The National tribune., 1901-05-09
4 81 K!leqq
kA.dnd -
ID Shorty
On the harch 10 the Sea
coyrIghted, 1895 bv the nub,sbers of THE national
Another Day at the Sutton House-visit of a
Rebel officer.

ious to revisit his old home" remarked
81, after they had waited a couple of
hours on the river bank, without any sign
of forward movement by the rebels on
the other side. "Of course, the Elder told
him just how many there was of us, and
| ing sisters of his he'd a jumped us at
once, and tried to run us back"
The thought flashed into Sho-ty's mind
! that If Maria and Annabel were over
| there only few miles the whole rebel
army would hardly stop him and 81 from
seeing them, if only for II brief five min
| utes.
For an instant there took complete pos,
session of him the home-sickness which
| had been growing on him of late at every
| moments $ respite from danger and strain
| ing activity to have the march end some
where where they could get the mails and
| be once more in communication with the
| object of all his hearts desires.
Si, who was looking at him, saw his
| face take on a look he had never seen
there before, became alarmed, and asked:
You amt appearing well this morning,
| Shorty. Feel agerish?"
| Wonder when we'll ever get any mail
again, SIP Shorty asked, with entire ir-
| relevance.
ST understood, for he felt his face take
| on the look he had noticed in Shortys,
and his being convulsed with surging emo,
! tons, that were becoming more undenia-
| bic every day. There was gnawing hun
! ger at his heart, and to divert it he turned
and spoke sharply to Pete:
Pete, how often have | got to tell you
! about hitching that blamed white mule
| so near the horses that he can get a
chance to poster them? Go this minute
and take him away so far that he can't
| reach them with them india-rubber legs
| of his or them grave-stone teeth. Take
him so far that they can't even smell him.
Why don't you shoot him, and pick you
up decent hoss?"
He aint doing nothing to them" re-
! belled Pete. Only defending himself.
They won't let him alone. That's the
trouble. They begin picking on him, just
| because he's a mule, whenever they can
get at him. They're all rebels, them hosses
| is, and they torment him because he's q
| Yankee. III shoot the whole billing of
| them, first chance l get. Come here,
| Abednego, you poor feIler. Wen get even
with them cantankerous brutes before
were through with them, you bet"
"Pve no doubt the Elders told Brother
| Albert something besides our numbers
and situation" said Shorty, pulling him
| self together, and coming down TO prac-
| teal facts. He's probably told him that
the country back there's full of our folks,
coming up from all directions, and that
get back again, but go to board at Point
Lookout, or. Camp Chase, or wherever
! he was, again"
"Well," remarked 81, eve didn't set
out to picket the river. That aint our
business. We haven't time to fool away,
If he's not inclined to transact business
with US. Well go back to the house and
| see how the boys there are getting along.
'Twon't do to let that woman back there
get the idee that we're gone for good, I'M
til some of our men come up. There's
no telling what she might do to them
boys"
.'She might 90 around and bite each
one OF them, suggested Shorty. '"Thatd
be mortally fatal, at once"
mount, boys" said 81 to his squad,
"and start back, two at a time. Harry,
you and Monty lead off. Go to the left,
through those woods, so they can't see
you from the other side, if they're watch
ing. Stop on that first rise, dismount and
90 into line. Me and Shorty'll bring up
the rear, and watch if we're followed"
NO signs Of the rebels appearing as 81
and Shorty warily withdrew, they gal
lOped forward, Joined the rest, aud all
moved briskly toward the Sutton house.
On the road, some distance in front of
the house, Si met Serg't Foster Walsh,
leader of the escaped prisoners that they
found during the night.
A1c Hdo OdL INC uellclOuS eX-
perience of walking around in the South
ern Confederacy without caring whether
any white man saw him or not
Hello, Sergeant" called out 81. "How
are you getting alongT
"lnexpressibly happy, thank God, for
His M crowning mercy" replied Foster
Walsh devoutiy. Il feel as if tons Of
weight had dropped from my sinking
shoulders-as the Pilgrim did when his
burden of sin fell from him-as Lazarus
did when the Savior called him forth from
the sepulcher into the light of day. But
l cannot understand why / have been
spared for this great joy, when the cIods
of the valley have rolled over SO many
better men"
80, you have just played in great luck.
You run across the 200th Injianny,"
Shorty started to remark irreverently, but
81, who was rcligiously much in harmony
with the thought and speaker, interrupt
ed him:
God elects, for His own good will and
pleasure, men to different fates. He has
elected you, Foster, TO be saved. and He
probably has some great work for you to
do. HOw's Miss Sophron:a bin treating
che boys?"
THAT old Jezebel," said Foster Walsh,
savagely. Just as soon as your backs
were turned she called to the negroes to
come and take the boys out OF those beds
that it might kill some of the boys, and
quoted the Bible to her as to her Chris
tianlf duty. She told me to shut up and
get out of the hOuse-she wasn't taking
her religion nor her Bible from any Yam.
kee Abolitionist The Word of the Lord
being Intellectual, l had to try His sword
l had some OF the boys take those rebel
carbines and stand guard, and l informed
her that we'd kill any negro who at
tempted to disturb the boys. She asked
me if Yankee Christianity taught that it
was right to go into peaceable Christian
homes, rob them of their property, insult
the women and threaten murder. / told
her that the Bible commanded love,
mercy, peace and charity upon all, to be
kind to the poor and compassionate TO
the SICK and proposed that that thing
should go wherever l was, sure as she
was a foot high. If she felt the rod it
was because she deserved it. 1t was for
her Christening, and for her growth in the
fear and admonition of the Lord''
"What'd she say to that" asked Si,
much interested.
"She said she'd always heard that the
Devil could quote Scripture, but she
didn't know before that a Yankee could,
and she ought to baste me over the head
with the poker for my basphamy. While
she was running abuse like an eaVe-spout
in March, n colored woman came in to
tell her that they'd heard the Yankees
had burned a lot Of rebel rations they'd
found down at McClintOn's Store; that
the Yankee foragers were over on Buf-
fum'S piontotion. next ono IN haris and