170 HENRY HILL GOODELL 



room, locked the door and went to work. Excitement kept 

 me up and by two o'clock everything was done; the money 

 counted and placed in the envelopes, and the blanks filled 

 out, and the footing correctly made. Then only did I know 

 how much I had carried with me, and how precious were 

 the contents of my haversack. Barricading my door with 

 the table, and wedging a chair in between it and the bed, 

 I thrust the haversack between the sheets, slid in after it, 

 laid my revolver by the pillow, and in an instant was sound 

 asleep. The next morning, on going down to breakfast, 

 I innocently inquired of the clerk in the office if he would 

 give me a receipt for valuables. "Certainly," was his smil- 

 ing rejoinder, "for how much?" — "$24,346," I replied, 

 and half-opening my haversack, showed him the bundles of 

 express envelopes, explaining that it was the pay of a regi- 

 ment. "Where did you keep this last night? " was the next 

 question. "In my room." — "You d — fool, it might have 

 been stolen." — "True, but I thought it would be safe 

 enough, and besides I did not know how much I had." 



Breakfast over, I repaired at once to the office of the ex- 

 press company, and by noon, with my receipts in my 

 pocket, I stepped forth feeling as if a gigantic load had 

 been rolled from my shoulders. 



Of my journey back there is no need to speak : but suf- 

 fice it to say that two or three weeks thereafter, one night 

 as the sun was setting, I stood with beating heart on the 

 levee, outside of Simsport on the Red River, waiting for 

 the coming of the regiment on its march down from Alexan- 

 dria. Column after column passed and still I waited. But 

 suddenly I caught the roll of drums and there came a dim- 

 ness over my eyes, for I recognized familiar forms. The 



