“That was going to be the hardest of all—to die by the hands of my comrades.
“Just as I was going to ask him this favor, he stood up, and he says to me:
“‘My boy, stand up here and look me in the face.’
“I did as he bade me.
“‘My boy,’ he said, ‘you are not going to be shot to-morrow. I believe you when you tell me that you could not keep awake.
“‘I am going to trust you, and send you back to your regiment.
“‘But I have been put to a good deal of trouble on your account.
“‘I have had to come up here from Washington when I have got a great deal to do; and what I want to know is, how are you going to pay my bill?’
“There was a big lump in my throat; I could scarcely speak. I had expected to die, you see, and had kind of got used to thinking that way.
“To have it all changed in a minute! But I got it crowded down, and managed to say: