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HIS PRIVATE HOM. fly Rodyard Ktpiing. Copyrtghi, 18'Jl. by the Authors* Alliance, rights reserved. All 'V— ^ ) "The top- intero^ue CUAPTEn L % Each of us tnevttabla. Each of us limitless—oach of us with bts Or hor tight upon the earth, Each of us allowed the eternal purports of tfes earth. Each ot us here as divinely as any Is here. , -Walt Whitman. The autumn batch of recruits for the bid regiment had just been uncartad. As usual, they were said to be the very worst draft tiiat had ever come from the grunted scornfully, and immediately re ported himself very sick “Is it the regular autumn fever?” said the doctor, who knew something of Terence’s ways. “Your temperature’s hormal." “ ’Tis a hundred and thirty-seven rookies to the bad, sorr. I’m not very r sick now, but 1 will be dead if these boys are thrown at me in my rejuced, condition. Doctor, dear, supposin you was in charge pf three cholera camps eb’ “Go to the hospital, then, yon old con triver,” said the doctor, laughing Terence bundled himself into a blue bedgown—Dinah Sbadd was away ah- tending to a major’s lady who preferred Dinah without a diploma to anybody else with a hundred—a pipe in his teeth, and paradedIhejbospital balcony exhortingOrtheristBoo a father to the new recrubs. — “They’re mostly your own sort. Utile man,** he said, with a grin, spit av Whitechapel I’ll %em when they’a more like something they never will be, an* that’s a good, honest soldier, like me." OrtHeris yapped indignantly. lie knew as well as Terence what the com log work meant, anJ he thought Ter- ence’s conduct mean. Then he strolled off to look at the new cattle who were staring at the unfamiliar landscape with Idtfe eyes, and asking if the kite* were eagles and the parish dogs jack ala “Well, yon are a holy set of bean faced beggara you arc»” ha. said, geni ally, to a knot in the barrack square. Then running his cya over them— “Fried fish an’ whelks la about yonr sort. Blimy if they haven’t sent some pink-eyed Jews, ton. Yon chap with the greasy fed. which o* the Solomons was your father—.MosesT" “My name’s Anderson." said a voice, sullenly I “Oh! Samnelson. All right, Samuel- son An’ how many o’ the likes o' yon sheenies are cornin’ to spoil U com pany?” There is no scorn so complete as that of an old soldier for the new It is right that this should be so A recruit must learn Srst that be la not a man but a thing which in time and the mor- ey of Heaven may develop into n aoMter of the qneen. if It takes care and at tends to good advice.' Ortheris’ tunic was open, his cap lopped over one cjy and his hands were behind his back, ns he walked found growing more con “WeP* Ortheris replied, dancing with rage.—^**1* jipst like .Vou and your wc’y ’ECc’s tl company drillin' like a drunk militia reg’raent—" “So I’vo been ofilcially acqucnt,|2 was the answer from on high; “‘but l’n» too sick this tide to make certain.” “An’ you, you fat IITrishman,•shiftin’ an’ shirkin’ up there among the urrer* root ah’ the saga ” “An’ the port wine. You’ve forgot the port wine, Orth’rly It’s none so so had.”. Terence smacked his lips pro- vokingly. “An’ we’re wore off our feet with these ’ere—kangaroos. Come out o’ that, an’ cam your pay. Come on down r that an’ do somethin' ’stead o’ grinnin’ up there like a Jew monkey yon frowzy-headed Fenian.” “When I’m bettet av my various com plaints I’ll have a little private talkin’ wid you. In the mCauvvhilc—duck:” Terence flung an ompjy medicine-bot tle at Ortheris’ head arwf dropped into a long chair, and Ortheris CMM h* ieti mo his .opinion of -Mulvancy three times over—each time entirely varying all the words. ’•There’ll be a srhnsh-np one o’ these days,” lie concluded, “Well, it’s no fault o’ mine, but it’s ’ard on ]> c'om- pany.” - it waa very hard rur H cornpnnr. foc twenty’ seasoned men cannot push twice that number of f*>ols into their places and keep- their own places at the same time. The recruits should have been more evenly distributed through the regiment, but it teemed good to the colonel to mass them in a company .where there was a large proportion of old soldiers. He found his reward early one morning when the battalion was advancing by companies in echelon from the right. The order was given to form company squares, which nrz compact little bricks of men very un pleasant for a line of charging cavalry to deal with. II company wns on the left flank, and hail ample time to know what was going on. For that reason, presumably, it gathered itself into a tiling like a decayed aloe-clump, the bayonets pMntltig cny’TrhnrwTnT^nrrnt and nowhere in particular; and in that clump, roundel or mob it stared till the dust hail pone dou n and the colonel could see and speak. Tie < the speaking was admitted moot to be the best thi man” had ever risen to sine* lightful day st a shnin-fipht, cavalry divi over his line spoke to the recruits as old soldiers will,. and between the four forces at work, on them tho new draft began to stand On their feet and feel that they be longed to a good and honorable serv ice. This was proved by their once ’or - twice resenting Ortheris* technical lec tures. “Drop it now, lad,” said Lenrovd, coming to the rescue. ‘ “Th 1 faps are biting bao!