The Lincoln County herald., 1871-11-09


his pocket
"Whst's that yes dropped jist then p
asked Mike.
"a bottle of-whoa consarn ye !.
bottle Of brandy, l believe" Mr.. Faxon
replied.
"Bedad, thin, the likes O. that shall
niver be lift for the drinking aud Mike
descended and led his mule back to the
spot. He found the bottle uninjured,
removed the cork, and forthwith took II
good. strong draw"
"Uch, murtherl Mother Of Moses !"
he exclaimed, Indignantly, wiping his
mouth with intrinsic disgust, and he
dashed the bottle upon q stone, shatter
ing it 10 pieces. "The ould one fly away
wid yes, MIR. Faxon! niver the lraniy is
there at all-its campfire y
80 it is-so it is," said Mr.. Faxon,
suddenly remembering the other bottle.
"l've got some brandy in my t'other
rnckat, if ye d like soms 2" --...--
With much splitting and sputtering,
Mike re mounted his mule, rather sullen
at his discontinue, but . pull at the
brandy bottle soon put him in spirits.
Further conversation was prevented
for the time, by the horses striking into
q brisk trot. Again did the bear skin
cap descend, and again did Mr.. Fsxon 60
through the solar motion Of travelling
forward with his horse, while he himself,
went the circumference of his horses
back. After proceeding three miles be-
yond the village, General Grandcrvack
called q "halt," then drawing up his
troops in line, no rode out iu front, aud
said:
"Fellow citiKsns-that is, fellow sol.
d,ers 1t is necessary before going
further, to discover the Whereabouts Of the
enemy, his exact position, and what he is
doing. l will ask for two volunteers to
ride forward and act as scouts. Mean
while, the rest will wait till the infantry
come up. Who will volunteer ?"
No one answered the summons, and
each man looked at his noighbor as
though expecting him to do so. Mike,
who was close at Mr.. Faxon's side, slyly
touched his fork to the flank of that gen
tlcman's horse, and the animal smarting
with pain, sprang forward in front of the
line, much to Mr.. Faxons surprise and
CONSERVATION.
"Mr. Faxon volunteers" said the
General.
"l-that isl would rather" Mr.
Faxon began. but the General with a
bland condescension, cut him short with
your modesty is only equalled by your
patriotism, Mr.. Faxon. Who Is next ?
Mike nearly sutfooatsd with suppressed
mirth at his success in enisting Mr..
Faxon as q scout; but his mirth was Of
short duration. Ills mule having been
alongside Of Mr.. Faxon's horse during
the afternoon, was not inclined to part
company, and before Mike understood or
could prevent, he found himself by Mr..
Faxou's side.
"Be the powers-I niver-bedad, L."
but Mike could get no further, his mouth
was fixed, open, wide, with astonishment
at falling into trap Of his own II aking,
"Mr, Fogarty volunteers Thank you,
gentlemen You will move cautiously
discover what you can, and report back
as speedily as possible )" and the Gen
eral waved them off with bland, but
imperative gesture. There seemed no
room for decent retreat, and the involun
tary volunteers reluctantly accepted the
situation, and moved away slowly.
"Begorra an it's mesilf deserves o
batin' for this same" said Nike rcmorso
fully, as they passed down the road.
GLOW eoP" Mr.. Faxon asked with
amazement.
"Och, niver yes mind Well jiggeI
round an be back in jitfy and tell the
General there's niver q ribil wid in o
t'ousand miles Of u.s."
Mr.. Faxon made no reply to this pa
triotic proposition, but rode on for some
time in silence. The slow pace of bis
horse, the heat of the sun, or both, per-
haps caused him to fall. into q revere,
and be almost forgot where he was, unit!
flock Of quails started up in the road
before him. Now, whether the bakers
horse had never seen quails, or having
seen them, always quailed before them
certain it was, lie now gave q snort o.
terror, and dashed wildly, madly down
the road, carrying his rider, who vainly
endeavored to restrain the animal, with
him. No sooner did Mike recover from
his surprise at Mr.. Faxon's unexpected
debut as rider, than he dug his heels
into his mules sides and gallopod onward
in pursuit. On, on, few MIR. Faxon's
horse, and on, on, few Mr.. Faxon with
him. Trees. stumps and fences, pssseG
in bewildering review. The brandy
bottle fell from the little merchant.
pocket, but Mike, in the rear, paused mo-
to pick it up. Next went the cap, whicl
the owner caught adroitly in his teeth
How long, or how far the race continued
MIR. Faxon never knew; but turning q
corner Of the road, into . little hollow
he sew largo number Of men reclining
on the grass by the roadside, while their
tsthered horses were grazing 10 . neigh
boring field. Their butternut and gra,
clothing told plainly who they were
they were the raiders. Mr.. Faxon saw