those left behind wishing the members of the four companies the best of luck.
"Don't stop until you have gone straight through to Pekin!" cried one of the men left behind. "Show the foreigners what Yankee blood and pluck can do!" And a cheer went up, which lasted imtil the battalion had left Tongku behind.
The weather was warm and muggy; and, had some of the soldiers had their way, blanket rolls would have been pitched aside, to be picked up by the cart train following. But this was not allowed, for there was no telling where the battalion would rest during the coming night or if the train would get through in safety.
"I have often wondered if the folks at home fully realize the life a soldier leads," remarked Captain Banner, as he walked along near Gilbert. "They hear of victories or defeats, and read the death lists and all that; but do they realize the knocking around a soldier does,—how he has to tramp miles and miles, be it hot or cold, dry or wet, with a heavy gun and a heavier load, eating when he can and whatever he manages to get, and sleeping very often in the open air and occasionally in a soaking rain?"
