Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1900-04-04

the service has gone TO the devil and
officers are runnin' brands for enlist
ed men? An get back inside two min
utes, too," he added; with portent in
his tone. The subaltern of hardly two
months service felt the implied rebuke
of the soldier of over 20 years aud
meekly accepted the amendment, hut
"a thought occurred to him: He had
promised Morton paper, envelopes and
stamps and the days newspapers-the
lad seemed strangely eager to get all
the latter, and vaguely Billy re:nem-
herd having heard that Canker cons'd-
cred giving papers to prisoners as
equivalent to aid and comfort to the
enemy.
'"Take it by way of my tent said he
as they started, and, once there it took
time to find things. "Go back to the
sergeant major and tell him l sent
you," said Gray, after another search.
HE needs you on those papers,"
And when the officer of the guard
returned to the guardhouse and went
in to the prisoner, the sergeant saw
and others saw-that, rolled in the
soldiers overcoat he carried on his
| arm, was a bundle done up in news
paper. Moreover, scrap of CONVEX
sation was overheard.
There's no one at the generals"
| said the officer. Il see no way of-fix-
ing it before morning."
MY God, lieutenant! There-must
be some way out of it! The morning
will be too late"
"Then I'll do what can for you to-
night" said Mr.. Gray, as he turned
and hurriedly left the guardroom-a
dozen men standing stif1y about the
walls and doorway and staring with
impassive faces straight to the front.
Again, the young officer had left the
post of the guard and gone up into
| camp, while far and near through the
! dim, fog-swept aisles of score of
camps the bugles and trumpets were
wailing the signal for lights out" and
shadowy forms, with coat collars
turned up about the ears or capes muf-
| fed around the neck, scurried about
the company streets ordering laughter
| and talk to cease. A covered carriage
was standing at the curb outside the
officers gate-and the sentry there
posted remembered that the officer of
the guard came hurrying out and
asked the driver if he was engaged.
"I'm waiting for the major" was the
answer.
"Well, where can one order a car
riage tonight without going clear to
town." inquired Gray. II want-one;
that isl wish to order one at once"
And the driver, who knew very well
there were several places where car
riages could be had, preferred loyalty
to his own particular stable away in
town, and SO declared there was none.
"You can telephone there, if you
wish, sir,' he added.
"And wait till morning for it to get
here? No! I'll get it-somehow.'
And that he did get it somehow was
current rumor on the following day,
for the sentries on the guardhouse side
| of camp swore that a closed carriage
drove down from McAllister street for
all the world as though it had just
come out of the park and rolled on past
the back of the guardhouse, the driver
loudly whistling Killarney" so that
| it could be heard above the crunching
of the wheels through the rough, loose
rock that covered the road, and that
carriage drew up not hundred yards
! away, while the lieutenant was out Wis
iting sentries and presently they saw
him coming back along the walk,
stopping to question each sentry as to
his orders. Then he returned and in
quired if all was quiet among the pris-
oners, and then went and put out his
light in the tent reserved for the Of
ticer of the guard, and once more left
his post, briefly informing the sergeant
of the guard he was going to the officer
of the day. Then it was ascertained
that he had visited half dozen places
in search of that veteran captain and
appeared much disturbed because he
could not find him. In half an hour he
was back, asking excitedly of the
sentry in rear of the guardhouse if a
carriage had come that way. 1t had,
said the sentry, and was waiting down
]
ton indicated, was gone perhaps three
minutes and returned, saying that the
sentry must be mistaken, that no car
rage was there. But the sentry reit-
Grated his statement that it had been
there and had been waiting for some
time, and must have disappeared while
he was temporarily around at the oppo'
| - @f q
about II p. m.
Then when Gray appeared at reveille
Morton had disappeared.
cts not the sergeant let them fellers
out" said the regimental oracles
This is no ten-dollar subscription
business" And so until late in the
afternoon the question that agitated
the entire range of regimental camps
was: How did those fellows break
away from the prison of the -teenth? p
Then came clew, and then-discovery
By order of Lieut.. Col. Canker q
board of officers had been convened to
investigate the matter, and after CUES.
tioning every body whom "Squeers" had
>already badgered with his assertions,
threats and queries, they went to the
guardhouse and began thorough in
spection of the premises. The wooden
building stood in the midst of a waste
of sand blown in from the shore line by
the strong sea wind. 1t was perched
on something like dozen stout posts
driven into the soft soil and then the
space between the floor level and the
sand was heavily and stoutly boarded