Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1909-02-17
A Soldiers Wooinq

slCh, Uul IlOl SICK enough 10 prevent
my noticing things, and there was one
thing ! noticed mighty quick. 1t was
my nurse. She was a beauty sure
enough, with superb figure and a
graceful carriage. She wore immense
coils of chestnut hair piled up on her
head cannon-ball-like and flared great,
lustrous eyes Fancy fellow who
had been for months in a benighted
country, never woman In sight, sud
denly cared for by such a creature.
When l saw her coming toward my
cot she seemed like Venus rising from
the sea with all her clothes on and not
a limp ruffie in her cap or apron. She
came straight up to me, looked down
on me with her fawn orbs and took
hold of my wrist The first contact of
her soft fingers sent my pulse up to
40. She seemed disturbed at that and,
turning away, looked about as though
for assistance. l didn't propose to
have her call any one so l said:
Don't worry about my pulse. It's
normal-that is, 1t frequently sky
rockets about this time of day. and
when lovely creature takes my wrist
between her seraphic"-
But before I could get any further
she rammed a thermometer into my
mouth and 1 had to lie quiet, though
/ never once took my eyes off her,
and If that thermometer had registered
my admiration 1t would have stood at
1000 degrees. I'd been sick before
and knew that few minutes was
quite sufficient for the test. but she
kept the thing there a quarter of an
hour. Then she took It out. swung her
long lashes down toward 1t and was
making the record when I opened fire
again.
You're the first woman I've seen
since I got on that internal troop ship
to go to Cuba, and more heavenly
sight
What did she do but jam the Their
mometer into my mouth again, turn
her pencil upside down and rub out
the record she had made. This time
she left me with the little glass tube
sticking out Of my mouth like pipe
stem and went away She didn't come
back for nearly half an hour, and
when she examined the thing again
something.
"Its only a sight Of so much beauty"
/ started In, but she paid no attention
to me. and l saw her write down 9S15
degrees. She went away again and
| came back with lump of ice, which
she clapped on the top Of my head.
| She knew as well as did hadn't any
| fever and didn't need any ice. If
had she would have simply reported
my case to a surgeon. She did 1t to
cool my admiration. But IL would
have taken frozen quicksilver to do
that, and as she walked coolly away
l followed her with longing eyes.
AS soon as she was gone | removed
the ice, chucked it under the cot and
lay thinking that l wasn't in it for
impressing her and I'd better keep
quiet. When she appeared again l con-
tented myself for awhile looking my
admiration, but she had to go and take
hold Of my wrist, and that threw me
into another fever, with consequent
delirium, which burst out into speech.
"I'm worse this morning." broke
out, "and the reason Pm worse is be-
cause you've been away so long. II
| you think / can stand 1t to-
"Put out your tOnguev' she cried.
put 1t out just far enough so I
| could humble what / had to say, but
she ordered me to put 1t out farther
and farther till couldn't say word.
keep it there" she said quietly and
began scribbling something on her rec
ord paper, while lay with three inches
| Of red, furry tongue curled out. l
threw lot Of feeling into my eyes, but
| somehow i didn't feel that there was
| anything effective about this sort of
pleading, for no man can make love In
| such a way, and after awhile pulled
in the member and commenced to wag
| 1t again.
| II will proclaim my admiration" /
was beginning, "at the lannon's
mouth" when she damned her Their
| mometer between my teeth. ! tried to
hold 1t SO that l could go on, but she
forced 1t under my tongue, and was
/ obliged to keep quiet. Either way I
was baffied. couldn't propose to her
with my tongue sticking out or with
the cussed thermometer under 1t. /
made virtue Of necessity and re-
manned temporarily shut off.
| The next time she came she brought
q surgeon with her and said to him:
| doctor, here's man who has been
made luny by exposure. He sees alb
surd visions and talks idiotically.
What shall do with him?"
We've got permission" replied the
surgeon, ito send such cases to the
- Insane asylum. I'll make out the
papers and send them in" And he hur-
ried on to some other Of his multi
farious duties.
She looked at me as II to say, Nov
you stop your twaddle or go into an
insane asylum"
"See here" says i. 'if you think that
a straight jacket has any terrors for q
man who has been facing Mausers,
Gattling guns and delirious with love
| for the most scramble creature the sun