Si Klegg, Book 6

  Produced by David Widger

  SI KLEGG

  SI AND SHORTY, WITH THEIR BOY RECRUITS, ENTER ON THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN

  By John McElroy

  BOOK No. 6

  PUBLISHED BY

  THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE COMPANY,

  WASHINGTON, D. C.

  SECOND EDITION

  COPYRIGHT 1915

  Contents:

  CHAPTER I. SHORTY BEGINS BEING A FATHER TO PETE SKIDMORECHAPTER II. SI AND SHORTY COME VERY NEAR LOSING THEIR BOYSCHAPTER III. THE PARTNERS GET BACK TO THEIR REGIMENT AT LASTCHAPTER IV. THE RECRUITS ARE ASSIGNED TO COMPANIESCHAPTER V. THE YOUNG RECRUITSCHAPTER VI. SI KLEGG PUTS HIS AWKWARD SQUAD THROUGH ITS FIRST DRILLCHAPTER VII. SHORTY'S HEART TURNS TOWARD MARIACHAPTER VIII. SHORTY WRITES A LETTER TO MARIA KLEGGCHAPTER IX. SI TAKES HIS BOYS FOR A LITTLE MARCH INTO THE COUNTRYCHAPTER X. THE BOYS HAVE A COUPLE OF LITTLE SKIRMISHESCHAPTER XI. SHORTY GIVES THE BOYS THEIR FIRST LESSON IN FORAGINGCHAPTER XII. THE OPENING OF THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGNCHAPTER XIII. THE FIRST DAY OF THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGNCHAPTER XIV. THE EVENING AFTER THE BATTLECHAPTER XV. THE FIGHTING AROUND BUZZARD ROOSTCHAPTER XVI. THE 200TH IND. ASSAULTS THE REBEL WORKS AT DAYBREAKCHAPTER XVII. GATHERING UP THE BOYS AFTER THE BATTLECHAPTER XVIII. AN ARTILLERY DUELCHAPTER XIX. SI AND SHORTY ARE PUT UNDER ARRESTCHAPTER XX. SHORTY IS ARRAIGNED BEFORE THE COURT-MARTIAL

  PREFACE.

  "Si Klegg, of the 200th Ind., and Shorty, his Partner," were born yearsago in the brain of John McElroy, Editor of The National Tribune.

  These sketches are the original ones published in The National Tribune,revised and enlarged somewhat by the author. How true they are to natureevery veteran can abundantly testify from his own service. Really, onlythe name of the regiment was invented. There is no doubt that there wereseveral men of the name of Josiah Klegg in the Union Army, and who didvaliant service for the Government. They had experiences akin to, ifnot identical with, those narrated here, and substantially every manwho faithfully and bravely carried a musket in defense of the bestGovernment on earth had sometimes, if not often, experiences of whichthose of Si Klegg are a strong reminder.

  The Publishers.

  THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

  TO THE RANK AND FILE

  OF THE GREATEST ARMY EVER MUSTERED FOR WAR.

  THIS IS NUMBER SIX

  OF THE

  SI KLEGG SERIES.

  SI KLEGG

  CHAPTER I. SHORTY BEGINS BEING A FATHER TO PETE SKIDMORE.

  "Come, my boy," Si said kindly. "Don't cry. You're a soldier now, andsoldiers don't cry. Stop it."

  "Dod durn it," blubbered Pete, "I ain't cryin' bekase Pm skeered. I'mcryin' bekase I'm afeared you'll lose me. I know durned well you'll loseme yit, with all this foolin' around."

  "No, we won't," Si assured him. "You just keep with us and you'll be allright."

  "Here, you blim-blammed, moon-eyed suckers, git offen that 'erecrossin'," yelled at them a fireman whose engine came tearing downtoward the middle of the squad. "Hain't you got no more sense than tostand on a crossin'?"

  He hurled a chunk of coal at the squad, which hastily followed Si to theother side of the track.

  "Hello, there; where are you goin', you chuckle-headed clodhoppers?"yelled the men on another train rushing down from a different direction."This ain't no hayfield. Go back home and drive cows, and git out o' theway o' men who're at work."

