The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-02-05
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t.NOT, A MILITARY
5 HERO WORSHIPER.
foriRinal1

l tenant ~ tne national guard. He rc-
\ celved a. captaincy in the volunteers
and mnrched away with his regiment
amid the plaudlts OF the throngs who
lined the streets. There was one face
| at an upper window which absorbed
all the young soldiers attention, the
face Of his flancec, Mary Mills. The
look Of pride in him and love for him
that beamed in her eyes might have
exhilarated another. but Forester was
peculiarly sensitive mana man to
dread a possible failure. He knew
there were certain men whose consti-
tional makeups untitled them to be
soldiers, and no man can tell whether
he is one of these til he comes to face
shot and shell. He dreaded lest he
might prove unworthy. Should he
falter under the terrible strain of bat
tie he would never zee Mary again.
Forester thought too much OF this.
1t is well for one to realize obligations
he has taken upon himself, but he
should not permit himself to brood
over the matter. Forester worried all
the way to Florida, from Florida to
Cuba and during the campaign until
the final fighting. which was the first
time he was under fire. f
1t was during this contest about San.
tiago that his regiment was ordered
forward in the face Of a terrible fire.
Ones first fight is the most trying Of
ALL 1t is then thut the soldier for the
first time hears the ugly stinging sound
Of bullets, the rattle of machine guns
and the screech of shells, to all Of
which there is the background Of in
cessant roar of cannon. Forester looked
a little pale, but pressed resolutely on.
All of sudden he became conscious
of a dizzy, nauseating sensation. his
foot struck something-or he thought
1t did-and he pitched forward. The
regiment pushed on. Another line of
battle came up and was pressing for
ward when Forester was awakened.
as 1t were, by the sound Of voice
Nathan Burge. an old and tried friend,
had seen him. recognized him and
stopped to succor him.
"Nate." said Forester. 'T've fallen
out Of the ranks. I hadn't the physical
ability to 60 on. Write to Mary Mills
and tell her that I'll never see her
again. She has loved coward!'
iii, you, there! Move ont" cried an
officer who was marching In rear to
drive on stragglers. without word
Burge hurried forward. leaving his
friend to his own regrets.
When the fight was over Burge
sought Forester, but. not finding him
supposed that he had hidden his
shame by desertion. He waited for a
time. thinking that the coward might
turn mp. but he did not Burgess regi-
ment was ordered to the coast Mt the
close Of the war and was one of the
first to embark for home. When he
reached Montauk Point the first per-
son he met was Mary Mills She had
come as a nurse. She inquired eagerly
for her lover
bear to deliver the message with which
he had been charged But Mary. with
Il woman's quick eye where love is
concerned. saw that he was concealing
something and assumed that her
flance had been killed. Burge would
much rather have broken such news
to her than that he had turned out
coward. At last he told her the truth.
Mary Mills went home bowed down
with grief.
The next morning she heard one of
her sisters reading from newspaper
dispatches from Santiago. She was
about to leave the room, dreading lest
she should hear that her lover had
been ordered before court martial to
be tried for cowardice. when his name
was mentioned. but in different way
from what she had expected:
Milton Forester, wounded in tho stom-
ach. Operated upon and expected to re-
cover. Promoted to be captain. vice John
Kellogg. killed.
Forester after being left by Burge
tried to rise. His object was to push
forward with view to getting himself
killed. But he found himself too weak
to rise. At that moment surgeon
with an ambulance corps came hurry
ing on, making hasty examinations of
the wounded lying on the field. Com
ing to Forester. he saw blood OIL his
clothing, tore open his coat and said:
"A bad wound"
II? Wounded?"
"Yes: in the stomach"
"Thank God.'
The surgeon looked at him with a
puzzled expression. but there was no
time for words, ana after ordering
rescue party to take him to a hospital
pushed on.
When the boys OF. 81 were shot in
the stomach there wis nothing left for
them but to pass the dark portal. Not
so iii the Cuban war. BY that time
such progress had been made In sur
gerry that Forester's stomach was laid
bare, the wound sewed up. the stom-
ach put back In place, and In time the
patient was as well as ever, AS soon
as 1t was safe he was put on a TRIMS
port and. sent north. When rs q -oonr-
yalescent ie walked slowly down the
gangway to the dock his friend Rnrge
and Ills fancee, Mary Mills, We're there
to meet him.
What did you mean," said the for
mer, "by putting ND iOb on me like