The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1891-04-30

his dead love and kissed II passionAtely.
II he waited for the battle he might b
killed, and then May was right, there
was no one else who could do this thing.
But the shame Of I'll the bitter, ihtol-
cradle shamei Men would say, and
say with apparent reason, that he had
deserted coward fashioni he, WIN
jackson, through whose veins no drop
Of towards blood ever rant BE would
be false to his country when II needed
him, false to that flag he loved and idol
lied as he loved and idolized the menu
ory Of his motherl He would be false TO
the oath he swore before God and man
to fight for the Union until the end;
he, who had never consciously broken
his lightest word, would do this thing.
It was too much to ask, too much to de-
mand Of him, and burying his head IN
his hands he prayed the cup might pas
from him.
Carries brother, Mays husbandi
Mays husband, Carries brotherI"
It rang through his brain like . dull
refrain Of torture. Could he refuss 70
sacrifice himself It was true he was
asked to lay himself on the altar, and
with his own hands he was asked 10 tear
out his pride, his loyalty, hishonori But
could he refuse? Could he refusSI Il
was Mays husband and Carries brother
who would go-who would drown before
his eyes in the foul waters Of crime and
shame unless he jumped In to savei
Could he refuse2 Could he refusel
To give his life for the man who had
brought this misery on him would, he
thought. have been so easy. But to give
himself. his honor, his word, his loyalty;
1t was very, very hard! It was character
istic Of the man that he spoke nor
thought no word Of curse against his
brother.in-law. To him the supreme
decision he was called on to make was
all in all. On the one side were his pledge
to his mother (and in the still night he
seemed to hear her words again), his love
for the sister and his love for his dead;
on the other were his honor, his loyalty,
his pride, his plighted faithl No wonder
when he rose from his seat and walked
down the long line Of the bivouac he
should have staggered as one who has
taken strong drink. For when the
morning roll call rang out Private VIII
lam jackson was absent. A hurried
search and q yet more hurried court
martial followed, but Gettysburg was
but one day of and men had too much
to think Of to spend time In wonder
over the absence Of one. His friends
mourned for o brief space, but many OF
them died in the angle or along the thin
lines Of blue which charged and repelled
alternately, and the desertion was for
gotten save and except for . brief para
graph in the note book Of the adjutant
of the regiment.
That May should weep and laugh q
she felt the strong arms Of her brother
around her once more, and with the
childlike faith she always had In him
should know 1t was all right now, was
but natural. It was natural, too, that
she should send for her baby, and with
the air Of o queen bestowing the most
cherished Of all decorations hold the lit
tie one out for VIII to take. He had
never seen the child before, and he Wns
conscious as she looked mp ct him with
her dark blue eyes-this little Carrie
with the other Carries eyes-and
laughed at the grave, sorrow worn face
that bent over her, Of . great wave Of
love swelling in his heart. God was
good to VIII jackson. Already be felt
his sacrifice had been accepted. ThO
deep lines which suffering had craven
on his countenance with her frmest
touch attracted Mays attention, but be.
yond exclaiming, "Why, Win, how old
you lookF' and supposing 1t came from
''this awful war" she thought little Of
it. Her brother, a. he answered her
gently, smiled somewhat bitterly.
He had reached his sisters house about
10 o'clock in the morning, and Charlie
Farnham did not come back until din
ner, at Q. When he saw his brother-in.
law he flushed up rather uneasily, for
while be had known nothing Of MAy's
letter he instinctively felt something
was coming. After dinner he proposed
to take Win around to the club, and the
latter went gladly enough. In 0 hotel
corridor afterward VIII noticed that
Charlie was hailed by two or three men
who looked decidedly fast. One Of them
in particular, Q Mr.. Cochran, Mr.. Jack
son felt Q sudden dislike for. The man
was tall, well dressed, with ablondemus.
tache and q sufficiently pleasant man
ner, but he had shifty eyeA About half
past 0 the two went home, where they
saw May for q few moments, and she
then bid them good night. As she Kissed
her brother she whispered, "You prom
ised," and he satisfied her with . look.
For all day long May had pleaded with
him that he make iteasy for Charlie; like
many women, she had called In . power
Of which, when it came, she was genuine.
ly afraid. The two men went into the
library lighted their cigar, and a. Charlie
walked up and down the room somewhat
nervously Win sat at the table absently
drawing heads on the blotting pad.
Charlie" he said at last without
looking up, "when your sister Carrie
died l thought there was nothing more
for me in this life. Then you and May
loved each other, and gave her gladly
to you. You two and little Carrie are
all l have in the world. Iwould give
my life for either Of you, my brotherl"
The deep music Of the tones ceased q
the hand went idly on sketching heads
on the blotting pad. Charlie FaEnham
stood still, his hand pressed on his heart,
his face very pale and the cigar burning
on the hearth where he had thrown Il
''It sometimes happens In this lie" /"
began Win again, "that . man becomes
entangled in tho nets Of scoundrels with
out Intentional wrong on his part Then
Il Il the place, the duty, the privilege Of