The daily Alaskan., 1905-05-24
RAYMOND HALL. He Died For the Girl He Loved

Tt looks as though there might be a story behind that epitaph," l remarked,
 "ThatS Oh, no! Only a plain incl dent" Then, unconscious that he was giving a romance, he told me the incl dent:
 Those were exciting days when we fellows marched away to the tune of The Girl I Left Behind Me and the worst of it was that several of us were leaving behind the same girl. She was the belle of the town, and we were all In love with her. But there was no chance for more than one, the one the girl loved, though there were two who led 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 girl, but 1t was the other fellow who had taken her fancy-nohody knew why, for Hall was certainly the better man of the two. He didn't know that his rival had got ahead of him an after the regiment got down into Kentucky. Then he saw letters coming in for Jim Martin addressed in a hand that he recognized
 In some people love seems to work like disease l mean those cases you read about in the newspapers where they kill themselves or the one they love, or sometimes rival Hall Sufrer- ed like one of these, but he didn't kill anybody. He exposed himself reckless ly when we were under fire, and it looked as If he were trying to get him self killed. but no one knew whether he was or not. for he was a rCticcnt fellow and kept hls own secret Only his rival knew what he was going through, and he couldn't very well help knowing, because Hall, though he act ed square with him, couldn't conceal the fact that he regarded him as the cause of his trouble.
 Two years passed, two years of campaigning and hard fighting, during which the rivals fought shoulder Co shoulder Raymond always seemed Co Jim to be resisting some terrible temp. tation, and in a fight when Hall was n his rear Martin felt uncomfortable You see, they were in Che same Compa. ny, and under Are mon get excited and sometimes kin man iu front
 "Well, In time the rivals were both taken prisoner in tlc same Ught While icing transported south with other prisoners iu box ear thc whole car oud took Up some ot thr flooring and ,ot out Or course thc guard went oft Gr tlcm In hot haste, not stopping for ! surrender when getting sight of one rt them, but shooting 1im down as he Gn, tt happened chat tbc rivals ran n tie s0mc direction and tooS refuge u some bushes very near together Presently they heard a voice:
 There's one of 'cm down p hoSe bushes
 "JIm,' said Raymond, speaking rap. ally, I'm going to run for lt'
 Don't you do it,' said Jim, 'Thcyn shoot you surC, IT we lie low
 "'Thc chances are thcyn klll uS both, They think there's only one here, m run and draw the tlrc, You 1.-Two Co go back and make the little glrl happy
 "'Thcrc wHS no time for mo1c woulS nor for any sort of protest on Jim's part A Confederate was coming with cooked gun. Raymond jumped up and ran like deer. There was a shot and he dropped dead, Then the Con. tedcrate went back to hls comrades,
 Martin lay low till an was quiet, then went out and found his rival dead There's no use trying to tell how man would feel at such a time, Just think of him having suspected his friend of wanting to kill him, and here he was dead that the girl he loved might he happy with his rival Martin buried the body in a fence corner with big tree directly north, noted the place to know 1t again, then set or on two weeks skulking tin he got into the Union lines. Soon after the grave was within our pickets, and Martin took up Halls body and sent 1t north"
 The man stopped speaking and, talk ing his>little boy by the hand, was lead. ing him away when asked.
 "who placed the headstoney
 ''The girl"
 And what became of the man who was saved for herT"
 He married her"
 Thank you for your story, Mr,"- I gave him time to help me out
 Martin be supplied. "rm. Jim Mar tin" F. A. MITCHELL.