The National tribune., 1899-04-27

would cut down trees, and sweep away COM
panies of men?"
''If all the rest OF the men were killed,
wouldn't the powder-monkey get chance
to fire the gum"
look here. boys" easred Shorty, when
he got q chance to answer, I'D like TO
answer your questions and fill you so plumb
| full o. information that your hides'd crack to
hold it. But | amt no complete history o.
! the war, with heavy artillery tactics bound
up in one volume. All know is that the
worst dose them forts ever give was to the
iellers that had to build 'em After you've
| dug and shoveled and wheeled on one of 'em
for about a month, you'll hate the very sight
OF EN-, and never ask no questions abOus
EN-. All You'll want'll be to find and kill
the feller that invented them brick-red erup-
tions on the face o. the earth"
This was prosaic side of war that had
not occurred to the boys
As the train ran out into the country there
were plentiful signs of war to rivet the
attention OF the youngsters-hospitals, with
the emaciated patients strolling fcebly about,
corrals OF mules and horses, the waste and
wreckage where camps had been, and bridges
which had been burned and rebuilt
| But we haint seen no guerriIlas yitn
| s-iit anu ult ndchatI, WNOSo
minds seemed moro fascinated with that
species of an enemy than any other, and
they apparently voiced the minds Of the
rest When're we likely to see some
guerrillas?
| 20, the guerrillas are layin' purity low
now, betwixt here and Nashville" 81 care
lessly explained. After we pass Nashville
you kin begin to look out for 'em"
Why" Gid Mackall, complained to tbs
rest of them, "Corpril Elliott said that We
could begin TO lookout for guerriIlas Jest as
soon's we crossed the Ohio-that the whole
O. Kentucky was full of 'em I believe
Corprii Elliott knows more about his busi-
ness than Sargint Klegg. sarg;ns Klegg
seems careless like. / see lots o. fellers
along the road in butternut clothes that
seemed savage and sneaky like They
looked at US in a way that made me certain
they wuz spying US, and had their guns hid
away somewhere, ready 20 jump Us, when<'
ever there wuz good chanst.'
So did j, Z" chorused the Others
The train made a long stop on a switch,
and manuvered around while, taking on
some cars found there, and 81 and Shorty
seeing nothing to do, went forward to
another car, where they found some return
ing veterans and were soon absorbed in O
game OF seven-rp. Shorty had just success
fully turned jack from the bottom, and
was snickering to himself that his fingers
had not lost their cunning by long idieness,
when the game was interrupted by train
hand rushing up with the information:
I" Here, you fellers, you want to git out
there and tend to them kids o. your'n.
They've got couple O. citizens down there
in the brush, and believe are goin' to hang
'em."
81 and Shorty ran down In the direction
indicated. They found the boys, stern-eyed
and resolute, surrounding two weak-eyed,
trembling "crackers," who had apparently
como to the train with baskets of leathery-
crusted dried-apple pies for sale. The men
were specimens of the wesk-minded, weak
bodied, lank-haired "po' white trash" but
the boys had sized them up on sight az
dangerous spies and guerrillas, had laid
hands on them and dragged them down into
the brush, where Gid Mackall and Harry
Joslyn were doing . fair reproduction Of
Williams, Paulding and Van Vert searching
Maj. Andres clothes for discriminating docu-
ments. They had the prisoners hands tied
behind them and their ankles bound. So
far they had discovered clumsy brass-bar-
relied pistol and an ugly-lOoking spring dirk,
which were sufficient to confirm the danger
Gus character of the men. Two of the boys
had secured ropes from the train, which they
were trying to fashion into hangman's nooses.
Gid ard Harry finished painstaking exami-
nation of the mems ragged jeans vests, with
a look of disappointment at finding moth
ing more inculpating than some fish-hooks,
chunks of twist tobacco, and cob-pipes.
"They must have 'em in their boots, boys
Pull 'em off" said Harry. There's where
spies usually carry their most important
papers"
Here, you young brats, what are you up
to?" demanded 81, striding in among them.
"Why, Sargint," said Harry Joslyn,
speaking rs if confident of being engaged in
q praisewoTthy work, which should receive
the commentator of his superiors, "these're
two spies and guerrillas that we ketched right
in the act, and we're searchin' 'em for eyi-
dence TO hang EN-"
"Spies nothin' !" said 81. "Why, them
fellers hain't brains enough to tell a battery
from reg iment, nor pluck enough to take q
settin' hen often her nest. Let them 90 at
once"
why, Corpril Elliott told US that every
man In Kentucky, particularly them what
sold pies, wuz dangerous, and liable to go
guerrillying at any minute" said Harry in
an aggrieved tone. "These fellers seemed to
be sneakin' down to find that we hadn't no
guns, and then jump u.s."
well, what 1 said wuz true on jinerul
principles" laughed Shorty. "But there's
occasionally exceptions to even what l tell
you. These felIers are as harmless as garter
snakes. Why didn't you come and speak
| to us?"
"Why, you showed our car out there into
the brush, and went off and left Us. We
thought we had to look out for ourselves"
explained Harry. Can't we hang 'em, any
way ?" he added In an appealing tone, and
the rest of the boys looked wistfully at Si
for permission to proceed.
| "No, you can't, I tell you. Turn 'em
loose this minute, and give 'em back their
things, and go yourselves to your car. We're
goin' to start now. Here" he continued
to the two men, is dollar. Take your
pies and dig ont. Don't attempt to sell any
O. them pies to these boys, or I'll hang you,
myself and there won's be no foolishness
about it. Git back to your car boys"
"There won't be no hangin', and we won't
git none O. the pies" complained the boys
among themselves "Sargfnt Klegg's gittin'
overbearin'. What'd he interfere for?
Them felers was guerrillas, as sure as you're
born, just as Corpril Elliot described 'em
before we crossed the river
| TO be continucd)