The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-10-21
y He had SIMPLY been started all

a day. He had simply been started ali
wrong.
But even before Barclays books were
unpacled the new captain had found
means to interest the young fellow in
professional topics that Lawrence had
never seemed to mention. Barclay had
evidently been taking counsel with pro-
gressive soldiers before joining his new
regiment, had been reading books of
their choosing and, among others, was
o valuable treatise on the proper method
of biting horses, and he found that here
was matter that Lawrence and Bray
ton had never thought of and that Bray
ton said was never taught them at the
Point, which was strictly true.
To the amaze and unspeakable indig-
nation of Denny Sullivan, who was
soon to be overhauled on graver points,
the doughboy had taken his lieutenant
from horse TO horse in the troop as they
stood at rest during drill and shown
him at least 20 bits out of the 45 in
line that were no fit at all. He showed
him some that were too broad from bar
to bar and that slid to and fro in the
tortured creatures mouth; others that
hung too low, almost 'sfell through
others whose curb chain or strap, in
stead of fitting in the groove, bore saw
agely Oh the delicate bones above it and
tormented the luckless charger every
time his rider drew rein. Barclay gave
the boy his own carefully studied hand
book. Not another cavalry officer then
at Worth had read it, though several
had heard of it. The youngster was set
to work fitting new bits by measure
ment to the mouth of every horse in the
troop.
Then Barclay drew him into the dis
cussion of the cavalry system of sad
ding as then prescribed-the heavy
tree set away forward close to the
withers-and Brayton could only say
that 'that was tactics and the way
they'd always done it.. But Galahad
pointed out that the tactics then in use
We're written Of foreign dragon sad
die with a long fiat bearing surface 1t
was all very we'll for that to be set as
far forward as it would CO. because
even then the center of gravity of the
rider would be we'll back on the horse.
But, !" said he, ''you take this short
Mcclellan tree, place that away for
ward, and then set {. man in it. His
center of gravity will rest in front of
the center of motion of the horse-will
throw the weight on the forehead and
use up his knees and shoulders in no
time. !" This, too set Brayton to study.
ing and thinking, while Mullane and
Fellows declared Sir Galahad crank,
and even Brooks and Blythe, welded
to tradition, thought him visionary.
Then when the books came Galahad
unpacked, and just where the poker ia
BILE used to stand it stood now, but it
was covered with beautiful maps of
Alsace and Lorraine, and Galahad' 8
| desk with pamphlets sent him from
| abroad, the earliest histories of the
memorable campaign about Metz and
| Sedan.
The next thing Braayton knew he was
as deeply interested Us his captain, and,
10, other men came to look and wonder
and go off shaking their heads-those
of them who We're of the Mullane per-
suasion sncering at those "book gen.
erals, - while others, like Blythe, pulled
up a chair as invited and followed the
Junior captain through his modest ex-
PLANTATION with appreciative eyes. Those
We're days when there was all too little
time for study and improvement, thanks
to the almost incessant Indian scouting
required, but here was Worth, big
post and here was four troop battal-
ion with a gentleman and not a bad
soldier at its head, and it had not oc-
CURED to him to teach them anything
or to require of them anything beyond
the usual attention to stables, troop
drill, and an occasional parade. If his
men were reasonably ready to take the
field in pursuit of Kiowa, Comanche or
horse thief, and to furnish escort for
ambulance and train when the disburs-
ing officers went to and fro, that was
all that could be expected of him or
them in those halcyon days. And now
"this blasted doughboy substitute" had
come down here and was proposing to
stir them all up, make them all out $50
many ignoramuses, said Mullane.
Bedad, the thing is revolutionary"
And that was enough to damn it, for
revolution is thing no Irishman will
tolerate, when he doesn't happen to be
in it himself.
Still another thing had occurred to
make Barclay something apart from the
bachelors No sooner had his modest xii
of household goods arrived than the un
used kitchen Of Brayton's quarters wa!
fitted up; Hannibal was ensconce6
therein. A neat little dining room wa
made of what had been designed for {
small bedchamber on the ground floor
and Barclay amazed the mess by setting
forth champagne the last evening hi
dined there as member, and then re
tired to the privacy of his own estab
lishment. as he had at Sanders.
The Wins housemaid had of cours
dropped in to see how Hannibal wa
getting along and dropped out to tel
her discoveries, which were few. Thel
Brayton found the mess saying thing
,i>o,,& poroIox, 1,o could not oevroo 1,