Charlevoix county herald., 1912-02-03

none OF your surgeons who are up in matters
of sentiment could probe and get out the bullet
or perhaps I'd better say arrow for that's the
kind of ammunition the little chap who shot Jim
uses. You Jim nigh onto fifty when he
got his sights fixed and held to this pretty
creature with blonde hair, blue eyes and pink
cheeks. It's always the way with the old fellows
when they get stuck on something young. II goes
hard with them. You the girl has heard how
it that Jim had always been steady, had
never the inside OF the mill except as a
member of the guard. and moreover. how he had
$4,000 drawing per cent with the paymaster
and was sure of going out as frat sergeant in
five years with forty plunks month.
Jim always went into fight to win, and he
got onto the track of that girl and hung to it
just as he did to the Kids trail down ia the
Apache country when Troop was chsring that
red devil through the Arizona hell. The girl led
Jim for while coquettish like, just - make
of him, guess. | don't suppose 1Sc ever
cared rap for him
well finally we all thought that J!w had
corraled her all right 1t was given out thee the
Twelfth's chaplain going to have job U'ng
the two up. None of the boys congratulated Jin
too hearty, because most Of them had sized the
affair up right, and wouldn't have It that the girl
was good enough for Jim Benson. She might
be all right for n rookie. but not for an old one
who had seen more campaigns than the girl haf
years. l ought to have told you before that this
particular petticoat was visiting at the post She
came from down Iowa way somewhere
"One night she gave it out that The was going
home and that jim must go down there for the
splicing She cleared out, and ~ a few days
after the old fellow gets a furongh and clears
out too. following the trail, We heard after
way down to Iowa Now, you s1ust just get
hold of this fact jim was kind = a pious chap.
but he loved the flag better than sny Bible that
printed, but for a short lime that girl
was above the flag Jim was just crazy for her.
The story is that she wouldn't orme back and
wouldn't marry him unless lie qu'. Ehe army then
and there. jim tried to quit through the regular
red tape channels. but they wouldn't have it down
in Washington
fighter in a hundred fights. lover % his flag and
country, and good a soldier as ever wore quar-
termasters Shoes deserted and deserted for n
petticoat. I forgot to say that Jir' got his wad
of money from the paymaster hefore his leave
UP.
There was another desertion '1a'de OF a month
after Jim quit the colors. This 'me n woman
did the deserting, though fellow helped her to
DO it, and alcng with the wUmtrn and the fellow
went Jim's money.
"Jms heart was clean broke Eie got in com
mnncation with his old capta'P somehow. and
lie tried to work the thing thN'ush the depart.
ment for Jim. but thered been neap OF deser-
tions about that time. and DESPITE Jim's medal
and his twenty-five years with nary a blind nor
n day in the mill against him. the honorable the
lie must take his medicine.
1T was rumored around old Fort Johnson that
Jim had been seen on the edge OF the woods
looking at the old place and seeming kind of wild
like One night of the old luartermaster
shacks got on fire. IL just before target
practice season and the building had dozen big
boxes OF ammunition in il. There n pretty
stiff wind blowing and it looked as II the bar
racks and lot of other things would go. II that
stuff had exploded the other buildings would
have gone sure The fire fairly eating around
those boxes and the fellows fought shy of.it
"Al at once while the crowd bearing
back somebody jumped clean through the line
and plump into the fire. lie grabbed box and
threw IL out clear of the blaze and then another
and another. though the flames were burning his
clothes and going up wreathike about his head
. when he had done the business clean and
good. the man jumped out of tho flames md ran
20 the woods. Well l guess you know who II
was. IL was Jim Benson. We found him dead
the next day in the thicket but the curious par
of the matetr was that Jim's body was wrapped
in an old garrison flag that had been pinne'
about him by the last effort of those poor burned
hands Jim thought, you see, that deserte
though he was If he did this that they nigh
bury him with the flag.
Did they do It? Yes. and gave him the Teg
laion three rounds over the grave and tho bes
prayer that the old chaplain knew how to pray