New Ulm review., 1901-06-12
GOING UP THE HILL.
BIZ OLIVER STRANGE.

sering merrily among the little British force
which, taking advantage of the uneven ma
ture of the ground, was scattered about be-
hind rocks and hammocks of turf, waiting
the word to advance. Immediately in front
the hill rose steep and comparatively bare,
while at the top gray, shifting splashes.
from the midst of which came incessant
spiteful spits of rife flame, showed where
the enemy was at work On a Aattened part
of the crest of the hill battery of four
guns had come into action, and it was the
capture of these pieces that the men in
the valley were to attempt.
The regiment had been in position for
nearly half an hour and the men were be-
coming impatient. It is not pleasant to Sit,
or lie still, and be shot at, and the cover was
woefully insufficient, as several outstretched,
rigid forms indicated. The privates, huddled
in twos or threes behind the scanty shell
ter, cursed the clearness of the light which
made them such excellent targets, while the
officers, disdaining concealment, walked up
and down behind the fles-a courageous
but decidedly injudicious procedure, says
the London Star.
ssWhy the blazes don't they send us up,
instead of keeping us stuck here like a Lot
of cock-shies?" growled lanky private
to his companion, smaller man, with de.
cided Cockney cast of countenance.
''W'ytin' till our batt'ry shuts them guns
up" replied the other, motioning to the
rising ground behind where they lay, from
which the British artillery was laundering.
The lanky one, whose name was Dawlsh,
grunted and leaned forward to peer round
enemy. Simmons, his companion, pulled
him back roughly
"Keep yer ed in, ye bloomin' fool,' he
said, "'less yer wants to be like i'm; and
he jerked his hand savagely in the direction
of khaki-clad form not ten yards away,
lying face downward, with hands extended,
full of rubble clutched in the last agony.
"Bleed'n swines" muttered the Cockney, in
conclusion, as he looked at it.
Dawlish, thus reprimanded, crouched
closer to the barrier with slight shudder.
He was q countryman, better educated than
his friend, and ratheE teo fond of medita.
ton to make an idealaaeassssiag. He was think
ing now.
''Thank Gawd," daeassimmons.
Dawlish looked at him.
"Yus," continued the other. ssWhen I
20 I want ter go quick, bloomin' express,
an no messin' abaht. I 'ad a pad once as was
Hung for murder. rs missus it was, an
rotten bad lot, too; an I went ter see i'm
9wfter e was sentenced. BILL e ses, Il
3on't mind swingin' so much, cos I done
3he job an p'raps deserve it, but it's the
Sy'ytin' fer it as I carn't stand. The know
sn' the mint almost that I've got ter die,
an' w'ytin' fer that mint; it's fair cruel
What's what e sed ter me, an I feel abaht
&e syme meself."
death is an awful thing, however it
&omes."
cts only goin' ter sleep an not wakin'
Sp again-that's all" retorted Simmons,
San' as fer bullets-ever been 'outed' in
scrap?"
mo-" replied Dawlish.
"Well, ave. You get smack on the
point an ye don't mind nothin' for a
vine. I reckon mortal bullet wounds much
4he syme, 'cept that ye don't come rahnd
~t all awfter it."
"You seem to look at it pretty coolly,"
Yawlish said. Don't ysu value your Life
ut ALP"
"Wot tn 'ell's the good O. valuin' a thing
Smay lose mex minitg' was the disgusted
aejoinder. can wy should I? My life amt
Bin much of picnic up ter nah. Wy the
sn'y time I ever 'ad reg'lar meals an bed
sill 1 joined the awmy-was when I got IA
days for-somethin'. Barrin' that there
weren't no beer nor bacca, that was
&loomin' 'oliday fer me-
"Ain't there nobody at home who'd be
lad to see you back?" asked Dawish, with
his mind on a little cottage in Worcester
shire, and an aged couple who would rush
% welcome his return.
"Not - soul; py'd all me debts fore
4 come away" returned Simmons, jocular-
". "'Arf a mo-" he added, "the landlord
III the Three Bottles in Shoreditch might be
3ad; he'll lose a good customer in me-"
''The officers have got the best of it, after
all," Dawhsh said. ''They can stretch their
Ags.'
Even as he spoke, lieutenant who had
3een impatiently pacing up and down just
Ahind their position gave little gasp Of
>sgtonishment and fell.
"Yus," said Private Simmons, in grin,
Aomment op his friends remark. Then he
Aandoned the ant, and began to curse
9Sftly and Systematically, choosing his
words and emphasizing them in the manner
AS an artist.
Oawlish sat still and silent. He was be-
ginning to realize what the other had meant
3y the waiting for death. 1t seemed to hun
9aao w w up LIE SlOpc DcIOic tueul, AL LuC
seth of the fire which was sweeping it,,
"eeant certain destruction for the regi-
AAent He began to feel Like condemned
Aaan, with the word to advance as his death
4rrant. Simmons was still muttering to
ASfnself
They've stopped 'im," Dawlish heard
Aim say, ''but they woa't stop me. I'm "a
-~Sin' up that ill, an Ell sit acrost one O.
SIN bloomin' guns if clip int ell the mex
Ninit," and he gritted bis teeth.
9uddenly cheer fresn their own battery
aold the weary men that the moment had
come. The word was given, and struggling
Snto some sort of formation they dashed
forward. The hill proved net SO steep as
-9had looked, but the ground was rough and
broken, and the bullets few thicker and
thicker. Men dropped unnotired. The others
continued the ascent. The regiment had but
one idea. For an hour it had played the
naddening role of helpless target while
waiting to so up the hill. Now the time
had come, and the hill was thereto be
climbed lie every man hut one had fallen