54 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



Fthruary 



"Then I'll try," said Boy Sladen, and 

 he clo.eed his eyes. 



Some flowers were ou the mantel- 

 piece and ou a little table near the bed, 

 wliile on the wall, facing Boy Sladen, 

 •was a colored picture of a gorgeous, 

 drutniuer boy, upon whom a host of 

 pliantomlike eyes from a supposed crowd 

 were gazing iu stony admiration. This 

 was the work of Private Dennis, and he 

 thought of aJl as he leaned against the 

 married quarters and gazed dreamily at 

 the hospital. 



The heart of the hospital orderly was 

 heavy within him as he gazed. He had 

 been dethroned, his charge had been 

 taken from him, and the boy was to die 

 while iu the hands of strangers. Dennis' 

 flowers were in the hospital. It was 

 Dennis' aflectiou which had prompted 

 the idea of the gorgeous drummer, and 

 Dennis' scanty funds that bad bought 

 the priut. 



Dennis sighed, .for a friendship as 

 strong as it was strange had grown up 

 between him and the boy. The darling 

 wish of the lad was to become a drum 

 major and wield the splendid staff of 

 office, and the great ambition of the 

 private was to qualify for noncommis- 

 sioned rank. And so they helped each 

 other, Dennis telling all he knew of mil- 

 itary duty and Boy Sladen instructing 

 Dennis in subjects with which he had 

 to be familiar if he wished to get pro- 

 motion. 



The orderly stepped softly back into 

 the hospital — so softly that Nurse 

 Gaughau, who was looking at the little 

 patient, did not hear him, and she start- 

 9d when she turned and saw him. 



"I've come back," began Dennis, "to 



jee if we couldn't make some arrange- 

 oaent about the boy." 



Nurse Gaughan was silent still and 

 stared lielplessly. 



"I've watched an cared for him up to 

 this point," continued Dennis in a low 

 voice, "an I don't quite see that it's 

 right for a stranger to come in an take 

 all the work out of a man's hands, espe- 

 cially such a man as me, for I'm a sort 

 of father, mother an brother to him. I 

 was by his father's body when the Pay- 

 thans left him, an it was a shot from 

 my rifle that brought down the man 

 who knifed him. That's the reason why 

 Boy Sladen took to me even before the 



colonel, an that's why, first and fore- 

 most, I've a claim to see to the wants 

 an wishes of the boy. " 



Nhrse Gaughan could not understand. 

 This speech was too great a puzzle for 

 her to unravel, and she still kept silence. 



"That bein so," continued the order- 

 ly, "I think we ought to come to some 

 arrangement. " 



l^urse Ganghan murmured, "Certain- 

 ly, if you wish, " and Dennis went away 

 contented. 



The arrangement that had been made 

 answered well, and Boy Sladen, watched 

 incessantly and closely, wanted for noth- 

 ing. But his stay ou earth was limited, 

 and both Nurse Gaughan and Private 

 Dennis knew it. To Nurse Gaughan he 

 became friendly and confidential as the 

 week wore on, and his greatest pleasure 

 was to draw a picture of himself as the 

 drum major. 



"You know what the drum major is, 

 nurse?" he asked one day. 



"Yes," replied Nurse Ganghan read- 

 ily, forgetting for the moment Boy Sla- 

 den's ambition. 



"Some day, nurse, " continued Boy 

 Sladen, "for I'm getting stronger now, 

 and I shall soon be able to get out of 

 bed, I shall march at the head of ours 

 as drum major. Then when I'm a man 

 you'll see me go past, and you'll say to 

 your husband and children, for it'll be 

 some time yet, 'See, that's Boy Sladen 

 of the band, that I nursed through a 

 fever!' And I shall know what you saf, 

 although I shan't be able to look. I'm 

 certain that if you're about I shall 

 know. " 



"But, " said Nurse Gaughan, "hadn't 

 you better go to sleep? Do try and rest 

 a little." 



"I don't want to go to sleep, "said 

 Boy Sladen. "Why, the men'll be pa- 

 rading soon. Even if I went to sleep I 

 should wake up as soon as I h^ard the 

 band play and the tramp of the feet. 

 I'll go to sleep when they've left bar- 

 racks. That'll be two hours yet. Won't 

 you try and go to sleep a bit, nurse? 

 You look so tired and worn out. Do 

 try, or I'll feel I'm a nuisance." 



"Nurses mustn't sleep on duty, " said 

 Nurse Gaughan, "but I'll sit in the 

 tjhair, if that will please you." 



"Well, do that, then," said Boy Sla- 

 den. 



