第 6 页

bottles, with which they were well supplied. Making inquiries, the

boys found that the men belonged to a fine frigate which had come in a

day or two before, with several prizes.

The next morning they went down to the barracks. Several

non-commissioned officers, with bunches of gay ribbons in their caps,

were standing about. Outside the gates were some boards, with notices,

"Active young fellows required. Good pay, plenty of prize-money, and

chances, of promotion!"

The boys read several of these notices, which differed only from each

other in the name of the regiment; and then Tom gave an exclamation of

satisfaction as he glanced at a note at the foot of one of them, "Two

or three active lads wanted as buglers."

"There we are, Peter; and, oh, what luck! it is Uncle Peter's

regiment! Look here, Peter," he said, after a pause, "we won't say

anything about being his nephews, unless there is no other way of

getting taken; for if we do it won't be nice. We shall be taken notice

of, and not treated like other fellows, and that will cause all sorts

of ill-feeling and jealousy, and rows. It will be quite time to say

who we are when we have done something to show that we shan't do

discredit to him. You see it isn't much in our favor that we are here

as two runaway boys. If we were older we could go as volunteers, but

of course we are too young for that."

It should be mentioned that in those days it was by no means unusual

for young men who had not sufficient interest to get commissions to

obtain permission to accompany a regiment as volunteers. They paid

their own expenses, and lived with the officers, but did duty as

private soldiers. If they distinguished themselves, they obtained

commissions to fill up vacancies caused in action.

"There is our sergeant, Tom; let's get it over at once."

"If you please," Tom said, as they went up to the sergeant, "are you

the recruiting sergeant of the Norfolk Rangers?"

"By Jove, Summers, you are in luck to-day," laughed one of the other

sergeants; "here are two valuable recruits for the Rangers. The

Mounseers will have no chance with the regiment with such giants as

those in it. Come, my fine fellows, let me persuade you to join the

15th. Such little bantams as you are would be thrown away upon the

Rangers."

There was a shout of laughter from the other non-commissioned

officers.

Tom was too much accustomed to chaffing bargees at Eton to be put out

of countenance.

"We may be bantams," he said, "but I have seen a bantam lick a big

dunghill cock many a time. Fine feathers don't always make fine birds,

my man."

"Well answered, young one," the sergeant of the Rangers said, while

there was a general laugh among the others, for the sergeant of the

15th was not a favorite.

"You think yourself sharp, youngster," he said angrily. "You want a

licking, you do; and if you were in the 15th, you'd get it pretty

quickly."

"Oh! I beg your pardon," Tom said gravely; "I did not know that the

15th were famous for thrashing boys. Thank you; when I enlist it shall

be in a regiment where men hit fellows their own size."

There was a shout of laughter, and the sergeant, enraged, stepped

forward, and gave Tom a swinging box on the ear.

There was a cry of "shame" from the others; but before any of them

could interfere, Tom suddenly stooped, caught the sergeant by the

bottom of the trousers, and in an instant he fell on his back with a

crash.

For a moment he was slightly stunned, and then, regaining his feet, he

was about to rush at Tom, when the others threw themselves in between

them, and said he should not touch the boy. He struck him first, and

the boy had only given him what served him right.

The sergeant was furious, and an angry quarrel was going on, when an

officer of the Rangers came suddenly out of barrack.

"Hullo, Summers, what is all this about? I am surprised at you. A lot

of non-commissioned officers, just in front of the barrack gates,

quarreling like drunken sailors in a pothouse. What does it all mean?"

"The fact is this, Captain Manley," the sergeant said, saluting,

"these two lads came up to speak to me, when Sergeant Billow chaffed

them. The lad gave the sergeant as good as he got, and the sergeant

lost his temper, and hit him a box on the ear, and in a moment the

young one tripped him up, and pretty nigh stunned him; when he got up

he was going at the boy, and, of course, we wouldn't have it."

"Quite right," Captain Manley said. "Sergeant Billow, I shall forward

a report to your regiment. Chaffing people in the street, and then

losing your temper, striking a boy, and causing a disturbance. Now,

sergeant," he went on, as the others moved away, "do you know those

boys?"

"No, sir; they are strangers to me."

"Do you want to see the sergeant privately, lads, or on something

connected with the regiment?"

"I see that you have vacancies for buglers, sir," Tom said, "and my

brother and myself want to enlist if you will take us."

Captain Manley smiled. "You young scamps, you have got 'runaway from

home' as plainly on your faces as if it was printed there. If we

were to enlist you, we should be having your friends here after you

to-morrow, and get into a scrape for taking you."

"We have no friends who will interfere with us, sir, I can give you my

word of honor as a gentleman." Captain Manley laughed. "I mean," Tom

said confused, "my word of honor, as--as an intending bugler."

"Indeed we have no one to interfere with us in any way, sir," Peter

put in earnestly. "We wouldn't tell a lie even to enlist in the

Rangers."

Captain Manley was struck by the earnestness of the boys' faces, and

after a pause he said to the sergeant,--

"That will do, Summers; I will take these lads up to my quarters and

speak to them."

Then, motioning to the boys to follow him, he re-entered the barracks,

and led the way up to his quarters.

"Sit down," he said, when they had entered his room. "Now, boys, this

is a foolish freak upon your part, which you will regret some day. Of

course you have run away from school."

"No, sir, we have run away from home," Tom said.

"So much the worse," Captain Manley said gravely. "Tell me frankly,

why did you do so? No unkindness at home can excuse boys from running

away from their parents."

