Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-12-13

M~%NT swear at it, and so keep
MI on even terms with his
chief He bottled his wrath, as he did
the colonel's commentaries, and kept
them both for future emergencies. A
relic of the Wanted old dragon days
was the colonel; one of the fast vanish
ing lot of hard-riding, hard-fghting,
and sometimes hard-swearing cam
paigners who had learned their trade
under masters of the art long years be-
fore the war. He had crossed the Llano
Estacado and camped on the Mimbres
and chased the Navajoes when Nava-
joes were monarchs of the southwest
crn plains. were bellicose not bucolic,
raised sheol instead of sheep-a state
ment otherwise expressed by Kit Car
son. 4 keen scout and keener Judge
of aboriginal nature, who said that
when they were not raising hell or ha'r
in equal proportions the Navajoes were
either dead or asleep. We were having
campaigns ten times more thrilling in
point Of incident ten time fiercer in
point Of fighting and casualties, ten
times tougher in point of hardship and
privati on-and the food we lived on
than those of the Navajo days, to be
s,lrc, hut the colonel would have it the
service waSn't to be mentioned along
side that to which he had been ac-
customed when they secuted with
Kearney or Fauntleroy and rode races
with the Mounted Rifles at Albuquerque
and Santa Fc They made cavalry
men in those days" said he. Then
with gloomy reference to the losses of
the summer just gone by: Now they
only kill EN-, and this set of summers
they are sending out to recruit us is
only fit to be killed. anyhow. Why
the devil did you send me such a
wooden-headed idiot for an orderly on
this day of all others?" he demanded
of his staff officer. why. he couldn't
speak English
Now, when the colonel began to ask
questions and invite explanations we
all knew that he had, measurably at
least, blown off his wrath; was begin
ming to regret anything sharp he had
said; was penitent, and wanted to be
Modified and forgiven and taken into
good fellowship again. Nobody knew
this better than the adjutant, or pre-
sumed on it more. At this stage of the
proceedings Bob became downright inn
pudent. But his brown eyes twinkled
with fun as he stood facing the colonel
and waiting for an opportunity to
speak.
No, sir; he couldn't speak a word of
English" repeated the colonel
"We-ell," said Bob, refectively, sit
wasn't civil service examination was
running. He was the cleanest man on
guard, and your orders are"
Then send me the dirtiest so long as
we are in the field, burst in the colonel,
impetuously. "What l want in an
orderly is just what don't want in an
adjutant-a man who can repeat what
say and not think"
We'll, anybody ought to be able to
do that. sir" began the adjutant, with
witch under the heavy thatch of his
moustache.
Wait till ! get through, young
man, interrupted the colonel again,
impressively; then you may be as
harmless as you know how. What I
need in an adjutant is one who can
think and not say anything except |
when tell him to. Now, you sent me
a Dutch doll thatcouldn't even squawk |
In English. He called me names in |
some foreign lingo"
Well, you wouldn't want him to do
II in English, would you, colonel"
Wouldn't? didn't-d-n it! where |
are yourw this morning, Gray? He
he-what was it he called me, Fallon?"
Sounded like O-burst; was all I
heard SIR" said the quartermaster,
uneomfortably. but Sergt. Stein says
that's only the double Dutch for
colonel"
Mr.. Gray's eyes were dancing now.
never saw the man before in my
lie, colonel" said he. HE came with
mat big batch of recruits the other
DAY Manning's first sergeant marched
MIN on. He looked spick-span neat
ana clean and intellectually long odds
the trimmest and most soldier-like fell
low on guard"
Not excepting the officer of the day
ahd adjutant, | suppose" interposed
VIC cuiOneL
No exceptions whatever. sir. In
ueed, not excepting any man in the
whole command, from the colonel up
mean down. You were saying yes
1rday that the only way to tell real
eAvalrymen from recruits was that we
looked like jayhawkers and they like
se"-store dummies Still, thought
sne SIGHT Of a man clean shaved, with
buttons and buckles polished, W. Id
please your eyes after all this cam
palgn's mud, so sent him OF course,
ne could only call you names in
dutch I'm sorry, and viii see that
JOY re properly looked after next time"
But even ''Old Tintop" began to see
.ss fun under the sedate gravity of the
eeilutant's words
tonfound you for young rascal