THE GERALDINE RIFLES AGAIN SURPRISED.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3609, 26 April 1886, Page 3

THE GERALDINE RIFLES AGAIN SURPRISED.

♦ : This is evidently the ago of surprises — at i least so think tho Geraldine Rifles. They i seora by all accounts to havo had a Tery : lively time of it whilo m camp ; they have \ not had much peace from tho Geraldine i larrikins, who appear to liavo taken a pari ticular delight m disturbing their camp at i night, and making them turn out m tho cold [ night air m doublo-quick time, and then lead , them a " wild gooso chaso." Such waß the ! state of affairs early on Thursday morning. [ This time, however, their mode of attack was • different to the former. Thoy knew very s well that firing blank cartridges at the out- : posts was not, with its consequences, a i paying gamp, so they changed their . tactics and eludod the outposts — who ■ evidently wore walking m thoir sleep or sleep--1 ing while they walked — sneaked up to tho j tents about tho "sma' hour ayorit tho twal " i — as tho Scotchman Biys — whilo nil wcro . asleep and immediately commenced operations i by simultaneously cutting the ropes of tlireo j of the tents. The result was that tho tents m i question collnpsed and came down " lumpus " . on the top of thoir sleeping inmates. The at- . tacking parly had not timo to do any moro 1 damage before a most unearthly spluttering, • kicking, fighting and scrambling took place under the folds of what wcro but a few , seconds before stately and military tents. The enemy were but a fow seconds m coming ■ to the conclusion that discrotiou was tho better i part of valour, and m doing so followed out i the old maxim that ho who fights and t, runs away lives to fight another day, and i took to their heels. Such a hue and cry was > instantly raised by the Voluutcers the 1 moment they extricated themselves from the i debris and caught sight of tho retreating • forms, that all the people living within a I radious of half a milo of the camp must have • thought the inmates of Bedlam had been lot r looso. They would for certain have thought , so if they had scon a Bcoro or so of Volunteers, . nearly all with but a Bingle garment on, j careering across the fields m hot pursuit of r those who had so neatly surprised them. They t did indeed cut a ridiculous figure m their quaint i and old-fashioned garb. Hotter and hotter j grew the chase and tho excitement. Revengo ■ they say is sweet, and that was what those martial men wanted, and revenge i was what they soon would havo had ; had not a thick five feet live gorse hedge suddenly made its appearanco between > tho pursued and tho pursuers. That was a > little more than they bargained for under the , circumstances, and tho eight of it consideri ably cooled their ire, for tho thought of • trusting their poor unprotected selves to the ! tender mercies of gorso thorns was to them i not exactly a pleasant one. Under ordinary > circumstances, they would not for a moment . havo thought twice about negotiating such a > hedge, but thon very often circumstances alter ) cases. So nil they had to do was to stand on I tbo opposite side of the fence to their enemies i survey them at a distance with minglod , feelings, and submit with the greatest of t good grace to the very unfeeling remarks of • those whose blood they as it wero, i were thirsting for. How nicely tho tables I were turned, and didn't the Geraldine larrikins ' know it too, and they did'nt forget to let thoir late pursuers know it. What sorry figures those martial men cut as they wended r their way back to their camp m r tho bitter cold night air with hardly a j stitch on their baoks and not a boot or Bboe C on their feet. And then when they reached tho > camp what joy when they had to set to work and put up their tents against. Each mans' [ face was calmness itself, but each manly t breast was panting with untold feelings, and i woe be tide the larrikin that had come within j their reach. When everything had been set > right again, they onco more coiled themselves > up m their blankets, but not before they had j cast a furtive glance or two about the r pTccincts of tho camp m search of those they • dreaded. Ono surprise a night the larrikins I thought sufficient so they did not trouble • their military friends again. As may i be imagined the riflemen were well " chaffed " . by their friends when their " witch " i like performance m tho small hours of tho morning became known. At any rate, thoso two surprises have done them a considerable amount of good, and has shown how promptly they can turn out when occasion requires, and has given them a taste of what midnight ■ surprises are like m actual warfare, an advantage which Volunteer companies m other towns do not, thanks to the. lenionoy of the larrikin elemont, possess.