TO THEIR "HOME."
SI AND Shorty kept Sunday as planned. They really did not know how tired
they were until they formed the resolution to give the day to absolute
restfulness. Then every joint and muscle ached from the arduous toil of
the past week, added to the strains and hardships of a week of battle.
"Used to seem to me," said Shorty, "that when Sunday come after the
first week's plowin' in Spring that I had a bile in every limb. Now I
appear to have one in every j'int, and in my brains as well. I didn't
ever suppose that I could be so tired, and yit be able to set up and
take nourishment."
"Same here," said Si. "Feel as if I ought to be wrapped in cotton
battin' an' sweet oil, an' laid away for awhile."
The only thing about them which did not show deadly lassitude was their
appetites. Fortunately, the Commissary took a liberal view of the
Regulations as to rations, issuing enough to make up for those they had
not drawn during the times when his department was not in working order.
They ate all these and wanted more.
'am I a Soldier of the Cross?' 139
The Quartermaster had also succeeded in re-establishing relations. They
drew from him new139 under-clothing to replace that which they had lost,
took a thorough wash the first good one they had had since Christmas
morning, beat and brushed much of the accumulated mud representing every
variety of140 soil between Murfreesboro' and Nashville out of their
clothes, cleaned and greased their heavy brogans, and went with their
comrades to divine service, feeling that they had made every provision
required for a proper observance of the holy day.
Si had a really fine baritone voice, and led the meeting in singing
"Am I a soldier of the cross?"
After church Shorty said:
"Si, when you were singing so loud about being a soldier of the cross
and a follower of the Lamb I wanted to git right up and tell you that
you'd have to git a transfer from the 200th Ind. We've lots of cross
soldiers, especially on mud marches, but we don't want any soldiers in
this regiment except for the Constitution of the United States and the
laws made in pursuance thereof, against all enemies and opposers
whatsoever, either foreign or domestic. An' as for follerin' the lamb,
you know as well as I do the orders agin foragin'."
"O, dry up, Shorty. I don't believe going to church done you a mite o'
good. I tell you it done me lots."
"There you're mistaken," answered Shorty. "It just done me lots o' good.
Kind o' restored communications with home and respectable folks once
more, an' made me think I still belonged to what the jographies call
civilized and partially-civilized people, something that we seem in
great danger o' forgettin', the way we've bin goin' on."
The good Chaplain's fervent appeals to devote the141 day to earnest
consideration of their soul's welfare could not keep them from spending
the hours in planning and discussing further improvements on the house.
"We must have a real door," said Shorty, looking critically at the strip
of canvas that did duty for that important adjunct. "Muslin looks
shiftless, an', besides, I think it's unhealthy. Lets in drafts, an'
will give us colds."
"Too bad about our ketchin' cold," said Si sardonically. "Most o' the
time lately we've bin sleepin' out with nothin' around us but the State
line of Tennessee."
"Don't be too flip, young man," said Shorty severely. "You have not had
a home with its blessin's long enough to appreciate it. I say we must
have a real door an' a winder that'll let in light, an' a bedstead, an'
a floor o' planks."
"We ought to have 'em, certainly," agreed Si. "But must have 'em is
quite another thing. How are we goin' to git 'em? There's 40,000 men
around here, snatchin' at every piece o' plank as big as your hand."
"Well," retorted Shorty, "we're goin' to have a real door, a winder, and
a plank floor, all the same. They're to be had somewhere in this
country, an' they'll have to run mighty hard to git away from us."
The next morning the Orderly-Sergeant said:
"Corp'l Klegg, you'll take five men, go down to the railroad, and report
to the Commissary to load the wagon with rations."
Si took Shorty and four others and started off on142 this errand. He was
soon so busy rolling heavy pork barrels from the car into the wagon that
he failed to notice that Shorty was not with him. Finally they got the
wagon loaded and started, with them walking alongside, puffing and
sweating from their vigorous labor.
They were not 100 yards away from the train, when the Conductor came
storming up:
"See here, Lieutenant," he said to the Commissary, "some o' them men o'
yours sneaked around and stole the hind door off my caboose while you
was loading up."
