St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-02-23
THE DEAD-LINE.
The Story ola Boy Who Wanted
Excitement and Got 1t.
pl,ilo dol,,l Yli,nnnS

The Story ola Boy Who Wanted
Excitement and Got 1t.
Philadelphia Times.
The hero of this story, Dick Lanford,
| had been wounded in one Of the south
western fights early in '6S. His wound
was not at all desperate one. but it
was sufficiently severe to disable his
arm for long time, so he had to resign
himself to protracted hospital ex-
perience. This was not altogether
pleasant in the prospect, but it proved
| not to be SO very bad after all, for Dick
| was boy accustomed to turn every
| thing bright side up. and SO he was
able to find plenty of enjoyment and
not little in the way OF adventures.
even in the routine of army hospital
| lille.
He drifted northward from one hos
| pital to another. being sent back from
time to time farther and farther from
1.-The front" until at last he found him
| self in the post hospital at Chicago. BY
| that time he was accustomed to speak
of himself as ''all right" His wounded
| arm was stiff and useless, but it did not
pain him very much, and time was all
| that was needed to bring it into proper
condition. A stiff arm is not q very Sc
| rious matter for a lively boy, and Dick
felt himself quite equal to any emer-
gency.
But there seemed no prospect of any
emergency arising in his present quar-
| tiers, unless there should be revolt
among the Confederate prisoners.
| There were some hundreds of these in
barracks in one part of the camp. In
| the barracks outside the prisoners
camp were the few companies of Fed
eral infantry stationed there as guards,
and one of these buildings was utilized
for hospital. A high, strong board
fence surrounded the whole place, with
| a parapet on top, where sentrieS walked
night and clay, with orders to shoot
anybody who might cross the dead
line"
This boundary was distinctly marked
by barricade some distance inside the
fence. Everybody IN the camp, both
prisoners and guards, knew exactly
what that barricade meant, so that if
ANYBODY crossed it, it would certainly
be with the purpose of scaling the tence,
or else committing suicide with the
help of the sentry.
One drowsy summer afternoon Dick
having nothing exciting to keep him
awake, took a nap on his cot, which
stood near the end of the room. and
with only one other bed-an empty one
between it and the end wall. He
was aroused after time by the sound
of voices near him, and discovered that
the surgeon and the commanding officer
of the post were talking by the side of
the empty bed.
''He is one of the very best men i'll the
command" the colonel was saying. HE
is a thorough soldier, admirably dis
ciplined and drilled, but he will"
At this moment he caught sight of
Dicks open eyes and finished what he
had to say in q low tone, so that only
the surgeon should get the benefit OF it.
At the same time Dick, looking about
for the subject of these praises, discov-
cred that the bed next his was not
empty now. One of the soldiers of the
regiment had been brought i'll and
placed there, and was sleeping soundly,
apparently under the influence of
opiates. The colonel went out, and the
surgeon remained to speak with young
Lanford, who was fav0ritc with him
as he was with most people.
lyon have neighbor, yoH see" he
said in whisper. "One of the c0lonefs
men. A pretty bad case, too, but he'll
be all right soon; and L don't think
he'll be apt to disturb you. Well keep
him under the influence of morphia UNI
til he is better"
sWhats the matter with him?" was
Dicks very natural question.
"Weil. he has-he is subject to fits.
Not exactly epilepsy, but peculiar
kind of attack that makes him unfit for
duty sometimes" And the surgeon
smile on his face.
aID oil MI al
the idea of having FIFTY fellow" in
the bed next to his. but still, he re-
flected, if the man should happen TO
have one of his. peculiar attacks" it
would furnish sonie little excitement,
and that would be a blessing. He was
absolutely suffering for something to
break the monOtony of the place.
The excitement came. That night,
long after everybody in the ward wasin
bed and asleep, and even the nurses,
having no cases that required watching,
were sleeping in their room at the OPP
| posite end of the place, Dick was awak-
ened by something falling on his breast:
| He brought his hand to the spot to find
what had struck him, and there was a
mans shoe lying on his chest. This
was queer, and the boy investigated
| further. He sat up in his bed and had
l
| mate of the first shoe struck him
| souarely on his wounded arm. He saw
| where this one came from, for lamp
| was burning near.
The nextm to him was having one
| of those peculiar attacks" lie was
| out of bed and was standing in the aisle
| that ran bet ween the heads of the cots
| and the side of the building. Dick
| wished that his neighbor had stayed in
| his quarters. or else that somebody was
| here to handle him, for the man was
| evidently crazy. The boy, as he
watched the wild eyes and wilder antics
| of the other, knew what kind of lifts"
| the surgeon had referred to. Here he
| was, face to face with patient in the
| first frenzy of delirium tremenS.
| The man. after throwing the second
shoe. had made dash into the corner
of the room. and now came running
| back with heavy cane which some one
of the cOnvalescents had placed there.
"Don't STRIP he said to Dick in a
hoarse whisper. "The daddy of all big
| black ROSTERS is standing right on your
head, but don't you be afraid | almost
nit him that last time. and I'll fetch
him now. surem
Brandishlng that heavy club. ready
for the most murderous blow that his
| mad strength could deliver, he crept
cautiously toward the helpless boy. 1t
was ludicrous situation, perhaps, but
the sight of that formidable club, and
the thought of the crushing blow it was
prepared for, made the comedy seem
Woefully tragic.
All at once Dick remembered that the
colonel had spoken of this man as per-
fectly drilled and disciplined soldier;
there might be safety in that fact. The
instinct of soldierly discipline might be
stronger than the impulse of madness.
He would try it,
''HaItr'
Instantly the advancing maniac
stopped, brought his heels together,