The evening world., 1909-01-07
Wife Is Dying in Hospital and
He Sails for Manila
on Feb. IS.
ROMANCE OF Army.
Every One in the Fifth Artil-
lery Knows Story Of Flynn
and His "Sweetheart."
There Is an artillery corporal at For,

There Is an artillery corporal AT for'
Totten who goes through the dul
routine OF drills and fatigue duty
with his teeth set hard and with
his eyes fixed on nothing. Always
there Is one picture in his mind-a
woman with hacking cough lying on
4 cot in the Kings County Hospital
Always there is an Icy clutch at his
heart at the knowledge that the trans
port Fitzpatrick sails soon with his bat
terry aboard, bound for Manila.
And when he has leave the cars can.
not carry him fast enough to the hos
pital For both he and the woman
count the minutes as they co. and he
knows, II the woman does not, that
b after the Fitzpatrick sails they will not
meet again.
Twenty-seven Years In Army,
John Flynn enlisted in the United
States Army twenty.seven years ago
He was a boy OF twenty-three then. /,
was but few years after that he met
Mary Ann Conroy, Just from Yorkshire,
and as plump and merry a red-cheeked
girl as ever came over sea. \ soldiers
counting times are few and far he
tween, but Flynn made the best OF such
chances as lie had
But the army Is no encourager OF
matrimony 1t is hard enough for q
young officer to marry. For a mere pri
waite Il was an absurdity, John Flynn
began to appreciate this when his bat
terry was ordered to Fort Trumbuil, near
New London. II he ever thought of de-
sertion Mary scolded him through her
tears for even thinking OF such thing.
Il don't want you TO leave the army,
John" she said, even when your en-
listment Isl out-much less than have
you a disgrace to It. fell In love with
you because you we're soldier, and |
won't love you II the time comes when
you are not soldier. Go with your
battery and We will find way to be
happy yet"
Mary Followed Him.
The battery had not been at New
London week before Mary. abandon
Ing her place as a lady's maid In Bos-
ton, became a waitress in New Lon
don hotel. And John, instead OF carous-
Ing in his hours Of liberty with other
with his Mary and watched the ships
go by, and wondered how In the world
he was going to get to be a Non.Com
When they had just about concluded
they would have to live out their lives
as sweethearts only, the battery was
braska, convenient TO the reservation Of
the Rosebud Sioux. who were ehreat-
sning trouble.
Go on, John" said Mary Ann Con-
Toy. Il came to you before and III
follow YOU again"
Then a wonderful thing happened.
Somebody high in authority caused the
news to come to Private Flynn that It
would not be considered an unpardon-
able breach OF discipline II he married
Mary, anyway. He wouldn't tell you
to-day who this superior was. but at
Valentine, fourteen years ago, Mary be.
came Mrs, Private John Flynn. L. 5. \.
The Spanish war came, and the Fifth
Artillery came east to ChiCkamauga
and then to Cuba
When John Flynn's enlistment expired
and he came hack from CUBA ana they
had about decided he had served his
country long enough, Mary thought the
world was almost too beautiful to he
true. But they had been so long in the
army, he and she, that they We're NOT
comfortable out Of It, and when Cor
poral Flynn said he wondered whether
1t would be a good thing to enlist again
she couldn't hurry him TO Fort Ham!l-