Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-06-29
The DRUMS OF The
FORE and AFT.
BY RUDYARD KIPLING.

The men strolled across the tracks 10
inspect the Afghan prisoners. They
were unlike any ringers" that the
Fore and Aft had ever met-these huge.
black haired, scowling sons OF the Bnei-
Israel As the men stared the Afghans
spat freely and muttered one 70 another.
with lowered eyes.
"My eyesl Wot awful swinel" said
Jakin, who was in the rear of the pro-
cession. Say, old man, how you got
puckrowed, ehf Kiswasti, you wasn't
hanged for your ugly face, heyH"
The tallest of the company turned,
his leg irons clanking at the movement.
and stared at the boy. "Seer' he criel.
to his fellows in Pushto. "They send
children against us. What a people and
what foolsl'
"HysP' said Jakin, nodding his head
cheerily. you go down country. Khana
get, peenikapanee get-live like a
bloomin raja Ike marfk. That a bet
ter b%andobust than baynit get it in
your innards. Gcodby, ole man. Take
care O. your beautiful fgure'ed an try
to look kushy."
The men laughed and fell in for their
first march, when they began to realize
that a soldier life was not all beer and
skittles- They were much impressed
with the size and bestial f%erocity of the
niggers whom they had now learned to
call "Paythans, and more with the
exceeding discomfort Of their own sur
roundings Twenty old soldiers in the
corps would have taught them how to
make themselves moderately snug at
night, but they had DO old soldiers, and,
as the troops on the line Of march said,
"they lived like pigs. They learned
the hearthreaking c~ussedness Of camp
kitchens and camels and the %depravity
Of an E p. tent and a wither wrung
mule. They studied animalculB in wa
ter and developed a few cases Of dyson
terry in their study.
AT the end Of their third march they
were d~isagreesbly surprised by the ar
rival 10 their camp Of a hammered iron
slug which, fred from a steady rest at
700 yards, aicked out the brains Of a
private seated by the fire. This robbed
them Of their peace for a night and
was the beginning of a long range fire
carefully calculated TO that end. In the
daytime they saw nothing except an
occasional puff Of smoke from a crag
above the line of march. At night
there were distant spurts Of flame and
occasional casualties, which set the
whole camp blazing into the gloom, and
occasionally into opposite tents. Then
they swore vehemently and vowed that
this was magnificent, but not war.
Indeed it was not. The regiment
could not halt for reprisals against the
franc-tireurs Of the countryside. Its
duty was to 90 forward and make con
nection with the Scotch and Gurkha
troops with which il was brigaded. The
Afghans knew this and knew, too, after
their first tentative shots, that they
were dealing with a raw regiment
Thereafter they devoted them.elves 70
the task Of keeping the Fore and Aft en-
the strain. Not for anything would they
have taken equal liberties with a sea
soned corps-with the wicked little
Gurkhas. whose delight it was TO lie ont
in the open on a dark night and stalk
their stalkers-with the terrible, big
men dressed in women's clothes who
eould be heard praying to their Goo in
the night watches, and whose peace Of
mind no amount Of ''sniping' could
shake-or with those vile Sikhs, who
marched SO ostentatiously u%nprepared
and who dealt out such grim reward to
those who tried TO profit by that unpre-
~paredness. This white regiment was
diferent-quito different. IL slept like
a HOG, and. like a hog. charged in every
direction when il was reused. Its SEN
tries walked with a football that could
be heard for a quarter OF a mile would
FIRE at anything that moved-even =
driven donkey-and, when they had
once fired, could be scientifically rush
ed and laid out a horror and an oifense
against the morning sun. Then there
we're camp followers who struggled ana
could be cut up without fear. Iheii
sbrieks would disturb the white boys
and the loss Of their services would IN
convenience them sorely.
Thus at every march the hidden enc
NV became holder, and the regiment
writbed and twisted under attacks II
ronld not avenge The crowning tn
umph was a sudden night rush ending
m the cutting Of many tent ropes the
collapse Of the sodden canvas inc a
glorious knitting Of the men who strug
| gled and kicked below. II was a great
ieed. neatly carried out and II shook
the already shaken nerves Of the fofe
and Aft. All the courage that they mao
been required to exercise up to ms
noipt was the "2 o'clock in the morn
ing ourag and they SO far bad only
succeeded in shooting their comrades
and losing their sleep
Sulen. Disseminated, cold, savage,
.ick with their uniforms dulled ana
mclean. the Fore and Aft Joined their
brigade.
Il hear you had a tough time OF II
coming mn. said the b%rigadier. ba'
- L.arffal sheets his