The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-05-28

everywhere. but splendid. straight. manly
looking fellows like our own regiments
share OF the "Six Hundred" could not be
suspected OF anything unfair or preten-
tious. They were superbly cool and COM
posed great soldiers always are. ana
neither OF them seemed to take ordinary
interest I'm any one around him until l
chanced 20 mention one OF them TO the
other. To my great surprise, they were
not even ,acquaintances. This fact or
some other seemed TO surprise the one 4
spoke TO. and when ] brought them to-
gether and introduced them they did not
look and act at all as / imagined old
comrades in historic battle wouio.
Thinking perhaps they preferred 20 re-
view old associations In private. / lett
/ them, after which they began to chat
| quite freely. and when next met one OF
| them he told me they had identified eacn
other at last. and glad they were 10 find
| they were old friends. IL was long
| time before could get Cloyne TO take the
| slightest interest in them. but he finally
| eyed them, first carelessly then curious
| ly. Later / saw him I'm ernest. conversa-
tion with one OF them, and when l joked
with him about Il he put on queer smile
and patted me on the shoulder In pat
ronizing manner that exasperated me.
Our reception at the camp OF the
Thirty-eighth was not what had expect
turn out TO cheer the brave youths who
had come To help them put down the re-
bellion. They did not even offer us some
thing 10 eat. although IL was long after
breakfast time and our haversacks had
been empty since the night before. lew
sauntered over 10 the adjutants tent, 10
which we had been marched, and looked
at us as II in search OF familiar faces. but
no one took special interest In us except
the orderly sergeants OF the various
companies, whom the adjutant had the
sergeant major summon by bugle can.
The company in which we had enlisted
had not yet been organized. so we were
allotted temporarily among the older
companies. and the orderly sergeants
swore frightfully. as they marched off,
at the trouble they would have TO
squeeze an extra man or two into every
tent of lot already well filed The
men I'm the tents did not do much 10 make
us feel at home although one or two put
on some appearance OF friendliness ds
they asked us IL we had brought down
anything In pocket TASKS
We Summerton boys were not mace
and more comfortable by being separated.
as we CHANGED TO be. No three OF us
were assigned to the same company.
much less TO the same tent. There
seemed nothing for us TO do or see either
for no drill was ordered during the morn
Ing. Before dinner call was sounded I
lost all interest In the service and the
war. l could think OF nothing but our
farm at Summerton and the people who
occupied Il. My father had promised to
visit me In camp before winter II the au-
thorities would permit How | hoped he
would not do It, / should have been glad
10 have him see the camp OF the Ninety
ninth. but the cavalry camp was very
different There seemed no end OF de-
tached tents and huts. with no particular
purpose that / could discover. Nothing
was as j had expected.
After dinner we boys had an oppor-
tunity TO see each other again. We en-
toyed the meeting. but not Its purpose
for each new recruit was given shovel
and set 10 digging post holes and bitches
for some new stables that were TO be
built / could have had plenty of dig
ging without coming severeal hundred
miles from home, for my father had long
intended TO set new fence. An excita-
BILE young Frenchman among the re-
cruits seemed somewhat OF my way OF
thinking, for he suddenly dropped his
shovel and shouted
II will not dig re hole! ! enlist for Ia
gloire. not for dirty work like zis'
"Ah, you wants glory, eh?" said the
German sergeant who seemed engineer in
chief Den better IL Is you back to your
| own country, we're dey amt got no
sense"
The Frenchman said something be-
tween his teeth and thrust out his fist
The sergeant collared the Frenchman and
kicked him all the way TO the glmrd-
house. There were no protests after that
Post holes and bitches increased rap
idly, and / was somewhat astonished 10
discover that the short ditch dug by Phil
Hamilton was the most shapely OF the lot.
We recruits got some comfort after
supper in criticising the movements OF
the cavalry at dress parade They
awkward company of the Ninety-ninth,
and looked shabby by the lack OF resem-
blance I'm their hats, no two OF whicn
set alike, although all were OF black
felt.
Signs OF hospitality continuing to be
invisible. some OF us Summerton recruits
concluded to spend the night OF the quar-
termasters hay pile. Virginia dews, how
ever, had grown cooler I'm the month
that had elapsed since the Ninety ninth
went north. and we had TO arise i'm the
middle OF the night and indulge In vio-
lent exercise to warm our blood. We talk
ed n great lot, too so much that the SER
geant OF the guard came over to see what
was the matter When we told him why
we were there and how uncomfortable
we were. he said
Serves you right. Men whove been
In theservice once before and got out
and hadn't sense enough TO stay out de-
serve all the bad luck t.ey can find"
I was angry and miserable enough to
believe for the moment that he was
nearly half right.