Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-06-12

recovering ms senses to q certain eX-
tent, gave the command Guide left |
in abundant time to see that the new |
guides We're accurately in trace, there |
by insuring what he expected to find a
beautiful wheel into line to the left, |
the commands for which movement he |
gave in louder and more confident |
tone, but was instantly nonplussed by
seeing the battery wheel into line to
the right and move off in exactly the
opposite direction from what he had
expected. This was altogether too
much for his equanimity. Digging his
spurs into the TANKS of the astonished
sorrel, he darted off after Cram, waving
his sword, and shouting:
Left into line wheel, captain. Left
into line Wheel
In vain Mr.. Pierce undertook to ex-
plain matters. Minor presumed that
the artilleryman had made an actual
blundcr and was only enabled to cor
rect it by cOuntermarch, and so rode
back to his position in front of the CEN
ter of the reforming line, convinced
that at last he had caught'the battery
commander.
When BraNtOn, therefore, came
down to make his criticisms and COM
ments upon the conduct of the review.
Minor was simply amazed to find that
instead of being in error Cram had
gone exactly right and as prescribed
by his drill regulations in wheeling to
the right and gaining ground to the
rear before coming up on the line. He
almost peevishly declared that he
wished the colonel, if he proposed
having combined review, would as
4 L
care to be bothered with combination
tactics of which he had never had
previous knowledge. Being of the
same opinion, Braxton himself took
hold, and the next performance,
though somewhat erroneous in many
respects, was a slight improvement on
the first, though Braxton did not give
time for the battery to complete one
movement before he would rush it in
to another. When the officers assem-
bled to compare notes during the rest
after the second repetition, Minor
growlcd that this was "a little better,
yet not good" which led to some one
suggesting in low tone that the major
got his positives and comparatives
worse mixed than his tactics, and in
quiring further whether it might not
be we'll to dub him Minor Major"
The laughter that followed this sally
naturally reached the ears of the
seniors, and so BraX never let up on
the command until the review won't
off without an error of any apprecia-
BILE weight, without, in fact, "a hitch
in the fut or an unhitch in the harse,"
as Doyle expressed it. 1t was high
noon when the battalion got back to
barracks and the officers hung out
their moist clothing to dry in the sun.
1t was near one when the batterymen,
officers and all, came steaming up
from the stables, and there was the
colonefs orderly with the co1onels
| compliments and desires to see Capt.
Cram before the big batteryman had
time to change his dress.
BraXton's first performance on get
| ting into cool habiliments was to
go over to his office and hunt through
| the book shelves for a volume in
| which he never before had felt the
faintest intcrest-the Light Artillery
| Tactics of 1864. There on his desk lay
a stack of mail unopened, and Mr..
Drake was already silently inditing
the summary note to the culprit War
| ing. BraX wanted first to see with his
own eyes the instructions for light ar
tillery when reviewed with other
troops, vaguely hoping that there might
still be some point on which to catch
his foeman on the hip. But if there
were he did not find it. He was tao
tician enough to see that even If Cram
had formed with his leading drivers on
line with the infantry, as Braxton
thought he should have done, neither
1 - Is -
battery would then have got his guns
where they belonged. Grams interpre-
tation of the text was backed by the
custom of service, and there was no use
citicising it further. And so, after dis
contentedly hunting through the dust
covered pages awhile in hopes of stun
bling on some codicil or rebuttal, the
colonel shut it with a Disguised snap
and tossed the offending tome on the
farthest table. At that moment BraS
could have wished the board of officers
who prepared the Light Artillery Tao
tics in the nethermost depths of the
neighboring swamp. Then he turned
on his silent staff officer-a not unusual
expedient.
"Why on earth, Mr.. Drake, didn't you
look up that point, instead of making
| Sucn Dreak De1Ore Jne WnO1e COIN
: mand?"
81 couldn't find anything about it il
Casey, sir, anywhere" replied the per
turbed young man. 81 didn't know
where else to look"
"Well, you might have asked Mr.
) Ferry or Mr.. Pierce. The Lord know
} you waste enough time with EN-"
''You might have asked Capt Cram,
was what Drake wanted to say, bu
wisely did not. He bit the end of hi
penholder instead, and bridled hi
tongue and temper.
5 1.-THE next time 1 have a review witt
a mounted battery, by George?' SAT-
the post commander, finally, bringing
, his fist down on the table with crash
; 81 just-won't have it!'
He had brought down the pile of let
tiers as we'll as his fist, and Dralz
sprang to gather them, replacing Their
on the desk and deXterously slipping
paper cutter under the flap of each er
velope as he did SO. At the very frs
Io PYov fhraxv hiT,1ca1