The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-06-13

an hour, and ! meant 70 get swink OF
sfm afraid you'll have to do without
IT," said Roland. Do you remember
Jim vickersf"
"Jim vickers," repeated the surgeon.
"Oh, yesi The man who married Rose
Bishop"
Roland WINGED and nodded.
"He's out there, shot In the arm and
leg. Says he's dying. He didn't know
me, and asked me to write q word for him
to Rose--to his wife. want you to come
and have look at him."
The surgeon shrugged, with . half
yawn.
"He's reb, SUPPOSED Havenr seen
him In our crowd"
EYES," said Roland, "but one man 10
pretty much the same to you as another,
] reckon, and--you know Rose. You
might save him."
Ned shrugged again, tossed some lint
and other necessaries into bag on the
table, and they set out together. They
found Vickers asleep, with the empty
whiskey flask lying on the snow beside
him.
There was ruined shed at hundres
yards distance, to which they carried the
wounded man, who woke and groaned as
he was raised. Arrived under shelter,
Ned silently betook himself to examining
Vickers's wounds. Arm and leg were
both shattered, and three Of his ribs were
broken by horses hoof.
"What do you thinkf Can he pull
through"
"He would with proper nursing and
good food; not without"
" Can we take him with usf"
"No; the colonel wouldn't hear Of II.
We have to join Meade at Petersburg in
two days, and we can't afford to be both
cred with q lame prisoner. Leave him
some biscuit and bottle OF whiskey, and
let him take his chance. We've done all
we could"
al can't leave him." said Roland.
"You've got mighty fond of him all OF
q sudden" said Ned, with something of
sneer.
"Pm as fond OF him as 1 always was"
answered Roland. "It's Rose"
"Well," said the other, after q mo-
ment's silence, and with the air he might
have worn had he found himself forced to
apply the knife to the flesh Of his own
child, "if you want my opinion, you shall
have it. You'll do q long sight better
business for Rose il you let the fellow die.
And, besides, you can't save him. He'd
take months to heal up in hospital with
every care and attention"
"I might take it," said Roland.
"And be shot for desertion?"
"That's as may be. The chances are
shouldn't be missed till you were too far
away to send back for me. must go and
answer to my name, and then see II can't
drop behind"
Ned held his head In his hands as il
a. >I.~ S~tI. l. a.
friends idea.
nonsense" he said angrily. "Im of into
camp"
He strode away, and Roland kept pace
with him. He did not need his friends
assurance of the folly of the act he medi-
tated. He quite recognized that, but il
was only in the background of his
thoughts, which were filed with the
memory Of a woman's face. How could
he leave the man Rose loved to die, while
any possible effort of his might suffice to
save him?
"Somebody might come along and
give me hand to get him to the nearest
town." said Roland vaguely, but tena-
ciousiy.
"The nearest town Is thirty miles
away. How would you get him theref
It's impossible. Besides, look at this"
He pointed to the sky, an even blank Of
thick gray cloud. "That'll be falling in
another hour. You'd be showed up. And
then-hang it all, man, must be as mad
as you are to discuss the thing at all.
You don't suppose you're going to get
leave of absence to nurse a Johnny Rebf'
The first flakes of the coming snow
storm fell as the detachment started. It
marched in very loose order, for the road
was rough, the snow deep, most Of the
men more or less broken with wounds
and fatigue, and it was known that no
enemy was within sixty miles. Roland
fell, little by little, to the rear, where the
clumsy country wagons numbered along
full of the wounded under Ned's charge.
"You'll take care of the letter." he
whispered, and thrust it into his friends
hand. "Good-bye. / shall fall in with
the next detachment, il pull through
long enough. II not -
He nodded, and at sudden turn of the
road, here thickly surrounded by maple
and hemlock, darted among the trees,
and listened, with his heart in his ears,
to the jingle and clatter Of arms as his
comrades marched on. 1t died away upon
the snow-laden air, and he retraced his
bttpo W tuc suCu WIN Vi QTy
leaves and twigs, with which, by the sac
rifice of one of his few remaining cart
ridges, he speedily made a blazing fire.
Vickers lay quiet, watching him through
half-shut lids.
"Say, Roland" he said, presently,
"what sort of game is this?"
"Pm going to see IL / can pull you
through" said Roland, with an afecta-
tion of cheerfulness.
"You can't" said Vickers; "I heard
what Ned said just now. I'm booked for
the journey through, / know it. Don't
be a fool. Follow the boys and leave me
here. Pm beyond any mans help. You
won'tP Well, you always were nutmeg.
headed sort Of creature. I never knew
you to have but one idea at a time, and
that wasn't worth much, as a general
thing. But this is madness, sheer, tark
madnessl Look at the snowl Another
hour or two, and we shall be showed up.
It's just chucking good life after a bad
one. know you amt doing 1t for me.