Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file wasproduced from images generously made available by TheInternet Archive/American Libraries.)
WARING'S PERIL.
BY
CAPT. CHARLES KING,
U. S. ARMY,
AUTHOR OF "THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER," "FOES IN AMBUSH," "AN ARMY PORTIA,""TWO SOLDIERS," "A SOLDIER'S SECRET," ETC.
Publisher's logo]
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
1894.
COPYRIGHT, 1893,BYJ. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA.
WARING'S PERIL.
CHAPTER I.
"Ananias!"
"Ye-as, suh?"
"What time is it?"
"Gyahd-mountin' done gone, suh."
"The devil it has! What do you mean, sir, by allowing me to sleep on inthis shameless and unconscionable manner, when an indulgent governmentis suffering for my services? What sort of day is it, sir?"
"Beautiful day, Mr. Waring."
"Then go at once to Mr. Larkin and tell him he can't wear his new silkhat this morning,--I want it, and you fetch it. Don't allow him to ringin the old one on you. Tell him I mean the new 'spring style' he justbrought from New York. Tell Mr. Ferry I want that new Hatfield suit ofhis, and you get Mr. Pierce's silk umbrella; then come back here andget my bath and my coffee. Stop there, Ananias! Give my pious regardsto the commanding officer, sir, and tell him that there's no drill for'X' Battery this morning, as I'm to breakfast at Moreau's at eleveno'clock and go to the _matinee_ afterwards."
"Beg pahdon, suh, but de cunnle's done ohdered review fo' de wholecommand, suh, right at nine o'clock."
"So much the better. Then Captain Cram must stay, and won't need hisswell team. Go right down to the stable and tell Jeffers I'll drive atnine-thirty."
"But----"
"No buts, you incorrigible rascal! I don't pay you a princely salary toraise obstacles. I don't pay you at all, sir, except at rare intervalsand in moments of mental decrepitude. Go at once! Allez! Chassez!Skoot!"
"But, lieutenant," says Ananias, his black face shining, his even whiteteeth all agleam, "Captain Cram stopped in on de way back from stablesto say Glenco 'd sprained his foot and you was to ride de bay colt._Please_ get up, suh. Boots and Saddles 'll soun' in ten minutes."
"It won't, but if it does I'll brain the bugler. Tell him so. TellCaptain Cram he's entirely mistaken: I won't ride the bay colt--norGlenco. I'm going driving, sir, with Captain Cram's own team androad-wagon. Tell _him_ so. Going in forty-five minutes by my watch.Where is it, sir?"
"It ain't back from de jeweller's, suh, where you done lef' it daybefore yist'day; but his boy's hyuh now, suh, wid de bill for las' year.What shall I tell him?"
"Tell him to go to--quarantine. No! Tell him the fever has broken outhere again, sir, and not to call until ten o'clock next spring,--nextmainspring they put in that watch. Go and get Mr. Merton's watch. Tellhim I'll be sure to overstay in town if he doesn't send it, and then Ican't take him up and introduce him to those ladies from Louisvilleto-morrow. Impress that on him, sir, unless he's gone and left it on hisbureau, in which case impress the watch,--the watch, sir, in any case.No! Stop again, Ananias; _not_ in any case, only in the goldhunting-case; no other. Now then, vanish!"
"But, lieutenant, 'fo' Gawd, suh, dey'll put you in arrest if you cutsdrill dis time. Cunnle Braxton says to Captain Cram only two days ago,suh, dat----"
But here a white arm shot out from a canopy of mosquito-netting, andfirst a boot-jack, then a slipper, then a heavy top-boot, came whizzingpast the darky's dodging head, and, finding expostulation vain, thatfaithful servitor bolted out in search of some ally more potent, andfound one, though not the one he sought or desired, just entering theadjoining room.
A big fellow, too,--too big, in fact, to be seen wearing, as was thefashion in the sixties, the shell jacket of the light artillery. He hada full round body, and a full round ruddy face, and a little roundvisorless cap cocked on one side of a round bullet head, not very fullof brains, perhaps, yet reputed to be fairly stocked with what is termed"horse sense." His bulky legs were thrust deep in long boots, andornamented, so far as the skin-tight breeches of sky-blue wereconcerned, with a scarlet welt along the seam, a welt that his comradeswere wont to say would make a white mark on his nose, so red and bulbouswas that organ. He came noisily in from the broad veranda overlookingthe parade-ground, glanced about on the disarray of the bachelorsitting-room, then whirled on Ananias.
