Uncle Sam's Boys as Sergeants or, Handling Their First Real Commands

Irving Hancock Harrie

Description

LIEUTENANT POPE, battalion adjutant of the first battalion of the Thirty-fourth United States Infantry, looked up from his office desk as the door swung open and a smart, trim-looking young corporal strode in.

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819906315
• Langue: English

Extrait

CHAPTER I
"TIPPED OFF" BY WIG-WAG
LIEUTENANT POPE, battalion adjutant of the firstbattalion of the Thirty-fourth United States Infantry, looked upfrom his office desk as the door swung open and a smart,trim-looking young corporal strode in.
Pausing before the desk, the young corporal came toa precise, formal salute. Then, dropping his right hand to hisside, the soldier stood at attention. "Good morning, CorporalOverton." "Good morning, sir." "What do you wish?" "I have beenmaking inquiries, sir," continued Corporal Hal Overton, "and I aminformed that you have some signaling flags among thequartermaster's stores." "I believe I have," nodded LieutenantPope. "I have come to ask, sir, if I may borrow a couple of theflags." "Borrow? Then, Corporal, I take it that you do not want theflags for duty purposes?" "Not immediately for duty purposes, sir.Corporal Terry and myself would like to practise at wig-wagginguntil we become reasonably expert. Sergeant Hupner is an expert atwig-wagging, I understand." "Yes, indeed," agreed Lieutenant Popeheartily. "Even in the Signal Corps of the Army there are fewbetter signalmen than the sergeant." "So I understand, sir.Corporal Terry and I are delighted at the idea of having thesergeant instruct us." "But what do you want to do, especially,with flag signaling?" inquired the quartermaster. "It is simply,sir, that we want to make ourselves better soldiers." "It is rarelythat we find better soldiers than Terry and yourself," replied thequartermaster, with a friendly smile. "But you are quite right,none the less. A soldier can never know too much of militaryduties. I see no objection whatever to your having the flags, butas they are not a matter of ordinary issue, I think it better forme to seek Major Silsbee's authority for issuing them." "Would ithave been better if I had gone to the battalion commander in thefirst place, sir?" "No; whenever you wish anything in the Army itis usually better to go direct to the officer who has that thing incharge in his department, save when it is something that you areexpected to draw through your company officers." "It was CaptainCortland who sent me to you, sir, but he said he had no authorityto draw a requisition for signal flags." "You have taken the rightcourse, Corporal. If Major Silsbee is in his office it will takebut a moment more."
While the young corporal remained at attentionLieutenant Pope turned to his telephone and called for thebattalion commander. "It's all right, Corporal," nodded thelieutenant, hanging up the receiver. Then he wrote on a slip ofofficial paper. "Here is an order on which the quartermastersergeant will issue you two signal flags. You are, of course,responsible for the flags, or for the value." "Yes, sir. Thank you,sir."
Five minutes later Corporal Hal Overton steppedbriskly from the building in which the quartermaster's stores werekept. Under his left arm he carried two signal flags, rolled andattached to short staffs. "Noll hasn't shown up yet. I hope hewon't be long," murmured Hal, gazing across the parade grounds inthe direction of the barracks of enlisted men. "Bunkie and I have alot to do to-day."
Readers of the preceding volumes in this series willneed no introduction to Corporals Hal Overton and Noll Terry, ofthe Thirty-fourth United States Infantry.
The headquarters battalion to which these twoearnest young soldiers were attached was still stationed at FortClowdry. Readers of "UNCLE SAM'S BOYS IN THE RANKS" are familiarwith the circumstances under which Overton and Terry first enlistedat a recruiting office in New York City. These same readers alsoknow how the two young soldiers put in several weeks of steadydrilling at a recruit rendezvous near New York, where they learnedthe first steps in the soldier's strenuous calling. Our readers arealso familiar with all the many things that happened during thatperiod of recruit instruction, and how Hal and Noll, whiletraveling through the Rockies on their way to join their regiment,aided in resisting an attempt by robbers to hold up the UnitedStates mail train. Our readers are well aware of all the excitingepisodes of that first garrison life, including the life and deathfight that Hal Overton had with thieves while he was on sentry dutyin officers' row, and of the efforts of one worthless character inthe battalion to discredit and disgrace the service of bothsplendid but new young soldiers.
