sting of the tea, which was not much like army tea,
"you never made this tea. A woman made that tea, or I'm a goat. And that
toast was toasted by a woman, and that egg was poached by a woman. Where
am I?" I asked, imagining that I was home again.

"You guessed it the first time, pard," said Jim, as he threw the blanket
over my shoulders, as I sat up on the bunk to try and eat. "The whole
thing was done by the rebel angel."

"Rebel angel, Jim; what are you talking about? There ain't any rebel
angels," and I became weak and laid down again.

"Yes, there is a rebel angel, and she is a dandy," said Jim, as he
covered me up. "She is out by the fire making milk toast for you. You
see, I went out to the Brown plantation, to try and steal an egg, and
some bread, and milk, but I thought, on the way out, as it was a case
of life and death, the stealing of it might rest heavy on your soul when
you come to pass in your chips, so I concluded to go to the house and
ask for it. There was a young woman there, and I told her the red-headed
corporal that captured the female smuggler, was dying, and couldn't eat
any hard-tack and bacon, and I wanted to fill him up on white folks food
before he died, so he could go to heaven or elsewhere, as the case might
be, on a full stomach, and she flew around like a kernel of pop-corn
on a hot griddle, and picked up a basket of stuff, and had the nigger
saddle a mule for her, and she came right to the camp with me, and said
she would attend to everything. She's a thoroughbred, and don't you make
no mistake about it."

I must have gone to sleep when Jim was talking about the girl, for I
dreamed that there was a million angels in rebel uniforms, poaching eggs
for me. Pretty soon I heard a rustle of female clothes, and a soft, cool
hand was placed on my forehead, my hair was brushed back, a perfumed
handkerchief wiped the cold perspiration from my face, and I heard the
rebel angel ask Jim what the doctor said about me. Jim told her what the
horse doctor had said about curing a horse that had been sick the
same as I was, and then she asked if we had not sent for the regular
doc-doctor. Jim said we had not thought of that. She asked what had been
done for me, and Jim told her about the French mustard episode, and the
cayenne pepper tea. I thought she laughed, but it had become dark in
the tent, and I couldn't see her face, but she told Jim to go after the
regimental surgeon at once, and Jim went out. T