The Doctor Did Not Start With The
Command, But Rode Up While We Were Waiting For The Man With The
Washer.
The soldiers were lounging on the ground near the wagons,
talking and laughing; but when they saw the doctor coming, there was
perfect silence over there, and I watched and listened, curious to see
what effect the funny sight would have upon them.
First one sat up,
then another, and some stood up, then some one of them giggled, and
that was quite enough to start everyone of them to laughing. They were
too far away for the laughing and snickering to be disrespectful, or
even to be noticed much, but I knew why they laughed, for I laughed
too.
The doctor did not present a military appearance. He is the very
smallest man I ever saw, and he was on a government horse that is
known by its great height - sixteen hands and two inches, I
believe - and the little man's stirrups were about half way down the
horse's sides, and his knees almost on the horse's back. All three of
us are wearing officers' white cork helmets, but the doctor's is not a
success, being ever so much too large for his small head, consequently
it had tilted back and found a resting place on his shoulders,
covering his ears and the upper part of his already hot face. For a
whip he carried a little switch not much longer than his gauntlets,
and which would have puzzled the big horse, if struck by it.
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