The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-06


on. Tell me s'more!
ITO be exact, she said that you were
an unbending, heartless brute, who could
vivisect a fawn while looking into its
weeping eyes and incidentally cuff it for
being so demonstrative."
Lovely! What did you tell herr"
THAT if she could see the way you
SLOUGH on my porch sometimes she
wouldn't think you unbending. I spoke of
of the outbreak and tried generally 70
improve her opinion of you"
THE deuce you did! Why you'll spoil
all che fun"
"Oh, no. won't. The young lady mere
ly said that she knew of course the regu-
lars all held together
"Goodr
And now, boy. I want to tell you again
that you're making a mistake The girl
is matching her power-the power of her
father and her friends-against you, and
they can make you trouble. Please, boy,
do be sensible"
"They might take my hospital away
from me! They might Dreyfus me but
not my commission! For that we go back
to the people. But don't put it in that
light or you'll spoil all the fun, l say"
She's so angry with you-you know
the insidious effect of the climate-she
may work herself i'll
I'm trust a Senator's daughter not to
do that. You'll see. She'll soon be leaving
the eggs and the custards to higgins"
His prophecy was fulfilled the next day,
when Miss Dodsworth divided her time
between the Light Diet Kitchen and the
wards in pursuit of her intention to make
a thorough investigation of conditions at
the hospital. In ward number-her sym
pathy was Immediately drawn to Pike,
who, If he had been at Montauk in the
lugubrious days, could have furnished
columns of "red-hot STUFF to the papers
At Manila he was in poor pickings; but
his hopes frightened the minute that he
saw Miss Dodsworh, knowing intuitively
that she was his kind With a feeling of
pride in his superiority, he watched the
ether fellows along the line till she came
to him fumbling their graft"
ITS so seldom we sees women here"
lie told the Senator's daughter, that l
had to rub my eyes, miss, to make sure
you wasn't an angel"
How long have you been in hospital,
poor fellow?" she asked.
"A month now" he said. "Oh. I'll never
be 1T to go back to duty It's the climate
and me knee. I'm goin' all ITO pieces. Me
knee was injured in a charge, and It's
like boils. Never teched it to ground since.
The doctors can't do nawthin' for it and
say I'm shammin'"
What doctors?"
THE captain, and all of 'em., Yes
sha-a-min'! Me what hates being shut
up in the house and loves to be out fight
in. 1 get weaker and weaker, and I'll
Jest kape gettin' weaker m weaker and
the doctors'll kape me here! Oh, If l
could only die at home, miss"
The clear-eyed young soldier with a
bandage on his shoulder partially rose
from the next cot and grinned; but Miss
Dodsworth was too absorbed to notice
| him.
you shall-you shall live at homer
she exclaimed, trimming over with the
interest and sympathy of one who has
searched long for treasure and has at
last found it. Meanwhile cheer up, poor
fellow. 1 can see how weak you are. You
shall have a little champagne. 1 know
that that is strengthening"
"Oh. dunno, 1 Dunno said the man in
the next cot, in an undertone; Il dunno
but l need sympathy myself"
The sergeant entered from the opposite
end of the ward just as Miss Dodsworth
was leaving at the other. He saw that the
men around Pike were grinning and
smelled mice at once. When he spoke
TO Pike the malingerer assured the SER
geant that he had said "scurcely" word
to the lady He then went to Miss Dods-
worth, who was in a high state of in
dignation.
Miss, If you don't mind. I'd like to
warn you against that man Pike" he
said. Hes hobo that sneaked into the
army under the bars-and they sorne-
times, will do the best you cam
How do you know that he is?" she de-
manded, with the flashing eyes of an
sgitator hewing her way through injustice
with broadsword blows
HE funked and lay down behind dixie
in his first scrap and claimed that his
knee was hurt. Been so sore he couldn't
touch his foot to ground ever since when
the doctors was about. Miss, he's
malinGerer."
How do you know he tsp
personal investigat ton, miss. I stayed
up one night just to satisfy myself. If
YOU touch his knee when he's awake he
wells bloody murder and he's always got
his leg bent When he was asleep that
leg was stretched out straight and 1 felt
all around his knee-cap without waking
him."
'Did the captain tell you to tell me
all this?"
mo, miss. He don't delegate his talkin'.
He's pretty we'll able 10 do it himself"
Yes. You just carry out any brutalities
that he doesn't care to carry out in per
son. Because you've got stripe on your
arm and get few dollars month more
than the other men you can tyrannize
over them like plantation overseer III
slave times!'
This brought the color to the sergeant
cheeks He was stin in the Service at
his age for the love of 1t and at one