The daily Alaskan., 1907-04-19
The Last COn1rade
LOriEluat ]

plates Tor eighteen persons. NO NeaA Was occupied except that of the old man himself, and as the clock on the mantel licked away the minutes no cue else appeared. Indeed, the one occu- pant Or the room could not have OK pectel any one else. for his own dinner was on hls plate At eaCh place was bottle of wine, but the only bottle un' rorked was that before the one diner. At the close of the Mexican war eighteen officers who had taken part In lt and who lived not far from one an other decided to celebrate the peace with 8 dluucr. It was 8 jubilee. Dur tug the evening d proposition was made and decided upon that once year the feast was to be repeated. and as each man dropped out his plage and bottle were to be set the same as if he were present
 All were either young or compor, atfyelv young. and It wa some years before a single place was vacant. Then a cuu passed over ever~ mau as he entered the room and say the empty chair. the plate, the uuC5rked bottle, of thelr late comwde. Al had looked upon hartledeIds. but none had eype. rlenced this same peculiar. sensation IE viewing the dead and dy-ng.
 Several years passed. The seventeen men were beginning to become some. what accustomed to the one vacant chair when the clock C' their lives struck 2. They missed one of the youngest merriest of their number Then it became apparent that the spontaneous merrImeut of their frs, dinner would wone under the increas- ing vacant chairs and eXrrGou must be made to keep IEe dinners from grow. ng painful X resolution was passed that each man must contribute some thug-a song. U story. a joke, what. ever he pIelsed-ro eultveu the Occo sion.
 Slowly the diners watched the In creaslng vacancies till the number gone e0ualed the number reminding. When the nine living men met aud drank to the ulne who were dead. it was with an effort Some one proposed that they should sit together at a living half Of the table. leaving the other half for the dead. but the proposal was voted down. and The living and the dead remained side by side
 Their clock struck 10. II. r, and two thirds of thc original number had pass ed away. Six men whose boards were gray sat together and drank to twelve who had gone. To them the dead 70 mafuci at the age they departed, some on the threshold of manhood, others at successive ages.
 It was years before there was an other vacunny: -Leu two empty plates dropped into line like figured disks 70 cordlng the revolution, of an engine shaft. Another dropped in three years. another Iu two.
 By this time aI who were destincl to reach tan ordinary limit th~eescorc l years and ten. had dropped out or those who were ta become 0crogenariaus or cenreaa..aus but two remained. For eleven gpav- TWO old men sat down together uu,r a year and drank to six. teen comrades whose bottles were un. l eorEeL It was not now a question Of which should hn blessed with the longest l.fe but which would be soon ! asr relieved from u painful duty. A. .l.y glanced over the UuyJrEed bottles .t seemed ll.. rle.r dead comrades were drawn up .n line tu receive them when they should appear upon the eternal parade With ueu1iiug hands hey ya.sei thin glasses to their lips uuu trauN-IrsHk gS much as there was hope os a~stm.atiu- with their .voruDut ~y~teus-gHeu st their glass g- down and without a. word left a v.am which from a banquet hall had Income a sepu.raer
 NuI now the last mall. e.Ehty-uine years ola. sits alone \ myriad of wrinkles gadue from a scar on bis forehead fhe remains Of 30 wound re. refrcd a. gnuruhuSco. A few snow white hairs are scatra..I over bis hoad Ills gy, Is go flare f intelligence ghDu- 10 -9 Uu. His G5u.es Is untast ea. ey.aat a ll,.e toast w.t.r of which G. has taken a few s.r+ lie sits Ct a.e .aL or the gahe aul looks down ,hr nus line of bottles CT either side. every .n-rIa representing a dead com raIr. Ilr raises h5s gla-s and speaks, hot with l.s ".s lips a-a not needed ro address rh. GeaI but ta spirit
 "ComraIcs. |. gHont to tie, greet you. It na- pleased our great com mauLgr e, rl..e us ia charge of the ~arr guavd. l have seen you all safely over rns river. and uDw. my work be- ing finished ! am permitted to cross myself. The d.u Of battle sounds fur from me-a .omsu,al mUrmur of shout ing of mu~scuv. cf cannon. I have u, desire to return to mingle with it. ! only wish to join you in your long rest Comrades. I greet you
 He touched the rim Of his glass to 1 his thin lips and set 1t down. Then he rested Ll> rhtu on bis breast and ! 1osed his eyes.
 he door opened. and a group of