The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-02-24
her. Not from home. trust

the words | must speak arr. neyerthe.
less sad ones and must prove Il severe
shock to you. There is no TIL Viz
sinia
NO til Virginia? 90 | echoed. scarce
able TO comprehend his meaning, no
tn Virginia? | beg you to explain.
sir; surely and looked about me
upon the various uniforms OF he serv-
Ice present-"the war has not yet
ceased-we have not surrendered >"
No. my boy and the old hero
reverently barred his gray head in the
sunlight, but the TIL Virginia gave
itself to the South that day in the
Shenandoah
must have grown very white. for
a young aide sprang hastily forward
and passed his arm about me. Yet |
scarcely realized the action. for my
whole thought was with the dead
Do you mean they are all gone" |
questioned, tremblingly, hardly able
to grasp the full dread import of such
CHASTITY tidings. Surely, General Lee
some among them must have come
! back"
so few" he responded soberly, his
hat still retained in his hand, 80 few
that we could only scatter them in
other commands. But you have not
yet fully recovered your strength.
You must not remain longer standing
here Major Holmes, will you kindly
conduct Captain Wayne to my head
quarters and see that he is furnished
with uniform suitable to his rank.
For the present he will serve as extra
aide upon my personal staff"
| turned away, the Major leading ME
as If had been child. | walked as
a man stunned by some sudden, unxe-
pected blow. When finally Joined
the mess upon the following day. clad
now in fit uniform, l had regained no
small measure Of self-restraint, and
with it came likewise renewal of the
military spirit. My welcome proved
extremely cordial, and the converse
ton of the others present soon placed
In my possession whatever of incident
had occurred since that disastrous day
of battle in the valley. No attempt
was made to conceal our weakness,
nor TO disguise the fact that we were
making a last desperate stand. 1t was
evident to all that nothing now re-
manned but to fold our tattered battle
flags with honor.
Directly opposite me, at the long
and rather scantily furnished mess
table. was seated captain of infan
try, quite foreign In appearances
tall, slender man, wearing light-col
ored moustache and goatee. His
name. as | gathered from the CONVEX
sattOn. was Carlson, and | was con-
siderably surprised at the fixedness
with which his eyes were fastened
upon me during the earlier part of the
meal. Thinking We might have met
somewhere before, | ransacked my
memory In vain for any recollection
which would serve to account for his
evident interest In me. Finally, ven
tured to ask, as pleasantly as posi-
BILE:
Captain Carlson, do l remind you
of some one, since you regard me SO
intentiy?"
The man instantly flushed all over
his fair face at this direct inquiry
1T vas not dat" Che almost STAN j
mered in sudden confusion, speaking |
quite brokenly), bot, salr, 1t haf come
to me dat you vos an insulter of wom-
ems, an had refuse to fight NIT mems.
| know not; 1t seems not So I
| was on my feet in an instant.
scarcely credting my own ears. yet
on fire with indignation. i
Il know not what you may mean" l |
said, white with anger. But hold .
you personally accountable for those
words, and you shall discover that | T
will fight init mems"
He pushed his chair hastily back.
his face fairly crims on. and began to
stammer an explanations; but Matt
land interfered. {
What does all this mean. Carlson?"
he exclaimed, sternly. ''Sit down.
is some strange mis-
take here"
| resumed my chair, wondering II
they had all gone crazy. yet resolved
upon taking instant action If some sat
Isfactory explanation were not at once
Come Carlson, what do you mean
by addressing such language to Cap
tain Wayne?"
Veil said the Swede, so agitated
by the excitement about him he could
scarcely find English In which to ex-
press himself intelligibly, lit vos dis
7ay. would not insult Captain
vane: oh, no. bot 1t vos told to me, an