"Mr. Waring dressed?"
"No-o, suh; jus' woke up, suh; ain't out o' bed yit."
"The lazy vagabond! Just let me get at him a minute," said the big man,tramping over to the door-way as though bent on invading the chamberbeyond. But Ananias had halted short at sight of the intruder, and stoodthere resolutely barring the way.
"Beg pahdon, lieutenant, but Mr. Waring ain't had his bath yit. Can Imix de lieutenant a cocktail, suh?"
"Can you? You black imp of Satan, why isn't it ready now, sir? Sure youcould have seen I was as dhry as a lime-kiln from the time I camethrough the gate. Hware's the demijohn, you villain?"
"Bein' refilled, suh, down to de sto', but dar's a little on desideboa'd, suh," answered Ananias, edging over thither now that he hadlured the invader away from the guarded door-way. "Take it straight,suh, o' wid bitters--o' toddy?"
"Faith, I'll answer ye as Pat did the parson: I'll take it straightnow, and then be drinkin' the toddy while your honor is mixin' thepunch. Give me hold of it, you smudge! and tell your masther it'sreview,--full dress,--and it's time for him to be up. Has he had his twococktails yet?"
"The lieutenant doesn't care fo' any dis mawnin', suh. I'll fetch himhis coffee in a minute. Did you see de cunnle's oade'ly, suh? He waslookin' fo' you a moment ago."
The big red man was gulping down a big drink of the fiery liquor at theinstant. He set the glass back on the sideboard with unsteady hand andglared at Ananias suspiciously.
"Is it troot' you're tellin', nigger? Hwat did he say was wanted?"
"Didn't say, suh, but de cunnle's in his office. Yawnduh comes deoade'ly, too, suh; guess he must have hyuhd you was over hyuh."
The result of this announcement was not unexpected. The big man made aleap for the chamber door, only to find it slammed in his face from theother side.
"Hwat the devil's the matter with your master this morning,Ananias?--Waring! Waring, I say! Let me in: the K. O.'s orderly isafther me, and all on account of your bringing me in at that hour lastnight.--Tell him I've gone, Ananias.--Let me in, Waring, there's a goodfellow."
"Go to blazes, Doyle!" is the unfeeling answer from the other side. "I'mbathing." And a vigorous splashing follows the announcement.
"For the Lord's sake, Waring, let me in. Sure I can't see the colonelnow. If I could stand him off until review and inspection's over andhe's had his dhrink, he'd let the whole thing drop; but that blackguardof a sinthry has given us away. Sure I told you he would."
"Then slide down the lightning-rod! Fly up the chimney! Evaporate! Dryup and blow away, but get _out_! You can't come in here."
"Oh, for mercy's sake, Waring! Sure 'twas you that got me into thescrape. You know that I was dhrunk when you found me up the levee. Youmade me come down when I didn't want to. Hwat did I say to the man lastnight, anyhow?"
"Say to him? Poor devil! why, you never can remember after you're drunkwhat you've been doing the night before. Some time it'll be the deathof you. You abused him like a pickpocket,--the sergeant of the guard andeverybody connected with it."
"Oh, murther, murther, murther!" groaned the poor Irishman, sitting downand covering his face with his hands. "Sure they'll court-martial
methis time without fail, and I know it. For God's sake, Waring, can't yelet a fellow in and say that I'm not here?"
"Hyuh, dis way, lieutenant," whispered Ananias, mysteriously. "Slip outon de po'ch and into Mr. Pierce's room. I'll tell you when he's gone."And in a moment the huge bulk of the senior lieutenant of Light Battery"X" was being boosted through a window opening from the gallery into thebachelor den of the junior second lieutenant. No sooner was this donethan the negro servant darted back, closed and bolted the long greenVenetian blinds behind him, tiptoed to the bedroom door, and, softlytapping, called,--
"Mr. Waring! Mr. Waring! get dressed quick as you can, suh; I'll lay outyour uniform in hyuh."
"I tell you, Ananias, I'm going to town, sir; not to any ridiculousreview. Go and get what I ordered you. See that I'm properly dressed,sir, or I'll discharge you. Confound you, sir! there isn't a drop ofFlorida water in this bath, and none on my bureau. Go and rob Mr.Pierce,--or anybody."
