The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-03-07

"All right then. String out again"
He touched the big bay with the spur
and shot quiC lily ahead.
With the long rest of the winter our
horses were in prime spirits, though most
ly little too neshy for perfect condition.
had cared well for my horse He was
fast and sound in wind and limb. was
certainly the lightest rider of the IL. |
was still thinking of the probability that
should get farther on the way than any
comrade, except the lieutenant or perhaps
Crowfoot and Bader, whose horses were in
great shape-I was thinking myself likely
to win promotion before morning-when n
cry came out of the darkness ahead. The
words of the challenge / did not catch,
but heard Miller shout, Forward, boysI"
We shook out more speed just as rifle
spat its long flash at us from about 100
yards ahead. For one. moment | plainly
saw the southerner's figure. Kennedy reel
ed beside me- flung up his hands with n
scream and fell. His horse stopped at once.
In moment the lieutenant had ridden the
sentry down.
Then from the right side of the road
party, who must have been lying round
the campfire that we family saw in among
the pines, let fly at us. They had surely
been surprised in their sleep. l clearly saw
them as their guns flashed.
Forward Don't shoot Ride onr'
shouted Miller. Bushwhackersl Thank
God, not mountedl Any of you make out
horses with them?'
"No, sir! No, srl'
"Who yelled? Who went down."
"Kennedy, SIR l cried.
"Too bad! Any one elseP"
"No, sir"
"All safeY"
"Im touched in my right ARM but it's
nothing, | said. The twinge was slight
and in the fleshy place in front of my shout
der. l could not make out that l wa
losing blood, and the pain from the hurt
was scarcely perceptible.
"Good boy. Keep up, ADAM" called
the lieutenant, with kind tone. | re-
member my delight that he spoke my front
name. On we flew.
Possibly the shots had been heard by the
party half mile farther on, for they greet
ed us with a volley. A horse coughed hard
and pitched down behind me. His rider
yelled as he fell. Then two more shots
came. Crowfoot reeled in front of me and
somehow checked his horse. | saw him no
more. Next moment we were upon the
group with our pistols.
Forward men! Don't stop to fight"
roared Miller as he got clear. rifle was
fred so close to my head that the flame
burned my back hair, and my ears rang
for half an hour or more. My bay leaped
high and dashed down a man. In a few
seconds was fairly out of the scrimmage.
How many of my comrades had gone
down | knew not, nor beside whom | was
riding. Suddenly our horses plunged into
a hole, his stumbled the man pitched for
ward and was left Then | heard shot,
the clatter of another falling horse, the
angry yell of another thrown rider.
On we went-the relics of us. Now we
rushed out of the pine forest into broad
moonlight, and ! saw two riders between
me and the lieutenant-one man almost
at my shoulder and another galloping 10
yards behind. Very gradually this man
dropped to the rear. We had lost five men
already, and still the night was young.
Bader and Absalom Gray were nearest
me. Neither spoke word till we struck
upon space of sandy road. Then l could
hear, far behind the rear man. sound OF
galloping on the hard highway.
"They're after us, lieutenant" shouted
Bader.
"Many?" He Stacked speed, and we lis
tened attentively.
''Only one" cried Miller. "He's COM
ing FAST
The pursuer gained so rapidly that we
looked to our pistols again. Then Absa-
lom Gray cried:
''It's only horsep'
In a few moments the great gray of fall
en- Corporal Crowfoot overlook u.s. went
ahead and Stacked speed beside the lieu
tenant.
Good He'll be fresh when the rest g
down." shouted Miller. ''Let the last man
mount the gray"
BY this time we had begun to believe
ourselves clear of the enemy and doomed
to race on till the horses should fall.
Suddenly the hoofs of Crowfoot's gray
and the lieutenant's bay thundered upon
plank road whose hollow noise, when we
all reached it, should have been heard far.
1t took us through wide orchard lands into
a low lying mist by the banks of great
marsh, till we passed through that fog,
strobe heavily upa slope and saw the SHIN
mer of roofs under the moon. Straight
through the main street of that village we
pounded along.
Whether it was wholly deserted know
not, but not a human being was in the
streets nor any face visible at the black
windows. Not even a dog barked. l no
ticed no living thing except some turkeys
roosting on fence and white cat that
sprang upon the pillar of a gateway and
thence to tree.
Some of the houses seemed to have been
ruined by cannonade. suppose it was
one of the places almost destroyed in Will
loughby's recent raid. Here we Numbered
expecting an ambush and combat every
moment. while the loneliness of the street
imposed on ice such sense as might COME
Of galloping through a long cemetery o.
the dead.
Out Of the village we went off the plank'
again upon sand. l began to suspect that
was losing good deal of blood. My
brain was on fire with whirling thoughts
and wonder where all was to end. Out O
this daze / came in amazement to find tina
we were quickly overtaking our lieuten
ants thoroughbred.
Had he been hit in the fray and bled t.
weakness' / only know that still gallon
Ing while we gained, the famous hors
turched forward almost turned = somer
iault and fell on his rider.
''StOp--the paperl" shouted Bader.
We drew rein, dismounted and found
Miller's left leg under the big bays shout
der The horse was quite dead; the riders