The National tribune., 1899-03-23
Shorty Gets Two Big Tor His Place.

Shorty Gets Two Big Tor His Place.
The disturbance in the Deacon's family
when ShOrty's note was delivered by littl'
Sammy WOggles quite came up to tina
| romance-loving youths fond anticipatiOns
If he could only hope that his own disap
pearance would create q fraction Of the sen,
sation he would have run away the next
day. 1t would be such a glorious retribu
tiOn on those who subjected him to the daily
tyranny of rising early in the morning, wash.
ing his face, combing his hair, and going tc
school. For the first time in his life the boy
found himself the center of interest in the
family. He knew something that all the
rest were intensely eager to know, and they
piled him with questions until his young
brain whrled He told them all that he
knew, except that which Shorty had enjoined
upon him not TO tell, and repeated his story
without variation when separately examined
by different members of the family. All his
leisure for the next few days was put in
aboriously constructing, on large sheets ol
foOlscap, the following letter, in which the
thnmb-marks and blots were more conspicu-
Gus than the ''pot-hook letters:
dEER SHORTY:
don't 4git that REblE gun promist me-.
THAR WAS An oRful time when Civ um
yorE lEttEr
missis klEgg She cride.
mAriAr She SD did Ever No Ennything
so Ridiklus
81 he sed that shorty kood be MORE Kinds
ov fool in A minnit than AIRY uthEr boy he
Ever node, Not bArrin Tompsons colt.
the deacon he wAntid 90 2 the tranE
e stop Il. When he found he koOdd Ent do
that, he wAntid . tElEgrAf = Arrest u &
bring bAk.
But 81 he SID bEttEr let run till got
tirEd. Ude Fitch up sum whAir soon.
Then THEY wood slip bridlE OVER yore
head q bring u bAk.
bAint told maria nothin bat had BET
TER sEnd that gun rite off.
lie look 4 it Every day til git it.
mi pen IL bad, mi ink IL pale.
send hat gun & NENEr fALE.
YorEs, SAM.
As soon rs he saw that he was likely to
remain at Headquarters for some time, Shorty
became anxious about that letter from
Sammy, and after much scheming and plan
ning he at last bcthought himself of the ex-
pedient of having the chief clerk write an
official letter to Sam Elkins, the Post
master and Operator at Bean Blossom Creek
Station, directing him to forward to Head
quarters any communications addressed to
Corp'l Daniel Elliott. 2O0th Ind. Vols, and
to keep this matter military secret.
In spite of his prepossessions against it,
Shorty took naturally to Headquarters duty,
rs he did to everything else in the army.
He even took a pride in his personal ap-
pearance. 'and appeared every morning as
spick and span as the barber-shop around the
corner could make him. This was because
the General saw and approved it, and-be-
cause of the influence Maria had projected
into his life. The Deacon's well-ordered
home had been n revelation to him Of another
world, of which he wanted to be part.
The gentle quiet and the constant consider
alton for others that reigned there smoOihed
off his rough corners and checked the rasp
ing of his ready tongue.
Pm goin' to try to be half-white," he
resolved; "at least, as longs Pm
north O. the Ohio River. When Pm back
lgin at the front kin take 4 rest from being
respectable"
He was alert, prompt, and observant, and
before he was himself aware of it began
things about the ante rooms to
More and more the General
md Chief Clerk kept putting the entire dis
posal of certain matters in his hands, and it
was not surprising that he acted at times as
if he were the Headquarters himself, and the
General and Others merely attaches. Shorty
always had that way about him.
mo, you can't see the General to-day"
lie would say to man as to whom he had
heard the General or the Chief Clerk hint
vas e bore, and wasted their time "The |
GENERALS very busy. The Presidents layin' |
iown on him for his advice about campaipn |
% take Richmond by a new way, and the
got to. think at the rate OF mile |
! minute in order to git it off by telegraph"