Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-28
DAILY SHORT STORY
wHYAJAPANEse BOY ENLISTED;
IOriginall

cupying d very important position ON
rhe staff OF one OF the generals who
looked better fitted for the schoolroom
than for war. ! asked him how one 50
young happened to come 10 the front
and attain such high rank in the serv-
ice, and he told me the following
story:
Six months ago l entered our mill
tary school. which ! have been told
was modelled on your school at West
Point The boys l found there were
all very young. because all the older
ones had been prematurely graduated
and sent up here, the vacancies being
filed by youngsters like myself. The
officers on duty, too were very young
Coming from the country and not OF
the samurai, or, military. class, l knew
nothing about the army regulations,
scarcely realizing the difference be-
tween an officer and a cadet. Indeed,
at the school there was not much diff
ference, some of the instructors hav-
ing been made cadet officers after q
years study and put in as drill mas
tiers. One of them, Lieutenant Ishi-
mura, Il beardless boy, put on q great
many airs and took special pleasure
in doing so toward me. l was very
patient under his structures, but at
last they became unbearable, and
| rebelled. He kept up Il perpetual
sneer at my marching in the drill
squad, and, noticing, or affecting to
notice, that carried my belly forward
instead of my chest, he struck me in
the former, causing me great pain.
Under the impulse of resentment at
the unjust treatment l knocked him
down
My act was mutiny, and mutiny is
punishable with death, but Ishimura
had no right To punch me as he had
done and WAS puzzled to know what
to do in the matter After consulta-
ton with several of his brother officers
he decided TO teach me a lesson by
means of a bluff. That night | was
taken out of bed and marched silently
to Il room where sat about a table
several cadet officers who proceeded
| TO try me for mutiny. They played
| their parts so well that I was complete
| ~ deceived. When at the conclusion l
was convicted and sentenced to be
| shot, l had no doubt that the court
was bona fide and the sentence would
really be carried out The only thing
| about it that surprised me was that
| was to be taken at once to u wood near
the academy and executed. / begged
| for time to write "a letter to my par
ents, giving my reasons for the disgrace
1 had brought on the family and bid
ding them farewell No attention was
paid to my request. and, having been
placed in the center of half a dozen
4 80 -. l.,
racks Every now and again some one
Of the boys who were evidently thrown
out as scouts would fall back to re-
port something ahead. Then one would
halt and wait. | did not know at the
time what they were doing, but learned
lit all afterward. The wood was
reached without serious interruption
and l was placed at the center of an
opening in the trees. The cadets were
drawn up as Il firing squad, and / was
| asked If / had anything to say before
being executed.
"Only," l replied, that Lieutenant
| Ishmura is a coward or he would give
me an opportunity to fight him on
equal grounds before I die"
There was a consultation IN whispers.
and / was told that Ishimura would
meet me. We We're given swords and
set to work. IShimuTa had considered
me easy TO disaTm, which would end
| the contest. but while he was trying
only to disarm me ! was trying to kill
| him before being shot. My situation
gave me an unnatural strength and
rapidity OF movement. Making Il des-
perate Iunge, ! pierced his sword arm,
rendering it for the time being use
| less.
The youngsters. who were in the
| wrong from the beginning. were
| thrown by this into deeper water Aft
| or hurried consultation l was placed
again before the firing party and told
| that my second offense of wounding
an officer was worse than the first and
| was 10 be shot at once. | was so
| pleased at the punishment had given
| my tormentOr that | felt comforted.
| Taking n cigarette from my pocket l
| lighted il and smoked while the firing
party were loading their guns. When
| they raised them and aimed at me
pulled away, thinking that was TAX
ing my last smoke. The order to fire
was given, there was a fash in my
face and stood unharmed. The guns
/
| Gentlemen" said the superintend-
ent OF the academy. stepping from be-
hind n tree, this farce has gone far
| enough Lieutenant IshImura. 20 to
your quarters under arrest As to
YOU" addressing me, lit is not expect
| ed that you should so soon understand
| subordination, and you have shown
natural qualities of soldier that
| make your presence at the front de-
sirable. Tomorrow shall send you to
my friend General ", who | have no
| doubt Will find use for your soldierly
/ abilities"
/ If he had simply done as he said l
/ should have been We'll pleased with
| the result, but the next day when we
were drawn up on parade he hobbIed
! out on TO the ground he was minus
| an arm and a leg lost in Manchur1a-