The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1911-10-12
links Romance
A Civil War Vets Tale
By F. A. mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

war veterans to a comrade, whose bald
head shot out few spears of white
hair and whose gums always met
when he closed his jaws, "why didn't
you never git marriedY
links uncrossed his legs, recrossed
them the other way and said:
There's q romance IN my life"
"a romance! You don't mean to say
there's any romance or ever has been
IN you! 1t wouldn't be nat'r'l to you"
81 wasn't always like / am now, no
more'n you fellers. j was sleek enough
when we was fighting Johnny Rebs."
"Well, tell us about your romance"
1T began when we was goin' up that
long slant at Fredericksburg. If ever
there was place particularly carcPat-
ed to NOW down men and have plenty
Of time to do it, that inclined plane
takes the cake. It's nearly fifty year
since we was led up there, and nobody
hain't yit found out who was respon-
sible. Mr.. Lincoln warn't no soldier,
but if he'd seen he'd known it was
a good slaughter pen and nothin' else.
ME and Bob Aker was trudgin'
along side by side, expectin' either one
or t'other would drop. We was bosom
friends. All of suddinti pitched
forward. dropped out,andsbent over
him. HeSjust had timetbefore he fell
on t'other jside to stretchp out a hand
with ring on it and say: ."
To 4 b. 4 4
her to marry you inteadfof me-
II pulled the ring off hist finger, and
he died while was doin' it. Slippin'
the thing4on my ownifnger, I got rup
and hurried salong TOMMY regiment,
though even in this short time the place
where we'd been was as wide as a
church door.
Bob had had plenty of time To tell
me all that was necessary, for he'd
told me the rest oftcmFbcfore. Laws,
how the boy did talk .aboutfthat gal!
She was the lovelicst thinsSon earth,
so good, so gentle, so lovin' sNThen he
would say: 1T nearly kills mo to think
that 1 may git killed sdownShere and
some other feller'll takc4my place with
her. If any man docsg Itwant you to
be her husband, BilE I'll L knew she
was goin' to you it'wouldn't seem so
bad He'd often showed me the ring
she'd given him, sand he'd given her
one in exchange. >. u C
II was powerful affected by all this,
seem BobSkilled right beside me and
his turnin'fAtheIgal ,hetcouldn't have
himself over to mc.GI tell you l was
all broke up 3sssessssfssssy . sg
The old man took out his handker-
chief, blew, his nose and incidentally
touched his eyes Hwith the wipe.
"Oh, don't get 1haudlin's Jlnksr
Il cameeoutG ok$that slaughter all
right, and as ssootttas I'd got Bob a
trifie out O. my, mind I fell to dreamin'
O. his gal. I'd go over plans to break the
news oftBob' s;message and, all about
1t. wonderedif I could persuade her
to take. Tine Unsteady QssBob and how
long I'd be.a-doin's it:%There'd be lots
o. delicacytrequired, and didn't know
how a rough CHAP ilikesme could git
down to it. The only thing l could do
would be to do the best l could.
kind a thort that good deal depended
on my gittin' the GAL FOR | had some
hold on her-Bob had made the re-
quest-ahd | didn't have hold on any
other gal and no prospect o havin'
any other hold
1.-THE war ended at last. and I'd "a
gone straight to Bob's gal, but | was
mustered out far from her home. and
/ didn't have no money to buy ticket
with. Besides, was out nc the seat
o. the britches. SO l had to 20 to
work to git the cash. or course when
1 got a place Iscouldnt git my en-
ployer to let me go off courtin' gal
whose heart was like enough buried
down intVirginia. Anyway, I didn't
like'to ask him, and SO KEEP a-puttin'
thef thing Off and putin it off till
number aOf3 years swcnt by. AllSthis
timey Twas pininpfor the wife that
was expectin' to git"
'By&gum, links, you air givin' us q
romance,ain't you"
1T waSsten years before l got round
to goinsto give Bob Akers' message.
81 remembersmighty well the day I
went to the town she lived in, viii
lage in a valley. found the house, a
little cottage with wistaria"--
ooh, cut out them embellishments"
"There was man standin' on the
corner. with his hands i'm his pockets,
chawin' tobacccr. ] went up To him,
and to open conversation L asked him
for chaw. He give 1t to me. and
then asked If he knew Bob's gal. He
said he'd known her ever since she
was knee high to duck. Then | told
him that was beside Bob Akers
when he was killed and he had sent
a ring and message by me.
"What was the messenger the man
asked.
81 kind o. wanted to set somebody