^. They’re none so rotten as wc looked for.” “lip! Yes! You think yourself sold iers now, ’cause you don’t fall ovcreacli other on p’nule, don’t you? You think ‘cause the dirt don't cake off you week’s end to week's -end that you're clean I men. You think, ’cause you can fire your rillo withoutTBWlTnW^'l^intflfl 1 7 both eyes, you're something to fight, don’t you? You'll know later on,”*said Ortheris to the barrack-room generally. “£»et but that you’re a Little better tip an you was," he added, with a gracious wave of his cutty. -s appeared sulky ard boorish. i»c wua only hunting for tiie just medium and the proper note and had found neither’ because he had never faced himself In a bvg thirfg. With his men he was as ill at ease as he was with his mess, and his voice' betrayed him. I heard two orders, and then: “Sergeant, what is that rear-rank man doing, d n him?” That was sufficiently bad. A company of.iecr ought not tc^ ask sergeants for information. lie commands, and com mands are not held by syndicates. » > It was too dusty to see the drill a» Curatcly, but I could hear the excited little voice pitching from octavo* to octavo and the uneasy ripple of badgered or bad-tempered files running “thkt’u* mostly your owr SORT.’ temptuous at each step The recrut* did not dare to answer, for they wer.* new boys in a strange school, who h id called themselves soldiers at the depot in comfortable England. If— “Not a single pair o’ shoulders in tl\« whole loti I’ve seen some bud drafts, but this ’ere draft beats any draft I’ve ever known. Jock, come an’ look a these squigy, ham-shanked beggars.” Learoyd was walking across the i square. He arrived slowly, circled round the knot as a whale circles round i a shoal of small ffy, said nothing and went away, whistling. "Yes, you may well look sheepy," | Ortheris squeaked to the boys. “It’s the likes o’ you breaks the earts of lbs* ‘ likes of us. We’ve got to lick you into : shape, and never a ha’penny extry do we get for so doin’, and you aint never - fat .hands. Aon can do that at grateful neither. Don't you go thinkin it’s the colonel, nor yet the company orfeer that makes you. It’s me, you Johnny Haws—-you Johnnie bloomin j Haws!” . A company officer had come up unper ceived behind Ortfteris at the end of this oration. t G “You may be right,Ortheris,” he said, quietly, “but 1 shouldn't shout it.” The recruits grinned, as Ortheris j saluted and collapsed. Some days afterwards I was priv ileged to look over the new batch, and they were everything that Ortheris had said, and more. company had been devastated by fyrty or fifty of them, and B company's drill on parade was a sight to shudder at.'Ortheris asked them lovingly: “Whether they had not been feent out by mistake, and whether they had not better post themselves back to their frienda” Learoyd‘thrashed them t methodically one by one, without haste but without sji^enliness; and the older >Uliers to#f the remnants from Lea- went over them in their own loo. Mulvaney stayed In hospital, grinned from the balcony when Ort^ris called him a shirker and other worse''Games. “By tHe grace av Ood we’ll brew men Av them Terence said one day “parsavere, me son colonels (n that cep enough—w*d a ‘ V CHAPTER II. It was in this transition stage that I Came across the new draft once more. Their officers, in the zeal of youth for getting that the old soldiers w*.io stif fened the sections”must suffer equally with the raw material under hammer- ing. had made all a little stale and un handy with continuous drill in the Square, inacatl of marching the men Into the opoju and supplying them with skirmishing-drill. The month of .garri son duty in the fort waa nearly at an . end and II company were quite fit for a aelf-Tespeetin j re riment to drill with. They had no Mvlc or spring'—that tvmTM come in f hno— Went they were passal dew one day an health, lie told mo was putting a polish on a half company of them in the great square by the east Jtartion of the