Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-21
RAYMOND HALL.
He Died For the Girl He Loved.

story behind that epitaph." l remarked.
THAT? oh. no, Only a plain Incl
dent" Then. unconscious that he was
giving romance. he told me the Incl
dent:
Those We're exciting days when we
fellows marched away TO the tune of
The Girl Left Behind Me- and the
worst Of IL was that several Of us Were
leaving behind the same girl. She was
the belle of the town. and we were all
i'm love with her. But there was no
chance for more than one. the one the
girl loved. though there were two who
lei all the rest. These two were Ray
mond Hall and another fellow who
well-the other fellow was Jim Martin.
Hall was desperately In love with the
gir.. but * was the other fellow who
had taken her fancy-nobody knew
why. for Hall was certainly the better
man Of the two. He didn't know that
his rival had got ahead of him till after
the regiment got down into Kentucky.
Then he saw letters coming in for Jim
Martin addressed in n hand that he
recognized.
In some people love seems Ia work
like disease. l mean those cases you
read about in the newspapers where
they kill themselves or the one they
love. or sometimes a rival. Hall suffer
ed like one of these. but he didn't kill
anybody. He exposed himself reckless
iy when we were under fire, and il
looked as If he were trying TO get him
self killed. but no one knew whether
he was or not. for he was Il reticent
fellow and kept his own secret. Only
his rival knew what he was going
through. and he couldn't very well help
knowing, because Hall. though he act
ell square with him. couldn't conceal
the fact that lie regarded him as the
cause of his trouble
1.-TWO years passed. two years of
campaigning and hard fighting. during
which the rivals fought shoulder TO
shoulder. Raymond always seemed to
Jim ~ he resisting some terrible temp
tation. and in a fight when Hall was in
his rear Martin felt uncomfortable.
You see. they were I'm the same compa-
ny, and under fire men get excited and
sometimes kill man i'm front.
We'll. in time the rivals were both
taken prisoner I'm the same fight. While
being transported south with other
prisoners I'm a box car the whole ear
load took up some of the flooring and
got out OF course the guard went aft
er them in hot haste. not stopping for
a surrender when getting sight of one
OF them, but shooting him down az lie
ran. 1t happened that the rivals ran
In the same direction and took refuge
In some bushes very near together
Presently they heard a voice:
There's one OF 'em down I'm those
bushes
"'Jim.' said Raymond. speaking rap
Idly. I'm going 10 run for it
Don't you do it, said Jim. They'll
shoot you sure. II we lie low
The chances are they'll Kill us both.
They think there's only one here. I'll
run and draw the fire. You live to go
hack aud make the little girl happy
There was no time for more words
nor for any sort OF a protest on Jim's
part. 4 Confederate was coming with
n cooked gun. Raymond jumped I'D
a nd ran like deer. There was a shot. |
and lie dropped dead. Then the Con
federate went back TO his comrades.
Martin lay low till all was quiet. |
then went out and found his rival dead. |
There's no use trying TO tell how a man |
would feel AZ suCh a time Just think |
OF him having suspected his friend OF |
To kill him. and here he was
dead that the girl he loved might be |
happy with his rival. Martin buried |
the body in a fence corner with n big
tree directly north. noted the place to
know il again. then set on on two
weeks skulking till he got into the
MON lines Soon after the grave was
within our pickets. and Martin took I'D
Halls body and sent IL north
The man stopped speaking and. TAX
ne his little boy by the hand. was lead
ng him away when / asked
Who placed the headstone?"
The girl
And what became of the man who
vas saved for herr"
He married her"
Thank you for your story. Mr.
gave him time TO help me out
Martin" he supplied. I'm Jim Mar
in r. A. mitchell.