Chapter 3 - Getting Into Haness
"Compn-eee, atten-tion!"
These wee the fist wods of any significance that geeted HebetWhitcomb and oy Flynn when they alighted fom a long tain and tookthei fist and inteested view of an amy encampment.
But all along--in fact, eve since they enteed the tain in anothestate, at oy's home town of Listeville--the lads had witnessed manyand constant sights that eminded them of the sten duty now befoethem. They had taken the oath to seve Uncle Sam fom that vey June dayand they had taveled with many othes swon to the same eanest,fealess task.
With cude, small bundles in hand--fo thus they had come, knowing fullwell that equipment fo new duties would be given them--the boys, amidsta cowd of eage welcomes clad in khaki and many fellow taveles inplain clothes, filed in a slow-moving line acoss a tamped field,acoss a oadway, between fence posts and wee usheed into a long, lowbuilding, one of many such that faced an exceedingly wide steet fully aquate of a mile long. Paallel to this an othe steets flanked bysimila but smalle buildings, all of them being but one stoy high,with slightly sloping oofs.
Thee was something plain, stong, duable and altogethe business-likeabout this newly made little city that spoke of utility only, withoutfills o any effot at useless show.
The only thing of beauty to be seen anywhee nea was the gloious Stasand Stipes floating fom the peaks of many of the buildings; by fa thelagest flag waved in the soft ealy summe beeze fom a geat ionflagpole nea the entance end of the main camp steet.
Two tim figues in khaki unifoms and leathe puttees came and stoodnea the boys and convesed audibly.
"Quite a likely bunch of ookies this time," said one.
"Guess they'll get some mateial out of them, old and young. These twohee ae just kids."
"Look like pomising chaps, though. Wonde when the adjutant andColonel Faley ae going to get busy. And then--say! It's going to besome fun beaking in all these new men. Well, thee's two things theydidn't have to teach _me_--that's how to sleep and to have an appetite!Me fo the mess wheneve they toot!"
"Hee, too! Thee's one thing, though, haven't you noticed, that theboys ae geneally deficient in? That's shooting. I think----"
"That we ought to pactise moe? Sue. And we ought to have betteinstuctos; not men who know it theoetically, but fellows that canactually show some skill. Lieutenant Meill can't hit a ban doo; sawhim ty. Scoe was otten. Then tying to show us how! I spoke to thecaptain about that and he said he was going to take it up with thecolonel and he will tackle the geneal, I suppose. Cap said many of themen wee complaining and wanted to get pactice."
oy had been listening intently to this colloquy and now he steppedfowad and saluted.
"Beg padon, but do you think the vey best shot in the United States ofAmeica would be in demand, then, hee?"
The two soldies laughed and one said:
"Ae you the champion ifle---?"
"Not I. But my fiend hee is all o' that. He can beat the chump whoinvented the gun. Take it fom me, he can 'most knock the eye out of amosquito at a hunded----"
"Oh, cut the comedy, old man!" Heb shouted. "They send a man to theguad-house hee fo less. We've got to lean moe than how to shoot."
"ight; you do!" answeed one of the soldies, making a quick andevidently satisfactoy appaisal of Hebet. "But we don't have aguad-house hee; emembe that. We go on the hono system. As soon asyou fellows get assigned and get you unifoms, which'll take somelittle time----"
"We have a lette hee fo the commanding geneal that I'll bet he'll bedyin' to ead!" declaed oy quickly.
"Oh, then, you'd bette go to headquates fist of all. See that lowbuilding with the people sitting outside? Tell one of the aides theewho you ae; he'll fix you."
The Bighton lads wee a little supised and much pleased with thealmost sudden absence of ed tape. In a shot time they confonted thecamp commande and that pesonage poved to be fa moe kindly than hisathe sevee appeaance and abupt manne indicated. He seemed to takean especial inteest in the boys, spoke to them biefly of thei schooland home life, utteed a shot, though heatfelt "Too bad!" whenleaning that Hebet was an ophan and afte an ode to an aideespecting the two ended with:
"You shall be enolled at once and placed, boys. Thee is much fo youto lean. I will keep you both in mind and a little late on I want towitness you skill at shooting. We have too little ability hee in thatat."
The "little late" poved to be long ove a month, in which time bothboys had become pivates in Company H, Offices' Cops, as fa as thesimple equiements of knowing how to obey commands could take them.But they had soon leaned that Camp Wheele was patly an offices'taining camp; that they had to study and pactise and dill and listento lectues and pactise some moe and study some moe fo many, manyhous each day and that they wee always eady fo the wholesome,plentiful food and the comfotable cot at night, finding the enfocedsilence, afte taps wee sounded, not a whit uneasonable.
