Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-06-12
WARNINGS PERIL.
By Capt. Chas. King, of the U. S. Army
Copyright by Lippincott.

7nucn OF q urlll- OF LaCIlCldIS Oul
he thought he was, and it delighted
lin to put his battalion through the
.orm of review, the commands for
vhich he had mcmorized thoroughly
and delivered with resonant voice and
With all proper emphasis. What he
id not fancy, and indeed could not do,
vas the drudge-worl of teaching the
,ninutie of the school of the battalion,
explaining each movement before un-
.icrtaking it's execution. This was a
matter he delegated to one of his
| senior captains. For a week, there
fore, in preparation for a possible visit
on the part of the new brigadicr gen
| cral or his inspector, the six companies
| of the regiment stationed at the post
| had been fairly we'll schooled in the
| ceremonies of review and parade, and
| so long as nothing more was required
| of them than n march past in quick
| time and ten minutes stand in line
| all might go well. The general had
| unexpectedly appeared one evening
with only q single aide-de-camp, sim
| ply, as he explained, to return the calls
| of the officers of the garrison, six or
| eight of whom had known enough to
| present themselves and pay their re.
| spects in person when he arrived in
| town. lSra&JOn SWcllSu WITH BEdIlueu
/ pride at the generals praise of the
| spick-span condition of the parade, the
| walks, roads and visible quarters.
| But it was the very first old-time gar
| rison the new chief had ever seen,
| splendid fighting record with the vol
unteers during the war, and the ad
vantage of taking sides for the union
from a doubtful state, having con-
| tO win him, n in the raOular
service only year or two before.
eve would have had out the battery
and given you salute, SIR" said BraX,
had we known you were coming; but
it's after retreat now. Next time, gen
eral, if you'll ride down some day, I'll
be proud to give you review of the
whole command. We have u great big
field back hero"
And the general had promised to come.
This necessitatcd combined prepare
ton, hence the order for full dress re-
hearsal with battery and all, and then
came confusion. Fresh from the COM
mand of his beautiful horse battery and
the dashing service with a cavalry di-
vision, Cram hated the idea of limping
along, as he expressed it, behind a
battalion of foot, and said so, and
somebody told Brax he had said so,-
more than one somebody. probably,
for Brax had many an adviser to keep
/ him in trouble The order that Cram
should appear for instruction in review
of infantry and artillery combined
| gave umbrage to the battery COM
mander, and his reported remarks
thereupon, renewed cause for displeas-
ure to his garrison chief
$50 far as we're concerned" said
Cram, who wanted to utilize the good
weather for battery drill, 1--WE need no
! instruction, as we have done the trick
} time and again before; and if we
= hadn't, who in the bloody Fifty-frst
9 is there to teach us? Certainly not old
BraX."
All the same the order was obeyed
and Cram started out that loveliest Of
lovely spring mornings not entirely in
nocent of the conviction that he anC
his fellows were going to have some
fun out of the thing before they go
through with it. Not that he purposet
putting any hitch or impeachment IL
the way. He meant to do just exact1,
as he was bid; and so, when adjutant'
call had sounded and the blue lines o
the infantry were we'll out on the field
he followed in glittering column o
pieces, his satin-coated horses dancing
in sheer exuberance Of spirits and hi
red-crested capnoneers sitting witt
folded arms, erect and statuesque
n upon the ammunition-chests. Mrs
Cram, in her pretty basket phaeton
with Mrs. Lawrence, of the infantry an
q several of the ladies of the garrison 4
l. ambulances or afoot, had taken static
Il we'll to the front of the forming line
Then it became apparent that oil
n Brax purposed to figure as the review
ing officer and had delegated Ma
Minor to command the troops. Nov
Minor had been on mastering and dir
bursting duty most of the war, ha
never figured in a review wit
IN artillery before, and knew no NOR
about battery tactics than Cram di
of diplomacy. Mounted on a sedat
old sorrel, borrowed from the quartz;
master for the occasion, with a
antiquated, brass-bound Jenifer saddle
- minus breast-strap and housings {
any kind, but equipped with his bette
ha1f's brown leather bride, Minc
knew perfectly well he was only gu,
lie and felt indignant at Brax for putin
-. him in so false n plight. He took h
station, however, In front of til
regimental colors, without stopping
. think where the center OF the 1lr
might be after the battery came, an
there awaited further development
Cram kept nobody waiting, howeve
or his leading team was close at tt
70 nimb1e heels of Capt. Lawrence's cor
pany as 1t marched gay1y forth to IL
music of the band. He formed sectiol
Is at the trot the instant the ground W,
:. clear, then wheeled into line, pass
. we'll to the rear of the prolongation
the infantry rank, and by beautif
countermarch came up to the fro
IS: and halted exactly at the instant tn
Lawrence, with the left flank Col
pany, reached his post, each caiss'
. accurately in trace of its piece, ca
team and carriage exactly at
proper interval, and, with his crims'
silk guidon on the right flank a,
little Pierce signaling 'up" or "bac
from point outside where he cou
| verify. the hlignment of the on