The record-union., 1899-05-07

and went to the Sergeant at the bar.
Gimme boil whisky
:" I wouldn't have any more. Polglaze.
eff I was you
Gimme boil whisky he repeated
Fed better get to quarters. Take
n home, Male
Come along, Polglaze' said Color
Sergeant Male. .Ee've had 'nough t.
get into zee tongue Already. Before
long ETH work into zee laigs, maybe, in
time, into zee thick head
"Polglaze knew nothing of what he
was doing. His eyes glared, his chest
heaved, his mouth foamed. He caught
Male around the waist and threw him
clean out of the window. He snatched
up pint pot and threw it at the Cam
teen Sergeant, who duclxed behind the
bar. The pot knocked down row OF
bottles, which smashed and clashed on
the floor. Then began a slaughter grim
and great. Pennack, Blunt, Trewhel' "a
and Williams, who were all Sergeants:
my father, Sergeant Major Harding,
the Bloke,' Penhall, the .Quaker-Bloke,'
saw what was up. The others looked
at my father for orders. He gave a
glance around to see if they were ready
had terrified every Sergeant, and most
of the officers, too, in their subaltern
days, he shouted:
'Now!
One and All they jumped at Pol
glaze My father was as usual, hit
tie to the front. The twenty-five stun
ner caught him and flung him through
the door, not hurting him much, but
damaging the door a good deal. Fen
mack was flung after Male through the
window. Then the others rushed all
ait once, and Blunt, Trewhella Williams,
| Penhall, the Quarter Bloke and Pol
glaze himself were all in one great heap
on the floor, fighting, struggling, punch
! ing, kicking, almost biting. Then Pol
! glaze shook himself free Blunt lay still
on the ground, stunned, having hit his
| head against something or something
| having hit his head Trewhella Will
Jams and Penhall gathered themselves
together in a semicircle ready for an
other rush. Polglaze got his back to
| the counter ready for them. The Can
| teen Sergeant slowly rose up from be-
hind the counter with the pot which
Polglaze had flung at him in his hand.
| He raised it UP to strike at the back
of the madman's head, but the latter
heard the buttons of the serge catch
against the counter. and, turning
! quickly, caught the Canteen Sergeant
well on the point of the jaw and sent
him down as sharp as rockies piled
arms. Then Trewhella, Williams and
Penhall sprang at him, and they all
| four rolled around on the floor lock-
ed in each others arms. They fell
apart again, breathing hard and get
| ting UP their strength for another
struggle. The crash came once more.
| Polglaze, getting his great arms around
| the three of them, flung them clean out
of the window onto the gravel below.
Then he turned his attention to the
Canteen Sergeant, who lay like a log.
He dragged the senseless body from
behind the bar, and said to it, Fed
smash t back of my head in with a
pot, would zee? I'm a-goin' t smash
your face in wit n
He deliberately fetched the pot from
the floor of the bar, where it had fallen,
lifted the body On to the billiard table,
drew up a chair and sat down, lingering
the pewter pot lovingly. Then he heard
a noise at the door hind him. With
cut turning round, he said: Go home;
| III smash t skull of any man t comes
| in here
Suddenly he felt the pot jerked vio-
lently out of his hands. He turned
round and looked up. 1t was Kitty, the
Canteen Sergeant's daughter, a girl
about as understood as Polglaze was
diversified. She was a little, fair thing,
with a sharp nose and chin and with
| thin lips.
Go home, ded zee say. Sergeant
Polglaze?' said she. ZEE ought t be