CHAPTER II.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXI, Issue 5, 20 January 1905, Page 2

CHAPTER 11.

It was in this . transition stage that 1 came across the new 'draft once more. Their officers, in the zeal of youth forgetting that the old soldiers who stiffened the sections must .suffer equally with the raw material under- hammering, had made all a little stale and unhandy with continuous drill- 'md the square, insead.- of: marching the men •into the open and supplying them with skirmishing drill". The month qf .garrison duty in the -.fort : was "j nearly at an end and B company were quite fit for a self-respecting regiment ..to drill with. They had no style or spring— that would come in time— -but as far as they went they were passable. I met Maydew one ,day and .inquired after their health. He told me that young Ouless was irattinga polish on a, half company of them in the great square by the east bastion of the fort that afternoon. Because the day was Saturday I* went oix to taste the full beauty of leisure in watching another man hai-d at work. The fat forty-pound muzzle loaders on the east bastion made a very comfortable n.-iing- place. You could sprawl full length on the iron warmed" by the afternoon sun to blood heat, and command an easy view of the ground which lay between the' powder magazine and the curtain of the bastion. I^saw a half company called over and told off for drill^.saw Ouless come from his quartei-s,- tugging, at his. gloves, and neard the first _ '■'Shun" Vtfe.at blocks the ranks and shows that work Has begun.

Then I went off on my own thoughts, the squeaking of the boots and the rattle of the rifles making a good accompaniment, and the line of red coats and black trousers a suitable background to them all. They concerned the . formation of a territorial army for India— an army of specially paid men, enlisted for twelve years' service in her majesty's Indian possessions;" with the option qf extending on medical certificates for another five, and the certainty of a pension at the end. \ They would be stich an army, as the world had never seen — one. hundred thousand trained men drawing annually five, no, fifteen thousand men from England, making India their home, and allowedto marry in reason. Yes,* I thought, watching the line shift to arid fro, break arid re- - ■ form, -we would buy back Kashmir ■from the drunken , imbecile who was. I turning it into a hell, ■ and there we would plant our much married, regiments — the men. who had served ten years of their time-rand there they should breed us white soldiers, and perhaps a second fighting line of Eurasians. 1 At all events Kashmir was the only. .' place 'in India that the Englishman ! could colonize, and if we had foothold there yv& could. ."' . ' Oh, it was a. beautiful dream! I left ' that territorial army, swelled to a quar l . !' ter of a million -men, far behind and ■ sweptonas far as an independent India, J hiring warships from the d mother couni 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 manufacturing India, with a permanent surplus and her. own flag.. I had' just in- • stalled myself 'as viceroy, and by virtue | of my ofiice had shipped four million : sturdy, thrifty natives to' the Malayan : archipelago, where labor is always I wanted and. the Chinese pour in too ! quickly, when I became aware, that things were not going sihoothly with the. half company. There was a great deai too much shuffling aad 'shifting and "as you wereing." The ndn-coni-j missioned^ officers^ were snapping at the men, and I fancied Ouless backed one . "of his orders* with an oath. ; He was in , no position to do this- because he .was ' a junior who; dhad v nqt yet. learned to ; pitch his word of command in the same key twice running. Sometimes he grunted, and a clear, full voice with a ring in it has more to do with drill than people think. He was nervous, both on parade and in mess, because he was unproven, and knew. it. One of his. majors ihad said in his hearing: * 'Ouless has a skin or two to slough yet, arid he hasn't d. the. sense to. be aware of it." That remark had stayed in Ouless' mind and caused him to think about himself .in little things, - which is. .riot the best training for a ' • young man. He tried to] be cordial at i mess: and became overefrjusive* Then : he* tried to j3ta»d <^^

