Trooper Tales — page 55: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Degeneration of Laddie. 47 yards they traversed in silence. Laddie stopped short. He was not smiling now. “Throw it up once more,” he asked of them. By his manner one would think he was trying to borrow money. The other two soldiers made use of those expressions ‘ which the natives over here picked up first. “Well, you’ve got your way. It’s head this time.” Laddie rolled up his sleeves. Then he felt in his pock- ets. ‘Give mea piece of tobacco. I’m short.” It was handed to him. “T’ll be back by reveille,” he sang, and trotted down the trail toward the first ford. | x * XK x * * XK * “Why, it’s a cinch,” quoth Laddie in the first stream. The ripples splashed against his thighs, and his lower jaw became unruly. He made the first four fords, and the day was gone. He sat down on a rock and rested, while the moon rose up and cheered him. “Look out for the fifth and sixth fords going to Ciales —-the sixth and seventh they are coming back.” He had often heard the boss of the pack train say this. And he remembered how his own horse had struggled in these places when the squad came up from Manati. Laddie shivered and started on. “A man ought to have four legs for this fording busi- ness, Why in the devil was I born such a noodle? The sixth is deep and broad; the seventh is fast and deep.” He scrambled down the bank of the sixth. Already he could hear the splashing down stream—the splashing of Eomichooks (EO)