The Wouldbegoods: Being the Further Adventures of the Treasure Seekers

xercise them. They came from Chatham Barracks. We all drew up in a line outside the churchyard wall, and saluted as they went by, though we had not read Toady Lion then. We have sinc

not salute me. He kissed his hand to the girls; and a lot

of a red flannel petticoat of the White Mouse's, which she did no

after three days they went by again,

ld can shout loudest. So as soon as the first man was level with u

owed. Oswald stood on the wall to bellow better, and Denny waved the flag because he wa

that day; they only grinn

. and Noel had tin swords, and we asked Albert's uncle to let us w

per and wash leather and whitening. Oswald wore a cavalry sabre in its sheath. Alice and the Mouse had pistols in their belts, large old flint-locks, with bits of red flannel behind the flints. Denny had a naval cutlass, a very beautiful blade, and old enough to have been at Trafalgar. I hope it was. The others had French swo

d it is true that Oswald does not yet know how to bugle, though he can play the infantry 'advance', and the 'charge' and the 'halt' on a penny whistle. Alice taught them to him with the piano, out of the red book Fath

d socks and blue jerseys till you try-and we waited by the churchyard wall for the soldiers. When the advance guard (or whatever you call it of artillery-it's that for infantry,

red too. It was glorious. It made you tremble all over. The girls said it made them want to cry-but no boy would own to thi

stopped too. Then the officer said, 'Sit at ease,' and something else, and the sergeant repeated it, and some of the men

arms and accoutreme

had to sit, because her foot was bad, but we let her have the three-edged rapier to wear, an

Viking. Very tall and fair, with moustach

morn

did

he

to be a mi

we wishe

riotic,'

should jolly

al days, and he had halted the battery because

people so far-seeing and thoughtful a

; and he let us look down the gun to see the rifling, all clean and shiny-and he showed us the ammunition boxes, but there was nothing in them. He also told us how the gun was unlimbered (this means separating the gun from the ammunition

n fifteen pounds,' Dora said. 'It would if it w

y and patiently that 15 Pr. meant the gun c

lly it was to see the soldi

and we sail on Tuesday week; and the guns will be painted mud

were not wearing their busbies, but on

d with envy on those who would soon be allowed-being grown up, and no no

ce whispered to O

but tell h

said to t

top next ti

afraid I can't

might; there's a

atural remark; not rude, as it

ather. He is very well off just now. Look here-if we're not on the

last he said 'Yes', and we were very glad, though but Alice and Oswald kne

ed a lot to us.

llar. But I should like to see your sword out,

ped the hilt of his good bla

'd only show us the pursuing practice! Albert's uncle knows it;

, and showed us all the cuts, thrusts, and guards. There are four of each kind. It was splendid. The morning

horse galloped as if upon the bloody battlefield among the fie

nd he went away, taking his men

e soldiers came by-but they had no guns this time, only the captive Arabs of the des

ptain called an

and pleasure of giving a pipe and four

ain-I can't think why girls will kiss everybody-and we all cheered for the Queen. It was grand. And I w

een those brave

out soldiers, and why we sought to aid and abet the poor w

e different military occasions which I have remarked upon this widow woman stood at her garden gate and looked

e tried to talk to her she would not. She told us to go along with us, do, and not bother

, and he had gone to the War last April. So that she thought of him when she saw the soldiers, and that was why she cried. Because when your son is at the wars you always think he is being killed. I don't know

something for the sol

eed, but a

n insult by that proud, patriotic spirit. Beside

to father's L12 to bu

ke her a flannel petticoat and leave

el petticoats in this wea

had a deep, inward feeling that Mrs Simpkins w

under her window after she had gone to be

wealthy and affluent, but we said again that we knew money wo

ething that will be a good deal of

worth a deal of po

said that myself.

