The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-01-15
Roberts called Hans gross and said
that he must stick to his trumpet. -

ROBERTS called Hans gross anu Sdip
that he must stick to his trumpet. :;
The .edict of his chief made Hansl
feel badly. He blew the whole scale,
of calls, from reveille through fatigue,
recall and drill to taps. but his soul
wasn't in his music. Down deep In
Hans soul there came the thought that
somehow he was not like other men.
The smartness Of appearance which
characterized Sergeant Nelson, Corporal
Brady and a score Of privates he knew
could never be his. There was lacking
in his makeup that something which
gives dash to soldier. Hans used to
fall over his feet in most unmilitary
way, and his hands were never in the
proper places. There was one thing,
however, that could be said Of him,
he always tried to obey orders implic-
lily. He generally blundered a num-
ber Of times while making the attempt,
but the intent was right, and that COW
ers a multitude Of sins much more
serious in nature than mere blunders.
The Third Caval-y was in the Wyom-
Ing country in the Elkhorn Greek re-
gion. There had been q good deal of
trouble with the Nez Perces and L
Troop had been kept on the jump most
of the time for a month. L Troop was
Hans outfit. There had been one con-
slant succession of scoutings. 1t had
been necessary to send small squads
In half a dozen different directions at
one and the. same time. The trump
eter had been forced to stay with the
main body, which was not very big
body at that, at all times. He had
been in everything in which the whole
troop was engaged, but the idea Of
sending Hans out on reconnaissance
where coolness and the subtlety Of the
devil were necessary for safety, was
the last thing that had entered the
head Of the commander.
One day, however, one of the coolest
days Of the second winter month, it be-
came necessary to send a scouting
party to investigate the rumor of the
approach of a band Of savages. Now
1t happened that the whole command
was tagged out, and this in nutshell
is the reason why Hans Meuller found
himself for the first time in his life
in a position of acute responsibility.
he was ordered by Captain Roberts
to proceed with Sergeant Nelson and
two privates northwest until something
was ''felt," Oh until the Sergeant was
satisfied that wrong report had been
turned into the camp.
When the little body set out the fa-
tigue of the individual members of
the troop showed that it was not, so
to speak, strong enough to keep these
same individuals from giving Hans a
send-off. Hans had a carbine and
revolver. His trumpet was hanging
up on a peg. One Of the bystanders
said to the Sergeant in command,
'Look out for Hans if you happen to
get into a scrimmage. The first thing
you know he'll forget himself and he'll
try to blow retreat on his carbine.
You may lose one man il Hans puts
LIS uUulu " luc "lOAS Sdo VI saS
barrel"
Then they said few other things
to Hans. He was told to be sure not
to get his canteen mixed up with his
cartridge belt, and to make sure that
he took note Of the landmarks on the
way out, so he could get back to camp
in a hurry if he happened to hear an
Indian shoot off a gun. Hans took all
this we'll enough, because the thought
of actually going out on scout was
sufficient to knock all other things
out Of his head, resentment along with
them. They had left the camp far
behind them. Sergeant Nelson, who
was an old and tried campaigner,
turned to his men and said: eve are
getting near the place where we may
expect to see something" Then he
spoke seriously to Hans: "Meuller,' y
he said, "you're not half as bad, per-
haps, as the troop makes out, but
tell you honestly that I'm kind OF
afraid of you when it comes to a pinch
DO the best you can and don't run
AS a matter of fact, think Jim Cros