CHAPTER XVI
CAPTAIN CORTLAND "MAKES A SPEECH"
"YOU heard Blick's declaration, didn't you?" questioned Lieutenant Prescott, with a smile.
He had halted on the sidewalk and was gazing at his soldier boys.
"That we wouldn't get out of town alive, sir?" asked Hal Overton.
"Yes. Well, men, we don't deserve to, either, if we leave our comrades out in camp deprived of fresh food much longer. It was Captain Cortland's expectation that we would start back by noon to-day, and now it's ten in the morning, with four hours or more of real work ahead of us, so we had better walk briskly to the market."
An officer does not, except in rare instances that call for it, walk with his men. He walks either ahead or behind them. This is not because of any contempt or lack of respect, even, for the men; it is a rule of discipline and is followed for discipline's sake.
There was soon an abundance of hard work to be done. Liberal supplies of fresh meat were bought, and a considerable variety of groceries and fresh and canned vegetables, for Uncle Sam's soldiers live well.
Hal and Noll soon discovered that they had not been brought along as ornaments. They had their hands full of work.
Then, at last, Lieutenant Prescott sent Hal as messenger to summon the drivers to bring the wagons over to pick up the supplies.
Hard as all hands worked, it was well after one o'clock when the heavily laden wagons were finally gotten into shape and headed out of town.
"Overton?" called the lieutenant, just before the start.
"Yes, sir," Hal saluted.
"Have you seen any assassins lurking about?"
"No, sir."
Brief as his reply was, Hal stared at the young officer in some astonishment.
"Have you seen any assassins dogging our tracks, Terry?" was Lieutenant Prescott's next question.
"No, sir," came from saluting Noll.
Then, continued the lieutenant, still speaking gravely, "I think that this small United States force may presume to start on its way. Of course, we may run into an ambush within the next thirteen minutes, but that would be a mean trick to play on a military party."
Though the young officer spoke with all gravity the soldier boys realized that he was wholly in jest. Reinforced now by the soldier drivers, who were also armed, this little party of trained men could put up a very ugly point at the first sign of need.
"And Prescott is just the sort of officer who'll always know how to lead men in a scrap," Hal thought admiringly.
"Shall we take our seats on one of the wagons, sir?" questioned Private Noll Terry.
"No; the wagons are too heavily laden as it is, and we've a rough road ahead. You'll march on foot. Take the road just ahead of the wagon train, but do not march under any restraint whatever. Walk just as much at ease as you can."
"Very good, sir."
Both soldier boys saluted and stepped ahead. The wagons followed at once. The first time that Hal and Noll glanced backward they saw that Lieutenant Prescott was also on foot, walking beside the second wagon.
"I don't believe Lieutenant Prescott ever gives an order that he wouldn't want to follow himself," murmured Hal.
"He's the real thing in the soldier line," responded Noll.
"I imagine that that other new West Pointer, Holmes, is just as fine a soldier and officer," Hal continued.
"Very likely," admitted Noll. "I hear that they both came from the same home town, and that Prescott and Holmes were chums even years before they went to West Point."
To healthy young soldiers the walk, though over rough roads for most of the way, was no hardship. The wagon train reached camp later in the afternoon, just as the hard-working regulars in camp were coming back from drill in constructing trenches with revetments. These revetments are frames of one kind of wood or another, so built into the trench as to increase its stability greatly.
"You found that your task took longer than you expected, didn't you, Mr. Prescott?" was Captain Cortland's greeting when the young officer, saluting, came over to report.
"We would have gotten through much earlier, captain, but some of our time was taken up otherwise."
"How was that?"
"We accomplished an arrest for the county, at the request of the local deputy sheriff, sir."
Captain Cortland frowned slightly.
"Ordinarily, Mr. Prescott, that is no part of a soldier's business. But I feel certain that you must have had excellent reasons for acting before you had explained to me the circumstances in the matter?"
"Under the circumstances, sir, as I had the use of the telegraph, I found it much easier to communicate with Colonel North at Fort Clowdry."
"Oh, you did that, Mr. Prescott?"
"Yes, sir. I trust that was not the wrong course to take. I wanted to save time, and so used the wire straight to regimental headquarters."
