Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-03-02


tapping It around her head 80 a. r. con.a.i
ner race. holding 10 close with her left hand
- ~ "h'ch Cleaned her wedding ring MANI
~ .ne group Of spectators could have ;d.r,i-
~. .he small fair hand as certainty a. ,hs
pl,e scared face under the shawl.
Inc Knot OF women. indignant ~ TIM ae.,,,.
put on one Of their own clas. sssa..,aa ~. nv
privilege OF their sex, and expressed srssI,,
.neir opinion, not only of the order h,t -
us originator. Rank could not shield w..
eo'ohei from their censure. aSbame an h,,,, y
Isey said, "for disgracing a decent wom.n
ona ~ -, n ~ ~,ie can he so put upon, not
p, =. - ~ saie from a like treatment
Finding but slight satisfaction H. .t,.
49, a s.. man, they inconsequently turned
CT. s"e corporal, who was simply chewing
stas ~. apa anxious to get over the disaeree-
;,. uu.y. But hurry as he would. it was
p IL 70 escape the high, shrill voices.
.. nnu IT that's your duty, I'm sure Won
s .noaii De proud OF it. Bearing your bayonet
h,, a woman, and she never did Won a
as.,, TURN OF harm, unless to save your
'n as from choking with the Group.
maybe us myself you'll march out next "
eise'' ms wife to the shamefaced corporal
90 ths small procession hurried bv the
saaia room. A prisoner. taking the air
aieer nights debauch and feeling a sneniaI
erudge against the sergeant, who had ouelled
cue ofuhken devil in him, recognized t;a
hsure muHled In the shawl and so stranoaly
suaiued' ana laughed insolently and loudly
30 ioudiy the granite walls of the sallynort
caught up the scott and echoed It. II saa,nod
Fever ending, that hooking laupb throw,
oacK and back again BY tie gray stone vale
All Time might be full of the sound. IL was ,o
continued AZ "os 81
~, AneIe was yet more than mile to walk
would her strength hold out7 Already l,ar
sIeps were slow and uncertain. So. not will.
ing 70 seem to hurry her, the corporal fell
oacK some PAGES. A careless looLe, on MICH,
nave thought that the guard had nothing To
W WIN the woman, who, when she reached
.ue middle Of the bridge, stopped to look over
into the water.
ououehiy there came cry of horror-a
mans cry-and tbs corporal ran forward.
dropping MS musket and struggling to un-
outooh MS sti1 military coat, which held him
as III wise. Before he had freed himself
INC small beautiful hand that clutched the
railing OF the bridge let go its hold and dis
appeared.
In lew minutes the bridge was swarming
with eager faces peering over the railing
but In the clear water beneath only few
fish darted about and rugged oysters held
close hold to the sides and bottom of the great
stone ditch. The sergeant's wifes PRAYER tn
be hidden from the gaze of all men voc
granted, for no one ever looked on her scared
white face.
That night the sergeant deserted. and
neither the colonel nor his captain used siren
uous means to capture him.
Some years afterward another regiment
garrisoned the fort, and the tragic death of
the sergeant's wife was forgotten. Mill Creek
village, with its dram shops, proved lu, ing to
men long exlles to such delights in the Florida
Everglades. In vain were stringent orders
ana SWIFT punishment. Stone walls could
not hold an old soldier eager for night of
frollc To creep down the parapet to the
coping stone over the sallyport, thence down
to the bridge by rope, was not only hazard
Gus to life and limb, but also to liberty, the
guard room being perilously near. Yet for
some time this egress from the fort was not
discovered, though the condition of many of
the men at reveille was perplexing to the
sergeants. At last an acrobat was discovered
dangling between earth and sky, and SO a
sentinel was posted on the bridge, to prevent
henceforth adventures on flying trapeze.
One night, when the bridge lay without a
shadow under the light of a full moon, the
sentry, who was sauntering, careless of dan
ger, suddenly stopped. Evidently he had
seen something-somethng that caused him
to cross quickly to the other side of the bridge.
There he halted, and stood looking over into
the ditch. Then loud vociferations for the
sergeant of the guard were heard The SER
geant came quickly, followed by others of the
guard, sure that man had been caught in
mid air. Instead they found the sentry staring
into the ditch. His story they considered de-
cidedly lame. He had seen small white
hand graspng rail of the bridge. Hoping
| to rescue a woman from drowning, he ran
| forward, but before he could reach the spot
the fingers relaxed their hold, and the hand
slowly disappeared. And when he looked
| over into the water there was not even a rip
Pile on its smooth surface.
His comrades rallied on him for a supersti-
tious donkey, disturbing their much needed
sleep to tell silly ghost stories. But he held
stoutly to his adventure, declaring he had
seen the white hand so plainly that he had
noticed that it wore wedding ring.
| Some months afterward the wife of one of
| the officers was detained outside the fort II
was bright moonlight night, and tattoo had
| not beaten, so she ran no risk of being chal
| lenged by the guard; but as it was unusual
| for the ladies of the garrison to be out alone
SO late, she naturally walked quickly. Gross
ing the bridge, she saw a short distance be-
fore her woman's hand holding by the rail
| ing. So distinctly did she see it that she not
! bod hot TO
| but also that it was the left hand, for a wed
| ding ring cleaned in the moonbeams.
| She did not lose her presence of mind, but
ran forward intending to seize hold of the
hand before she gave the alarm and SO save
the poor creature bent on self destruction
| But as she ran she saw the fingers slowly re
lax their hold, and before she reached the raj
the hand had disappeared. Greatly startled
she looked ov err the side of the bridge into tEt
water, only to see a full moon on its unIntiiet
surface-a moon as round and calm and cold
as the moon in the blue sky above.
Thankful that she had given no alarm, sht
hurried home. That evening at supper
party she told her next neighbor of strange
delusion; and he, being an old resident, re
called the sad story of the sergeants wne'
suicide.
Whether the din of war or the manifols
changes of tickle time have loosened alto
gether the hold of that woman's hand on thu
bridge rail cannot say, for for many year
have lost sight of the old gray walls ant
their histories Once they were alive witt
personal interest; now they belong to thu
dead past.
Yet am very sure that if any one cross
ing the bridge that leads into the fort shoult
see on a moonlight night woman's hand
wearing wedding ring, clasping one OF tn
rails, he may be certain that he has looked oil
the ghost hand of the sergeant's wife, who II
.oI-,ass drowned herself il