10
FBOM NEBRASKA CITY TO MANILA
AND BETUBN.
I looked at my watch ; in thirteen
minutes it would be midnight. I walked
slowly down the street , turned to the
left , entered the depot , fell into the
nearest seat and tried to stop thinking ,
but something kept repeating : "Ten
thousand , ten thousand , ten thousand ;
go back to work and stay where you
belong. "What do you want across the
sea ? Go back , yon fool. "
It was unbearable. Jumping up , I
went out upon the platform and walked
swiftly back and forth. Around the
electric lights the moths flew in a never-
ending stream. Click , click , click , wont
the telegraph instrument , and for once
I understood it fool , fool , fool. I was
getting desperate. Should I go back or
not ? Ten thousand miles of land and
water and not a tenth that many cents
to take me there. What wild dreamers
we mortals are.
On the side track was a flat car. Going
over , I climbed on top , lay down on my
back and gazed long into the sky. A
star went shooting across the Heavens.
It appeared to have started of its own
free will and then couldn't stop. It
reminded me of a story , I read once ,
about a man whose highest ambition
was to swim a certain river. He got
started all right but when & little way
out he became frightened. The other
side looked farther than at first. He
wanted to turn back but couldn't stand
the croaking of the frogs ; so striking
boldly out ho reached the opposite shore
in safety. That suited my case exactly.
Turning back was easy enough , but to
face the music was quite another thing.
There was a long , shrill whistle. A
light came dancing over the rails. I
pulled a ticket from my pocket and held
it up. "Leaveuworth , Kansas , " was
stamped on the back. Too bad ! But
there was no mistake. Taking a seat in
the forward coach , I tried to smoke , but
threw the weed away in disgust. As I
looked out of the window , old familiar
objects passed swiftly by , indistinctly
in the gloom. Then I caught a glimpse
of the bridge I know so well. I did not
dnre to hope that I could keep on going
west until I crossed its creaky planks
again.
At last I went to tleep and then someone
thundered in "Leaven-
one my ears , -
worth. " Catching up my valise I
stepped off. It was .a bright , clear
morning. Over the river an August
sun slowly rose from the willows and
told of a sultry day. Going up the main
street I found a small restaurant and
ordered breakfast. The meat was
tough ; the coffee black and the pan
cakes weighed a pound apiece. I getup
up in dismay ; paid my bill , inquired
the way to the fort , and left.
Fort I.envemvorth.
Upon reaching the grounds I went to
1
the 82ud infantry to see some friends.
I did not wish to enlist but wanted to
go in some other capacity. I celled on
captains and lieutenants , but in vain ;
they gave mo no encouragement. I
went down town that night feeling like
a fellow recently sand-bagged. The
sky was blacker than the night before.
Finding a hotel , I called for a room
and went to bed ; then reasoned. To
enlist was the only way out ; so back I
went the next morning to the recruiting
officer , filled out a blank and took it to
the examining surgeon. "Strip off , "
he said , sharply. I did so. Then ho
thumped me all over , pulled my arms ,
held some letters across the room that I
was told to read first with one eye ,
then the other- then he opened my
mouth and looked in , held a small
nickel tube to my breast , listened a
moment , then picked up a blank and
wrote : "Rejected on account of "
and turning to me he said : "I'm real
sorry , my boy , but you can't go along
with us. "
I put ou my clothes in a dazed sort of
way. Chance number two was no
more ; every opportunity gone ; no
ray of hope shone through the inky
blackness. I spent all that night trying
to think out some new plan , but it was
useless. I tossed on the bed and tried
to sleep. That was the most wretched
night I ever spent.
But seven o'clock the next morning
found me at the same camp upon the
hill. I went to a certain company , told
the quartermaster my troubles , gave the
boys a hundred cigars , treated the cooks
and promised to do anything I could to
help them. I had struck the right chord.
I had found the weak spot in the armor.
The quartermaster was a royal good
fellow. With his help I might squeeze
through ; so I donned the army blue and
disappeared among a thousand more.
For the next two weeks I scrubbed
pans , peeled potatoes , chopped wood
and made myself scarce on inspection
days. I laughed at every one's jokes ,
whether they wore funny or not , and
almost forgot my own personality , but
it paid. I was making friends fast and
when discouraged I went and listened to
the band at guard'mount ; so passed the
beginning.
Then came the all-important day ,
when the regiment packed up , two
hundred tents came down with a mighty
flop and the boys marched down the
dusty road to the troop trains that were
waiting. In single file they went aboard.
Section after section was loaded and
pulled out. I worked like a demon ,
carrying bundles , officers' trunks ,
rations , coffee , buckets and many things
I now have forgotten. The critical
moment was at hand. I jumped into
the commissary car and fell back into a
puddle of water , shook myself and
climbed in again , while the boys laughed
as if their sides would split. The wheels
went singing over polished rails.
Knnsns City.
In the afternoon we reached Kansas
City , Mo. The regiment paraded the
streets through a howling crowd , while
I sat on the west side of the cars and
dried my pants in the sun.
There were four of us in the commissaries -
missaries , the quartermaster , two cooks
and myself and I was sent to give out
rations , carrying them through the cars
in it box.
A person who has never been on a
troop train cannot realize the enjoyment
one can have. Imagine yourself spin
ning over a beautiful land , to be met at
every station by crowds of shouting men
and pretty women with flowers , hat
pins or anything else you might ask for
remembrance sake. I knew one fellow
who , upon reaching San Francisco , had
nearly fifty hat pins and double that
many buttons. It was about the best
collection I ever saw , and to think of
the girls they represented , it was
glorious !
On and on we went. Soon the sand
hills of Kansas were left far behind and
the snow-capped peaks of southern
Colorado flashed in crimson light above
our heads.
Albuquerque , New Mexico.
One morning our section pulled into
Albuquerque , New Mexico. Engines
were changed , so it gave us time to look
around.
Next day came the great desert of
New Mexico and Arizona and we of the
commissary car would sit in the open
doorway with our legs hanging out. It
was splendid weather and we were
enjoying the ride hugely. There were
Navajo Indians with bright-colored
blankets , running along the cars when
ever we stopped , with grapes and pifions
for sale. Women with many yards of
white muslin wrapped around their
limbs , carrying fat , dirty babies while
thin , yellow dogs composed the rear
guard. A half dozen hard tack would
buy a clay pigeon , saucer or some
other homo-made article , and "Gracious
Soldado" was heard on every hand.
With the Greasers we traded cigarettes ,
tried to talk Spanish , got things strangely
mixed up and had great fun. Four
hundred miles we went through little
villages built entirely of mud , decorated
on every side by red peppers or jerked
meat , stockades of mud , fences of mud ,
barns of mud , and I did not wonder that
the people were dirty themselves.
Upon a high hill in Arizona I saw
many little crosses. I asked the con
ductor what they were for and he told
me a story of how , not many years
before , three hundred Mexicans went
out against the Apache Indians. They
were defeated and compelled to take to
this hill or be out to pieces. Up they
went ; but never a man came down.
