Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-11-20

that simple touch of her foot beneath
mine? Could 1t be SO? 1t did not seem
possible. Could II be, too, that that
genial Baron Riedesel and the young
boy prince and his comrades knew
aught of this? And yet why not? Did
not we up in Connecticut this two years
know this hell and the other hells
swinging at their rotten cables in the
river, that held their crowds Of living
and dying and dead?
/ must get away from this scene! /
could not stand it, And so with severe
way over and among the two hundred
and more men In that long narrow
room, made for one of the small win
dowj Each was crowded two and
three deep with silent figures clinging
together in the hot air, their faces
touching cheek to cheek and filling the
lower space of the window. Each man
breaths.
Would you but let me get a whiff
of air, friend?" I asked one of those on
the outer edge of the group But no.
sooner had l spoken than voice behind
me said:
That is not your group!"
turned to him and he must have
seen my bewilderment, for he asked.
When did you Gomez"
You do not know then that the room
is divided into groups of six men, and
that every ten minutes group must
change to allow another six to breathe
the air"
mo, I did not know It," said l weari-
ly. And then without interest, but
without discourtcsy, l was assigned to
group No 81. Turning again to him
Who had spoken first, I asked what
group those men now by the window
belonged to, and he told me twas No.
IS.
Then cannot get to the window for
an hour and half?"
That Is 1t, my friend"
$50 be 1T. If these men vino have
been here so long can stand 1T, so can
L." And was about to lie down, feel
other of those shivers was coming on,
when the tramp of military feet sound
ed in the corridor and hoarse voice
cried:
Turn out your dead! All hands turn
out your dead!"
IA strange, intangible rustling
sounded through the room. before SO
silent that it did not seem as if so many
men could be housed there. Then the
crowd rose, except those who could
never rise again this side of the grave,
that everything seemed to have In that
fetid room--the lack of interest the
sombre, mirthless procedure, the same
set faces with only one expression on
them--with all this a few raised the
eight or ten bodies and carried them to
the two doors leading into the corridor.
I watched from across the room and
saw the living carry the dead brother
.tenderly, quietly in his arms and with
out word deliver him to two soldiers,
who, one taking him by the feet and
the other by the arm pits, carried him
off down the corridor, to be thrown
without covering or burial service into
the trenches outside the breastworks,
there to rot with thousands of others,
good men and true all of them
With the same quiet manner the
others settled back In silence to sit or
lie motionless, looking at nothing.
thinking, thinking for hours, days,
weeks at a time, without speaking;
others to walk ainllessly about over
and among their fellows. l lay close
by the wall trying to get such air as
could, now and then frozen with chlls
and with the pangs of hunger gripping
me- But no morscl of food came to us
that day, and only by the generosity of
a man With whom l talked had I a bit
of foul bread and salt beef.
So came the night without charge
except for a shade less light in the.
room. But l slept. as | had during the
day, in a doze that seemed even to me
wrong and unnatural, and when woke,
somewhere in the early hours, my facs
and body burned With fever and the
undressed wound gave me terrible pain.
! pitched about IL while on Il bit OF
straw had got into my possession
and then, turning to one near me, said:
Are you awake, my friend?"
always" said the other immedi-
ately.
geon's work.
No, man, that 1 do not. What is 1t 2?
II have Il wound here" answered l.
And il / could but get my clothes
away from it, 'twould be less trouble
Let the cloth stick to 1t, lad said
he. The room is full of typhus and
smallpox, and 'twere better to keep ii
closed. But wait till daylight when we
can see it better"
So lay wide awake for several hours
| till the light came slowly in, my
| thoughts running riot at times, SO that
l thought that / might so out of my
head. And then l would go over every
hour of my life with her, from the wet
night and the broken coach Wheel to
that moment at the princes soiree
when she turned from me and my heart
Il
three short weeks, yet could not fancy
my existence before 1T, could not re-
member much of what l had though,
| or felt for twenty years And then
fancy running on. l would present tc
| myself, as one will, thousands of inn
| possible ifs
If 1 had now the chance OF going ont
| freely into the open air and away from
| the city, but to do that must give up
,,.,t f,lN.
| weeks with her, would do it? And
| knew in my heart that / would lie
| down on the dirty straw and shake my
| head. Yet how could she doubt me,
| What was she thinking, doing feeling
| now, and now? And then what hat
become of Curtis and Acton and thai
| foul specimen of manhood that Went
| with them? What of the expedition
\ towards Newport? And so back AGAR
| to Deborah Philipse, and round her ant
| round her in Il circle of thought, will
the fever climbing into my veins al
night long.
AT daybreak the guards came, bring
| ing each man six days rations, and w,
We're ordered to form In line and marcel
| past, taking our share, one by one
| When 1t came my turn l found lying il
my hand about two pounds OF raw port
/ and as much weight of sea biscuit
And finding my friend, we got an ro,
| bucket wherewith one could heat ;ht
| water. So we cooked and ate our meal
saving only a bit of water with which
the kind friend helped me get my shir
away from the wound. And then, tear.
ing the linen up into ribbons, he woune
1t tight around my body for bandage
AS he did so, his eye frightened a bit
Il knew a queer bird up the rive
who was part chirurgeon and part MAJ
OF God-though mostly pirate" said he
who showed me how thus to tie ;