Produced by Stephen Hope, Joseph Cooper, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net * * * * * +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original | | document have been preserved. | | | | This e-book has dialect and unusual spelling. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ * * * * * SOLDIER STORIES SOLDIER STORIES BY RUDYARD KIPLING AUTHOR OF "PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS," "UNDER THE DEODARS," "THE PHANTOM RICKSHAW," "WEE WILLIE WINKIE," ETC., ETC. _WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS_ NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1896 _All rights reserved_ COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Norwood Press J.S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. CONTENTS PAGE WITH THE MAIN GUARD 1 THE DRUMS OF THE FORE AND AFT 25 THE MAN WHO WAS 78 THE COURTING OF DINAH SHADD 101 THE INCARNATION OF KRISHNA MULVANEY 139 THE TAKING OF LUNGTUNGPEN 182 THE MADNESS OF PRIVATE ORTHERIS 191 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO FACE PAGE 'PUT YER 'EAD BETWEEN YOUR LEGS. IT'LL GO ORF IN A MINUTE' 2 'HE RAN FORWARD WID THE HAYMAKERS' LIFT ON HIS BAY'NIT' 12 HE PICKED HER UP IN THE GROWING LIGHT, AND SET HER ON HIS SHOULDER 23 'HEY! WHAT? ARE YOU GOING TO ARGUE WITH _ME_?' SAID THE COLONEL 35 CRIS SLID AN ARM ROUND HIS NECK 47 THE MEN STROLLED ACROSS THE TRACKS TO INSPECT THE AFGHAN PRISONERS 50 THE TUNE SETTLED INTO FULL SWING, AND THE BOYS KEPT SHOULDER TO SHOULDER 69 '_RUNG HO_, HIRA SINGH!' 85 HE FOUND THE SPRING 91 IT IS NOT GOOD THAT A GENTLEMAN WHO CAN ANSWER TO THE QUEEN'S TOAST SHOULD LIE AT THE FEET OF A SUBALTERN OF COSSACKS 94