But Ananias was already gone. Darting out on the gallery, he took aheader through the window of the adjoining quarters through which Mr.Doyle had escaped, snatched a long flask from the dressing-table, andwas back in the twinkling of an eye.
"What became of Mr. Doyle?" asked Waring, as he thrust a bare armthrough a narrow aperture to receive the spoil. "Don't let him getdrunk; _he's_ got to go to review, sir. If he doesn't, Colonel Braxtonmay be so inconsiderate as to inquire why both the lieutenants of 'X'Battery are missing. Take good care of him till the review, sir, thenlet him go to grass; and don't you dare leave me without Florida wateragain, if you have to burglarize the whole post. What's Mr. Doyle doing,sir?"
"Peekin' froo de blin's in Mr. Pierce's room, suh; lookin' fo' deoade'ly. I done told him de cunnle was ahter him, but he ain't, suh,"chuckled Ananias. "I fixed it all right wid de gyahd dis mawnin', suh.Dey won' tell 'bout his cuttin' up las' night. He'd forgot de wholet'ing, suh; he allays does; he never does know what's happened de nightbefo'. He wouldn't 'a' known about dis, but I told his boy Jim to tellhim 'bout it ahter stables. I told Jim to sweah dat dey'd repohted it tode cunnle."
"Very well, Ananias; very well, sir; you're a credit to your name. Nowgo and carry out my orders. Don't forget Captain Cram's wagon. TellJeffers to be here with it on time." And the lieutenant returned to hisbath without waiting for reply.
"Ye-as, suh," was the subordinate answer, as Ananias promptly turned,and, whistling cheerily, went banging out upon the gallery andclattering down the open stairway to the brick-paved court below. Herehe as promptly turned, and, noiseless as a cat, shot up the stairway,tiptoed back into the sitting-room, kicked off his low-heeled slippers,and rapidly, but with hardly an audible sound, resumed the work on whichhe had been engaged,--the arrangement of his master's kit.
Already, faultlessly brushed, folded and hanging over the back of achair close by the chamber door were the bright blue, scarlet-weltedbattery trousers then in vogue, very snug at the knee, very springy overthe foot. Underneath them, spread over the square back of the chair, adark-blue, single-breasted frock-coat, hanging nearly to the floor, itsshoulders decked with huge epaulettes, to the right one of which wereattached the braid and loops of a heavy gilt aiguillette whoseglistening pendants were hung temporarily on the upper button. On theseat of the chair was folded a broad soft sash of red silk net, itstassels carefully spread. Beside it lay a pair of long buff gauntlets,new and spotless. At the door, brilliantly polished, stood a pair ofbuttoned gaiter boots, the heels decorated with small glistening brassspurs. In the corner, close at hand, leaned a long curved sabre, itsgold sword-knot, its triple-guarded hilt, its steel scabbard and platedbands and rings, as well as the swivels and buckle of the blacksword-belt, showing the perfection of finish in manufacture and care inkeeping. From a round leather box Ananias now extracted a new gold-wire_fouragere_, which he softly wiped with a silk handkerchief, dandledlovingly an instant the glistening tassels, coiled it carefully uponthe sash, then producing from the same box a long scarlet horsehairplume he first brushed it into shimmering freedom from the faintest knotor kink, then set it firmly through its socket into the front of agold-braided shako whose black front was decked with the embroideredcross cannon of the regiment, surmounted by the arms of the UnitedStates. This he noiselessly placed upon the edge of the mantel, steppedback to complacently view his work, flicked off a possible speck of duston the sleeve of the coat, touched with a chamois-skin the gold crescentof the nearest epaulette, then softly, noiselessly as before vanishedthrough the door-way, tiptoed to the adjoining window, and peeked in.Mr. Doyle had thrown himself into Pierce's arm-chair, and was trying toread the morning paper.
"Wunner what Mars'er Pierce will say when he gits back from breakfast,"was Ananias's comment, as he sped softly down the stairs, a broad grinon his black face, a grin that almost instantly gave place topreternatural solemnity and respect as, turning sharply on the sidewalkat the foot of the stairs, he came face to face with the batterycommander. Ananias would have passed with a low obeisance, but thecaptain halted him short.
"Where's Mr. Waring, sir?"
"Dressin' fo' inspection, captain."
"He is? I just heard in the mess-room that he didn't proposeattending,--that he had an engagement to breakfast and was going intown."