"I don't believe a word of it," said the Commissary, firing up at once.
"Mine ain't that kind of men. I'd have you know they don't steal. What
reason have you for saying so?"
"The door was on the car when I came out to meet you, and now it's gone,
and there's been no body near the caboose but your men."
"I know my men were working hard all the time right under my eyes," said
the Lieutenant, growing angrier every minute. "They're not the men to
steal anything, and if they were they didn't have any chance. They were
too busy. You can satisfy yourself that they didn't. You see none of
them have the door with them, and you can search the wagon. Get right in
there and look for it."
The Conductor climbed into the wagon and looked carefully through.
"No, it's not there," he said ruefully.
Then the Commissary's wrath flamed out. "There, confound you, you are at
it again, you infernal civilian, slandering and abusing men who are
fighting143 for their country. Charging them with stealing your old
caboose door. Think of your disgraceful impudence, villifying men who
are shedding their blood for their country by such shameless charges.144
Shorty Confiscates the Caboose Door. 143
"What'd they want with your old car door? Get away from here, before I
lose my temper and do you damage."
The Conductor walked away muttering:
"Blasted thieving whelps o' soldiers, what'll they steal next? Lost all
my train tools at Lavergne, swiped the bedding at Smyrna, got away with
our clothes and dishes at Antioch, stole stove and lanterns at Overall's
Crick, and now they've begun on the cars. I'll be lucky to have enough
wheels left on the engine to run her back to Nashville."
The Commissary continued to fume about the disgraceful charges brought
against his men until they reached camp. The wagon was unloaded and the
squad dismissed.
As Si came up to the "house" he saw Shorty busily engaged in hanging the
caboose door by means of hinges which he had improvised from some boot
tops.
"Why, Shorty," gasped Si, "how did you git away with it?"
"Easy enough," answered his partner. "I saw you fellers gittin' very
busy over them pork barrels, an' all the train hands helpin' you. I
meandered back to the caboose, gently lifted the back door offen its
hinges, slipped down into the weeds in the ditch, an' kept under cover
o' them till I was out o' sight. Say, isn't it just a bully door?"
That afternoon Si and Shorty walked over to where a detail of men were
at work building a bridge across Stone River, under the direction of a
Lieutenant of Pioneers. They had an idea that an opportunity might occur
there to pick up something that would add to their home comforts. The
Lieutenant was bustling about, hurrying the completion of the work
before night. As the detail was made up of squads from various
regiments, he was not acquainted with the men, and had much difficulty
assigning them to the work that would suit them best. He came up to Si,
who still wore the artillery Sergeant's overcoat he had picked up during
the battle, and said sharply:
"Here, Sergeant, don't stand around doing nothing. Set the men a good
example by pitching in lively. There's plenty to do for everybody. If
you can't find anything else, help dig down that bank, and roll those
big stones into the fill. Hold on; I've thought of something else. I
want a reliable man to send over for some lumber. Put one of your men on
that wagon there, and go with him, and take this letter to Capt.
Billings, over at the saw-mill. It's a requisition for a load of lumber.
Avoid the camps as much as possible on your way back, or they'll steal
every inch of it away from you."
"Very good, sir," said Si, saluting. "Shorty, jump on the wagon there,
and gather up the lines."
Shorty very obediently took his place on the seat of the two-horse wagon
employed by the Pioneers for their jobs.
"Hurry up," enjoined the Lieutenant; "we need those boards at once."
"Very good, sir," said Si, saluting.
"This is what I call a puddin'," said Shorty, oracularly, as they drove
away. "The Lord always kin be trusted to help the deservin', if the
deservin' only keep their eyes peeled for His p'inters. This146 comes
from not workin' yesterday and goin' to church."
They drove down to the sawmill, delivered their requisition, and had
their wagon loaded with newly-sawn plank. The Captain had the planks
carefully counted, the number and feet entered upon the record, and set
forth upon the return which he gave to Si to be delivered to the
Lieutenant of Pioneers.
"Too dod-gasted much bookkeepin' in this army," remarked Si, rather
disconsolately, and he put the paper in his blouse pocket, and they
drove away. "Wastes entirely too much valuable time. What'd he count
them boards for? Looked like he suspicioned us. How are we going to git
away with any o' them?"
