The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-04-11

VAL y NO wv " oSASA S@OASS 0NJ
would have rushed out of their cover
by this time, yet they are too strong and
too securely posted to be driven by
that little squad, especially if Wing is
wounded. 1 can't shoot now, but l
can ride and direct. Every man who
can shoot may be needed here. You
have four now and can stand off 40
Apaches-Tonto or Chiricahua-in
such a position as this, so I leave you
in charge. You have everything to
help you stand a siege. Now see to it
that the ladies are kept we'll under
cover, and I'll hurry back with Walsh
and what men l can find"
Then down he scrambled, giving n
look at Moreno and his sleeping guard
ian as he passed, then gave a low toned
order to Walsh:
Saddle your horse again and ride
just to the other side Of that rock yon-
der and wait for me-"
Well he understood that it would be
impossible for him to ride away without
Fanny Harvey's knowing that some
thing of. a serious nature was impend-
ing, and that he could not get away at
all without their knowing it. What
he desired was to conceal from them
that there was any danger from
Apaches.
Just as he expected, both girls were
eagerly awaiting him at the entrance to
the cave. His revolvers were in there
beside the rude couch on which he had
slept so peacefully.
Now are you readyto return to hos
pital and proper subjection?' asked
Miss Harvey 1aughingly. 1T is high
time. What could have tempted you,
to climb to that high point?"
why, it's the first chance I've had
of a look around, was the answer.
This is an awfully strong spot for a
place of refuge. You are safe here,
safer than anywhere between Yuma
and Tucson, now that the former pos
SCISSORS are scattered. But did you hear
what took Wing OFF,
"No, he didn't stop to explain mat
tiers. He simply dashed away without
even a saddle. Something must
look after. was all he vouchsafed to
say"
"Well, the men just in tell me the
paymaster's safe was spirited off. Con-
found that little green box of green
backs! Some shrewd packer among
Morales people whisked it out of the
wagon and onto a burro, and now we
are all keen to get it back. OF course
l can't sleep again until we know.
Some of our people are coming slowly
up the valley, and Wing went on down
to meet them"
But all the time he talked so airily
with the elder sister. Ruth stood watch
ing him with suspicious eyes.
"Mr. Drummond, please do not 60,
she broke forth. You have no right
to-now." And James, the dissembler,
found himself trapped.
go l must, Ruthie," he said, with
sudden change of manner. Il know
you will not blame me or detain when
| tell you, as l feel forced to tell you
now, that Sergeant Wing is hurt. His
horse has fallen with him far out on
the desert. I'll be back very soon.'
Then with sudden impulsive move
ment he bent, kissed her forehead and
turned as suddenly away.
When the sisters looked into each
others eyes a moment later, n face
was blushing like the dawn, the other
was pallid with a new and deep anx-
iety.
And now we, too, must follow Wing.
He was a. total stranger, it is to be re-
membered, to the regiment when, after
its years of battling in the Army of the
Potomac, it was sent into exile on the
far Pacific coast and speedily lost to
sight in the deserts of Arizona. The
type of noncommissioned officer most
familiar to the rank and file as we'll as to
their superiors was the old fashioned
plains raised "disciplin furst and
y afterward" class of which Feeny
was so prominent an exponent. Brave
to rashness and faithful to the very
death, they had eason to look for re-
spect and appreciation. They were
men whose only education was that
picked up in the camps and campaigns
of the famous old regiments to which,
when mere recruits, they had been as
signed. They were invaluable in the
army and would have been utterly mis-
judged and out of their element any
where else. That .'book learning" and
soldering could ever go hand in hand
no man in the old dragons would ever
have believed for an instant. Such
scholars as had drifted into the ranks
were, as a rule, irreclaimable drunk
ards, lost to any chance of redemption
at home, and only tolerated in the serv-
ice in the rough old days because Of
their meek and accomplishing perform
ance Of long hours of extra duty in the
troop or regimental Offices when, their
whisky and their money alike exhaust
ed, they humbly went back to their
desks, asking only to live in the hope
Hg,~