"Ye-as, suh, ye-as, suh, General Roosseau, suh, expected de lieutenantin to breakfast, but de moment he hyuhd 'twas review he ohdered me togit everything ready, suh. I's goin' for de bay colt now. Beg pahdon,captain, de lieutenant says is de captain goin' to wear gauntlets orgloves dis mawnin'? He wants to do just as de captain does, suh."
What a merciful interposition of divine Providence it is that theAfrican cannot blush! Captain Cram looked suspiciously at the earnest,unwinking, black face before him. Some memory of old college daysflitted through his mind at the moment. "O Kunopes!" ("thou dog-facedone!") he caught himself muttering, but negro diplomacy was too much forhim, and the innocence in the face of Ananias would have baffled a manfar more suspicious. Cram was a fellow who loved his battery and hisprofession as few men loved before. He was full of big ideas in one wayand little oddities in another. Undoubted ability had been at the bottomof his selection over the head of many a senior to command one of thelight batteries when the general dismounting took place in '66. Unusualattractions of person had won him a wife with a fortune only a littlelater. The fortune had warranted a short leave abroad this very year.(He would not have taken a day over sixty, for fear of losing his lightbattery.) He had been a stickler for gauntlets on all mounted duty whenhe went away, and he came home converted to white wash-leather glovesbecause the British horse-artillery wore no other, "and they, sir, arethe nattiest in the world." He could not tolerate an officer whose soulwas not aflame with enthusiasm for battery duty, and so was perpetuallyat war with Waring, who dared to have other aspirations. He delighted ina man who took pride in his dress and equipment, and so rejoiced inWaring, who, more than any subaltern ever attached to "X," was the veryglass of soldier fashion and mould of soldier form. He had dropped in atthe bachelor mess just in time to hear some gabbling youngster blurtout a bet that Sam Waring would cut review and keep his tryst in town,and he had known him many a time to overpersuade his superiors intoexcusing him from duty on pretext of social claims, and more than onceinto pardoning deliberate absence. But he and the post commander haddeemed it high time to block all that nonsense in future, and had soinformed him, and were nonplussed at Waring's cheery acceptance of theimplied rebuke and most airy, graceful, and immediate change of thesubject. The whole garrison was chuckling over it by night.
"Why, certainly, colonel," said he, "I _have_ been most derelict of lateduring the visit of all these charming people from the North; and thatreminds me, some of them are going to drive out here to hear the bandthis afternoon and take a bite at my quarters. I was just on my way tobeg Mrs. Braxton and Mrs. Cram to receive for me, when your orderlycame. And, colonel, I want your advice about the champagne. Of course Ineedn't say I hope you both will honor me with your prese
nce." Old Braxloved champagne and salad better than anything his profession afforded,and was disarmed at once. As for Cram, what could he say when the postcommander dropped the matter? With all his daring disregard of ordersand established customs, with all his consummate _sang-froid_ and whatsome called impudence and others "cheek," every superior under whom hehad ever served had sooner or later become actually fond of SamWaring,--even stern old Rounds,--"old Double Rounds" the boys calledhim, one of the martinets of the service, whose first experience withthe fellow was as memorable as it was unexpected, and who wound up,after a vehement scoring of some two minutes' duration, during whichWaring had stood patiently at attention with an expression of theliveliest sympathy and interest on his handsome face, by askingimpressively, "Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?"
To which, with inimitable mixture of suavity and concern, Sam replied,"Nothing whatever, sir. I doubt if anything more could be said. I had noadequate idea of the extent of my misdoing. Have I your permission tosit down, sir, and think it over?"
