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Page 14
At the moment our young trooper was passing headquarters, and even as
this thought came into his mind, he was bidden by Colonel Wood to
deliver a written order to the corporal of the guard. "It is for the
release from arrest of your friend Van Kyp," explained the colonel,
kindly, "and you may tell him that it was obtained through the
intercession of Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt."
With a light heart Ridge hastened to perform this first act of his
military service; and not long afterwards he and Rollo were happily
engaged, under the supervision of Sergeant Higgins, in erecting the
little dog-tent that they were to occupy in company, and settling their
scanty belongings within its narrow limits. When this was finally
accomplished to their satisfaction, they went to the picket-line to
visit the pretty and high-spirited mare that had been the immediate
cause of Ridge's good fortune.
"Isn't she a beauty?" he exclaimed, walking directly up to the mare,
and throwing an arm about her neck, a caress to which the animal
submitted with evident pleasure.
"Yes," admitted Rollo, hesitatingly, as he stepped nimbly aside to
avoid a snap of white teeth. "I suppose she is, but she seems awfully
vicious, and I can't say that she is exactly the style of horse that I
most admire. Tell you what I'll do, Norris. I'll give her to you,
seeing that you and she seem to hit it off so well. You've won her by
rights, anyhow."
Ridge's face flushed. He already loved the mare, and longed to own
her, but his pride forbade him to accept so valuable a gift from one
who was but little more than a stranger. So he said;
"Oh no! Thanks, awfully, old man, but I couldn't think of taking her
in that way. If you don't mind, though, I'll buy the mare of you,
gladly paying whatever you gave for her."
"Very good," replied Rollo, who imagined Ridge to be quite well off,
and to whom any question of money was of slight consequence. "I paid
an even hundred dollars for her with saddle and bridle thrown in, and
if you won't accept her as a gift, you may have her for that sum."
"Done," said Ridge, "and here's your money." With this he pulled from
his pocket the roll of bills that his father, bidding him not to spend
them recklessly, had thrust into his hand on parting, and which until
now he had not found occasion to touch.
Although this left our young soldier penniless, he did not for a moment
regret the transaction by which he had gained possession of what he
considered the very best mount in the whole regiment. He at once named
the beautiful mare "Se�orita," and upon her he lavished a wealth of
affection that seemed to be fully reciprocated. While no one else
could do anything with her, in Ridge's hands she gained a knowledge of
cavalry tactics as readily as did her young master, and by her quick
precision of movement when on drill or parade she was instrumental in
raising him first to the grade of corporal, and then to that of
sergeant, which was the rank he held three weeks later, on the eve of
the Rough Riders' departure for Tampa.
In the mean time the days spent at San Antonio were full of active
interest and hard work from morning reveille until the mellow
trumpet-notes of taps. At the same time it was work mixed with a vast
amount of harmless skylarking, in which both Ridge and Rollo took such
active part as to win the liking of every member of their troop.
Each day heard the same anxious inquiry from a thousand tongues: "When
shall we go to the front? Is the navy going to fight out this war
without the army getting a show?"
"Be patient," counselled the wiser men, "and our chance will come. The
powerful Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera must first be located and
rendered harmless, while the army must be licked into effective shape
before it is allowed to fight."
They heard of the blockade by the navy of Havana and other Cuban ports,
of the apparently fruitless bombardment of San Juan in Porto Rico, and
of the great gathering of troops and transports at Tampa. Finally came
the welcome news that the dreaded Spanish fleet was safely bottled by
Admiral Sampson in the narrow harbor of Santiago.
Then on the 29th of May, only a little more than one month after the
declaration of war, came the welcome order to move to Tampa and the
front. Instantly the camp presented a scene of wildest bustle and
excitement. One hundred railway cars, in six long trains, awaited the
Riders. The regiment was drawn up as if for parade.
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