“And now to business! I don’t like to inconvenience you, my young friends, but necessity has no law! and really our necessities are very great—none of us having had a change of linen for two months past!” said Mutchison.
Again I say that successful resistance was clearly impossible.
The guerrillas began to strip and throw their foul rags in a nauseous heap in the middle of the ring.
And the unlucky young men had to divest themselves of their elegant festive dresses. Their fine black broadcloth coats and trousers, their glossy satin vests, their pure white linen shirts, their hats, shoes, socks, neckties, pocket handkerchiefs, gloves, scarf pins, studs, watches, chains and purses were all taken from them and distributed among the guerrillas.
And then they were ordered to clothe themselves with the wretched slough just cast by these bandits.
And it was at once ludicrous and lamentable to see these unhappy youths poking and picking about with sticks in the heap of rank rags, in search of the least objectionable, where, upon examination, every one seemed worse than the others.
“Come, come,—don’t be so hard to please or you will take cold! These clothes were worn by us long enough without complaint! Thunderation! why don’t you make haste and dress yourselves?” roared Mutchison.
And the miserable young men had no alternative but to obey, and clothe themselves from the odoriferous mound before them.
The greater number of the poor fellows submitted ruefully enough to this degrading transformation.
Only Mr. Allison bore the mischance with philosophy.