The National tribune., 1895-02-14

| Boys, it may be amt doin' right to tel
what hev bout Mart. Sometimes think
t might be he'd rather / wouldn't; but il
can't hurt him now, reckon. There's only
jest bit more Nv it, an I'll tell it now, as
I'll never see all Nv you ag'in.
The night Nv the same day t / laid Mart
away siay'd alone in the cabin. / was in
tendin' 10 straighten up the place some an
try TO plan out what I'd do now 1 wuz alone
/ jest set down by the little fire I'd kept
burnin' to think While 1 wuz dreamin'
along this way hear a sort o. hurried but
soft knock at the door.
"'Who's thar?' I asked. See, thought
twas Bill Gardner, mebby, or some NV the
boys, droppin' in-they KNOWN wuz alone
now. A little scared kind o. voice outside
answered:
"' If you please, wish to see Mr.. Jack
Stalling'
81 opened the door, sudden-likc. A
woman, dressed in black, with long black
scarf or vail round her hat an hangin'
down. Her face wuz very pale. She 'peared
weak an tremblin', an / 'sposed she wuz
sick / thought her eyes he'd the same
kind nv look l saw in Mart's eyes jest as the
| little tutter at his heart stopped. / asked
her to come in, but she didn't pear to hear
me. She spoke quick an talked so fast
L could scarcely keep up with her:
"'Did man die here last night?'
Il answered, quick as could:
Yes'm; my pardner, Mart Pearson
"Sne seemed to most lose her breath.
"'Wuz he soldier once-and did you
know him in the war times?'
II jest answered:
'Yes'm; he wuz soldier in my COM
pany, E; good soldier; an we've lived
together ever since-jest US two
She jest clutched the side o. the door
tight to keep herself from fallin', an with
her other ham she held out to me a little
pictur'- -frame-little case-'zackly mate
fur the one I'd SO lately putin Mart's coffin.
Wuz he like tins pictur', tben?'
The little case was already open, an as
l looked into it, it showed me han'some,
straight young trooper. Mart's young,
happy face an eyes looked out into mine.
l felt kinder choky, an couldn't speak right
away, an jest nodded two or three times to
her that it was his plctur'. When she under
stood me could see her looks change. The
only other words she said were this:
"'Will you please show me his grave?'
"In second it flashed into my mind
bout what MaTt's note said to me, an right
quick-like-an5 mebby it sounded little
hard-I answered: .,
"'Nom.' a
Now her eyes changed agin, an see in
them that kind of pitiful, pleadin' look that
most Nv us old boys hev seen in the eyes of
some soldier who had received mortal
wound, an layin' where horses an men are
strugglin' an traI2plin' over him, where the
great artillery guf belches out its thunder
an shells, an mebby the broad wheels Of
carriage or caisson pass over. You know it,
when he looks up at you an says, Please
shoot me, comrade, here, here an lays his
finger over his heart or to his head.
'An' with this look in her big buish-gray
eyes, she clutched the little pictur' in one
hand an held it to her breast while the
other slpp'd gently from its grasp upon the
door, an without cry or moan she sank
down, like little sleepy child. her head
restin' on the smooth granite step Mart had
fixed at our door. l bathed her face an
tried to give her some liquor, after layin'
her as tender like as / know'd how onto
Marts big blanket, an proppin' her head up
like with his coat, went for Bill Gardner,
but before / could get back to the cabin she
was dead. An the curious change that he'd
come over her face, couldn't understand,
she lay there on Marts pallet. She seemed
nearly ready to smile.
more upon the wreck of his earthly hope.
an had tdied it up little by givin' back to
the eyes an features little of their old
beauty, an allowed to rest upon eyes an
lips a shadow of the old smile of Joy an
love.
"Bill an me went out under the gum-tree
where Mart wuz, an made her place right
close up to where he lay, an next day we
laid her away by him. his soldier pictur' on
her breast. That evening / cut outer the
newspaper this little item:
Mrs. ELLA Harper, who arrived in the
city only yesterday In search of friends, her
husband having been killed In mine dis
aster over ID California, died very suddenly
last evening, and was buried to-day by some
friends whom she had found"
The old musician had sounded taps"
some hours before, but Co. L, had not
needed his bugle-call. For at that m ment
the old man sat gazing at the dull Goals of |
the dying campfire; then slowly, as if talk
ing to himself, said
In the morDn' I'll be goin', an I'll say |
good-by TO these old men, my comrades of |
other years. It'll be the last time, too, 'at |
I'll ever take their hans or say good by to |
them. Then-ihen, back home to our cabin |
-Marts an mine-an' then, in a little while |
longer, I'll go to them if can-any way, to |
my place t I've already made under the |
gum-tree by Mart an ELLA"
Poor Hardys heart was full. ALI he said |
was: a54n
"'Course nobody knows bout it, but It |
seems like they ought to be mother life |
fur Mart, anyway--an' a better one 'an' he |
had here" ~ u
And Co. turns in for its last bivouac on |
earthly camping-ground.