The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-12-25


the answer from on high; "but I'm too
sick this tide to make certain"
"An' you, you fat H'Irishman. shiftin'
an shirkin' up there among the arrer-
root an the sago."
"An the port wine. You've forgot
the port wine, Orth'ris. It's none 90
50 bad" Terence smacked his lips pro-
vokingly.
can we're wore off our feet with
these 'ere-kangaroos. Come out o
that, an earn your pay. Come on down
outer that an do somethin' stead o
GRIMM up there like Jew monkey,
you frowzy-headed Fenian."
"When I'm better av my various COM
plants I'll have little private talkin'
wild yon. In the meanwhile-duck'
Terence flung an empty medicine bot
tie at Ortheris' head and dropped into
long chair, and Ortheris came to tell
me his opinion OF MulvaneN three
times over-each time entirel, varying
all the words
"Tnere'll be smash-up one o these
days." he concluded. "Well, it's no
fault O. mine, but it's ard on b COM
pany.'
1t was very hard on b company, for
twenty seasoned men cannot push twice
that number of fools into their places
and keep. their own places at the same
time. The recruits should have been
more evenly distributed through the
regiment, but it seemed good to the
colonel to mass them III a company
where there was large proportion OF
old soldiers He found his reward early
one morning when the battalion was
advancing by companies in echelon
from the right. The order was given
to form company squares, which are
compact little bricks of men very un-
pleasant for line of charging cavalry
to deal with. Il company was on the
left flank, and had ample time to know
what was going on. For that reason,
presumably, it gathered itself into a
thing like decayed aloe-clump, the
bayoncts pointing anywhere in general
and nowhere in particular; and in that
clump, ROUNDED or mob it stayed till the
dust had gone down and the colonel
could see and speak He did both, and
the speaking was admitted by the regi-
ment to be the best thing the ''old
man. had ever risen to since one de.
lightful day at sham-fght, when a
cavalry division had occasion to walk
over his line of skirrnishers. He said.
almost weeping, that he had given nc
order for rallying groups, and that he
preferred to see n little dressing among
the men occasionally. He then apollo
gized for having mistaken Il company
for men. He said that they were but
little weak children, and since he could
not offer them each a perambulator and
a nursemaid (this may sound comic to
read, but Il company heard it by word
of mouth and winced) perhaps the
best thing for them to do would be to- &C
back to squad drill. To that end he
proposed sending them, out Of their
turn, to garrison duty in Fort Amara,
five miles away. Ut may be observed
that Is company were next for this de-
testable duty and nearly cheered the
colonel.) There he devoutly hoped that
their own subaltcrns would drill them
to death, as they were of no use in their
present life.
1t was an exceedingly painful scene
and l made haste to be near b company
barracks when parade was dismissed
and the men were free to talk. There
was no talking at first because each
old soldier took new draft and kicked
him very severely. The non-commis-
stoned officers had neither eyes nor
ears for these accidents. They left the
barracks to themselves. and Ortheris
improved the occasion by Il speech.
did not hear that speech, but fragments
of it were quoted for weeks afterward.
1t covered the birth, parentage ard
education of every man in the compa-
! ny by name. 1t gave complete &C.
count of Fort Amara from Il sanitary
and social point of view, and it wound
up with an abstract of the whole duty
of soldier, each recruit. his use in
life, and the speakers views on the
use and fate of the recruits Of Il COM
pany.
"lou can't drill. you can't walk, you
can't shoot-you-you awful rockies!
Wot's the good Of you? You eats and
you sleeps. and You eats, and you goes
to the doctor for medicine when your
innards is out of order, for all the world
rs if you was bloomin' generals. All,
now. you've topped it all. you bats
eyed bcggars. with getting us druv out
to that stinlin' Fort Ammorer Wen
fort you when we get out there.
"Yes. an we'll 'ammer you, too.
Don't you think you've come into the
harny tn drink hcno. an eliot you COM
pny, an lie on your cots, an scratch
your fat hands, You can do that at
home scilin' matches. which is all you're
fit for, You kcb-huntin', penny-toy.
hootlace baggage-tout, orsc-'oldin.
Sandwich-baclSeds sewers. you, (Orthcris
,acnnt sN,rs, which means pigs). I've
spoke you ;ls fair as know 'ow. and
you give good 'eed. cause if Mulvancy
stops Acknowledgements out o hospital
when were in the fort, lay your lives
will be trouble to you."
That was Ortheris' peroration. and it
caused Il company to be christcned the
"hoot-black brigade" With this dis
grace on their slack shoulders they
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