Attendants

Well, they caught one. One week of freedom from this mess. Those guys from THE FIRST PENN, you remember? They were those funny soldiers in the WHITE turbans and red baggy pants. As much as they saved us from the FREE SWIMMING LESSONS, they captured one of our men. The GENERAL STAFF, McClellan's, had to get involved to shore up discipline. To show who's the boss, they ordered a hanging. After a SUMMARY COURT MARTIAL, the poor fellow was to be executed in the swamp. That was the nearest tree. But the ATTENDANTS who did the actual work were fellow soldiers who were serving their punishment for petty crimes. They weren't deserters, just Soldiers who were convicted of stealng from the dead, rape, and drunkenness. They had to wear BLACK and WHITE pajamas all during their term of rehabilitation. Being the drummers for McClenna's Army, we had to drum the tattoo for the dead. We had never seen this kind of death caused by our side. However, we were there.

Oh, something else - just before the launch pulled away from our victim, a strange figure came out of nowhere. He was all BLACK and very tall with a high stove pipe hat on his head. The only thing different about him was that he had a painted skeleton all over his body. Ever seen HIM before? I have, and it's always after a battle.

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