The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-03-31

keep them for another meal for yourself,
he said at last, in a muSing way. Some
how, I'm off my feed these days-me that
was always so stout and never sick IN all
these past three years and more! I've
never felt exactly right sence them days
of layin in the swamps. l guess the mus
keeters must put somethin' in my blood.
Morgan looked up, the freight disclos-
ing a giant but kindly face. You don't
look well. Jim. ANOTHER thing. YOU
ortn't to enlisted for another three years
you with wife and a nice little girl to
long enough. Some of them stay-at-hOmes
ought to be takin' the place of sech as YOU
i wus thinkin' of you when l bought that
corn of the little Southern girl across the
country. She said she did hate to sell
anything to keep a Yankee or his horse n
ivin but the money was too temptln In
sight. She made me think of your Amy.
some. in looks; but how she did make me
pay fur these taters-every later cost
quarter
A tall. slender young man stopped in
front of Henley. and handing him letter,
remarked gravely:
Another letter, Henley, from the wife
and baby then passed on, waiting back
hollow cough.
Gap Riley gifts thinner every day; soon
he'll quit maxim a shadder. He's got the
consumption. sure" and Morgan stretched
his long neck to look after the Captain of
Co. B. 31st - Cav. adding as he turned
back to his supper: He's a nice man, if
he is so everlastin' pious he can't smile on
Sunday. One thing certain, he will never
say sick till carried in on stretcher. or
d Johnny Reb fixes him some place close
to where We dig trenches for the dead.
He's game to the last feather
Henley was paying no heed to his
friends mOnolog. He had opened the en-
velope, and was scanning the letter. his
handsome face bent low over the freight.
Here, read it, ALT. I'm sorry that |
was born an orphan and never learned to
read writin. I'll bet I'll have Amy teach
me how if ever this war is over and l get
home for good,' he said, a tride impa-
tiently.
Morgan stirred the fire into a blaze. and
slowly read the letter aloud to Henley.
Then, the potatoes being done, he carried
some to the Captains tent, and having
finished his own supper, lit his pipe. no
ticing that Henley sat with his head in
his hands, his cup of coffee untouched be-
side him. After little, he took his pipe
from his mouth. saying:
What does Amy mean by askin' you to
git Through and come right home and
take her away from that place and Rob
tnsOns perSecutionsT
Capt Riley's company had first been
made up of men coming from locality
spoken of as The Hills" a region lying
between the dissenting countries; but
Morgan, from one part of 1.-THE Hills"
and Henley from another, had never met
until the fortunes of war had made them
messmates and friends. Co. b had the
name of being a roustabout company-fel-
lows, with Henley at their head. who
scorned discipline. Higher authority had
taken Capt. Riley to task for this to be
met with the grave look habitual to him
and the slow answer-that in battle his
men were never found behind, and if a
man was wanted for dangerous secret SER
vice, the call was made upon Co. b. This
settled the fault-fnding in that instance,
until another occurred. Once, Co. b,
against Riley's orders. when on the march.
had broken ranks and made a detour of
the hill country to get something good to
eat. 1t was then Morgan had seen Anna,
Henley's wife.
Henley answered Morgan's query in
bordering way: when / quit work for
old Maj. Robinson he owed me all of
thousand dollars-you see l was overseer
on that estate for years, and was wilIin'
for it to be that way till wus ready for
it, and that would be when / saw some
body that I'd like well enough to marry.
That somebody was Amy. The minute
she stepped her foot in that house to do
some fine SEWN for the Majors wife,
knowed she was that one, and didn't let
any grass grow under my feet, either, in
tellin' her so, though the Majors son, that
had come home from out West some
where's was secretly tellin' her the same
Amy never liked him, said he looked too
much like them pictures Of pirates she'd
seen-big and black, with whiskers and
eyes that had the shine of coal'
"Well. go or" said Morgan, reaching
for another bit of light for his pipe, noting
that Jim had paused.
There's nothin' much else to go on
about, except that l was a fool i'm trustin'
the Majors word instead of takin' note
Tor my wages. / think that son Of his n
had somethin' to do with gittin' the old
Major in trouble. Bills of sale begun to
come In against things on the place. and
mortgages to take the land, about the
time Amy and married. Poor old Major
he got his straps in the Mexican war.
b'lieye if he could have lived I'd have
come out all right. He set us up house
keepin' in little house not fur from the
big house, and said l might count it
mime, and to be patient, and he would
save my wages out of the general break
np. Then about that time he wus found
dead with the apOplexy, and that ended
hope for me.
Stan Robinson. that's the son, bought
back the home place, the one my little
house is on. Though I've no deed for the
house, i claim it. Stan Robinson tried to
make out to folks that the money he
bought it with was made in the mines,
but l know that he had no money when
he come home, and, somehow, he wheedled
the old Major out of that much'
Wonder that you lived on there, and
him not tryin' to pay you what the es-
tate owed you!" pulled Morgan in thought
full way.
Il didn't intend to, but the war broke
out about that time, and Amy seemed to
think she'd better stay there, seem as
We had a sort of claim on the house, and
Robinson wasn't botherin' our claim. /
didn't know that he hadn't got over his
love for Amy, and had got to persecutin
her and tryin' to turn her agin me as she
says in that letter. She ought to have told
me when l was home on that last fur
Tough. but 'spose she was afraid I'd &c
staight to Robinson, and she has q morta
dread, somehow, that he will secretly ri,
the better Of me. l reckon, though, mat
tiers got SO bad she just couldn't stani
them any longer; even, you see, her old
mother, that lives with her, writ in tina,
letter, too. for me to try to come home fol
few days and find them q place to live
as far from him as possible
That's SO, she did," grunted Morgan
We raised horses and cattle on thu