Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-08-22

squire's wife used to rise from her bed
of moonlight nights and look toward the
south. How many women did that in
those days, l wonder, mothers and
sisters and wives and sweethearts, all
told-northern women and southern
women whose hearts ached alike2
She used to put her palms together and
lay her cheek upon them, after pretty
unconscious fashion that she had, and
think that IL ever Reuben came back she
would try to make up with him. But
she had very little hope that he would
return. 81 am punished for behaving
az / did to the man l loved" she often
said in confidence to Diana. land shall
be punished more and more" And the
pale huntress seemed to give her cold
smile of assent.
We do such odd, mad things when we
are young and in love, especially if we
are unhappy. / am sure that Mrs. Bar
ton would have sent for the doctor to
prescribe for poor Beulah if she had
heard her talking to the moon in little,
low murmurs, interspersed with soft
sobs, but no one heard her and the habit
grew.
"You are up there, 30 high above the
world" she would say; you can see
Reuben. All, If you could tell me what
you seer And one night the silent
moon could indeed have told her a
thrilling tale, painted strange picture.
Far to the southwark her silver light
flooded battlefield red with blood. All
day they had been fighting, the blue and
the gray. No matter what they call the
battle in history or how it ended we have
only followed Reuben there for his loves
sake. The fighting had been ferrous, gal
liant, ON both sides; they were all Ameri-
cans-the dark eyed, black haired, dash
ing soldiers Of the south; the cool,
strong, light haired. gray eyed northern
men.
The fighting, orderly at first, had be-
come q wild turmoil. The men were
fighting hand to hand; officers whose
horses had been killed under them were
ON foot, sword in hand, covered with
blood, dust and gunpowder; hideous
sights were to be seen everywhere;
wounded men, bleeding at every vein;
crippled horses struggling to rise; mount
cd men vainly striving to prevent their
horses from trampling on fallen COM
rades; dead men fallen forward in their
saddles, borne into the thickest of the
fray, their hands frozen to their sword
hilts.
The setting sun was merely red rim
beyond the blackest westward woods
when Reuben almost stumbled over an
officer in Confederate uniform lying on
his back upon the ground The next
moment mounted cavalryman dashed
past and STOPPING low in his saddle
struck at the poor wretch with his sword.
Reuben parried the blow with his gun.
Tho rider was gone, glad perhaps that he
had not carried out his purpose. which
was only a furious impulse Of the mo-
ment, not the coldblooded and cruel
thing it seems as it is written. But
Reuben, who had tender heart, could
not leave his enemy there to be trampled
upon, and began to drag him toward the
nearest clump of trees, half way across
the space that lay between. He heard
the "ping" of bullet, felt pang in his
left arm and did the rest of his work with
his right.
As the two men fell together under
the old pine the sun vanished, twilight
fell. A retreat had begun. In ten min
utes the great plain was deserted by all
but the dead and dying. Even the
wounded who were able to move had
gotten away somehow. Reuben was not
suffering much. His arm was benumbed;
with his other he managed to place the
Confederate officer in sitting position.
his back against the tree, and taking a
flask from his pocket put it to his lips.
A faint voice lifted itself.
''Sir, you are very kind, but You may
need that yourself" he said. "You also
are wounded"
"Plenty for both," said Reuben. A
little later, revived by the draught, the
Confederate officer was binding Reuben's
arm, shattered above the elbow.
al am conscious, sir" he said, "that 1t
was in aiding me you received this
wound. You are magnanimous enemy.
As he spoke peculiar expression. the