Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-30
THEY TAKE BIG CHANCES

"Deserters from the army and navy occa
| sionally stack up against some queer ex
| periences when they re-enlist, as a goot
many deserters do said a Washington
man who has served in both outfits
when I entered the army for the SECOND
| five-year stretch. about twelve years ago
| I took on at David's Island, N. Y, ther
| the big eastern recruiting station. 1 was
! assigned, as is the usual custom, to com
pany of recruits. and they made me ser
geant until they decided as to what post
they wanted to send me. Among the
| rockies in my company was cookbook.
| ing chap named Devine. He was every
| inch a soldier. knew that he had been a
| soldier. So did all the old-timers who sized
Devne up. 1t made me feel foolish when
| took Devine out with a lot of rockies fol
| an awkward squad drill He tried with all
| the skill he had to act like man who had
never seen a gun in his life, but felt all
| the time that Devine was just laughing at
| me- One day, in the middle Of the manual
drill. I gave somewhat unusual order
| an order that recruits wouldn't be supposed
| to know anything about--just for the sake
of trying out Devine. I caught MIN III
| awares, and he made the first movement
toward executing the order. Then he tuni-
! bled to himself, gave me SLY look out OF
| the corner of his eye. and relapsed into as
sumed clumsiness. When the drill was
| over 1 happened to run into Devine outside
the company quarters.
YOU'RE an old swaddie, said I.
"'Forget it,, said Devine.
aren't you afraid they'll nail you? I
asked him.
Its me that is taking the chance said
Devine.
well. after the couple of months at Da-
vid's Island I got my orders. 1 was to join
an infantry regiment at Fort ASsiniboine.
Mont and take charge of large batch
-, - ~ ~,,ff t,r
whole bunch got their orders simultaneous
ly with me. Among the batch was Devine.
I ran into him at the canteen about half
an hour after we got our orders.
Say said Devine l don't know wheth-
er to duck not
For why? I asked him.
There's a captain out there at Assini-
boine that knows me- said Devine. I was
in his outfit when jumped. And 1 was a
sergeant. at that. He's pretty square old
geezer. ard / soldiered up to the handle
as long I was with him, but all the
same. I'm afraid he'll land me If I go out
there
It's you that's taking the chance said
l. If he's such a square officer. all right
and proper. maybe he won't know YOU
'Ill take the Odds said Devine.
well, we went out to Assiniboine, and
when we lined up in front of headquarters
on the morning we got in. who should be
the officer of the day but this captain De-
vine had served with when he jumped. The
l
the roll Of the newly arrived recruits, he
scanned the countenances of the men,
was watching for him to pipe off Devine
AS soon as he capped eyes on Devine he
gave the slightest possible start-Devine
standing like statue and looking ten
PAGES ahead-and then he went on calling
the roll. 1 knew he had got next to De-
vine.
"'Devine will fall OUT said the captain
when we were about to be ordered to
march to the quarters, and. said I to my
self: 'Devine. you'll do your little three
years at Fort Leavenworth for a mortal
cinch About ten minutes later Devine
came strolling into the quarters I nodded
him over to a corner bunk
How do you happen to be loose? /
asked him.
I told you he was a square old eeezer.'
said Devine. He said to me:
Your names Devine you saw"
The same said I, giving him a No
salute and holding my face as II I'd never
clapped an eye on him.
"'"And you never saw me before did
you, Devine?"' said he
"I've got bum memory, SIR said
"um-you never saw me before. De-
very well. Now, you go to your quarters.
And If the idea should ever enter your
head to desert. Devine, why-wel. you go
to your quarters
'Devine did his five years and he was
sergeant major of the regiment when he
got his honorable discharge. But he sure
ly did take chance on a fat term at Fort
Leavenworth when he went to Fort As
siniboine.
''Deserters from the navy take long
chances. too. once in a while. was down
in Honolulu harbor on my last ship. There
was coal passer from San Francisco
named White in the black gang He was
dissa tfsfied. and he got to be a sea lawyer
quicker than any man I ever was ship
mates with He was always talking up in
merchant service-the comparative. free
dom when the ship was in port, and all
that sort Of thing. Well. White went
ashore one night. and he didn't come back
with his liberty party. Along about 10
o'clock in the morning all hands on our
ship were startled to hear a lot of CO.
manche bowls from a bark that was pass
ing alongside Of us. bound out for China
1t was the bark Kenilworth. When we
looked over the rail we saw our brave
White. sitting way up in the maintop. and
obviously as drunk as lord-and the mate
down below on deck, calling him out of his
to lay below. There White stuck, how
ever, calling us names. and reviling the
whole American navy. until the Keniworth
was out of earshot. Our skipper was TAX
would have been the simplest thing in life
for him to have ordered shot to be fired
across the kenilworths bows and make
the merchantman heave to and disgorge
our deserter.
But he didn't do anything Of the sort.
He simply grinned saturniney. and I guess
he was deuced glad to get rid Of White so
easily without having to rig him up in
double irons and carry him back to Frisco
for court-martial. Yet White took very
long chance when he hooted defiance at
the ship he had deserted from, sqatting
up there in the main rigging.
Another piece of undefiled gall was
shown by an apprentice lad who had Jump
ed the same ship at Acapulco. Mexico. This
boy kept cases. through the papers, on all
the transfers in the navy, and he knew,
year after he had quit the ship without a
discharge that there wasn't a single officer
aboard of her that had been attached 20
her when he was an apprentice aboard OF
her. So when the ship pulled into Napa
creek. the stream on which the Mare Island
navy yard lies. this boy comes brave.y
aboard. in the capacity Of assistant to the
bumboat man. He knew that none of his
former enlisted shipmates would give him
away. and he served out beer at mess call
every day for three months Just as cool
and complaisant as If year before he
hadn't gone over the side of the ship and
forgot to come back"
The Latest Disease.
From the Philadelphia North American
"Bickersniffs doctor has ordered him to
cease riding in his horseless carriage for