The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-04-28
THE CARPET FIEND.

AHEN Alexander Socrates Olen-i
wv DORIS mother told him to beat
the hall carpet he burst into tears. He
could not help it. In that everwhelm-
ing moment, Saturday morning, he for
got that, in spite of his II years. his
round, SNUG face and his short jacket
of boyhood, he was man. For days
he had felt almost as big and as brave as
old Capt. Ball, whose wooden leg,
stories of the late war and whose tat
tered flag that he had carried to victory
up Missionary ridge had held him the
place of town hero for 80 years.
Alexander Socrates and his boy
friends had wonderingly sat at the feet
of Capt. Ball and listened to his tales OF
warfare till their youthful hearts
sweled with patriotism and desire to
march to the sound of fife and drum and
to fight for their country. So when the
news that war had been declared
against Spain was announced to the
town by a laundering roar from the
dingy brass cannon in front of the
town hall-where it had stood silent,
except on the Fourth of July, for years
the boys rushed to the captains house
in state of great excitement.
They could place the shabby little
home long before they could see the
weather-beaten one-story cottage
among the naples, for the old flag was
Tapping enthusiastically from the staff
near the front gate, and the captain
was stunping up and down the street
walk with his sword clanking against
his wooden leg and his faded army
ulster buttoned tightly around him, in
spite of the warm afternoon. He was
every inch a soldier, excepting his
wooden leg, and he greeted his young
shoulder and stiffness and sternness
of bearing that they had rarely seen be-
fore and that made them half afraid.
"Well, men," shouted the captain,
dropping his sword to it's scabbard and
unbending little, "are you going to
form company" When appealed to
as men the boys became nearly as
straight as the captains wooden leg
and almost instinctively drew up in q
soldierly line. This was the beginning
of the juvenile volunteers, with Lieut..
Alexander Socrates Olendorf at its head
and the old captain as its drillmaster.
Day after day the boys met at the cap
tain's house after school and drilled.
They had army jackets made of blue
jean cloth; they fought sham battles,
and they took many imaginary Spanish
prisoners at the points of the painted
pine-board muskets.
/ - lor he
climax of their military glory, for some
| troops from the west were to pass
through the town on the noon express,
and the juvenile volunteers had secretly
planned to give them grand military
salute from the whole company drawn
up in line on the station platform, and
Lieut.. Olendorf was to wear Capt. Balls
| famous sword. Now this horrible old
hall carpet that had not been beaten for
year threatened to keep Lieut.. Olen-
dorf away from the station.
1t was too bad. Here it was already
half after nine o'clock and Alexander
remembered bitterly that it had taken
him fully half day to beat the miser.
able heavy carpet the year before. He
was sure that 1t was dirtier than ever
this year and that he would be pound.
ing it all the rest of the day. He ball
made up his mind to tell his mother al
about the secret plans of the Juvenile
volunteers, but he was too much of Z
soldier to betray military secret. No
better let Sergt. Tommy Bing wear tn.
sword and head tine company in Alex
ander's absence.
The more Alexander considered tn,
carpet proposition the more heart
breaking it seemed. For days Alexan
der had walked with soldierly strid'
and had acted as much like a full-growl
man as he could. He had not turned
single "cartwheel'' for over a week. H
had heroically refrained from walking
on his hands in front of the new bo,
from the city. He had even scorned t
play "mibs" when his greatest rival ha,
offered to put two marbles to his on
into the ring, and had then cried ''frad
calf" when Alexander had refused t
play. Alexander Socrates secretl
vowed to pound that boy as soon as tn
war was over, and he also determine
to "skin the cat" backward and fol
/ ward so many times that it would max
! the city boy dizzy, but this was to
when the war was ended, too. Then
had consoled himself with the though
that, best of all, he would fill both th
f boys with confusion and envy when b
stood on the station platform holdin
the captains sword against his shou
r der when the troops whirled by on th
train.
And now he must be pounding ava
at the carpet, out in the orchard, whe
the train with the soldiers went by tb
crowded station platform.
These thoughts came upon him wit
, such overpowering force that Alexandt
/ wept silently as he pulled the tacks OIL
of the hall carpet. His mother was bus
in the kitchen cooking doughnuts, an
humming the "Star-Spangled Banner
as she worked.
Il wish she would stop singing tn;
old tune" muttered Alexander, pet
lantly, as he pulled the last foot or tw
of the carpet up with. a jerk and bega
Juggling it toward the barn. II kno
> the band will play it at the depot and
won near IL d u al, anu ne cuOheu Dde
very unmanly sob.
Once over the line the hall carp
looked more formidable than ever.
thumped back and forth in THE stror
wind and it slipped sidewise and acte
almost like live thing bent on mi
chief.
"You miserable old thing, I'd ju
like to pound you to pieces" said A
exander, angrily, and then he smiled