The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1914-12-28

Down IN his boarding house ~
Bloom whitefaced. having reached
great decision It wasfa young mans
world. Inf was no place for veterS
ans, for shas-beenss" he quoted bit
terly from the young clerks.
IT was no place for him, so on the
table lay an old.tme pistol. newly
loaded he had faced death. many
times, In the old days, without a ire
NOR. when he was young, with every
thing before him. Should he talter
now, when nothing was before him?
He had raised the pistol to his fore
head, when a thought came To- him.
Berger would be passing presently
with his call of Taps"
1t would be fitting that be wait for
the slow bugle notes: they would be
music most appropriate to his old
ears as he was steeled to start upon
the last long sleep, prepared to have
Lights out" forever for his dim old
eyes. Yes, he would wait.
Berger's lips bothered him as be
went downtown in the underground.
He could feel that they had swollen
that afternoon, even beyond the thieS
proportions to which the previous
night OF practising pom his bugie
softly in the back yard Of the tene-
ment he lived in. had brought them
in the morning.
"Achi Bloom will be surprised" he
told himself.
And Bloom was not finding waiting
tedious. Putting from It with relief.
until the time should come to take It
up appropriately, the thought OF death,
his mind dwelt on far memories.
He placed small keepsakes of his
good old wife In the breast pocket OF
his coat-the pocket nearest to his
heart. He wrote a brief farewell to
Berger, and another to tho gray COM
mander OF his post in the Grand Army.
The letter to the commander said:
Tn waiting now for Berger to &C by,
and play Taps on his buElc. II kind ot
seems to me 5sn TINT # : as ..l ! 90 70 sa sIef Bowed II Tih
"Reveillo' is for young men. Taps
that is the call for us-for me, and. pretty
soon. for you and all the rest. Good-by !
bivouac.
Then he waited FIVE. ten, fifteen
minutes. He fingered the pistol calm
ly. Its chill touch did not terrify him
1t was to be the instrument of his re
lease, an old man, from a young mans
world.
There was a brilliant smile on Berg
er's face as he went to get his scts,
sors-grinding outfit and his bugle; his
step was almost jaunty as he passed
out upon the street with them, and
hurried briskly toward Blooms board.
ing house. AS, nearing, he raised the
bugle to his lips he had to kill a smile
In order to conform to the small
brass mouthpiece.
"Ah!" he was thinking, here is q
surprise for B. om!"
At the first soft qpayer OF the
throaty, brazen call, the pistol which
had been hanging loosely in Blooms
hand twltched as the muscles of his
fingers and his lean old wrist con-
tracted. He glanced about the room
to see that everything was in good
order.
He had forgotten nothing, he assured
himself. Now, as SOC as Taps" was
finished
But-what?
Those which were coming through
the open window were not the long
and mournful notes his ears had been
expecting. 1t could not, after all, be
Berger who was playing.
Some coaching party probably had
wandered to the dingy side street, Or
some ingenious auto.horn had been de-
vised which accurately co%unterfeited
lIp-blown bugle calls.
No, not the notes of Taps" quick
and sharp and shrill. they reached
him, without a hint Of sadness.
T~rtumphantly they sang Of hope and
energy and joy. declaring birth of
new day. No farewell was that call,
but greeting-loud, melodious, inspir.
ing.
ITS .Reyeille.'" he muttered. IRE,
veiue!'"
There was a clatter on the stairs.
Berger entered gaily.
did i play 1t good?" he cried. 1T
maybe braced you up a little. huh? It
braced me up a whole lot to play 1t.
Yes, 1t did"
Bloom went to him and laid a trem.
Ding hand upon the myers ana Ins
bugle which they held.
TT sounded fine," he said. ut
sounded fine. Yes, it brbced me up. It
did me good to hear it."
From the street below arose the
notes OF still another fashioned tube
Of brass, this time the barking horn
of a great touring car, stopping at that
door.
why. Bloom, it's Fuhrstadt!" Berg.
IT cried. He's going to climb out
we mustn't let him-not tied up. the
way he 10, with rheumatic. He must
have got to. thinking4and come down
himself"
They hurried to the stairs.
II just came round to say" said
Fuhrstadt, glad to sink back among