Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-04-30

My name is Marvel, sir-John MAJ vel"
answered him with bow.
"HeyI"-and, dropping his pen, he starts
up and grasps my hand-"Then it's you
have never thanked for his gracious majesty s
letter.
''The Gen. Hoptong' cried L
''Even so, sir Ny lord" he went on, still
holding my hand and turning to his compan-
ion, "let me present to you the gentleman
that in January saved your house Of Bocon-
noe from burning at the hands of the rebels
whom God confound this dayI" He lifted
his hat
"Amen," said l, as his lordship bowed, ex-
eseding sulky But did not value his rage
eeing hot with Joy to be 30 repraised by the
6rSt captain las 1 yet hold on the royal side
Who now, not without a sly triumph, flung
the price Of Billy's cider on the table, and,
folding up his map, addressed me again:
master Marvel, the fight today will lie
but little with the horse-or SO hope. You
will do well, If your wish be to serve US best,
70 leave your mare behind. The troop which
my Lord Mohun and command together
Is below. But Sir Bevin Granville, who has
seen and is interested in you, has the first
claim; and I would not deny you the delight
10 fight your first battle under so good mas
ter. His men are, with Sir John Berkeley's
troop, a little to the westward; and if you
are ready will go some distance with you,
and put you in the way TO find him. Ny lord,
may we look for you preSently!'
The Lord MOhun nodded, surely enough;
50, Billy's cider being now drunk and Molly
given over to an Ostler, we set out down the
hill together, Billy shouldering a pike and
walking after with the groom that led Sir
Ralph's horse. Be sure the generals courtly
manner of speech set my blood tingling. l
seemed to grow full two inches taller; and
when, in the vale, we parted, he directed me
to the left, where through gap l could see
Sir Bevill's troop forming at some five hun
dred PAGES distance, felt very desperate
warrior indeed, and set off at a run, with
Billy behind me.
Twas an open space we had to cross, dot
ted with gorse bushes, and the enemy's regi-
ments, plain to see, drawn up in battalia on
the slope above, which here was gentler than
to the south and west. But hardly had we
gone ten yards when l saw puff of white
smoke above, then another, and then the
summit ringed with flame, and heard the
noise of its roaring in the hills around At
the first sound pulled up, and then began
running again at full speed; for saw our
division already in motion and advancing up
the hill at n quick pace.
The curve of the slope hid all but the near
est; but above them l saw a steep earthwork,
and thereon three or four brass pieces of ord
nance glittering whenever the smoke lifted.
For here the artillery was plying the brisk
est, pouring down volley on vOlley; and four
regiments at least stood massed behind, ready
. to fall on the Cornishmen; who, answering
with a small discharge of musketry, now ran
forward more nimbly.
To catch up with them, | must now turn
my course obliquely up the hill, where run
ming was pretty toilsome. We were painting
along when suddenly shower Of sand and
earth was dashed in my face, scattering me
all over Half blinded, looked and saw a
great round shot had plowed trench in the
ground at my feet, and lay there buried.
At the same moment, Billy, who was ruu-
ming at my shoulder, plumps down on his
knees and begins to whine and moan most
pitiably.
art hurt, dear fellow!n asked l, turning.
"Oh, Jack, jack have no stomach for
thisl A cool, wet death at sea 1 do not fear;
only to have these great hot shot burning in
q mans belly-'tis terrifying. hate a swift
DEATH Jack, be a sinner-I will confess; i
he'd to thee yesterday-never kissed the three
maids l spoke of-never kissed but one i my
life, an her a tapwench, that slapped my
face for It, anlso don't properly count l be
very boastful mani"
Now 1 myself had felt somewhat cold in
side when the guns began roaring; but this
Get me right In trice. l whipped a pistol
out Of my sash and put the cold ring to his
ear; and he scrambled up, and was a very
lion all the rest of the day.
But now we had again to change our
course, for to my dismay saw a line of
sharpshooters moving down among the gorse
bushes to take the Cornishmen in flank
And twas lucky we had but little way far
Their to go, for these shirmishers, thinking
perhaps from my dress and our running thus
that we bore some message, opened fire on
US; and, though they were bad marksmen,
twas ugly to see their bullets pattering into
the turf to right and left.
We caught up the very last line Of the as
cending troop-lean, hungry looking men,
with wan faces, but shouting Justify. l think
they were about three hundred in all "Come
on, lad, ~ called out bearded fellow with a
bandage over one eye, making room for me
at his side; there's work for plenty moreTo-
and minute after a shot took him m the
ribs, and he screamed out, "Oh, my Godl"
and, finging up his arms, leaped foot in the
air and fell on his face.
But in the midst of this skurry heard the
sound of cheering. Twas Sir John Berke-
ley's troop till now posted under cover Of the
hedges below that had come to our support;
and the rebels, fearing to advance too far,
must have withdrawn again behind their
earthwork, for after a while the pressure
eased q bit, and, to my amaze, the troop
which but a minute since was a mere huddled
crowd formed in some order afresh and once
more began to climb. This time l had a
thick set pikeman in front of me, with big
wen at the back Of his neck that seemed to
fix all my attention. AM up we went, l
counting the beat of my heart, that was al
ready going hard and short with the work;
and then, amid the rattle and thunder Of
their guns, we stopped again.
had taken no notice of it, but in the con-
fusion Of the first repulse the greater part of
our men had been thrust past me, so that
now found myself no farther back than the
fourth rank, and at the very foot of the
earthwork, up the which our leaders were
flung like a wave, and soon 1 was scrambling
after them, ankle deep in the sandy earth,
the man with the wen just ahead, grinding
my instep with his heel, and poking his pike
staff between my knees as he slipped.
And Just at the moment when the top Of
our wave was cleaving a small breach above
Us he fell on the fat Of his pike, with his nose
buried in the gravel and his hands clutch
ing. Looking up, saw tail rebel strad-
ding above him with musket dubbed to beat
his brains out, whom with an effort caught
by the boot, and, the bank slipping at that
instant, down we all slid in heap, tumble