f* rt t'aat afternoon. Because the day wan Saturday 1 went off to taste th.' f di beauty <>f leisuta in watching um-thcr man hard at work. The fat forty-pound muzzle loaiWrs on the cost 1’nstion made a verv coin- fufftaldn—rtiklirg -place. Yon could sprawl full len rt i on tho iron warmed ua to W «*<1 heat, an l “What tho dcv^l ought I to uo?” lie bit his finger qge.ln. “I told Brnader what I had Uouo. I lilt him.” “I'm pt'rfcctly awarcof that,” I said,, "and I don't suppose Ortheris has foi** gotten it already.” *’Yc-os; hut I’m dashed if I know what I ought to do. Exchange into an other company, I supposd. I can’t ask the man to exchange, I suppose. Hey?” The suggestion showed the gliinmcr- ln{fs of proper sense, but he should not have,come to me or anyone elfcc for help, it was his own affair, and I told him so. lie seemed unconvinced an'd began to talk of the possibilities of being cash iered. At this point the spirit moved _ . _ ^ _ _ me. on behalf of tho unavenged Orther- r -Dff1e!ei 7 hewue*'vm 8 iwlTfffrirwww parade as sichrbf his duty as were the of his mslymifleanoo in t’.m-scliemc of men of theirs. Tho hot snh had told on creation. lie had a papaand a mamma everybody’s temper, but most of all on seven thousand mHes away, and per- thc youngest man’s. Ho had evidently bans some friends. They would feci lost his sclif-control, and, not possessing ]n 5 disgrace, but no one else would care the nerve or tho knowledge to break one penny. lie would be only Lieut, off till he had recovered it again, waa tbiless of the old regiment dismissed the making bad worse by using ill-lan- queen’s Service for conduct unbecoming guage. That is to say, he was abusing his command. . • j The men shifted their ground and came close under the gun I was lying on. They were wheeling quarter-right and they did Tt verr badly, in'the nat- ural hope of hearing Oulesa swear again. i!p could have taught them noth ml? new, but they enjoyed the ex hibition. Instead of swearing Oulesa an officer and a gentlcnnrn. Tile com mander in chief who would confirm tho order* of the court martial would not know who he was; his mess would not speak!of himThe would rerrm to Bombay iftre tind mimey ruoegb t-e f^ l+omo.mora- alonc than when he had come out. FmaITy —I roundedTSeskctchwithyur- cision—he was only one tiny dab of red In the vnat gray field of th*' Indian em- kmt hi* head completely anti stnnck out . pire, lie mu. t work tliis rri i • nervously at the wheeling flank-man alone, and no one could help him and no with a little Malacca ruling cane that one eared jt]ds waa untrue because I he he Id In his hand for a. pointer. The Cored immensely, ha bad tho *** n♦rxv'YtYiwl twntli f rvrv 4 Itrc i« wHAt.VlOJP* IrOnor ^yus not my honor, and ita only giicrdian, and ho woi tny anything but bad word*. ! went away, and from titn© to Ximo thought a groat deal of that subalVrn and that private in Fort Amara, md wondered what would Uo the upshot' Everything. . ciiapte:: in. TVhon I returned it was early spring. H eoirqm.iy had been shifted from tho. fort to regular duty in canton ments, the roses were getting ready to bud ’on the mall," and tho regiment, which had been at a camp of exercise, among other things wns go ing through its spring musketry under idiutant who had a notion t’aat its suo<^'!!ywrr^^^ stirred up tho company officers, and! tlfey had brought extra ammunition fof their men—tho government allowance was just pufiicient bS h ul the rifling- and E company, which counted many What differ do it make to ^Smrksmeu, wa , vaporing and ofTcrir.g ‘whether ’o ’as a commiaalon or nocomg to.~-challcngc-all tkn-xdJaer-iioriipanies." mip^iop’^ ~TtiTrthi Tumir-T^ jiyur and the thini-^lass shots were, very sorry. i t ’ s between men an’ man.’ ’e sez, ‘if V that they TTa<l ever been bora, and all ‘eld a general commission. Moreover,^ the anbalternt were a rich, riiH' acddle* ’e sez, ‘you don’t look ’andsome ’ot'piny' color from siiting at the butts six or about on your Tnd leg* like that Taker eight hours a day, 1 *m away. Jock.' Tlicn *q went insid«' I went off to the butts after break- [ qrfi that's all I got outcr Tcrence. fast very dim oT enrioalty io *ee how [ *««czaSftlowt5 a march tn yard, t ‘Stanley,’ 'e sez, ‘that yqpng beggar by the didn’t ye for to 'it you.* T don’t give - d whether ’e did or V didn’t ’It mo' ’o did,* I sex *11100 you’ve only got to report to Brander,’ sez Jock ‘What d j*er take me for?* I sex, an I waa so htad I nearly ’it Jock. An’ *e got me by the«4>eck an* shoved my ’ead into or bucket o’ water tn the cook 'otutr an* then wo went back to^he fort, 4B* tt~'‘ uuowcU. \.cll, 1 sea Vo Tctcuiaj, whiupenn* under the ’qrapital baleonytj ’Terence,’ cez I, ‘what In 'bll am 1 tdj do?’ I told Tn all about the row, sama an you saw. Terence *o whistled like a bloomin' old bullfinch up there In ’or*- pital an’ *c sez: ’You ain’t to blame,' aez^’c. ‘Strcwth,’ scz l. ’D’yoo *np» -pose I’ve eomp ’ere for five miles iff the sun to take blame?' I sez. T want that young beggar'* hide took off. I; ain’t a bloomin’ conscript,’ 1 sex. Tiff a private servin’, of tho queen an’ m good a man as’o is,’ I sez,’for all In, commission an’ 'is airs an’ 'Is money,*! sez I.” "What a fool you were.” I Interrupt*' ed. Ortheris not being a menial, but» lan- ^l ~ BPWPPBHK"",.. wi _ _ ^ ! wonder you got it the same way sa pat If 'e ’asn’t been talking to you. ’E sez to mo: ’You ought to have more. -Benge.* ’e sez. ’at your time of life., you,’ ’e sev Oulcss was there with his men l»e!d hill<»ek that marks the six hun dred yards range, and the men were in gray-green Lhaki that shows the best -points of a soldier and r.kados off jnto every background be may stand against. Before 1 was in hearing distance I by tho afternism Id l»oVh, u:;d i»y the regi* vg t’.ie “ohl inee one de- w hen a »i«>n had occasion t» walk of akirmishers. He said, almost weeping, that he had given no order for rallying groups, and that he preferred to see a Httkj rtrrssingTiinnng the men rvcn*iona!!r. HiTThrn a polo- gized for having mistaken U company for men. lie said that they were but littlti weak children, and since he could not offer them each a perambulator and a nursemaid (this may sound comic to read, but B company heard it by word of mouth and winced! perhaps the best thing for them to do would be logo back to squad drill. To that end ho proposed sending them, out of their turn, to garrison duty in Fort Amara, five miles away. (It msy be observed that It company were next for this de testable duty and nearly cheered the colonel.) There he devoutly hoped that their own subalterns would drill them to death, as tt^y were of no use la thei* present life, w •* It was an exceedingly painful scene and I made haste to tie near It company barracks when parade was dismissed and the men were free to talk. There was no tr Iking nf first, liecause each old soldier took n now* draft and kicked him very severely'. The non-commls- sioned officers had neither eyes nor ears for these accidents. They left the barrack* to themselves, and Ortheris 'improved the occasion by a speech. I did not hear that speech, but fragment* of it were quoted for weeks afterward. It covered tho birth, parentage and education of every man in the compa ny by name. It gave a complete ac count of Fort Amara from ov sanitary and social point of view, and it wound up with an abstract of the whole duty of a soldier, each recruit, his use in life, and the speaker’s views on the use and fate of the recruits of B com pany. “S'ou can’t drill, you can’t walk, you I can’t shoot—you—you awful rookies! Wot’s the good of you? You eats and you sleeps, ami you eats, and you goes t to the doctor for medicine when your I innards is out of order, for all the world ! as if you was bloomin’ generals. Ah, now, you’ve topped it all, you bat’s- eyed beggars, with getting us dmv out i to that stinkin’ Fort Ammorcr. We’U fort you when we get out there. I ' “Yes an* we’ll ’ammer you, too. - .Dou’t you think you’ve come into tho barmy to drink In no, an’ clot you com- p’ny, an’ lie on ypur cots, an’ scratch common *w < f tho p radn ground wbi—H Lev Wtwoon tho powder magazine and the curtain of the bas tion. 1 saw a half company called over and told off for drill, *-uw Ouless come from his quarters, tugring ot hi* plove*, ami heard the firrt “Shun" that locks tho ranks and ahows that work has begun. -T' •TRUCK OUT XERVOUSLT. Then I went off on my own thoughts, the squenkid’K.of the boots and the rat tle of the rifles making a good accom paniment, and the line of red coats and black trousers a suitable background to* them all. They concerned the forma tion of a territorial army for India—on army of specially paid men, enlisted for twelvo years’ service in her maj esty’s • Indian possessions; with The* option bf extending on medical certifi cates for another five, and the certainty of a pension at the end. They would be such an army as the world had never seen—<>no hundred thousand trained men.drawing annually: fite, no, iiitccn home selling matches, which is all you’re fit for, you Web-huntin', penny-toy, bootlace baggage-tout, ’orse-’oldin,’ sandwich-backed se-wers, you, (Ortheris meant soors, which moan:, pigs). Fvo spoke you as fair