The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-04-07
THE LAST ELM OF THE AVENUE

THE LAST ELM OF THE AVENUE.
Apitch dark night, rain falling in tor.
rents. wind blowing gustily from every
point of the compass at once. Two OF
three oil lamps flickered feeble in the
gloom on q struggling crowd, of damp
passengers, in chaotic mass Of luggage
and-no porters. r.f NsgfF1 >
Such were my earliest Impressions on
being turned out of the London down
train at Westwood, the station for Cinq-
haven, whittier and some half dozen
other officers were bound, to complete
our education by a course of musketry
instruction. -
Where's Cinqhaven," was my first
very natural inquiry. ~ @ And how am !
to get there?"
Cinqhaven was t'across there" civil
official replied. pointing over an expanse
Of plowed field in the direction of the
South Pole. The one omnibus had, it
appeared, departed with small selec-
ton from the impatient crowd of belated
travellers, but would be back again di-
rectly.
How soonP' asked.
Well, in about an hour or so"
I thanked him, committed my belong
ings to his care, and with benedictiOn
on my luck and the Colonel who had
sent me there, plunged into the night.
Outside the station found an officer
with his party, sergeant and some pri-
Yates, about to march to Cinqhaven, and
GLADLY ininad them tft
took for granted some one knew the
way. I didn't Such a night! Rain
pelting us viciously, wind blowing our
fragmentary attempts at conversation
away into space. Finally. at a point
where five roads met, and the wind and
rain did their wickedness, we halted.
Fire and candle-light streamed invit-
ingly out OF the unshuttered window of
low white house; sign creaked over
our heads in tbs darkness, and after a
brief debate, in we all turned to the coy
kitchen of the Green Lion.
We were not unwilling to accept the
landlady's assurances that the storm
would blow itself out in half an hour
or less. She invited US into her own
snug parlor, and here, for the first time,
I got look at my companion.
The landlady's prediction was verified
In less than the time mentioned. The
storm blew over, the clouds parted, and
. clear white moon shone out. - =
Half an hours quick walking brought
Us to the top of the hill, under which
Law the little town of Cinqhaven. Its
red roofs looked pretty and picturesque
In the moonlight beyond. and to west
ward the sea and the marshes stretching
away gray and mysterious; below US q
row of lighted windows showed where
the barracks stood.
"That's welcome sight," said Mac
Leish.
"Were you ever here before?" I
asked.
t"Never. I only heard of the place
lastweek- ahr' he stopped short 50
/ looked round in amazement. He
was standing upright and rigid, his eyes
fixed on some point in the road before US,
his fOre6nger extended.
"Why, what's the matter?' asked,
looking down the road-white and lonely
and seeing only q milestone standing
out distinctly from the dark hedge.
"Therer' His eyes dilated with q
fixed stare of horror, his breath came
short and quick, and at last, with q sharp
cry, he swayed forward and fell insensi-
BILE on the path. thought he tried to
say something. but failed to understand
him. The soldiers had halted, and two
came rushing up vociferating wildly in
some unknown tongue. They knelt be
side him and raised him all stark and
white, in the moonshiae. gave . few
directions; to which they vouchsafed not
the smallest attention; but somehow they
contrived to support him between them,
and we proceeded to the barracks; no
great distance, fortunately. t3f
/ questioned the sergeant, who had
looked on meanwhile with undisturbed
composure. He declined to commit him
self to any opinion whatever. The PR
Yates were Caolchairn's" own people,
puir ignorant Hieland bodies. who could
hardly speak English. Could he under
stand Gaelic? Weel, Q word. or may be
twa. What had MacLeish said IS he
fell? 1t sounded like ..into my grave"
but he culdna be positeeve. And here
Sergeant Tulloch' g communications came
to an abrupt stop, and / could only tex-
tract, in addition, that the Highland0rs
knew best what to do with their chief,
and that she's be q right the morn.
So he was. He appeared on parade
right enough. I found that he and I
were in the same section; also that OF all
the sixty officers composing the
= coufseN He Ms Ne 0Rl1 O. ysith
vhbm I had the sliGGteeg aSgnaintance.