Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-02-11

ure books to read to you, anu he set-
tied himself on one of the high wooden
chairs, and opened the book
'.All right, little Colonel, fire away"
the man said cheerily, and as soon al
the clear childish voice commenced not
a sound was heard in the room, the
great burly fellows following with al
most childish interest and respect the
varied fortunes of Jack the Giant
AT the CONCLUSION the child sa,a. a
little timidly: Lieutenant Fearing Il
ways reads Il little prayer when he gets
through. l haven't any book to read
it out of, but we can say one"
Then kneeling down on the stone
floor. to the utter astonishment of the
men. he reverently repeated the Lords'
Prayer.
One by one they joined in, and when
the little fellow rose from his knees
with radiant countenance and trotted
off with Nilus, there were many re-
quests for him to "come again" and
..give us another reading.
The fever waXed and waned. but
through it all the conyalescent ward
kept pretty full.
Day after day, no matter how hot or
windy, Jerome would climb up the
steep hill leading to the hospital and
there read his little simple stories and
repeat his daily prayer. He wanted so
much to do something for them, these
rough nurses and playfellows of his.
whom he loved. and this was all he
could think of. The rough men knew
and appreciated the feeling, and well
coined their little Colonel" with ready
love and sympathy.
But, dear mel How warm the days
were beginning to grow. A hot 81
rocco blew constantly from the south
ern seas. making all the foliage but the
Pride of India trees look dead and
dropping. Even the ocean beat on the
cliffs below the barracks Mt Prospect
| with dull. sullen sound. Each morn
ing it seemed to be harder than the last
for Jerome to climb up that sunny in
cline towards the, hospital, and at
length one morning he was too tired to
90 at all.
When the doctor saw him he shook
his head.
'.He has got slight attack of fever"
he said. ..but am afraid there is not
much strength to carry it OFF,"
A week passed. but he did not seem
to get much better, until one night
when the stars were shining glOriously
and the sea was very still. the angels
came down from the Throne of God
and carried Jerome back with them,
leaving only his little tired body sleep
inc on his white bed.
R,,f hic 20 ~, IN al ot soon tbn opOnlS
neither had the soldiers. So, when
they came to lay him to rest in the sol
diers' cemetery. and fire a parting sa-
lutte over the tiny mound. there was not
dry eye in all that regiment.
Poor Nilus! He could not tell what
it all meant And when they went
away and lefs his little master with
only the sea to talk to him all the long
day and night, he lay down beside the
grave and no one could get him away.
But the next morning at the same hour
that Jerome always went to the hos
Dital, Nilus was seen gravely vending
his way up there, and walking into
the common room took his usual place.
The men gathered around him with
many expressions of endearment. but
he seemed to take all their advances
quietly. In about an hours time he
got up and went away, but each day
the same thing was repeated. 1t al
most seemed that, unseen to them. the
spirit of the boy still fingered among
them. And old Nilus did much to-
ward keeping warm and bright in their
hearts the recollection of his little mas
ter's gentle, flowing ways. As often as
they saw the faithful dog approaching,
their usual avocations were put aside,
and that hour for many long months
was kept sacred to the memory of their
little Colonel. Never an oath or an
! unkind word did Nilus ever hear in
| his presence, and the men were bet
ter and purer for the memory of the
chid-life that had gone out from their
midst.
Tell us the story about the little
Colonel and Nilus.' the soldiers chill
dren would say in after years as they
climbed on their fathers knees.
So the oft-told tale was repeated with
faltering lips. to be treasured up in the
hearts of many who had never known
him. y Observer.