"I wouldn't have that man's suspicious mind for anything," answered
Shorty. "He don't trust no body. All the same, we're goin' to have
enough boards for our floor."
"How are we goin' to manage it?" asked Si.
"Lots o' ways. There's no need o' your carryin' that paper back to the
Lootenant. I might pick up several hundred feet and sneak away without
your knowin' it. Say," as a bright idea struck him, "what's the use o'
goin' back to the Lootenant at all? Neither of us belongs to his detail.
He don't know us from a side o' sole-leather. What's the matter with
drivin' the wagon right up to camp, and swipin' the whole business,
horses, wagon and all?"
"I hain't been in the army as long as you have, Shorty," said Si
doubtfully. "I've made some progress in petty larceny, as you know, but
I ain't yit quite up to stealin' a span o' horses and a wagon.147 Mebbe
I'll come to it in time, but I ain't quite ready for it now."
"That comes from goin' to church yesterday, and hearin' the Chaplain
read the Ten Commandments," said Shorty wrathfully. "I don't believe
they ought to allow the Chaplains to read them things. They ain't suited
to army life, and there ought to be a general order that they're
prejudicial to good order and military discipline. Where'd the army be
if they obeyed that one about not covetin' a horse or other movable
property? I tell you what we'll do, since you're so milky on the thing:
We'll drive up in front of our house, unload enough boards for our
floor, you git out your gun and bayonet and stand guard over 'em, and
I'll drive the wagon down near the bridge, and jump off and leave it."
"All right," said Si; "that'll do splendidly, if you think you kin dodge
the Lootenant."
"O, he be darned," said Shorty scornfully. "I could git away from him if
I wasn't 10 years old."
They carried out the plan. They drove up in front of their residence,
and threw off a liberal quantity of the boards. The other boys raised a
yell, and made a break for them. But Si ran inside, got his gun, and
established himself on guard.
"Don't you budge an inch from there till I git back," shouted Shorty, as
he drove away. "Don't let one of Co. Q lay a finger on them. They're the
durndest thieves outside the Jeffersonville Penitentiary. You can't
trust one o' them farther than you could sling a bull by the tail. I'll
be back soon."
Shorty drove gaily down until he got close to the bridge. The Lieutenant
had been impatiently148 expecting him, and as soon as the wagon came up
it was surrounded by a crowd of men to unload it. The Lieutenant looked
over the load.
Si Defended the Plunder. 148
"I wonder if he sent enough. Let me see your return," he said, looking
up at the seat, where he expected to find the Sergeant he had put in
charge. But the seat was empty. Shorty had jumped down, prudently
mingled with the crowd, avoided the Lieutenant's eye with much more than
his usual diffidence, and was modestly making his way back to camp
behind a thicket of hazel bushes. When he got to the house he was
delighted to find Si still master of the situation, with all the boards
present and accounted for. They quickly transferred them to the
interior, and found that they had enough for a nice floor, besides a
couple of extra ones, to cut up into a table and stools.
"You done good work in keepin' the other boys offen 'em, Si," said he.
"I was afraid you wouldn't. The only thing I've got agin Co. Q is that
the boys will steal. Otherwise they're the nicest kind o' boys."
A couple of days later they got a pass to go down to Murfreesboro' and
look the sleepy old town over. They were particularly interested in the
quaint old courthouse, which had once been the capitol of Tennessee.
They happened into one of the offices, which was entirely deserted. On
the wall hung a steel engraving of Jeff Davis in a large oak frame.
"That blamed old rebel picture oughtn't to be hangin' there, Si,"
observed Shorty.
"Indeed it oughtn't. Jeff ought to be hung to a sour-apple tree, and
that glass'd make a nice winder for our house."
"Indeed it would," Shorty started to answer, but time was too precious
to waste in speech. In an instant he had shoved an old desk up to the
wall, mounted it, and handed the picture down to Si. They wrapped it up
in their overcoats, and started back for camp. They had seen enough of
Murfreesboro' for that day.