of hide of the right size. It is drawn right up over the
foot, and laced. Another thickness of hide is sewn at the bottom,
to form the sole, and there it is. Of course, for work in the hills
it might be well to use a double thickness of hide for the sole.
The upper part is made of the thinnest portion of the hide and, if
grease is rubbed well inside, so as to soften the leather as much
as possible, it makes the most comfortable footgear possible."

"Well, we will try it, anyhow," Terence said. "It mayn't look so
soldierly but, at any rate, it would look as well as boots with the
toes out; and if any general inspects us, and objects to them, we
can say that we shall be perfectly ready to give them up, as soon
as boots are issued to us. But by using all black hides, I really
do not think that it will look bad; and there would certainly be
the advantage that, for a night attack, the tread would be much
more noiseless than that of a heavy boot.

"I really like the idea, very much. The best plan will be to pick
out two or three score of men who are shoemakers by trade, and pay
them a trifle for the making of each pair. In that way we could get
much greater uniformity than were each man to make his own.

"As to the clothes, I don't see that anything can be done about it,
beyond getting a supply of needles and thread, and seeing that
every hole is mended as well as possible. I daresay new uniforms
will be served out, before the spring. It does not matter much in
camp, and I suppose we are no worse than the other Portuguese
regiments."

The next week was spent in steady drill and, by the end of that
time, the exercises were all done as smartly as before. Terence had
already tried the experiment of sandals. The commissariat at
Abrantes were glad enough to supply hides, at a nominal price. He
began by taking a dozen. These were first handed to a number of men
relieved from other duties who, after scraping the under side,
rubbed them with fat, and kneaded them until they were perfectly
soft and pliable. The shoemakers then took them in hand and, after
a few samples of various shapes were tried, one was fixed upon, in
which the sandal was bound to the foot by straps of the same
material, with a double thickness of sole. Terence tried these
himself, and found them extremely comfortable for walking; and gave
orders that one company should be entirely provided with them. As
to appearance, they were vastly superior to the cracked