"That was perfectly proper, Mr. Prescott," nodded Captain Cortland. "So you had Colonel North's permission to aid the county authorities?"
"Yes, sir; on condition that we acted as volunteer county peace officers, and not as soldiers. I have preserved Colonel North's dispatch, sir. Here it is."
"Come over to the tent, Mr. Prescott. I am anxious to hear about the whole affair."
As Captain Cortland listened to the young officer's narration of what had taken place, he opened his eyes a bit wider.
"Mr. Prescott, Overton and Terry seem, in every way, to be proving themselves exceptionally fine young soldiers."
"They are all of that, sir," assented Lieutenant Prescott warmly.
"Sergeant Gray!" called the captain, thrusting his head outside the tent.
B Company's first sergeant stepped over, saluting.
"Sergeant, direct Overton and Terry to report here at once."
"Yes, sir."
Privates Hal and Noll appeared before the door of the tent, saluting respectfully.
"Come in, men," directed the captain, and the soldier boys entered the tent, standing at attention.
"Men, Lieutenant Prescott has just been telling me about the arrest in town. He speaks most highly of the conduct of both of you this morning."
Since this called for no reply, the two soldier boys merely continued to stand at attention.
"Now, I'm not going to commend you for the courage you displayed," went on B Company's captain. "It is a soldier's business to be brave, and he should never be commended for anything less than the most distinguished bravery. But what I am going to commend both of you for is in the way of qualities that not all soldiers show as successfully. The first is prompt obedience, and the second is good judgment under conditions of great danger and requiring the swiftest action. I do not know, men, that I can make my commendation duly emphatic in any other way than by telling you that I am fully satisfied with both of you as soldiers of real merit, and that Lieutenant Prescott's report strengthens my conviction. That is all. You may go."
Again Hal and Noll saluted, then wheeled and stepped from the tent.
"That's a good deal better than a speech, isn't it?" murmured Noll when the bunkies were some distance from the officers' tent.
"Why, as coming from a captain, in praise of his men, that was really a speech, wasn't it?" asked Hal.
As neither of the young bunkies told the story in camp, it got out only through the partial accounts of the wagon drivers, who were able to give only garbled and not at all accurate descriptions of the exciting business of the morning.
"I hear you kids have been in the hero business," grinned Private Hyman, coming over to the chums.
"You're a friend of ours, Hyman, aren't you?" asked Private Overton, flushing.
"I surely consider myself one," replied Hyman.
"Will you do us a great favor?"
"You know I will, if I can."
"Then drop the hero business and forget all about it," begged Hal.
"I reckon I like you better for that," nodded Hyman. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"
"Lovely air this afternoon," laughed Noll, sniffing. "Just smell the odors coming from the Army stoves."
"Now you're talking about your own exploits," teased Hyman. "You were on the detail that went in after the fresh grub that's going to make two hundred men, more or less, extremely happy to-night."
"Attention, B Company!" called out Lieutenant Prescott, stepping in among the groups of resting soldiers. "I am directed by Captain Cortland to state that, immediately after supper to-night, twenty men of B Company may have leave to visit Mason City. But they will be required to be back here punctually at ten o'clock to-morrow morning. Men who wish to avail themselves of the proffered leave will see Sergeant Gray without delay."
"Going in, Hyman?" asked Hal, as that soldier turned to walk away.
"If I'm fortunate enough to get leave," nodded Hyman. "There are several things I want to do in town."
The supper that night was as perfect and as hearty as the resources of camp permitted. Some of the soldiers ate so heartily that they were presently content to lie about camp for the evening, and were glad they had not applied for town leave.
Captain Freeman had allowed the same number of his men town leave.
Just before dark forty United States doughboys started down the trail, bent on pleasure and sight-seeing.
Being on leave, none of these men were allowed to carry their arms with them. Nothing, for that matter, could be much more awkward to a soldier than his rifle when on leave to visit town.
"Be careful, men, that none of you overstay your leave," Lieutenant Hampton called warningly, as the town party started down the trail.
"We won't, sir," came the chorused answer.
This is always the promise of men on leave. Sometimes, in the excitement of pleasures, the promise is forgotten, or ignored, and then trouble is sure to follow.