The Cross Of Honour,

bayonetted another , and . turning to wipe , out the third , found he had just been despatched to Paradise by our old friend , Sergeant Shardcn . "The sergeant and the private extricated their commander from his awkward position , assis / cd him to remount the saddle , and then

returned to their places . We found when the rebels had been all cleared out-shot or hung—that Bareilly was to be our station for the summer . But 1 leave you to imagine the talk that was created in ( he course of a few davs when the following appeared as a Ro < 'imeiital Order : — ' \

"' Colour-Sergeant W . Shardcn has been recommended to her Majesty for the decoration of the Victoria Cross ! ' " "But Jem Garvin ! what became of Private Jem Garvin ? " the Druggist and the Nuisance Inspector cried in a breath . " Did he get recommended also f "

" Oh , no , gentlemen , not quite . "When Jimmy road the Regimental Order he began to suspect that he had been overlooked , so he attended at the orderl y room and told his story to the colonel , whose life lie had certainly saved . This is what the gallant colonel said to the young soldier : —

' 'Look here , Garvin , if I had wished to recommend you for the V . C , your own act in applying for it has put it out of my power , and has released me from any obligation . If you say any more about it , it will be the worse for you . " The old man of war paused , as if he had concluded his narrative , and whispers of indignant astonishment were exchanged by those present .

"And . do you mean to say , Mac , that the young private got nothing ? " the Mine Manager demanded , in his striduloiis voice . "I ' m not aware that Garvin ever received anything other than the reprimand I have mentioned , " was the Soldier ' s quietTanswer . " Then if it had been me , " the Mine Manager retorted , angrily . " I'd have made it hot for something or somebody . "

"It seldom pays a private soldier to quarrel with his superiors . Garvin did feel the injustice of the thing , 1 know , and in spite of his Colonel ' s menu threat he did say more about the matter . One day he made his complaint to a General at inspection , but be never received any satisfaction , unless he obtained satisfaction when he heard the following notice read out to him b y some comrade : —

" lhe decoration til the Victoria Cross has been conferred on Colour-Sergeant William Shardcn for coiispienoitsgnllantry in coming to the assistance of his commanding officer when attacked b y three dismounted Sowars at Bareilly on the 5 th of May . " " I . think it was a shame , " the Druggist remarked , quietly .

" It was a shame ! " the Man of the Mine thundered . " And if I'd been the Sergeant , I shouldn ' t have accepted the Cross unless Gar-Tin "

" Many things were , and I suppose still are , done in the Service that would scarcely be considered fair by civilians , " broke in the Story Teller . " But , my friend , " he added , as he bent his gaze upon the previous speaker , "what you would or wouldn ' t do in these

circumstances you know no more than my anld grandmother . When I tell you about the next Victoria Cross that was won in Ours , you may let us hear what you would have done in his case . In the meantime , " he continued , regarding the burl y ligure of his countryniau with a look that was childlike and bland— "in the meantime it

seems to me that my glass is empty . "And so is mine , too , Mac ! " cried the Travelling Draper , genially . " Whnt'U yon take Y—and you too , friends r Here , missie , fill them all round , and we'll toast one another and the New Year . " Nobody protested against the proffered treat , the glasses were replenished , sampled also , and then the Old Soldier started afresh .

" It looks to me now as if we did little or nothing for the remainder of that summer than merely take fevers— of which many died—and talk spitefull y of those who had contrived to distinguish themselves during the campaign . At any rate , with the approach of autumn we began to hear that the rebels were once more active on the borders

ol Nepaul , and had begun making raids into a district only a few marches from where we lay . Well , somewhere about October we were ordered out to keep these dusky gentry in check , and to lend our moral support to the faxgathcrer , who was eager to collect from the natives for the protection our Government had not extended to ( hem during the past year .

" Only the headquarters and one-hall the regiment went upon this expedition , the other half having gone , shortly after onr arrival at Bareill y , on detached duty to a station called Mooradabad . With us , however , came four gnus from a battery of native artillery . stationed at Bareilly , and in the course of a few days the small force found itself encamped on the bunks of the Gogra . in a peace so profound

that it appeared nothing earthly could ever disturb it . The outlook , in fact , was much too peaceful to be pleasant to most of our chaps , who would have preferred to pass this winter , us they had passed the previous one , in lighting . There is a good deal of the tiger in the human animal , " said the old cynic , reflectively , " ami a taste of blood creates in each a most inordinate appetite for more .

" The country into which we had now penol rated was the most inviting to Europeans you could imagine . Two or three of our latest inarches had been through almost pathless jungle , and when we debouched into the plain we now occupied wc found ourselves , in a sense , cut off from the rest of the world , a dense jungle surrounding

ns on three sides , while in front rolled a dec ]) , broad , and comparativel y rapid river . The spot on which the camp was pitched mi ght have been an English park , so smooth , soft and green was the Lirf by which it was covered ; but its extent was extremel y limitedvoarse jungle grass , four feet high , hemming us in on three sides , and

The Cross Of Honour,

stretching , for anything wo could see , to lhe borders of ( he primeval jungle . On our side the river bank was sleep , rising at least eight feet above high-wafer mark , and running sheer to the bof fom of lhe stream . On Die other side the hank sloped gently from ( he water , and was covered with a long , dreary sireleh of barren sand on which countless numbers . of alligators slumbered the livelong day . Beyond the sandy waste lay the all-embracing jungle .

