The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-12-19

H.
soldier, he clapped his hands on the
stone to express his joy, and be began to
follow his steps closely, swearing and
gesticulatilg every time brigand hit
him, as if be wished to give strength to
the hitter a1d increase the suferings Of
the prisoner.
When they were few steps away
from the armory, he descended to await
them at the door. They finally arrived
The soldier, who was pushed inside,
fell on the floor in the middle Of the
room. The others followed him and
seated themselves around on the stones,
perspiring and out Of breath, throwing
here and there their satchels, their hats
and their arms. They remained silent
for few moments to recover their
breath and wipe their faces
'sHere is jolly prisonerp' exclaimed
the chief, turning to the person who had
come down to receive them.
'sAnd alive!'' continued the latter.
Then seeing the spurs, he asked, where
is the horse?"
e.Do not speak Of it, - answered the
chief, enraged- 81 must break this
id musket to pieces I hit the ami
NAL instead of the man!' and here he
narrated what had happened
'.Never mind" interrupted his COM
panion soothingly. "It has been good
CATCH He came up to the soldier and
helped him to rise. After having looked
at him for awhile with stupid stare of
curiosity he relieved him Of the muskets,
the cloak and the sword Then he took
of his hat, smiled and pushed him
aside. The soldier, tired out, leaned
against the wall and began to look at
the brigands. one by one, with the slow
gaze of a sick man whose thoughts are
Of better world
The brigands began to go through his
valise. Their faces were worthy Of the
place and their occupation The one
who seemed to be the chief was man
Of about 40, small, but muscular, with
large head; shoulders reaching to his
ears and bent legs, with strong calves
From forehead to feet he was heavy,
short, fat. He was dark, with beard
and mustache, and his hat so concealed
| him that only part Of his forehead and
the top Of his cheeks could be SEEN Of
the other three, two seemed brothers.
They had the same short forehead, the
same bulldog nose, the same furtive eyes;
.he same mouth without lips, curved
like semicircle and downcast; the same
| pointed chin without any beard, and
both were small and nervous.
All three had in their eyes something
covert, keen and unhealthy, that which
expresses wild recklessness, mixed with
superstitious ferocity and craven cow
ardice. They were long bodied, and
this, with something in their gestures
and in their walk-something of soft
and springing elasticity-made them re-
semble tigers. They wore high soft
hats, long CATERS and large jackets open
in front. Between the jacket and the
trousers hung shirt in folds, fastened
by large blue sash.
The fourth brigand, who seemed to
be the youngest, had a less repulsive
face He, too, was small and beardless,
like the two brothers
s'Now," said the chief when they
had looked over the contents Of the va
lise, "make him take off his coat. Then
we will eat something and afterward
proceed with our investigation. 5"
The two brothers came nearer to the
soldier, and one united the rope around
his arms, while the other held dagger
to his breast His arms, loosened, fell
to his sides like the arms Of corpse.
"Off with your uniform!" ordered
one Of the brigands.
The soldier looked at them aston
ished, with frown on his forehead and
his lips between his teeth. The youngest
brigand regarded him sadly.
'sYou,'' said the chief to the latter,
who was near the door, go to your
post!''
The young man, obeying the order,
mounted the stairway. He leaned his
elbows on the stones, put his head be-
tween the rocks and remained quiet.
''Off with your uniformp' repeated
the brigands, lifting their hands all to-
gether.
ssSlap him so that the marks Of your
fingers will remain on his face, " ex-
claimed the chief.
The soldier seemed to wake up as
though a wound had reopened. Then he
bent his head and obediently took of
his uniform. The two brigands seized
the coat and searched the pockets, the
slecves-every part Of it-and then
threw it under the wooden shed. Oneof
them then went through the prisoners
trousers and reported to the chief:
"Nothingp'
bad for him, /" answered the latter.
"Tie him to that iron ring. :"
The two desperadoes tied the soldier,
with his arms crossed behind his back,
to a.hook attached to one Of the poles Of
the wooden she'd The wretched man
was as white as death, and his teeth
chartered as though he had an ague.
The three brigands brought out of the
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