The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-06-02
THE CARPET FIEND.
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N7HEN Alexander Socrates Olen-
w DORIS mother tod him to beat
the hall carpet he burst into tears. He
could not help it. In that everwhelm-
ing moment, Saturday morning, he for
got that, in spite of his ~ years, his
round, SNUG face and his short jacket
of boyhood, he was man. For days
he had felt almost as big and as brave as
old Capt. Ball, whose wooden leg,
stories of the late war and whose tat
tered flag that he had carried to victory
up Missionary ridge had held him the
place of town hero for 80 years.
Alexander Socrates and his boy
friends had wonderingly sat at the feet
of Capt. Ball and listened to his tales of
warfare till their youthful hearts
swelled with patriotism and desire to
march to the sound of fife and drum and
tc fight for their country. So when the
news that war had been declared
against Spain was announced to the
town by laundering roar from the
dingy brass cannon in front of the
town hall-where it had stood silent,
except on the Fourth of July, for years
the boys rushed to the captains house
in state of great excitement.
They could place the shabby little
home long before they could see the
weather-beaten one-story cottage
among the naples, for the old flag was
Tapping enthusiastically from the staff
near the front gate, and the captain
was stumping up and down the street
walk with his sword clanking against
his wooden leg and his faded army
ulster buttoned tightly around him, III
spite OF the warn, afternoon. He was
every inch a soldier, excepting his
wooden leg, and he greeted his young
visitors with flash of his sword to his
shoulder and stiffness and sternness
of bearing that they had rarely seen be-
fore and that made them half afraid.
"Well, men," sh outed the captain,
dropping his sword to its scabbard and
unbending little, care you going to
form company" When appealed to
as men the boys became nearly as
straight as the captains wooden leg
and almost instinctively drew up in
so.dierly line. This was the beginning
of the juvenile volunteers, with Lieut..
Alexander Socrates Olendorf at it's head
and the old captain as it's drillmaster.
Day after day the boys met at the cap
tain's house after school and drilled.
They had army jackets made Of blue
jean cloth; they fought Sham battles,
and they took many imaginary Spanish
prisoners at the points of the painted
Pine-board muskets.
The other day was to have seen the
climax of their military glory, for some
troops from the west were to pass
through the town on the noon express,
and the juvenile volunteers had secretly
planned to give them grand military
salute from the whole company drawn
up in line on the station plat form, and
Lieut.. Olendorf was to wear Capt. Balls
famous sword. Now this horrible old
hail carpet that had not been beaten for
year threatened to keep Lieut.. Olen-
dorf away from the station.
: 1t was too bad. Here it was already
half after nine o'clock and Alexander
remembered bitterly that it had taken
him fully half day to beat the miser-
able heavy carpet the year before. He
was sure that it was dirtier than ever
this year and that he would be pound
ing it all the rest of the day. He half
made up his mind to tell his mother all
about the secret plans of the juvenile
volunteers, but he was too much of
soldier 10. betray a military secret. No,
better let sergt. Tommy Bing wear the
sword and head the company in Alex
ander's absence.
The more Alexander considered the
carpet proposition the more heart
breaking it seemed. For days Alexan-
der had walked with so.dierly stride
and had acted as much like fuil-grown
man as he could. He had not turned
single "cartwheel" for over a week. He
had heroically refrained from walking
on his hands in front of the new boy
from the city. He had even scorned to
play "mibs" when his greatest rival had
offered to put two marbles to his one
into the ring, and had then cried ''frady
calf when Alexander had refused to
play. Alexander Socrates secretly
vowed to pound that boy as soon as the
war was over, and he also determined
to "skin the cat backward and for
ward so many times that it would make
the city boy dizzy, but this was to be
when the war WAS ended, too. Then he
had consoled himself with the thought
that, best of all, he would fill both the
boys with confusion and envy when he
stood on,the station platform holding
the captains sword against his shout
der when the troops whirled by on the
train. ..g.sE- 80 .-.. ,@s.....4. A.
And now he must be pounding away
at the carpet, out in the orchard, when
the train with the soldiers went by the
crowded station platform.
These thoughts came upon him with
such overpowering force that Alexander
wept silently as he pulled the tacks out