as 1 know ’ow, and you give good ’eed, ’cause if Mulvaney stops skirmishing—gets out o’ k os Pit»l when wc’rc in the fort, I lay your lives will bo trouble to you." That was Ortheris’ peroration, and it caused B company to bo christened tho “boot-black brigade.” With this dis grace ofr their slack shoulders they wjfnt to garrison duty at Fort Amara under three officers who were instructed to twist their little tails. The army, unlike every jOthcr profession, cannot be taught through shilling books. First a man must suffer, then lie must learn his work, and the self-respect that that knowledge brings. The learning is hard in a land where our array is not a red thing that walks down the street to be looked at, but a living, tramping reality liable to be needed at the short est notice, when there is no time to say: “Hadn’t you better? And won’t you, please?” . , The company officer* divided tfrem- •elvea into three. When Brander, the captain, was wc cried, be gave over to Maydcnr, and when Maydew waa hoarse be ordered the Ju* lor subaltern, Oulea*, to bucket the ten through squad and drill tQ! Brander could go on igain. Gut of parade hour* the Ud soluter* thousand men from England, making India their homo, and allowed to marry in reason. Yes, I thought, w a telling the line shift to.and fro, break and re form, we would buy back Kashmir from the drunken imbecile who was turning it into a hell, and there we would plant our thuch married regi ments—the men who had served ten years of their time—and there they should breed us white soldiers, and per haps a second fightinglincof Eurasians. At all events Kashmir was the only place in India that the Englishman could colonize, and if we had foothold there we could- — Oh, it was a beautiful dream! I left that territorial army, swelled to a quar ter of a million men, far behind and swept on as far as an independent India, hiring warships fron^ the mother coun try, guarding Aden on the one side and Singapore on the other, paying interest on her loans with beautiful regularity, but borrowing no men from beyond her own borders—a colonized manu facturing India, with a permanent sur plus and her own flag. I had, just in stalled myself viceroy, and by virtue of my office had shipped four million sturd}’, thrifty natives to tho Malayan archipelago, where labor is always wanted and the Chinese pour in too quickly, when I became aware* that things were not going smoothly with the half company. There was u great deal too much thuffiing and .shifting and “as you wcrclng.” The non-coin- missioned officers were snapping at the men, and I fancied Oulcss backed one of his orders with an-oatln lie was in np position to d# this, because he was a junior’ who Ifad- not yet learned to pitch his word of command in-the same key . twice running. Sometimes be fdon by striking a soldier when I hoard! the rip of cloth and a piece of pray shirt, showed under the queen’* shoddv on the min'* •honldet'. It had been the merest nervous (liek .of an exasper ated boy—but quite enough to forfeit- hi* commission, since it had Ix-cn dealt In anger t« a voltiuteer. and n«» pressed man trim gotild mil noder rnW nf the service reply. Tho result of it, thunks to tl»o natural depravity of tiling*? was as though Oulea* hid cut the man's >-mt td? 4h* back. Ksowi«g the new draft by reputation, I fairly certain that every one of them vroul 1 swear with many oaths that Ouh-s* had actually thrashed tlie man. In that ea'e Oolc*s would do well to pack his trunk. Hi* career as a serv ant of the qneen in any capacity wa* ended... Tho whc^l continued ami the men halted and dressed imir diately my renting plnee. TIsWW fa4«a was perfectly bloodless. The flanking man’s was a dark red. and I could see his lips moving in wicked word*. He was Ortheris. After seven years*'•erv- ice and throe medals, he had been struck Uy a boy younger than himself, fr—‘ Further, he wns mv friend rml n good man. a proved man and an Englishman. u\ ' Th--:'.:i • "f the thing made no ns 1* hot ns it made <H!e .s cold, and if Or- theria hid slipped in a cartridge- and cleared the account at once I should have rejoiced. The fact that Ortheris of all men had been struck proved thatr the boy could not have known whom he wa. hitting; hut ho should have re- ow in lx*red that lie was no longed a boy. And then I was sorry for him. and then I was angry again, and Ortheris stared in front of him and grew redder and redder. J'be iT\ll halted for a moment. No one knew why, for not three men could have soon t’.ie insult, the wheel licing end on to Oiliest at the time. Then, led I conceived by the hand of