The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-07-07

reminded him, how sou ih'' wv
ds Tbe stranger gave a little start. ,.r,d a,
iYss. ION. lie paused ana 1 ia ,his
his distinguished pipe ~ N"I bullet
When that butternut put sot me
tbrongb my lung my ola captain ans tsewniry
mi of th field hospital ana ae - 1Vsshine
mi ON 10 a transport az w g,a, an mn
TON an into hospiial theip, 4, Ma.
hack | lay for four long N''N'
tedious. son. il was tedious
ne pauscd and choked back q cough GUY ,,on "
"An' didn't anybody come % ~ , Tt
she boy asked from a sympaln,''s S,,ne
mo son, there was hohpu 80, r,isin'
tn bows | knew were al w I'm fa,hsr out
merry Ned, an there was an 9lu '"I"J i5nt
T. ansas-bnt, bless you, hoN' u''n :
~ ~ tnov lie would have been lol
ei n,i n'i ~ farm an takin' the first tram 70
,Vasbing,on. / couldn't afford TO let hin'
,,a,'' "a / lust lay there ON my baoA ~
IT, great whitewashed room, WIN ,ons
- NJ other lads about me some OF thsi.
Tt,ie Eighty an noisy az times, but lv'
Ill most part strangely qnlet~m CUM
VI ~ specks ON th' ceilin. liner, WEI.
.siobt nj M specks altogether an : sa,'
iem names an made game OUT oi
Tbs," was Alexander, an Hannibal on
80, an, Joshua. an Bonaparte' an
p",..,,,',, an samson, an Washington
.onJ fgbtin' men, a. ! understand ~ ~
sn,de me little dizzy TO keep EN- IN illhu
a. times. but maybe il was cause o. ny
,reaLness An one day-One afternoon
when I was matehin Washington an JOSH
na AGAINST any four OF tn others shadow
icll across IN cot. turned my sles a
T,,le AM there was tall man lookin down
N me-he seemed tn tallest man ha'i
ever seen. An he bent down httie' ah
~ face was smilin'. I've heafd y cSlleil
a bomely face. son. bat n dldh looh
bomelv 10 a tired man counting speeAs ="
a whitewashed wall q, ! hnrW I'M.
There wasn't but one face hke that' pu'
be;ng "a suddenly called away from Joshua
az, ~ rest was little confused, lie
NV. i and laid his hand gently on NINE.
STEADY he softly said. Don't hurry
TAKE your time. comrade. Let me do the
taI,ing You are William temenMaN
Mes. Your captain, Captain Lance Nhit'
comb. an old neighbor Of NINE ~
Ulinov. has written 10 me from the hei1
asking that nothing be left undone 70 al
vance your recovery The surgeon telis me
Won are doing nicely. l. there anything
sneciol Won WANT I whispered no very
family but he understood They had
brought him chair and he was sitting. by
me with his hand still pressed on mine
40 Won know meS' he asked. Father
Abraham. I whispered, an that pleased
him. | could see. He bent little closer
From Illinoy" he asked Kansas, Wits
pered hack. A wonderfully promising
state. he said. and well worth the price
II cost tried 10 say something and ne
bent still lower Free soil, whispered.
yes. thank Cod he answered My voice
came back a little then an ! managed TO
say. I was a free soiler. lie pressed my
hand It's something to he proud Of.
he answered. i was with John Brown
I told him. old Oswatomie. back in 5S,
fghtin' for free soil down there IN south.
eastern Kansas. He pressed my hand
again Look at my forehead | whispered
He gently pushed back my hair and found
this white scar
He paused and raised his wild hair and
showed the boy the SCARED furrow.
Il see !" whispered the lad.
AN tn President saw It, too. What's
this he asked. That came from a Mis-.
souran's gun ! told him He touched
the scar very gently It's a blaze, he
softly said. a blaze that marks the path
way OF liberty You and those others were
the pioneers Of ultimate freedom. comrade
are an older fighter than most of us,
We fell in behind when you pointed the
way God mend you, gallant free soiler.
he said and the pressure on my hand grew
heavy for an instant There were tears in
my eyes, boy. ] was very weak. you know.
an what he said made my throat swell.
There. there he quickly cried. get well
as fast as YOU can. We are going to stop
his game very soon now, and You'll be
needed at the finish He suddenly felt in
his rockets in hurried way and shook his
head. I'd like to leave something with
you as a reminder OF our visit. William.
He drew his fingers from his vest pocket
an there was something shining in them.
Here. he said, take these two golden dol
ars. They are good stuff and true stuff,
md honest stuff He closed my hand up-
IN the shining things. 'Goodby. free soil.
sr,' he said an was gone"
The stranger paused moment as ii re
,alling the scene
An after that" he slowly added, Il
lidn't watch tn spots on the ceiling no
had those two shinin' dollars to
ook at.
The boy drew long breath and came
/ little closer He stared hard az the scar
lcross the strangers forehead
re great fighter" he said with a
ing OF boyish admiration
Il fight tn best | know how" laughed |
he stranger ANYWAY. | reckon I'm tn |