The Morning standard. [volume] (Ogden, Utah) 1910-191?, 1910-12-11

"a
-" HERE we were. a company or us. tucked
away I'm the jungle at Desmones, Province OF
Albay, Island OF Luzon, surrounded by hills
that crawed with little brown men. so frayed
in the nerves that we ducScd every time n
stingng ny buzzed through the molten sunlight.
thinking It to be a bullet
Now ask you. that time for soldiers to feel
that they were commanded by frivolInc nonentty,
Bombastes FuriQso In gold braid and pomaded mus
taches7
OF course the leutcnantS had known about 1t from
the start. and 7, as surgeon, had heard and seen
enough n week after being assigned to the post But
the worst of it that the had heard the whis
pers An officer may lack all confidence in his su
peror believe him TO be as hollow rs drum, and still
do his duty He the training and the tradition of
the service to back him. If nothing more But men
want to feel that they follow the orders of captain
who knows his business, And when they can't they
60 to battle With yellow lips and chill In the pits of
their stomachs.
And besides this wasn't battle. No heat of action
and fury of strife for stmulant while Sulked about
our wretched barracks. Corporal Dan was crossing
the street with shouted jest to comrade on his
tongue when q dum-dum whined in between the huts
and bis phrase ended in gurge. The company beat
the woods about until sunset and came Shambling
back to stumble upon the bodies of two of their
rades in thicket they had passed. stabbed and ripped
and killed with never cry. That takes the starch
out of the rank and ne, that SORT of thing And it
cnIls for strong faith in Providence and the N o,
which latter we lacked
Our X o. was a volunteer. The department in It's
Infinite wisdom may know how he came to be in
charge the borders of the Camarlncs, where Lux
don the willest and dangerous of robbcr chief
tans harried the country. To who served under
him 1t of the freak casts of evil fortune past
explanation.
Captain BIS military experience up to the time
be received his commission had been gained men,
of light artillery company in Florida. Sounds
well, doesn't 1t? Speaking of light artillery you get
mental picture of galoping Stecds. 1nslng harness,
pounding guns and carriages. all the dash and pan
opy Of the most picturesque arm of the service But
the Captains light artillery had been very different
kInd-sort OF exclusive little club, where popping
corks supplied the circumstance OF war and officers
were promoted the basis of the number of quarts
they could assimate.
Far from regarding this schooling matter too
trivial for mention In the midst of a deadly, grim
campaign, the Captain was lnordinately proud OF it.
1t gave him material for endless anecdotes when I
leftnant in the light Artillery sub" his
favorite clutch the conversation 1t came to be
sickening. To the stand there teeerlng
his toes and throwing out his little pigeon breast and
endlessly twisting at his perfumed mustache while
he told tales of drinking bouts. and LukdonS
picking of like cattle the while, enough to
make want TO start an insurrecton Of ones own,
His Toast to the Foe.
Well the long and short of it was the believed
the Captain to be incompetent and cursed him sui
lenly, and the officers thought they knew the Cap
tain was a fool or worse and prayed that he might
get In the way of one Of those whining jungle mis-
syes. Looking back 1t l see that the post
was well ordered and maintained throughout. though
NO could have made acknowledge 1t at the
time We had our opinion of Captain B, founded
op our observation of him, and nothing he did was
right. His brisk insistcnce upon discipline we re-
garded as a sham and his high respect for himself
and his abilities offensive affectation
The first incident that might have served TO en-
tighten us happened on breathless hot night when
four or five of lis had gathered at the Captains
quarters on the second floor of a decaying shack
above the messroom. We had come through no
friendship for the Captain, but as a concession to
monotony and case Of beer which he had managed
TO get through somehow. The shades 10 all the WIN
dows were thrown wide and we sprawled In our
chairs coats loosened and collars off raspIng for thc
breeze that never The beer was warm and
nat, everything was sticky and humid and our tenn
perS were raw edged, So we slipped and grunted and
eyed each other suspciouSy and suffered as we had
learned to suffer in the steaming jungle
The Captain alone remained clipper and satisfied
DC nad the noor TO himself aud he bubhnp
alone in his usual way during moments of relaxa.
don We were not very attentive. am afraid we
yawned at him. When he rose by the table glass In
nand' under the swinging lamp and proposed toast
We glowered unresponSve
Gentlemen he began, when 1 was cftnant In
the light ahtilery"-
Our Groans, II not audible were heartfelt
III used to be the custom to drink to the enemy In
tnose days the enemy was-uh-rather n foke time
nonnhed joke But. suhs though he is suhtanlv no
joke at present.
Aing-el Something hummed through the window
Ihere was the sharp crack tnlle OF broken eoss
ana way OIL on the hillside the sharp report OF rifle
VIC heard the nervous challenging Of the guards be-
low The Captain was still standing there with bIe
nand upraised Little rvulets of beer were trckIno
uown his sleeve and dripping from his elbow The
ouet mad Sliced the top off his glass leaving the base
anu an inch OF two Of rim in his grasp We stared ot
nh' lie was smiling little as he twisted his mus
tache daintly with his left hand
and though he apparently has no mind 10 be so
favored. must insist upon the ceremony Suhs tle
enemy, a brave and worthy one we must admit -
J.. lie hniShed as evenly he had begun and without
jsnitng rom his position he swallowed the few drops