Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-08-17
JUST TIME TO THINK,
A Note of the Apache War.


He could see the muzzles of their guns
sticking out of the rocks. The little puffs
of smoke that they emitted seemed as iu-
nOcent as stray clouds in a summer sky
Once in q moment or SO he could see the
red head band of an Apache as he aimed
that and the smoke, the rocks, and the
sunlight were quite all lac could see
And he was going at a full gallop
straight at them, followed by pitiful
handful Of men-a handful that is called a
platoon in the Insignificant army of the
strongest nation on the earth. In few
minutes, seconds perhaps he would cease
to exist, whatever that meant He would
be simply another young army officer car
ried on the papers of the regiment as
"died in action" The businesslike United
States of America does not erect nonu-
ments TO men who meet their death in
mere Indian warfare.
He tried TO calculate the number of sec
onds of life left to him. Two hundred
yards was about the distance. and he was
going at a good swinging gaUop. But he
could not remember the length of a charg-
er S stride at the gaIlop to save him. il
was eXasperating. lie had reciled on that
very subject at the Academy only few
months before without an error. SO he
tried 10 think of people.
And first of all he wondered whether
any people were OF value TO the world at
all? He had heard older officers say cyui-
cally that mere men were never missed by
the world, no matter who they We're. But
ii did seem wrong that he, young, strong,
ambitious, and splendidly educated. should
die thus in the very budding of his man
hood without an achievement accomplished
q mil fal btu
mind took queer turn, and he began to
think of the very humblest of his acquaint-
ances He began TO think of Mccarthy,
of his own troop, who had been left behind
at the post with half dozen others be-
cause a shftless government had failed 10
supply the troop with its full quota of
horses
He had tried TO teach McCarty to read
and write, even though his captain had
laughed at him, and his comrades had
chafed at him for his adolescence. But he
had always felt the necessity of doing
something in the way of work, and SO he
had undertaken Mccarthy; and he feared
now that perhaps even Mccarthy had
| laughed at him, things 60 so strangely in
this world
Then he thought OF a girl back in the
East TO whom he was engaged
His father had laughed at him when he
had announced the engagement and told
him that he would be engaged a dozen
times III all probability before he was set
tied for life, and his mother had merely
smiled in a knowing way, and remarked
that she had heard THAT she was very
nice young lady
But he and She knew how much they
were TO each other.
And he remembered, too, how many de-
licious day dreams he had pictured for her
when he was back at the Academy IN the
glory of his first class year, and she was
one of 1.-THE ladies who come up III June
to all but himself And he remembered
how she would smile and blush and agree
with him in all his plans with the delight
full confidence and trust of a young girl
who is experiencing young love.
He wondered whether she would remem-
Der him-always, as they had promised each
| other. He wondered if she would wear
black for him and pray for him dead, just
as she told him she prayed for him every
night while living, He could see her in
her white dress, slender and fair, standing
in the doorway of the cloak-room, waiting
Tor him to come and take her to the ball
room. He could almost count the roses
she used to hold in her hand, and he even
thought he could detect their perfume.
And then he thought of his mother
and he almost wished to cry aloud to her
as he used TO when he was a child waking
from bad dream, and ask her TO take
him in her arms. But instead he remem-
bered that though barely of age he was a
trained soldier. So he rose in his strrups
and waved his revolver over his head, cry
ing very bravely, "Come on, boys wade
in' just as a hideous Apache squinted
along a gun barrel and pulled a trigger
and he thought no more foreyer.-H0r-
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