The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1909-09-09
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PRIVATE JONES'
CHEATING,
He'd Even Cheat the Goats That
Would Feed Over His Grave.
BY LEO CRANE.

inter serious trouble affairs by reck
lessly slippin' lurid names toward the
chief engineer. o. course we men
knew e didn't mean anythink outel
the way by the langwidge. but the
chief engineer was a vicious man, an
e allowed his turrible anger to become
uncontrolled
$50 we men laid Jones away in the
free ward o leetle horspital that
nalf hid itself shylike behind row o
scraggy palms. Then we men went
of on boot. eight o. MS. Seven got
back to the ship in ii q to sail with
her. The eighth name was left on
the wharf deserted amid multichude
O. coolies. Hi was that man.
IAN being as Hi wouldn't shift car.
go fer Twin wage. Hi presented me-
self. body an soul. to recruitin' Off.
Ger who was out after one devil called
Juan Torres. This same Juan Torres
was up country some'res hidin'. an e
didn't have no idear o. bein' ketched
hence il needed men. an Hi was a
man.
NOW. on the mornin' afore we
marched away who In all the worl' o
rascals should heave In sight but
Jones. E had a rag about his head.
an e wanted to list. Now. Hi had
never expected 10 see Jones again in
this worl' an. bein' pious inclined.
didn't want to meet him In the next.
Hi always watched my terbacker
when e was about. Sam Rawlins had
toll me o. that. an Sam Rawlins had
lost terbacker.
well. they needed men, an Jones
was one. so e went along. e tot me
that the doctors at the leetle horspital
had been very confident that e would
die. but In spite o. 1t e fooled 'em.
Anyway. up country we goes after
Juan Torres. an the first beastly town
we gets inter down goes Jones with
the fever. The doctor o. the regiment
said e would die certain. but Jones
didn't. e scraped through. s'eIp me
IL e didn't. Two weeks after e began
to creep about the camp mule kicks
him a reg'lar smasher In the side, an
away 10 the leetle hospital they car
ries him 70 mend up.
Hi didn't see Jones no more for near
a half year: neither did Hi see Juan
Torres. One day when We thought we
had i'm spotted at last inter camp
Jones walks. smilin' grimly. Z goes
10 the colonel an says. .Hrll show We
just where they are. says e. An in
ten minutes out we marches. Jones
leadin' the way.
How have We beenr asks the colo.
mel. lergin' IL 'longside o. Jones.
Very WELL says Jones back 70
him. pleasant.like. Hi amt been
outer the horspItal more n ten days
Guns. cries the colonel. Did Il
take EN- all that time TO patch NJ
three broken ribs:'
No. explains Jones. They fixed
up them ribs in six weeks. but after
HI cot discharged from that spell III
Went inter y on leetle smooth
aroun'. sc know. an some William
knifes me. In fact. e knitted me two
or three times afore e was satisfied
with BIS contract. an 50 they bustles
ne back 10 the leetie hospital with.
ont any great loss d time. That were
q four month job. but they did Il. an
nary a grumble. oh. this gettin' well
Is my long suit says Jones. proud.
Ike 'Wha. troubles me most. says
Jones soIennly. is that maybe whe
the blow comes again Hill be too far
up country an wont reach the hospi.
tai In time. but I'll hopes not
why. you must ike bein' sick.
SAYS the colonel. s'prised
II aln't he bein' sick says Jones:
that's nasty. But the soup-my. the
soup. Delicious. says Jones. smackin'
his lips = IL Z could taste II. hive
been Ia forfy.two hospitals In my
tine an have been discharged cured
nigh on 10 sixty.seven times. so III
know.
sixty-seyen times echoed the
colonel.
Return visits explained Jones
quickly. But iii don't despair o. bet.
term that record. cause III knows my
vitality m what I'll can stand
ION we men went silently. The re.
ports u tell ye bow we cornered them
rats IN the center b a thick forest. but
the reports won't tell ye how one Jones
carried FIRE an sword into the habita.
tion o Juan Torres.
IL stood In q clearin'. Jones beat u
20 the inclosure Ny d good twenty feet.
an Jones was first 20 show his leg
over the top. Some native Teller
punched bayoDet through the calf o.
II. but that native Teller troubled no
other man. Jones fought like demon.
an we lost him In the smoke O. battle
Late IN the day. when the struggle
had ceased an the smell d rank pow.
der was beginnin' 10 sieve away
through the forest. we started TO hunt
up our men. We found Jones lyln'
acrost a Pile o. severely used natives
over again secluded portion D. the
stockade. There he had cornered six
desperate men. an the sight o. bis
.andiwork was exceedln' fair TO look
upon. We carried Jones tenderly away.