The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-09-07

--Ernest Mccartney in the Chicago Times
A VAR OFFICE SECRET
"Walingford shoot?'' said Sergt Hard
staff at Hythe has rife in his hand al
day and every day. Even you coult
shoot under such-well, perhaps not you
for you never know what you can't dc
until you try. DO I know the School OF
Musketry? l do know it-lock, stock
| barrel and cleaning rod, or, should say
i'll these LecMetford days, clearing rod
for the cleaning rods as dead as Queer
Anne or the piStails for which the Welsh
tusiliers still wear the flash though the
powder and pomatum from which the
Hash protected the coatee has been gone
for the best part OF a century.
NOW, you all know why foreign mill
tary attaches are in England. They arc
ments in the army-in men. in tools, in
the handling OF either. They notice a
new explosive or IL new drill movement.
mission reckon they would notice that,
ana would tell their respective war Of
fees that they had better look out now.
Our military attaches arc abroad for the
same purpose. They're just spies in
peace time. Why, | remember when
cordltc came out how one of the CONT
mental war offices sent Il gunner officer
know the man at Woolwich who gave
him the cordite, and how much he got
for it. know the Enslishman who
found the man at WoolWich who would
90 the job. | know how much more he
got for it. But would breathe the name
OF that continental power to make inter
national complications? Not me. I
know better what's due to my country.
All which leads up to this. When I was
at Hythe qualifying for two guns and a
crown over my three STIR pes there was a
great mystery about the Maxim; in fact,
we who were undergoing instruction as
instructors We're never shown the mech
anism of the block: The instructor of
the Hythe staff used always to take that
out Of the gun and hold it behind him
while he explained the other parts. And
that was what made me curious to see
the block. l was working very hard in
the evening; yet for my health's sake l
had to walk now and then into Folke-
stone and along the Lcas. And there
me she was lady's maid. How did l
make her ACQUAINTANCE? If YOU don't
know simple little thing like that, you
ought to. We learn in the army the art
OF mixing gracefully in female society.
And the young foreign person, who spoke
English beautifully, said to me one even
ing, as we were sitting in quiet spot
away from other people and from Gas
lamps:
II do love to hear about all that con-
Germs YOU. Tell me all about what you
do at the School of Musketry.'
ION, it's all very simple, Mamsellc.
said l. Then, just 70 snow her what a
clever fellow [ was. I began to give her
4 full account of all the difficult things
other things, | spoke Of the machine
guns.
Those are the horrid things that go
erik Jerk crk-crk, are they not?' asked she.
as she initiated perfectly the yenomous
spit of the beasts.
That's it,
"Tell me about them. I think they
are wonderfully interesting: How well
educated soldier has to be nowadays
to understand such things
Its quite true that a first-class GER
tlticate of educa ton, which a sergeant
IS now bound to have, is not got for the
asking Then l went on to tell her
the mechanism Of the Maxim
But the funniest thing about it all
is that they won't let us see the works
Of the block, although we are to qualify
for musketry Instructors
And Of the most important part of
the gun you know nothing::'
II have a general idea.'
"A man who is as clever as YOU in
mechanics and mathematics ought to
know all about it. should be curious to
know if l were you
~ could easily find out all about it
if | cared to take the trouble
""Trouble! What is trouble to a sci,
entitic man? If I were you I should
think nothing of any little trouble. Now
l will spur you for your own good and
to advance you in the service I an
curious, for your sake, to know about
this gun. I'll bet you what you like
YOU don't explain the mechanism of the
block to me within a month. Your ex-
plantations make even dry old figures in.
teresting.
"*And I can name the stakes?
Certainly
"A kiss, them
~ can't bet you that
.But | was to name the stakes
"'Oh, couldn't think Of it,
"Ihere's no need for you to think of
it, Mamselle. You've only to do it. I
honorable -
"'Sirv
Then the bet is off =
No. | gave you my word It is an.
noying. But I will keep my word
"And I can give you my word that /
will win. So, perhaps, in case you
change your mind, had better have the
kiss now
1.-The rest Of the evening has nothing
to do with the story
"Now. I had been working hard at the
mechanics of guns before I went to the
School of Musketry, so that I might do
we'll. And l had a natural taste for such
things in the blood: probably because my
aunt married smith, to. whom I was to
none of him and his smithy. So YOU
only had to show me the cocoanut in
gunnery mechanics and I tumbled to
what kind of milk was inside. The next