"Go to Wright, the battalion adjutant, then, and tell him, with my compliments, to prepare an order at once, for reading at the dress parade which is to end up the afternoon's show."
"Very good, sir."
"And, Cortland, ask Wright, as a personal favor to me, to read the order slowly and distinctly, so that the audience can grasp the fact that they've witnessed a deed of heroism and its prompt reward in the Army."
"A splendid idea, sir!"
At the close of the afternoon's fast and furious work came a spectacle such as doubtless no one in the audience had ever seen before.
The three fighting arms of the service—artillery, cavalry and infantry—combined at dress parade.
The ceremony, as enacted that afternoon, possessed all the fervor and solemnity of a religious rite.
When it came to the publication of orders appointing Corporal Oliver Terry a sergeant in recognition of unusual bravery and judgment in saving a comrade's life, only a small percentage of the on-looking, listening thousands grasped the importance or meaning of the promotion of one young soldier.
No matter! All would read about it in the Denver papers the next morning.
At the firing of retreat gun three military bands combined in the playing of "The Star Spangled Banner."