s he's on deck, and he kin take care o' the other
armies, too, if they git into trouble. I struck some o' the Army o' the
Tennessee when I went back with them prisoners today, and got talkin'
with 'em. I asked 'em if Sherman wasn't subject to crazy fits, and they
said yes, he had 'em, but when he did he made the rebels a mighty sight
crazier'n he was. They went on to say that we'd git used to Sherman
after awhile, and he'd show us some kinks in soljerin' that we never
dreamed of."

"Sich plaguey conceit," muttered Si.

"I should say so. But I never seen anybody so stuck on theirselves as
them Army o' the Tennessee fellers. Just because they took Vicksburg--"

"With all the navy to help 'em," interjected Si.

"Yes, with more gunboats than we have army wagons. They think they know
more about soljerin than anybody else in the world, and ackchelly want
to give us p'ints as to how to git away with the rebels."

"The idee," said Si scornfully. "Talkin' that way to the best soljers
in the world--the Army o' the Cumberland. I hate conceit, above all
things. I'm glad I hain't none of it in me. 'Tain't that we say it, but
everybody knows it that the Army o' the Cumberland's the best army in
the world, and the 200th Injianny--"

"I told 'em that the Army o' the Cumberland was the best army, because
it had the 200th Injianny in it, and, would you believe me, they said
they'd never even heard o' the 200th Injianny?"

"Sich ignorance," groaned Si. "Can't they read? Don't they git the
papers?"

"There'd bin a fight right, there, if it hadn't bin for the officers. I
wanted awfully to take a fall out of a big Sergeant who said that Thomas
might be a good enough man for Chairman of a convention o' farmers,
but when he went to war he wanted to have sich leaders as Sherman,
McPherson, and Logan, and Osterhaus. But he'll keep. We agreed to see
each other later, when we'll have a private discussion, and if he has
any head left on him he'll freely acknowledge that nobody in the Army o'
the Tennessee is fit to be named in the same day with Pap Thomas."

"Better turn him over to me, Shorty," said Si, meditatively. "I think
I'm in better shape for an argument just now than you are. You've bin
doing a good deal in the last few days, and I'm afraid you're a little
run down."

"No; he's my meat. I found him, and I'll take care o' him. But there's
just one thing that reconciles me to this business. In spite o' all this
sashayin' and monk