The National tribune., 1902-09-04

way the man bristIed up to him tickled
him and helped take his mind a little off
the maddening subject of the murder of
Is of Kilpatrick's men the day before.
| ''Well, young man." he answered, grim
| ly, I'm so accustomed to bossing around,
wherever | am, that | forgot myself.
You're right, though. Too many bosses
are liable to spoil any job: You're doing
| very well. But | still think that you re
running your line too much to the left"
well. yOu can think just as much as
you blamed please, so longs you don't try
to give orders. There's nothing in the
Army Regulations against thinking. Bur
that road is going just the way 1 have Or
dered it. | wouldn't change it for old
Billy Sherman himself"
II see you won't" remarked Gen. Sher-
man, quietly, as he walked back to the
astonished 81 and remarked:
Sergeant, l can't afford to wait here
until that cOrduroying is finished, for
must meet some troops coming down the
Dry Greek Road"
DRY Creek?" gasped Shorty. "What a
liar the man must be who gave it that
name"
81 think" continued the General. ''that
| if we bear off that way we can get through
this swamp with but little trouble"
Il think we'd have better chance of
getting through, General, if We bore off a
good deal more to the left" suggested 81.
Great Peter exclaimed Sherman
testify, has it come to this that every
BANKED enlisted man in the army knows
more about roads than / do? But l will
have my own way occasionally. Go ahead
the way l tell you. Sergeant"
81 and Shorty rode off promptly in the
direction ordered, followed by Abe, Peter,
Monty, Harry, Gid and Alf. with the Cen
| eral coming some distance behind. Sandy
and Pete followed Otterbein Kramer's
lead, taking the direction suggested by ST.
81 deployed his squad over quite front.
SO that each could pick his way, and the
General followed that which showed up
the best
The best that showed up was exceeding
ly bad. The horses sank to their knees al
most everywhere, and frequently to their
bellies, when there would be Il severe time
in extricating them. ST and the Others
soon found that they would make more
progress by remaining dismounted, where
by they could pick out better spots. and
lead their horses over them. Directly the
General and his Adjutant- General saw,
too, that this was the better policy for
them.
After some hours of tOiisome struggle.
in which they all felt that they had gotten
more mud on them than ever before since
entering the State, they had at last the
happiness of passing the swamp, and
reaching ground where the mud was less
than a foot deep.
THAT must be the Dry Greek Road
over there said Gen. Sherman, taking in
from the top of the hill they reached all
the features Of the country, with his own
peerless rapidity. "And that smoke Won
see rising over there is from the camps of
our men. Come on, Dayton. wen ride on
to them. Sergeant, you follow up as
fast as you conveniently can, and go into
camp at any good place you can find near
where you see that smoke rising
The General put spurs to his horse, and
splashed off down the road.
Otterbein Kramer had found that the
route suggested by Si was really consid-
erably better than the one the General
insisted upon taking. and had gotten
through with much less difficulty. He
and Pete and Sandy turned toward the
road they knew that the rest were taking,
but they were much concerned about their |
rations. All the meal and meat they had |
brought across the river was eaten m |
ana they were now in n very Door section |
which gave no promise of forage 1t was
as barren as the sandy country around |
Millen, Ga. They saw very few houses in |
any direction, and these We're the poorest
tered through the pine woods
Otterbein Kramer had resigned himself |
to the depression that for the first time
since he had been with them, he would
have nothing to offer the boys for their
supper than coffee. when they came to a
crossroads, which had evidently been the
camp ground of party of rebel cavalry
the night before. They had killed a cou-
pie of steers, but had eaten or carried
away everything but the heads and hides.
Kramer pounced on the heads with de-
light, and fastened them upon his mules
with his cooking traps
Pete came across a good-sized poke"
Of stock-peas. which had been overlooked
when the rebels broke their camp.