fate, Brander, tho captain, crossed the drill- ground,-and hi* eye was caught by not more than a square f*x)t of gray shirt over a shoulder-blade that should have been covered by well-fitting tunic. “Heavens and earth!” he said, cross^ ing in three strides. “Da you let your men come oh pirnrte in rags, sir? What's -That ^■p.VNetv'HY7totng~ here? Fall out that flank, man. What do you mean by —you, Ortheris! of all men. What tho deuce do you mean?” “Beg y’ pardon, sir,” said Ortheris. “I scratched it against the guard-gate running up to parade.” "Scratched it! Hipped It up, you mean. It’s half way up your back.” “It wa* a little tear at first, sir, but in portin' arms it got stretched, sir, an* I can’t look behind me. I felt it givinV sir.” ” ‘‘Ha!” said Brander. "I should think you did foci it give. I thought it was one of the new draft. You've a good pair of shoulders. Go on!” 1— He turned to go, _ Oulcss stepped aft er him, very white, and said something in a low voice. . __ " IIev. whuvT Wli at! Otihcri**—this voice dropped. I saw Ortheris salute. want to hear any. more," ho said, in a dry, grating voice, and Vent to hi* o%in quartern. Brander spoke to rre afterwards r.nd asked me some al>surd questions as to whether I had seen i'filess cut the coat of? Ortheris’ back. I knew that jagged sliver of silver would do its work well, 4mt t ©ontrivod to impress an Brander uuterfol enm- datlon from tho completeness, tho wi pletene-.s, of my disnsso say something and stanii at attention. "Dismiss,” said Brander, curtly. Tho men were dismissed. *T can't make this out. You say"—he nodded at Ou- less, Who said something again. Orther- j is stood still" the torn flap of his tunio falling nearly to bis waist-b?lt. He had, I as Brander said, a good pair. t}/ shoul ders, aud prided himself on the fit of his tunic. “Bog y* pardon* sir," I hoard Him^ say, "“but I think Lieut. Oulcss has been in the sun too long. He don’t quitcrc- nEunber things, sir. j‘1 coma on p’rado with a bit of a rip, anil it spread, sir, through porting arms, as I have said, sir.” Brander looked frnrrf one face to the oilier, and I suppose drew his own con clusions, for he told OrtherisTo^o with the other men who were flocking back to barracks. Then he spoke to Oulcss and went away, leaving the boy in the thatdriik I began to tell him rll about my dreams for the new territorial army — In India, and he left me. 1 could not see Ortheris for some days, but wa*. told that when he re turned to his fellow* ho had told th© story <»f the blow in vivid language. Samnelson. the Jew, then nsnertod that it was not g*xxl enough to live in a regi ment where you wer© drilled off your 1 feet and knocked about like a dog. 'Die , remark way n perfectly innocent uoo, - and exactly tallied with Ortheri*’ ex pressed opinions. Yet Ortltcri* had called Sainuclson an nnmentionablc Jew, hail accused him of kicking wom en on tlie head in London and howl ing under the eat, had hustled him, a* a bantam hustles a barn-door cock, from one end of the barrack-room to tlie ••til er and finally hod beared every single article in Samuclson’s valise and bed- i ding roll into the veranda and tho out- dirt, kiefting Samnelson every time that tlie bewildered creature stooped to pick • anything up. My informant could not account for this Inconsistency, but it seemed to me that Ortheri* wa* work ing off hts temper; L Mulvaney had heard the story in hos pital. First his face clouded, then he spat and then he laughed. I suggested that he had better return to active duty, hut he saw it in another light and told t me that Ortheris was quite capable of looking after himself and his own af fairs. “An’ if 1 did come out,” said Terence, “like as not I would be catch- in' young Oulcss by the scruff av his trousies an’ inakin’ an example av him lieforc the men. Whin Dinah camo # back I would bo under court w martial; ! an’ all for the sake av a little bit av a bhoy that’ll make ah officer j’ot. What'x he goin’ to do, sorr, do ye know?" "Which? ’ said I. ’ {‘Oulcss, av coursc. “Fro no fear for ; ihc man. Bedad,though, if ut had come j to me—but it could not have -so, come— I I'd ha’ made him cut his wisdom teeth • oq his sword hilt.”, ' ! “I don’t think ho knows himJelf what; he means to do,” 1 said. “I should not wonder,” said Terence, i "There’s a dale av thinkin’ before a young man whin he’s done wrong an’ knows ut an’ is studyin* how to put ut " right. Give the word from us to our little man there, that if he had ha’ told on his shuperior orf’eer I’d ha’ come out on fut to Fort Amara to kick him into the fort ditch, an : that’s a forty fut j