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| The turkey he Didn't catch. |
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During the expedition of the Fifth Corps alluded to, while the column had halted at some point in its march, a few uneasy spirits, wishing for something eatable to turn up, had made off down a hill, ahead of the column, had crossed a stream, and reached the vicinity of a house on the high ground the other side.
Here a keen-scented cavalryman from the party had started up two turkeys, which, as the pursuit grew close, flew up on to the top of the smoke-house, whence, followed by their relentless pursuer, they went
still higher, to the ridge-pole of the main house adjoining.
Still up and forward pressed the trooper, his “soul in arms and eager for the fray,” and as the turkeys with fluttering wings edged away, the hungry veteran, now astride the ridge-pole, hopped along after, when ping! a bullet whistled by uncomfortably near him.
“What in thunder are you about!”
blurted the cavalryman, suspecting his comrades of attempting to shoot off his quarry in the moment of victory.
Receiving no satisfactory response from his innocent companions, who had stood interested spectators of his exploit, yet unconscious of what he was exclaiming at, he once more addressed himself to the pursuit when, chuck!
a bullet struck a shingle by his leg and threw the splinters in his face.
There was no mistaking the mark or the marksman this time, and our trooper suddenly lost all relish for turkey,
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