Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1892-11-11
INSIDE THE LINES.


guarded the little town from which all
the men had gone away.
If beauty of location had been milf
tary requisite, the fort was certainly
well planted The earthworks ran near
the edge of a high bluff. which rose al
most perpendicularly from the strip of
land bordering the brown river at its
foot. On the other side Louisiana
stretched away to the horizon line, level
aud green as garden, and in the dis
lance bit of lake often caught some of
the blueness of the sky and shone the
gem of all this fair setting
The boy who was lying ON the edge of
the bluff had no eyes for the distant
view. Through an opening in the trees
clinging to the sides of the hill he was
gazing at the antics of party of boys
far below him. Close under the bluff
lay a white, many pillared house, and
stretching before and behind it were
smooth spaces of lawn, long lines of
clipped hedges and avenues of mag
nolias. Something in its sheltered posi-
ton between the river and the bank had
saved from destruction this estate,
whose possessors had given it the fitting
name of the Garden. 1t seemed like
vision of paradise tosthe eyes of the
homesick boy who was gazing down
into the enemy's country.
From the door of a rough house with
in the embankment two officers watched
the boy The elder, Colonel Denning,
was the commanding officer of the fort.
Il am afraid / made a mistake when
! brought my son down here, said the
colonel. "He is almost desperate with
loneliness. was afraid of it, but it
seemed too hard to leave him there
after his mother died.
Il think You did right to bring him,
colonel" said the younger man. Its
a good, quiet, healthy place, and after a
while he will make friends with the
men and be happier"
II hope he viii, said the colonel.
Il feel sure of it, rejoined the other
Just now he longs for the society of
boys, but he is fighting against the in
evitable. He has not philosophy enough
to endure nor experience enough to nm
derstand the feeling these people have
for everything inside these walls. Moth
ing could tempt one of these town boys
to have any intercourse with him, and
their scorn is rather hard TO bear. I'm
going to send George the Second TO
take him out on the river. He is an
amusing little beggar and will not
make such bad companion for Will
when he gets used to his color and his
ways"
A few minutes later two boys were
swinging themselves down the face of
the bluff Wills companion was slim,
timber jointed little black boy, whose
movements suggested jumping jack,
and his bearing showed the pride he felt
as Wills guide.
Holding now by a tough root, now by
the smooth stem of blackjack vine,
digging their heels into the soft soil and
slipping perilously forward, they pres
entity struck into a well worn cowpath,
which led by easy stages to the foot of
the hill.
Beyond the road which led to the
Garden lay huge stranded logs, through
which they picked their way out upon a
sandy strip of beach, where an ancient
skiff was tied to a raft. There was a
little water in the boat, and huge
gourd was at hand as a means of de
Tense against further leaking. Two
clumsy oars furnished employment for
both boys, and once launched their
strength was tried by the current, which
came swirling around the promontory
Of rotting bark which served as break
water.
But sturdy boyish muscles were At
work, and the old boat was pushed
slowly up the shore, keeping in with
the eddy, and nosing her way through
anchored snags of driftwood and up
into more open water away from the
shore.
Drawing a long breath, VIII parsed
for a minute and said: Lets go over
to the island we see from the fort-the
Towhead, | mean. Where is it, anyhowi
I'm completely turned around"
Hits right ovah yander where you
see de cottonwoods an de san bar" said
George. dis yer is de corral. Heap Ell
cullud folks lives yer. but hits drappin
in de water mighty fas'. Dat beach tree
swishin up an down in dat bend useter
grow in Unc' Jake's yard"
On the shore of the bend George point
ed out the grim sight of an old burying
ground, upon whose precincts the cur
rent of the Mississippi was rapidly en-
croaching. Will shuddered, and, with
quick intuition, George turned the boats
head away from the bend and pointed
across the current to the Towhead, which
was now below them.
When the island first pushed its white,
sandy head through the water some cot
tonwood seed had landed there from an
airy voyage, and the young trees that
sprang from them formed the nucleus of |
an aftergrowth which was added year
by year like the rings of tree. The in |
nermost growth was now composed of |
tall young trees, but the thicket terraced |
H. -.