Rounds actually didn't know what to think, and still less what to say.Had he believed for an instant that the young gentleman was insincere,he would have had him in close arrest in the twinkling of an eye; butWaring's tone and words and manner were those of contrition itself. Itwas not possible that one of the boys should dare to be guying him, theimplacable Rounds, "old Grand Rounds" of the Sixth Corps, old DoubleRounds of the horse-artillery of the Peninsula days. Mrs. Rounds had hersuspicions when told of the affair, but was silent, for of all theofficers stationed in and around the old Southern city Sam Waring was bylong odds the most graceful and accomplished dancer and german leader,the best informed on all manner of interesting matters,--social,musical, dramatic, fashionable,--the prime mover in garrison hops andparties, the connecting link between the families of the general andstaff officers in town and the linesmen at the surrounding posts, theman whose dictum as to a dinner or luncheon and whose judgment as to awoman's toilet were most quoted and least questioned, the man whose wordcould almost make or mar an army girl's success; and good old LadyRounds had two such encumbrances the first winter of their sojourn inthe South, and two army girls among so many are subjects of not a littlethought and care. If Mr. Waring had not led the second german withMargaret Rounds the mother's heart would have been well-nigh crushed. Itwas fear of some such catastrophe that kept her silent on the score ofWaring's reply to her irate lord, for if Sam did mean to be impertinent,as he unquestionably could be, the colonel she knew would be mercilessin his discipline and social amenities would be at instant end. Waringhad covered her with maternal triumph and Margaret with blissunutterable by leading the ante-Lenten german with the elder daughterand making her brief stay a month of infinite joy. The Rounds wereordered on to Texas, and Margaret's brief romance was speedily andproperly forgotten in the devotions of a more solid if less fascinatingfellow. To do Waring justice, he had paid the girl no more markedattention than he showed to any one else. He would have led the nextgerman with Genevieve had there been another to lead, just as he had ledprevious affairs with other dames and damsels. It was one of theninety-nine articles of his social faith that a girl should have a goodtime her first season, just as it was another that a bride should have alovely wedding, a belle at least one offer a month, a married woman asmuch attention at an army ball as could be lavished on a bud. He pridedhimself on the fact that no woman at the army parties given that winterhad remained a wall-flower. Among such a host of officers as was thereassembled during the year that followed on the heels of the war it wasno difficult matter, to be sure, to find partners for the thirty orforty ladies who honored those occasions with their presence. Of localbelles there were none. It was far too soon after the bitter strife tohope for bliss so great as that. There were hardly any but army women toprovide for, and even the bulkiest and least attractive of the lot wasled out for the dance. Waring would go to any length to see them on thefloor but that of being himself the partner. There the line was drawnirrevocably. The best dancer among the men, he simply would not danceexcept with the best dancers among the women. As to personal appearanceand traits, it may be said first that Waring was a man of slender,graceful physique, with singularly well shaped hands and feet and ahead and face that were almost too good-looking to be manly. Dark hazeleyes, dark brown hair, eyebrows, lashes, and a very heavy droopingmoustache, a straight nose, a soft, sensitive mouth with even whiteteeth that were, however, rarely visible, a clear-cut chin, and with itall a soft, almost languid Southern intonation, musical, evenultra-refined, and he shrank like a woman from a coarse word or theutterance of an impure thought. He was a man whom many women admired, ofwhom some were afraid, whom many liked and trusted, for he could not bebribed to say a mean thing about one of their number, though he wouldsometimes be satirical to her very face. It was among the men that SamWaring was hated or loved,--loved, laughed over, indulged, even spoiled,perhaps, to any and every extent, by the chosen few who were his chumsand intimates, and absolutely hated by a very considerable element thatwas prominent in the army in those queer old days,--the array ofofficers who, by reason of birth, antecedents, lack of education or ofsocial opportunities, were wanting in those graces of manner andlanguage to which Waring had been accustomed from earliest boyhood. Hispeople were Southerners, yet, not being slave-owners, had stood firm forthe Union, and were exiled from the old home as a natural consequence ina war in which the South held all against who were not for her.Appointed a cadet and sent to the Military Academy in recognition of theloyalty of his immediate relatives, he was not graduated until the warwas practically over, and then, gazetted to an infantry regiment, he wasstationed for a time among the scenes of his boyhood, ostracized by hisformer friends and unable to associate with most of the war-wornofficers among whom his lot was cast. It was a year of misery, thatended in long and dangerous illness, his final shipment to Washington onsick-leave, and then a winter of keen delight, a social campaign inwhich he won fame, honors, friends at court, and a transfer to theartillery, and then, joining his new regiment, he plunged with eagernessinto the gayeties of city life. The blues were left behind with the coldfacings of his former corps, and hope, life, duty, were all blended inhues as roseate as his new straps were red. It wasn't a month before allthe best fellows in the batteries swore by Sam Waring and all theothers at him, so that where there were five who liked there were atleast twenty who didn't, and these made up in quantity what they lackedin quality.
To sum up the situation, Lieutenant Doyle's expression was perhaps themost comprehensive, as giving the views of the great majority: "If Iwere his K. O. and this crowd the coort, he'd 'a' been kicked out of theservice months ago."
