The Northwestern standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1885-1886, 1886-02-20
spsctars ii i Winter Night.


mot have been a comrade no ellem.
7 was near BY. That gloomy winter
night, as the pickets were posted alonl
!, the front Of forest and thicket, the Of
u fcer whispered to each man as he LET
!, him on his post. Ell
Remember the murder Of last night
y Let no man approach from the woods
when the relief had passed out d
, hearing the lonely watch began. a sol
dier may pace a beat or take up hi
station in the shadow OF tree to watch
I and listen for the enemy who has
4 fought him in open days and keep hi
i nerve. but the feeling that AN assassin
!, may creep upon and strike Him to the
4 heart makes quite another man of him
The wind blows up betimes in fierce
gusts, roaring and sobbing among the
!eafess trees, and again dies away, I'M
4 til there 10 scarcely rustic in the bush
| es. The fierce gusts rouse the picket
| to intense Watchfulness, and the low
rustling makes his heart beat faster.
j Was it on his post the picket Of the
night previous was murdered? Hsdoes
not not know, but as the thought fash
es through his mind his eye scan the
earth at his feet, as if blood would not
sink into the earth, 1t must be his
post There is that tongue OF thicket
! reaching out into the clearing field to
| furnish cover for an assassin until with
in fifty feet Of his victim. Then advan-
tage could be taken Of the broken
ground to come still nearer, and one
whose eyes we're not looking for creep
ling assassin would fail to detect him
until he rose up to strike. n 81
| The night grows blacker, and the
rush of the wind Whirls a snowflake
against the soldiers cheek. He starts
as if he was struck with missile. If
storm be added to gale and darkness,
what chance has he against those who
may prowl with murder in their hearts?
He is man of nerve, and he fights
against the timidity creeping into his
heart. One who rides against a battery
belching grape and canister should not
fear single man, even if it be in storm
and darkness
What The relief comingi He would
have made oath that be had not been
on his post more than an hour. Yes, it
must be the relief. They are coming
from the right direction and there
seems to be the right number. The
assassin if he meditatss further blood
shed, had been bafled. His is the first
post to be relieved. The relief advan
ces and he calls out: s.
9 Hall Who hers
Relief guard, with countersign !,
Advance, officer Of the guard. ',s
The officer steps forward. and % he
bends over to whisper the word the
picket drops his carbine, throws up his
hands and sinks to the earth. ~
Forward to post No. 2. Forward
from that to No. 8, and down the line
until No. s, the last, is reached. The
wind waves and shrieks among the
groaning trees, and the snow flies in
great white clouds, but the specter
moves on and onfrom post 70 post,
from man to man. The snow deadens
every football there is never whis
per among them. Silently, swiftly,
grinly- without clank Of saber to
alarm-without shot to arouse, they
move down the face Of the forest, and
at each post it is the same:
Halt! Welcomes thereYo
Relief guard with the countersignl,
Advance, oficer Of the gnardl''
Now and thou the stricken picket
utters half-sob or q groan as the knife
seeks his life, but there is no sound to
be.heard above the storm. The reserve
sheltered in their tents, half a mile
away, would scarcely hear the report OF
a carbine.
And the specter came with nOiseless
tread, moved down the front OF half q
milo without the echo OF a football, and
departed as il taken up on the wings Of
the gale. An hour later another relief
guard passed that way. Sabers clanked,
men growled aud cursed, and the officer
at their head stumbled over form in |
his path and reached his feet to cry out:
Dead! Murdered! The assassin |
has been here axainl''
And they drove on with the storm,
fearing yet hoping, and post No. 2
yielded up its corpse. Then deep i'm
precautions and cries ofvengeance are
caught up by the wind and sent along
the path to the next corpse, and the
next, and the next, but a. the guard
gathered around the eighth there was
never whisper or word. Some men |
with vengeance in their, eyes, looked
towards the forest for trace or sign. |
Others, whose faces were whittier than
the snow driving around them. looked
ACROSS the fields, hoping to see or hear !!
a movement to give them clew 70 pu1-i
suit.
There was no signno sound. The
specters had done their work and van
ished. In after days men spoke of that |
dreadful night In low voices, and some
wondered it the dead of tho battle field |
had risen to make war axain- Others
replied 81 one Whispored word:
ssGuerriliasl Detroit Free Press.
CATHOLIC IEWs