“But dis aint tellin’ w’at I seen.” Here the boy picked up the chalk, and made a few additional marks upon the map of the battle-ground. “It was like dis,” said he, stepping back a pace and resting one hand easily upon his hip, while he gracefully wielded the pointer with the other; “de fellies in K was in plain sight, out in de sun, an’ I was here, ’way down at de right o’ de line. See?” He indicated his own position by means of the pointer. “Dey was a tree dere, growin’ out’n a crack in a big rock, an’ I was camped down behin’ de whole bizness, blazin’ away for glory, an’ makin’ every shot tell, w’en I seen—”
“Eh?” said the colonel. “What’s that? What were you doing with a rifle?”
“Shootin’, sir,” said Larry briefly.
“Yes, so it would appear,” said the colonel. “But how came you to be armed?”
“W’y, Smit’y de Invalid—he’s de felly, y’know, dat’s always tryin’ to sneak off from doin’ any duty—he’d tol’ me dat he wasn’t feelin’ jus’ well, an’ I’d tooken his rifle to hold for’m w’ile he went off huntin’ for a drink o’ cold water. He didn’t give me no ca’tridges, but I’d jollied de boys out’n a pocketful, an’ had organized meself into a Mosby gorilla. De cap’n, o’ course, he didn’t know nuttin’ ‘bout all dis, or he’d a-be’n wild. Dat’s de reason I was ‘way off dere to de right—to keep out’n de cap’n’s way. See?”
The colonel silently nodded. Apparently he “saw.” Major Larry, having given this satisfactory explanation of matters, resumed the delivery of his interrupted report.
“I tol’ yer dat I seen a promisin’ openin’ for stratergy,” he said; “an’ dis was it: me bein’ off to de right of A brought me facin’ de lef flank o’ K, an’ who should I discover opposite o’ me but dat same Hickey! Now, seein’ Hickey so convenient set me to t’inkin’.
“‘Hickey, me ol’ sporty,’ says I to meself, ‘I’m on y’r trail. Youse once had fun, heaps o’ fun, a-joshin’ me,’ says I, ‘but dis is de time I’m comin’ back at you,’ says I. ‘Dat’s de kind of a Reuben dat I am,’ says I. An’ wid dat I fired two blank ca’tridges at’m, aimin’ careful at his stummick, so’s to ease me min’. Den I hid me rifle in de scrub, so’s de cap’n wouldn’t see me wid it, an’ slid along back to de nearest boys on de right of A.
“Big Jonesey was dere, an’ McKenzie, an’ Schultz—all of ’em aimin’ an’ firin’ like dey was expectin’ to put medals onto deir dress-coats t’icker’n de scales on a fish. Dere wasn’t an officer widin hearin’, bot’ de lieutenants bein’ off to de centre consultin’ ‘bout somet’in’ wid de cap’n. W’ich was lucky.
“‘Whis-st, boys!’ says I careful, wavin’ me arm ’round me head to signal ’em to rally up to me. Dey seen dat I meant somet’in’, an’ closed up to-wards me. ‘Sa-ay, youse t’ink you’re doin’ fancy work, a-shootin’ holes in nuttin’, doesn’t youse?’ says I, w’en dey’d assembled on me. ‘Well, if youse’ll quit y’r foolishness an’ foller me,’ I says, ‘youse’ll wear di’mon’s. Come on lively, ’fore de lieutenant gets back to miss yer,’ says I.