The National tribune., 1902-12-11
nearly the whole of the pencil in his alb
srbing mental effort, succeeded in pro-
ducing the following:

nearly the whole Of the pencil in his alb.
s0rbins mental effort, succeeded in pro
ducing the following:
My Deer Maria: l hoap L won't think
me = boald address Z this way. But
| hante heard from u for so long. that
Ime hungry huff do enuything. Since
last roat Z from Savanny. We've waded
clean thru the Siait ov G. Caroliny, 4
the long way at that. 1t was a tuff job
tell L, even for laigs as long as mine.
| for sum of the swamps seemed reach
clean down 2 Chiny. But we run the
.Iohnnies every time, Il cooddent get them
, stand x fte us nowhere We got heal
2-day. everybody all rite. & fat, ragged
Il sassy-spccially the sassy & most
specially the ragged. I've just been down
, see if tharc's a letter from L, d been
saSsed moar'n a bound bog at a huskin,
while as for ragged, emmy one of us if put
up in cornfield. wood scare the crows
into fits. | h0ap L are well. | still think
moar Of L than of all of the wimmen in
the world put together, Il I've had time
do !; powerful site of thinking since we
eft Sayanny. L are mOar & moar all the
whole world > me. Il without U | wood
dent care what become OF me. If thare
shoOddent he no letter from u for me
here. ii will sour the hole business for
mOnd or not, or what becomes of me.
''Yores til Geth, SHORTY"
Times up for letters shouted the Ser
geant-Major. Gather 'em up and bring
EN- over to headquarters at once
The regular routine of camp began the
next morning. with the boys fidgeting
around from the moment that reveille
awakened them. in regard to the distribu-
ton of the mail. They hoped that when
the OrderlySergeant stepped out before
them 10 make the morning roll-call he
would end it by handing out their let
teTs. but he did not and gave them no
satisfaction when he would. He had 10
take occasion to remind them that he was
quite as anxious as any of them for let
ters. and WAS not really keeping theirs
back until he could read his own. as some
of them seemed to think He did not know
when the mail would be distributed. but
wished he had a string on the nose of the
man who should bring ii. He would be
in camp in short meter if he had.
They ate their breakfast in nervous ex-
nectancy. with one eye ON the regimental
headquarters, in the hopes of seeing a
man going up with big mail sack Oh his
back.
Alas, he did not appear.
They were ordered to police the camp.
still toward headquarters.
Still no welcome sight of Il man toling
along under the weight of mail sacks
When sick call blew they all felt like
responding to it, but had to content them
selves with burning imprecatiOns upon the
lazy loafers that were picked out to send
for the mail.
BE patient. boys" admonished 81. at
takes an awful long time to sort out the
two months mail for 10000 men,
The call for guard mount was sounded
Fall in, briskly, boys" commanded the
Orderly sergeant. to the reluctant detail.
I'll bring your mail around to you as soon
as it comes"
The Colonel came over to the wagons
with an ambulance in which to convey
Mrs. Wimple and the children to quarters
he had secured for them in town, until
boat would come up that would be suita-
BILE to send them North upon.
Between joy and tears. Mrs. Wimple
thanked the boys over and over again for
their kindness, took the names of all their
people to write to as soon as she should
get home, and bade them adieu.
Shorty slipped out from among them,
and a hundred yards off waylaid the am
buIance, on pretense of bidding her, Mrs.
Wimplc good-by. AS he did SO, he slip
ped piece of paper into her hand, say
ing:
'"Thats the address of young lady,
ma'am-a very nice young lady. In fact,
the incest one I ever met. Shed prob
ably like to have y61 write her long
letter about things down here. II you
should, and should feel like saying any
thing about me, don't say any worse about
me than you can help. This Is pretty
rough business down here. but I'm trying
to do the best- You understood p
II certainly do," answered Mrs. Winri