A Soldier's Trial: An Episode of the Canteen CrusadeKing, Charles
General
A Soldier's Trial: An Episode of the Canteen Crusade
King, Charles
United States. Army -- Military life -- Fiction
But when mine host of the Argenta came back from seeing the Flyer off
for the west he, too, had questions to ask as to Foster. Did the office
clerk see anything of him? Nothing. "Queer," said Boniface, "we gave his
hand baggage to the Pullman porter, as directed, but his trunk is there
yet. Reckon I'll have to wire after him and tell the conductor to send
them things back by No. 5."
And this, before he went to bed, the landlord proceeded to do, but no
Captain Foster appeared during the night to claim the trunk or
remonstrate about the luggage; nor came there any answer to the dispatch
to the Flyer until the following morning, when there was handed the
proprietor a slip somewhat as follows:
Man calling himself Captain Foster put aboard last night at Fort
Siding, slugged and robbed. Taking him on to Wister. Physician in
charge. Better notify police.
This was about eight o'clock, at which time the old guard was cleaning
up about the guard-house and the companies detailed for the new were
assembling in front of their quarters, and the officer of the guard, a
young lieutenant recently joined from civil life, new to his trade and
strange to the traditions of the army, was cross-questioning a reluctant
corporal about an unauthorized item of equipment found tucked into his
cartridge belt when the guard paraded at reveille--an officer's gauntlet
of the style worn in the cavalry a year before this time. The corporal
explained that it had been picked up by No. 3 just before his relief was
taken off post at 5:15, that it had been handed him, the corporal, just
before sentry's shout of "Turn out the guard!" at the approach of the
officer of the day, and he had stowed it there for want of a better
place and before he had had time to examine it.
But No. 3, it seems, had _had_ time to examine, and had told some of his
mates of his discovery. They had gone to Corporal Clancy to see for
themselves, and had been told to go about their business, which led to
more talk that finally reached the lieutenant's ears. Clancy had had a
clatter with the sergeant and had been refused permission to go to his
quarters anywhere, for a strange story was flitting about the post
concerning two or three men of "B" Troop who had been out late the
previous night, had got liquor over at a vile resort far across the
Minneconjou, and a little southwest of town, and had had a sanguinary
fight of some kind, for Sullivan was badly cut and Connelly had a nasty
eye, and there was something black and ugly back of it they were trying
to hide, unless veteran sergeants were in error; and finally the
sergeant of the guard told the lieutenant of the story and said he
believed Corporal Clancy was secreting evidence that might be of value,
whereupon Clancy was ordered into the presence and told to produce that
gauntlet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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