The National tribune., 1901-01-17

CHE SAW ANOTHER MAN. DREs
the canteens as it fell with kick that
sent it over into a sumach thicket, and
with loud dis:ordant bray babe fare
fell to the society he had found uncon-
genial, and started back the way they had
come.
There" whimpered Pete. as he extri-
Gated himself from the mass. That comes
o your plaguey fooling. Why can't you
let me and Sandy alone? You're always
imposing on us, just because we're boys.
You don't want us to have no fun at all.
We wasn't doing nothing to Won. Sandy.
you stay here and take care o the things,
while / run back and catch him. Cope,
cope, Abednego."
81 had fully intended to remain awake
all night, but he fell into cat-naps, as he
sat against the tree. He awakened with
a start shortly after daylight, to find sew
eraI hundred of the cattle quietly feeding
in the abandoned fields belonging to q
double-log house situated in the center of
a long, toIerabiy wide valley. The owner
had apparently only cut and shocked his
wheat when the irruptiOn of the armies
had compelled him to fly with his family
to some more peaceful locality. There
were - or 80 acres of sparse standing
corn, of which and the meadows, spring
ing up afresh. after the Fall rains, the
cattle were making a fair breakfast.
We've played in great luck, after all,
remarked 81 to Shad. There must be
300 or 400 of the beasts down there, and
they're getting their paunches full. don't
see how our cavalry and Quartermaster
came to leave all that forage. The in
fantry's been along here. You can't see
a rail, nor chicken, nor hog
But think" groaned the hopeless Shad,
''if we're only 100 Short-100 at $40
apiece is $500, or the price of SPLEEN
did farm. I'll scratch poor mans head
the rest of my days
20, it amt so bad as that" said 81 en-
couragingly. :" 'Taint near so bad, I'm
sure. But we'll find out just how bad
it is. Wen slip down in there among
them as they're grazing and count 'em.
We can separate 'em up into fields and get
ut the number pretty certain"
Shai was tirSt-claSS in mathematics,
and used to rapid and accurate counting.
81 went at the task, slowly, regularly and
deliberately. With Gid's and Alf's as
sistance, he got the cattle all on one side
of the road or the other. and then sep
arated into groups in the fields. for the
easier counting. He then deliberately
went over each group several times tally
ing each by notches on stick, in the APP
proved Wabash way, until he could make
his counts agree with each other, and with
the swifter ones of his assistants. Gid
had made his count with knots on string
and ALI by tallies on a pad of prescrip-
ton blanks. ST figured up the result with
stick in the sand, and announced with
dismay:
Il can't find but $50 of 'em. We're ia
short"
Il came to that conclusion Il good while
ago." said Shad. I've counted them
over to my certainty, if not satisfaction,
and if there's one more than $50 I'll agret
to eat him for supper. Let's see: II.
times $40 is $3.50. A mere trihe (ano
he laughed sardonicallyl. Nine-tenths o.
the elderly men in Indiana have worked
all their lives, and struggled with chill
and fever, and lodged the Assessor, to
lay up an average of about half that. Ii
the Government would give me time, and
let me pay it off at the rate of 500
year, it would take me over 50 years to
get out of debt. Start your cattle on to
Atlanta. I'm simply another victim to
this cruel war, only I'll probably die in
the penitentiary or the poJlhouse, instead
of on the battlefield
Now, don't be so discouraged, Shad,"
demonstrated ST. ''We1l probably gather
up lot more in the BRUSH. I'll go back
now and start the boys out skirmishing
for them
NO. no; don't bother. Don't tire the
boys out Tor nothing. L might as well be
hung for an old sheep as 4 lamb A few
more or less won't make any difference.
Suppose you should find as many as p or
so. / should still be owing the Govern
ment $4,000 or $1,000, and my hopes
wouldn't be a bit less blasted. No; save
your shoe-leather and mine, and start your
cattle on for Atlanta. eThe sooner we get
there, and the sooner | begin working out
my sentence, the sooner Ill get through
Start your cattle"
In do nothing of the kind answered
ST III not go until I'm sure that there's
not Il steer left anywheres round"
As he spoke, Monty came up, driving
10 cattle which he had found in by
path. but Shad refused to be encouraged.
Its true it reduces my Indebtedness
$50, but it'd still take me IS years to
pay off at the rate of 500 year, and
10 wears from now | won't care for a mat
ter of seven or eight years, one way or
the other. These trifing reductions are
merely asgravations. Drive on your cat
tle."
Then Harry came up yith nine more
he had found in a little pocket in the
woods, but Shad was obdurate that these
were mere drops in the bucket, and only
accentuated his trouble by presenting har-
rowing details. Shorty came back with
10, and Jake Dyes skirmish line succeed
ed in rounding up enough str gglers to
increase the total in the valley to $50. But
this seemed the end. The boys on the
skirmish line were positive that they had
searched every nook and Granny of the
valley, and no more could be found.