The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-05-25
A LOYAL DESERTER
From hrst page.

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4Atlne opening o. TIE war Agatha Gar
len, then but 10 yeas Of age, was the belle
| Of c.. She had scores of admirers,
| among whom were two young men who
| were friends and comrades as well as RI
vals. They were Robert Walker and John
Marion, and her interest in them seemed
ABOUT equally divided, SO it was sometimes
remarked that, although they were in the
| lead of all other suitors, she knew not
| which to choose.
| The first call for volunteers came, and
| John Marion resolved to enlist and go to
the front. He urged Robert to accompany
| him. and at first the latter seemed enthusi-
astic, but his enthusiasm finally evaporat-
| ed, and when Marion was surely enlisted
he decided not, to go. In his >heart he had
resolved tostay at home and win the charm
ing a gatha for his wife.
| But Jack Marion had no thought of leav-
| ing the field to his friend and rival without
! learning from Acatna's lips just how he
| stood in her esteem, so he sat down and
! wrote her letter, in which he told her of
| his love and his hope to make her his wife
when he returned from the war. As it hap
| pened that Agatha's mother did not look
| favorably on JACK and had forbidden his
visiting her daughter, he vcntured to ask
| the beautiful girl to meet him at a certain
old oak tree at 9 in the evening.
IF she comes" he thought, II shall
| know she loves me and will wait my re-
| turn. If she fails to GOMEZ
| He could not bear to think of that.
! Long before 9 o'clock in the evening Jack
was waiting beneath the old oak. His heart
was fiuttering with hope and fear, for he
| felt that his whole future depended on the
result Of the next hour.
The moon came up over the eastern hills
and flooded the village with it's white light.
The frogs were peeping plaintively down in
the marsh, and a brooding sadness seemed
in the air. From his position beneath the
! oak Jack could see the slender church spire
rising high above the other buildings, and
he listened for the striking of the village
clock.
| 1t came at last, and Agatha had not ap-
peared. He uttered a smothered groan,
/, but still he waited with ever increasing i'm
patience and dread. The minutes seemed
interminable, and yet he fingered at the
tree until the clock had tolled the hour
twice more.
Eleven o'clock! He no longer hoped. She
would not come, and he felt that he had re-
ceived his answer His face was hard and
stern when he went down the gentle slope
and vanished in the shadows below.
| That night, without bidding farewell to
any of his old friends, Jack Marion depart
ed to join his company. When next heard
| of, he was at the front.
And when he next heard of Agatha, she
had become the wife of his old friend, Rob
Walker. From that moment his heart
seemed turned to stone, and he fought like
tiger, seeming to court danger by rash
boldness that won the admiration of his
comrades and seemed destined to bring him
promotion-or death.
y
| Hooker's great strategic movement in
crossing the Rappahannock and attacking
the Confederate army on the upper flank,
| taking Lee by surprise, had proved wretch
ed failure through his inability to carry out
what he had himself planned Having the
advantage of a superior force and the better
position, after four days fighting, Hooker
| decided to retreat across the river and give
up his great project, which even then might
have been carried to Il satisfactory and sue
ce full termination.
Tuesday night, May 5, brought pelting
rel st orm that soon swelled the Rappahan-
mock so that the approaches to the bridges
were overfowed, and it began to look as if
the retreat would become al impossibility.
| One of the bridges, however, was taken
down and used to piece out the others, and
the storm and darkness covered the unex-
pected movement of the Federal forces
It was close to nightfall when. stray
Cling Union soldier who was forcing his
way through the dense wilderness south of
Ely's ford on the Rapidan paused and
looked into the face of a comrade who lay
groaning on the ground, his leg pinned be-
meath fallen tree. The rain was beating
down on that upturned face, and the gloom
was growing dense there in that tangled
thicket, but the straggler seemed to recog-
nize his unfortunate comrade, for he fell
back, crying hoarsely:
| Good God! Jack Marion"
The man on the ground opened his eyes.
"Who speaks my name?" he family
asked.
The other seemed for the moment on the
point of fleeing from the spot, but if such
were his impulse he held it in check, drop
ping on his knees.
Don't you know me, Jack?"
The wounded and helpless man started
up, peering sharply into the questioner's
face.
Rob Walker" he cried. ''You-you
here?"
Then he sunk down, with moan of pain,
for he had bullet wound in one arm and
he had given his entrapped and crushed leg
a painful twist. ;,
"You are surprised to see me-" said
Walker, with forced calmness. II have
been wearing the blue more than three
months"
what took you into the army? Agatha
Marion stopped speaking, great feal
clutching at his heart.
'She is WE'LL" assured Walker, but his
voice sounded strange and harsh. LET me
see if can move this tree and release your
Leg"
Never mind, Rob-" came family from
the unfortunate soldiers lips. This en-
gagement finishes me- Ny left arm !.
broken, and the tree has ruined my right
leg. Better leave me for the Johnnies K
finish. Ihave nothing to live for anyway
The words were spoken with great bitter
ness, and they cut to the very heart Of tn,
man who heard them. With all hi
strength, he sought to remove the tree, bu