"We have none, sir," Tom said. "We have lost them both--our mother

many years ago, our father six months. Our only living relation,

except a younger sister, is an aunt, who considers us as nuisances,

and who, although meaning to do her duty, simply drives us out of our

minds."

Captain Manley could not resist a smile. "Do you not go to school?"

"We did go to a school near, but unfortunately it is broken up."

Captain Manley caught a little look of amusement between the boys. "I

should not be surprised if you had something to do with its breaking

up," he said with a laugh. "But to return to your coming here. There

is certainly less reason against your joining than I thought at first,

but you are too young."

"We are both strong, and are good walkers," Tom said.

"But you cannot be much over fifteen," Captain Manley said, "and your

brother is younger."

"We are accustomed to strong exercise, sir, and can thrash most

fellows of our own size."

"Very likely," Captain Manley said, "but we can't take that into

consideration. You are certainly young for buglers for service work;

however, I will go across with you to the orderly-room, and hear what

the colonel says."

Crossing the barrack-yard, they found the colonel was in and

disengaged.

"Colonel Tritton," Captain Manley said, "these lads want to enlist as

buglers."

The colonel looked up and smiled. "They look regular young pickles,"

he said. "I suppose they have run away from school."

"Not from school, colonel. They have lost both parents, and live with

an aunt, with whom they don't get on well. There does not seem to be

much chance of their being claimed."

"You are full young," the colonel said, "and I think you will be

sorry, boys, for the step you want to take."

"I don't think so, sir," Tom said.

"Of course, you don't at present," the colonel said. "However, that is

your business. Mind, you will have a rough time of it; you will have

to fight your way, you know."

"I'll back them to hold their own," Captain Manley said, laughing.

"When I went out at the barrack-gate just now there was a row among a

lot of recruiting sergeants, and when I went up to put a stop to it, I

found that a fellow of the 15th had chaffed these boys when they went

up to speak to Summers, and that they had got the best of it in that

line; and the fellow having lost his temper and struck one of them, he

found himself on his back on the pavement. The boy had tripped him up

in an instant."

The colonel laughed, and then said suddenly and sharply to Peter,

"Where did you learn that trick, youngster?"

"At Eton," Peter answered promptly, and then colored up hotly at his

brother's reproachful glance.

"Oh, ho! At Eton, young gentlemen, eh!" the colonel said. "That

alters the matter. If you were at Eton your family must be people of

property, and I can't let you do such a foolish thing as enlist as

buglers."

"Our father lost all his money suddenly, owing to a blackguard he

trusted cheating him. He found it out, and it killed him," Tom said

quietly.

The colonel saw he was speaking the truth. "Well, well," he said

kindly, "we must see what we can do for you, boys. They are young,

Manley, but that will improve, and by the time that they have been a

year at the depot--"

"Oh, if you please, colonel," Tom said, "we want to go on foreign

service, and it's knowing that your regiment was under orders for

foreign service we came to it."

"Impossible!" the colonel said shortly.

"I am very sorry for that, sir," Tom said respectfully, "for we would

rather belong to this regiment than any in the service; but if you

will not let us go with it we must try another."

"Why would you rather belong to us than to any other?" the colonel

asked, as the boys turned to leave the room.

"I had rather not say, sir," Tom said. "We have a reason, and a very

good one, but it is not one we should like to tell."

The colonel was silent for a minute. He was struck with the boys'

appearance and manner, and was sorry at the thought of losing them,

partly from interest in themselves, partly because the sea service was

generally so much more attractive to boys, that it was not easy to get

them to enlist as buglers and drummers.

"You see, lads, I should really like to take you, but we shall be

starting in a fortnight, and it would be altogether impossible for you

to learn to sound the bugle, to say nothing of learning the calls, by

that time."

"We can't play well, sir," Tom answered, his spirits rising again,

"but we have practiced for some time, and know a good many of the

calls."

"Oh, indeed!" the colonel said, pleased; "that alters the case. Well,

lads, I should like to take you with the regiment, for you look

straightforward, sharp young fellows. So I will enlist you. Work hard

for the next fortnight, and if I hear a favorable report of you by

that time, you shall go."

"Thank you very much," the boys said warmly, delighted to find their

hopes realized.

"What are your names?" the colonel asked.

"Tom and Peter," Tom answered.

"Tom and Peter what?" the colonel said.

The boys looked at each other. The fact that they would of course

be asked their names had never occurred to them, and they not had

therefore consulted whether to give their own or another name.

"Come, boys," Colonel Tritton said good-temperedly, "never be ashamed

of your names; don't sail under false colors, lads. I am sure you will

do nothing to disgrace your names."

Tom looked at Peter, and saw that he agreed to give their real names,

so he said, "Tom and Peter Scudamore."

"Peter Scudamore! Why, Manley, these boys must be relations of the

dear old colonel. That explains why they chose the regiment. Now,

boys, what relation was he of yours?"

"I do not admit that he was a relation at all, colonel," Tom said

gravely, "and I hope that you will not ask the question. Supposing

that he had been a relation of ours, we should not wish it to be

known. In the first place, it would not be altogether creditable to

his memory that relations of his should be serving as buglers in

his old regiment; and in the second place, it might be that, from

a kindness towards him, some of the officers might, perhaps, treat

us differently to other boys, which would make our position more

difficult by exciting jealousy among others. Should there be any

relation between him and us, it will be time enough for us to claim

it when we have shown ourselves worthy of it."

"Well said, boys," the officers both exclaimed. "You are quite right,"

the colonel went on, "and I respect your motive for keeping silence.

What you say about jealousy which might arise is very sensible and

true. At the same time, I will promise you that I will keep my eye

upon you, and that if an opportunity should occur in which I can give