Daily camera., 1897-01-20
(copyneh., .s94. by J. B. Llppineot conp.ny.l

Il ought to be back by nine O'clock v
was the message the captain toldSCor-
poral Cunningham to take out to camp;
but Cunningham was the ingenious
youth who first acccsted Mr.. Lambert
on his arrival that morning, and Burns
had nearly shaken the life out of him
when he heard the story the men were
passing from lip 10 lip. Cunningham
was young fellow with a better opin-
ion of himself than his employers
seemed to entertain, and, though lair
ly educated in the public schools and in
a business college of his native city, a
fondness for Bowery life and assoc:a-
tion with Bowery boys had undermined
his usefulness. He enlisted after los
ing his situation, and, coming TO Clcsv :
company when clerks were hardly to
be had at any price, was put into the
company office instead of the awkward
squad. Then came a vacancy among
the corporals; the young fellow, being
a new broom, had swept clean, and was;
SO helpful about the books, papers and
the like for six weeks that Close gave
him the empty chevrons, and gave
Burns abundant cause for another out
break of blasphemy. There might have
been some way OF licking Private Gun:
ningham into shape, but there was none
whatever of reforming Corporal Gun
ningham. He was not all bad, Eowcvc.',
for by evening he began to realize thr
extraordinary solecism of which he lad
been guilty in the morning; so he was
actually ashamed to go near the leu
tenant, and never even repeated his mes
sage to Burns until nine o'clock had
4come and the captain hadn't. Thc1.
Burns went over to the lientenant'S
tent, where the youth sat wrapped in
his overcoat, trying gloomily and with
stiffened fingers to write some letters
by the light of single candle.
"I suppose, sir, the captain meant to
ride the mule back himself. He could
have got to Potts! place before six and
back here by eight, easy. 'Tisn't likely
they'd ask him to stay to supper. I'm
only afraid of his gettin' into a row,
and him all alone"
ST wish he could have been content to
send for the mule instead of going" said
Lambert. "Any of the men could have
gone, suppose"
''Well, sir, the trouble is that he'd
have had to send the men on l2uleback,
or else pay their fares over on the cars
The captain has pass, and it doesn t
cost him anything; and he's afraid to
let the mule be gone over night. It's
mighty easy losin' 'em among all these
niggers, and they might charge it up
against thescaptain's Pay. The captain
has stuck close to camp so far as these
night posses have heen concerned, Dut
he'd hunt the whole state for lost
blanket or bayonet. And he always
goes alone-and gets what he's after
and he's had no trouble worth mention
in: but that fellow Potts was impudent
TO him to-day, and he was slow bout
seein' it at first; now, though. he's sot
his mad up and gone over there to get
the mule and satisfaction both; that's
what I'm afraid of, sir. He lasheo
Permeleee to-day for bein' 4 coward
and-beggin' your pardon, lieutenant
though the captain aint much on mil;
itary, he fires up like a flash at anything
like insult to the flag
.'Do you think it advisable to SEND
after the captain ?" asked Lambert
after a moments reflection.
''There's no way we can send, sir
'cept afoot or behind four-mule team
in an army wagon. We only had that
one saddle mule"
Lambert stepped to the tent door and
looked out. The sky was overcast and
the darkness thick. A wind was rising
and whirling the sparks from the cook
fire over by the road, and from the pipes
of the men sitting smoking and chatting
in little groups about camp. Some hat