Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-05-26

vance of the one we td occupied
Claybourne deserted thy hospital FOL
active service. We foHd no enemy
between us and our nS encampmeni
except small bands. wAch at once re
treated before US.
Our battalion enc$hped near the
manor house of a Iare plantation, the
occupants Of which tere Confederates
and very bitter agatst US as invaders
of the south. as tbk called US. Clay
bourne and I werffn the same com
pany, and | notice. on the march that
he was suffering 5eat mental distress
I forebore to asIhim the cause, for
/ knew / wouldreceive no sausfae-
ton.
The day aftevkTe were settled In our
new encampnJnt Claybourne asked
me to ride VIII him that we might
form some pl9 to remove the obloquy
under which he rested on account of
bis mysterioS rides and the tnnuendo
of the ad1Uant We emerged from
our camp an rode on for time in 81
lence. Presntly from the gate OF the
plantation house which we were APP
preaching merged a young girl. When
we met Er she fixed her eyes upon
Clayboure with an unmistakable ex-
pressisnbf contempt
1 IookH from her to him For some
time htl did not speak. and when he
did he burst out vehemently.
''Thfe is your explanation" he said
you who were born and have lived
~ H. -
soutern army officers who have stuck
by he Dag have suffered and must
conlnue to suffer The girl we have
1uS passed and L were brought up to-
peher as children. We were sweet
h@ rts In childhood and are today low
es in youth, for, despite her treat
Gent of me, she loves me today, as I
bve her. When I went to West Point
I've We're betrothed. When the war
came on she wrote me. begging me to
resign and come to fight for our homes
and our firesides. I thought and I
thought day after day. week after
week, month after month. ] could see
no sense. no justification, in breaking
up the Union. Yet to turn against my
own people was horrible; TO give up
the girl 1 loved was heartbreaking.
1 knew what 1 was bound in con-
science and in honor to do, but II
seemed that I could not do it. At last
I decided. And. once decided, my
decision was irrevocabIe. You Will
have no Benedict Arnold among us
southern men on either side"
/ leaned over toward him and threw
my arms about him. Then we rode on
for some time in silence, which l broke.
waters will apologize to you"
said. ut is not necessary that you
should explain your mysterious rides
even to me. / can readily understand
that they were on errands Of love-"
you are right" he replied. 81 have
visited my former fiancee in the hope
that might win her from the position
she has taken. 1 have failed"
"But how" 1 asked presently, "were
you able to visit this place when ii
was in Confederate handsY
. MANY of the officers were former
of mine. and 1 had no diff
Guilty in getting permission to visit one
who was known to have been my
sweetheart. l know every one about
here That was the weakness of my
position. l repeatedly and secretly
visited the enemy"
l could readily understand all that
my young friend had suffered and
how to gain kind word from the girl
he loved had laid himself liable to a
charge of treachery. Even in confid-
ing the matter to me he had parted
with his secret.
AS soon as we returned to camp
sought Waters and told him that the
he had called for had been
made to me and that 1 was perfectly
satisfied with 1t. Waters accepted ii
as if 1t had been made to him person
ally and offered to go TO Claybourne
and apologize. but 1 assured him that
1t was not necessary. All the case re-
quired was that the matter be drop
ped.
Shortly after this 1 was transferred
to another branch of the service and
did not meet Claybourne again till we
met several years after the war was
over. l found him very much chang
ed The position he had taken in re-
spect to the ACCESSIBILITY of the seces-
sion movement had been indicated,
and a terrible four years had become
a thing OF the past. The FIRST ques-
ton 1 asked him was if he was mar
ried.
He told me that he was and when l
looked at him inquiringly added: mo
After the war she relented, but too
late for me. Recently l have married
a girl from my native state. She was
a Confederate sympathizer, but she
my position and commend
ed me for being true TO my convic-
tons"
Many years after 1 happened to meet
the girl who had turned away lover.
She had never married