Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-05-05
CAPTAIN BILLS STRIKER.

EnlHpplheS, far north OF haliiia' WY"
his colored striker" busi!y fusslns
about, trying to make him comtor'apie.
His friends were not unused TO ms lof-
getfulness of them. He seemed aitef
the Spanish American war TO nave
gained the habit of falling Wlthout
warning into fits of reyerie. Wheh ne
would wake up to say NO" In answer
to question which should have been
answered in the affirmative. ana Yes
when the negative was expected. cap
tain Bill was a gentleman and quick TO
correct the mistaken answers and TO
apologize for his abstraction.
| 1t did seem strange. however, that ne
should be so unusually forgetful of the
| others tonight They had come together
| to celebrate his promotion to the two
| bars on his shoulder straps. Captain
| Bill was one of those hastily graduated
! classes al West Point when war with
Spain came and had attained rank
which, after the war of the states. had
/ been the final ambition of the gradu-
ates. the hopedfor reward of men
about to be retired on half pay after
| long years of faithful honorable serv-
| ice.
| There had been jolly dinner in
honor of Captain Bill a modest hero,
at which he had been among the gay
lest. In the lobby of the theater he
had stopped to shake hands with a
brother officer. His gay spirits were
gone when he took his seat. His face
| had grown haggard and the square jaw
firmly set, so that the smile his friends
loved so well was gone. They took
it that he must be again on one of his
mental journeys. They were most of
them army people and knew that these
moods were the result of the long days
of sickness at Montauk Point and the
trials of his campaigning in the Phil
ippines. They were indulgent unit!
after the theater
They had gathered in restaurant.
where a private room was reserved for
them. The captain tried to be as
cheerful as the rest. He emptied his
wine glass faster than is usual in
polite company, especially when women
are present.
1 Look here" captain. said a little
lady to his right, you are in some
sort of trouble or you are ill. IL you
are in trouble you are surrounded by
the best friends you have. and If you
are Ill we ought to do something for
you"
He looked up in a half-dazed way,
poured down another glass of wine,
Strengthened up and said:
Il don't want to be death at the feast,
You must pardon me for my rudeness
and inattention. I have heard very
bad news. 1 met Major Bucklin in
the lobby. He told me Jim Tucker is
dead. You never knew Jim, of course,
/ He was a negro servant. a good SOL
der and most entertaining fellow.
You may think it queer that l feel so
bad, but it isn't strange. You'd feel
Hike do If the man who saved your life
the fellow who kept you from going
stark mad, when the fever came back
and you were in charge of detach-
ment away from everybody. had died
like a dog. With no other officer,
had to dine alone in those Philippine
! days.
Jim used to wait on me and with his
drollery keep me laughing. He was bet
ter than a doctor. He was black SIS
tar, but he had a great big, red heart,
In side of him. When we got back to
Manila the time l was wounded, the
officers in my ward used to laugh at
me because used to ask for Jim. Now.
l don't want to spoil the fun and I'll
be just as jolly as the rest of you.
The company were weary of mock
gayety and eager to hear the story of
Jim Tucker. 1t was as hard to get the
captain to tell anything about his eX-
periences in the field as 1t was to catch
him in anyway referring to himself,
and they insisted that he tell of Jim,
knowing he would have to tell some of
his own experiences. The captain hes
litated and then his eyes lit up. There
was a pitiful smile at the corners of
his mouth, telling the story of his
strikers drollery in the days when
they were far from home in the land of
/! the bolo men.
THE first time 1 took any particular
notice of JIM" said the captain, was
a few days after his enlistment at the
time of the outbreak of the war with
Spain. / was coming down COM
pany street, bent on finding who could
have such tremendous and joyful guf-
faw. Jim had been telling one Of his
stories to a crowd. My big black men
were in commissions of laughter, but
high above them all sounded the merry
| 'f1a ma. OIL jim. ne Soll VI uoupiSu
up with his knees bending until he
FIa hal of Jim. He sort of doubled
roll over and kick his legs, his Laughter
increasing, and roaring out like dom
key saluting the dawn.
81 never saw anyone before or since
laugh that way and moved me toward
/ the men. They managed to come to
/ attention and salute, but poor jim had
to be kicked by one of them before ne
realized the presence of an officer. He
jumped up and saluted. AS l turned
away he continued his joy in his own
droll way.
/ ..He was the delight of his company
on the transport on the way to Cuba,
and all the officers had come TO regard
him with an affectionate interest, for
he kept the men in the best of spirits
and was at the same time, believe,
the best drilled man in the regiment
I'VE We're in an ugly scrap where
Tim was doing mans work when sud
denly he fell and was carried TO the
rear. Not long after his bray was
heard above the sound of battle and
he came lin1ping back grinning from
ear to ear. He took his position near
TO me, and when l had the chance
asked him how much he was nurt. He
handed me a badly broken pocket
AM 80 ~m Mnn