The Portland daily press., 1892-12-24
The Little FIagman's Christmas.
Continued from Tenth Page.

dust, which shut out everything but the
ghost of the light, and revealed nothing
but ragged cobwebs burdened with meal
and chaff. In one, however, there was a
windy hole, through which he poked his
eye until it rested on the four figures
grooming over the guard fire.
"Ut's all right outside" said Teddy
when he had recovered his way through
the timbers and run against keys nose in
the darkness. 'Oi'm thafe if Snoopy
amt inshtructin thin doughbyes in the
manuel at arms. Now let's fale our way
out o. this, aisy"
The moldy smell of the pit, like bilge in
which grain has ferDented, the gurgling
of the invisible water and the cold wind
from the opening through which they had
entered enveloped them like the ghost of
a blanket The small windows in the dis
tance were scarcely visible through the
tangle of gearing, and the unusual dark
ness indicated that the Christmas moon
had plunged into another bank of clouds
BE LOVELY, Oike, me bye," whispered
Teddy; tulsa foine time outside to be
getthin away" q
The opening in thewall was before them,
and the cold stars beyond, and about them
a tangle of hoppers and shafts, against
which they bumped in the darkness and
then felt their way around. Every diff
Guilty past brought them nearer to the
plank alongside thewheel, and their spirits
rose with the certainty of success. key
was already chuckling over their clever
ness in manipulating the guard.
'Phwy didn't the provost marshall
said Teddy 'tsind a dathale to dig UP tree
shifts out O. the blooming graveyard an
lane thin agin the front dure, wild tree
blunderbusses, in the place av thin infan-
try shticks? Phwat's infantry agin arthil-
1ery at short range? Begorra, they amt in
ut, Oike. Ut's merry Christmas to the
bla'gards, wild double canister, an to the
divil wild UNI, an limbers to the rear in the
shmoke an away"
With the last exultant word Teddy trod
perilously near to an opening in the floor
and cleverly saved himself by throwing
his weight on convenient stick which
hung between him and the window toward
which they were advancing.
There was moments silence, in which
Teddy caught his breath and blessed his
stars, and then a queer, creaking noise
outside the window. An internal sound
of rushing water roared and splashed in
the darkness beneath their feet; wheel
overhead gave a groan like human being
in distress; the dust rose AS the Tapping
belts began to move, and beneath the hop
per on which key was leaning the great
stones began to whirl and shake with
deafening rumble and buzz.
Teddy chung like grim death to the full
haversack as he leaped through the dark
hess and into the yawning window! The
spray of the terrible wheel enveloped him
as he slid down on the wet plank, and key,
coming after him, lost his footing and
rolled like rubber ball out onto the frozen
ground.
The three guards, with Snoopy at their
heels, came around the corner as promptly
as If they had been shot out of gun. Two
of them took the culprits in hand, and the
third ran for the miller to shut off the
water.
II know der Irish bloke,' cried Snoopy,
coming up to take nearer look at Teddy.
tHe belongs ter 'Ei company in the Mint.
Shove i'm up fur lis Christmas in der bull
pen. Gimme der bag. I'll hold it till de
ole man comes, an off wild der beggars.'
The guards made no unnecessary delay
IN moving the prisoners, who were marched
hway across the windy fields in a direction
opposite to that from which they had
come.
Christmas to Teddy Gregan and the little
Euidon with the Hebrew nose dawned
pn a wide, wind swept plain, where the
prisoners of the Army of the Potomac
were huddled together in miserable, SILVER
ing groups about smoky fires, or groveled
and shook under scanty blankets on the
frozen ground. The icy Christmas blasts
howled among the scant trees like a gale
at sea, and caught up the ashes from the
smoldering fires, and mingled their groans
with the biting snowflakes flying horizon
tally across the plain.
key and Teddy walked about, making
brave fight against the singing cold, now
Etrangled by a gust of smoke and now
halting to get Whit of a dripping strip
of bacon toasting ON a lucky ramrod.
Sleep was out of the question, and other
men besides themselves were walking
about to stir their sluggish blood, or
crouching over smoking embers that the
wind had quickened into life. The gray
was mingled Unfortunately with the
blue, and the misery of that Christmas
morning made no distinction of uniform,
except when an hour or two later few
citizens were passed through the guard
with ''snacks" of broiled chicken and hot
0lSCulIS LOT UuG COultO6IdUc
"Luck at um," said Teddy, holding on
to his empty stomach; ''uts Niger ate
sponge cake livery time, an the divil takes
care av his own"
"It's poor show for a Christmas dinner
we've got," muttered key, "but there's
one thing Pm sure of. Snoopy Schley
landed that haversack O. fiure into camp
afore the guard landed us here"
Eyer right he did" cried Teddy; "lave
him alone fur that. Ohm thinkin Bugler
Ovid ull be wakin up about this tonne
alongside av his missus Don't yez be
down hearted. Oike; it's long day we'll
have afore night, an foine hunger there'll
be on us be that tonne"
1t was certainly a morning of bustling
preparation in camp in the immediate
neighborhood of the wigwam of the
buglers, notwithstanding the absence of
two of it's inmates. The big turkey was
turning and basting on a spit, with half the
battery looking on and shifting the ravish-
ing odor. keys dinner was to be spread in
the quartermasters log cabin for stores, and
the minor cooking was going on in the
cabin fireplace.
Old @. M. Sandy himself was away at
daylight for the landing, with Unc' Nose,