FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64  
65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   >>   >|  
g all the way back. It amounts to over three thousand dollars, and I ought to have it." "Was that for the measles, too?" asked the stranger. The old man glared at his interrogator, but did not deign to reply. "Our Congressman, old Jinks, has my claim," he said, turning to Sam. "But he doesn't seem to be able to do anything with it." "He's my uncle," said Sam, fearing that he might hear something against his worthy relative. "So you're George Jinks' nephew, are you? Are you goin' to be a captain? Do tell! I read about it in the Slowburgh _Herald_ last week. I'm real glad to see you. You're the first officer I've seen in ten years except the recruiting officer last week." "Did they have a recruiting officer here, in Slowburgh?" asked Sam. "Yes, they did, and there was thirteen fellers wanted to go, but he only took five of 'em, and they hain't gone yet. The rest was too short or too fat or too thin or something." "Didn't any more men want to go than that?" "No," said the old man. "They all want to wear soldier-clothes, but they don't all want to go fighting. They've got up a militia battalion for them now, and 'most everybody in town's got a uniform. I hadn't seen a uniform in the county before in I don't know how long--except firemen, I should say." "I'm so glad they've got them now," cried Sam. "Doesn't it improve the looks of the place? It's so much more homelike and-d-d glorious, don't you think so?" The old man had no opportunity to reply, as the 'bus now drew up at the front door of the principal hotel. The commercial traveler got out first and went into the house; the old man followed, and turning to Sam as he passed him, he said with a glance at the vanishing stranger: "He's a copperhead, that feller." He went on toward the bar-room door, but called back as he went: "If you get lonesome over at Jinks', come in here in the evening. Ask for me; my name's Reddy." Sam did not get out of the omnibus, but told the driver to take him to Congressman Jinks'; and on they went, first to the right and then to the left along the wide and gently winding streets, which would have been well shaded with maples if the yellow leaves had not already begun to fall. They drove in at last through a gate in a wooden fence and round a semi-circular lawn to the front of a comfortable frame house, and in a few moments he was received with open arms by his relations.
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64  
65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
officer
 

recruiting

 

Slowburgh

 
stranger
 

Congressman

 
turning
 

uniform

 

homelike

 

principal

 

commercial


called

 
glorious
 

glance

 

vanishing

 

passed

 

copperhead

 

traveler

 

feller

 

opportunity

 
wooden

yellow

 

leaves

 
circular
 

relations

 

received

 

moments

 

comfortable

 
maples
 

omnibus

 
driver

evening

 

improve

 

shaded

 

streets

 
gently
 

winding

 

lonesome

 
relative
 

George

 

nephew


worthy

 
fearing
 

Herald

 

captain

 

dollars

 

measles

 

thousand

 

amounts

 

glared

 

interrogator