Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-11-01

: halt right dress! Front J an as ye
q come up, give the command, Salute !
. an then, Parade rest 7 An didn't he
jist do it, colonel?' asked Sam enthu-
siastically-'didn't he jist do it? Obi
/ I'm a-trainin' him up in the way he
should so, leastwise, as far as l knows
how-an' he's a man an soldier, he is.
See how he started off when gave the
command, though he'd a-given anythin'
to have stopped and walked with his
colonel"
"Then why not have allowed him to
stay and walk with us?" said.
Disciplin', colonel. Disciplin' must
be kept up, an / knows what is good for
him in that line. Sides that, wanted
to have talk with you. My home is just
here, an l hope yell come in, said Sam,
as we arrived at low-roofed, small but
comfortable house. "Walk right in an
take a seat, sir. Tain't much of a house,
but we've both had worse quarters than
this a-fore now, amt we |" he continu-
ed.
Chairs were brought upon the porch
of the little house, and we sat long in
conversation. The boy and the house
keeper had retired; still we sat and
talked, and there in the quiet moonlight,
the brave, simple-hearted old soldier told
me of her who had rescued him from the
clutches of his besetting sins.
"Ye see, colonel, after we was muster
ed out an come here, the leftenant
bought this little house, an we started
TO fix things for the wife to come on an
the way we worked Well, there wasn't
no sogerin bout it, you bet. / kept
pretty stiddy them times, cause had
him for to look after still / used to
take my tod pretty regular. Well, at
last everything was ready, as far as we
could make it, an / could see that he
J was a-gittin' sicker' an sicker every day
for the sight of her an babby an at
last one day, when the check came for
his back pay, he jist shut right down.
Sam, says he, can't stand it no long
er; I'm off tonight for the wife an lit
tie Sid. Ye see, sir, she was down to
her fathers in Saint Louis, waitin' for
him to come for her. That night he
started, expectin' to get back in bout
, three weeks. Fore he went he gave me
} fifty dollars of mine that he had be al
lowed to get his check cashed in the city.
l seed him off, an then walked back to
the house here with the fifty dollars in
my pocket. 1t was mighty lonesome
; here, all alone so | starts an goes over
; there to that rum-mill for company
J Well, / s'pose you can guess the rest,
: colonel. In bout an hour was warped
the worst ye ever seed-you knows what
/ am sich tlmes-an' l kept it up. In
: ten days don't believe eat days ra-
tions; jist poured rum, rum into me all
the time, till / wasn't fit for nothin' but
: a straight-jacket or knOekin' in the head.
j Fact / was jist as crazy as a hoss in a
fire, an jist made this town howl.
t 1t was one night late / come rollin'
: home from the tavern full as tick, a
! mutterin', crazy-like, an strikin' out at
things thought was a-follerin' me, when
as come up near the door here, / seed
a man a-movin' around in that sittin'-
room. There was candle burnin' in
that bedroom, where Forty Eight s
a-sleepin', now, an the man seemed to
be a-tryin' TO light fire in the other
room. l was just achin' for somebody
to pitch into, an as / didn't expect the
7 leftenant for bout two weeks yet, i hadn't t
: no thought but that it was somebody in
: there after somethin' wrong. I jist gave
one yell, jumped into the room, an / had
him quicker nor lightnin'. I'm ugly
e when I'm warped, as ye knows, colonel,
: an it wasn't half a second before I had
: that man up in my hands, an was just
: goin' to bring him in a smash down onto
the hearth, when the door of the bed
4 room opened, an she came out-not a
4 rushin' an a-screamin', jist quiet an
. quick, like thistle-down blowed across
| the floor by puff of breeze. She
4 came right up to me-all in white she
D was, an her long hair a-streamin' over
g her shoulders, an her big eyes lookin'
s at mean she jist laid her hands ON one Of
D my arms (she had to reach up for to do
8 it), an felt as though I'd been struck
| with lightnin'. l jist wilted right down
. sorry, skeered, feelin' l don't know
e how. l let go my hold on the man. l
s heard his voice, an gave one look at
5 him it was the ieftenant; an then the
: cryin' of babby came out from the
other room.
I've heard fellows talk bout wishin'
7 that the ground would swoller them up,
but never felt like wishin' that same
!, until that time. / seed that I'd hurt
him bad; he could only ketch his breath
: an speak word now an then as he lay