"It's really good old George come to help
us!"
He rushed forward and shook hands with Warner who although thin and pale
was as cool and apparently almost as strong as ever.
"Here I am, Dick," he said, "and the great battle hasn't been fought.
I knew they couldn't fight it without me. The hospital at Washington
dismissed me in disgrace because I got well so fast. 'What's the use,'
said one of the doctors, 'in getting up and running away to the army to
get killed? You could die much more comfortably here in bed.' 'Not at
all,' I replied. 'I don't get killed when I'm with the army. I merely
get nearly killed. Then I lie unconscious on the field, in the rain,
until some good friend comes along, takes me away on his back and puts me
in a warm bed. It's a lot safer than staying in your hospital all the
time.'"
"Oh, shut up, George! Come and see the boys. They'll be glad to know
you're back--what's left of 'em."
Warner's welcome was in truth warm. He seemed more phlegmatic than ever,
but he opened his eyes wide when they told him of the dispatch that had
been lost and found.
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