Middletown transcript., 1888-12-13
For TIE TRANSCRIPT.
THE CURSED BULLET.
A LEGEND OF VALLEY FORGE By q
NEROL.

drawing to close and to none were
the signs of approaching spring more
welcome than tothe soldiers at Valley
Forge. Half starved and half frozen
these brave men awaited the time to
break camp !, and although. the days
were getting mild, the snow still lay
deep in the Valley and the river was
covered with ice.
One soldier in particular was an
xious that the camp should be eyacua-
ted !; and as he stood sentry on the out
skirts of the forest, be thought of old
times at the farm. of how they sat
around the fire of winters night and
watched the logs cracking and spark
ling in the roomy fire place, of the rosy
apples:and golden cider in abundance,
of the sound Of the dropping corn as
they hulled it for the morrow, and
sang songs and told stories. All this
passed before him and he contrasted
that happy time with the present.
Now his shoes were Gu: and torn, and
as he marched up and down the snow
penetrated the rents, nearly freezing
his feet. But this he needed not.
His thoughts we're far away and
his memory reverted to every nook
and corner Of the old homestead.
While he thus pondered, recollec-
tions of an amusing story came into
his mind and despite his surroundings
he burst into hearty laugh, strange
sound in such a place, and before it
died away the report of a gun was
heard. The sentinel quickly clasped
his hand to his heart ga curse on
that bullet, !" he cried, and fell dead.
Not many miles from Valley Forge
was the farm of John He'll. At the
close of the Revelation his land show.
ed signs of prosperity, while his neigh
bors suffered from the loss of crops
and tried to collect their claims from
the Government.
He'll mingled very little with the
people of his neighborhood and soon
acquired the name of being selfish and
unsociable. His lands, however, con-
tinued to yield abundantly, and his
horses and cattle were a pleasure
to behold.
Sometime the less fortunate farmers
would question one another as to
where He'll got his start in his success
full career, for while they were impoy-
erished by the heavy drains of the
government, he only seemed to pros
per.
But all was not so well with He'll as
people imagined. Although his field
yielded abundantly and his stock in
creased rapidly, his life was filled with
remorse and it was the consciousness
of a dreadful crime he had committed
that made him gloomy and morose ;
He was now an old man and had
given the farm over to his son ;
although he still retained the right to
find fault with the appearance Of the
fields and stock. Daily he reprimand-
ed his grandson, Gustav He'll for tramp
ing over the hills. and shirking the
work. "That boy will come to no
good," he would declare. and then
shake his head omniously in con6rma-
tion of his gloomy forebodlngs.
Gustav He'll was nearly twenty
years old. He was bright and active
and took a deep interest in the history
of the Revolution, especially the per-
iod covering the encampment at Val
ley Forge. Many were the questions
be asked his grandfather relating to
the terrible experience of the patriots,
but the old man would cut him short
and quickly change the subject.
One May day Gustav wandered
around the Forge. He visited Fort
Pulaski and paused to gaze on the
scene.
Acre after acre of fertile, well cul-
tivated land lay before him, and upon
which the sun shone benignly, as if
endowing the land with thrice fold
blessings. Dotting the broad expanse
were the comfortable farmhouses,
Some painted white and easily discern
BILE ; others only partly visible through
the trees that surrounded them. Al
the foot of the hill flowed the Schuy.
kill, whose course could be traced some
distance. Now it cleaned and spark.
led in the sunlight I; then almost hid
den by clumps of willows. Away te
the north it could be seen, its placid
surface rufied by a streak of white
which He'll knew was the water flow
ing Over the dam.