"Why, drew it from the quartermaster of course. Where did you suppose I got it?"—this with the blandest and most child-like air.
"Drew it from the quartermaster," we replied. "Yes I know how you drew it, you drew it from my knapsack at Perrysville, you rascal, that's how you drew it."
"What in thunder are you talking about," said Mack, "here help me shake it, and don't go to insinuating that I stole your old blanket."
But we knew the property was ours, and intended to hold on to it, not that we particularly needed it, for we had obtained another one, but we did not propose to be robbed, as we thought we were being, in that way. This was our blanket, there was the mark, and we were going to have it. Mack was getting riled a little.
"Are you going to help me shake that blanket?" he asked.
We replied "no," that we were going to keep that blanket ourself. We were in earnest and he saw it.
"I'd like to know what makes you think that its yours?" he said, in the most innocent manner.
We held up the corner to him. "Do you see that; that's our mark."
Mac's countenance fell, he had never noticed that before, and never another word did he say. He stooped over to pick up another one, for he was, or had been until I came to him by his invitation, the fortunate possessor of two. We were not mad nor out of humor the least bit, for as the saying is: "we had been there ourself," but we requested Mac to tell us where he got it. Seeing that we had doubled up the blanket and held it under our arm, and was not the least bit inclined to give it up, he said:
"Well, now, if you won't tell anybody, I'll tell you how I got it. I was coming along the other night past Doc. McElroy's quarters, and I was on the lookout for a blanket. I came right by where the doctor's darkey had made down his bed for him, so I just reached down, and gathered onto that blanket and scooted; hold on, I'll tell you the rest of it," he said, as he recovered from the fit of laughter into which the recollection of his theft had thrown him. "I made down my bed pretty close to the doctor's, to see what he would say to the darkey when he came. I did not have to wait long; here came the doctor. 'Boy, got my bed made yet?' 'Oh yes, doctor, all right sah, made you good bed to-night, doctor,' the darkey replied, and soon the doctor proceeded to test the assurance. There was the bed, sure enough, but when the doctor got down on his knees, and went to turn, as he supposed, the top blanket down, nothing was revealed to his astonished gaze but the bare ground. Then, said Mac, the trouble commenced. Calling the darkey he asked him if that was what he called a good bed, where's my other blanket? he yelled, and the air was blue with oaths.