The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-03-09
HIS PRIVATE HONOR.
BY Rudyord Kiplins.
Copyright, 1891. by the Authors Alliance. All
rights reserved

IN low voice.
"Hey. whay? What! Ortheris"-the
voice dropped. I saw Ortheris salute,
say something and stand at attention
''Dismiss," said Brander, CURLY. The
men were dismissed. II can't make
this out. You say"-he nodded at GU
less, who said something again. Orther-
is stood still, the torn flap of his tunic
falling nearly to his waist-belt he had,
as Brander said, a good pair of Shout
ders, and prided himself on the fit of his
tunic
beg v pardon, SIR" I heard him
say, "but think Lieut.. Ouless has been
in the sun too long. He don't quite re-
member things, sir. come on p'rade
with bit of rip, and it spread, sir,
through porting arms, as / have said,
sir"
Brandcr looked from one face to the
other, and suppose drew his own con-
illusions, for he told Oruheris to go with
the other men who were hocking back
to barracks. Then he spoke to Ouless
and went away, leaving the boy in the
middle of the parade-ground fumbling
with his sword-knot.
He looked up, saw me lying on the
gun, and came to me biting the back of
his gloved forefnger, so completely
thrown off his balance that he had not
sense enough to keep his trouble to him
self.
81 say, you saw that, suppose?" He
jerked his head back to the square
where the dust left by the departing
men was settling down in white cir
cles.
81 did," answered, for 1 was not
feeling polite.
what tbs devil ought to do?" lie
bit his luger again. 81 told Brander
what had done. hit him."
Elm perfectly aware of that" said,
sand don't suppose Ortheris has for
gotten it already"
''Ye-cs; but I'm dashed if I know
what l ought to do. Exchange into an
other company, suppose. l can't ask
the man to exchange, suppose. Hey?"
The suggestion showed the glimmcr-
ings of proper sense, but he should not
have come to me or anyone else for help.
1t was his own affair, and told him so.
He seemed unconvinced and began to
talk of the possibilities of being cash
Tered. AT this point the spirit moved
me, on behalf of the unavenged Orther-
is, to paint him a beautiful word-picture
of his insignifcance in the scheme of
Icreation. He had papa and mamma
seven thousand miles away, and per-
Ihaps some friends They would feel
his disgrace, but no one else would care
one penny. He would be only Lieut..
IOuless of the old regiment dismissed the
lqueen's service for conduct unbecoming
an officer and gentleman. The COM
mander in chief who would confirm the
jorders of the court martial would not
know who he was; his mess would not
speak.of him, he would return to Bombay
If he had money enough to go home, more
alone than when he had come out.
FINALLY rounded the sketch with pre-
icision-he was only one tiny dab of red
In the vast gray field of the Indian en-
,plre. lie must work this crisis out
lalone, and no one could help him and no
one cared lthis was untrue because I
cared immensely, he had spoken the
truth to Brander on the spot) whether
he pulled through it or did not pull
through it. At last his face set and his
figure stiffeued.
Thanks, that's quite enough don't
want to hear any more" he said, in a
dry, grating voice, and went to his own
quarters.
Brander spoke to me afterwards and
asked me some absurd questions rs to
whether had seen Ouless cut the coat
off Ortheris' back. knew that Jagged
silver of silver would do its work we'll,
but contrived to impress on Brander
the completeness, the wonderful COM
Epleteness, of my disassociation from
that drill. / began to tell him all about
my dreams for the new territorial army
in India, and he left me.
l could not see Ortheris for some
days, but was told that when he re-
turned to his fellows he had told the
story of the blow in vivid language
Samuelson, the Jew, then asserted that
1T was not good enough to live in a regi-
iment where you were drilled off your
feet and knocked about like dog The
remark was perfectly innocent one,
and exactly Tailed with Ortheris' ex-
pressed opinions Yet Ortheris had
called Samuelson an uncomfortable
jew, had accused him of kicking wonl-
EN- on the head in London and howl
ing under the cat, had hustled him, rs q
ibantam hustles a barn-door cock, from
one end OF the barracll-room to the 9TH
Ter and finally had heaved every single
article in SGmuelson's valise and bed
ding roll into the veranda and the out
dirt, kicking Samuelson every time that
the bewildered creature stopped to pick
anything up. My informant could not
account for this inconsistency, but il
seemed to me that Ortheris was work.
ing off his temper.
Mulvaney had heard the story in hos
AL