The National tribune., 1901-07-04

countenance contrasted sharply with the
whinnyings of dissatisfaction which came
from the corrals at night Some uneaten
corn lying near told the story. 1t was a
kind not found in that part of the State,
but had been hauled from further up the
country.
pete, that Chief Wagonmaster's awful
hot about some one stealing his forage"
said Shorty. HE threatens to do some
shooting. l want you to let his stuff alone.
You'll get into trouble"
LET him shoot" replied Pete. "Abed-
nego's going to have enough to eat, no
matter if the rest Of US have to go on
short rations. He has to carry me and
work hard all day. l may go hungry, but
he shan't."
well, 1 tell you to stop it, that's all"
said Shorty, decisively, passing on.
That night there was lively banging
about of firearms, but when the regiment
sprang to arms, it was found to be neither
picket-fring nor raid of rebel cagalry.
1t came from the neighborhood of the
forage-piles, and from the teamster
guards, blazing away with the rusty guns
carried in their wagons.
The next morning the Brigade Wagon
master came around with a story of more
stealing, and of several of the thieves hav-
ing been shot by his guards, and in spite
of his efforts to conceal it, 81 and Shorty
saw clearly that he was spying around
among their squad for wounded men as
we'll as for signs of the forage taken.
Again they were able to present a clean
bill of health to his scrutiny. None Of
them had been hit by the shots, and their
forage had been gathered on the inhospi-
table line of march. But Shorty, presently
going by Abednego, saw that he was far
ing sumptuously on the far-fetched corn
and "roughness," and the mule seemed to
favor him with a shrewd wink of his off
eye as to what fools Chief Wagonmasters
were, OF general principles.
did you get hurt last night, Peter"
he asked severely.
"N-a-hI Get hurt by them teamsters?
Well, / guess not. A teamster couldn't
hit nothing if he had the best gun ever
made, and they hadn't cleaned them guns
since they left Chattanoogy last Spring.
I'd a bin more afraid of lot of old
women with broomsticks."
Now, Pete, l tell you again to stop
that. That motheaten mule of yours can
get along on short rations for a few days
just as well as the Coloners horse and
ours can. He lived all Summer on moth
ing, and had to browse for it. l want you
to let the forage pile alone. Some of those
teamsters IL kill you. They'd like
to have a chance to even up on a
soldier and you'd be a huckleberry
for them, you young brat. Stop it,
now, l tell you. I'm not going TO have
shave-tailed. lop-eared mule, that wasn't
worth picking up in the first place, and's
got worthlesser every day since"
If Shorty had turned around suddenly
as he walked away, he would have seen
caught on Pete's face an angry sulk at the
opporbrium hurled at his pet, and a stub
born determination to do as he pleased
about forage.
Taps" had sounded, and Shorty was
just knocking the ashes out of his pipe,
preparatory to turning in, when a hula
baloo broke out in the direction of the
forage pile. Shots were fired, and shouts
Of There he goes" Catch himT Kill
him"
Instinctively feeling that Pete was the
source of this disturbance, Shorty ran to-
ward the forage pile. There he saw, by
the light of pitch-pine fire, across which
Pete was unwisely running, that young
ster, with sheaf of corn-blsdes under one
arm, and a nose-bag full of corn in the
other hand.
Pete was Loyalty heading for the 1st
Oshkosh, to give the impression that the
thief was from that regiment, and not the
200th Ind.
After him were a number of infuriated
teamsters, some throwing clubs, some try
ing to run him down, and some to head
him off. They all wanted to get hold of
him to make an example of such depreda-
tors, as well as from a teamsters' chronic
itching to thrash a soldier when they could
get a chance.
Shorty rushed to the rescue. But before |
he could reach Pete, the latter had been |
oyertaken by his enemies, hampered as he |
was by his load. But Pete had swung his |
nose-bag in the first ones face, and |
knocked him down, and then adroitly trip |
ped the second, so that he fell headlong. |
This was only temporary relief, for the |
rest were quickly on top of him. He was |
knocked down, and being kicked, when |
Shorty jumped in and began knocking |
right and left, until he came to the Chief |
who was a foeman worthy |
Of his steel, and was giving him pretty |
nearly as good as he sent, until the pro-