A LITTLE DUSKY HERO
BY HARRIET T. COMSTOCK
AUTHOR OF "CEDRIC THE SAXON," "TOWER OR THRONE," ETC.
NEW YORK
THOMAS Y. CROWELL & Co.
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1902,
By Thomas Y. Crowell & Company.
THIS LITTLE BOOK
IS
LOVINGLY DEDICATED
TO
Philip and Albert
BY
THEIR MOTHER
COLONEL AUSTIN STAGGERED TO HIS FEET, LEANING UPON THE LITTLE SHOULDER.
CONTENTS
I. George Washington McKinley Jones
II. The Box from up North
III. The Little Gauntlet and Sword
IV. Waiting in the Turret Chamber
V. The Boy up North
VI. "War, G. W.!"
VII. The Battle on the Hill-Top
VIII. The Colonel's Body-Guard
IX. "I'se Got de Colonel!"
X. In the Tent Hospital
XI. "It's all yours, G. W.!"
XII. A History-Evening at Oakwood
THE GOLDEN HOUR SERIES
A LITTLE DUSKY HERO.
I.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MCKINLEY JONES.
Scratch! scratch! scratch! went Colonel Austin's pen over the smoothwhite sheets of paper, sheet after sheet.
The dead heat of Tampa hung heavy within the tent; the buzz of the flieswas most distressing; but the reports must be got off, and after themthere were letters to be written to "the Boy and his Mother" up North,telling them—especially the Boy—what a glorious thing it is to serveone's country under any circumstances. The present circumstances wereextremely trying, to be sure, but the firm brown hand glided back andforth over the long pages in a determined manner that showed how ColonelAustin believed in doing his duty.
Scratch! scratch! scratch!
Buzz! buzz! buzz!
"Good-mornin', sah!"
It was a soft little voice, and it droned away into the buzz of theflies and the scratching of the pen so that the writer at the roughtable took no heed.
"Good mornin', sah!"
This time Colonel Austin turned. He was a firm believer in discipline,and the unannounced arrival annoyed him. He swung around and gazedsternly about six feet from the ground. There was nothing there! Hiseyes dropped and finally rested upon the very smallest, dirtiest,raggedest black boy he had ever seen. But the beautiful great eyes ofthe forlorn m