appeared sulky and boorish. He was qjxiy hunting for the just medium and the proper note and had found neither because be had never faced himself in a.big thing. With his men he was as ill at ease as he was with his mess, and his voice betrayed him. I heard two ordersj and then*. "Sergeant, what is that rear-rank man doing, d- — n him?" That was sufficiently bad. A company officer ought not to ask sergeants for information. He commands, and commands'are not held by syndicated It was too dusty to see the" drill accurately, but I coxild hear the excited little voice pitching from octave to octave> .and the uneasy ripple; of badgered or bad-tempered files running dowu the ranks. Ouless had come on . ..parade as sick of his duty , as were the • men of theirs. The hot suri had told on everybody's temper, but most of all on the yoxingest man's. ' He had evidently lost his self-control, and, not possessing the nerve or the knowledge tp break ■off till he had recovered it again, was* making bad worse by using ill-lan-guage. That is to say, he was abusing his'cpjdmand.: y. ■■;. ' ..... The men .shifted their ground and . ; came.close under the gun I was lying on. •■ They were wheeling quarter-right , and they did it very badly, -in the; natural hoped of hearing . Ouless swear • aigaih. He could have taught them nothing' new, but they enjoyed the exhibition. Instead of -\ swearing Ouless lost his head completely and struck out nervously at .the wheeling' flank-man - with a little Malacca riding cane that he" held in his hand for a pointer. The ■ e'ane was topped with thin- silver over ' lacquer and the silver had worn through , in one place, leaving*; a triangular flap sticking up. Ihad just time to see that Ouless had thrown away his commission by striking a soldier when I heard the rip of cloth and a piece of gray* shirt showed under the queen's shoddy on the man's shoulder. It had been the merest nervous flick of an exasperated boy — but quite enough to forfeit his commission, since it had been dealt in anger to a volunteer, and no pressed man who could not under the rules- of the service reply. The result of it, thanks to the natural depravity of things, was. as thotT^h Ouless had cut the man's coat off his back. Knowing' the new draft by reputation, I was fairly certain that every one of them would swear with many oaths ithat Ouless had actually thrashed the man. In that case- Ouless would do well to : pack his trunk. His career as a servant bf the qiieen in any capacity was ended. The wheel continued and* the men -halted.-* and dressed immediately opposite my resting place. Ouless' face was perfectly bloodless. The flanking man's was a dark red, and I could sec his lips moving in wicked words. Ho . was Ortheris. After seyen -years' service and three medals,- he had been struck by a boy younger than himself. Further, he was my friend and a good; man. a proved man and an Englishman. The shame of the .thing made me as hot as it made Ouless cold, and if Ortheris had slipped in a and cleared the account at once I should ;' have rejoiced. The fact that Ortheris of all men had been struck proved that the boy could not have known whom Ahe was. hitting; but he should have remembered that he was no longer 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. / < The drill halted for a moment. No one knew why, for not three men could have seen the insult, the wheel being* ; end on to. Ouless at the time. Then, led I conceived by the hand of fate, Dvander, the captain, crossed the drillground, and his eye was caught by not. more than a square, foot 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. "Do you let your men come on parade in rags, sir? What's * . that scare-crow doing here? Fallout that flank, man. What doyou mean by' — you, Ortheris! of. all men. What the deuce do you mean?" 1 "Beg y : pardon, sir," said. Ortheris. "I scratched it against the guard-gate running up to parade." "Scratched it! Ripped it up, you' uiean. It's half way up your back:" "It was a little tear at first, sir, but iri portin' arms it got stretched, sir, an' I can't look behind me. I felt it givin', sir." ,„ "Ha!" said Brander. "I should think you did feel it give. I ' thoug*ht it was one of the new draft. You've a good pair of shoulders. Go on!" He turned to go. Ouless stepped aft-' , cr him, very white, and said something in a low voice. . "Hey, whay? What! Ortheris"— the voice dropped. I saw Ortheris salute, say something and stand at attention. "Dismiss," said Brander, curtly. The men were dismissed. "I can't make this out. You say "—he nodded at Ouless, who said something again. Ortheris stoodstill, the torn flap of his tunic falling nearly to his waist-belt. He had, as Brander said, a good pair of shoul- ' ders, and prided himself on the fit of his tunic. "Beg- y' pardon, sir," I heard 'him say, "but I think Lieut. Ouless has been in the sun too long. He don't quite remember things, sir. I come on .p'rade . with- a bit of a rip, and it spread, sir, through porting arms, as I "have said, ''sir.'": "..-,. /'. y. ■ Brander looked from one face to the other, and I suppose drew his owheon- ! elusions, for he told Ortheris to go with | the other men who were flocking back ■ to barracks. Then he spoke to "Ouless and went away,' leaving the boy in the ; middle of the parade-ground fumbling - with his sword-knot. He looked up, saw me lying on: the giin, and came to me biting* the back of his gloved forefinger, so completely thrown off his balance that he had not" sense enough to keep his trouble toliim- . self.- Ry d. Ry A y :;.'; "tsay, yon saw that, I suppose?" He jerked his head back to the. square where the dust left by the departing . men was settling down in white circles..'. A-'.. -.-■-,..-. ' . ;.'.. "I did," I a-nswered, tor. I was not " feeling polite. -AA- ■■'■"■ A- 7 A

