Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-06-26
CHAPTER III.
Copynght 1901 By Charles King

4uuI eVculuS udlI u uOZeu SuDulteCU
officers were gathered about the fire.
place in the CHEEKY messroom Mt Fort
Sheridan. The post was new and I'M
finished. The great city lay tempting
" near. The November gale swept
spray laden from the stormy pillows Of
the lake, and snow squalls had driven
the command to their overcoats long
weeks before the townsfolk ten leagues
inland began to think of turning out In
winter garments A bleak and forbid
ding spot 1t looked when the wintry
waves beat high on the bluffs, but
there was one homeless, weather beat
en- traveller. to whom at nightfall Of
that dreary day It seemed blessed
refuge. Against the stiff blast 1t was q
long walk from the station to the ness
room; but, supported by the strong
arms of two sturdy boys in blue, the
new arrival was fairly rushed along
over the hard beaten path. He had no
oyercoat, and the civilian garb he wore
was Of the cut and style of three years
gone by and fitted him all too snugly.
He was numb from cold and fatigue,
and his brain was a bit muddled by the
heroic treatment administered by those
amateur physicians, the soldier boys.
he had fallen across their path, faint
from hunger and sleeplessness and dis
heartened by his experiences of the
morning. Recognizing him instantly,
for they were Of his own regiment the
gunners had borne him to a neighbor-
ing bar and brought him to with that
military cure all. kill all, whisky They
had read trouble and suffering and
hunger in his thin, white face, and
their hearts were bigger than their
purses. The free lunch hour was near
ly spent, but they succeeded In getting
q bowl of hot soup and huge sand
Wich, and while one of their number
stood sentry over his latesuperior, hud-
died in a chair by the stove. and an
swered eyasively the innumerable
questions of the inquisitive hangers on
the other run ten blocks to n recruiting
+ office, where lie told his story to the
sergeant on duty and borrowed So I'M
til pay day, when, had the sergeant SO
demanded, as many did in the SO called
good old days Of the army, he would
gladly have paid back SIS for the ac-
commodation. Thus REINFORCED Cor
poral Ryan returned to his friends.
Langdon was led to the railway sta
ton and given more substantial
lunch, he the while accepting the boun-
&ty of these soldier Samaritans in min
gled helplessncss, humility and graft
tude that would have broken Rodney
Mays heart could he have seen 1t all
and set Morrow and LIE Due to swear
Ing. The man was dazed and benumb-
ed by the weight of his troubles and
the potency Of soldier whisky. He
was trying to pull himself together and
think. He knew by name several well
to do professional and business men Of
Chicago who at one time or other in
his past at the Point, at Newport or
Fort Monroe had begged him to let
them know when next he came to Chi
! cago, and no Chicagoan conceives the
possibility Of life without coming to
Chicago. He had the cards Of some of
these gentlemen somewhere in bis
trunk, but that was ut the station. He
had the check still In his pocket, but
not q cent wherewith to pay an ex-
pressman to take 1t somewhere IL lie
had anywhere to tell him to take 1t.
He reasoned that with nights rest, q
bath and clean linen he could muster
up strength and pluck to go in search
Of these cordial associates and guests
OF the old days. There must be en-
ployment for willing hands and brains,
he argued, and all Industries could not
be dominated by Nathan & Co. But
that nights rest and bath, breakfast
and trunk, how were they to be had 7
His conductors were full of hopeful
suggestion, Of loyal, confident assur-
ance. All the lieutenant had to do was
to go with them out to "Shurd'n," and
the officers would welcome him with
open arms. Who was there? he asked.
All, yes; Merrivale. He was a class
mate ut the Point. Nelson? They
were together in the same battery at
Monroe. Hyatt, Hoyt and Stanton,
three boys like May and Woodrow.
Yes, they would welcome him for auld
lang syne, and yet he shrank from II
with utter repulsion. He, who had
ever been leader and authority, how
could he appear before them now so
broken, 80 humbled, SO stricken with
poverty and shame? There was Just
one thing left to him. his watch, but
that had been his fathers, and the
thought of pawning 1t gave him keen
distress. Still he asked Ryan as they
sat In the stuffy waiting room IL he
knew where the watch could be ac-
cepted as security for q suitable loan,
and Ryan said they were going out to
"Shurd'n" to attend to all that-with-
out security. Langdon began to feel
drOwsy and numb all over and begged
them to take him into the air. They
did and tramped him up and down for
10 minutes, with the result that he was
soon again chilled to the marrow and
shivering. They compassionately
sought to give him more whisky, but
he shook his head. Something told him
1t was not helping him. Then they
took alarm. A man must be Ill indeed
In the eyes Of the Celtic soldier when q
urAuk VOL uelp MIN. IL 6tlll lacked
half an hour of train time. They had
medical practitioners Of small caliber
attached to the recruiting stations In
those days, and Ryan sent his COM
rade on the run to the North Side office,
and, Us luck would have 1t, back came
the doctor. Brief examination was
more than enough.
you've got to get to bed and have
good treatment" was the almost in
slant verdict, and helplessly Langdon
bowed his head upon his breast. It
was dusk when the way train let them
of at Sheridan. Ryan sought to wrap
his overcoat about his falling patient,
but Langdon refused. The honest
freshman thought 1t was because the
officer was too proud to be seen in q
private's uniform and felt no rebuff.
The officer would have taken 1t gladly
had there been another to spare. "If
weren't too old to list" he had said to
his humble companions in Chicago,
tsTpd stnka n h1nnlxot' IN tho crn< ~ rl,oxt