The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1890-05-22

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THE FATAL SHOT.
into the house OF mourning. The wife
and mother was there, with several of
the neighbors who had come to be with
her in her affection. She sat in a rock
ing-chair, weeping.
"Maw," said the boy, excitedly, I'm
a-goen' fur to be Cap'nv'
In the gray of the morning the woman
had seen her husband shot down before
her eyes. In the twilight of evening
she saw her boy carried in. bleeding,
with death written in his pale face and
in his wild eye. The double affection
overcame her. She swooned and was
taken to an adjoining room.
The General laid his light burden on
sofa. The boy caught sight of little
girl about his own age who had come to
the house with her mother.
Mag" he said, did y git my let
ter?"
NO." said Mag, II didn't git no let
ter, but seen one O. them sojers take
sump'n out'n the box.''
The General glanced sharply at the
Lieutenant The young officer took q
crumpled bit of paper from his pocket
and handed it to the commander, who
was about to transfer it to little Mag
gle when the Lieutenant whispered to
him that it contained the information
by which they had caught the Unionists.
The General sat mute with the un-
opened paper between his fingers. A
reproof for his subordinate was on his
tongue. but he did not speak it. In war;
fare it is essential to examine private
papers. The boy who had done them
so signal service had been robbed of
his childish scrawl and the information
it contained had been used to surprise
that boys father. With bowed head
the soldior~handod~ Tho paper to the
little girl.
At this moment the wounded bow
caught sight of his father lying stiff and
stark on the bed.
~'Pop"' he exclaimed, with moan;
''pop!'
He had never seen death, but some
thing told him that this was death.
With difficulty he raised himself and
sat up on the lounge.
did you shoot my pop?" he asked,
looking with his great honest eyes at
| the Lieutenant Without word the
officer turned as one might turn from a
storm of bullets and left the house. The
boy fastened reproachful gaze on the
General.
what d. y let him shoot my pop
fur?"
MY boy-my little hero" began the
soldier-hD could not 60 on. How could
he make child understand the neces-
sites of war? Chivalrous war! that per-
, mitted him to read q child's letter and
kill the child's father, who was on the
opposite side.
Il didn't do nothen to you-uns. What
d. you-uns want t. 60 m kill my pop
fur?" moaned the boy.
Little Maggie was standing by, look
ing on with childish wonder.
Mag" said Tom, 81 writ y that let
ter. writ it all myself, all ont The
sojers token it, reckon"
The General drew the girl up to the
lounge and put her hand in that of the
boy. The two children remained in
this position to the end. The boy soon
began to wander. He was riding with
the paper pellet in his mouth; he was
passing the pickets; he was conversing
| with the officers AMI soldiers. All the
while the General was trying to soothe
him, smoothing back the uncombed
locks from his forehead or pouring . lit.
| tie water between his lips.
Suddenly the boy sat up.
'1'm a-goen' fur to be Cap'n!' he
shouted, then fell back, dead.
The next afternoon the army, begin
ming movement for which the little
courier had paved the way, had struck
its tents and was 1aarching along the
road that led. past the Lane house. As
the head of the column emerged from
! wood the men saw a funeral process.
sion, composed of some officers, soldiers
and few country people, leave the
house and march along to an Enclosed lot
in field near blythe family burial
place.
Two collins, the one but half the size
of the other, were borne by Confederate
soldiers They contained the bodies OF
Tom Lane, father, and Tom Lane, son,
the one of the Union and the other Of
the Confederacy. Directly behind
walked the General Then, company
of soldiers, Captains escort; and next
group of neighbors.
to the inclosure in which grave had
! been dug. The two collins were low.
cred, and laid side by side in the one
grave. The General, who held in his
hands bundle ofgreen sprigs, cast them
into the grave. The earth was shoveled
; in and a vol]ey fred by tho soldiers over
the grave.
BY this time the head of the advanc.
ing column had reached the burial
place, where the General was standing
| with uncovered head, while the last
shovelfuls of earth were being thrown
! upon the grave. The men of an army
are quick to gather news, and not sol.
der but knew already the story of the
two Lanes.
As the column marched by, the men
, of the leading company, seeing their
! General standing with head uncovered,
raised their hats. The action was fol.
lowed by the next and the next com.
pany, and was taken up by regiment
after regiment, troop after troop, bat.
terry after battery; the twelve thousand
men had passed and uncovered. Thsa
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