StNicholas . es at work in the fields and the Hello, Yank! We can lick you ! Beautiful night, Johnny, is nt it? Y-e-s, lovely! But our orders are to hold as little conversationwith the pickets on the other side of the river asnecessary, and so, declining any further civilities, Iresume my beat. Harry, I m going to lie down here at theupper end of your beat, says the sergeant whohas charge of our relief. 1 aint agoing tosleep, but 1 m tired. Every time you come up tothis end of your beat speak to me, will you ?—forI might fall asleep. Certainly, Sergeant. The first time 1 speak to him. the seco
StNicholas . es at work in the fields and the Hello, Yank! We can lick you ! Beautiful night, Johnny, is nt it? Y-e-s, lovely! But our orders are to hold as little conversationwith the pickets on the other side of the river asnecessary, and so, declining any further civilities, Iresume my beat. Harry, I m going to lie down here at theupper end of your beat, says the sergeant whohas charge of our relief. 1 aint agoing tosleep, but 1 m tired. Every time you come up tothis end of your beat speak to me, will you ?—forI might fall asleep. Certainly, Sergeant. The first time 1 speak to him. the second, and RECOLLECTIONS OF A DRUMMER-BOY. 141 the third, he answers readily enough, AH right,Harrv, but at the fourth summons he is soundasleep. Sleep on, Sergeant, sleep on ! Your slum-bers shall not be broken by me — unless theGrand Rounds come along, for whom I mustkeep a sharp lookout, lest they catch you nap-ping and give you a pretty court-martial! ButGrand Rounds or no, you shall have a little. IN A DANGEKOrs PART OF HIS BEAT. sleep. One of these days, you, and many moreof us besides, will sleep the last long sleep thatknows no waking. But hark! — I hear the chal-lenge up the line! I must rouse you, after all. Sergeant! Sergeant! Get up—Grand Rounds! Halt! Who goes there? The Grand Rounds. Advance, officer of the (.i:ind Rounds, andgive the countersign. An officer steps out from the group that is half-hidden in the shadow, and whispers in my ear,Lafayette, when the whole body silently andstealthily passes down the line. Relieved at ten oclock, we go back to our postat the house, and find it rather hard work to keepour eyes open from ten to two oclock, but sleep isout of the question. At two oclock in the morn- ing the second relief goes out again — downthrough the patch of meadow, wet with the heavydew, and along down the river to our posts. It isnearly three oclock, and Andy and 1 are standingtalking in low tones, he at the upper end of his beat and I at
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