Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-04
! few ia foot soIdiers who saw FL 10

Eons to the new order as they trudged
homeV-ard under the windows of the
| officer quarters on the south side.
Others still, trusting TO darkness and
theory that al officers should be abed
st that hour, proceeded to wear parallel
path, and these two transgressions be
ing ocs asionally repeated and the officer
! OF the day having twice come upon the
transgTessors without having captured
one Of their number, for the dough
boys were feet of foot, a second order
was issued, requiring all enlisted men
| returning TO the post between tattoo and
| reveille to enter their barracks from the
rear, and not 70 cross the quadrangle
bounded by the fence. There was a road
all around IN the rear OF the barracks
and quarters, bat in the wet spring
weather 1t was often deep with mud and
generally dark as Erebus- What Won
der, therefore, that many parties stin
managed TO slip in, not exactly in def
ance OF the order, but because the enlist
ed men had a fine appreciation OF that
principle OF international law which pro
yides ii at mere paper blockade is not
entitled 10 respect: Then it was that
the "old man. as the soldiers called the
colonel, ordered out his blockaders An
extra senunel's post was established.
sentry was ordered stationed at the
southwest gate from tattoo until reyeiIls,
and as all the cavalry were barracked
on the west side near their stables. and
| as the infantry were manifestly the Of
Tenders so argued the colopel), the three
| addition al sentres required were ordered
taken from among their number.
This order made guard duty a trihe
| harder and the infantrymen a trife
madder Odt of sheer mischief sone. of
them took to passing up the road be
tween the guard house and the traders,
entering the northwest gate and stalking
across the parade in stealthy column of
files from that direction, facetiously dec
Grating their trail with empty beer bot
ties, whisky TASKS or sardine boxes. over
which the police sergeant spent some
time and blasphemy after reveille next
morning. Then the colonel ordered the
northwest gate locked at tattoo, and the
laughing rascals climbed the fence. He
would not order oct more sertries. bat
he gave the officer of the day directions
to have g patrol in readiness at the flag
staff between / and ! that Right, and
then some fine foot racing resulted, in
which the patrol came out second best.
The colonel ordered the five infantry
men who happened 70 be on pass arrested
and brought 10 trial before a garrison
court, and the court promptly acquitted
every MN. II was established that they
had all obediently gone around the gar
rison; they had even taken the trouble
TO call the attention of the sentry on No.
4 10 that fact; and then il dawnei upon
the commanding officer that some of
those infantry scamps were, as they
would have expressed it, putting up
job" at his expense, and that half a
dozen of the feetest footed among them
were Just for a lark slipping out OF quar-
| ters after II O'Clock and around to the
northwest gate, vaulting the fence with
the agility OF monkeys, and then play
ing the old game Of Tom, Tom, pull
away tn his patrol They had not
had 50 nach fun in year.
Col. Norris had sense enough to know
that if he lost his temper and got to
clustering the men would regard ii as a
victory. He issued no new orders. Sus-
picion ha1 fallen on a squad Of rollick-
ing young Irishmen in Company F, all
Of whom were mem bers of the battalion
baseball nine. a match game was to
come eff two days later with the club
from Forg Lawrence, and local interest
and bets-were running high Alasi
when the morning of the eventful day
came around, four OF the fieetest base
runners n the Rifle nine lanCuished in
the guard house, arrested at reveilie by
order OF their own captain for absence
from quarters at midnight. The colo
mel had simply let them get out, then
ordered check roll call, with doors barred,
and they stood self exiled. Fancy the
Consideration among the lovers of the
national game! Even the cavalry had
backed the local nine against that from
Lawrence, and well knew that if substi-
tutes had to be put in there was no
earthly chance of their winning
manifestly, said the battalion, there's
no man but Corp. Brent to get us out of
the scrape He was captain and short
stop of the nine, and ON him they rallied
forthwith. Give me your word, men,
that there 5 to be no more OF this monkey
business, and I'll go to the colonel my
self. Refuse, and the game goes to Fort
Lawrence, nine to nothing, for we can't
play without Lynch and Cooney on the
bases" II was case of unconditional
surrender
The colonel had kindly received the
young corporal, had listened to the tale
of woe, and sat silently bordering mo-
ment. Then he looked up. You say
the game must so against you without
these four men, he asked.
Eyes, sir. Indeed | would not play
without them. We would far better let
the game 20 by default than have the
record published, as it assuredly would
be, III the army as well as the local pa
pers, with all the errors scored against
Us. This nine of ours has not been beaten
by any team in the department as yet,
and it would be an unearned victory for
Fort Lawrence