Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-05-03
IN TIE
RANKS.


could be seen, not sign Of human habi-
tation, not particle Of life and not
trace Of vegetation except tufts Of bunch
grass and sagebrush, and away ON all
sides the sky and earth seemed to meet.
twas like the dawn of creation, or rather
after the end Of the world, when every liv-
ing thing has been swept from the earth
On that vast treeless, trackless desert but
two objects could be scen-one man rid
ing slowly forward, and the other a bird
that ioated lazily along through the warm
air as IL looking for tree, and not seeing
one it flew TO the ground just In front of
the horseman and burst into n flood Of
sweetest melody.
1t was In the early morning, and the
sun was just rising In the east and send
ing his glorious light streaming over the
desolate waste, and though it was still the
dun darkness OF dawn where the horseman
was and the skies were leaden he could
look away In the east and see the day com
ing and see the brilliant crimson sky. He
was soldier and private You could
tell that from the broad brimmed white
hat he wore, the coarse woolen shirt and
the blue coat, upon which there were no
stripes to show that he had yet passed the
ranks. His face was covered with a lux
uriant beard, and when he took of his hat
and raised himself In the stirrups you
could see that his forehead and his big,
heavy hands were bronzed from contact
with all kinds of weather.
Officers and men In forts who have never
been located on the frontier, or worse, a
thousand miles from nowhere, to use a
popular army phrase, know but little Of
the trials Of those hardy men away out In
the mountains or on the plains. There
Is nothing there to break the monotony
The same faces are seen every day, and
the routine oS fort life becomes drearier
with each setting Of the sun Occasionally
q friend OF one of the officers or of their
wives comes out, and the guest Is wei
coined as u benediction from heaven, but
the men In the ranks have no visitors, and
their lives become as monotonous and tire
some as the life of hermit.
Tho fort from which the private came
was located back Of him 20 miles and stood
alone on the plain which stretched away
from IL for apparently countless miles,
without even pocket or buffalo wal
low TO break its levelness. But the fort
was excited now. A band Of Indians, led
by Young Horse, had broken away from
the agency and had started across country
with no special place for its destination, a
wandering collection Of murderers and
plunderers, seeking, like vulture, some
thing to rob, kill, destroy, and the COM
manding officer had sent out his scouts to
locate them, return and lead the cavalry
to where they were located. The private
occasionally got off his horse to walk n bit
and listen, or he stood up In the saddle,
and with his fieldglass swept the plain for
a sight of the red desperadoes.
IF those red devils go east, they Will
surely strike tho main trail for the fort, +"
he said, speaking aloud-a habit so many
frontiersmen have-"and II am not mis-
taken a sister of Mrs. Colonel is coming
out to the. fort for visit. But / don't
suppose she will be along for week yet.
It'll be tough luck II she gets to the station
over on the railroad now while every
available man Is out after those cursed In
dams"
1t was a thought which troubled him,
for he spoke of IL TO himself several times
AS the sun rose higher up In the heavens,
the semidarkness lifted, and the bright
sunlight streamed over the bleak plain,
and In the clear air objects were visible
many miles away Standing up In his
saddle, the private took his glass and
looked q long way, and there saw three
objects moving rapidly along.
Notwithstanding the great risk he was
mourning he rode forward slowly, the OBJ
ject being not to tire his horse, for the an
imal might have a long and hard run ahead
Of him. Soon he was enabled to study the
three objects closer through his glass.
There are two men and a woman" he
said I'm bet Mrs. Colonel's sister has
arrived and is making for the fort, and one
of the men Is the postman and the other a
guard BY Jove, that's pluck for her to
start"
He spurred his horse forward, but the
others had seen him coming and were
resting, awaiting for him to come up.
The woman was young and pretty, and as
the private came up she laughed gayly.
"I suppose you have been sent out to
meet me, F" she said. ~ am Mrs. Colonel's
sister, and wrote her that would arrive
at the station yesterday, but no one met
me. These gentlemen, 1 learned, were go
ing to the fort and so / decided to join
them"
1T is q very long and tiresome ride,
miss, said the soldier, and you are yet
nearly 90 miles from the fort"
Il don't mind the ride" replied the
young lady, for am very fond Of this
sort Of exercise"
The four started on brisk trot, and In
a few minutes the postman dropped back
with the private.
do you think there Is any danger from
the Indiansi" he asked.
"There's always danger from the red
devils when they get started, answered
the soldier. You know we last heard OF
the Indians 40 miles north. That was day
before yesterday. BY this time they may
be making for the settlement, and II so we
will probably get distant sight Of 'em. "
Ishouldn't think they d come near us II
they did, +" remarked the postman, for we
are riding straight for the fort, and I don't
think they want to come near there"
They'd be safe enough" laughed the
private, "forsin this cursed country they
could see q long way and could see the
cavalry v~s not near. They might be even
90 bold as TO come up almost to the fort
gates"
After awhile the girl Joined the soldier,
and they talked of the life on the plains.
She told him she lad never before been
west of Omaha, and that she thought she
would enjoy the trip, and she told him, too,
how she had not seen her sister for eight
years; that she had been I'm school when
her sister married and went west with her
husband; that their parents had died, and