The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1885-01-08


As passed out, asked surgeon il
it would not be well TO send Tor his
mother, He said il would be useless,
as the boy could not possibly live The
week out. That night I detained leave
to remain at the hospital day or two
When [ went down next morning nv
little friend was expecting me, and
when he saw me coming his face lighted.
Good morning.. said 1; chow did
You rest last night?"
"I'm glad you've come early, lieuten-
ant. Eve had the strangest. dream, and
is was splendid. toe. I Want to tell you
about it,"
HIS eyes were unnaturally bright,
his cheeks flushed, and his whole face
aglow with pleasure at my coming and
excitement about his dream. 1 bathed
his face and hands, brushed the cluster
ing hair, and told him meanwhile that l
was going TO take care of him for day
or two, and was amply paid for II by
his delight and grateful happiness.
"And now" ssidI, ,,'let's hear that won
dertul dream"
"You see." he began, "after you left
me last night l went right to sleep, and
thought was somewhere else, only
didn't know where it was, but I could
look up and see the stars in the sky.
1t seemed to me there were never 30
many before. And they kept twinkling
so that thought that something must
be the matter. and I found out some
way that they were all very angry be-
cause the moon had been coming up so
early the last few nights.
Then, all of sudden, while I was
thinking about the stars, there was my
cid drum lying by my side. Where it
came from I didn't know, and I didn't
care, either. Oh, but was glad to see
it once more!
Il picked it up, slung the strap over
my neck, and began to play to see if it
was all right. 1t sounded just as it
used to, and there wasn't single thing
broken or wrong about it. You can
guess how good it seemed to be at it
again!
"Then I thought I'd see if I could re-
member all the different calls. I be-
gan with the Assembly, and I could
play it just as we'll as ever I could, and
[ beat and beat and forgot everything
else, till I looked up minute, and
then, what do you think?
"The sky was just as full as could be
of shooting stars. / couldn't imagine
what it all meant; but 1 watched the
stars, and l saw, pretty quick, that
they had heard the drum call and were
hurrying up from every direction, and
falling into line just like soldiers.
The biggest stars were the generals,
the next biggest were the colonies, and
then came the observation-disclosures and
the majors, the captains and lieutenants
and the sergeants and the corporals;
and the littlest stars ofall were the priv
ates.
We'll, when I saw what they were
doing, l kept right on at the Assembly,
until there was great army of stars
drawn up right across the sky. I didn't
know what they were going to do, but I
guessed they were getting ready to at
tack the moon, and drive it back out of
the sky.
and so, when every star Vas In its
place and the ranks all dressed, sound
ed the Advance an. the army moved off
!ust IKE veterans. There wasn't single
break Ii the line. When they had
o~.arched up pretty near to where the
moon was intrenched, [ beat the Charge,
md the brave little stars rushed right
up into the face of the enemy.
Then thought there was terrible
battle. But before long I began to see
first one poor, pale little star, and then
another, and another, fall back and
drop down, down, down through the
sky, until they were lost out of sight,
and I thought, Oh, the poor fellows,
they must be the killed and the wound
ed and the missing.
and all the while the moon didn't
give way at all. Pretty soon my poor
stars began to fall faster and faster,
until thousands and thousands went
dropping, falling down out of the sky.
"And I just couldn't stand it any
longer, for you see, was on the stars
side, so 1 beat the Retreat as hard as
could, and then the army began to fall
back. But there we're great gaps in
the line and hundreds of stragglers.
Every little while some poor star, that
had been wounded and couldn't keep up
any longer, would 60 sinking slowly
down out of sight.
80 lieutenant! How sorry I felt for
them. And I noticed that the night
had grown darker, and I thought, that
is because so many bright stars were
killed in the fight, and because the
eyes of the rest are all full of tears for
their lost comrades and their defeat.
Then they all looked so tired and
sleepy that sounded Taps at once, and
the whole army put out their lights and
turned in and went to sleep right away.
pretty soon thought it was sunrise,
and jumped up and beat the Reveille,
and while [ was rafting away thought
y part of Gen. Sherman's army came
by. There were the cavalry,
with their jangling sabres, and the ar
5illery, with their brass guns as bright
IS gold, and then thousands and thous-
ands of infantry, with their muskets all
At right shift. And thought
here was one splendid drum corps.
The flies sounded out loud and shrill,
ust as they used to, and the drums
here must have been twenty-five of
hem, and the rat-tat- tat of the SHARES,
md the boom, boom of the big bass fell
ows fairly set me crazy.
ooh, was wild to be marching along
with the rest They we're playing
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
md struck right in with the old drum
md played my very best. I don't know
What it was happened then, but think
he drum must have got wings some
way, for it rose right up in the air, and
with it, and we went up over the roofs
ind chimneys, and the woods and the
Hills; but all the while I could hear
hat splendid drum corps playing
When Johnny Comes Marching Home,
hough I couldn't see the troops any
more. So I kept on beating away for
lear life, for I was little frightened
It first when I saw how high up we
we're.
"But soon the flies and the drums
began to sound fainter and fainter, and
It the very moment when I couldn't
on p fbo nm Of oil op1x {b;n1> of 81 r