drop!” Ortheris was not in good conclition to i talk to. He wandered up and down • with Learoyd, brooding, so far. a* I could see, over his lost honor, and us ing, as I could hear, incendiary lan guage. Learoyd would nod aud spit, and smoke and noil again, aud must have been a great comfort to Ortheris—al most as great a comfort as Samnelson y whom Ortheris bullied disgracefully. I If the Jew opened his mouth in the most casual remark Ortheris would plunge down it" with all arms and ac coutrements whilo the barrack-room | stared and wondered. ' t ^' pulcss *bad retired into himself to meditate. I saw him now and again arid he avoided me because I had wit nessed his shame and spoken my mind on it. He seemed dull and moody, and found his half company anything but pleasant to drill. The men ditT their work and gave him very little trouble, but just when they should have been feeling their feet and showing that they felt them, by spring and swing and snap, the elasticity died out and it sclf-posscvdon, swinging easily and ' jumping. to the word of command. : Coining nearer, J hoard Oulcss whistle: \ between his teeth os b© looked down on the rang© with hi* J binoculars, and th© back of Lieut. | Oulcss was tho l>sck of a free man and an officer. Ho nodded as I came up, and 1 heard him fling an order to a non- eommIUmed officer la aanre and cur-, tain voieo. Tlie flag ran up from th© target and Ortheris flung himself down on his stomach to put in hi* ten shots, tic winked at me torer th© breech ©look as he settled himself, with the air of a man who has to go through tricks for the benefit of children. "WatdT you, men,” said Oulesa, to th© squad behind. “Ho is half your Weight, Brannigan, but he isn’t afraid of hi* rifle.” Ortheris had hia little affectations and ijet ways, as the rest of ns have. II© weighed his ride; gave H % 4Lttlw tilek up, cuddled down again and fired acroas th© ground that waa beginning to danca in the ran heat. "Miss!” said a man behind. "Too much bloomin’ ground in front,** Ortheris muttered. "I should give two feet for refrac tion,” said Ouloss. Ortheris fired acrain, mad© hla outer, crept iu, found the bull and stayed there, th© noncommissioned officer pricking off the ©hots. * “t’an t make out 'ow I missed that first,” he said, rising and stepping back to my side, ns Ix»aroyd took his place. "Is it company practice?" I asked. “No. Only jnst knocking about. Ouk*f s”e’s givin’ ten rupees for second- class shots. I'm outer it, of course, but I com© on to show ’em the proper*stylo o’ doin’ things. Jock looks like a sea- line at the Brighton aquarium, sprawl in’ and crawlin’ down there, don’t '©? Gawd, what $ butt this end of Tm would make." * "B company has come up very well,” I sai<k "They ’ad to. They're none so dusty, now, fire they? Samnelson even ’© can shoot sometimes. Wc’rc gettin’ on ns well as can be expected, thank you.” "How do you get on with—” "0! ’ira. First rate. There’s nothin’ wrong with ’im.” fT WasTT amgttlgd th.en?” ‘ •* ‘Asn’t Terence told you? I should say it were. ’E's a gentleman, ’e is.” “I^et’s hear,” I said. Ortheri* twinkled all over, tuckedhis rifle across his knee and repeated* " ’E’s a gentleman.. ’E’s an officer, too. You saw ail that mess in.Fort Ara- mercr. T’wasn’t none o’ my fault, as (L ••STIOVRD **AD IXTO WATXn." ▲ BUCKET *1/, /V *"0 :J/' ‘ / A&/ ORTiir.Ris trnru agaix. you can guess, drill judged it Only some goat in th© wa* behavior or some thing to fday the fbol oil p’rade. That’s why wc drilled so bad. When ’c ’it me, I was v nb took aback I couldn’t do noth in’ an’ when I wished for to knock ’ira down tho wheel ’ad gone, an* I was facing you there lyin’ on the guns. A„ftcr the captain had come up an’ wan he took mo ono under th© chin that give Aamuclzoa a little more trooblB With Ta kit. *E set to me; */ haven't been strook without httttn* tmatu* ‘Wall, you’re goin* to be now,* I sat, aa\ I give ’im on© or two for 'tsarIf aa* arxed 'im very polite to Tt back, didn’t. I’d a killed im If Ai 'ad. did m« a lot o’ gootl “Oulesa *e didn’t make no show for torn© days—not till after you waa gaoa,. an' I wa* fecliu* sick an! • miserable aa* didn’t know what 1 wanted 'orpt iff black 'la little eyes good. 1 'oped ‘a • might send me some money for my tunic. Then I’d ha’ bad it 4 it with him on p’rado and took my chances. Ter ence wp» (n 'oaplUU still, you sea. an* ’• wouldn’t give mo no advice. “Tb© day after you left, Oulesa eorea across mo enrryin’ a bucket oo fatigue an’ 'c sez to nle rery quietly: ‘Ortheris, you’ve got to coma But shnotin’ with me,' 'a sez. I felt like to banging the bucket in ’Is eye but I didn’t. 1 go* reedy instead Oh, ’©'a a gentleman! Wo went out together, neither sayin* nothin’ to the other till we waa well out into tho jungle beyond the river with Tgh grass all round—pretty near that place where I went off my *ead with you. Then ’o puts his gun down an 4 sez, very quietly: “ ‘Ortheris, I struck you on p'rade,* ’# fcez. > » .