“'Faith,' thinks I, 'that's Honour an' Glory'; for 'twas Lift'nint
Brazenose did that job. 'I'm wid ye, Sorr,' sez I, 'if I'm av use. They
shud niver ha' sent you down wid the draf'. Savin' your presince, Sorr,'
I sez, ''tis only Lift'nint Hackerston in the Ould Rig'mint can manage a
Home draf'.'
“'I've niver had charge of men like this before,' sez he, playin' wid
the pens on the table; 'an' I see by the Rig'lations--'
“'Shut your oi to the Rig'lations, Sorr,' I sez, 'till the throoper's
into blue wather. By the Rig'lations you've got to tuck thim up for the
night, or they'll be runnin' foul av my coolies an' makin' a shiverarium
half through the counthry. Can you trust your noncoms, Sorr?'
“'Yes,' sez he.
“'Good,' sez I; 'there'll be throuble before the night. Are you
marchin', Sorr?'
“'To the next station,' sez he.
“'Betther still,' sez I; 'there'll be big throuble.'
“'Can't be too hard on a Home draf,' sez he; 'the great thing is to get
thim in-ship.'
“'Faith, you've larnt the half av your lesson, Sorr,' sez I, 'but av you
shtick to the Rig'lations you'll niver get thim inship at all, at all.
Or there won't be a rag av kit betune thim whin you do.'
“'Twas a dear little orf'cer bhoy, an' by way av kapin' his heart up, I
tould him fwhat I saw wanst in a draf in Egypt.”
“What was that, Mulvaney?” said I.
“Sivin an' fifty men sittin' on the bank av a canal, laughin' at a poor
little squidgereen av an orf'cer that they'd made wade into the slush
an' pitch things out av the boats for their Lord High Mightinesses. That
made me orf'cer bhoy woild wid indignation.
“'Soft an' aisy, Sorr,' sez I; 'you've niver had your draf' in hannd
since you left cantonmints Wait till the night, an' your work will be
ready to you. Wid your permission, Sorr, I will investigate the camp,
an' talk to me ould frinds. 'Tis no manner av use thryin' to shtop the
divilmint now.'
“Wid that I wint out into the camp an' inthrojuced mysilf to ivry man
sober enough to remimber me. I was some wan in the ould days, an' the
bhoys was glad to see me--all excipt Peg Barney wid a eye like a tomata
five days in the bazar, an' a nose to match. They come round me an' shuk
me, an' I tould thim I was in privit employ wid an income av me own,
an' a drrrawin'-room fit to bate the Quane's; an' wid me lies an'
me shtories an' nonsinse gin'rally, I kept 'em quiet in wan way an'
another, knockin' roun' the camp. 'Twas bad even thin whin I was the
Angil av Peace.
“I talked to me ould non-coms--they was sober--an' betune me an' thim
we wore the draf' over into their tents at the proper time. The little
orf'cer bhoy he conies round, dacint an' civil-spoken as might be.
“'Rough quarthers, men,' sez he, 'but you can't look to be as
comfortable as in barricks. We must make the best av things. I've shut
my eyes to a dale av dog's thricks to-day, an' now there must be no more
av ut.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account