BORN SOLDIER John Strange Winter J^^J'hite & Co., London. ESTABLISHED 1851. BIRKBEGK BANK, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London. TWO-AND-A-HALF per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS. repayable on demand. TWO per CENT, on CURRENT ACCOUNTS on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn below ;^ioo. STOCKS, SHARES and ANNUITIES purchased and sold. SAYINGS DEPARTMENT. For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums on deposit, and allows interest monthly on each completed £1. BIRKBECK BUILDING SOCIETY. HOlir TO PmCHASK A BTOCSS FOB TWO GUINEAS PER MOKTH. BIRKBECK FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETY. lOTT TO PVRCHASK A PI.OT OF IiAITS FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH. THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with fiill particulars, post free. FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Oianagn, ^ Please Observe the EEs ..STEEDMAN, -SOOTHINO for Ctiildren cuttirxcj T^^.TH, \VAUW&RTH,SU^. MEILIN'S FOOD FOR INFANTS AND INVALIDS. " ta, Rushey Green, Caiford, •• London, S.B., Oct. 3, z8gs- " Dear Sir,—/ have great pleasure to se I •bhotoeraiJi o£my boy,Allan Edward, from six weeks old was tr Food. The child is --fs^s^s:^ no illness whatever, and be considered a recom- st excellent preparation. My, ^ARD McKENZIE." Emory University Library r's FOOD LVKUIERS )ND'S Befreshmcnt Booms. 1 taken with milk or with r spirit with the greatest I is of the highest value and iter exhaustive physical iplication to PECKHAM, S.E:. In Memoriam X. i [etor begs to remind those Ruth Candler Lovett lOT-DRY FEET, that as directed; and a box is 1935-1964 ned to walking on stone ender. To those who, in ver-estimated, and if used OR INDIA. ciui, who has made this 7eHn of careful research to suSeren. Bl'. '^fy Sold <n BOM; It. IJd, eath; tr tent ftr Pott ftr 16 Mamfi. Prepared by K. ATKINSON, Taplow, Bucks. To be obtaiatd of all Chemists. 3tor««, and th« Wholesale London Patent Uddicine Housed ^ 'BORN SOLDIER BY JOHN STRANGE WINTER Atithor of ^ Booties' Baby i' '"Army Society* ' Cavalry Life^ ' Garrison Gossip,' ^ In Quarters,' ^ On March,' ' He Went for a Soldier,' ' The Other Man's Wife^' ^ Only Human,' ''Aunt Johnnie,' ''Red-Coats,' ' A Seventh Child^' Etc. FOURTH EDITION LONDON F. V WHITE & CO. 14 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND W.C. 1897 TO MRS STANNARD, MY MOTHER-IN-LAW ('DEAR GRANNIE'), I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE XTbis Story N MEMORY OF A DARK TIME PASSED THROUGH TOGETHER WHILE IT WAS BEING WRITTEN JOHN STRANGE WINTER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE PHIL JERVIS , 7 CHAPTER II. PRUDENCE AND INCLINATION 15 CHAPTER III. A WRONG COURSE 24 CHAPTER IV. A DEAD FAILURE 34 CHAPTER V. WAITING , 41 CHAPTER VI. A LITTLE WORLD ......,,,, 48 CHAPTER VII. SUSPENSE , 58 CHAPTER VIII, PUTTING ON TIME .,..,.. 65 CHAPTER IX. DERELICT , . .• 75 CHAPTER X. A LINK IN THE CHAIN 80 CHAPTER XL A PLAIN QUE,STION 87 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. PAGE TINKER 91 CHAPTER XIII. RECALLED 98 CHAPTER XIV. THE HORRID TRUTH . 107 CHAPTER XV. ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF HER .117 CHAPTER XVI. JOHN SYLVESTER 123 CHAPTER XVII, VENGEANCE 133 CHAPTER XVIII. GEORGE WINTHROP 140 CHAPTER XIX. LINKS IN THE CHAIN 149 CHAPTER XX. GOOD MEN AND TRUE 159 CHAPTER XXI. ' STEPHANOTIS , , 166 CHAPTER XXII. TIME FOR REFLECTION „ . 176 CHAPTER XXIII. CIVIC GAIETY 181 CHAPTER XXIV. AT THE SEAT OF JUDGMENT . 189 CHAPTER XXV. STOP! ... 194 CONTENTS. 5 CHAPTER XXVI. PAGE A DECLARATION ... 205 CHAPTER XXVII. SEARCHEM, LONDON 213 CHAPTER XXVIIL REED & SHUTTLE"WORTH .,...- 221 CHAPTER XXIX. A FRAYED CORD <..,.. 229 CHAPTER XXX. A BRIGHT IDEA 237 CHAPTER XXXI. JILL'S LITTLE PILGRIMAGE 247 CHAPTER XXXII. FOUND 255 CHAPTER XXXIIL AN ALTERNATIVE 264 CHAPTER XXXIV. THE STRONG RIGHT ARM '...... 