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[99]
change his spots nor the Ethiopian his skin.
It will therefore create no great surprise when I remark that a large amount of money borrowed by one soldier of another has never been repaid; and such is the lack of honesty and manliness on the part of these men that they can meet the old comrades of whom in those trying war days they borrowed one, two, five, or ten dollars, and in some cases more, without so much as a blush or betraying in any manner the slightest recognition of their long standing obligation.
Some are so worthless and brazen-faced even as to ask the same victims for more at this late day.
One favorite dodge of the beat was to have the corporal arouse him twice or three times before he would finally get out of his bunk; and then he would prepare to go out at a snail's pace.
Once on his beat, his next dodge was to manoeuvre so as to have the corporal of his relief do the most of his duty for him; for hardly would he have been posted before the corporal must be summoned, the beat having been seized with a desire to go to the company sink.
That is good for half an hour out of the corporal at least.
At last the dodger reappears moving at a slow pace, and wearing the appearance of a man suffering for his discharge from service.
He retails his woes to the corporal, as he resumes his equipments, in a most doleful strain.
But the corporal is in no mood to listen after his long wait, and hastily directs his steps towards the guard-tent.
He is not allowed to remain there long, however, ere a summons reaches him from the same post, to which lie responds with excusable ill-humor and mutterings at the duplicity of the guardsman in question.
This time the patient has happened to think of some medicine at his tent which will be of benefit to him. Of course the corporal is anxious enough to have him healed, and so he again assumes the duties of the post for the shirk, who does not reappear until his last hour of duty is well on its second quarter, feigning in excuse that he could not find his own panacea
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