And yet, entertaining or expressing so hostile an opinion of thelaughing lieutenant, Mr. Doyle did not hesitate to seek his society onmany an occasion when he wasn't wanted, and to solace himself atWaring's sideboard at any hour of the day or night, for Waring kept whatwas known as "open house" to all comers, and the very men who wonderedhow he could afford it and who predicted his speedy swamping in a mireof debt and disgrace were the very ones who were most frequently to befound loafing about his gallery, smoking his tobacco and swigging hiswhiskey, a pretty sure sign that the occupant of the quarters, however,was absent. With none of their number had he ever had open quarrel.Remarks made at his expense and reported to him in moments of bibulousconfidence he treated with gay disdain, often to the manifestdisappointment of his informant. In his presence even the most recklessof their number were conscious of a certain restraint. Waring, as hasbeen said, detested foul language, and had a very quiet but effectiveway of suppressing it, often without so much as uttering a word. Thesewere the rough days of the army, the very roughest it ever knew, thedays that intervened between the incessant strain and tension of thefour years' battling and the slow gradual resumption of good order andmilitary discipline. The rude speech and manners of the camp stillpermeated every garrison. The bulk of the commissioned force was made upof hard fighters, brave s
oldiers and loyal servants of the nation, to besure, but as a class they had known no other life or language since theday of their muster-in. Of the line officers stationed in and aroundthis Southern city in the lovely spring-tide of 186-, of a forceaggregating twenty companies of infantry and cavalry, there were fiftycaptains and lieutenants appointed from the volunteers, the ranks, orcivil life, to one graduated from West Point. The predominance was infavor of ex-sergeants, corporals, or company clerks,--good men and truewhen they wore the chevrons, but who, with a few marked and mostadmirable exceptions, proved to be utterly out of their element whenpromoted to a higher sphere. The entrance into their midst of CaptainCram with his swell light battery, with officers and men in scarletplumes and full-dress uniforms, was a revelation to the sombrebattalions whose officers had not yet even purchased their epaulettesand had seen no occasion to wear them. But when Cram and his lieutenantscame swaggering about the garrison croquet-ground in natty shelljackets, Russian shoulder-knots, riding-breeches, boots, and spurs,there were not lacking those among the sturdy foot who looked upon thewhole proceeding with great disfavor. Cram had two "rankers" with himwhen he came, but one had transferred out in favor of Waring, and nowhis battery was supplied with the full complement of subalterns,--Doyle,very much out of place, commanding the right section (as a platoon wascalled in those days), Waring commanding the left, Ferry serving aschief of caissons, and Pierce as battery adjutant and general utilityman. Two of the officers were graduates of West Point and not yet threeyears out of the cadet uniform. Under these circumstances it wasinjudicious in Cram to sport in person the aiguillettes and thereby setan example to his subalterns which they were not slow to follow. Withtheir gold hat-braids, cords, tassels, and epaulettes, with scarletplumes and facings, he and his officers were already much moregorgeously bedecked than were their infantry friends. The postcommander, old Rounds, had said nothing, because he had had his start inthe light artillery and might have lived and died a captain had he notpushed for a volunteer regiment and fought his way up to a divisioncommand and a lieutenant-colonelcy of regulars at the close of the war,while his seniors who stuck to their own corps never rose beyond thepossibilities of their arm of the service and probably never will. ButBraxton, who succeeded as post commander, knew that in European armiesand in the old Mexican War days the aiguillette was ordinarily thedistinctive badge of general officers or those empowered to give ordersin their name. It wasn't the proper thing for a linesman--battery,cavalry, or foot--to wear, said Brax, and he thought Cram was wrong inwearing it, even though some other battery officers did so. But Cram wasjust back from Britain.
"Why, sir, look at the Life Guards! Look at the Horse Guards in London!Every officer and man wears the aiguillette." And Braxton was a Britonby birth and breeding, and that ended it,--at least so nearly ended itthat Cram's diplomatic invitation to come up and try some VeuveClicquot, extra dry, upon the merits of which he desired the colonel'sopinion, had settled it for good and all. Braxton's officers whoventured to suggest that he trim the plumage of these popinjays only gotsnubbed, therefore, for the time being, and ordered to buy the infantryfull dress forthwith, and Cram and his quartette continued to blazeforth in gilded panoply until long after Sam Waring led his last germanwithin those echoing walls and his name lived only as a dim andmist-wreathed memory in the annals of old Jackson Barracks.
