Show SLEPT AT HIS POST Only an Accident Saved the Sentinel from the Extreme Penalty A reporter had an army officer a a listener and he was expatiating the way he would shoulder a musket and fight bleed and die for his beloved country in case there was t war with England or any other effete monarchy on a trembling throne or words to that effect Did you ever do guard duty on a nasty night in the enemys country inquired the officer Well no hesitated the Wel hes1 reporter I Then dont say what you would do i until you have tried I I reads nicely in the papers and lots of men delight in imagining the high stepping style that they would trot along the crimson path that leads to glory or the grave < I o r < l but when the crimson is mud or the path is a thicket which at any moment may blaze up with a volley i Isnt I half so nice to think about The fighting i fight-ing is the least disagreeable thing about war and the glory is won at an amazingly high rice I wouldnt stand guard asserted the reporter I would be an officer and do the guarding guard-ing an have somebody else gard ingWell Wel I didnt begin my soldier ca begI I reer that way said the officer was a private and not yet 20 and the amount of guard duty I did seemed tome to-me to be enough to protect all the armies in the field Let me tell you a story of how I did it one night I was a dark and dismal time down on the Potomac and we had been wading around in the mud and cold until the heart was entirely taken out of us We had moved forward and were expecting ex-pecting an attack of the enemy at anytime any-time Under such extraordinary circumstances cir-cumstances sentinels are given extra orders to be watchful and for a guard to sleep on his post means death at daylight sure I had been placed in an exposed condition and my orders were very strict indeed My beat lay across a narrow neck of land between two gorges and I had a monopoly of i and was entirely alone but I had a good command of the ground in front of me and with ordinary care no enemy en-emy could approach without being seen I knew that much depended on I my vigilance and I knew that if I betrayed be-trayed my trust death would be my but I was only a portion at daylight boy and at so daylght tired that I could hardly stand up I went on duty though Tike a man and I stood it for I dont know how long But boy nature cant stand everything every-thing and I was rudely aroused from a beautiful dream of home by a violent shaking and the hoarse whispers and curses of the officer of the guard In a minute I knew what had happened and there flashed through my mind a picture of a blindfolded soldier sitting on his coffin with a firing party standing stand-ing in front of him I go to my feet by the help of a jerk or two by the officer and then I expected more abuse and got it and kept on getting it until I got back to the officers tent Fortunately For-tunately I kept mY mouth shut until we reached the light of the tent There the officer got a good look at me and discovered that I was covered with blood So did I much to my surprise sur-prise but I felt that on the instant that I was saved for the officer asked what the blood meant and I told him I must have burst a small blood vessel and fallen in a faint on my beat I was scared so badly that I was sick and I didnt have to argue long to prove my case notwithstanding the very serious results that might have followed my dereliction of duty I had no guard duty to perform after that for a long time and an offense that was punishable by death actually turned out to be a fine snap for me which as a boy I rather enjoyed But the blood 1 inquired the writer SInvpiy a case of nose bleed to which two or three years before I had been subject I presume my weakened condition brought it back again but why it should have resumed operations at such an opportune time I cannot say I can say though that I never slept at my post again and the officer chuckled to think of his narrow escape es-cape Washington tSar |