New-York tribune., 1901-02-03
TIE BLANK FILE.
From Punch.

I'm 'il ~ Slt''il
.nH sen, when snorer at the other end a. thr
III, Ill sudGvhIy raps out an cath, and his bon.
comes Nhizzn' down the sangNaY
The next sNah plays me that rrick' Re
g. GsiuInhies viii axe TO take of his toonik To me
back his boot nan i'''
Puttn' his 10y cold foot on my face he saws
1T didn't sound nice some'ox. ana uv ,.a,t
commenced 10 beat devils tattoo under the
nahke,s' But nobody said nothin' and if II
adnt been for the thumpin' of a dozen gallant
drop N = i'''
Presently, 'owever. the drummer. who slep'
h.M To the oorlrll. calls out somethin' beneath
What is Sticks" a-sayin?' asks one O the
Hes only talkin' in his sleep says the
No. ne amt pipes the boy in his 'igh treble
but somebody's a-Walkin' in his"
\ rms statement was received with a most
\comfortable silence Of several minutes Then
ne man next 10 me begins 'urriedly To scramble
The kids quite right h. says. and know
pmin well who the sleep walker is
Who" inquiries a dozen voices at once.
The Blank File. says the man. and he's
|n' for a sleern billet that's what he's
I Of. But he ain't coin' 10 doSS next To me-
Says and with that ne bolts out q the tent
I'm another minute there Was nobody-so far
We Nnew-left inside il. Ne al wanted to
Uhe sentry compny till daylight"
lr. Psseu paused 10 refill his pipe. Oper-
Pm he Effected with characteristic absent
dedness from nay pouch. l feigned To be
cerlns his last words
After such night OF horror" I hazarird
daylight must indeed have been welcome
e slipped the pouch, with charming naIreta.
his pocket. You mark time Bit" he said.
avent finished With that night of 'orror yet
murmured an apology
No." he continued. "Isef, r. The sun rose We
ere destined To ave another scare. compared
.ith which The others mere child's play. 1t was
his way. look.
THE corpril was eXpainn' 10 Mr.. Jannaway.
VINO 'ad come out II his quarters i'm his pyjain-
neTs, that the men couldn't sleep in the minin'
! ent on account Of the heat and Jannaway WAS
Gst besinnin' t. talk sarcauStic about a girls
school afraid o. the dark when The sentry drops
lis rfc with clatter that brings all our gallant
'earts into our necks. His teeth were rattlin'
N his 'ead like a boXful % dice. you could ave
|lng up your coat ana AT on his eyes. and ~
Nas poiniin' TO his front like a sign post shook
! by The wind. Al first thought IL Was an
1applepl.tic fit, hut after bit We discovered Ihat
|ne Wishful for Us to look at the jackstaf.
The first gmmer o dawn was Whitcnin' the
eastern 'orZJn, and there MAS just light enough
for US t. see an rNtr'ordn ry phenomenon that
made even a detachment - marines stare
There Wasn't air enough 10 chill your %etted
fngerg IL dead trOlical calm; the great
Jack and its 'alyards lay alongside the STAFF as
If they We're glued TO IT. Yet all Of su| len
the long fold Uf bunting stirred. and the double
lines tWanged against The pole like a plucked
'arpstringi
and then continued at perfectly res'lar intervals
Not soul, a. far as Ne could see. Was within
thing was quitc plain S4mc one was fngeiIn
the alyarGS before or very eyes,
'I'rcs.ntly Jannaway clears his throat
Am I goin' stark mad like the rest % you.
he asks ushily. 'ur IS there bell ringin' some
where?'
You might ave stabbed The silence which fol-
lowed with hayDit
There IS a bell. sir SayS % the men at
length big hell a-tolling. ! should judge il
10 be far away Batavia p'T'aps PlYm-
outh,' H. says: hat in either case you may lay
TO il thai it's no earthly bclF-
That's enough says JannaWay, stampin' his
foot. / won't ave more of il. Color-ser-
goant.' he says. as it's daylight fan the
men in for bathn parade There's nOthin' like
sea DIP to steady the nerves And with that
Ia walks 8if into the middle % the island.
''T'h, detachment StrOlled down To the water $
edge while l. disbclievin an ghosts now that the
daylight was comm sat down ana lit my pipe.
a frst ] watched the sunrise, and ii seemed TO
M that The day eettin' Up with most dis
reputable black eye. Across the red an green
an orange inflammation Of the dawn Was stuck
a dark patch that ia the case e pore soldier
would ave got him confined 10 barricks for "A
fortnight But after a bit my attention was at
tracteG 10 lgOt"nant JannaWay. who MAS peerin'
under "A great ledge % rock a couple OF 'undred
yards away Presently he stood up, and beck
oned a. me.
Toll me what you see in there, he says, when
j reached him.
You ought TO know says. mOppin' my
face. after ia looked into the ole; you've been
starin' al II for the last five minutes
But ! want 20 make suie. you insOlent Vaga-
bone Zee says. our nerves are all endways, and
p'r'aps I've been mistOok.'
Very well then, says ]. it's rusted round