Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-08-13

No sooner had opened one of my
letters than began to be mystified,
for the writer. my mother, was prais-
ing me eXtravagantly for something
gallant which she assumed had done.
/ read rapidly, but only to be further
mystitied. A letter from my father
was equally confusing. 1t informed
me that the whole town was ringing
with praises of me and that our dis
tricts member of the state senate had
called to hear the story and declared
that all the district as well as Summer
ton was talking of me and was proud
Of me.
called Brainard to my assistance,
but he was readingaa letter from my
cousin May and was utterly unrespon-
sive, SO opened other envelopes, only
to find congratulations from old school
mates and even from some of the solid
men of the village. What could 1t
mean? Evidently some other John
Frost in the cavalry service had done
something in particular, and my family
and fellow townsmen, like villagers in
general, had not thought that there
might be two men of the same name.
Little by little learned from the let
tiers that the deed of which 1 was
supposed to be the hero was n midnight
ride alone into country swarming
with the enemy. / had made no such
ride unless it was on the night l was
scared back to camp by the rafting
trace chains Of the artillery horses that
Brainard afterward discovered. 1 had
not recovered from my modification at
my failure that night SO Of course It
could not be for that affair that all
Summerton and our senatorial district
We're praising me.
Slowly it occurred to me that some
one of our Summerton troopers had
heard of Brainard's successful ride of
the same night and had known that 1
started to make the trip. He had got
Brainard and me mixed in his mind,
and SO l was being glorified for work
at which I had shamefully failed, and
the real hero of the affair was being
defrauded of his right.
"Charleyw groaned. He was'look-
ing idiottcally happy when spoke, but
said afterward that my face alarmed
him. quickly told him Of the con-
tents Of my letters and of the only
possible explanation.
''Is that all?" asked Brainard when
I had concluded. "Do feel easy about
it, for I'm not bit jealous" Then he
fell to rereading his letter from my
cousin May, but I exclaimed:
"Stop being q. fool! Listen to me!
You know perfectly well that I'm not
going to sail under false colors. The
story will get pretty soon to the other
Summerton men of our company, and
they'll chaff me most numerically. 1
must find the man who wrote the yarn
home, and you must help me, and we
must make him correct the blunder be-
fore the story gets back here"
For the first time in my acquaintance
with him Brainard looked irresolute.
Still worse, he looked sheepish. Then
he said:
I'm afraid Pm the guilty man."
"YouT
Eyes. Don't be angry, Jack, when I
explain. OF course 1 didn't suppose
that your cousin May
what has May to do with it?"
Nothing. That is, she isn't in any
way to blame. Say, old chap, suppose
you'll think me fool, but-you can't
understand. Pm not so modest that I
couldn't see that my ride with dis
patches that night was quite creditable
to me, and did wish your cousin May
could know of it and that might know
how she regarded it. began to write
her about 1t, but my pen simply
wouldn't work. Somehow can't blow
my own trumpet. Suddenly it occurred
to me that you'd gone through all that
l had-the sense of danger, the loneli-
ness, the expectation Of running into
camp of Johnnies or at least Of being
fired upon at short range. So 1 wrote
up your ride just as l knew you felt
while making it, and didn't leave out
n single heart quake"
You internal, blessed hypocrite! Did
you make me deliver the dispatch?
never imagined you could lie, even for
the sake of telling good story. p
II didn't lie. 1 said that despite the
scares the dispatches finally reached
their destination. And, oh, Jack, the
letter she's written in reply! I'm TAX
ing all the praise to myself, every bit
of 1t, but you may read it,
"Read it? I'll send back denial by
the first mail, and if ever again you
trust big hearted, excitable girl with
any story that you don't want known
by the whole world I'll dump you into
lunatic asylum for your own protec-
ton and for mine. Can't you see what
an awful position you've put me in7
shall never dare face the boys again
unless you explain to all of them, and,
of course, you can't do that. l almost
wish could be shot or made prison
er. Besides
"Heard the news, boys?" asked
Cloyne, stopping a moment in front of
our tent. Hamilton has been pro-
moted-a big jump, too, for he's made
first lieutenant"
cts an insult to the armyw exclaim-
ed Brainard. "Hamilton's a. No, l
won't say what I was going to, but he
always lodges fighting"
Eyes, SO our captain told the colonel,
or-so they say, but the colonel replied
1T may be that he's no stomach for
fighting, but he knows how to care for
the stomachs of men who do fight, SO
he's to be regimental commissary and
feed the regiment as well us he's fed
his company. In war bellies count for
as much as bullets.'"
'"There's something to that" said
Brainard, "and I'm glad Hamilton's
found his proper place. That isn't all
I'll go at once and congratulate him
on it."
"Don'tw said Cloyne, putting an arm
about Brainard and looking down into
the little chaps face with sad, tender
plying eyes.
"Why notT'
"Because-oh, hang the mysteries Of