The National tribune., 1899-12-28

one felt as the excitement subsided, and
their blood cooled.
Il feel worse'n if the taacher'd bin hick-
CRYING me for straight hour" muTmured
little Pete, with tears in his eyes, as he felt
all over himself Eingerly. Every spot
on me, from head 10 foot. feels sore'n a bile"
$50 do IT, echoed the rest. \
We'll" sad ST, reverently, "let us :hanb
God that we escaped as well ds We did.
God Himself must have protected ys, or
we'd never got through, as so many'of our
boys are now layin' over there inJthe brush
loOkln up at the angels. We're prisoners,
to be sure, but it might have bin worse.
Let's make the best of it. Wen git out o.
this somehow. Just as we got out o. the
other There'll be some chance to git away,
or else Uncle Billy'll come along presently
and let us out"
smarter Pye ever knowed any man that
Wore butternut to be if they keep us week.
said Shorty. "Chirk up, boys. Well find
some way to git out o. this scrape before
we're week older. or my name amt Shorty.
Come. Pete. let's go over to that branch
there and wash up. We II feel better then"
The others did the same. The water
at once revived them, and made their hurts
smart more keenly. And they became at
once exceedingly hungry.
How in the name o sin are we goin' to
cook this blamed stuff?" 81 asked Shorty,
meat with puzzled eyes, as the boys mem
toned their raving appetite. 'The boys
can't eat this meal raw. It'd likely kill 'em
with the collie if they did"
Il noticed some o 'em over there"
said Shorty, baking their meal hoe-cake
style on pieces O sheet-iron and chips set
| up before the fire. think some o them
smooth fiat stones over there viii be inst
the things. Pete, go over there to the
branch and pick up some o them fat rocks
and wash the dirt often 'em. I'll look
around for something to mix the dough
in"
Across the branch he noticed an old
buckeye sugar-trough, which some team
ster had used for his feed-trough. Some
others had seen it and its availability at
the same time, and made a rush for it, but
ShOrty'S long legs gained the prize. He
| took it to the branch, washed it out, and
| brought it back with some water in il with
which to mix the dough.
What are we goin' to do for salt?" asked
81, as he whitfield out paddle with wiIieh
to do the mixing.
We'll have to do without till kin beg,
buy or steal some," said Shorty. Mix
her up. Pm hungry enough to eat the
meal raw. The neceSSarieS o. life we
must have; the luxrrfes we kin do without.
Salts a luxury, just now.
ST mixed up the dough and spread it upon
the fiat thin stones, each about the size of
largesized dinner plate, and one for each
boy:
'That idee o. your'n about these she'll
rocks, Shorty. was a great one," said ST,
as he finished. They'll do very nicely:
don't know how wed'ye got along without
'em. Now, boys, each o you take one o
these and prop it carefully before the fire,
where the heat'll strike it fair, and keep
it there till the crust is done brown, and
then scrape it off and turn the other side
and bake it, and you'll have a nice hoe
cake"
They did as directed, and each one sat
behind his stone watching with hungry
eagerness the effect of the heat upon it.
The first flush of brown was just appearing
when crack, crack went each of the stones,
with sharp report as they flew into pieces,
scattering the dough upon them into the
fire and all around
"Confound it, Shorty" said 81, with the
irritating injustice of hungry man, as he
fshed some portions of the dough out of the
fire, you ought to We knowed that them wet
rocks would bust Just as soon's they got
hot. You and Thompson's colt must'ye
bin twins"
"Shet your gab," said Shorty, with
equal irritation, as he also fshed out such
dough as he could recover, and fixed little
balls of it on twigs, to hold over the Goals.
"Who are you slurring at? You didn't
know no more about it than | did"
With their bread baked in this way,
and meat broiled on the end of sticks,
they made their first meal inside the rebel
lines.
(To be continued.)