Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-11-29

"They don't lack for entertainers"
hazarded a staff officer as soon as he
could make himself heard. "The SOL
emn-looking Gothamite who came with
them must have slipped out"
at seems he knows Col. Armstrong;"
said the chief, thoughtfully. 81 sent for
him an hour ago, and he may be pilot,
ing Mr.. Prime around camp, looking up
the runaway"
"Another case 2" asked brigade com
mander, with shrug of his shoulders.
"Another case" answered the gener-
al, with sigh. SIT isn't always home
troubles that drive them to it. This
boy had everything doting father
could give him. What on earth could
make him bolt and enlist for the war;"
No one answered for a moment. Then
the officer with the humorous twinkle
about the eyes and the twitch at the
lip corners bent forward, placed his
elbows on his knees, his fingers tip to
tip, gazed dreamily at the floor, and
sententiously said:
"Girl."
Whereupon his next neighbor, q
stocky, thickset man in the uniform of
brigadier, never moving eye, head or
hand, managed to bring stable foot
in heavy riding boot almost savagely
upon the slim CATER of the humorist,
who suddenly started and flushed to the
temples, glanced quickly at the chief,
and then as quickly back to the floor,
his blue eyes clouded in genuine dis
tress.
The generals gray face had seemed
to grow grayer in the gloom Again
there came, like ripping echo, the
chorus of merry laughter from the ad-
joining tent, only it seemed trife sub
dued, possibly as though one or two of
the merry-makers had Joined less
heartily. With sudden movement the
general rose. "Well, I've kept you long
enough" he said. "Let the three regi
ments be got in readiness at once, but
relax no effort in-that other matter
Find the guilty parties il a possible
thing"
And then the group dissolved. One
or two of the number looked back, half
hesitating, at the entrance of the tent
but the chief had turned again to the
Uttered table before him, and, seating
himself, rested his gray head in the
hand nearest his visitors. 1t was as
though he wished to conceal his face.
One of the last to go-the thin-faced SOL
der with the twinkling blue eyes, hung
irresolutely behind the chief moment
as though he had it in his mind to speak
then turned and fairly tip-toed out
leaving the camp commander to the So
ciety of a single staff officer, and to the
gathering darkness.
Kindly say to Mr.. Prime, or his
friends, that 1 will join them in a mo-
ment," said the former, presently,
without so much as uplifting head or
eye, and the aid-de-camp left as noise
lessly as his predecessor, the humorist.
But when he was gone and ''The Chief"
sat alone, the sound of merry chat and
laughter still drifted in with the mist
at the half-opened entrance. Shadowy
forms fitted to and fro between the Of
fetal tent and the lights beginning to
twinkle at brigade headquarters across
the wide roadway. An orderly
scratched at the tent flap, but got no an
swer. The lone occupant sat well back
in the gloomy interior and could barely
be distinguished. The waiting soldier
hesitated moment, then entered and
stamped once upon the wooden floor,
then turned and noiselessly stepped
out, for, anticipating his question, the
general spoke:
mo light just yet, orderly. I'll call
youth moment. Just close the tent"
AT his hand, he needed no light to find
it, lay little packet that had been
passed in to him with the mail while
the council was still in session. 1t was
stoutly wrapped, tightly corded, and
profusely sealed, but with the sharp
point of an eraser the general slit the
fastenings, tore off the wrapper and
felt rather than saw that bundle of
letters, rolled in tissue paper and tied
with ribbon, ribbon long since faded
and wrinkled, lay within. This he care
fully placed in large-sized military
letter envelope, moistened and pressed
tight the gummed flap, slowed it in the
inner pocket of the overcoat that hung
at the rear tent pole, reduced the wrap
per and its superscription to minute
fragments, and dropped them into the
waste-basket, all as carefully and meth
edically as though life knew neither
hurry nor worry; then bowed his lined
face in both hands moment in utter 81
lence and in unmistakable sadness.
Presently his lips moved: Can you
look down and see that have kept my
word, Agnes?" he murmured. God
help me to find him and save him-yet."
Once again the laughter, the gay
young voices, rang from the other tent.
All over camp, far and near, from the
limits of the park to the very slope of
the height at the north, the evening
bugles were calling by thousands the
thronging soldiery to mess or roll call.
Slowly the general rose, drew on his
overcoat, and in another moment, un-
der the sloping visor of his forage cap,
with eyes that twinkled behind their
glasses, with genial smile softening
every feature, his fine soldierly face
peered in on the scene of light, of merri-
ment and laughter under the canvas
roof of the only home he knew in the
world-the soldier home of one whose
life had been spent following the flag
through bivouac, camp or garrison,
through many a march, battle and cam
paign all over the broad lands of the
United States until now, at the hour
when most men turned for the placid
joys of the fireside, the love of devoted
and faithful wife, the homage and af-
lection of children, the prattle and play
full sports of children's children-home.
less, wifeless, childless, he stood at the
border of the boundless sea, soldier
duty pointing the way to far distant,
unknown and undesired regions, con-
tent to follow that flag to the end of
the world if need be, and owning no
higher hope or ambition than to follow
and uphold it to the end of his life
There was nothing in such face as
his to put check to fun and merriment,
yet, all on a sudden, the laughter died
away. Three Young pallants in soldier