Jackanapes
Page 4
CHAPTER IV.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."--JOHN XV. 13.
Twenty and odd years later the Grey Goose was still alive, and in fullpossession of her faculties, such as they were. She lived slowly andcarefully, and she lived long. So did Miss Jessamine; but the Generalwas dead.
He had lived on the Green for many years, during which he and thePostman saluted each other with a punctiliousness that it almostdrilled one to witness. He would have completely spoiled Jackanapes ifMiss Jessamine's conscience would have let him; otherwise he somewhatdragooned his neighbors, and was as positive about parish matters as aratepayer about the army. A stormy-tempered, tender-hearted soldier,irritable with the suffering of wounds of which he never spoke, whomall the village followed to his grave with tears.
The General's death was a great shock to Miss Jessamine, and hernephew stayed with her for some little time after the funeral. Then hewas obliged to join his regiment, which was ordered abroad.
One effect of the conquest which the General had gained over theaffections of the village, was a considerable abatement of the popularprejudice against "the military." Indeed the village was now somewhatimportantly represented in the army. There was the General himself,and the Postman, and the Black Captain's tablet in the church, andJackanapes, and Tony Johnson, and a Trumpeter.
Tony Johnson had no more natural taste for fighting than for riding,but he was as devoted as ever to Jackanapes, and that was how it cameabout that Mr. Johnson bought him a commission in the same cavalryregiment that the General's grandson (whose commission had been givenhim by the Iron Duke) was in, and that he was quite content to be thebutt of the mess where Jackanapes was the hero; and that whenJackanapes wrote home to Miss Jessamine, Tony wrote with the samepurpose to his mother; namely, to demand her congratulations that theywere on active service at last, and were ordered to the front. And headded a postscript to the effect that she could have no idea howpopular Jackanapes was, nor how splendidly he rode the wonderful redcharger whom he had named after his old friend Lollo.
* * * * *
"Sound Retire!"
A Boy Trumpeter, grave with the weight of responsibilities andaccoutrements beyond his years, and stained, so that his own motherwould not have known him, with the sweat and dust of battle, did as hewas bid; and then pushing his trumpet pettishly aside, adjusted hisweary legs for the hundredth time to the horse which was a world toobig for him, and muttering, "'Tain't a pretty tune," tried to seesomething of this, his first engagement, before it came to an end.
Being literally in the thick of it, he could hardly have seen less orknown less of what happened in that particular skirmish if he had beenat home in England. For many good reasons; including dust and smoke,and that what attention he dared distract from his commanding officerwas pretty well absorbed by keeping his hard-mouthed troop-horse inhand, under pain of execration by his neighbors in the melee.By-and-by, when the newspapers came out, if he could get a look at onebefore it was thumbed to bits, he would learn that the enemy hadappeared from ambush in overwhelming numbers, and that orders had beengiven to fall back, which was done slowly and in good order, the menfighting as they retired.
Born and bred on the Goose Green, the youngest of Mr. Johnson'sgardener's numerous off-spring, the boy had given his family "nopeace" till they let him "go for a soldier" with Master Tony andMaster Jackanapes. They consented at last, with more tears than theyshed when an elder son was sent to jail for poaching, and the boy wasperfectly happy in his life, and full of _esprit de corps_. It wasthis which had been wounded by having to sound retreat for "the younggentlemen's regiment," the first time he served with it before theenemy, and he was also harassed by having completely lost sight ofMaster Tony. There had been some hard fighting before the backwardmovement began, and he had caught sight of him once, but not since. Onthe other hand, all the pulses of his village pride had been stirredby one or two visions of Master Jackanapes whirling about on hiswonderful horse. He had been easy to distinguish, since an eccentricblow had bared his head without hurting it, for his close golden mopof hair gleamed in the hot sunshine as brightly as the steel of thesword flashing round it.
Of the missiles that fell pretty thickly, the Boy Trumpeter did nottake much notice. First, one can't attend to everything, and his handswere full. Secondly, one gets used to anything. Thirdly, experiencesoon teaches one, in spite of proverbs, how very few bullets findtheir billet. Far more unnerving is the mere suspicion of fear or evenof anxiety in the human mass around you. The Boy was beginning towonder if there were any dark reason for the increasing pressure, andwhether they would be allowed to move back more quickly, when thesmoke in front lifted for a moment, and he could see the plain, andthe enemy's line some two hundred yards away.
And across the plain between them, he saw Master Jackanapes gallopingalone at the top of Lollo's speed, their faces to the enemy, hisgolden head at Lollo's ear.
But at this moment noise and smoke seemed to burst out on every side,the officer shouted to him to sound retire, and between trumpeting andbumping about on his horse, he saw and heard no more of the incidentsof his first battle.
Tony Johnson was always unlucky with horses, from the days of thegiddy-go-round onwards. On this day--of all days in the year--his ownhorse was on the sick list, and he had to ride an inferior,ill-conditioned beast, and fell off that, at the very moment when itwas a matter of life or death to be able to ride away. The horse fellon him, but struggled up again, and Tony managed to keep hold of it.It was in trying to remount that he discovered, by helplessness andanguish, that one of his legs was crushed and broken, and that no featof which he was master would get him into the saddle. Not able even tostand alone, awkwardly, agonizingly unable to mount his restive horse,his life was yet so strong within him! And on one side of him rolledthe dust and smoke-cloud of his advancing foe, and on the other, thatwhich covered his retreating friends.
He turned one piteous gaze after them, with a bitter twinge, not ofreproach, but of loneliness; and then, dragging himself up by the sideof his horse, he turned the other way and drew out his pistol, andwaited for the end. Whether he waited seconds or minutes he neverknew, before some one gripped him by the arm.
"_Jackanapes_! _GOD bless you_! It's my left leg. If you could get meon--"
It was like Tony's luck that his pistol went off at his horse's tail,and made it plunge; but Jackanapes threw him across the saddle.
"Hold on anyhow, and stick your spur in. I'll lead him. Keep your headdown, they're firing high."
And Jackanapes laid his head down--to Lollo's ear.
It was when they were fairly off, that a sudden upspringing of theenemy in all directions had made it necessary to change the gradualretirement of our force into as rapid a retreat as possible. And whenJackanapes became aware of this, and felt the lagging and swerving ofTony's horse, he began to wish he had thrown his friend across his ownsaddle, and left their lives to Lollo.
When Tony became aware of it, several things came into his head.1. That the dangers of their ride for life were now more than doubled.2. That if Jackanapes and Lollo were not burdened with him they wouldundoubtedly escape. 3. That Jackanapes' life was infinitely valuable,and his--Tony's--was not. 4. That this--if he could seize it--was thesupremest of all the moments in which he had tried to assume thevirtues which Jackanapes had by nature; and that if he could becourageous and unselfish now--
He caught at his own reins and spoke very loud--
"Jackanapes! It won't do. You and Lollo must go on. Tell the fellows Igave you back to them, with all my heart. Jackanapes, if you love me,leave me!"
There was a daffodil light over the evening sky in front of them, andit shone strangely on Jackanapes' hair and face. He turned with an oddlook in his eyes that a vainer man than Tony Johnson might have takenfor brotherly pride. Then he shook his mop and laughed at him.
"_Leave you?_ To save my skin?
No, Tony, not to save my soul!"