The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-05-31
Jim 'Treyor's
transformation
A Story For Memorial Day
By ARCHIBALD DECKER

Memorial day when half dozen gray
boards were decorating the graves OF
their fallen comrades. "Jim and | en-.
listed on the same day and went
through the fracas in the same regi-
ment. Jim was q good soldier, good
fellow and a pet of the petticoats. He
was captured at the battle of Chicka-
manga and taken into Georgia. where
he was kept until we advanced with
Sherman's army to Atlanta. About
the time we were passing his way ne
managed to escape and joined us. l
remember well when he came into
camp dressed up fit to kill.
Hello, Jim,' said. L thought you
was dead
"No; got taken in by the Johnnies.
I'll tell you how it was said he, and
he did.
when he got away, which he did by
burrowin' under a wall, he was
mighty sick lookin' chap. His clothes
was tattered and torn, and good deal
of the dirt that he'd crawled through
was stickin' to i'm. He was covered
with lice, and his hair hadn't been
combed since he was captured. In the
mornin' he found himself in wood
along one side o. which was wall and
on the other side of the wall was
plantation, or, rather, the garden al
ioinin' the plantation house. Jim was
so hungry that he was ready to risk
most anything to get his teeth on a
hunk o. corn pone or somepin like
that, so he jumped the wall and was
maxim across the garden for the mig
ger quarters when a side door of the
house opened and young girl and
Confederate officer stepped out. Jim
darted ND a tree which he happened
to be near.
saTbe couple came saunterin' along,
the man talkin' for all he was wo'th
about somepin, the girl listenin'. When
they get under the tree where Jim was
hIdin' they sat down on bench.
The Teller was maxim love to the girl
on the gallop. He said he'd ridden
over from camp to ask her to marry
him for the last time, for General Sher-
man was comm and his command had
been ordered eastward to a more IA
vorable point to make stand. She
said before she'd marry a Confederate
she'd take up with the worst lookin'
Yank In the Federal army.
"Jim felt very slick at this, consid-
erin that so far as clothes, dirt, YER
min and general appearance went he
would make a good candidate for the
girls preference. But what pleased
him especially just then was fndin'
out that he'd struck the home of Union
sympathizers. what the girl said made
the Confederate mad, and he went of
In huff.
'The girl sat where she was, pokin'
the dirt with her parasol, evidently
feelin' sort o. stirred up over the mat
ter. Jim was afraid TO let her know
he was up In the tree above her for
fear he'd shock her, so he concluded
he'd wait I'll she'd gone back to the
house before he applied for food and
shelter. But bad luck would have it
a bird settled on one Of the branches
and began to twittert and chirp Jim
wanted to ring the little things neck.
The bird kept on twitterin', and pres
entity the girl looked up. When she
saw Jim she gave shrek and would
have run into the house If she hadn't
been paralyzed with fear. Jim dropped
down in front OF her She gave him
one look and went into a dead faint
Jim couldn't blame her, for he was the
measliest lookin' cub in Georgia.
when she came to herself she
found Jim on his knees before her
lookin' like scarecrow, and she faint
ed again. When she got over that she
began to realize that the scarecrow
hadn't hurt her, and she got used to
lookin' at him.
"'You ought not to be so shocked at
me SEEM you told the gentleman that
before you'd marry a Confederate
you'd take up with the worst lookin'
Yank in the Federal army.
"Jim had funny way with him,
and when he said this the girl couldn't
help laughin'. She asked him where
he had come from, and Jim told her
all about himself. Then she took him
to the house, but she must have been
still uncertain about him. for she wait
ed for him to go fust. Jim was mighty
polite about it, for his shirt tall was
hangin' out of the seat of his britehes--
that is, the place where the seat ought
to have been. But the girl wouldn't
give in, and Jim had to go fust, walk
in as IL he knew what he was show
In, and every now and then he heard
giggle.
"Jim was given a bath, fine tooth
comb, a suit of the girls brothers
clothes and a bang up meal. When
he came downstairs all done up fine
the girl looked at him with her eyes
wide open and asked him If he was
sure he was the scarecrow that had
dropped down before her in the gar
ding. Jim said he didn't think he
was--that teller must a flown out the
winder
well, Jim was treated fine, sleepin'
in a downy bed and given the best
there was In the house to eat till we
passed the plantation. when he came
sallin' in, lookin' as II he was the gov
ernor of the state"