The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-08-15

the boy his nickname-a name
prompted BY q marked eccentricity. for
although Jacket possessed the two gar
ments which constituted the ordinary
insurrecto uniform, he made a prac-
tice Of wearing only one. On chilly
nights, or on formal occasions, he
wore both waistcoat and trousers. but
at other times he dispensed entirely
with the latter, and his legs went
naked. They were naked now, as. with
the modesty Of complete unconscious
ness, he squatted In the shade, putting
thoughtfully at his giant cheroot.
Once jackets mind was fastened
upon any subject. 1t remained there,
and after time he continued: ,-a
'DidI told you about that battle Of
Pine Bravo? Eh~ He turned his big
brown eyes upward to O'Reiily. 'Cris-
to! I skill more'n dozen men thnt
dayi"
ut was hot scrimmage," Judson at
tested. "Some Of Luque's niggers. those
tall, lean, hungry fellows, from Santi-.
ugo, mansg ged to hack their way
through a wire fence and get behind
detachment Of the enemy who had
made stand under q hill. They
charged. and for a wonder they got
close enough to use their machetes. It
| was bloody work-the kind you read
about--no quarter. Somehow Jacket
managed to be right in the middle of
the butchery. He's a bravo kid, all
right. Muy malo!''
At that moment Branch approached.
his long face set in lines of discomfort.
even deeper than usual. He had been
\ wandering about the camp In one Of
his restless fits, and now he began: Il
"Say. what do you think I've been
doing? I've been looking up some grub
for Miss Evans, and can't find any,"
"Can't find anyf" ,a-,os g.. e-..if
Nothing At for her to eat. You
don't expect her to live on, this infer.
nal. eternal beef stew."i
'Didn't Major Ramos bring anything
aIong?" O'Reilly asked. ~ '.s41nS,. =.
'He says there's 4 famine at Cubi.
tas." .1sa9. Npi
"we'd better look into this" Judson
exclaimed, and, finding that his clothes
were dry. he hurriedly began to dress
himself. -, ~.
4 Together, the three men made an In
vestigation Of the camps resources,
only to discover that Branch was right.
There was, indeed, but little food of
any kind, and that little. was Of the
fcoarsest. Ordinarily. such a. condition
Of affairs would have occasioned them,
no surprise, for the men were becoming
accustomed to more or less chronic
scarcity Of provisions; but the pres.
4 ence Of Norine Evans put quite diff.
ferent completion upon the matter
They were stili discussing the situation
when Miss Evans. having finished her
afternoon nap, threw open the flaps OF
her tent and stepped out. -,
When she had listened to the &C.
count apologetically submitted by her
three friends, she drew her brows to-
gether. saying, plaintively: "Oh dear |
We've been going short for a week.
and Major Ramos told me we'd fure
better when we got here. had my
mouth all set for Q banquet. Couldn't
you even find the poor dog bone?"
"rm afraid the cupboard is bare"
OReilly acknowledged. ~
| DO you know what want for din
ner" Norine inquired. Lamb chops
with green peas, some nice white bread
a salad. and coffee" grt ss>i..f.
The three men looked at Ter anxious
ly. Judson stirred uneasily.
Il no Va
to get It."
| With a sigh Of relief the captain ex
claimed, IT thought you were giving
! your order.". .af gy,,.p
Goodness, not" With a laugh the
girl seated herself upon her one camp
chair, inviting her callers to dispos
themselves on the ground about her
| "If you can stand the food, dare say ]
can. Now then, tell me what you've
been doing since you left Cubitas. I've
been frightened to death that some o,
you would be hurt. That's one reaso.
why I've been working night and da'
helping to get the hospitals In shape
I can't bear to think Of our boys beinf
wounded. Everything is SO differen
to what I thought 1t would be. and Tn
SO weak and ineffective. The medica
supplies brought are nearly all gon1
and I've learned what hard work 1t Il
4 fitting up hospitals when there's moth
ing to fit them up with" She sighec
II imagined was going to work wos
ders-I thought I was going to be Z
Florence Nightingale. and the MED
were going to idolize me" =
"Don't theyr Judson demanded.
"No. That is-not In exactly thu
way I expected" N"'1
"They all want to marry her.
OReilly explained.
4 'Insolent bunch!" growled the cap
tain. Then he swallowed hard ant
said. "But for that matter. SO do L"
Il "HOW gillv Won hOve can he ~ Norina