Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-20
hand at his cap: and then he turned on his


to have him drunk on the way back to the
post a..
Diminishing the sergeant. Crossing walked
up through the little town until he came to
carpenter shop. HeI wanted a strong
box, he told the carpdntar 1t was to be
three by four by five feet, and made
of rough boards, like a packing box; the
inside was to be well padded with straw
and burlap. One of the long sides was to
be put on loosely, so that it could be easily
removed
finished, he returned to the carpenter shop.
On the loose side he printed with a mark
ing brush. Col. John Abbott, - infantry,
Fort Bar c Q. D; This side up. Handle
with care" Having instructed the sergeant
to put this box in one of the canteen wag-
ons, Crossing went back to the only hotel
IN the town, and apparently paid no more
attention to the object of his trip. When
the wagons left the railroad to return to
the POST he noticed with satisfaction that
the old soldier had taken full advantage of
drunk.
1t takes wagon train two days to go
from the railroad to Fort Barrenall The
first night out is spent at a halfway ranch
and Is quite a gala night for the teamsters
and soldiers. Between cards and drink
crossing was sure that his old soldier would
be up most of the night and that he would
not go to bed sober. He Instructed the SER
geant to keep the old man under his eve
and to put him to bed in a room by him
self, and he had the three by four by five
greater security, perhaps
The return to the post was made the fol-
lowing day. just at dusk they arrived, and
as soon as the wagons entered the gates
Crossing jumped off and walked toward the
colonels quarters, where a number of the
officers We're standing.
Well, young man." said the colonel.
greeting Crossing, what luck did YOU have
with the whisky sellers?'
IF you please colonel, I would like a
little more time before make my report"
.All right Mr.. Crossing" answered the
colonel; and then the conversation became
general. Crossing, every one thought, would
hand in a written report of his trip in the
morning, and before that he would tell
them nothing.
Presently the officer of the day Joined
the group, and reported to the colonel that
he had made the required inspection of the
wagon train, but had found nothing con-
traband. 'There is an express box for
you. colonel" he continued, but, of course,
1 didn't open it,
''Of course not. SIR" answered the col
onel slightly annoyed; for it was a fad
with the colonel to order his groceries from
st. Paul instead of patronizing the canteen
or commissary,, and. of course, he was
touchy about all references to his fad
The officers had been talking for some
time, when one of the wagons came lum-
bering up the road and stopped in front of
them. Four men dragged out large box
and carried it to the coloneIs quarters.
Where does the commanding officer
want this box put?" asked one of the
men, Saluting as he spoke.
Il wonder what it ISL" said the colonel
to his officers. Il haven't ordered anything
lately
He told the men to put the box in his
hallway. and then invited the officers to go
in while he opened it. Perhaps it's a
present" he added. smiling, land we may
all BE- able to enjoy it,
Colonel John Abbott, Blank Infantry,
Fort Barrenall o. D. This side up. Han
die with care read the colonel from the
box. and then he told his man to open it.
A minute later the top was off. and then
the colonel gave an exclamation of sur
prise that brought the officers to his side.
There in the box sat 'Haltdthe old soldier!
His eyes were closed and he was breathing
hard. apparently under the influence of
liquor
demanded the colonel, severely. This man
was detailed at your request to go with
you to Delman. Why is he brought back
in this outlandish way, lsir?t
1.-THE man has something to tell, SIR"
said the lieutenant. sHall.r continued he,
and at that the man stood up in the box
and saluted Hall. tell the comma nding
officer all you remember since you went to
sleep last night"
Il can't remember much, SIR said the
old man. with an air of apology for past
misdeeds. because I'd been drinking some.
But the first 1 do remember, sir. was l
didn't know where was Il was in kind of
a box, sir. an l could hear the wagon
wheels, an l thought maybe l was dead
me to bury me. sir. jus got ready to
scream, sir when l remembers the lieuten-
ant told me about keeping still and not
speakin' till he gave me permission. So
laid back in the box. sir, an made up my
mind that Angel Gabriel would have to
have the lieutenant present when he blew
his horn-that is sir. If he wanted to get
me up, for / was mortal sure it was my
funeral, sir Then 1 must have fallen
asleep, sir, for the next thing 1 knew was
the officer of the day tapping the boards
above me. sir. An he was saying, For
the commanding officer; all right sergeant,
we will not open this Then, after while,
sir. knew we was in the post, for 1 heard
the canteen sergeant telling the men to
hurry up an distribute the express pack
ages.
II felt myself lifted out, sir, an then
heard two men talking. They We're Private
O'Donne1 and Private Griegson. who work
This box is too heavy for you, Griegson;
you get out the little ones, an I'll get some
men to help me with this He seemed
anxious like to get Private Griegson away.
Then l was picked up again. sir, an
heard lot of voices. an l heard Private
O'Donnel say something about sendin'
big box this time. Then heard Jackson.
the discharged soldier that lives down by
the pump house. He said it came just in
time, as the paymaster would be around
next week. 1 was carried quite distance,
sir, down over a hill 1t seemed to me. an
I was wonderin' where they was gon' to
take me. but renember;n' my orders, sir, I
never made sound. By an by, sir,
heard door open, an they set me down
an began to pry off the top of the box
When the light came in through the top Of
the box, 1 shut my eyes an began to
breathe hard, as though I was asleep. for I
began to suspicion something, sir, an
knew I was in purity bad hands. When
they took the lid off the box, sir, Private
O'Donnel let out an oath. and asked what
this meant, an they all came crowdin'
round the box, excited like, an all talkin'
at once, sir. till Jackson told them to shut
up. Then knew he was bendin' over me.
sir, because I could feel his breath in my
face, but I Just kept breathin' hard. as
though I was asleep. There was lot of
whisperin' about it bein' too risky to hurt
me- an about it bein' joke on the COM
mandin' officer, an then they put the cover
on the box again, an I heard a lot more
whisperin'. At last. sir, felt myself bein'
picked up again, an began to feel bit
easier. 1 was carried up the hill again,
sir. an put in the wagon an brought here,
an the next thing, sir, was when the COM
mandin' officer said that
YES" interrupted the colonel, "but about
this house that you were first taken to-are
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