Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-21

cal joker, @ nuisance that everybody liked. Here was a rich chance for one of Reuben's little jokes. Soon as Bill had got settled at his post Reuben loaded his pockets | with dozen or so big wrought-iron nails, and out through the dark he circled to get in front of the pickets. He hid in 6 sasss- fras brush about hundred feet from the big blacksmith and looked out.
 "There was Bill tiptoeing up and down his beat like an elephant on rickety bridge, dodging and whirling every time a grasshopper chirped or & horse back in the camp snorted. He was getting badly scared. Reuben picked up a right ragged nail and flung it just as hard as he could jerk.
 tYou know what vicious screeching a nail makes when you throw it that way! No mimic ball ever sounded wickeder It goes:
 'Whi-u-u-u-ul'
 "Poor Bills heart stopped with big thump like sledge hammer, and Reuben away off in the thicket heard him catch his breath as if some one had dropped a bucket of ice water on him. His big bulk dropped in the weeds like a sack of sand and for a minute there was not the sound of breath. Then the big picket muttered shakily: 'Sho' I'm gettin' skeery as woman thinkin' of them Tanks and their new tangled powder. And he got up and began warily to walk his beat.
 'tReuben let go another of his nails, and third just as quick as he could throw. They went whirring bloodthirstily toward William, and one of them ripped through the leaves over his head, spattering twigs and bits of leaf all about.
 ''There was no doubt about it this time, and big Bill as he let his musket off wildly in the air, charged for camp, sputtering, putting, yelling, tearing up weeds and sod and bolting into trees. His trail looked like the track of young cyclone. Into the camp he plunged over men and tents, musket stacks and cook trenches. Its an actual fact that he ran over little forag- ing pony that was tied to a tree and couldn't get out of the way, knocked the poor beast down and crippled it for @ week. His headway was terrific. He finally brought up full tilt against tough little hickory sapling, which he ran down like a moose, landing up in the leafy top with his hands clawing at the boughs.
 "He walked every man in the regiment. Down the line went shouts and bugle calls. Within ten minutes every one of Prices 40, ,000 men in the line of battle, staring in to the darkness for the enemy's advance guard, listening for the purr of their si- lently fired bullets.
 "Of course, the enemy did not come, but the men lay on their arms all night.
 "Reuben was too tickled over the way Bill tore through the brush to keep quiet. Next day every man in the army had the story. But it did not take well with the officers. A corporals guard came after Reuben and put irons on him and his little joke was ponderously considered by a court martial That afternoon came news of the enemy in deadly earnest and Price set out on one of his long, forced marches. Reuben went along. He took with him by especial re- quest of the court martial full-sized black oak fence rail, soggy with sap. He was charged carefully not to lose that rail for three days.
 "'The first day, said the disconsolate io- ker after it was all done, that rail felt pret- ty heavy, just like an ordinary rail Next day it felt like a whole tree, but, my! on the last day thought was carrying all the woods
 Tt is still an open question among the boys of Winston's regiment whether the joke was on William or Reuben"