The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-03-12

Sis F.
not disabling, walked in of their own ac-
cord, lay down ON the pallets, and submit
ted to the ministrations of the negroes I'M
der the directions of the Deacon and the
MISUNDERSTANDING butler. They were,
however, so completely exhausted that
they could not even murmur their thanks,
but the expression of their faces and the
way their eyes closed in satisfaction
comfort of the change. The Deacon did
not stop with this. With his coat off and
his sleeves rolled up, red in the face and
his hair flying, he was everywhere over
the house, directing the unloading of the
other wagons and manner of carrying in
the men, their careful laying upon the pal
lets, and the ministrations to them. Mid
night passed, and so absorbed was he in
the work that he utterly forgot that the
time had long gone by when men of his
age and habits should be in bed. He was
engrossed in his work as he had never
been in anything in his life before, and no
suggestion of sleepiness or fatigue came
to him. Before long every room in the
great house was filled with the poor suf-
fering men, and every one of them was
receiving some attention which would miti-
gate his misery.
Jealous as he was, Surgeon Bartholo-
NEW was worn out by the four days and
nights of intense anxiety since the battle
began. He dared not sit down, because
he feared he could not get up again, nor
close his eyes, lest he could not reopen
them. The Deacon comprehended this,
and finally, in the sad, waking hours which
preceded the first gray of the morning, and
when something essential had been done
for every one of the men, he, by main
force, took the Surgeon over to n pallet,
laid him down, pulled off his boots, and
held him there for an instant until tired
nature asserted herself in deep sleep. >.
Presently all around the Deacon became
silent; the awful fatigue Of the last few
days conquered the awful pain of the
wounded. Seeing that there was nothing
the Deacon himself succumbed and slept
heavily beside the Surgeon.
The bright Spring sun came up the next
morning. full of cheer and gladness for
the whole world outside of that abode of
pain. His warm rays streaming through
the open window fell upon the Deacon's
upturned face and Weakened him. He sat
upright, smoothed down his rumpled
shock of hair, rubbed his eyes, and glanced
around. The fires on the hearths had died
down to black brands and dull gray ashes.
The floor was Uttered with muddy boots,
blOod-staned clothing and clay carried in
on the feet of the negroes. Every one of
the sleepers had bandage, stained dull
sinister crimson, somewhere about his per-
son. The faces of many were swollen to
distortion; the bare hands and feet of
others were similarly disfgured.
Two men lay rigid, with the unmistaka-
bic stamp of death upon them.
From the outside came the sweet breath
and the glad light of the swift-eoming
Spring. Buds were bursting, flowers
blooming. and the grass greening as in In
diana in May. Birds were singing as they
would not be at home for a month yet
At one moment all of the Deacon's soul
went out in the vivid hope and JOY and the
intense longing for outdoor activity which
came with the returning Spring. He walk
ed to the door and looked out. The drums
were beating the reveille in hundreds of
camps, and the soldiers were yelling with
boyish pleasure, as they sprang up and
made their rude toilets for the day. They
felt the gladness of the Spring in their
blood. and all its hope and promise.
IF 81 and the others We're only among
them over there" sighed the Deacon. turn
ing from the marvellous panorama of man.
ly vigor and activity to look anXiously
upon his sons drawn face and the misery
of those around him.
He walked over and studied Sis sleep
ing face carefully in the full, searching
morning light. 1t looked yellower, more
DiOOulPSS, anu InOFe uTdWu IDiln he ilIu
ever thought possible, and chill ran to
his heart at the sight. Shorty's face. too,
looked surprisingly thin. almost pinehed
''They had an awful time wallering
through those swamps for months before
the BATTLE and it must've run 'em down
terribly, but l hardly expected 'em to look
like that. Looks as if they'd been hav-
ing n spell O. the old-fashiOned ager All
the rest of the boys look about the same
way"
He went back and reused up Kramer to
get some breakfast for the boys, and stir
red up the negroes to rebuild the fires and
clean up the house. He had the muddy
and bloOd-stained garments taken out,
thoroughly beaten, and hung in the sun.
Presently the pain began to overpower
the fatigue in one after another. They
wakened up, and groaned overwhelmingly.
The Deacon hurried from one to another