The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-05-21
"a THIEF AND A R0BBER'
THE TALE OF Il PRECIOUS PAIR
WHO
"Entered Not by the Door Into the
Sheepfold..


cause raw boys to be hustled out to
Africa, with commissions to lead sea-
soned soldiers, after a training or two
in the militia or yeomanry. or few
months at Sandhurst, There were limi-
ted vacancies and plenty of competition,
while the invention of rules Of thumb
for the selection of fit soldiers to serve
Her Majesty afforded scope for the In
genuty of examiners and saved trouble.
IT'S no bally use, Tommy; | practi-
cally can't see thing with my left"
The Hon. Harold de Hochepied Josyn-
ghame had been looking at a card COW
cred with black lines and spots, ar
rangel in various groups and configu-
rations; he had held it at all sorts of
distances from his face and at all sorts
of angles and had closed his right eye
as he did So He added a word not
taught by army crammers-at least
not in their curriculum-and spun the
card across the room, where it fell at
the feet of Tom Smith, who looked at it
without interest and sighed.
Il am awfully sorry, old chap" said
his bosom friend, in tone that hardly
seemed to convey quite all the sympa-
thy a friends tone should. He must
have been conscious of 1t, for he added
alphabetically: I'm awfully sorry,
you know, but I'm in the same box
There's no help for it; we can't pass the
beasty exam. We could have passed
into Sandhurst six months ago straight
from school as far as the work goes
but we've got to pass the medical in
less than six hours from now, and we
can't either of us do 1t; that's all, We
can't"
TITS harder on me than you" The
Hon. Harold Josynghame looked on the
point of tears; after ALL if he was six
feet high, he was practically boy, and
If you took into consideration the De
Hochepied interest at the Horse Guards,
had career before him. 81 could see
with both eyes a year ago, but you
have always been squabby little beg
gar"
Mr. Thomas Smith walked to the
window and looked out moodily on Pic
cadilly. They were in the smoking
room of club that gathers in many
young men of blameless records and
public school education and welcomes
them with open arms if their athletic
repute has arrived before them. They
had breakfasted early and had the room
to themselves.
Dunno" said Tommy Smith, still in
clined to be unsympathetic. IF you
win take on a coal-heaver you can't be
surprised that he plugs you in the eye.
OF course it's deuced bad luck if the in
jury turns out permanent, but you
shouldn't have done it"
x 'The brute was licking a woman"
retorted the Hon. Harold Josynghame,
land you'd have done the same"
"Of course l should, but, then If l am
too short for the army by a good quar-
ter of an inch. I've never been licked
yet, and If had got under his guard
Then his wife would have fetched a
prflsa-shovel and taken you in the rear as
she did me, the ungrateful beast! No,
Tommy, you're as hard as nails and as
strong as bull and have a, thick head,
but you'd have been done, too
mo good arguing about it," said
TommM still downcast, and added, II
thought you couldn't draw the weight,
either. Too light for your height, eh?"
ooh settled that all right" said his
friend. IT left off riding for three
months, and took to a fattening diet.
I've put on nearly a stone. I'm not as
hard as l was, Of course, but I shall
satisfy the regulations as far as weight
goes"
did it hurt much at the time?'
1.-THE eye? Pretty well; but was so
sore all over hardly knew, and the
whack with the shovel knocked me
nearly silly. I had lump on my head
as big as hens egg"
Pretty good pluck of you to take on
a ooal-heaver and his family" grunted
his friend, land jolly lucky the police
came up. / suppose your eye is as bad
as you think"
Certainly; it's practically gone"
"You make me wonder if mines all
right. Take the card and try me, JOS
kin, there's a good chap. l see black
spots buzzing about all over the place
sometimes at night after mugglng at
anything in small print"
He stood at the other side of the room
and answered questions as to the groups
of lines and spots on the card with
faultless accuracy.
when they tell you to close one eye
they expect you to put your hand over
it," said Mr.. Josynghame; "of course, it
makes no difference
Suspicious beasts" answered Tom
my Smith, but he said, moment later,
II don't know, though; try me again"
Rot" said Mr. Josynghame, and he
repeated his former directions to close
the right eye or the left, with the same
result of perfectly correct answers.
"Do you mind looking at me once
more" said Tommy Smith, in breath
less tone. "Try to think l might be a
very slippery sort of chap with glass
eye trying to kid you"
"Rot!" said Mr.. Josynghame again,
YEARLY The performance was gone
through again with the same result and
then he added: "Your right hand is
about as shapeless as your left, Tommy,
but neither is transparent. | should
have spotted you if you had squinted
through your fingers; my eye is good
enough for that"
You did not spot me, all the same"
said his friend coolly. II used my right
eye all the time When you said Cover
your left eye, | covered it with my left
hand; when you said Cover your right
eye, ] put up my right hand, but 1
covered my left eye again, not my right
at ALL