Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-05-30

blooded, irascfble old fellow. and his bluff
sympathy went far toward solacing Uncle
Luther in his affection.
Z" 'Twan't SO bad as II you hadn't lost 1t
BEFORE" he comforted.
But Uncle Luther had no mind For treat
ing his loss f~rivolously. The years had
crushed all of the hymor out of him. and
left him only tragedy.
II was thinkin'," he said. that now 1
can't march, p'raps ~you-p'raps Amery-
might let Tommy have it"
Captain Enoch frowned darkly. but
Uncle Luther hurried on:
Hes more commandin' than 1 be. err
ever was. er ever will be. an he's had
practice
ooh. youIl be ready to march by Deco
ration Day." interrupted Captain Enoch.
Its good of you to say sO.' said Uncle
Luther. but jus can't do 1t. Tommy's
the man." and then he added wistfuily,
II visit could see Tommy"
But Uncle Tommy did not come. Uncle
Luther heard, however, that Uncle Tom
my had been appointed marshal of the
parade, and he was glad of 1t. For HIM
self, he was busted after the first day or
two with a stout piece of ash, which he
slowly whitfield down with a drawshave to
the proportions of a wooden lag. 1t would
not do as we'll as a regular artificial leg,
such as the one he had been wearing, but
he hoped that it would serve him for tbs
Memorial Day exercises. He still cher.
ished a desire to march with a parade,
although be knew that Jonathan would
not approve of it. He was afraid of iona.
than. But whole days slipped by when he
was not strong enough to work, and yet
he chung to the task with feverish eager
ness. The man within him protested that
he was still good for something. tina old
age haN not robbed him of everything.
On the morning of Memorial Day the
whiting was 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 exer.
cises. So he laid 1T away, and toward
noon he dressed up in his best blue
clothes. and put on his wide-brimmec
black hat with the gold. cord around the
crown. Then he hobbled out of the door,
and dropped down on a, box by the fence,
with his back resting against a post. 1t
was a fresh, clear May morning. During
the night there had been a shower and
the grass at the roadside stood up green
and dewy. The fields OF waving wheat
blades spread away for miles before him,
dotted here and there with houses and red
barns. and straight rows Of Lombardy
poplars and cottonwoods. Where Uncle
Luther sat he could look up the yellow
stretch of roadway, and he knew that he
ISOAt0 e viz IA 0tIolOSL A6 SUOD az IL
left the town. 1t would pass the end of
the lane on it's way to the cemetery. and
he hoped. with the vague optimism OF the
very old and the very young, that 1t would
come back by the same road. Seeing 1t
was next to marching with it.
Uncle Luther put on his long-distance
glasses. and he saw a blur of blue NOV
ing along the road from the village. Above
1t there was a blur of red and white. A
moment later they resolved themselves in
to a of old soldiers. with the flag
Tapping above them. Uncle Luther took
a long breath. and his eyes shone Sud-
denly a band began to play the stirring
music of marching Through Georgia.
They've got the bard" exclaimed Uncle
Luther. in q voice that choked with ecs-
tasy.
Unconsciously he rose on his one goo0
foot and tOok off his hat. His eyes
dimmed. and as the enlivening strains Of
the music came up TO him. another pic
ture formed on his misty glasses. He saw
the boys In blue-no, a meager handful
of gray and stopping remnants, but boys.
with fresh young faces. and broad should
ers. n proud chins. They were muddy
to the knees with marching, they were
ragged and tattered. but they swept by to
the drums and ffes. regiment after regi-
ment and brigade after brigade; and
orderlies clattered up and down with yell
low envelopes stuck in their BELTS and
the shells were screechinE from the rebel
heights. He saw the companies wheel
and depl0y:i 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 cl!nging des-
peratety to the caissons. Then he saw