Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-01-28

you'll have 20 see the captain, sald the po-
liceman There's no woman dying here. There s
couple of greenhorns being patched up after
the row-some kind of soldiers that thought they
knew how to handle our business" and the met
ropolitan spoke in aggrieved tone.
| do YOU mean" began the Rector in be
wilderment.
"I mean that two soldier men thought they
could tackle tho Tenth ward" said the officer.
! Here's the captain now and the officer touched
his visor to the bury superior, who, for his part,
recognized the Rector at once.
''Was it you they worked, Doctor he whim-
sically inquired. "Well-well-well; that was
sleek!"
'The reoruit--the dying mother" gasped the
churchman, with pald face and dropping jaw.
"Skedaddled," was the sententious answer in
the vernacular Of the day. Recruit is n veteran
at this lay, anyhow. Dying mother did up one
of the soldiers and their gang did the rest. Come
up if you like"
The Rector went The sister at least could
explain, but the police officials grinned at men
ton of that sister. The sick chamber was sight,
and so were the two soldiers One had wits
enough left to tell the story. The doctor had
come back with two friends for consultation. On
n sudden the soldiers were pounced upon, pound
cd into insensibty, and by the time they land
the policc) came to the gang was gone, the plot
was out.
"That fellow" said the police and the Pro-
vost Marshals people, has probably been en-
listing, getting his bounty, and skipping from
one town to another for the last month. The
girls his wife the others confederates. They
were in tight fix for once when they tackled
Captain Pollard, so they sent her to enlist you,
Doctor" And the hardened officials smiled and
shook their heads.
Abashed, the Rector went his way.
captain in the morning. lie sent his
excuses both to him and to the General, but
though the story never went to press it did to
the front. where Lieutenant Ormsby, TIL Unit
cd States Infantry on duty with the head
quarters guard Of a famous fighting General and
that graceless subaltern had the hardihood to
write facctiously to his father about the lady
in the case. 1t showed spirit of irrevcrcnce
most reprehensiblc in the young, and it brought
its own reward.
New and stringent regulations, based on Cap
tain Poards practice made short work of the
bounty Jumping business in Gotham. Many ex-
pert practitioners were laid by the heels, but
the tall. slender. scholarly young man. the come
" blonde girl--his wife-and the emacated kins-
man and pal who personated the dying wo-
man had disappeared. The Rector took his les
son sorely to heart. Perhaps that amiable ma
tron at the head of his table saw to it that the
matter not too soon forgotten The recruit
ing officers put their heads-and eXperiencesto-
pether and ascertained that a man closely an
within the month of April and the first week of
May enlisted for the volunteers at Boston, New
Haven Albany Jersey City, and Elmira, had
managed to slip away with much OF the bounty
money every time, and was doubtless few
thousand dollars richer as the result. In three
of the places named blonde, comey girl, va
riously described as wife, niece and sister, had
been mixed up in the case, but what had finally
become of them nobody seemed to know.
Now, it happened that in the fall of 1864
large numbers of officers, wounded sick, were
absent from their commands, and the great War
Secretary was bent on rounding up" all absen-
I tees and sending them where they belonged. Sew
eral found to be Sinking without valid excuse
were summarily dismissed. Others suspected o
like practices were ordered before courts martial
and lust before Christmas Lieutenant Ormsby
til United States Infantry, was ordered up t.
Washington witness i'll very important case
It was a godsend TO get away from the trenches
The boat to Fort Monroe was filed with officer
going on duty or sic<-lcavc, and among then
was IA tall, slender. clear-eyed First Lieutenan
of volunteer infantry, who seemed oddly nervous
if not ILL., lie too. so said the orders closely ex
amined by the Provost Marshal's assistant a
the pier, was ordered to Washington and to re