"Well,  my  child,"  he  said,  in  his  pleasant,  cheer-
ful tones,  "What  do  you  want  so  bright  and  early
this  morning?"

"Bennie's  life,  please,  sir,"  faltered  Blossom.
"Bennie!    Who  is  Bennie?"

"My  brother,  sir.  They  are  going  to  shoot  him
for  sleeping  at  his  post."

"0,  yes;"  and  Mr.  Lincoln  ran  his  eye  over  the
papers  before  him.  "I  remember.  It  was  a  fatal
sleep.  You  see,  my  child,  it  was  a  time  of  special
danger.  Thousands  of  lives  might  have  been  lost
by  his  culpable  negligence."

"So  my  father  said,"  replied  Blossom,  gravely.
"But  poor  Bennie  was  so  tired,  sir,  and  Jimmie
so  weak.  He  did  the  work  of  two,  sir,  and  it  was
Jimmie's  night,  not  his;  but  Jimmie  was  too  tired,
and  Bennie  never  thought  about  himself,  that  he
was  tired,  too."

"What  is  this  you  say,  child?  Come  here;  I  do
not  understand."  And  the  kind  man  caught
eagerly  as  ever  at  what  seemed  to  be  a  justifica-
tion of  the  offense.
Blossom  went  to  him;  he  put  his  hand  tenderly
on  her  shoulder  and  turned  up  the  pale  face  to-
ward him.  How  tall  he  seemed !  And  he  was  the
President  of  the  United  States,  too !   A  dim  thought


THE  SOLDIER'S  REPRIEVE  221

of  this  kind  passed  for  a  minute  through  Blossom's
mind;  but  she  told  her  simple,  straightforward
story,  and  handed  Mr.  Lincoln  Bennie's  letter  to
read.
He  read  it  carefully;  then,  taking  up  his  pen,
wrote  a  few  hasty  lines  and  rang  his  bell.
