St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-01-26

the blackness hand he could not see
rested on his; up from the gulf Of the
night two lips were raised to his; then
he turned and walked back to his
quarters, lit 4 cigar. and gave his
striker orders concerning the disposal
OF his scouting outfit
In the silence of midnight the troops
rode away. The tramp Of their horses.
the muffied clanking OF their accou-
trements could be heard, but not q
thing seen save the burning points of
light from the officers cigarettes. The
signal fires of the Indians flashed
and went ont on the mountains. There
were no bugle calls, no loud orders
even, for the enemy had its spies lurk-
ing behind every mes quite-bush. glid-
ing beside every trail.
In front of the commanding officers.
the officers halted before they started
of; the women, still in their evening
gowns, crowded around them to say
good-by. They could recognize faces
only when the light from the COM
mandant's windows fell upon them,
beyond that all was dark.
King waited for the mascot that had
been promised him. and was despair
slipped between his fingers and heard
a voice, which seemed to come out Of
the inl<y air, murmur: "Adios."
"Adios." he answered, and followed
| the sound OF the hcofs Of his captains
horse.
In the midst Of the chaparral. trot-
| ting slowly along with the column, he
struck a match and looked at the bit
| Of paste board in his hand. The light
was uncertain, but he could make out
head and neck. and the eyes seemed
to glitter. Then gust OF wind blew
out the match. and a coyote yelped
near by.
The rations were almost out, and
orders were to return to the post for
fresh supplies King was happy ut
the prospect. naturally. lie drew out
his mascot from time to time and
looked at the beautiful face thereon,
the lips half parted. the eyes glancing
from under heavy lids; it was only a
head, with masses Of fluffy hair fading
into the shaded background. but 1t
was beautiful, perfect.
The twilight came on. They had
marched all the afternoons; they were
weary Of chasing phantoms. Of follow
ing useless trails. They passed through
q pine forest and the darkness deep
ened.
A creek at the bottom Of q gully
flowed along In the shadow Of the
pines The column went down to 1t,
listening to the sound Of the ripping
water All else was quiet. Suddenly
no one spoke. The black wings of the
pines, like a shadow Of doom, lay over
the troops.
A crack. hiss. bullet striking
through flesh, startled murmur,
orders ringing on the air in the midst
Of tho shots, then the soldiers returned
the fire Of their unseen foes On all
sides they were surrounded, but the
gully was wide enough for a little
maneuvering; the men got under the
shelter Of an abrupt rising Of the bank,
and had only to defend themselves
from three sides
They were badly friRhtened-not ss
towards. but as men who are fond oi
life and mean to sell 1t dearly. 1t was
an ugly position. and not few fell
face downward In the dancing noun
tain stream. The only person who
seemed completely to ignore the
danger was King. A cigarette bo
tween his teeth, he strolled, with ap
parently utter carelessness, up and
down under cover OF the bullets Of hi.
men and in full range OF the Indians
hidden up above behind the tree
trunks.
Some way the thought Of the mascot
under his coat gave him a sense oi
security. He heard again the sound
Of the voice which said to him from
the darkness: If my picture is with
you, no harm can come near" He felt
again the touch of the phantom-like
hand, the warmth Of the lips he could
not see.
There was sharp pain in his breast
He gave little cry and fell, his fail
head half buried in the pine-needlea
The girl, when she heard Of il from
the dust-stained courier. grew uneasy
She was afraid that her picture NIGH
be found on the body. and that the
man she had promised to marry-ths
middle-aged colonel. who had great
ideas Of her constancy-might hear o.
It.
But he did not. There was photo
graph found in Kings pocket, but thu
bullet had plowed right through thu
face, and It was SO smeared with bloot
as to be unrecognizable. 1t was sen
back east to his family.-San francisco
Argonaut-