In the second volume, "UNCLE SAM'S BOYS ON FIELDDUTY," our readers were admitted to equally exciting scenes of awholly different nature. This volume dealt largely with the troopswhile away in rough country, under practical instruction in theactual duties of soldiers in the field in war time. Just howsoldiers learn the grim business of war was most fully set forth inthis volume. Among other hosts of entertaining incidents ourreaders will recall how Hal, on scouting duty, robbed the "enemy's"outpost of rifles, canteens and secured even the corporal's shoes.Some of Hal's and Noll's other brilliant scouting successes aretherein told, and it is described how Hal and Noll finally gainedthe information that resulted in their own side gaining the victoryin the mimic campaign. That volume also told how LieutenantPrescott, aided by Soldiers Hal and Noll, succeeded at very nearlythe cost of their lives in arresting a notorious and desperatecriminal for the civil authorities, and how all this was done inthe most soldier-like manner. It was such deeds as the scouting andthe clever arrest that resulted in the appointment of the two chumsas corporals. Then there was the affair, while the regulars were onduty in summer encampment with the Colorado National Guard, inwhich Hal and Noll, acting under impulses of the highest chivalry,got themselves into trouble that came very near to driving them outof the service.
Since the last rousing scenes in and near Denver,something more than a year had passed. It was now the beginning ofthe fall of the year following when Corporal Hal Overton, with thesignal flags under his arm, waited near the parade ground for thatother fine young soldier, Corporal Noll Terry.
A year of busy life it had been, though in the mainuneventful. Our two young corporals had spent most of their timesince in perfecting themselves in the soldier's grim game. Theywere now looked upon as two of the very finest and staunchest youngsoldiers in the service. "Oh, there comes Noll at last," mutteredCorporal Overton some minutes later. "And it's high time, too, ifhe has any regard for the sacredness of a soldier's punctuality.But he's leaving the telegraph office. I wonder if the dear oldfellow has been getting any bad news from the home town?"
Corporal Terry, as he came briskly along the smooth,hard walk of a well-kept military post, looked every inch as fine asoldier as his chum. By this time Noll was just as thoroughly inlove with all that pertained to the soldier's spirited life as wasOverton. "Think I was never coming?" hailed Noll gayly. "I began towonder if you weren't losing sight of the sacredness that issupposed to be attached to a soldier's appointment," said Haldryly. "I am afraid I have been so carried away with a new chancethat I've treated you just a bit shabbily," Corporal Noll admitted."Think no more of it," begged Hal. "I got the flags." "So my eyestell me." "And what have you been up to, Noll?" "Oh, the greatestchance!" glowed Terry. "You know how hard I have been plugging awayat telegraphy in spare time during the last few months?" "Ofcourse." "Well, Lieutenant Ray is through with his tour of duty asofficer in charge of our telegraph station, and Lieutenant Prescotthas succeeded him for the next tour." "Yes." "I've been over to thetelegraph office to interview Lieutenant Prescott, whom I saw goingin there. Prescott is a grand young officer, isn't he?" "Every manin the battalion knows that," Hal agreed heartily, for, indeed,there were no two more popular young officers in the service thanLieutenants Prescott and Holmes, of B and C Companies,respectively.
Readers of our "HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' SERIES" and of the"WEST POINT SERIES" know all about Dick Prescott and Greg Holmes,once leaders among High School athletes and afterwards among thebrightest and finest of West Point cadets. Prescott and Holmes werenow fully launched in their careers as Army officers. "LieutenantPrescott has given me a really bully chance," Noll went on happily."Did you ask him for it?" suspected Corporal Hal shrewdly. "Well, I– er – er – hinted some, I guess," responded Noll, with a quietgrin. "But if you want things in this world aren't you a heap morelikely to get them by asking than by keeping quiet?" "Surely. Butgo on and tell me what it is that you got." "I haven't exactly gotit yet," Noll continued. "But Lieutenant Prescott is going torecommend me for it, and ask Captain Cortland's permission." "Iguess you'll get it, then," nodded Hal Overton. "Mr. Prescott'ssuperior officers think so highly of him that he usually doesn'thave to beg very hard to get what he wants. And – what is it?""Why, old fellow, I'm to be relieved from most other duties andplaced in charge of the telegraph office. You know, there are twosoldiers stationed there as day operators, and one as nightoperator. And I'm to be there in charge night and day." "Goodbusiness," nodded Hal, "if you don't have to keep up night and dayas well." "Oh, no; I'm to be merely responsible to the lieutenantfor the proper management of the office. I'm not to be tied down sovery closely, after all, and I'm to have the proper amount of leavefor recreation and all that sort of thing." "When do you begin?""Day after to-morrow, at nine in the morning." "You won't be onguard duty while this other detail lasts?" "No." "Too bad,"muttered Hal. "Of course I may be wrong, but to me the thoroughstudy of real guard duty is one of the most important things in asoldier's profession." "Oh, I've mastered guard duty pretty well,"broke in Corporal