But on this exquisite April morning no fellow in all the garrison wasmore prominent, if not more popular. Despite the slight jealousyexisting between the rival arms of the service, there were good fellowsand gallant men among the infantry officers at the post, who were ascordially disposed towards the gay lieutenant as were the comrades ofhis own (colored) cloth. This is the more remarkable because he wasnever known to make the faintest effort to conciliate anybody and wasutterly indifferent to public opinion. It would have been fortune farbetter than his deserts, but for the fact that by nature he was mostgenerous, courteous, and considerate. The soldiers of the battery weredevoted to him. The servants, black or white, would run at any time todo his capricious will. The garrison children adored him. There wassimply no subject under discussion at the barracks in those days onwhich such utter variety of opinion existed as the real character ofLieutenant Sam Waring. As to his habits there was none whatever. He wasa _bon vivant_, a "swell," a lover of all that was sweet and fair andgood and gracious in life. Self-indulgent, said everybody; selfish, saidsome; lazy, said many, who watched him day-dreaming through the haze ofcigar-smoke until a drive, a hop, a ride, or an opera-party would callhim into action. Slow, said the men, until they saw him catch Mrs.Winslow's runaway horse just at that ugly turn in the levee below thesouth tower. Cold-hearted, said many of the women, until Baby Brainard'sfatal illness, when he watched by the little sufferer's side and broughther flowers and luscious fruit from town, and would sit at her mother'spiano and play soft, sweet melodies and sing in low tremulous tone untilthe wearied eyelids closed and the sleep no potion could bring to thatfever-racked brain would come at last for him to whom child-love wasincense and music at once a passion and a prayer. Men who little knewand less liked him thought his enmity would be but light, and few menknew him so well as to realize that his friendship could be firm andtrue as steel.
And so the garrison was mixed in its mind as to Mr. Waring, and amongthose who heard it said at the mess that he meant at all hazards to keephis engagement to breakfast in town there were some who really wished hemight cut the suddenly-ordered review and thereby bring down upon hisshapely, nonchalant head the wrath of Colonel Braxton.
"Boots and Saddles" had sounded at the artillery barracks. Mr. Pierce,as battery officer of the day, had clattered off through the northgateway. The battery had marched with dancing plumes and clanking sabresout to the stables and gun-shed. The horses of Lieutenants Doyle andFerry were waiting for their riders underneath the gallery of theirquarters. Captain Cram, in much state, followed by his orderly buglerand guidon-bearer, all in full uniform, was riding slowly down the sunnyside of the garrison, and at sight of him Doyle and Ferry, who wereleisurely pulling on their gauntlets in front of their respective doors,hooked up their sabres and came clattering down their stairway; but noWaring had appeared. There, across the parade on the southern side, thebay colt, caparisoned in Waring's unimpeachable horse-equipments, wasbeing led up and down in the shade of the quarters, Mr. Pierce's boy Jimofficiating as groom, while his confrere Ananias, out of sight, was atthe moment on his knees fastening the strap of his master'sriding-trousers underneath the dainty gaiter boot, Mr. Waring the whilesurveying the proceeding over the rim of his coffee-cup.
"Dar, suh. Now into de coat, quick! Yawnduh goes Captain Cram."
"Ananias, how often have I told you that, howsoever necessary it mightbe for you to hurry, I never do? It's unbecoming an officer and agentleman to hurry, sir."
"But you's got to inspect yo' section, suh, befo' you can repote toCaptain Cram. Please hurry wid de sash, suh." And, holding the beltextended with both hands, Ananias stood eager to clasp it aroundWaring's slender waist, but the lieutenant waved him away.
"Get thee behind me, imp of Satan! Would you have me neglect one of theforemost articles of an artilleryman's faith? Never, sir! If there werea wrinkle in that sash it would cut a chasm in my reputation, sir." And,so saying, he stepped to the open door-way, threw the heavy tassel overand around the knob, kissed his hand jauntily to his battery commander,now riding down the opposite side of the parade, backed deliberatelyaway the full length of the sash across the room, then, humming afavorite snatch from "Faust," deliberately wound himself into the brightcrimson web, and, making a broad flat loop near the farther end andwithout stopping his song, nodded coolly to Ananias to come on with thebelt. In the same calm and deliberate fashion he finished his militarytoilet, set his shako well forward on his forehead, the chin-straphanging just below the under lip, pulled on the buff gauntlets, surveyedhimself critically and leisurely in the glass, and then began slowly todescend the stairs.
