kind o' runnin' things here, I guess."

"I'm in charge of the flowers, Bud, just for to-day," replied Captain
Meyers, who did not wish to seem as vain-glorious as he was.

"Goin' to put flowers on all the soldiers' graves--are you?" queried
Bud. The elder replied that the Post aimed to do so.

"Did you know my dad was a soldier?" was the boy's next question.

[Illustration: "_Did you know my dad was a soldier_?"]

The captain's heart was pricked when he saw what was in Bud's mind.
The captain knew what the next query would be. He was a gentle man and
kind. So, looking about to see if any comrades of a sterner sect than
he were in hearing before replying, he said: "You mustn't feel bad
now, Buddie, but it's only them on the Union side--whose graves we
decorate to-day. I wouldn't mind, if I was you." Captain Meyers was
not a diplomat, and he said the words poorly.

In an instant the boy's eyes filled with tears. They dried in anger
before they reached his flushed cheek. He clinched his hands, turned,
and walked hotly out of the room. In the door he paused, whirled
around, and cried,--

"Yank! Yank! Rick-stick-stank!
High ball, low ball, dirty-faced Yank!"

[Illustration: _During the next two hours the boy wandered on the
prairie_.]