Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-09-04

"sesxxHW ~RlEc2r~ '1lsXcSaW ~aS31wWS
/, sergeant's stripes. You ought to SO,
him fight"
"Eh? McTwyny? That freckled
Irish tiger that's sergeant in your
troop? oh, he couldn't help fighting ii
he tried"'
But there's brains behind his fight
ing, sir. II you'd seen and heard
"Therc'S brains behind all real fight
ing, lieutenant. Don't
ever forget it, or your enemy will get
the better Of YOU
But there's such a lot behind Nc
Twyny's, sir" persisted Brainard
'Think of the odds that were against
him. He had only IS men with whom
TO fight what looked like brigade-cer-
tainly thousaud-and he talked and
acted like II general instead of n mere
sergeant"
"When? Where? How do you known
asked the colonel. with a quizzical
smile apparently at Brainard's assum-
ing to know how general would act
"This afternoon. Way off to the
right of the road our regiment took
We saw him. We were in the fight
with him and We're proud of it and of
him."
"Rless mel heard such wild stories
Of that skirmish that I've already ask
ed your captain for a written report
Tell me all about tt
Brainard told him without a word of
exaggera ton, yet as he talked the colo.
mel arose and paced his tent like an ex-
cited lion in a cage. He clinchcd his
hands, and his eyes flashed, and he
sputtered small groups of Scriptural
words that were not prayers Brain
ard stopped abruptly after telling how
Mick fclled the skirmishers' captain.
"The tigcrw exclaimed the colonel
81 wish there were more Of his kind in
the regiment"
But isn't he a man, too" asked
Brainard. and shouldn't he be re-
warded"-
at shanI be my fault IL he isn't
man frona this day forth" interrupted
the colonel. Come with me. l sup
pose he is in the hospital"
"Or dead" suggested.
"Nonsense!' growled the colonel.
Loss of fore paw never kills tiger.
Lieutenant Baslow of our regiment has
shot them in India. He was in the
British service and has told me all
about it,"
Instead of going direct to the hos.
pital the colonel stopped at a captains
tent and asked for one Of the occu
pants jackcts-an old one. The cap
tain looked surprised, but compiled
with the request. The colonel strod,
rapidly to the hospital tents, followed
by Bralnard and me. Entering this
surgical ward, he asked:
as McTwyny hercY
''Prisnt, sorr," came from a red FACE
on cot, and II big frccklcd hand came
10 the side of the face in the position OF
salute.
I'm sorry TO hear of your loss" saij
the colonel, and I've brought you til,
best consolation could think Of Thi,
Is the jacket You shall wear when yor
get up again, Captain McTwyny."
"Whooroo" exclaimed Mick. H,
closed his eyes an instant, then Opene,
,hem and said, "Av Norah cud only SEE
IT,
'Shc shall see it, with you inside OF
it, as soon as you're fit to go north OF
leave of absence. Is there anything
else | can do for you?"
Mick pushed aside his sheet, display
ed his severed arm lying on his breasl
and snid:
Don't let EN- throw this away"
He knocked me down for trying tc
take 1t from him." whispered the
nurse, 'but of course thing of that
kind can't be kept"
For n moment the colonel seemed &c
be choking. When he recovered, he
said:
Let me take it. I'll have it buried
with the honors Of war. The company
you're to command, captain, shall fire
salute over it,"
"Oi thank yez very koindly, sorr. for
that an that ilse we've done, but how
about thin two little dhivils forninst
ye? In the foight wild the nnce rails
glory be to the poikes av auld Oreland
they were wort more than all the rist
av the platoon put together. Little
Brainard, an, that n shillelah twister
he'd make. An, as for Frost, he saved
me own loife two or three tonnes in
succession"
Good" exclaimed the colonel "They
shall be taken care Of. Now keep rs
quiet as you can, captain, SO as to get
well auckland see Norah. Nurse,
hang this jacket at the foot Of his cot
IN some way so he can always see the
shoulder straps when his eyes arc
open Come along. men-I beg youI
pardon gentlemen"
"Now,' said the colonel, "as you two
have declined Il hadn't the commits.
sons granted, as you think. under q
misapprehension and through the
imagination of young woman. shall
at once recommend you for commits.
sions in your own old regiment, and
you may be sure that you'll get them.
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