Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-01-24

i pathy for the prisoners. Don't "a,
anything about it. You're not il
any great danger. You've beer
vaccinated, / reckon:'
No., exclaimed the terror-ssrick
en- guard. i haven't been vaccin
ated.'
You haven't? Well, then, yog
are in q bad fix. The worst time O
day is about 2 o'clock in the morn
ing. when We carry ont the me,
that hare died during the day be
fore % tufy them. YouXe not ot
duty then, though, reckon
Miss Deane had informed Colone
Stemmons that o'clock was about
the hour the morning relief would
come on guard, and the soldier
hastily confirmed her statement.
WELL said the pretended doc
tor, I'll tell you what I'll do. II
I've got to bury anybody tonight
I'll wave my handkerchief to you al
signal of the danger. Then you
can open the gate. stand as far of
to the windward of the corpse az
possible and let us pass out. There
will be some danger of catching the
disease even then, but it's the best
| can do for you
Thank you, Doctor, for your Of
fer. A soldier has danger enough
as it is. He need not get into any
when he can avoid it,
Then the Colonel walked off, os.
tensibly to look after some patients.
Shortly after this the guard was re,
lieved.
The next morning about O'Clock
the same man came on duty again.
Only few minutes later, when the
momentary disturbance caused BY
the change had died away, at the
quietest, blackess hour of the whole
night, weird, ghostly little pro.
cession issued noiselessly from the
barracks. First, the supposed doc
tor came out into the dim moon
light, and waved his handkerchief
solemnly to the expectant guard.
Ii sc,,r AZ ~ ~ ~ ana
4 grewssnie, awful looking object
wrapped in long white sheet. AT
the Doctors signal the guard open
ed wide the gate and stepped back
in PERCEPTIONS haste as far to the
windward as he supposed his honor
as a soldier allowed him to 90.
Slowly and noiselessly as line o!
ghosts the little company fled out
of the open gateway. After they
were positively, undeniably gone
the guard came back and closed the
gate, glad to have gotten off as
easily as he had.
The little cortege had gone a very
little distance when remarkable
thing occurred, The corpse came
to life. 1t WINS not a slow, gradual
regaining Of consciousness and vi.
tality as is the case when one has
been stunned by some sudden shock
or accident, but sudden, vigor.
orous passage from death to life,
such as must have been the case in
the miraculous instances recorded
in the Bible. More that that, the
bearers of the corpse seemed in nc
way surprised at the charge. Most
men would feel cold chiIls run ur
and down their backs If u corpse
they were carrying should suddenly
stand on its feet and begin to talk
but these did not. The corpse mere.
ly folded mp the sheet carefully,
tucked it away under his coat and
went with the rest.
In a short time the six men
reached certain house in the city
at street and number previously
agreed upon with Miss Deane. En-.
tering, they found a little ompany
of stanch Southern sympathizer:
sitting up to welcome them. Among
these was barber, who soon did
all that the tonsorial art can do to
change the appearance of the men.
Whether or not the former corpse
was shaved with the regular corpse
razor, history does not say. Si1
suits of clothes had been provided
by the devoted daughter of Dixie
and when the newly shaven men
had donned these. they were nc
longer four prisoners of war, III
army surgeon and a corpse, but 81,
strong and healthy, well-dressed
I we'll -to-do civilians. who looked a.
if they might hardly be aware thai
the war was going on.
However. the danger was not owe,