The National tribune., 1901-05-23

especially on pleasant evenings, when up
Oh the hghtest call he would sing his Old
rOugh-and-ready fakir songs, or deliver
lecture upon any possible subject, full OF
the most astounding words, delivered
with the utmost earnestness and gravity,
and lasting as long as anybody would lis
ten to him, or until tattoo cut him off.
Drop that, Kankakee,' said Shorty,
handing him cracker. We're in hur-
ry. We haven't time for anything but
plain United States, and that in words
of one syllable. Where did you come
fromY
Most surrepshusly, from the pile of
empty meal-sacks in the commissary at
headquarters, where we've bin seques-
trated, waiting for the Ianks to deploy-
gisticate into view, so to speak"
How did you get there!'
THE Adjutant took me out to propa-
gate in his intellect how to tell fortunes
by cards, win any woman for your sweet
heart, and cure In-grOwing tOe-nails with
out the use of a knife. He was suffering
in his mind to know all these, and as
| am the only original Jacobs Of a pro-
fessor in that line, 1 made bargain with
him for extra ratiOns for me and my CO.
operator here, until | learned him these
invaluable secrets. You bet | didn't en-
danger brain fever by rushing knowledge
into his head. | wasn't going to let him
ulllil GOulu Stint SOlLC OtIltI
good lay for rations, or get chance to
skip to our lines. We We're all banged
up trying to get away from Savannah.
Where did we pre-empticate these gar
mentsi They're the paraphernalia of
hell, aint theyf The rebels traded hats
with me and Saiamagundy here when
they dislOcated us from the skirmish line
in front of JOnesboro. We jumped the
outfit that night, and the next day we
went into house TO get some Sustenance
and | got this coat and britches for learn
ing the woman verse thatd keep her
baby from having fits. Itll do it every
time. The next day we went into anOth-
er house, and 1 got the coat and britches
for Salamagundy by pounding up some
weeds and bark to cure the mans horse
of the bolts. We snatched the shirts
from a line one night and thought we
was i'll good shape to make our way back
to our lines, but we run into a patrol one
night and the next day they was about
TO hang us for spies, when we owned up
who we was and they sent us to Sayan-
nah. We got through a tunnel there,
got acrost the Ogeechee, and was getting
along fine when we struck bush-meet-
ing, where they was waiting for their
preacher, and we said we was strolIing
eyangelists-you know Salamagundy
there can sing like a cat-bird. I gave
them the best sermon they'd ever heard
in all their born days-Rearly all of them
said that-and Salamagundy, he'd sung
There is gulf of dark despair in q way
that sent the women into Mysteries. The
bench was crowded with mourners, and
we'd just took up a bully collection
>had hat full Of Confederate notes
when they come after us with the hounds.
I'd heard the hounds coming for some
time, but didn't think they'd sic 'em on
act of preaching the Word. But they did
that very blasphemous thing. Abracada-
bra, high-cockalorum, you ought tive seen
that meeting. Five or six old pennyroyal
bulls who hadn't throwed even a shin
plaster into the hat was roaring mad
about us swindling the people, and they'd
We welted the immortal souls out of us
if the soldiers hadn't took pity on us and
jumped in and saved cur lives. As it was
them pennyroyal bulls got away with the
whole collection, which was worse than
the larruping they gave us. They took
us back to Savannah and then brung us
out here. As soon as we was able to
walk again, | begun to play to get out
side. L made myself solid with the Ad-
jutant, and was beginning to learn the
Colonel how to feel bumps and mesmer-
ize, and was Citing extry rations which
the stampede took place. They tried to
rush us into the gangs they was sending
off, but me and Salamagundy lodged
them one way and another, and finally
hid in empty mealsacks right behind the
Colonels tent, where no one thought of
looking for us. We intended to light out
tonight for our lines
In the meanwhile Foster Walsh and
Surgeon Brooks had been laboring an1-
iously with Angus Mclean. Foster lift
ed the boy in his arms as tenderly as he
would baby, carried him carefully to
the comfortable cabin which had been
built for the Colonel, and there laid him
on the Coloneps bed of straw. Every mo-
ton was made with dread anxiety lest
the least roughness might jar out the fee
Bile, fickering spark Of life. Surgeon
Brooks walked by Fosters side to give
him unneeded cautions. With the scis-
sors taken from his surgical case, DR..
Brooks carefully trimmed off the boys
hair close to his scalp, and then washed
him all over with a luckily discovered
piece of the Coloners toilet soap and wa
ter heated to milk-warmness. He would
not even trust Foster Walsh to do this.
Then the empty cotton mealsacks were
used to make soft bed, and cover the
poor little invalid warmly.
What he needs now Is nourishment,"
said the surgeon. "a few spoonfuls Of
chicken broth would be worth more than
all the medicines in my case. But don't