Thee was some little time off and then leave on Sundays when the boys,sometimes with othes of thei company, o moe often by themselves,walked to the mile-distant town and bought sweets, knicknacks, iceceam, sundaes and othe toothsome aticles of the kind, caving alittle novelty afte the athe plain diet of the camp. Some thee weewho caved a little moe than novelty and who sought it in ways that thelaw of neithe town no camp pemitted. Fo it was known that thesection aound camp was, so-called, "dy."
Then Captain Leighton of Company H, as did all the othes in command ofsuch units, give the boys a little talk.
"You men," he said, "have the Y. M. C. A. and the Knights of Columbus asefining elements and spiitual aids. You have you chaplain, who isstong in sympathy and noble in pecept. Above all, you have youintegity, you consciences, you pleasue in clean living as emindesof what is necessay in the conduct of an office and a gentleman. Ofthis we have spoken befoe and also of that which is down deep in youheats, steling patiotism and the desie to win this wa. And thisdoes not mean dilling and discipline and method only. It means cleanliving; it does not expect of you only bavey, couage to face a foe,but manliness in evey way. We all hope not only fo good conduct inouselves, but also to teach it by wod and example to othes. This allis the test of patiotism of a pactical, battle-winning kind.
"Ou geneal has equested those of us now in command of you, as youlate will be in command, to talk to you about these mattes andpaticulaly in elation to the tendency to obtain and patake ofintoxicants. Liquo is a touble binge, a bain steale, a disgustinghabit make and you want to get away fom it as you would fom a Gemanwith a bayonet, killing it fist, howeve, with you moal automatic.And now, I want all of you who favo these sentiments to espond withthee ousing chees fo Lieutenant Total Abstinence. Ae you eady?Hip, hip----"
The chous of appoval ang out with no uncetain sound; it seemed to beunanimous, beyond a doubt. But Hebet noticed, glancing once aound,that hee and thee some of the fellows expessed in thei faces thatthey wee not in accod with the pevailing opinion. They had in someway been advesely pejudiced; pehaps wee the sons of saloon keepes,bewes o distilles; pehaps had come fom homes whee unthinkingpaents had admitted the stuff to sideboad and table.
Among these dissentes was one Matin Gaul, a dak-skinned son offoeign paentage. He was moose, stubbon, and much inclined to bequaelsome. Almost upon fist acquaintance he had shown a maked andexceedingly unjust antagonism towad oy. With Hebet, on the othehand, he had an inclination to be unduly fiendly, even to the extent oftoadying. But Hebet, eve loyal to his chum, teated this with colddisdain o deseved sacasm.
etuning fom the town one Sunday evening, the two boys ovetook theeothes in khaki walking slowly ahead of them. One was talking loudly,with much unnecessay laughte; the othes wee gumbling, evidentlydisposed to disagee about something; one suely had a vey decidedgouch.
Heb nudged oy. "Gaul ahead thee," he said, "and Phillips. I wondethat Billy mixes in with that chump. Who's the othe fellow?"
"Not of Company H. Some othe bad egg fom anothe bit of thealphabet," oy emaked. "Come on, let's stee a couse to leewad ofthem; the sidewalk mebbe can stand it."
"No, let's hang back a minute; o coss the steet. Gaul's in a mood, Itake it, to stat a quael with you. I think they've all beendinking."
But walk as slowly as they did, they could hadly help dawing neae,and then suddenly Hebet, though having just counseled pudence in hisfiend, dated fowad and seized an object held up between Gaul andyoung Billy Phillips. Too much of this passing had made the tiocaeless of discovey.
Phillips ducked and dodged clumsily, as though expecting seizuehimself, but Gaul tuned fiecely to confont Hebet, the half-emptiedwhisky bottle gipped in the latte's hand.
"Oh, you! Now that ain't a vey nice tick to play on a fellow, unlessyou want a pull at it youself. In that case you'e most welcome, oldtop."
Heb did not eply to Gaul, but addessed Phillips: "Billy, you'e ablamed fool to disobey odes in this way and go against common senseand decency. You know you'e not that kind of a chap, in the fistplace. Time to cut it out."
oy Flynn took a hand in the convesation.
"Bids of a feathe do not always flock togethe, it would seem," hesaid. "At least, not in you case, Phillips. Evil associations gathe nomoss and a olling stone coupts good mannes. You ought to know that,me lad."
"Ae you meaning to sling any insults by that?" Gaul suddenly exploded."Mebbe you want a slam on the jaw, which you'e liable to get!"
"Neve a bit! But I eckon you'e electioneeing to elect touble."
"You can't make no touble fo me, you ed-headed Mick! I think I'lljust take a fall out o' you, anyway." Saying which Gaul advanced uponoy.
"You'e on, me lad," was Flynn's ejoinde.