“I have de honor to report,” said he, “dat de follerin’ t’ings took place, sir, jus’ two weeks ago yesterd’y, w’ich was Toosd’y.
“First, ’bout de lay o’ de lan’: it lain dis way. Dere was a big hayin’ field, shaped somet’in’ like a big piece o’ pie wid a big bite tooken out’n one end of it—dat is, out’n de small end o’ de wedge. De roundin’ edge o’ de field, same’s de part o’ de pie dat comes nex’ de rim o’ de plate, was composed of a river. Dis was ’bout two foot deep, an’ it couldn’t be forded across by militia, ’count o’ de danger o’ wettin’ pants, w’ich is State propity. So’s dis part o’ de battle-field was dead-safe. See?”
Rodman desisted for a moment from inscribing distorted fish-hooks in his note-book, and glanced towards the colonel. The chief was vigorously twisting his grey moustache in a vain attempt to maintain his official composure.
“Nex’ dat roundin’ edge,” continued Larry with his eyes fixed upon the golden eagle surmounting the regimental color which occupied one corner of the room, “come a straight edge. Dat was a road, an’ where it joined de roundin’ edge was at a bridge ’cross de river. Den come de point w’ich had be’n bit off. W’at youse might call de mout’ful was a sort o’ mixed-up mess o’ bushes an’ trees.
“Dis ’counts for de crust edge, an’ one side, an’ de bit place o’ de piece o’ pie. De side dat’s lef’ was made by t’ree little hills, wid an ol’ stone wall runnin’ up an’ down along de tops of ’em, like de stripe on a sergeant’s trowsies. An’ dat was de way in w’ich de lay o’ de lan’ lain.”
Langforth rose and stepped over to the corner in which stood the black-board on whose surface have been worked out so many problems in regimental strategy. He made a few rapid passes with the chalk, and there came into being a map of a range of three low hills, looking down across a triangular field towards a highway, and flanked on one side by a river, on the other by a patch of scrubby woodland.
“Dat’s de stuff!” commented Larry approvingly, as this example of topographical art took form. “’Twas jus’ like dat.”
“Now,” said the paymaster to the boy, “you can put in your troops.”
Larry took the crayon in his unwilling fingers, and doubtfully advanced upon the black-board. He often had seen officers lay off the broad white lines denoting the positions of battalions and companies, but he was not quite sure that he could perform the feat himself. However, he was not going to give up without a trial, and so, bracing himself for the effort, he slowly and carefully scraped the chalk across the black surface before him.
“De sec’nd battalion was de enermy,” said he, after he had chalked the map to his satisfaction. “Dat is, we was de enermy o’ de first an’ t’ird battalions. Dey, o’ course, was our enermy. G was on dis hill, H was on de middle ’un, an’ L was on de one at de lef’. A was deplored as skirmishers.”