The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-25

details of the substantial supper, for tn
strictly Thanksgiving part of the nara
tive came afterward, when pipes ane
cigars were alight around the big fire
place.
Among the passengers were two, boil
of them grave, reserved, rather well-to-dt
looking men, n evidently a Northernel
aud the other Southerncr.
The Northcrner, Roscoe by name, hao
thus far watched our host with a puzzled
expression. At length he spoke:
"Colonel, I begin to think I did not
hear your name right. Is it Smith2"
NO" said our host, laughing good
humoredly, mot quite. It's Akers."
THAT'S it," said Roscoe, shifting bis
knee and leaning eagerly forward:
"Tom Akers, don't you remember me?"
"No, 1 can't say that l do" was the
| reply, land yet there is sometEing-there
was q Bill Roscoe in a regiment that ]
served with, but-but-what? Are you
| Bill RoscoeW
And with that the two had each other
by the hand and shook till they were
both red in the face.
The Southerner knocked the ashes
from his pipe on the h%earthstone and
shook his head, but nobody noticed him.
The two old comrades sat down to-
gether, and conversation again became
general, until first one and then another
of the company became interested in
what the colonel was saying. "Let
me see. We went into winter quarters
about the first of that year, didn't WEI"
eyes; twenty years ago to a dot"
said Roscoe. "By Jove, Tom, I believe
I could do it over again if I got ex-
cited"
"Heaven forbid" said the colonel.
And the Southerner removed his pipe
from between his lips to respond fer
vently "Amcnw
Every one looked round, a trife start
led at the deep tone, but Roscoe went on:
"Tom, old man, I am going to tell a
story on you, right here to all these
folks. Oh, you needn't blush and look
round. Just stand by the door, one Of
you. No, open it and call the women
in, if they don't mind the smoke. l
don't believe his own wife and children
know what a hero she married-his wife,
l mean"
The ladies soon came in, coughing a
bit at the smoke, aud were given the
best seats. Then Roscoe went on:
"As our colonel here said-and by the
way, gentlemen, he was a real colonel
and held the Presidents commissioners
u colonel said. we went into winter
quarters about November 1; that is to
say, we had tents served out and made a
regular camp instead of roughing it as
we had been doing for the last eight
months. We put up board stables
for the horses and walled our tents
so we could have fireplaces inside, and
made ourselves as comfortable as you
please. Still, being cavalry, and pretty
we'll advanced, we did not expect to be
altogether idle, and we weren't. Tom,
here. was a first sergeant of my troop
then. Strict he was, too, on duty, but
off duty he was the best fellow in the
world> and was really more in command
of the company than the captain himself.
"Being a New York regiment we took
a good deal of stock in Thanksgiving.
The colonel got the governors procla-
nation and had the adjutant read it On
parade one evening, like the parson used
to do at home, aud some of US had boxes
and barrels from friends, and we all laid
out to have a gorgeous spread on the
coming Thursday.
"Wel!, what should the Rebs do Mon
day night but ride in on the infantry
a mile or two on our right and
stampede a green regiment, and ON
troop was ordered out in a hurry with
three days rations to chase them down
the valley and teach them not to trihe
with our Thanksgiving programme.
ave started out at daylight, hoping
to make a clean job of it and get back
by Wednesday night, at the latest. We
rode all day and never saw a Johnny
and camped Monday night in a patch of
woods just off the pike, where we had a
good line of retreat in two directions.
Tom here was sent down the road with q
picket, OF which I was one, and
the rest had their supper and turned in.
"About four o'clock in the morning I
was sitting, chilly and sleepy. on my
horse, it being my turn as vidette: and
the sergeant and the other five men were
huddled together under a tree trying to
keep warm, when 1 thought I heard
something very like the clank of asabre
down the road. l was wide awake in a
second and cooked my carbine. I was
in a deep shadow where I could look
down the road, but it was a dark, star
less night and there was not much to be
seen. However, I shut my eyes tight for
a moment and then opened them quick,
and for Just a second I could make out
the forms of several mounted men rid.
ing under the trees at the side of the
road q c ouplc of hundred yards away.
"Of course fired at them and wheeled
my horse and galloped back to the
picket. The boys were in their saddles
before I reached them, and the sergeant
formed US where we were and we blazed
away, more to give the alarm than with
the hope of hitting anybody.
"Thc fire was promptly returned and
we saw there was going to be music.
Then followed the usual falling back on
the main body, firing rs we went. One
of our boys was knocked over and we
had to leave him where he fell, for the
rebs were pushing US, and we were not
more than half way back to camp when
there came a rafting vollcy from the