Before reaching
their own camp, Byng and Hugh Flem-
ing had bid good night to their companions.
Hugh's servant rose from a seat outside his
| v,,ootari- Tor thau nd bo
took the pony from him, said:
The mails in from England, sir. I've
put your letters in your tent"
GOOD night said Byng, as he also dis
| mounted, and STROBE away to his own DWELL
ing, envying Hugh the letter he kne he
would surely find awaiting him, and feeling
utterly Indifferent toward his own CORES
pondence. Yet he was fond of his own peo-
pie too, but he had no need to feel anxious
about them; and like most men in those
days, hardly realized the uneasiness and
| nervous solicitude of the women at home
mothers and sisters filed wi tn considerably
more anxiety for SONS and brothers than
they deserved.
There were three letters on the table, the
| representations of two of which were quite
familiar to him; but the third was in an un>
known hand, and that Enthusiastically a
! feminine one. Tom gazed at it Curiously,
| with an indistinct idea that he had seen the
| hand before, although he could not recog-
nize it. He opened it, and then sat down on
his bed to read it by the light of his solitary
candle.
Dear Capt Byng," it ran, I'VE are
dreadfully concerned to see by the papers
that you are dangerously wounded. 1t is
terrible TO think that those we have known
and'-here the word loved" had been
palpably erased-"aud liked should be in
such constant peril. You can't think how l
feel for poor Nellie Lynden-it must be so
awful for to think that her lover is in the
midst of all these dreadful scenes. | am
sure sne must shudder every time she opens
a paper for fear of coming across Hugh
Fleming's name in it. c'Humm muttered
Byng. savagely. considering the pleasant
things she mas said about Hugh and the rest
of US, | suppose she's disappointed to find
that we're Ia the thick OF 1t at last).n
II am staying with her now, and she
bears up beautifully. And now, dear Capt.
Byng you must find time to write me a
hne about yourself. | only know what the
papers tell me, and that is that you are
dangerously hurt, and that's quite bad
enough news for your friends and relations
for all those who really care for you. We
shall all be so very anxious to hear how
you are going on. | shall never believe
that you are in fair way to recovery till
get line from yourself. Let it be ever
such a scrap. shall feel miserable, that is
mamma and l will feel miserable, until we
learn from your own hand that you are
getting we'll again. With much love and
sympathy from us BOTH and hoping to hear