The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-02-09

were encamped about the city. AT noon
my face burned and I did not answer
mess call. ! wanted to sleep. At four
o'clock Fogarty felt my cheeks,
'I'n tell the tap-sergeant to let you
pound the bunk awhile longer" he
said.
The next day was in the hospital,
feeling hot and thirsty and hungry all |
at once. The air in the hospital tent
was full of groans and the odor of |
drugs. It was also sitting. The boys
about me had felt the weight of a loco
motive concentrated into Mauser ball. |
TO me Fogarty said:
"Kid, you've got the fever"
After that did not see him for six
weeks, because was sent back to the
States on hospital transport. l had
reached the furlough stage, which
means that delirium was over, and that
my fever had fickered out, leaving only
half of me and disreputable appetite
when Fogarty came. had no clothes
to go on furlough withholding but
tattered shirt and debilitated pair of
cavalry trousers; and the worst of it
was could not get any.
It is not hard for me to recall the
events of that night when Fogarty
came. I was watching the Red Cross
men unload hospital train. A process
sion of stretchers was passing from the
cars to the fever tents. Some of the
sick men had been forced to walk. Had
1 not seen others staggering through
the twilight, I would have said that
Fogarty was drunk again. He dragged
huge blanket roll.
well, Kid, where's your other part?"
he questioned, weakly.
I really embraced him that night
Fogarty, the profane, the red-faced.
And when he told me that he had
brought along bundle of my clothes
from camp, could not speak for my
voice cords were numb. I only whim-
pered. Fever leaves one childish-weak,
you know.
Fogarty had lugged along my things
with his own-and he sick man. He
had remembered me after six weeks
remembered me who was only recruit.
tell you, gentlemen, there are men in
Uncle Sans cavalry.
That night Fogarty stretched his
great body out on mattress-a real
one-for the first time in two months.
His feet protruded through the iron
rods at the lower end of the bedstead.
care those women going to be here? p
He pointed to. a. couple of nurses.
nodded.
"Why, it's cinch to have the fevers
here, amt it, Kid?"
His tongue was dry. like it was on the
Cuban hills that day. A beam of the
low white moon looked in through the
flap of the tent and rested on Fogarty's
hands. 1t made them seem pallid, but
his face was very hot and red.
An ugly fever is typhoid. 1t chars
ones brain and body with slow flame.
It stretches the eyelids wide apart. In
the middle of the day it glows to a
white heat. It turns on3 into helpless
animal that feels only an incurable
thirst and a craving stomach-an ami
NAL that means for ice water when the
nurse is busy wrapping up dead man
in the next cot-a staring-eyed animal
that knows there are such things as
home and friends and death, but cares
not. Listlessly he watches companion
fall into that chilled sleep.
Typhoid plays with four men and
gets earnest with the ffth-fatally
earnest. The moon was high when I
left Fogarty that night.
A couple of weeks later he looked at
me hard one morning. 1t was. going
badly with him.
"Why don't you go homer" he asked,
arty's voice.
Haven't got furlough yet," said,
lying. The papers were eight days old
already. Haven't got hat, either I
continued. had been wearing Fogar-
tvs. Mine was lost.
"Take care of this dough for me, will
you, Kid! didn't have time to blow a
) - red. It gets my nerve with this
thirst"
He gave me his last months pay.
Fogarty was getting hot, and the nurse
pushed me away.
Keep the hat you got on, Kid
I could barely hear his voice. His
face was not very red now. How
wished he could see the pain inside OF
me for him. keep the hat you got on,
Kid. I'll get another if don't croak.''
The doctor hung around Fogarty's
cot the next night. The nurse had
drawn chair close to him. I held a
, lantern near. The rain clouds were
venting themselves outside.
watch out for Mint Julep, Kid
! mumbled poor Fogarty. He was not
looking at me. His eyes stared at the
= sleeping flies on top of the tent. His
. eyelids were far apart.
They'll be good friends-Julep and
the Kid-both good fellows. "
d Nope-not drinking thing-sworn of
T ask the Kid. Oh, I forgot, the Kids
+ gone home to his mother-got sick, you
know-nfce little chap, the Kid-make
a good soldier. Gone home-way up
north-to his mother"
The nurse famed him. His eyes still
:, stared at the sleeping flies. The nurse
knew then that Fogarty was picked out
> for a fifth man. Silently she famed
, him and watched.
Not long after that Fogarty was mus
tered out of the service.
And all this is to show how I peered
: under the veneer, which environment
made, and saw great warm heart
L