Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02

Something unuSua, was going Oh at uiNis-
ion headquarters. The ms IN the nearest
rcgimenta camps. regular ana volunteer
We're lined up along the sentry Pc
and silently, eagerly watching and waiting.
For week rumor had been rife that Or
ders FOR a move We're coming, and the bri-
gades hailed it with delight. For month,
shivering at night in the dripping, drench-
ing fogs drifting in from the Pacific, or
drilling for hours each day on the bleak
slopes of the Presidio Heights. they had
been praying for something to break the
monotony of the routine. They We're en-
vious of the comrades who had been ship
ped to Manila, emuous of those who had
stormed Santiago, and would have well
coined with unreasoning enthusiasm any
mandate that bore promise of change of
scene-or duty The afternoon was raw
and chilly; the wet wind blew salt and
strong from the westward sea, and the
mist rolled in. thick and heecy. hiding from
view the familiar landmarks of the neigh
bOrhood and forcing display of lamp
lights in the row of gaudy saloons across
the street that bounded the camp ground
toward the setting sun, though that inNiSI-
hle luminary still hour high and
afternoon drill only just over.
Company after company, in their cam
paign hats and flannel shirts, in worn blue
trousers and brown canvas legSings the
men had come swinging in from the broad
drivewayS of the beautiful park to the
south. and as they passed the tents of the
commanding general, even though they
kept their heads erect and noses to the
front. their wary eyes glanced quickly at
the unusual array of saddled horses, of
carriages and Concord wagons halted along
the curbstone, and noted the number of
officers grouped about the gate Ponchos
and oVercoat capes We're much in evidence
on every side as the men broke ranks scat
tered to their tents to stow away their
hpl mr. har,
streaming out to stare. unrebuked at head
quarters. 1t was still early in the war DAYS
and, among the volunteers, and. indeed
among regiments of the regulars whose
ranks We're sprinkled with college men who
had rubbed shoulders but few months
earlier with certain subalterns the mill
tary line of demarcaton a dead let
ter when the boys We're out of sight
and hearing of their seniors and so il
happened that when a young officer came
hurrying down the pathway that led from
e ene ,eats Oh me general to those of the
neid of1cers OF the 10th California he was
nailed by more than one group of regulars
along whose lines he passed, and as a rule
.nG query TOOK the terse, soldierly form of
What's up. Bily?'
The lieutenant nodded affably to several
OF MS fellows of the foot ball field but his
mana crept out from underneath the shroud-
cape palm down; signaling caution. Or
Just loud enough to be heard by those near
est him. Seen the old man anywhere?
Inc general wants him. and never halt
ing Ior reply, the youngster hurried on.
lie vas a bright CHEEKY, brave-eyed lad
OF twenty who six months earlier was
stumbling through the sciences at the great
university on the heights beyond the glori-
Gus bay, never dreaming of deadIier ha +
tls than that in which his pet eleven Crap
pied with the striped team of a rival col
lege All on sudden, to the amaze of
the elders of the great republic, the tenets
and traditions of the past were thrown to
the winds and the hermit nation leaned
the seas and few at the strongholds of the
Spanish colonies. Volunteers sprang 10 by
the hundred thousand and a reluctant Con-
gress accorded a meager addition to the
regular army. Many a college athlete
Joined the ranks. while limited few gifted
with relatives who had both push and
pull We're permitted to pass not very
eXactlng examination and join the perma-
nent establishment second lieutenants
forthwith. Counting those commissioned
In the regular artillery and infantry, there
must have been a dozen in the thronging
camps back of the great city. and of these
dozen. Billy "Belligerent Billy" as a
tutor dubbed him when the war and Billy
broke out together-the latter to the extent
OF a four days absence from all collegia e
duty-was easily the gem of the lot One
of the brightest minds in his class he
was one of the LATEST. one of the quickest
aud most agile when aroused, he was one
of the torpids rule: one of the kind
who should have gone in for honors," as
the faculty said, he came nearer going out
for deviment. The only of a retired
colonel of the army who had made Cali
fornia his home. Billy had spent years in
camp and field and saddle and knew the
west as he could never hope to know Has
we'll. The only natural soldier of his class.
when. sorely against the will of most they
entered the student battalion, he promptly
Won the highest chevrons that could be
given in the sophomore year, and. almost
as promptly, lost them for "lates' and alb
sences When the varsity was challenged
by neighboring institute to q competitive
drill the scouts of the former reported
that the crack company Of the San Pedros
had the snappiest captain they ever saw
and that with far better material to choose
rom, and more of it, the varsity wouldn't