So Im glad wear going to take the next boat back home & prof. Baker is down to the steam boat co. now makeing in querys a bout what time does the next boat leave for N.Y. city & wear going to be a bord of it & may be you will see us pretty near as soon is you get this letter because I & Minnie got it fixed up to stop off in Det. on our way home from N.Y. city to Chgo. because I got to waist a little time on acct. of Minnie geting dissapointed in her trip & cant go strate home to Chgo. like I want to & if I had my way a bout we wouldent never of left. But I got to stall a round a wile so as she wont have no holler comeing.
In the book it says they got a boat leaveing here tommorow but prof. Baker says may be they might not be runing reglar on acct. the war & thats why he went down to see a bout it. We aint unpack none of our bagige because we dont know for sure a bout our plans & Minnies laying down here in the hotel & geting rested tho I told her if we was going to start right back on the next boat to N.Y. city she would probly be laying down all the way home on the boat like she was comeing over most of the time so why not stand up or walk a round wile shes got a chance. But you cant tell a woman nothing & if she had of listen to me we would of been in joying our self at cedar lake or st. Joe or some wheres & not makeing these rotten trips back & 4th acrost the ocean & back.
The 3 girls from What Cheer ia. thats in our party wanted we should keep on with our trip & go all a round Germ. & up to Venice & them other places like in the book & they says if we would stick a round a few days the war would probly be over but prof. Baker & prof. Hunter says they aint no chance of the war geting over quick because the armys is so mad at each other. 1 of the girls miss Griffith says well what if the war aint over we can go a head & make our trip & they wont shoot at us because we aint on 1 side or the other & I says no they wont shoot at us but if 1 of them canon balls was comeing right at our head it wouldent stop & ask us was we dutch men or america or egjyp. After our head was shot off the men that done it might look in our pocket & see they made a miss take but what would that get us? & besides I says if wear not on 1 side or the other wear right bet. the both of them & that would be a fine place to be at. I says if I want to commit suside I will take either or go on the water wagon.
Well Ed I supose the papers over there is full of the war but may be they dont know over there what is it there fighting a bout & I wouldent of knew neither only prof. Baker told me & hes a smart man Ed & teachs school. Some guy from Hungry was walking down the st. with his wife & I guess she must of been miss took for some body elses wife & any way some body took a shot at the both of them & croked them & the Hungry police men says the men that done the shooting was from Serbia & the people over in Serbia got sore & says they wasent no such a thing so they went to it & then of corse the other countrys took sides with there pals just like as if 1 of your freinds got mixed up & you seen he was going to get the worst of it & you mixed up in it & the other guys freinds, horned in & made it a good 1.
So you can see how it got started & now there all fighting accept italy & I never seen a wop yet that was looking for trouble or 1 that would come out & fight with out a knife accept Hugo Kelly & he wouldent of un lest hed of had a irish name. It all started over them police men saying that the shooting was done by them fellows from Serbia & if the police over here is any thing like at home there probly wrong & so the hole things a bout nothing & besides that it dont do them diffrunt countrys no good to call each other names because they all talk diffrunt languidges & Id hate to fight with a man & not have him know what was I calling him. It would be like swareing at them rats a round the place & they dont know what Im talking about.
Well Ed its a bout time prof. Baker was comeing back & teling us what did he find out so I