"Wait--j
us' one moment, please, suh," implored Ananias, hastening afterhim. "Jus' happened to think of it, suh: Captain Cram's wearin' glovesdis mawnin'."
"Ah! So much the more chance to come back here in ten minutes.--Whoa,coltikins: how are you this morning, sir? Think you could run away if Ibegged you to pretty hard? You'll try, won't you, old boy?" said Waring,stroking the glossy neck of the impatient bay.--"Now, Jim, let go. Neverallow anybody to hold a horse for you when you mount. That's highlyunprofessional, sir. That'll do." And, so saying, he swung himself intosaddle, and, checking the bounds of his excited colt, rode calmly awayto join the battery.
Already the bandsmen were marching through the north gate on the way tothe broad open field in which the manoeuvres were held. The adjutant,sergeant-major, and markers were following. Just outside the gate thepost commander was seated on horseback, and Cram had reined in to speakwith him. Now, in his blithest, cheeriest tones, Waring accosted them,raising his hand in salute as he did so:
"Good-morning, colonel. Good-morning, Captain Cram. We're in luckto-day. Couldn't possibly have lovelier weather. I'm only sorry thiscame off so suddenly and I hadn't time to invite our friends out fromtown. They would have been so pleased to see the battalion;--theceremonies."
"H'm! There was plenty of time if you'd returned to the post at retreatyesterday, sir," growled old Braxton. "Everybody was notified who washere then. What time _did_ you get back, sir?"
"Upon my word, colonel, I don't know. I never thought to look orinquire; but it was long after taps. Pardon me, though, I see I'm lateinspecting." And in a moment he was riding quietly around among histeams and guns, narrowly scrutinizing each toggle, trace, and strapbefore taking station midway between his lead drivers, and then, as Cramapproached, reporting, "Left section ready, sir."
Meantime, the infantry companies were marching out through the gate andthen ordering arms and resting until adjutant's call should sound.Drivers and cannoneers were dismounted to await the formation of thebattalion line. Waring rode forward and in the most jovial off-hand waybegan telling Cram of the incidents of the previous day and hissight-seeing with the party of visitors from the North.
"By the way, I promised Mr. Allerton that they should see that team ofyours before they left: so, if you've no objection, the first morningyou're on duty and can't go up, I'll take advantage of your invitationand drive Miss Allerton myself. Doesn't that court adjourn this week?"
"I'm afraid not," said Cram, grimly. "It looks as though we'd have tosit to-day and to-morrow both."
"Well, that's too bad! They all want to meet you again. Couldn't youcome up this evening after stables? Hello! this won't do; our infantryfriends will be criticising us: I see you're wearing gloves, and I'm ingauntlets. So is Doyle. We can't fit him out, I'm afraid, but I've justgot some from New York exactly like yours. I'll trot back while we'rewaiting, if you don't object, and change them."
Cram didn't want to say yes, yet didn't like to say no. He hesitated,and--was lost. In another moment, as though never imagining refusal werepossible, Waring had quickly ridden away through the gate anddisappeared behind the high brick wall.
When the bugle sounded "mount," three minutes later, and the batterybroke into column of pieces to march away to the manoeuvring grounds,Mr. Ferry left the line of caissons and took command of the rearsection. All that the battery saw of Waring or his mount the rest of themorning was just after reaching the line, when the fiery colt cametearing riderless around the field, joyously dodging every attempt ofthe spectators to catch him, and revelling in the delight of kicking uphis heels and showing off in the presence and sight of his enviousfriends in harness. Plunge though they might, the horses could not join;dodge though they might, the bipeds could not catch him. Review,inspection, and the long ceremonials of the morning went off without thejunior first lieutenant of Battery "X," who, for his part, went offwithout ceremony of any kind, Cram's stylish team and wagon with him.That afternoon he reappeared driving about the barrack square, a prettygirl at his side, both engrossed in the music of the band and apparentlyoblivious of the bottled-up wrath of either battery or post commander.
"Be gorra!" said Doyle, "I'd like to be in his place now, provided Ididn't have to be in it to-morrow."
But when the morrow came there came no Waring with it.