  There was more scurrying, and when at last Si reached a clear space,he had only a portion of his squad with him, while Shorty was vowing hewould not go a step farther until he had licked a railroad man. Butthe engines continued to whirl back and forth in apparently purposelessconfusion, and the moment that he fixed upon any particular victimof his wrath, he was sure to be compelled to jump out of the way of alocomotive clanging up from an unexpected direction and interposing atrain of freight cars between him and the man he was after.

  Si was too deeply exercised about getting his squad together to payattention to Shorty or the jeering, taunting railroaders. He becamevery fearful that some of them had been caught and badly hurt, probablykilled, by the remorseless locomotives.

  "This's wuss'n a battle," he remarked to the boys around him. "I'druther take you out on the skirmish-line than through them trains agin."

  However, he had come to get some comprehension of the lay of the groundand the movements of the trains by this time, and by careful watchingsucceeded in gathering in his boys, one after another, until he had themall but little Pete Skidmore. The opinion grew among them that Pete hadunwisely tried to keep up with the bigger boys, who had jumped acrossthe track in front of a locomotive, and had been caught and crushedbeneath the wheels. He had been seen up to a certain time, and thenthose who were last with him had been so busy getting out of the waythat they had forgotten to look for him. Si calmed Shorty down enough toget him to forget the trainmen for awhile and take charge of the squadwhile he went to look for Pete. He had become so bewildered that hecould not tell the direction whence they had come, or where the tragedywas likely to have happened. The farther he went in attempting topenetrate the maze of moving trains, the more hopeless the quest seemed.Finally he went over to the engineer of a locomotive that was standingstill and inquired if he had heard of any accident to a boy soldierduring the day.

  "Seems to me that I did hear some o' the boys talkin' about No. 47 or 63havin' run over a boy, or something," answered the engineer carelessly,without removing his pipe from his mouth. "I didn't pay no attention toit. Them things happen every day. Sometimes it's my engine, sometimesit's some other man's. But I hain't run over nobody for nigh a monthnow."

  "Confound it," said Si savagely; "you talk about runnin' over men as ifit was part o' your business."

  "No," said the engineer languidly, as he reached up for his bell-rope."'Tain't, so to speak, part o' our regler business. But the yard'sawfully crowded, old Sherman's makin' it do five times the work it wascalculated for, trains has got to be run on the dot, and men mustkeep off the track if they don't want to git hurt. Stand clear, there,yourself, for I'm goin' to start."

  Si returned dejectedly to the place where he had left his squad. Theexpression of his face told the news before he had spoken a word. It wasnow getting dark, and he and Shorty decided that it was the bestthing to go into bivouac where they were and wait till morning beforeattempting to penetrate the maze beyond in search of their regiment.They gathered up some wood, built fires, made coffee and ate theremainder of their rations. They were all horribly depressed by littlePete Skidmore's fate, and Si and Shorty, accustomed as they were toviolent deaths, could not free themselves from responsibility howevermuch they tried to reason it out as an unavoidable accident. They couldnot talk to one another, but each wrapped himself up in his blanket andsat moodily, a little distance from the fires, chewing the cud of bitterfancies. Neither could bear the thought of reporting to their regimentthat they had been unable to take care of the smallest boy in theirsquad. Si's mind went back to Peter Skidmore's home, and his mother,whose heart would break over the news.

  The clanging and whistling of the trains kept up unabated, and Sithought they made the most hateful din that ever assailed his ears.

  Presently one of the trains stopped opposite them and a voice calledfrom the locomotive:

  "Do you men know of a squad of Injianny recruits commanded by Serg'tKlegg?"

  "Yes, here they are," said Si, springing up. "I'm Serg't Klegg."

  LITTLE PETE FOUND 13]

  "That's him," piped out Pete Skidmore's voice from the engine, with avery noticeable blubber of joy. "He's the same durned old-fool that Ikept tellin' all the time he'd lose me if he wasn't careful, and he wentand done it all the same."

/>   "Well, here's your boy," continued the first voice. "Be mighty gladyou've got him back and see that you take care o' him after this. Myfireman run down on the cow-ketcher and snatched him up just in thenick o' time. A second more and he'd bin mince-meat. Men what can't takebetter care o' boys oughtn't to be allowed to have charge of 'em. Butthe Government gits all sorts o' damn fools for $13 a month."

  Si was so delighted at getting Pete back unhurt that he did not have theheart to reply to the engineer's gibes.