n help in?' Dora asked. 'Bes

arden. At least if she does anything inside you

very next day, ere yet the rosy dawn had flushed

s with our boots in our hands. Denny is rather unlucky, though a most careful boy. It was he who dropped his boot, and it went blundering down the stairs, e

his is because the shadows go a different way from what they do in the awake part of the day. But I do

cottage, with a thatched roof, like in the drawing copies you get at girls' schools, and you do the thatch-if you can

rakes-and Dora worked with the trowel, sitting down, because her foot was hurt. We cleared the weedy patch beautifully, scraping off all the nasty weeds and leaving the nice clean brown dirt. We worked as hard as ever we could. And

abour, when the cottage door burst open, and the soldier's widowed mother came ou

ain't you got enough of your own good ground to runc

deeply alarmed,

r garden,' Dora said; 'we want

they are cross. 'It's my turnips,' she went on, 'you've hoed up, and my cabbages. My turnips that

nd even the boldest turned and fled. Oswald was even the

trying to do golden deeds.' This

nce full of gloomy remorse,

he Moat,' and passed on h

ck in a magazine wrapper. Alice pulled it out. It was addressed to Mrs Simpkins. We honourably only looked at the address, althoug

r was, and they retraced their steps, Alice holding the postcard right way up

t outwardly unmoved, they walk

th a bang wh

nd I think she said it what

iled your turnips, and we will ask my father

about not wanting to

ed politeness, 'because the postman gave us a postcard

have said that. Of course we hadn't. But perhaps girls know be

d at the address a long time. Then she turned it over and read what was on the back. Then she drew her breath in as far as it woul

ught hold of the soldier

's NOT you

the postcard into Alice's hand, and w

so. The soldier's mother took the card again and she pushed Alice away, but it was not an unkind push, and she went in and shut the door; and as Alice and Oswald went down the road Oswald loo

the soldier's mother, but you can do nothing when people's sons are shot. It is the most dr

hought of what we

tones to soldiers when they die in war. But

she'd like it, if we put one up to HIM? Not in the churchyard, of course, because

ught it was a

meant to put o

re

SIM

fighting

Coun

ithfu

n so

dier

uried

s really buried far away in the Southern h

ldier

p for

he stable-yard, and we got a cold chisel

g is difficult a

then Denny, but Dicky hammered his finger, and Denny took all day over every stroke, so that by tea-time we

and even the most sanguinary of

ot a board and two stumps from the carpenter's in the village, and we

mething l

MEMO

SIM

QUEEN AND

O HIS NA

RAVE SO

e meant to at first, so we

to dig jolly deep to get the posts to

them over the posts. And I think if Bill Simpkins had known how sorry we were, he would have been glad. Oswald only hopes if he fall

om the wreaths scattered under the tombstone between t

RS SIM

nd things, and we beg your pardon humbly. W

ur names. Alice

ut our oughting to know better than to make fun of p

she could no

sa

s, do come with me and see! You don't know

d the others have all gone in, so as

ll by the grave-I mean the tombstone-and Alice hugged her, and they both cried bitterly. The poor soldier's mother was very, very pleased,

hurchyard edge and put it in a corner of our garden under a laburnum, where people could not see it from the church. But you could from the road, though I t

n it when a soldier in a red coat came down the road, and he stopped and looked at us. He wa

nd he leaned on the wall, so that he could

all over his fa

I AM bl

sper, and when he came to the end, where it

he really was blessed. Oswald thought it

essed as you think. What's it to

ing that an infantry soldier is

an. That's ME!' and he p

to the spot. A

dead,' she said. 'Oh, Bill, I am s

l had to go slowly because of his leg, but

he soldier's mother'

, but she pushed us away, and went tearing down the garden path like wink

him, and caught hold of him, and she cried

his hand and said

ng at her face. It was like wax that had been painted on both pink cheeks, and t

ies,' and she took her boy Bill i

ith the wood-axe and had a blazing big bonf

t over from our keepsake to the other soldiers. We gave it to Bill. Father is going to have him fo