The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-07-05

escape to the enemy and stay there fo,
safety,s sake. If they can be made to
come again, they are not pleasant men
to meet, because they Will not break
twice.
A powerfully prayerful highland
regiment, ohicered by rank Presbyte-
rians, is perhaps one degree more terri
Bile in action than hard bitten thou
sand of irresponsible Irish ruf6ans led
by most improper young unbelievers.
Which homily brings me directly to
a brace of the most finished little fends
that ever banged drum or tootled fife
in Che band Of a British regiment.
They ended their sinful career by open
and fragrant mutiny, and were shot
for it. Their names were Iakln and
Lew-Piggy Lew-and they were bold,
bad drummer boys, both of them fre-
quently birched by the drum major OF
the Fore and Aft.
Jak;n was stunted child Of Il, and
Lew was about the same age. When
not looked after, they smoked and
drank. They swore habituany after the
manner of the barrack room, which is
cold swearing and comes from between
clinched teeth, and they fought reli-
giously once a week. Jakin had sprung
from some London gutter and may or
may not have passed through DR.. Bar
nado's hands ere he arrived at the dig
nifty of drummer boy. Lew could re-
member nothing except the regiment
and the delight of listening to the band
from his earliest years. He hid some
where in his grimy little soul genuine
love for music and was most mistaken
" furnished with the head of a cherub,
insomuch that beautiful ladies who
watched the regiment in church were
won't to speak of him as darling.
They never heard his vitriolic COM
ments on their manners and morals as
he walked back to barracks with the
band and matured fresh causes of Of
fense against Jakin.
The other drummer boys hated both
lads on account Of their illogical con-
duct. Jakin might be pounding Lew
or Lew might be rubbing Jakin's head
in the dirt, but any attempt at aggres-
sion on the part of an outsider was met
by the combined forces Of Lew and
Jakin. and the consequences were pain
full. The boys were the Ishmaels Of the
corps, but wealthy Ishmaels. for they
sold battles in alternate weeks for the
sport of the barracks when they We're
not pitted against other boys, and thus
they amassed money.
On this particular day there was dis
sension in the camp. They had just
been convicted afresh Of smoking, which
is bad for little boys who use plug to-
bacco, and Lewis contention was that
Jakin had 4sstunk SO 'orrid bad from
keepin the pipe in pocket" that ne and
he alone was responsible for the birch
ing they were both tingling under.
.sI tell you I id the pipe back O. bar
ricks," said Jakin pacifcally.
'sYou're bloomin liar!' said Lew
without heat.
'sYou're bloomin little barstard"
said Jakin, strong in the knowledge
that his own ancestry was unknown.
Now there is one word in the extend
ed vocabulary of barrack room abuse
that cannot pass without comment.
You may call a man a thief and risk
nothing Ycu may even call him a
coward without finding more than a
boot whiz past your ear, but you must
not call man bastard unless you are
prepared to prove it on his front teeth.
''You might ha' KEEP that till I
WASH so sore, % said Lew sorrowfully.
lodging round Jakin's guard.
s'I'Il make you sorer, said Jakin
genially and got home On Lew's ala
baster forehead. All would have gone
well, and this story, as the books say,
would never have been written, had not
his evil fate prompted the bazaar SER
geant's son, long, employees man of
Ave and twenty, to put in an appear
ance after the first round he was eter-
nally in need Of money and knew that
the boys had silver.
Fighting again." said he. ''I'll re-
port you to my father, and he'll report
you to tho color sergeant
"What's that to your said Jakin
with an unpleasant dilation of the nos
nils.
'.Oh. nothing to me. You'll get into
trouble, and you've been up too often to
afford that
'.What the hell do you know about
what we've done?" asked Lew the
Seraph. .'You aren't in the army, you
lousy, cadgin civilian.
He closed in on the mans left flank.
"Jes' cause you find two gentlemen
settlin their diff 'rences with their istes
you stick in your ugly nose where you
aren't wanted. Run 'ome to your 'arf
caste slut of ma-or We'll give you
what for, said Jakin.
The man attempted reprisals by
knocking the boys heads together. The
scheme would nave succeeded had not
Jakin punched him vehemently in the
stomach, or had Lew refrained from