Si whistled softly to himself as he watched the Wisconsin boys. They were hitching and twisting their shoulders about, evidently enjoying the friction of the clothing upon their skins. There was a general employment of fingers, and often one would be seen getting come other fellow to scratch his back around where he couldn"t reach himself. If everybody was too busy to do this for him he would back up to a tree and rub up and down against the bark.
Life has few pleasures that can equal the sensations of delightful enjoyment produced in those days, when graybacks were plenty, by rubbing against a tree that nicely fitted the hollow of the back, after throwing off one"s "traps" at the end of a day"s march.
Directly the Wisconsin chaps began to scatter into the woods. Si watched them as they got behind the trees and threw off their blouses and shirts. He thought at first that perhaps they were going in swimming, but there was no stream of water at hand large enough to justify this theory in explanation of their nudity. As each man set down, spread his nether garment over his knees and appeared to be intently engaged, with eyes and fingers. Si"s curiosity was very much excited.
"Looks "s if they wuz all mendin" up their shirts and sewin" on b.u.t.tons," said Si, "Guess it"s part o" their regular drill, ain"t it, Shorty?"
Shorty laughed at Si"s ignorant simplicity. He knew what those veterans were doing, and he knew that Si would have to come to it, but he didn"t want to shock his tender sensibilities by telling him of it.
"Them fellers ain"t sewin" on no b.u.t.tons. Si," he replied; "they"re skirmishin"."
"Skirmishin"!" exclaimed Si, opening his eyes very wide. "I haint seen any signs o" rebs "round here, "n" there aint any shootin" goin" on, "nless I"ve lost my hearin". Durned if "t aint the funniest skirmishin"
I ever hearn tell of!"
"Now, don"t ax me nuthin" more "bout it, Si," said Shorty. "All I"m goin" to tell ye is that the longer ye live the more ye"ll find things out. Let"s flax "round "n" git supper!"
A little while after, as Si was squatting on the ground holding the frying-pan over the fire, he saw a strange insect vaguely wandering about on the sleeve of his blouse. It seemed to be looking for something, and Si became interested as he watched it traveling up and down his arm. He had never seen one like it before, and he thought he would like to know what it was. He would have asked Shorty, but his comrade had gone to the spring for water. Casting his eye around he saw the Captain, who chanced to be sauntering through the camp.
The Captain of Co. Q had been the Princ.i.p.al of a seminary in Posey County, and was looked upon with awe by the simple folk as a man who knew about all that was worth knowing. Si thought he might be able to tell him all about the harmless"s-looking little stranger.
So he put down his frying-pan and stepped up to the Captain, holding out his arm and keeping his eye on the insect so that he shouldn"t get away.
"Good evenin", Cap.," said Si, touching his hat, and addressing him with that familiar disregard of official dignity that characterised the average volunteer, who generally felt that he was just as good as anybody who wore shoulder straps.
"Good evening, Klegg," said the Captain, returning the salute.
"Say, Cap, you"ve been ter collidge "n" got filled up with book-larnin"; p"raps ye kin tell me what kind o" bug this is. I"m jest a little bit curious to know."
And Si pointed to the object of his inquiry that was leisurely creeping toward a hole in the elbow of his outer garment.
"Well, Josiah," said the Captain, after a brief inspection, "I presume I don"t know quite as much as some people think I do; but I guess I can tell you something about that insect. I never had any of them myself, but I"ve read of them."
"Never had "em himself," thought Si. "What "n the world does ha mean?"
And Si"s big eyes opened with wonder and fear at the thought that whatever it was he had "got "em."
"I suppose," continued the Captain, "you would like to know the scientific name?"
"I reck"n that"ll do "s well "s any."
"Well, sir, that is a Pediculus. That"s a Latin word, but it"s his name."
"Purty big name fer such a leetle bug, ain"t it, Perfessor?" observed Si. "Name"s big enough for an el"fant er a "potamus."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "SKIRMISHING" 103 ]
"It may seem so, Klegg; but when you get intimately acquainted with him I think you will find that his name isn"t any too large for him. There is a good deal more of him than you think."
