Following this sound advice the boys proceeded to divide their
possessions into two lots. Even then it did not seem possible to carry
along everything laid out for their taking.
"Now dump the whole outfit on your bunk," directed Miller, "and first
fold your blankets and clothing in the way you have been taught. The
detachment will travel in blues, so before doing anything else run down
to the Post Tailor and tell him to press them in a hurry and send them
up. Here, Cabell, you take both uniforms with you and Comstock will
help you on your return."
Henry picked up the new blue uniforms, which the boys had not worn as
yet, and hurried to the Post Tailor. Then proceeding under his able
instructor, Dick first packed his knapsack to its limit. Two blankets,
three suits of khaki, two O.D. shirts, three suits of summer underwear,
one pair of tan shoes, six pairs of socks, a towel or two, and his
toilet articles, one by one disappeared into the enchanted bag. His
overcoat, recently issued him, was rolled and tied in straps to the top
of the pack after fastening down the flaps by means of the rawhide
thongs. In the meantime Henry had returned.
"Put that extra pair of tan shoes in your haversack with all the rest of
your odds and ends," advised their instructor. "You will wear leggins
and campaign hats, though personally I think it a poor combination with
blues, and you can hook your blue cap to the pack after you get it on."
"Sergeant, didn’t you tell me that marines used to have dress coats with
long skirts, black spiked helmets, white helmets and white uniforms?"
asked Dick, while he stowed away a little pocket edition of the New
Testament in his haversack as the final act of his work in hand.
"Yes, that’s right," answered Miller.
"Well, for the love of Mike, how did you ever travel with all that junk
and still always be the first to get there when there was trouble
brewing?"
"Indeed it was a question in the old days," said Miller reminiscently,
"but you must understand that when hurry-up orders came along we took
what was needed for the work in hand and no extra stuff at all. When we
made a permanent change of station then we hauled along our whole
equipment, and what we could not carry on our backs was shipped to us by
the Quartermaster."
"About how much do you reckon this knapsack weighs, Sergeant?" asked
Henry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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