Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-05-07

to hearthstone He broke the CLAW
case, ate, and was thankful And he
had cause; for I doubt if General
Wellesley or Marshal Victor had half SO
good supper that night as he.
A good supper deserves nap; so he
lay down for half an hour. 81 can al
ways wake to any minute l choose"
said he to his horse. ''Half an hour
not minute more"
He slept precisely half an hour-to
the minute. Only, instead of waking,
he went on sleeping, and without
dream. Indeed, it seemed to have been
but five minutes when he woke up in
the broad day.
''That comes of supping on hedge
hog!' said he. '.And-there they'r at
it again.
And sure enough they were, if
thunder is to be believed. Dick Black
thorn had contrived to sleep peacefully
for hours, as peacefully as if IN his old
bed at quiet Leys Croft, while horse and
foot were charging and flying around
him, and the powers of the world were
warning like Titans within reach of ear
and eye. ''At it again" indeed they
were; if that were all. So good it is to
be a vagabond, whom breakfast con-
Germs more than all-at least, till din
ner-time. But even Dick Blackthorn,
once fairly awake, felt a kind of awe.
He took his horse by the bride, with
out mounting. and led him farther up
the dry stream. He might find some spot
where he could see without being seen.
But he found none better than shell
tered cleft of rock where he might sit
| and listen while the battle ragged and
roared around. 1t was as sweet NOOK
as man might find in that arid Castil-
ian plain; a hermit might have chosen
it for his cell. A little spring dubbed
up, and took the water-cOurSe for some
yards before it was swallowed up In the
midsummer dryness. No doubt, after
the rains, it became stream. The cell
was carpeted with fresh, wet moss; and
shrubs, sheltered by the overhanging
rock from the scorch of noon, made it
bower. No true vagabond could pass
such spot, so made for rest and shelter.
And what was to be gained by going
on, before they who were fighting had
time to feed? Clearly, nothing at all;
unless it was bullet for a fool.
So there he sat, and found plenty of
occupation in meditating, after his
manner, on many things. That he
thought of his sweetheart can not
| truly be said, for she was much too
numerous; and, besides, yesterdays
adventure had sickened him of that
sort of thing. But he did think once
more of his home, and of his obstinate
| old dunderhead of Il father-God bless
him, anyhow-and of his sister, and of
! the beef and bacon now doubtless be-
| fore Them and of the homc-brewed ale.
| Perhaps his father would be IL trifle re-
| pentant if he could look and see to
! what his unforgivingness had brought
| his only son. But no; there was no
good in dwelling on that. No Black
| thorn could give in, if it were for moth
| ing better than a straw. ''And I'll not
give in, seeing l was in the right of it, y
| thought he. .'And father will never
give in, just because he's in the wrong.
I'd never forgive the old chap if he gave
in; and if gave in he'd never forgive
me. It's pity, but-Holloa!'
1t was a rush of men so near that he
could distinguish their shouting and
hear the clash of bayonet and sword.
But before he could see more, it had
swept by.
But every day has an end; and at last
the big guns ceased firing, and all be-
came strangely still. Surely he might
now emerge; and another night was be-
ginning to fall. He would not risk
things by hedgehog hunting again. He
waited, however, till all had for long
been as still as death, and the armies
of the stars came out to look down up
on the armies of men and to see what
they had done. Then Dick Blackthorn
came out into the plain the only man
that day with bloodless sword.
pounds" said he to his horse, Ito
know who've won the day; if I'm to be
French prisoner or an English liar;
for one or the other | must have to be.
Shall | make forward for Talavera or
back for Escalona. Talavera may be
French or may be English; Escalona
may be French or may be Portuguese.
I'm hanged if l know which to choose
Well, there's only one thing to be done,
then. Heads or tails. Without heads
or tails, what puzzle life would be, to
be sure! L for tails and Talavera. H
for heads and-nO; not quite Escalona,
but pretty near. | won't get muddled
over it this time! Tails-Escalona,
Then so let it-hold up; what are you
stumbling over there?"
But coming out into the full moon
light, he saw; and he asked no more.
Many things had he seen in his roll
ing life, but never anything like this,
and it made him turn paler than if he
had been afraid. The first he saw of
that great and bloody fight was a field
of slain. And it was where the fight
must have been the hardest, too. Red
coats and blue-coats lay beside and
across one another, stark dead; for that
any We're dying he could not see. And
here and there the white moonbeams
fell upon cuirass or helmet; though
these were but few. 1t must have been
hand-to-hand struggle, with but little
life to carry away on either side.
And II was sitting smoking in
corner and staring at bubbles while this
this was going on hard byn' Dick
Blackthorn groaned. But how could
a man tell that fighting meant this, I'M
less he had seen?' All appetite was
gone. He refined in his horse, afraid of
where the next hoof might fall; already
a splash of crimson had come upon his
own hand. There is no true vagabond
but has tender heart and a fancy
lightly fired; and Dick Blackthorn was
a vagabond indeed. He gazed over the
field appalled, and ashamed.
He looked at no special face after the
first that glared up at him, French
mans, with set teeth, and fixed eyes
from which the grimness had not gone.
He thanked God he had no comrade
there, or anywhere; and yet, having
none to lose, he felt the more alone
among the great army of the slain. He