The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-04-03
4 BaRRACK GHOST STORY.

Prisoner, have you any objection to be tried by me as president or by any member of this court-martial2' asked the field-offcer who had been detailed for the duty of presiding over the court
 No, sir, answered. for it was my most unenviable situation that morning to be brought to the courtroom for trial, having been put back bv my com manding officer few days before on charge of having been asleep on mv post while on sentry; an offence character ized in my indictment as conduct in prejudice to good order and military dis cipline"
 The members composing the court were then sworn, and the trial proceeded in the cumbrous fashion peculiar to mil itary tribunals, the president laboriously writing down every word of the evidence as it was uttered The sergeant who had been in charge of the guard at the time of my alleged otfense was the prin- cipal witness against me, and he began to describe. with grotesqtely ungram- nautical volubility, how he had found me stretched on the ground asleep; but was at once pulled up short by the president. who ordered him to say what he had to say in as few words as possible
 Was the prisoner sober?" asked one of the officers when the sergeant had finished his evidence
 Quite sober, sir, replied the man of stripes
 The men who composed the relief having corroborated the sergeant state ment, was called upon for my defence
 1 therefore narrated to the court that shortly before my two hours on duty had expired, l saw white figure carry ing drawn sword pass close to my post; and that, being of a nervous, eXcitable temperament was so frightened that fell to the ground in an unconscious state, and only recovered when l was reused by the sergeant of the guard
 Prisoner, remarked the president, in my twenty years experience of the army, have served on numerous courts martial, and nave iIear,i aii kinds 0f ii genious defences put forward by men in your present position in excuse of the offences with which they were charged but your line of defense is the most re- markable that has come under my ob- servation Who, do you think, will credit story of that description? As suredly not l, for one Now, prisoner. continued the ma jor in a kindly tone, ' l must advise you that your action in submitting to the court statement of that description IS extremely injudiciouS You will do yourself positive injury by persevering in it, not only with re- gard to the probable extent of your pun ishment, but also to your reputation as a soldier. It will be far better for you to simply own that you were asleep. You are young man who has served but six months in the regiment so, under the the circumstances, assuming that you adopt my suggestion which is assuredlv meant for your good, the court may think fit, consistently with the duty de handed oft by the hard and fast re- quirements of military law, to recom- mend a much lighter sentence of i'm prisonment than would be administered to an older and more experienced mem Der of the service
 can only tell the truth sir, I urged
 That, then is your defence-that you were frightened by the figure you saw" asked the officer in a tone of vexa- ton
 That is my defence, sir. l replied
 Very we'll, said the president, writ ing down my statement Escort, re- move the prisoner Stop! About his character? Call the captain of his com pany."
 My captain answering the summons, stated that my conduct had been most exemplary after wich I received the command: Left turn, quick march," zapad q -AI f1 and the members of the court-martial began their deliberations on the dura- ton of the period of imprisonment which they meant to administer to me
 shall now relate the facts in connec- tiop with the appearance of the figure" before alluded to- At one o'clock on the morning of my arrest, was posted on sentry in front of wall which had been built on the face of cliff over hanging the beach. Why that particu- lar spot required guarding, when any at tempt on the part of a soldier to break out of barracks would be equivalent to committing suicide, as the rock had sheer unbroken descent of l50 feet. was a matter of puzzling speculation to the men of all the regiments which i'll turn occupied the quarters l refer to- \ tra- dltIon, however. which was retailed la me by an aged veteran who officiated as a barrack laborer, threw some light on the subject. Many years before the col onel of a regiment which was about to leave the town in order to embark for India, placed sentry on the spot. to prevent his men from throwing over the cliff the rubbish that accumulates in changing quarters; and the relieving regiment, finding this man on duty, had supplied his place without troubling about the why and wherefore; the post became in consequence a permanent in- stitution, and sentry guards the wall to this day.
 The morning on which was on guard was exceedingly cold and frosty The moon shone brightly. throwing the dark shadow of the adjoining officers quar- ters halfway across the parade-ground in front. In the valley beneath could see distinctly every gable and chimney