" A few days spent in-the spoil have iiiedfo describe made us all heartily sick of ourselves and lhe world , and wc were rapidly settling down to a condition of imbecility when suddenly we received orders to prepare to move at a moment ' s notice . This news was

g ladly received by us all . We wen ; sick of the place and wanted to shift . The more ardent spirits among us professed lo smell the scent of battle close at hand when the cam p was struck on flu following morning , and wc stood ready lo march into lhe vast unknown .

Well , we marched , and to us , who were not in the secret counsels of our leaders , our movements seemed utterly aimless . One day we would tramp for twenty or thirty miles through an almost trackless jungle ; on the next some portion of the ground previously covered would be recrosscd ; then we would turn suddenl y in another direction , without any apparent reason , and half only when we found

a suitable spot for pitching the camp . "For a fortnight we rambled about in this Israelii ish fashion ¦—though it seemed an age—and one morning in the wilderness if was announced in Orders that No . 6 Company would remai the spot until further instructions \ yere received b y them , while the headquarters and the four remaining Companies would ' move on . '

" I was with the lour Companies , and on the day following , after a inarch of twenty-two miles—according to fhe ollicial declarationwc pitched our camp on exactly the same spul we hid left a couple of weeks before . "

" You'd been on a wild goose chase , eh r" questioned the . Insurance Agent , breaking the silence for the first flint ! sincj the narration began . "So we all thought , and . so it . seemed , '' was the response , "but after a while we of the rank and lile got ( o know what our marches and counter-inarches meant . By slow degrees we learned that our movements had been regulated by a eerlain definite purpose ,

which was to discover the spots on the river mosl likel y lo be selected by the enemy when an entry into our territory was desired , and to leave guards at such places when discovered . That was why No . G Company and a couple of guns had been left behind . The most probable point of attack , however , was considered lo be where we had p itched our camp , seeing that the much larger f ' oivr was selected to guard it .

"After talking about matters of history . " the Old Soldier went on in an apologetic tone . " I shall have to climb down to a few personal details , in order that you may understand and appreciate the dramatic little climax towards which my narrative is trending . Before certain changes had taken place in my position in the Regiment , " he continued , almost bashfull y , "J had myself // cloiiged ( o the No . ( i Company—that now on deiachnieiii , - and a good many of my more intimate friends were to be found in its rank .

" Among others was a Duncan Marcier . That was not his name , but it doesn ' t affect the story . He had been my comrade in days gone by , was still attached to me b y ties of friendship -not lo mention certain monetary transactions -and had performed for me some services of a parlially menial nature , which it would have been

considered ui / ni dig , in a person ol my rank lo have performed for himself . Duncan had fallen into my ways , lie knew exactly when anil how to do all I required , and when he was left behind with lhe No . ( i Company I was forced to employ another , and missed him very much indeed .

" Like other people in all ranks of life , this Duncan Marcier had his own individual character , and his idiosyiierasiei always impressed nio as most peculiar , lie was a picture of robust manhood , powerfully-built , heavily-bearded , deep-voiced , and yet . in spite of those manly characteristics he possessed ( he most distinctl y feminine mental constitution of any male person I ever mel . Asa

barrackrnoui soldier Duncan was simply perlrcl . as his feminine ins ! iiio / s impelled hint to keep everything about him in apple-pic order ; and the womanly passion for personal adornment , so strong in him , led him lo scour , polish , and scrub every belt and buckle of his arms and accoutrements with a particularity Ihal was as finical ns if was satisfactory to the military martinets . Of course lhe possession of

these fruits of character made Diiite ; m in limes of peace a nmsf desirable servant for any ollicer , and as such he was in great demand . " But while the feminine elements in his mil lire stood him in o-ood stead in fhe piping times of peace , when war displayed her horrid front they were decidedly al a discount . 1 ' poii the Held of battle ollicers prefer men of inelfle fo even perfect housemaids , ami lliev'd rather that all their gewgaws ruslcd than that they went

iliimcrless . But there was absolutely nothing of ( he reckless daredevil in Duncan . Ho was superstitious ami believed in gliosis ; was afraid of mice and black-beetles ; permit led the other men to bully him , and the sight of dead men turned him pak' ami sick . Such , in very truth , gentlemen , was the inaii who had drifted into my quasi service , who was now temporarily purled from me , and whoso womanly hand I missed daily with a gentle sigh of regret .

" In our camp near the Gogra our life was not of the gayest , as you may imagine ; but we enjoyed good health , considering thai we were on the borders of Die deadly Terai . If Father Time didn ' t gallop just then he ambled along pleasantl y enough , and exactly fo