"Whisky," yelled Si and Shorty, with another burst of laughter.
"That"s jest what it wuz. Then one o" the Lieutenant"s men jerked the chunk o" cheese away and{283} broke it open. And what do you suppose was in that?"
"Whisky, of course," yelled the boys in uncontrollable mirth.
"That"s jest what it was. I wuz so dumfounded that I couldn"t say a word. They yanked me around in behind the squad, and told me they"d shave my head and drum me out o" camp. The Lieutenant took his men up to the grocery and tore it down, and ketched the feller that wuz keepin"
it. They put him alongside o" me, and tuk us up to the guard house. On the way he whispered to me that they wuz likely to salt him, "cause they knowed him, but I"d likely git off easy. He"d made $500 clean out o" the business already, and had it in his clothes. He"d pa.s.s it over to me to keep till the racket wuz over, when he"d divide fair and square with me.
I told him that I"d rather burn my hand off than tech a dirty dollar o"
his money, but he dropt it into my overcoat pocket all the same, and I wuz so excited that I clean forgot about it, and brung it away with me.
When we got to the guard-house they tuk all the rest of his money away, shaved his head, and drummed him out o" camp."
"Yes, we saw that," answered Si; "but didn"t pay no attention to it.
They"re drummin" some feller out o" camp nearly every day, for something or other."
"I don"t see that it does any good," said Shorty. "It"d be a heap better to set "em to work on the fortifications. That"d take the deviltry out o" "em."
"When they"d got through with him," continued the Deacon, "they Burned their attention to me. I{234} never wuz so scared in all my born days. But luckily, jest in the nick o" time, I ketched sight o" Capt.
McGillicuddy, and hollered to him. He come up and explained things, and they let me go, with lots o" apologies. When I got back to the house, I felt for my handkerchief, and found that scalawag"s roll o" bills, which I"d clean forgot. Here it is."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "PULLED OUT A FAT ROLL OF GREENBACKS. 235]
He pulled out a fat roll of crisp greenbacks. Si took them, thumbed them over admiringly, counted them, and handed them to Shorty, who did the same.
"Yes, there"s $500 there," said Si. "What are you goin" to do with it, Pap?"
"That"s jest what"s worrying the life out o" me," answered his father.
"By rights I ought to throw the condemned stuff into the fire, only I hold it a great sin to destroy property of any kind."
"What, burn all that good money up?" said Shorty with a whistle. "You don"t live in an insane asylum when you"re at home, do you?"
""Twouldn"t be right to burn it, Pap," said Si, who better understood the rigidity of his father"s principles. "It"d do a mighty sight o" good somewhere."
"The money don"t belong at all to that feller," mused the Deacon. "A man can"t have no property in likker. It"s wet d.a.m.nation, h.e.l.l"s broth, to nourish murderers, thieves, and paupers. It is the devil"s essence, with which he makes widows and orphans. Every dollar of it is minted with women"s tears and children"s cries of hunger. That feller got the money by violatin" the law on the one hand and swindling the soldiers on the other, and corruptin" them to their ruin. To give the money back to him would be rewardin" him for his rascality. It"d be like{235} givin" a thief his booty, or a burglar his plunder, and make me his pardner."
"You"re right there, Pap," a.s.sented Si. "You"d jest be settin" him up in business in some other stand. Five hundred dollars"d give him a good start. His hair"ll soon grow agin."
"The worst of it," sighed Shorty, "is that it ain"t good likker.
Otherwise it"d be different. But it"s pizener than milk-sick or loco-weed. It"s aqua-fortis, fish-berries, tobacco juice and ratsbane.
That stuff"d eat a hole in a tin pan."{236}
"The Captain turned the rest o" his money over to the hospital,"
continued the Deacon. "I might do that."
"Never do it in the world, Pap," protested Si. "Better burn it up at once. It"d be the next worst thing to givin" it back to him. It"d jest be pamperin" and encouragin" a lot o" galoots that lay around the hospitals to keep out o" fights. None o" the wounded or really sick"d git the benefit of a cent of it. They wuz all sent away weeks ago to Nashville, Louisville, and back home. You jest ought to see that b.u.mmer gang. Last week me and Shorty wuz on fatigue duty down by one o" the hospitals. There wuzzent n.o.body in the hospital but a few "sh.e.l.l-fever"
shirks, who"re too lazy to work on the fortifications, and we saw a crowd of civilians and men in uniform set down to a finer dinner than you kin git in any hotel. Shorty wanted to light some sh.e.l.ls and roll in amongst "em, but I knowed that it"d jest make a muss that we"d have to clean up afterward."
"But what am I going to do with it?" asked the Deacon despairingly. "I don"t want no money in my hands that don"t belong to me, and especially sich money as that, which seems to have a curse to every bill. If we could only find out the men he tuk it from."
"Be about as easy as drivin" a load o" hay back into the field, and fitting each spear o" gra.s.s back on the stalk from which it was cut,"
interjected Shorty.
"Or I might send it anonymously to the Baptist Board o" Missions,"
continued the Deacon.
"Nice way to treat the little heathens," objected Si. "Send them likker money."{237}
The Deacon groaned.
"Tell you what we might do, Pap," said Si, as a bright idea struck him.
"There"s a widder, a Union woman, jest outside the lines, whose house wuz burned down by the rebels. She could build a splendid new house with $100 better"n the one she wuz livin" in before. Send her $100.
"Not a bad idee," said the Deacon approvingly, as he poked the ashes in his pipe with his little finger.
"And, Pap," continued Si, encouraged by the reception of this suggestion, "there"s poor Bill Ellerlee, who lost his leg in the fight.
He used to drink awful hard, and most of his money went down his throat.
He"s got a wife and two small children, and they hain"t a cent to live on, except what the neighbors gives. Why not put up $200 in an express pack age and send it to him, marked "from an unknown friend?""
"Good," accorded the Deacon.
"And Jim Poc.o.c.k," put in Shorty, seeing the drift. "He"s gone home with a bullet through his breast. His folks are pretty poor. Why not send him $100 the same way?"
"Excellent idee," said the father.
"That leaves $100 yit," said Si. "If you care to, you kin divide it between Shorty and me, and we"ll use it among the boys that got hurt, and need some thing."
A dubious look came into the Deacon"s face.
"You needn"t be afeared of us, Pap," said Si, with a little blush. "I kin promise you that we won"t use a cent ourselves, but give every bit where it is really needed."{238}
"I believe you, my son," said the Deacon heartily. "We"ll do jest as you say."
They spent the evening carrying their plan into execution.
At the 9 o"clock roll-call the Orderly-Sergeant announced:
"Co. Q to go out with a forage-train to-morrow morning."
This was joyful news a delightful variation from the toil on the fortifications. "Taps" found every body getting his gun and traps ready for an excursion into the country.
"You"d like to go with us, Pap, wouldn"t you?" asked Si, as he looked over his cartridge-box to see what it contained.
"Indeed I would," replied the father. "I"ll go any where with you rather than spend such another day in camp. You don"t think you will see any rebels, do you?" he asked rather nervously.
"Don"t know; never kin tell," said Shorty oracularly. "Rebels is anywhere you find "em. Sometimes they"re seldomer than a chaw of terbaker in a Sunday school. You can"t find one in a whole County. Then, the first thing you know, they"re thicker"n fleas on a dog"s back. But we won"t likely see no rebels to-morrow. There ain"t no great pa.s.sel o" them this side o" Duck River. Still, we"ll take our guns along, jest like a man wears a breast-pin on a dark night, because he"s used to it."
"Can"t you give me a gun, too? I think it"d be company for me," said the Deacon.
"Certainly," said Si.