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164 my trouble and fatigue, together with their mischievous fun.

We landed the next day in the afternoon, when our quartermaster sergeant sat off to procure something for us to eat; we had to go nearly two miles for it. Myself and another sergeant, a messmate of mine, concluded to go after the provisions, to stretch our legs, after so long confinement on board the vessel; we took our cook with us, for he, as usual, had nothing to do at home. When we arrived at the place, we found it would be quite late before we could be served; we therefore bought a beef's harslet of the butchers, and packed off our cook with it, that we might have it in readiness against our return to camp. The cook, who had been a bank fisherman, and of course loved to wet his whistle once in a while, sat off for home and we contented ourselves till after dark, before we could get away, in expectation of having something to eat on our return. When we came home we went directly to our tent to get our suppers, when, lo, we found Mr. Cook fast asleep in the tent, and not the least sign of cookery going on. With much ado we waked him and inquired where our victuals were; he had got none, he mumbled out as well as he could. "Where is the pluck you brought home?" "I sold it," said he; "sold it! what did you sell it for?" "I don't know," was the reply. "If you have sold it, what did you get for it?" "If you will have patience," said he, "I will tell you." "Patience," said the sergeant, "it is enough to vex a saint; here we sent you home to get something in readiness against our return, and you have sold what we ordered you to provide for us and got drunk, and now we must go all night without any thing to eat, or else set up to wait a division of the meat and cook it ourselves. What, I say, did you get for it? if any thing we can eat at present, say so." "I will tell you," said he; "first, I got a little rum, and next, I got a little pepper, and—and—then I got a little more rum." "Well, and where is the rum and pepper you got"—"I drank the rum," said he, "there is the pepper." "Pox on you," said the sergeant, "I'll pepper you," and was about to belabor the poor fellow, when I interfered and saved him from a basting. But, truly, this was one among the "sufferings" I had to undergo, for I was