The Labor enquirer., 1882-12-16

boy?" -
Gone, as sure as guns. And, what is
more, we failed to find trace Of him.
I finally put my men in vacant room
across the hall from 166, and told them
to capture anybody that approached the
girls room, and to keep the landlord with
them and under strict watch until further
orders. Then l hurried back to the Tor
to see if all was right there yet.
About noon next day came tidlngS OF
my missing boy. He had been seen on
the road tramp1ng westward, some eight
miles out at in the morning. l started
cavalry lieutenant and private on MS
track at once. They came in sight OF MN
twenty miles out. He had climbed a fence
and was YEARLY dragging himself toward
a large old-fashioned mansion IN the cage
of a village. They rode through a olt OF
woods, made-a detour, and closed up on
the house from the opposite side; then
dismounted and went into the kitchen.
Nobody there. They slipped into the
next room, which was also unoccupled !;
the door from that room into the front
or sitting room was open. They were
about to step through it when they heard
a low voice; it was somebody praying.
So they halted reverently, and the lieu
tenant put his head in and saw an Old
man and an old woman kneeling in cor
ner of that sitting room. 1t was the old
man that was praying, and just as he was
finishing his prayer the Wicklow boy
opened the door and stepped in. Both
of those old people sprung at him and
smothered him with embraces, shout
ing:
"Our boy. our darling Godbe praised! !!
The lost is found p
Well, sir, what do you think? That
young imp was born and reared on that
homestead, and hadnever been five miles
away from it in all his life, till the fort
night before, when he loafed into my
quarters and gulled me with thatmaudlin
warn of his. It's true as gospel. That
old man was his father-a learned old
retired clergyman and that old lady was
his mother.
Let me throw in a word or two OF eN-
planation concerning that boy and his
performances. 1t turned out that he was
a ravenous devourer Of dime novels and
sensational story papers; therefore, dark
mysterious and gaudY heroisms were just
in his line. Then he had read news
paper reports of the stealthy goings and
comings Of rebel spies in our midst, and
of their lurid purposes and their two or
three startling achievements, till his i'm
agination was all ahame on that subject.
His constant comrade for some months
had been a Yankee youth of much
tongue and lively fancy, who had served
for a couple Of years as "mud clerk" on
certain packet boats on the Mississippi
hence his easy facility in handling the
names and other details pertaining to
the region.
But he made trouble enough for us
and lust no end Of humiliation. You
see on account of him we had fifteen or
twenty people under arrest and cOnine-
ment in the fort, with sentlnels before
their doors \ lot Of the captives were
soldiers and such, and to them | didn't
have to apologize but the reStWere first
class citizens from all over the country,
and no amount Of apologies was sufficient
to satisfy them. And those two ladies,
one was an Ohio congressman wife, and
the other a western bishops sister, we'll,
the scorn al angry tears they poured
out on me made up keepsake that was
likely to make me remember them for a
considerable time. That old lame gen
tleman was college president from Phil
adelphia, and Wicklow had stood there
in my quarters and described him as a
counterfeiter, niger trader, horse thief
and fire bug from the most notorious ras-
cal nest in Galveston.
And the war department! But, 0 my
sonl. let's draw the curtain over that part.
Luck.
Tho ITt;oo Ohxerver SAWS that since Weed