274 A BORN SOLDIER. CHAPTER I, PHIL JERVIS. " Were all things certain, nothing would be sure; Joy would be joyless, of misfortune free." EURIPIDES. " TINKER," said Phil Jervis, " fetch me a glass of I'town sherry." " Yes, sir," replied Tinker. Phil Jervis sat down in the biggest armchair which his quarters contained and stretched out his feet to the roaring fire which blazed in the hideous grate. " Ugh ! It's cold and damp and miserable. Beastly weather! Queer thing John Chinaman always turns us out for a field day when it is wet and raw and sodden. I believe he does it on purpose. By Jove, it's enough to kill a chap!" He pulled off his gauntlets and dropped them on to the nearest chair, then his white gloves, which were pretty well marked with the use of bridle and sword. He gradually divested himself of one belt after another, and made a valiant attempt to get out of his long boots. That, however, was beyond him, and he laid back in the chair again, rubbing his cold hands together. " I wonder if it is true that John Chinaman is made of cast iron ? I believe it is. Never ails anything; o A BORN SOLDIER. always looks as if he had got one foot in the grave, but never gets it there. Wet, cold, sleet, rain, snow, heat, dust, all seem alike to him; and yet, I shouldn't like to be John Chinaman. No, that I shouldn't. Poor old John! Wonder what he'll do when his command is over and he's no longer able to pick out all the vilest days in the year to make six hundred men miserable on. Ugh! How chilled I am! It makes me quite pity myself to think of it." At that moment Tinker returned with the brown sherry on a tray. " Ah, that's better! You have had the best of it this morning, Tinker," he said, as he drained the glass. " Yes, sir," said Tinker, " I thought of you several times. Mr. Malone, sir, he wanted to give me my stripes the other day, but I thinks to meself a man who doesn't know when he's got a good billet ought to be cow-hided." " So you decided not to chuck me over, eh, Tinker?" " I did that same, sir. So I says to Mr. Malone, I says, ' I don't see as how my master can possibly get on without me, sir,' and Mr. Malone, he says, ' Well, Tinker, I think you have got too good an opinion of yourself ' Perhaps, I have, sir,' says I, ' but I would rather not leave Mr. Jervis at present.'" " Well now, there you are absolutely wrong. Tinker," said Phil Jervis promptly, " you know you mayn't have such a chance again of getting on. After all, it's every soldier's duty to get on as far in his profession as he possibly can. You made a great mistake." " I don't think so, sir," replied the soldier, " I had a wretched time before I came to you, sir, and I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. If you don't want to get rid of me, sir, I don't want to get rid of you." PHIL JERVIS. 9 " I don't want to get rid of you," said Jervis, quickly, " you do all right for me. But how would you do if I happened to leave the Service." The soldier thought for a moment, then looked at the ceiling and scratched the crown of his head, looked down at the floor, smoothed his chin with his finger and thumb, " Well, sir," he said in a deliberate voice at last, " it 'ud be quite possible to buy me orf" " Oh—oh—oh—I see. Yes, that's it, is it ? How­ ever, I haven't left the Service yet. Tinker. When I do, we will think about it. Now, just get these boot's off for me, will you ?" The boots were tight and wet, and needed each of them a long pull and a strong pull before Phil Jervis was free of them. He sighed with relief as each one was safely off, and Tinker, with the air of a man who knew what was expected of him without being told, drew a little fringe-trimmed table to his master's left elbow, and set upon it a stand of pipes and a huge jar of tobacco. Phil Jervis filled his pipe and set it agoing before he got further out of his uniform. Then by degrees he got rid of one garment after an­ other and was soon warmly and comfortably arrayed in a suit of thick, blanket-like tweed. " By the bye, were there any letters for me. Tinker ?" he asked when he was once more settled down in the big chair. " I'll see, sir." " Wonder if John Chinaman has got out of his uniform yet. Poor old chap 1 What a pity he don't get married! Don't know on the whole, when a Colonel is happily married, whether a married Colo­ nel isn't better for the comfort of the regiment than a bachelor. If poor old John Chinaman had any pursuits except soldiering he would not be so bad ; but he hasn't a second idea in his head—field day, drill, red book: red book, drill, field day—besting 10 A BORN SOLDIER. the Commissariat people and arranging penny-read­ ings free gratis and for nothing for the ranks, are his only ideas of amusement. Poor old chap! What a good thing it would be if he were to get married." Up to that time, it had never occurred to Phil Jervis himself to get married. He was five and twenty years old, was of a fair height, of a strong, lithe, athletic build, had plenty of nice brown hair, rather inclined to be curly; he had a clean-shaven, shrewd, good-looking face, excellent teeth, and a cleft in his chin.