Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-08-02

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HE CAUTIOUSLY SLIPPED THE PENCILED
SCRAP FROM POCKET TO BIBLE.
they felt weakest. Then, with eyes
fastened upon the sleepy guard, he
opened cheap Bible, tossed in to him
by a spinster with corlzscrew curls at
stopping-place. His eye, aimlessly
dropped upon the page, caught 1
Kings 1921: Glow long halt We be-
tween two opinions?"- the thought
flashed into his brain: ''An omenl 1
will accept itr But the guard looked
In his direction; and, hesitating, he
again glanced at the turned page and
read-Proverbs 1851: 1.-THE wicked
fee when no man pursueth; but the
righteous are bold as lion"
Hesitant no longer, he cautiously
slipped the penciled scrap from pocket
to Bible, pressing it smooth between
the leaves. Then, in the dying sunset,
he read:
"Keep brave heart. We will meet
soon. You will recognize me by the
words: we have met before, boyp You
release, If God Wills"
A load seemed to press on the boys
brain, making him dizzy, as he read the
last words.
Among the many dreadful prison
pens Camp Morton was accounted the
very worst, and hideous tales-perhaps
exaggerated In transit even beyond the
| hideous reality-had crept across the
| fN 70 nd
| He was going to Camp Mortonl Mem
DRY recalled those wretched wrecks of
what had once been men, exchanged
after months of lingering torment
there. And the claclr-claclz Of the wheels
beneath him seemed to form into words
of those tales told. To Camp Morton!
to misery, cold, starvation-to living
death-for how long2 And again his
eye fell upon the paper, the penciling
blank in the dinmed light, but just
above the edge the words Of John s:32
| standing clear: '"The truth shall make
you free"
The natural elasticity of youth,
aided much in his case by temperament,
changed the color of the boys thoughts
lone pen is bad as another, per-
haps, and it may not be for long. He
may have power to perform as we'll
as promise. Well, to make either eff
fective, here goesr' And, bending over
the book, he caught the light paper on
his tongue, crushing out of it, between
strong teeth, all semblance of q mes
sage.
Next night saw him entered on the
roll of prisoners at Camp Morton, a fat
square of some twenty acres, formerly
used as cattle fair grounds. It was then
surrounded by stocl1ade twenty feet
high, pierced by one great gate at the
north, near which lay headquarters and
guardhouse. Outside this stockade ran
platform, lower than its top; and
about this paced unbroken line of SEN
tinels, whose heads and shoulders only
showed above the fence. Within, a
huge moat, twenty feet wide and half
as deep, added security against at
tempted escape; while reflector lamps,
at intervals, gave sentries, themselves
in shadow, clear view of the snow-clad
Enclosure.
Old cattle pens, long, low and dis
NAL, were the barracks for prisoners,
, their upright plank sides so shrunken
by age and weather as to give far more
ventilation than was safe for life, with
temperature varying about zero. -Four
i CaerS OF rough shelves, scarce three 1eel
between, formed the hunks, in which
wretched men crouched by highland
most Of the day as well-for warmth
wedged In "spoon fashion" and SILVER
ing under such blankets as each ''mess'
could scrape together.
Two cold, dreary, endless seeming day.
wore away. The sights and sounds about
: Evan, aided by the long drawled tales Of
, hopeless men crouched over scanty EN-
bers, began to wear upon the boy'I
bravespirit. Already his eye had lost it
: bright boldness, and a heavy weight
pressed upon his heart, that the longes
watch upon lonely picket, the mos
wearing lying still under fire, hadnevel
limited to it.
When he looked upon the things abou
him-famished, bloodless, hopeless rem
1 nants Of what had once been men Hlr'
q himself-then upon that high stoclzade
with eager-eyed sentinels pacing shor
intervaled posts around it, Evans spiri
fell, and he grew sick with helplessness
He felt that the motto Of the italian
might well be reared above that stronl
, and guarded gate: "Ldsci0te o0ni spsrans0
cot eR epsrotef'
o First Bunco MAXWELL, where shall
= we commence operations this morning
Second BupSo MAn-Suppose we tr.
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