The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-06-01
down his rife to the charge. "stsnd

my revolver, as crept up from whence
the sound proceeded,
"All's well, General" I heard the
and stood firm. For on outpost duty
all compliments, such as presenting
arms and saluting, are totally ignored.
"Ah, Captain Wood, believe, 7 SAID
the General, who was on horseback,
leaning down on his saddle.
"The same, sir, said /. y
The snow by this time had abated,
and the heavens grew brighter. Be
fore me was. the English commander.
eve attack at daylight, Captain
Wood% he whispered. "f We but
steal march upon them this time,
believe we shall carry the great re
doubt, which Prince Menschikoff de
clares would defy all the armies Of the
world to capture -he deems 1t impreg
nable be qttt vive.n
He was about 10 ride of when / stop
ped him. fs
report man wrapped in white, who ii
defiance Of the outlying picket, crossed
our position and safely entered the
enemy's lines"
The General drew up rein suddenly
at this.
"what, again? Unquestionably {
spy. In the name Of God who and
what was he like ?"
I felt an irresistible impulse to un
bosom my suspicious. But, supposine
they should prove unfoundeds The
character OF an English officer woult
be compromised, and / probably cash
tered for 80 unwarranted o charge, un
worthy OF IN officer and q gentleman.
I merely limited 1t might be Turk
Frenchman, or an Englishman.
"Humphl " calculated the Englist
commander, "if one Of these he shal
not escape u.s. s
"order the outlying pickets to bt
doubled. Throw forward o section o.
riaemen, under cover Of the great re
doubt. Suffer no one TO pass, on pair
OF instant death. Order the rifiemen
10 lie down, and, should the spy ap.
pear, not 10 discharge their rifles, but
either to seize or knock him down with
the butt ends Of their muskets.o
This order j promptly carried out,
Still the same ominous silence ut Sc
bastopol. Iheard naught save an oc-
casional chant and clock striking the
hour, in the doomed town. Silently,
could see, with my night-glass, the
Russians relieving sentry. So, &
Il Gt1f - h.. kka faraf0par ha oannak na.
cape and should he not return, my
worst fears will be realized
While I was thinking i was dozing
of. Should I fall asleep under this
thorny brer, there would be o vacancy
in ours. And, above all, 1t would fall
to the foreigner. Istroye hard to rise,
and to my dismay, my limbs felt stiff
and rigid. The revolver dropped from
my grasp. I essayed to cry out, but
my tongue refused to move.
Crack, crack, crack, / heard, like one
| in q nightmare Something had hap
pened. Sharp firing followed. IgaYe
o faint cry, as il in pain. The tramp
ing probably saved me from an awful
death. II removed the stagnated
blood. I sat up and instinctiyely
| placed my hand over my head and face
TO protect.
Wasit q panic, or was / still dream-
ing. sSJi q
"Curse him | he's old nick himself, I"
I heard voices exclaim; "but for the
snow storm we would have made mince-
meat OF him" b. E Z.
And, to my amazement, the rifles in
Bwarms came running back to take up
position. One fellow tuinbled over me,
and the next instant Twas surrounded
by men who poured stiff tota Of grog"
down my throat. Some chafed my
limbs, while others took me by the
arms In turns and walked me rapidly to
and fro. In short time I was fully
restored. To my unutterable astonish-
ment I learned a astoutish man, wrapped
in white cloak, appeared suddenly IN
the midst Of the swarm Of human ants.
The snow Of that moment was terrific,
aud driven by q keen wind, 1t was next
to impossible to barely SEQ your hand
before you. Some say they seized the
stranger by the leg. Others say he got
some ounces Of lead. And yet-he es-
capped them. "a Es0J.if *
hAll through this storm, captain, /"
said an old sergeant. 1--WE are afeared
Of shooting each other"
"I'll be hanged il he amt, or ap.
peared to 80, smack into our lines"
I was seated in my rude hut week
after this terrible event, and who should
walk in but Lieutenant Brown. He
calmly seated himself, as was his wont,
and serenely smoked his short pipe.
Positively q stranger, Brown" I
said. d.'
"a little out Of sorts, " he answered,
staring me full in the face. ti
I was ever Of the opinion that men Of
sinister natures could never rightly tx
their eyes upon another mans. i
laughed at this fallacy, and was ever
akeptical upon this point aiterward.
"Sorry to hear IL" replied. Then
! added, with searching glance,
"What do you think of this spy affaire"
cts right enough, Captain Wood, /
saw the fellow myself, yesterday night,
enter the Russian lines. could have
sworn the , I rascal had stolen my seal.
|" Did he 2" said ], with faint touch
Of sarcasm. a f9i .fs3t lFl
He pretended to laugh heartily at
this; but there was o CLEAN in his cruel
eyes, and / saw IL instantly cankered in
his bosom. He proposed some grog,
and between us we got slightly elevated.
The subject oi our conversation was
that II the Russians some fine morning
made O grand attack near the 1nksrman
hatobta II tvaa f,rohah1a tho n1lfea