Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-12-30
CHAPTER XIII.

Inc morning after the battle, Kent Ed.
wards was strolling around the camp at
Wildcat, Shades of my hot-throated ances-
tors, who swallowed several fine farms by the
tumberful, how thirsty I ami" he said at
length. "lts no wonder these Kentuckians
are such hard drinkers. There's something
in the atmosphere that makes mo drier the
farther We advance into the state. May be
the pursuit OF glory has something desiccating
in it. At least, all the warriors ever heard
of seemed composed of clay that required as
much moistening as rnsaaked lime I will
HE me to the hill OF frankincense and the
mountain of nlyrrh; in others words, I'll go
back where Abe is, and get what's left in the
canteen."
He found his saturnine comrade sitting on
log by comfortable fire, restoring buttons
which, like soldiers, had become "missing by
reason of exigencies of the campaign
Abe had stuck his needle down into the log
beside him. Near were the buttons he had
fished out of his pocket, and he was laboring
with clumsy fingers and rising temper at an
obdurate bunch of thread.
"I've been round looking over the field,n
said Kent, as he came up.
A-contemptuous snort answered him.
"You ought to've been along. / saw a
great many interesting things"
80, yes, s'pose. Awful interesting. Lot
o. dead men laying around in the mud. Bout
as interesting, l should say, as spell O. set
ting on coroner's jury The things you find
interesting would bore anybody else to
death"
Abe gave the obstinate clump savage
twitch, which only made its knots more re-
bellious, and he looked as If strongly tempted
to throw 1t into the fire
s"Don't do it. Abe" said Kent, with laugh
that irritated Abe worse still Threads
thread out here, a hundred miles from no.
where. You don't know where you'll get any
more Save it, my dear fellow, save it. Per-
chance you may yet sweetly beguile many an
hour of your elegant leisure in unraveiing its
fantastic convolutions with your taper fin
gers, and"
"Lordl Lordr' said Abe with an expression
of deep WEAKNESS, but without looking in
kents direction, "who's pulled the string o.
that clack mill and set it to going3 When it
gets started once it rolls out big words like
punkins dropping ont O. the tail of wagon
going up hill And there's no way o. stop
ping it, either. You've just got to wait till
it runs down.
"The Proverbs say SO flttingly that "A fool
delighteth not in wise Instruction. said
Kent, as he stepped around to the other side
of the fire. His foot fell upon projecting
twig, the other end of which flew up and
landed a very hot coal on the back of Abe's
hand Abe's action followed that of the
twig, in the Suddenness of his upspringiny.
He hurled an oath and tirebrand at his
comrade.
"This is really becoming domestic said
Kent as he laughingly lodged. 1.-THE gentle
amenities could not cluster more thickly
around our fireside, even if we were married. y
When Abe resumed his seat he did not
come down exactly upon the spot from which
he had arisen. 1t was a little farther to the
right, where he had stuck the needle. He
had forgotten oil about it, but he rose with a
howl when it keenly reminded him that like
the star spangled banner, it was still there
Don't rise on my account, l beg said
Kent with deprecatory wave of the hand,
as he hurried off TO where he could laugh
with safety. A saucy drummer boy, who
neglected this precaution, received cuff from
Abe's heavy hand that thrilled the rest of the
drum corps with delight.
When Abe's wrath subsidized from this ebul-
lent stage back to its customary one OF sim
mer, Kent ventured to return.
Say" said be, pulling over the coats and
teenln
"There it is by the cups. Can't you see it 1?
IL it was q snake it'd bite you"
Its done that already, several times, or
rather its contents have. You know what
the Bible says, 'Biteth like a serpent and
stingeth like an adderp All, here it is. But
gloomy forebodings seize me; it is suspic-
iously light. Paradoxically, its Ightness in
ff1na .axyrtxy in, Rat fluA
tirely too fine-drawn for camp atmosphere
He shook the canteen near his ear. ''Alasl
no gurgle responds to my fond caresses:
Canteen, Mayourneen, o, why art thou silent,
Thou voice OF my heart?
1t is--woe is melt is empty"
"Of course it is--you were the last person at
itn
II hurl that foul imputation back into thy
teeth, base knave. Thou thyself art very
daughter of a horse leech with a canteen of
whisky"
Abe looked at him inquiringly. "You
must've found some, some place" he said, "or
you wouldn't be so awfully glib. It's taken
bout half pint to loosen your tongue so that
it'd run this way. know your
mo, I've not found spoonful The elo-
quence of thirst is the only inspiration have
at present l fain would stay its cravings by
quaffing beaker of mountain distilled hair
curler. Mayhap this humble receptacle con-
tains yet few drops which escaped thy raw
enous thirst"
Kent turned the canteen upside down, and
placed its mouth upon his tongue. "No,r he
said, with deep detection, "all that delicious
fluid OF yesterday is now like the Father of
his Country
"Eh!n said Abe, puzzled.
Because it Is no more-it is no more. 1t
belongs TO the unreturning past"
Il say" he continued after a moments
pause, "let's go out and hunt for some. There
must be plenty In this neighborhood. Nature
never makes want without providing some
thing to supply it. Therefore, Judging from
my thirst, this country ought to be full of
distilleries.
They bucSled on their belts, picked up their
guns and started out, directing their steps to
the front
In spite of the sunshine the walk through
the battlefield was depressing. Scattered over
the mountain side were fatigue parties en-
gagged in hunting up the dead and burying
them in shallow graves hastily dug in clay 50
red that it seemed as If saturated with the
blood shed the day before The buriers thrust
their hanis into the pockets Of the dead with
the hinching, nauseated air OF men touching
filth, and took from the garments seeping
with water and blood, watches, letters, am
hrotypes, money and trtnkets. some Of which
they studied to gain clew to the dead mans
identity, some retained as souvenirs, but threw
the most back into the grave with an air OF
ioathing. The faces ct the dead, with their
staring eyes and open mouths and long, lank
hair. cloyed with the sand and mad thrown
up by the beating rain. looked individually
repulsive.
The buriers found II better to begin their
work BY covering tie features with cap o.
q broad brimmed hat Il was dizRcu1t for
the coarsest Of them to ning spadeful Of
dank c1ay directly upon the Wideopen eyes
and seemingly spenlrj1G uoqfl.