The true northerner., 1900-03-21

0S&GS&SSSSSSSS
"Now, then, Casemate, let's hear
from you," said the major
The gunnery lieutenant-Gunnery
Jack he was called ahoat-roused him
self with a start IL beg your par
don, chaps" he said. IL can think or
nothing but that broken recoil spring
of my Al. It's hard lines to be hung
up like this just when you're wanted"
"Never mind, old man." said the ad-
jutant you've made hit If she new
er fires another shot. Your mems
shooting has been an eye opener"
my old gunners mate said when |
compllmented him on a good shot,
We'll, sir, with fixed target and us at
anchor, too, when once we get the
range something's got to shift If
we'd had a few big guns in the Zulu
turnout, we should have finished that
job bit quicker"
"Were you in that swim, tooT said
the major.
"Yes," said the lieutenant; 81 was a
young sub then-one of old Dicky
Bradshaw's boys from the Shah.
South Africa runs in our family My
old dad was out here, too. in the Katfir
affair
81 got that from him." he added, pro-
ducing from his tobacco pouch rather
dirty looking object like a small eye
bolt or a clock key with hole in it.
1t was extremely heavy and hard and
as far as could be discovered through
it's outer coating of tobacco ash and
dust was of some metallic stone"
"What is it," said the war CORE
spondent, "a baccy stopperT
That's what | use it for" said the
lieutenant, "but by rights it's a charm
for saving life."
81 know n man myself" said the
major, "who carries a potato In his
pocket to keep off the rheumatism"
'"This might save you from hang
ing" said the adjutant 'but it
wouldn't help you much If you were
drowning. It's extraordinarily heavy
for its size"
"It saved my life once" said the lieu
tenant quietly.
"a yarn, a yarnv said the major.
"Order, please, for the yarn of the
mystic charm that keeps you from
harm and alarm. Pegs round first.
curly tale"
81 must begin with the dad" said
Casemate. He was out in the Kaffir
affair, as l said. in 1852. He was in
command of the old Forty-fourth."
"Begad | thought you'd got an
army back on you" said the major.
"Why did you leave us, JeremiahY
you've heard of an old chief nam
ed Moshesh? ?" resumed Casemate.
"Yes, but he was farther north,
wasn't hep said the major. You
mean Moses?"
"This was a descendant Of his, /
expect He was boss of the show
among the niggers here in the early
days. He was the original early bird
about these parts. Well, descendant
of this old Johnny was captured by
the Forty fourth. and. owing to some
bit Of dirty work he'd been mixed up
with. our men wanted TO chop him up.
"But the guv'nor said No. discipline
is discipline and a chiefs a chief. al
though, like the poor Indian of un-
tutored mind, he clothes him before
and goes bare behind He gave him
a tent TO himself and a Bible TO read
and used to explain it to him in the
evenings after fighting hours.
Curious chap the guv'nor was. I've
heard him say that some of the chiefs
questions used TO keep him awake all
night trying TO think Of the answers.
However. they got so thick that,
when they parted, the chief, who was
going down to the Cape for trial, gave
him this bit of stuff. He said It was
the most precious thing he could give
him. 1t had belonged to Moshesh and
had been kept In the chiefs family
since the time of Ham, think. 1t was
safe cure for ague and would guard
the wearer against any form of violent
death.
'The guv'nor said that as the result
of the trial was so uncertain the chief
had better keep 1t himself. But the
old man said he would rather die than
anything should happen to the guv'nor
and forced II on him."
"Rummy chaps, these niggers," said
the adjutant, where they take. You
can fetch 'em with music too. A fid-
dler can lead 'em anywhere, they say"
"Yes, they'll follow him = with
bricks" said the lieutenant. 81 was In
a ship once on the west coast that car
ried band, and the seedee boys asked
that all the instruments might be stop
ped except the drum. A taste for mu-
sic is natural to them, like curly hair.
However. to get back to the charm.
The poor old mater, who firmly be-
leves in the thing, made me promise
TO carry 1t. So I've kept II in the
pouch and used IL as a pipe stopper
ever since.
"You remember how the Shah got
into the Zulu scramble, Of course.