Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-12-16

ysho stood between him apdhIs vengeance
He was not a native Of the South. himself
-he was born in Barbados of Eaglsh
parents, and came to the South Eve years
~hsequence. "a" US
But ssys I, If he was honeqSf your
Nth, why did you come over with him 2
And Why did you both desert again 2 By
thunder cant see It at aIifT cries, a.
much puzzled as ever y'ts7a y' ss7Iy' %
= "He deserted you,s says Ned, because he
bfouhd that your course was Carrying him
away from bis object. He saw tits as
soon as YOU were ordered on the present
expedition, but until the period Of that
sEirmish, there had not occ1rred;a chance
to sscapei and, besides, rs long as you
were Ii, tRs Statb, he had still a hope. naii'
eAnd your says I, seeing that tie poor
fellow stopped. ~" ri bad J -fs1no7s
n any secret, mutrmurs he, you may guess,
perhaps, after my death. You Yankees
are good at guessing, p says he, with a nell
RnehOly smilss;, q. E.,@ , - 1i N''
Tbs stumPed me completely.
swell says /, what made you both Join
that squad Of bushwhacking deyils7 That
didn't set yostT-your friend ahead any, /
should think. - @E5 D., IN, -.
"They arrested US as spies, and We had
no choice. But he will leave, them as
soon as,'AE hal 49, ,ts .e.sr .yss r,gy, o..
p The poor fsilo%'s feelings seemed to
overcome him completely, and ne covered
his face with his. hands md sobbed. I
noticed for the first time, / think, how
slender his hands were. 1 also saw that
he did not know of his.eenFade's death.
at this h0fnebtj RhenI1 WAS pretty faFa
gone myself and unable to stand 1t much
longer, the word was suddenly passed for
Corporal Jukes. went out! The hour
for execution had arrived the shoting
party wis drawn up / needn't describe
the details to you; you've seen the thing
more than once. And as to describing /
my feelings, I canltdo it any morethan
could describe the DarI1e7 or WaIerfoOf
"But Just as the word was given Make
ready r q thought flashed across me, and
it nerved my arm and steadied my eye
wonderfully. II It hadn't been for this
lightning flash of an idea, I could no
more have drawn q clear bead on poor
Ned's heart than I could Have sighted a
musketeer st q thousand yards. But
when the aAimT came I drew as sure a
bead on the poor lads 1life-spot5 as ever
DID misunderstanding did on a Huron In
iun. -
Then came me, the fatal fire and 1
trigger. ~ 'T''r'' .'t c' h
at was over. The lad who called him
Ielf Ned Kenton was but a shell, with the
illing Of life gone out of him in a flash
thought-the thought that had
my aim-mads me very anxious
o examine the body, / found bullet
trough the brain. This had killed him.
Two more through the shoulder, one in
he thigh, and one which had Just grazed
liz right side. Tho others were wide.
These, however, 1 only discovered after
ward. My first impulse was to look for
ny own mark, on the breast. inn hur-
y l forgot that the ball must first pass
through the jacket. which was tightly
from skirt to throat, and so hast
" tore it open, wrehched the under
iothes aside, and-found the fair white
osom without a sign of a wound !
feslI had got the blank cartridgel
his was the thought, the hope, that had
ashed through me; and, strange as it.
GEMS, and is, it had .so,come to pass.
@But something still stranger than this
was that made me spring up with sort
f yell; as soon as l had laid bare the
reast Of poor Kentoh.
/" Bilesl Ny God, BilesI 1 shrieked
} the sergeant who was coming &fthea
lie to bury the corpse3 coma or, quick !
t is IA woman p, ,aav-... q, v-rr,7 ada ii
Jukes paused abruptly, and Selling the
nearly empty canteen, drained tito
ie last drop.
a Well 2" said one OF the party interro-
seeing him still silent.
d" Well, what q asked the sergeant. ss2l
Why who was she, and what-in ed |
" Lieutenant" quoth Jukes interrupt q
the speaker (who was not Bead, ,can't ]
~ guess the rest of the story Z" ~
" Perhaps" said the officer, slowly. Z
The so-carled Ned Kenton was, probably, {
ie Miss 'Tilda,e pore chile, Of the old 9
egress, George was her lover, and the. !
Mortal wrong that had beendOne by the I;
officer was-,n y..7 o-arr irr- :
" Lieutenant Bead" said an orderly, s
lifting in his head and saluting as he a
lught sight of that officer, /" the Colonel !
ishes to see you at his quarters, sir, i'm t
ediately.H p 5ra .rrr Lm @. D. g. 1