Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 219: what you’re looking at

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

A Man and His Deeds Gordon saw all this, but could not find the strength to give an order. He wanted, like those who gasped for air, to lie and lie forever and a day. Two sergeants worked at his wounds, but he suffered their atten- tions without aes just what they were doing. Finally, however, when the last man came straggling back from the bloody ruck, he roused to the situation. “Here,” he said, pushing the sergeants away with a weak hand, “those men need attention, too. Why, there must be—how many are there?”’ “Twenty-seben dead an’ fi’teen woun they told him. “Then we must get the freshest men and drag the wounded to the ledges.” In spite of their efforts to make him lie quiet, he stumbled among them till the last wounded man lay upon the ledge. He could scarcely keep his feet, but he braced himself against the shoulder of his first sergeant. “Take a siesta, teniente,” pleaded the ser- so geant. “They plenty sick. They no come back.” “Not—just—yet. I suppose I have to play the boy on the burning deck till re- enforcements come. Hold on, though—let me down ’gainst the rock so I don’t look like such a bally ass.” Sprawling against the rock, he grinned foolishly, and stared at the sergeant through a veil of cobwebs. “Do y’ know,” he mumbled, “it’s funny. Something trying to tell me I’m sick. Not. Just as well’s you. Even remember poem— Know the poem bout the boy on the burning deck? < “Boy stood on the burning deck——”’ “Listen, teniente, listen!’’ “Whence all but he had fled. A seagull laid a hard-boiled ege———” “*Tenientel” “And dropped it on his head, What’s the matter?” “They come again!” yelled the sergeant, shaking him. “You say retreat—or what?” Gordon brushed the cobwebs from his eyes with an angry gesture, then came to his feet as he heard the voice of Dato Pedro roaring across the cafion. And as he gained ~ his balance, the remainder of Dato Pedro’s forces came rushing from the woods for the _ third time. He had performed the miracle. 217 Instead of lagging, every warrior behind him came on with the frenzied speed of the juramentado. Gordon spat wearily upon the ground, He gazed ’round at his men. Their sunken eyes and lead-colored lips told a piteous © story. It seemed criminal to call on them — for more. “What a —— of a nuisance!” he mum- bled, and then, with a jerk at his belt, stumbled down into the cut. A weak cheer preceded a sputtering, crazy volley that landed anywhere from the river-bed to the tops of the trees, while a squad of drunken scarecrows tumbled into the cut to meet the rush. With their bayonets describing erratic circles, and a dizzy boy trying to keep his balance before them, they stood and waited. Sia ‘AND they would have made mince- meat of you and your little band of invalids,” said the captain-doctor, when, two days later, Gordon sat propped up in the officers’ ward of the hospital at Overton. tain Drew had not arrived in the nick of time with his men.” “He’s a grand old chap is Bunga,” smiled the boy. “Well, I know others, I know others. If Dato Pedro had gone through, now, I’m thinking that the Brigadier—ha! But here is the Brigadier himself.” The captain-doctor beat a retreat, while the Brigadier, with a very shy and nervous young woman behind him, came into the quiet room. The Brigadier was plainly ill at ease, but he managed to remember that, after all, he was still a Brigadier. “’m—I’m glad to see that you’re getting along so nicely, Mr. MacDonald,” he said, with many clearings of the throat. “You did your duty exceptionally well, sir, excep- tionally well.” “Thank you, General,” said the boy. “Tm also glad to tell you—srrruh— that I have some information about your birthrights that your foster father—er, seems to have misinformed me about. It appears that Captain Drew took the trouble to have them looked up. Some one was misinformed or deliberately prevari- cated.” “Then ’m——” ‘All square with the law. An old atten- dant there unearthed a distant relative of “They certainly would’ve if Cap-. IOOKS -COmMic