The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-10-06
silently put his name to the paper
the others followed.

SEOAOAl9 oAE1N
unexpected turn in affairs were hur-
riedly exchanged, and the noble
Black Hawk seemed to appreciate
the Importance of the situation and
to catch the nervous excitement of
his rider. He was given a free
rein" and nobly and splendidly did
he respond to it, for soon he stood
at the door of his masters tent, his
magnificent frame enveloped in
steam and quivering with excite
ment. "What luck Lieutenant?"
asked Col. Burgwyn. at is all right
| am happy to say. | found Col.
Marshall, the President Of the court,
and all the members at his quarters,
except one, and they all signed it
readily and cheerfully," said the
Lieutenant as he handed the Colonel
the paper. r"Take a seat" said the
Colonel as he took up his pen, and
turning to the Lieutenant said,
"Lieutenant, | appreciate your
course in this matter and commend
you for it, and | am very glad indeed
that you interested yourself'in be-
half Of this poor, foolish fellow and
gave me the facts in his case, else he
certainly would have been shot to-
day, for | am determined to put a
stop to desertion in my regiment.
Ifthis will teach the men the lesson
and the mans life can be spared, it will
be a happy contamination" But"
and here he quickly drew out his
watch-"it is now within a few
minutes of eight and it is nearly
three miles to Magnolia, and you
know that this paper must 60 to
Gen. French" TRUE" said the
Lieutenant, "and will you let the
Orderly have your other horse and
take it TO Gen. French?" "Cer-
tainIy," said he, and calling out in
his quick, sharp voice said, "Dowd!
saddle Gray Eagle and report here
quickly" White Dowd (Johnnie
Dowd, now Of Durham) was saddling
Gray Eagle the Lieutenant left
the Colonel with the paper and
walked up the road in the direction
OF Magnolia. Dowd, with the paper
in hand, soon dashed up and as he
passed the Lieutenant admonished
him to make all possible speed, as
he was on an errand of very great
Importance.
A few minutes after nine Orderly
Dowd returned, entirely ignorant Of
course of the object OF his hurried
ride, for it was a soldiers duty simply
to obey orders. Col. B. and the
Lieutenant were the only ones Of
the regiment who knew the real
meaning Of this mysterious hurrying
to and fro, and they of curse had
no means of divining what the decis-
ion of Gen. French would be.
The officer and the guard of six
men. who were to do the deadly
work, had been detailed. At 9:45,
sharp, the "long roll" sounded. The
regiment was formed, a guard de-
tailed to escort the prisoner, who
was placed in an ambulance, and
soon all the regiments had reached
the field and as they arrived were
given their positions so as to form
three sides of a square. The prisoner
vas marched to a position in the
centre, and the officer and six men
took their position in front Of him.
All the regiments were in position
except the 18th North Carolina (the
cold 1st"), but soon it filed into the
field, with its splendid band, playing
in gayest strains, "Wait for the
wagon" at the head Of the column,
while the tall and martial figure of
its noble commander, Col. Leven-
thorpe, led the way. Soon the troops
we're all in line and standing at a
"parade-rest." The moments seemed
to hang heavily, as all knew that
the Adjutant General must appear
before the execution. But we were
not to wait long, for he dashed into
the field at a full gallop-dismounted
and approached the prisoner and
guard. The prisoner, who since
starting from camp appeared more
dead than alive, now became almost
unnerved and had to be supported
by a man on either side. The Adiu-
tant read the charges and specified
tions and the finding of the court
and the order for the execution. 1t
W Is ii moment of protoundest inter-
est! The prisoner was now standing
face to face with death. And such a
dealt I! The guard were ~summoning
their nerve for the terrible work