Evening journal., 1892-09-12
INSIDE THE LINES.

Notifications, and an enfilade of pickets
guarded the little town from which all
the men had gone away.
If beauty of location had been a mill
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
and green as a 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 TIE antics Of party of boys
far below him. Close under the bluff
Z 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. It seemed like
vision Of paradise to the eyes Of the
homosick boy who was gazing down
s into the enemy's country.
From the door Of a rough house with
in the embankment two officers watched
the boy. The elder, Colonel Donning,
was the commanding officer of the fort.
Il am afraid l made q mistake when
/ brought my son down here said the
colonel "I1e is almost desperate with
loneliness. | was afraid of it, but it
seemed too hard to leave him there
after his mother died."
81 think You did right to bring him,
colonel" said the younger man. ats
good, quiet, healthy place, and after a
while he will make friends with the
mon and be happier"
81 hope he will, said tho 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 Ho has not philosophy enough
TO endure nor experience enough to I'M
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
goingeto send George the Second TO
take him out on tho river. He is an
amusing little beggar, and will not
make such a 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 q slim,
timber jointed little black boy, whose
movements suggested a jumping jack,
and his bearing showed the pride he felt
as Wills guide.
Holding now by tough root, now by
the smooth stem Of a blackjack vino,
digging their heels into the soft soil and
clipping perilously forward, they pres
emily 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 raft. There was a
Ettlo water IN the boat, and a huge
gourd was at hand as q means Of de
fenso 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 a break
wator.
Put sturdy boyish muscles were ut
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 moro open water away from the
shore.
Drawing long breath, VIII parsed
for a minute and said; Lets 20 over
to the island we see from the fort-the
Towhead, mean. Where is it, anyhowi
Tn completely turned around
"I1its right ovah yander where you
see de cottonwoods an de san'bar," said
George. "Dis yer is dc corral. Heap eI
cullud folks lives yer. but hits drappin
in do water mighty fas'. Dat beach tree
a swishin up an down in dat bend usetel
grow in Unc' Jake's yard"
On tho shore of the bend George point
cd out the grim sight of an old buryina
ground, upon whose precincts the cur
rent Of the Mississippi was rapidly en-
croaching. VIII shuddered, and, will
quick intuition, George turned the boat,
head away from the bend and pointed
across the current to the Towhead, which
was now below them.
y When the island first pushedits white
sandy head through the water some cot
tonwood seed had landed there from an
airy voyage, and the young trees thai
eprang from them formed tho nucleus OF
an aftergrowth which was added yeal
by year like tho rings of tree The in
hermost growth was now composed OF
tall ybung trees, but the thiclzet terraceC
down until near the water there wa,
none but low thick bushes of last years
growth. A long tongue of sand extended
like the tail of comet down the river
Upon this the boys beached the boat
md then stretched their legs ON the soft
warm sand.
tfIs-o cl-aoro1 or. dis x-o,. Tor,l,ool