"What the dekdl ought I to do?" He bit his finger again. "I told Brander what I had don c. I hit him." : "I'm perfectljy "aware of that," I said, ' 'and I don't suppose Ortheris has *orgotten it already." A ' ' A "Ye-;es; but am dashed if I know what I ought tp do. Exchange into an,'other company, I suppose. I can't ask - the man to exchange, I suppose. Hey?" The suggestion showed the glimmer- . ings of proper sense, but. hie should not -have come tbyme or anyone else for help. It was his own affair, and I told him so. He seemed unconvinced and began to talk of the possibilities of being cashiered. -At this point 'the- spirit moved me, on behalf of the unavenged Ortheris, to paint him a beautiful word-picture of his insignificance in the scheme of creation. "-. He had a papa ahd a mamma :Seven thqusahd miles away, and perhaps some friends. They would feel . his disgrace, but no one else would care one penny.. He would be only Lieut. Ouless of the old regiment dismissed the queen's service, for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. The com- ! mander in chief who would. confirm the 1 orders of the court martial would not , . know who -he was; his mess would, not ! speak|of him,he would return to Bombay j if he had money enough to go home,more [-.alone than when .he had come "out. j Finally — I rounded the sketch with pre- ' cision— he was only one tiny dab of red in the vast gray field of' the Indian, empire. He must work this crisis; out :• alone, and no one could help him and no ; qne eared, (this was untrue because I j cared immensely, he had spoken the j truth to Brander on the spot) whether ! he pulled through it or did not pull, through it. At last his face set and his figure stiffened. '. "Thanks, that's quite enough. 1 don't want to hear any more," he said, in a dry, grating voice, and werit to his own quarters. Brander spoke'to me afterwards and asked me some- absurd questions as to whether I haid seen Ouless cut the coat off Ortheris' back. I knew that jagged sliver of silver, would do its work well, but'l contrived to impress on Brander the completeness, the wonderful, completeness, of my disassociation f vom that drill. I began to tell him all about my. dreams for the new territorial army in India, and he left me. 1 could not see Ortheris for some days, but was told that when he re- ' turned to his fellows he had told the story of the blow in vivid language. ' Samuelson7 the Jew, then asserted that it was not good enough to live in a regiment where, you were drilled off your feet and knocked about like a dog. The remark ; was a perfectly innocent one, and exactly tallied with Ortheris' expressed opinions. o Yet Ortheris had called *Samuelson ah unmentionable . Jew, had accused him of kicking women on the head in London and howling under the cat, had hustled him,;as. a bantam.; hustlesd'a barn-door cock, from one end of the barrack-room to the Other , and finally had heaved every single article; md Samuelson's valise -.-and bedding roll into the veranda and the out- ' dirt, kicking Samiielson every time that the. bewildered creature stooped to pick anything' up. .'- My informant could not account for this inconsistency, but it seemed .to me'; that Ortheris was work-, ingroff his temper.. , v . had heard the story in hospital. First his. face, clouded, then he spat and then he laughed. I suggested, that he had better return to active duty, but he saw it ih another light and told : me. that Ortheris. was quite capable of looking after him self and his; own affairs. ' 'An' if I did come . out, " said Terence, ''like.'; as not Iwould. be catchin' young Ouless by the scruff ay his trdusies ah'makin' an example ay him before the men. Whin Dinah came back I would be under court martial, an' all for the sake ay a little bit ay a bhoy that'll make an o'fficerye ; t. What's •he goin ? to do, sorr, do ye know?" "Which?" said I. ... "Ouless; ay course; I've no fear for the man. Bedad, though, if ut had come to me — butit could not have so come — I'd ha' made him cut his wisdom teeth on his sword hilt. ' ' "I don't think he knows himself what , he means : 'to do," I said. "I should not wonder," said Terence. "There's a dale ay thinkin' before a young man whin he's done wrong an' knoWs lit an', is studyin' hbw to put ut right. Give the word from us to our j little man there, that if he had ha'' told 'on his shuperior orf'cer I'd ha' come out I on fut to Fort Amara to kick him into the fort ditch, an : that's a forty fut ..drop!" - Ortheris was not ih good condition to talk to. He wandei'ed up and. down with Learoyd, brooding, so far as I could see, over his lost honor, and using, as I- could hear, incendiary language. Learoyd .would nod and spit, and smoke and nod again, and must have been a great comfort to Ortheris—almost as great a comfort as Sarmielson whom' Ortheris bullied disgracefully. If the Jew opened his mouth in the most casual remark Ortheris would plunge down it with all arms and accoutrements while tiie barrack-room stared and wondered. "-. * ' \ Ouless had retired into himself to meditate: I saw him now and again and he avoided me because I had witnessed his shame ahd spoken my mind on it:- dHe seemed dull and moody, and found his half company anything but pleasant to drill. The men did their work arid gave *hini 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 was like drilling with war-game .blocks. There, is a beautiful little ripple, in a well-made line, of men exactly like the play of a perfectly tempered sword, d Ouless' half company moved like a broomstick and woiil'V have broken as easily. I was speculating whether Ouless had .sent money to Ortheris, which would have; been bad^or -had apologized to ; him ia private,- which. would have been worse, or had decided to let the whole aCaiv slides which would have been worst of all. when orders came to me to ieaye .the station for awhiic> Ihad not T'jpo&xxa directly to OxlAris; .for his^

*■'"■ ' : .'.■''■:'• C ' honor was not my honor, and he was its only . guardian, and he would not say anything but bad \words. I went away, and from time to time ■■ thoug-ht a great deal of that subaltern j'and that private in Fort Amara, and wondered what would be the upshot of everything. * '..*..