The National tribune., 1902-10-30

"Say, 81, come here right off, shouted
Shorty, whd had gone on to examine the
wagons, while his partner was striving to
get rid of the cfying-drunk officer. Say,
here's find which lays over anything we
have struck yet"
ShOrty's tone was so earnest that 81
shook himself loose from the Second Lieu
| tenants clutch and hastened to where his
partner, standing on the hub of a wheel,
was peering eagerly under the uplifted
cover of the wagon.
A few glances showed 81 that the
| wagons contained the spoil of the wealth.
lest home or homes III Charleston. There
| were rich carpets, rugs, curtains and hang
ings, mingled with bronze figures, gilt
hand mirrors, and massive pieces Of table
silver, candelabra, ETC., etc.
| The boys turned over the rich, fine
stuffs with awed hesitating hands Some
of them seemed SO delicate that they would
fall to pieces under their rough touch. The
silks and laces caught and pulled on the
bark-like skin of their weather-beaten,
hOrny-hands. AS they turned over and
pOked around among the contents, they
came across bolts of English silks and
muslins and package of ladies' handker-
chiefs. There were also cases of French
brandy, showing signs of quite recent i'm.
|
dusty and cobwebbed bottles of rich old
wines.
Seems too bad to rob house Of all
this finery," remarked 81, lingering the
costly stuffs in dazed way. But think
how the old nabOb who owned this wrnns
it out of his poor slaves who worked and
waded through those rice swamps under
the broiling sun and the lash of the over
seer"
Deserves it for being a rebel" mutter-
ed Shorty, pulling the wine-baskets and
brandy-cases together, with an eye to the
Adjutant. "Rut this high-rOller was no
rice planter. You'll notice that everything
around is brand-new. Everything has
come from England since the war. No
grand-daddy heirlooms here. He's one of
the Specializing blockade-runners they told
us so much about in Savannah. who grew
rich during the war, and lived like princes.
buying cotton at u cents pound. and
i running it over to England. and selling it
for 81. While everybody else was pinched
and suffering, they had all that heart could
DESIRE and faunted it over everybody else.
Drat 'em, they wouldn't 20 to war and
| fight, but stayed Mt home to make money.
I've got it in for them heap sight worse
| than for those fellers who went into the
army. And, then, when the city's eyacu-
ated he takes company of men away
| from their proper duty to guard his steal
| ings and plunderings. If the owner ever
gets a cents worth of this stuff back l
amt an inch high. l hain't struck any
thing since Eve been in the army that We
been as willing to take as this plunder-
It's our Christian duty to hog everything
we can lay,Dur hands on. Won't every
thing here just suit the Colonel and
the Adjutalt?. Well, / guess not"
"My conscience is quite clear about TAX
ing it, said, ,Sic1.'It's out here in the coun-
t.v hon or nd
under any obligations to hunt him up"
Finders IS keepers" said Shorty senten-
tously, especially when the loser deserves
to lose. as this old CRATER does. He was
running cotton eof to England to buy guns
and powder for the army"
81 wish could get this. bolt of silk up
to Annabelt and, Mother" meditated 81.
for all Of them. ., ,.f...
~ know who'll get these lace handker-
| Chiefs" thought Shorty. stufiing the pack
age into his bosom. "HelIO, here's another
bolt of silk" he continued aloud. "Some
of that purity, fowery kind, like we saw
them swell ladies in indianapolis wearing.
Won't that make a daisy wedding dress
| for
| He stopped short. and grew very red
in the face, ut letting his inmost thoughts
escape him. "She'll get it, if I'm foot
high, no matter who she marries," he
added to himself.
"Say, ST." he resumed aloud, "the soOn-
er we get these wagons into camp. and
under the care of the Adjutant, the better.
This is too fat find to be safe out here
in the open. One cannot be too careful
of valuable property when Sherman S
army is around"
ayes, the list Oshkosh has the advance
today, and II be over as soon as Shad gets
his bridge in shape. Them Wisconsin fel-
lers are the condemnedest thieves i'll the
whole army. They can scent anything
good clear across a township"
I'D hate to belong to such n regiment.
"Well, it must be said that they're just
as keen for fight as they are for q
smoke-hOuse."
| "That's neither here nor there. I think
that they're just about coming over the
bridge now. We'd better start these
wagons off at once, and go somewhere our
of their reach. You gather up those pieces
of carpet. while I'm picking up the full
bottles. The Adjutant II never forgive us
| if we leave a bottle of this old wine be-
hind. Abe, form those prisoners and start
'em back toward the bridge"
Harry and Monty. gather up all those
muskets and pile them on that biggest fire
| there. Lay all that wood on top of them.
Make haste, but be careful to point all
the muzzles out that way. Don't shoot
yourselves or anybody else"
The negro teamsters and servants, hud-
ding around farther fire, watching ev-
erything with wide-open eyes and mouths.
plenitude Of cleaning white in both, al
ternately shivering with terror and with
| joy, and expressing both by the same
sounding outlaws, were sharply ordered to
hitch up and get ready to pull out.
Shorty mounted and rode up on little
knoll which commanded view Of the
bridge.
'sThere comes the 1st Oshkosh, sure
enough, ST." lie called out. Riding ahead
is Sim Wakefield, commanding squad of
| foragers. OF course, lie is crazy to get
with us and share whatever we pick up.
He always is. We don't want to divide
this stuff with him and his crowd"
| "NOt by a large jug full. We want
every bit for the 2O0th Injianny. Let Sim
Wakefield capture wagons himself for the
1st OshkOsh,i iii Here, you teamsters: Take
that trail through the woods there, and
pull out. Start now!'
"He'll john usI in spite of all that we
can do" groaned Shorty. "Alf and Gid,
the little fools, have started out with him
to bring HIM to- where we have gone.
Won't they never learn any sense! I'll
baste them for that in the way they'll re-
member" not9l
| II think we1can stop them," said the
resourceful ST.. ,"Abe. hurry along with
those prisoners. u Meet Sim Wakefield at
the creek, ahHZsay that you have orders
to turn the prisoners over to him, and for
him to taEs them back to the bridge.
L