Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-12-22
"oh, 1T isn't that said GRAY. hastily

little "a" tents lined up in the rear OF
those of the officers.
Get Morton's overcoat and take /,
to him at the guardhouse, snapped the
staff sergeant to the clerk. BE spry
now, and no stopping on the way
back he added, we'll aware how much
In need his assistant stood of creature
comfort of some surreptitious and for
hidden kind. The man was back In
moment, the coat rolled on his arm.
I'm take it." said Gray, simply.
You needn't come"
60 OH with It'll" ordered the SER
geant as the soldier hesitated. "D'ye
the service has gone to the devil and
officers are runnin' errands for enlist
ed men? An get back inside two min
utes, too" he added, with portent in
his tone. The subaltern of hardly two
months service felt the implied rebuke
OF the soldier of over 20 years and
meekly accepted the amendment, but
"A thought occurred to him: He had
promised Morton paper, envelopes and
stamps and the days newspapers-the
lad seemed strangely eager to get all
the latter, and vaguely Billy remem-
berd having heard that Canker consid-
cred giving papers to prisoners as
equivalent to aid and comfort to the
enemy.
Take 1t by way of my tent" said he
as they started, and, once there it took
time to find things. go back to the
sergeant major and tell him 1 sent
you,' said Gray, after another search.
He needs you on those papers,
And when the officer of the guard
returned to the guardhouse and went
IN to the prisoner, the sergeant saw
and others saw-that, rolled in the
soldiers overcoat he carried on his
arm, was bundle done up in news
paper. Moreover, a scrap of CONVEX
sation was overheard.
There's no one at the generals"
said the officer. 81 see no way of-fix-
ing it before morning"
My God, lieutenant. There-must
be some way out of It'll The morning
will be too late"
Then I'll do what can for you to-
night" said Mr.. Gray, as he turned
and hurriedly left the guardroom-a
dozen men standing stiffly about the
walls and doorway and staring with
impressive faces straight to the front.
Again, the young officer had left the
post of the guard and gone up into
camp, while far and near through the
dim, fog-swept aisles of a score of
camps the bugles and trumpets were
wailing the signal for lights out" and
shadowy forms, with coat collars
turned up about the ears or capes muf-
fled around the neck, scurried about
the company streets ordering laughter
and talk to cease. A covered carriage
was standing at the curb outside the
officers gate-and the sentry there
posted remembered that the officer of
the guard came hurrying out and
asked the driver if he was engaged.
I'm waiting for the major" was the
answer.
We'll. where can one order car
rage tonight without going clear to
town." inquired Gray. II want-one;
that isl wish to order one at once"
And the driver, who knew very well
there were several places where car
riages could be had, preferred loyalty
to his own particular stable away in
town, and SO declared there was none.
"You can telephone there, if you
wish, sir" he added.
And wait till morning for it to get
here? No! I'll get it-somehow."
And that he did get it somehow was
current rumor on the following day,
for the sentries on the guartlhouse side
of camp swore that closed carriage
drove down from McAllister street for
all the world as though it had just
come out of the park and rolled on past
the back of the guardhouse, the driver
loudly whistling Killarney" so that
1t could be heard above the crunching
of the wheels through borough, loose
rock that covered the road, and that
carriage drew up not a hundred yards (
away, while the lieutenant was out Wis
iting sentries and presently they saw
him coming back along the walk,
stopping to question each sentry as to
his orders. Then he returned and in
quired if all was quiet among the pris-
oners, and then went and put out his
light in the tent reserved for the Of
ficer of the guard, and once more left |
his post, briefly informing the sergeant |
of the guard he was going to the officer
of the day. Then it was ascertained |
that he had visited half dozen places
in search of that veteran captain and |
much disturbed because he
could not find him. In half an hour he |
was back, asking excitedly of the
sentry in rear of the guardhouse If
carriage had come that way. 1t had,
said the sentry, and was waiting down
the street. Gray hurried in the direc.
ton indicated, was gone perhaps three
minutes and returned, saying that the
sentry must be mistaken, that no car
riage was there. But the sentry reit-
Grated his statement that it had been |
there and had been waiting for some
time, and must have disappeared while
he was temporarily around at the oppo-
site side of the building. This was
about II p. m.
Then when Gray appeared at reveille
Morton had disappeared.
Its not the sergeant let them fellers
out" said the regimental oracles.
"This is no ten-dollar subscription
business" And so until late in the
afternoon the question that agitated |
the entire range of regimental camps
was: How did those fellows break
away from the prison of the -teenth?"
Then came clew, ard then-discovery.
BY order of Lieut.. Col. Canker q
board of officers had been convened to