wed boys made an effort to form a line and receive him properly.

"Who are you, boys?" said the newcomer, after gravely returning the
salute.

"We're recruits for the 200th Injianny Volunteer Infantry," answered
Harry Joslyn. "Kin you tell us where the rijimint is? We're lost.

"Used to know sich a regiment. In fact, I used to be Lieutenant-Colonel
of it. But I hain't heared of it for a long time. Think it's petered
out."

"Petered out!" gasped the boys.

"Yes. It was mauled and mummixed to death. There's plenty o'
mismanagement all around the army, but the 200th Injianny had the worst
luck of all. It got into awful bad hands. I quit it just as soon's I see
how things was a-going. They begun to plant the men just as soon's
they crossed the Ohio, and their graves are strung all the way from
Louisville to Chickamauga. The others got tired o' being mauled around,
and starved, and tyrannized over, and o' fighting for the nigger, and
they skipped for home like sensible men."

The boys shuddered at the doleful picture.

"Who brung you here?" continued the newcomer.

"Sarjint Klegg and Corpril Elliott," answered Harry.

"Holy smoke," said the newcomer with a look of disgust. "They've made
non-commish out o' them sapsuckers. Why, I wouldn't let them do nothin'
but dig ditches when I was in command o' the regiment. But they probably
had to take them. All the decent material was gone. How much bounty'd
you get?"

"We got $27.50 apiece," answered Harry. "But we didn't care nothin' for
the bounty. We--"

"Only $27.50 apiece. Holy smoke! They're payin' 10 times that in some
places."

"I tell you, we didn't enlist for the bounty," reiterated Harry.

"All the same, you don't want to be robbed o' what's yours. You don't
want to be skinned out o' your money by a gang o' snoozers who're
gittin' rich off of green boys like you. Where's this Sarjint Klegg and
Corpril Elliott that brung you here?"

"They've gone to look for the rijimint."

"Gone to look for the regiment. Much they've gone to look for the
regiment. They've gone to look out for their scalawag selves. When you
see 'em agin, you'll know 'em, that's all."

Little Pete Skidmore began to whimper.

"Say, boys," continued the newcomer, "you'd better drop all idee of that
200th Injianny and come with me. If there is any sich a regiment any
more, and you get to it, you'd be sorry for it as long as you live. I
know a man over here who's got a nice regiment, and wa