- . “ ‘Yes, *hr,' *ez I, ‘yon did.' "Tvo been studYin' It out mysell* ’e ccz. “ *Oh, you ’are, *ave you,* *ex I tomy* Self, ‘an’ a nice time you’ve been abou* it you bun-faced low beggar.' “ ‘Yes sir!’ sez L ** ‘What made you screen meT *• ae* " ‘1 doh’t know,’ I sez. an’ no more i did nor do. . " T can’t ask you to exchangu,’ sez. ‘An’ I don’t want to exchange my self,’ sez 'e. “ ’What’s cornin’ now?* I thinks iff myself. ‘Ye^sir,’ scz l. "He lookca around at the Tgh grass all about, an’ ’e sez to himself more than to me: Tvo got to go through i* alone by myself.’ ’E looked so queer for a minute that so ’elp me I though* the little beggar was going to pray. .. * "Then ho turned around again an’ *e sez: 'What do you think yourself?* *ff SCZ. ' ' : ^ - “ T dotft quite see what you mean, sir,’ sez I. , ' . " ‘What would yon like?’ ’e sez, an’ I thought for a minute ’e was goin’ td give me money, but ’© run ’is ’and up to the top button of ’is shpotin* coat an* loosed it. " ‘Thank you, sir,’ I sez. Td like tba* Very well,* I sez, an’ both our coats waa off an’ put down." „ "Hooray!” I shouted. Incautiously. "Don’t make a noise $n the butts, w said Onlesifrom tho shootihg place. "I* puts the men off.” I apologized and Ortheris went on. "Our coats was off an’ ’e sez: ‘Are yott ready?’ sez ’e. ‘Como on, then.* I come on, a’ bit uncertain at first, but __ was like drilling .with war-game blocks, grunted/and n clear, full voice with a middle of tho parade-ground fumbling There is a beautiful little ripple in a ring in it has more to do ^vith drill with his sword-knot . . well-made line of men exactly like the Ha looked up, saw ra© lying on the gun, and came to mo biting tho back of his gloved forefinger, so completely thrown <4?b Li balance that he had not ring than people-think. Ho was nervous, both on parade and In mess, because he was un pybven, and kncwMII Ono of his majors had aakl in his Wearing: "Ouiesa h^s a skin or two jf U and. ho luso V the sense’ to be awai#of it.” That .Remark had stayed in Oulesa’ mind—and caused him to think about hlmsetf in little things- which is not kfco -beat training for a young man. He tried to be- cordial at mass and became ovwseffn&ire. Then ha- triad to eUrrt aa his and ze enough to keep hi* trouble to him- sclf. . “l iny, you taw that, I supposeT* IT© jerked his head back to Ua aquara where the dust left by the depajrting men waa sctilinj down in waits cir- ' “I did,” I answered, fcciing polita. exactly play, of a pc rfectly tempered sword. J Oulcss* half company moved like a broomstick and would have broken ua easily. I waa • peculating whether Oulesa hod is, which would j had apologized to : i Would have been d to let the whole j would have been '•tars cams to ma to for 1 not sent money to Ortti have been find, or hla in private, whic worse, or had decide affair slide, which w df St ot ail, wb<*Q o leave the at m for awhile. I had so* if -to Drtharj>» 'for- Lu 1“ raggin’ mo about m3' tunic bein’ tor>3 I saw the young beggar’* eye an’ ’fore I could V)p myself I begun to lie Like a good’nn. You’card that? It was quite instlnktire, but my! I was in a lather. Then /«? said to tho captain: T struck ’ini!* sez *e, an’ 1 ’card Brander whittle au’ then I eorao out with a new set o’ lies all about portin’ arms.nn'. ’ow the rip growed, such es you 'card. I done that tooJx-fore I d:new where I waa. Then I give SaitrucUon what-for in th© barrieks’when he was dismissed. Yon ahouU ha' seen ’Is kit by the time I’d finished with it. It was all over the bloomin' fort. Then me and Jock went off to Mulvaney la orapital, fire mils walk, on’ 1 was hoppin' mad. Oulesa *s k sowed tt was court marshal far me if 1 Tt Tm hack-’* mm* h* M wanned rae up. I wanted to mark the little beggar an’ I hit high, but he went an’ jabbed me over the heart like a good one. He wasn’t so strong os me, but ho knew more, an’ in about two minutes I called: ‘Tima!’ ’E stepr back—it was In-flghtin* then. ’Como on, then, you’re ready,* ’esez, ami when 1 * id my wind 1 come on again, an* l girt ’ira one un Hie noae that painted ’ia tittle aristocratic white shirt for ’im. Thai fetched ’im, an’ I knew it quickeV nor light, lie fightin’, goin* held-on all I then I began to! up. 1 come in, T® an”, got m. downed om "M 4