The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-07-21

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A lightning blOlU took the captain full IN
the chest.
upon the treacherouS and entangllng
rungs, and ere he e'could recover himself
the noiseless stranger had fairly whizzed
into space and vanished in the darkness
up the road. Chester sprang in pursuit.
He heard the startled challenge of the
sentry and then Leary's excited Halt,
] say! Halt!' and then he shouted:
Fire on him, Leary! Bring him
downp
Bang went the ready rife with sharp,
sullen roar that woke the echoes across
the valley. Bang! again as Leary sent
Il second shot after the first. Then as
the captain came painting to the spot
they followed up the road No sign Of
the runner. Attracted by the shots, the
sergeant of the guard and one or two
men, lantern bearing, came running to
the scene Excitedly they searched up
and down the road in mingled hope and
dread of finding the body Of the ma
RAIDER or some clew or trace. Nothing
Whoever he was, the feet runner had
vanished and made good his escape.
"Who could it have been, sir?" asked
the sergeant of the officer of the day.
Surely none Of the men ever come
round this way"
II don't know, sergeant; 1 don't
know. Just take your lamp and see il
there is anything visible down there
among the rocks. He may have been hit
and leaped the wall. Do you think yor
hit him, Leary?"
81 can't say, sor. He came by mt
like flash. l had just seconds lool
at him, an-sure l niver saw such run
mini"
Gould you see his face?" asked Ches
ter in a low tone as the other men NOV
ed away to search the rocks.
mot his face, sor Twas too dark. ,
"Was there-did he look like any
body you knew or had seen-anybod!
in the commando"
"Well sor, not among the men-tha
Is, there's none so tall an slim boil
an SO light. Sure he must "a worl
gums, sor. You couldn't hear the whis
per of football"
But whom did he seem to resemble?'
"Well, if the captain will forgiv
me, sor, it's unwillih l am to say tn
word, but there's no one that tall al
light an slim here, sor, but Loot'nan
' Jerrold. Sure it couldn't be him, sor.
"Leary, will you promise me some
thing on your word as MANI"
II will, sor"
Say not one word Of this matter t
any one except tell you Or you have t
before court. ?"
81 promise, sor. :"
"And l Ibelieve you. Tell the sergean
l will soon be back"
With that he turned and walked dow
the road until once more he came to til
plank crossing and the passageway be
tween the colonel's and bachelors row
Here again he stopped short and waite
with bated breath and scarcely beatin
hea. The faint light he had seen bt
fore again illumined the room and cas-
its CLEAN upon tho old gray wall Eve
as he gazed there came silently to tn
window tall, white robed form, an
slender white hand seized and lower
ed the shade noiselessly. Then, as bC
fore, the light faded away, but-sh
was awake.
Waiting one moment in silence, Car
tain Chester then sprang up the woode
steps and passed under tho piazza whic
ran the length Of the bachelor quarters
Half way down the row he turned sharI
ly to his left, opened the green painte
door and stood in little dark hallway
Taking his matchbox from his poke
he struck light, and by its glare quicl
ly read the card upon the first doorwa
to his right, "Mr. Howard +. JerrolC
--th Infantry, U. S. A."
Opening this door, he bolted straigl
through the little parlor to the bedrool
in the rear A dim light was burning G
the mantel. The bed was unruffled, III
touched, and Mr.. Jerrold was not Their
Five minutes afterward Captai
Chester, all alone, had laboriously an
cautiously dragged the ladder from I'll
side to the rear of, the colonel's hous,
stretched it in the roadway where
had first stumbled upon it, then return
ed to the searching party on No. ..
"Send two men to put that laddc
back, he ordered. 1T is where toI
you-on the road behind the colonels