The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1879-05-29
Gus coincidence, when he sat upon his
bed, looked me square !. in the face and

Gus coincidence, when he sat upon n1s
bed, looked me square !. in the face ant
Esaid:s sAa J IS 4 5f4f&
81 am Dan Vernon, the bushwhacker
and killed one of your men last nigh
before turning in here!'
S"Dan. .Vernon!n l repeated after him
YVES 1t issa good joke on your com
rades WHO took me for scrub, soldier
was so taken by surprise that coul6
not utter word. He was as cool as ice
however, and he continued:
's.It would give Sheridan great JOY tc
string me up or see me shot, but my time
isn't come yet. shall be going pretty
sOon.'
Now that was pretty cool talk, consid
cring that was there to guard him, an6
my carbine ready for a shot, with fifty
comrades within hail, but he went on:
- 81 have my rifle under the straw, anC
could have shot you long ago. L didn'
want to, however. + feel goodnaturcc
this morning, and you need fear no harm.
Gone cry from me will alarm the whole
post I managed to remark.
''Pooh Let's hear you yell out once =
Our eyes met. There was nothing
malicious in his, but they put strange
spell on me. His voice, too, had strange
tender influence, and when he asked me
to toss him my canteen of water and hav
ersack of food, l obeyed without the least
hesitation. He drank from the canteen
and as he chewed away at the food hi
remarked:
"This is a pretty good fare for hungry
man. As | can't stay here to get it all,
shall beg the favor of carrying the rest
with me-" -. '.7'ss.s'a.' '-
He was looking into my eyes, and ]
could not force my lips to utter word
ofobiection.
81 hear that Sheridan has offered re-
ward for me, butsno one will ever earn
it, he said, as hesdr,lnk again.
He was not fifteen feet from my car
binc, and l was thinking how surely l
could hit him, when our eyes met, and he
said:
"No use trying! If you want to shoot
me, blaze away, but tell you you can't
hit me-"
We looked at each other for half a
minute, and felt my carbine slipping
from my grasp to the ground outside.
My fingers had no strength to hold it.
Dan laughed in dry way and said:
"Why don't you shoot!'
"You shall never leave this place
alive" | said in answer, but hardly
recognized my own voice.
"a. " POOH. he carclessly replied, ~ am
ready to leave now! l shall go out of
this other door there, and you will sit
right where you are!''
I was looS ing full at him, and to save
my life l couldn't move hand or foot
Each limb felt as numb as if asleep.
"Well, old boy, good bye to you,' said
Dan as he picked up his rifle from the
straw, and IN another minute he was out
Of sight. l was sitting there, mouth
open and, eyes fixed on vacancy, when a
came down from the picket
post, shook me by the shoulder and cried
out
"a nice man you are, fast asleep and
your prisoner gomez"
Was l asleep? No! Was it a dream?
No. But prisoner was gone. There was
talk of Il courtmartial in my case, but it
never occurred, as the prisoner was sup
posed to be some common 'Johnny Reb."
Had it been known that my man was the
famous bushwhacker, ! should have been
taken out and shot for permitting him to
escape. I permitted him and yet I
didn't. I was as helpless as if without
power or muscle. That night he crept in
IN a picket and stabbed him to the heart.
wonder if the poor victim first saw
those strange, wild, magnetic eyes glar
ing into his to deprive him even of his
power to ask for mercy.