y
increasing discipline. The regulars were still out in the park, hidden by
the dense foliage and busy with their company drills. The adjutant and
clerk were at their papers in the big office tent, and only the sentries,
the sick and the special duty men remained about the body of camp. There
was no one, said Private Noonan to himself, as he paced the pathway in
front of the colonel's tent, after having scrupulously saluted him on his
appearance, "No wan fur the ould man to whack at, barrin' it's me," but
even Canker could find nothing to "whack at" in this veteran soldier who
had served in the ranks since the days of the great war and had borne the
messages of such men as Sheridan, Thomas and McPherson when Canker
himself was sweating under his knapsack and musket. Like most men, even
most objectionable men, Canker had some redeeming features, and that was
one of them--he had been a private soldier, and a brave one, too, and was
proud of it.

But life had little sunshine in it for one of his warped, ill-conditioned
nature. There was a profound conviction in the minds of the company
officers that the mere sight of happiness or content in the face of a
subordinate was more than enough to set Canker's wits to work to wipe it
out. There was no doubt whatever in the minds of the subalterns that the
main reason why Squeers was so manifestly "down on" Billy Gray was the
almost indestructible expression of good nature, jollity and enthusiasm
that had shown in the little fellow's face ever since he joined the
regiment. "If we call the old man Squeers we should dub Billy Mark
Tapley," said Gordon one day, when the lad had laughed off the effect of
an unusually acrimonious rasping over a trivial error in the Guard Report
book. "He's no end kind when a fellow's in a fix," said Gray, in
explanation, "and all the time he was soaking me I was thinking how he
stood by Jimmy Carson in _his_ scrape"--a serious scrape it was, too, for
young Carson, detailed to escort certain prisoners to Alcatraz and
intrusted with certain funds to be turned over to the chief quartermaster
of the department, had unaccountably fallen into a deep sleep aboard the
train and awoke to find both funds and prisoners gone. Explanations were
useless. The commanding general would listen to no excuse; a
court-martial was ordered, and a very worthy young officer's military
career seemed about to close under a cloud, when "Old Canker" threw
himself into the breach. H