Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-04-17
CHAPTER V.

Long were the days and oh! wick
ed the weather.
Endless and thankless the round,
Grinding Gods Grit into rockies
together;
I was the upper stone, he was the
neither,
And Cad, sir, they groaned as we
ground,
Bitter the blame (but he helped me
to bear it,.
Grim the despair that we ate.
But hell's loose! The dams down,
and none can repair it!
IT'S our turni Go, summon my
brother to share it,
His squadron's at arms, and we
wait.
A regiment is more exacting or
it's colonel than ever was lady or
her lord; and more truly he com
mands, the better it loves him, I'M
til at last the regiment swallows
him and he becomes part of it. in
thought and word and deed. Dis
fractions such as polo, pig-stick-
ing, tiger-shooting are tolerable in
sofar as they steady his nerve and
train his hand and eye; to that ex-
tent they, too, Subserve the reg1-
ment But woman is a rival. SO
it is counted no sin against cav
airy colonel should he be a bach
elor.
There remained no virtue, then,
in the eyes of Outram's Own for
Colonel Kirby TO acquire; he had
all that they could imagine, besides
at least a dozen they had not imag-
ined before he came to them. There
was not one black-bearded gentle
man who couched a lance behind
him but believed Colonel Kirby
some sort of super-man; and. in re-
turn, Colonel Kirby found the regi-
ment so satisfying that there was
not even lady on the skyline who
could look forward to encroaching
on the regiments's preserves.
His heart, his honor, and his rare
ability were all the regiments, and
the regiment knew it; so he was
studied as is the lot of few. His
servant knew which shoes he
would wear on a Thursday morn
ing, and would have them ready;
the mess-cook spiced the curry so
exactly to his taste that more than
one cookbook claimed it to be
species apart and labeled it with
his name. If he frowned, the
troopers knew somebody had tried
to fiatter him; if he smiled, the reg
in1ent grinned; and when his face
lacked all expression, though his
eyes were more than usually
quick, officer, non commissioned Of
fcer and man alike would sit tight
in the saddle, so to speak, and
gather up their reins.
His mood was recognized that aft
ernoon as he drove back from the
club while he was yet four hundred
yards away, although twilight was
closing down. The waller mare
sixteen three and a half, with one
white stocking and a blaze that
could be seen from the skyline
brought his big dog-cart through
the street mud at a speed which
would have insured the arrest of
the driver of motor; but that. If
was a sign of ordinary |
health.
Nor was the way he took the cor
ner by the barrack gate. on one |
any criterion; he always |
lid it. just as he never failed to
the sentry's salute by |
raising his whip. 1t needed the OBJ
servant eyes of Outram's Own to
ietect the rather strained calmness |
and the almost inhumanly active |
aye.
"Beware!" called the sentry.
while he was yet three hundred |
Yards away. 'Be awake!"
BE awake! Be awake! Be
Tare!"
The warning went from lip to
ip, troop to troop. from squadron
tables on to squadron stables, I'M
ii six hundred men were ready for
Ill contingencies. A civilian
night not have recognized the diff
erence, but kirby's soldier ser