Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-05-17


their progress past was now quieting down.
As the last line of charging horse passed
from my sight saw shadowy lieutenant
of the Guards beside me. He pointed in
the direction whittier they had gone. A
scornful smile was ON his spectral face.
His hollow voice echoed tauntingly in my
ear:
&" so Major Hurst of the First Royals
prefers discretion to valor because he be
longs to the heavy and not to the ligh'
brigadcp
Il aimed II blow at my traduccr, but
my hand only struck into the empty air.
Gle laughed hooking laugh, and
again pointing down the valley said Coz
Il will show you that at least one of
the "hcavics' can do as well as the men of
the light brigade, cricd, jumping into
the saddle and gallolehg off after the van
ishcd cavalry | felt like one berclt of his
senses. l galloped on and on in the dark
until | saw again the white streak APP
preaching me in IL contrary direction and
the rumbling cchoing i'll the rear. A sec
ond, and it burst upon my sight. But
what changed Horses, ridcrlcss, terri
fed, wounded naddcncd with excitement.
Not a single form of u soldier passed
Ridcrlcss horses RidCrlcss hurscsl Rider
less hurscsl Here and there opaque spots
upon the shaduwy saddles, showing where
human blood had rushed down. | drew
aside from the apparent stampede of ghost
ly Stccds and waited. Then | saw another
white streak approaching. 1t came near
err! 1t was upon me- The fur caps, the
long riding coats the loggings, the long
lanccs, and, above all, the superb horse
manship displayed told me that they were
the Cossacls of the ear. But their faces
were rigid as the dead. Instead of the
habtual yclls, in victory or defeat not "a
sound escaped from the tightly closed lips
AS | gazcd like Il man walking in his sleep
| SAW one of the silent host bearing fun
upon me, his lance in rest, his cold, dead
eyes holding me transilXed so that | could
not move Il limb. felt my charger trcm-
BILE beneath me, but he never made an eff
fort to break away. \ moment more and
a pang shot through my heart. Then all
seemed dark save for an occasional star
shooting by. The stars increased in num-
Der; then more and more, until they
formed Il disk like the full moon that again
was trans1lg'r cd into Il sun, whose in
tense light almost blinded me. struggled
to place my hands over my eyes and as
did so ! heard u voice above me say:
He's coming to- My, but it was a
close CALI
Il opened my eyes. l was lying swath-
| ed in blankets in the tent of one of the
boys of the Nincty-thrd My limbs and
body were tingling from recent friction,
and five bearded faces were peering anx-
iously into my half opened eyes.
Il recognized Heathcote. Poor Heath
cote, who was aftcrward killed at Delhi,
! just after his being gazetted as colonel OF
his gallant corps.
"'Why, old man, he said joyfully, you
were near saving the Russians II job.
found you lying stiff and stark near the
Grodno road as our boys came along tC
help the Twenty sixth drive back the at
tack on the Outposts We brought you
here and have had big job getting yot
around Ii IL wonder you are not minus
toes and fingers but there's only the til
of your car frozen.
And, added my father, touching the
uneven UPPER surface of his left ear
there is the mark where the Russian fros
bit me- but the vision l saw that night is
in view of the events of the following day
far more indelibly implanted on my mem
DRY. '-Chicago Times.