Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-05-23
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CHAPTER Ix.-continued.)

ment that spent most OF Its days In the
Inexpensive luxuries of field service he
had managed to pay his debts, and SO
long as he let whisky alone keep out of
serious trouble. But Brady and John
Barleycorn never connected" that the
former did not, as Blake said, make an
ass of himself, and his asininity took
shape in peculiar form Of mania thas
aff1iots the bihulous Hibernian-that of
imagining, believing and telling tales
of deep and bloody mystery at the ex-
pense Of his fellow men. in higher So
cial esteem than himself. Friends Brady
had few, enemies none worse than him.
self. He felt the isolation of his lot,
wanted to marry and was refused by
the girls he wanted, which made him
gloomier, but campaign work saved him
from the solace he would have sought,
and Brady had been doing fairly well,
for him, when Rawson returned FROM
leave and gave him a crony and an ex-
cuse for start. Anterior whisked the
crony off, as has been said, before much
mischief was done, but he could not
Danish the whisky, and Brady marched
Oh guard the morning of this eyentful
day looking much the worse for three
weeks wear and tear and little the bet
Ter for two strong cocktails.
Still he was not incapable of perform
ing his duty by any means, though eyes
/. and nose held out their danger signals.
Blake had given him sharp reminder
at retreat, and Brady had taken sitter
brace for fear of consequences. He was
feeling shaky when the colonel strobe
into the i'll lighted room of the officer
of the guard, Blake ct his heels, and
thus addressed him: ''Mr. Brady, l
want you to keep special watch
against fire tonight. Order your sentries
about the stacks and stables to allow nc
one to approach them with pipe or cigar.
Who are sentries on Nos. 5 and 6?''
Brady looked appealingly at the SER
geant. who quickly produced his lists.
= Reinhardt and Monahan, first relief;
Blair and scnlly, second; Duffy and
Hunter. third, sir. All good men, sir. %
Hunters our new man. said the
colonel, eying sharply the officer of the
guard. "Have you given him personally
his orders?''
"N.not his night orders as yet, sir, -
said Brady, well knowing he had ques-
toned him as to none of them, day or
night.
well, sir, said Atherton, "you
cannot be too vigilant tonight. Mako
frequent inspections and see that your
nonoommissioned officers do likewise. -
Then, as once more he got out into the
wind, he bent his head to avoid the
blast. Have you cautioned him, Blake?
He looks anything but alert"
II don't think he's been drinking
much today, sir. He seems to realize
that he can take no chances. I'll keep
an eye on him."
There was joyous little gathering
at Rays that night. The Mainwaringa,
Truscotts and Blakes, with devoted Dir.
Jayne on Miss Leroy's account, had
dined there; number of post people
had dropped in later, and Miss Leroy,
looking uncommonly well, il not abb
solutely pretty" said a lady friend, was
being made much of by everybody, de-
spite a slight propensity on the part of
some to be facetious about the daily
Bible GLASS, for that artful maiden and
daughter OF the church, after getting
her auditors interested in tales of flood
and field, had gradually led on to the
introduction of heller themes. BY the
end of the first week the New Tesla
ment was slipped in among her books,
and selected chapters were explained in
very different style from anything her
soldier patients had ever heard before,
and these had become part of the lesson
OF the day. Blake declared that Father
Keepe of Butte was getting jealous, but
Miss Leroy was serenely superior to any
and all allusions or reflections She
wo)ild stoop to neither controversy nor
defense. 1t was her faith, and that was
enough. The quartermaster had laugh
ingly suggested that he thought Of get
ting sent to hospital SO as to become one
of the elect, and Miss Leroy had studied
his face one moment with those clear,
beautiful eyes of hers and gFavely re-
piled that it might be necessaryfor him
to go to even greater lengths before he
could be considered worthy. Then Main
waring had loosely asked why she
didn't start missionary boom among
the officers, whereat Miss Leroy flushed
just a little and then smilingly replied
that it was not because they did not
need it more than the men she had met,
but she had no surplus energy to waste.
Has no surplus seed to SOW on bar
rem ground, major, " interpoged Blake.
You remember the parable Of the haze
and the tortoise" Which helped Main
waring no whit, and only evoked re-
proaohful glance from Miss Leroy, see-
ing which Blake whispered so that sew
eral heard, "I'd wear sackoloth and
ashes week if Mainwaring could prove
he knew the difference between Jacobs
Ladder and Jack and the Beanstalk .
Blake, = demonstrated Truscott
moment later. when he got him to one
side "you must be more prudent, not
to say considerate. Mainwafing is too
sood 9 soldier to be treated with deri-