The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1912-06-02

cluQg to the task WIN IefeflSn eager
ness The man within him prOt"Steu
that he was still good for something,
that Old age had not robbed him of ev-
erything
On tie morning of Memorial day the
whiting was all finished. but there
remained the task of attaching the
straps, and Uncle Luther knew that
he could not hope to complete the leg
In time for the exercises. So he laid
1t away. and toward noon he dressed
up in his best blue clothes and put on
his wide brimmed black hat with the
gold cord around the crown. Then he
hobbIed out of the door and dropped
down on box by the fence with his
! back resting against 4 post. Where
Uncle Luther sat he could look up the
yellow stretch Of roadway. and he
knew tl!dt he could Sc" the parade al
most as soon ao il left til" tnWH 1t
would pass the end Of the IH!." on its
way t. the cemetery. IL. h" hov"H.
with the optimism IT tAr very "ld and
the vc"" young. that it |o'lIn COM"
D'i' II ~ ~ F''itiO '''''' iiiF~
was noxt to marching with it.
I Uncle Luther put on his lOng dis
lance glasses, and he saw n blur of
blue moving along the road from the
village Above it there was q blur Of
red and white A moment later they
resolved themselves into a knot of old
soldiers, with the flag Tapping above
them Uncle Luther took long
breath, and his eyes shone. Suddenly
, a band began to play the stirring mu
sic of "Marching Through Georgia.
They've got the band" exclaimed
with ecstasy.
Unconsciously he rose on his one good
foot and took off his hat His eyes
dimmed, and as the enlivening strains
Of the music came up to him another
picture formed on his misty classes
He saw the boys in blue-nOt 4 ,l"A%Pr
handful of gray and STOPPING remnants.
but boys with fresh young faces ana
broad shoulders and proud chinS. They
were muddy to the knees with march
but they swept by to the drums ana
flies, regiment after regiment and brt
gade after brigade, and orderiieS clat
tered up and down with yellow envel-
opes stuck In their belts, and the shells
were screeching from the Confederate
heights. He saw the companies wheel
and deploy. He saw them strip down
and form in line at charge bayonets.
| The big black guns were leaping the
ruts in the road. with the gunners
clinging desperately to the caissons
Then he saw the long line Of gray rise
I'D over the hill and pour itself down
the slope. He saw the ragged, mile
long fash Of the carbines. and he
would have leaped forward to the
charge II for a single moment he had
heard the bugle's shrill summons.
Uncle Luther's spectacies were dim
med. He polished them Off with shaky
fingers and ooked again. Behind the
band there was stretch Of white
that seemed to twinkle In the sunshine
They've got the children, too" he
faltered.
Then the old fellows In blue swung
at the corner They were keeping mill
tary line. and something Of the old
! spirit had thrilled their steps into an
unwonted precision. The band. wheel
ing with them, swept into Rally
Round the Flag, Boys" Uncle Luther
leaned forward on his one good leg.
waved bis hat around his head and
shouted, "Hurrah. hurrah!" His head
was thrown back, his eyes flashed his
breath came back quick and hot.
Now they had reached the end OF
the lane. and Uncle Luther could make
out the full length of the parade. It
was by far the greatest celebration
that the town ever had known. and his
! heart swelled with pride at the thought.
! Not once did he recall his own disap-
pointment and sorrow. It was all for
! the glory of the day.
Suddenly Uncle Luther shrank back.
What were they trying to do? He felt
an impulse to run forward and tell
them that they had missed the way to
! the cemetery and that the lane ran
only as far as Jonathan Dowelrs
house. But before he could decide
/ what to do the old soldiers stopped
almost in front of his own little shop
The band had swung out to one side
1t was playing America" and the
sweet, shrill voices Of the children rose
and fell with the music. Uncle Luther
sank back on his box, trembling.
Through a mist of great happiness he
saw Uncle Tommy and Captain Enoch
advancing toward him side by side.
He couldn't believe it at first: he didn't
pretend to believe it.
'I'm gettin' old" he muttered, IAN
I'm not steady in my mind
But he rose to meet them. Uncle
Tommy carried an odd shaped pack
age in his arms. and when he was
near to Uncle Luther he stopped and
cleared his throat. Every one was ST.
lent, listening.
II calc'late to make q speech" he
stammered. "but we thought we'd dec,
crate the Twin this wear Luther,