Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-03-08


or signals farther out. Suddenly he
heard an exclamation ahead the snort
of "A frightened horse, then some muffled
objurSadons, rider urging reluctant
steed to approach some suspicious OBJ
ject, and, squirting his own spirited
charger forward, Mr.. Drummond came
presently upon the corporal just dis
mounting III tho darkness and striving
to lead his boon companion, whom he
could not drive, up to some dark object
lying on tho plain. This, too, failed.
A low whistle however, brought one Of
the other scouts trotting in to the res
cue.
Hold him minute, Burke, " said
the corporal, handing up the reius
There's something out here this brute
SHE'D at and l can't get him near it
again" With that he pushed out TO
the front while the others listened ex-
pectant A moment later a match was
struck, and presently burned brightly
in the black and breathless night,
Then came the startled cry;
My God, lieutenant, it's Corporal
Donovan and his horse-both dead.
And even there Mr. Drummond noted
that Bland was about the first of the
column to come hurrying forward to
the scene.
Ten minutes investigation threw but
little light upon tho tragedy. Some
stumps of candles were found in the
saddlebags and packs, and with these
the men secured the plain for signs.
Spreading well out from tho center,
they closely examined the sandy level.
From the north came the trail of two
cavalry horses, shod alike, both at tho
lope, both draggy and weary. From
the point where lay Donovan and his
stecd there was but one horse track
Whirling sharply around, the rider had
sent his mount at laundering gallop
back across the valley; then 100 yards
away, in long curve, he had refined him
to the southeast. The troopers who
followed the hoof marks out about an
eighth of milo declared that, I'M
wounded, both horse and rider were
making tho best of their way toward
Moreno's ranch. Farther search, not
| so yards to the front, revealed the fact
that at the edge of little depression
and behind some cactus bushes three
! human forms had been lying prone,
and from this point probably had sped
the deadly bullet.
"Apaches, by God" muttcred one
of the men.
"Apaches, your grandmother" was
the sergeant fierce reply. "Will you
never learn sense, Moore? When did
| Apaches take to wearing store clothes
and heeled boots? There S no Apache
in this, lieutenant Look here sir and
here. Move out farther some Of You
fellows, and see where they hid tneir
horses. Corporal Donovan was with
g troop down the ella last week, sir.
They We're to meet and escort the pay
master most like. It's my belief he
was one of the guard and that the am
bulance has been jumped this very
night. These are road agents, moi
= ,lcHcs, and God knows what's hap
pened ii they've got away with Patsy.
Sure he was one of the nerviest men IL
the whole troop, Sir. -
Drummond listened, every nerve
a-tingle, even while with hurried hand,
he cut open the shirt at the brawny
throat and felt for futtering heart beat
or faintest sign of life. Useless. TIL,
shot hole under tho left eye tel,
plainly that the leaden missile hal
torn its way through the brain anC
that death must have Deen instan
taneous. The soldiers arms and &C
couterments, the horses equipments
were gene. The bodies lay unmuti
lated. The story was plain. Separate,
in some way from the detachment, Don
ovan and his companion had probabl.
sighted the signal blazing mt the pas
and come riding hard to reach the spot
when the unseen foe croucEing acros