The young soldier"s eyes opened still wider.
"I was going on to tell you," continued the Captain, "that there are several kinds of Pediculi--we don"t say Pediculuses. There is the Pediculus Capitis--Latin again--but it means the kind that lives on the head. I presume when you were a little shaver your mother now and then harrowed your head with a fine-tooth comb?"
"Ya-as" said Si; "she almost took the hide off sometimes, an" made me yell like an Injun."
"Now, Klegg, I don"t wish to cause you unnecessary alarm, but I will say that the head insect isn"t a circ.u.mstance to this one on your arm.
As you would express it, perhaps, he can"t hold a candle to him. This fellow is the Pediculus Corporis!"
"I s"pose that means they eats up Corporals!" said Si.
"I do not think the Pediculus Corporis confines himself exclusively to Corporals, as his name might indicate," said the Captain, laughing at Si"s literal translation and his personal application of the word. "He no doubt likes a juicy and succulent Corporal, but I don"t believe he is any respecter of persons. That"s my opinion, from what I"ve heard about him. It is likely that I "will be able to speak more definitely, from experience, after a while. Corporis means that he is the kind that pastures on the human body. But there"s one thing more about this fellow, some call him Pediculus Vestimenti; that is because he lives around in the clothing."
"But we don"t wear no vests," said Si, taking a practical view of this new word; "nothin" but blouses, "n" pants, "n" shirts."
"You are too literal, Klegg. That word means any kind of clothes. But I guess I"ve told you as much about him as you care to know at present. If you want any more information, after two or three weeks, come and see me again. I think by that time you will not find it necessary to ask any more questions."
Si went back to his cooking, with the Pediculus still on his arm. He wanted to show it to Shorty. The Captain"s profound explanation, with its large words, was a little too much for Si. He did not yet clearly comprehend the matter, and as he walked thoughtfully to where Shorty was "bilin"" the coffee he was trying to get through his head what it all meant.
"h.e.l.lo, Si," said Shorty; "whar ye bin? What d"ye mean, goin" off "n"
leavin" yer sowbelly half done?"
"Sh-h!" replied Si. "Ye needn"t git yer back up about it. Bin talkin" to the Cap"n. Shorty, look at that "ere bug!"
And Si pointed to the object of the Captain"s lecture on natural history that was still creeping on his arm. Shorty slapped his thigh and burst into a loud laugh.
"Was that what ye went to see the Cap"n "bout?" he asked as soon as he could speak.
"Why--ya-as," replied Si, somewhat surprised at Shorty"s unseemly levity. "I saw that thing crawlin" round, "n" I was a-wonderin" what it was, fer I never seen one afore. I knowed Cap was a scolard, "n" a perfesser, "n" all that "n" I "lowed he c"d tell me all about it. So I went "n" axed him."
"What"d he tell ye?"
"He told me lots o" big, heathenish words, "n" said this bug was a ridiculous, or suthin" like that."
""Diculus be blowed!" said Shorty, "The ole man was a"stuffin" ye. I"ll tell ye what that is, Si," he added solemnly, "that"s a grayback!"
"A grayback!" said Si. "I"ve hearn "em call the Johnnies graybacks, but I didn"t know "s there was any other kind."
"I reck"n "twont be long, now, till yer catches on ter the meanin" ol what a grayback is. Ye"ll know all "bout it purty sudden. This ain"t the first one I ever seen."
Si was impressed, as he had often been before, by Shorty"s superior wisdom and experience.
"See here. Si," Shorty continued, as his eye suddenly lighted up with a brilliant thought, "I guess I kin make ye understand what a grayback is.
What d"ye call that coat ye"ve got on?"
"Why, that"s a fool question; it"s a blouse, of course!"
"Jesso!" said Shorty. "Now, knock off the fust letter o" that word, "n"
see what ye got left!"
Si looked at Shorty as if he thought his conundrums were an indication of approaching idiocy. Then he said, half to himself: