Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-11-21


bolaly forward. There. near the RHO,
down among the stones, is huddled
heap. Ii Ii the first man have ever
shot. ] don { quite know what 20 do /
push him with my foot No response.
he is dead. How strange il seemsi A
few minutes ago this dead bundle was
as full az life as Every muscle and
nerve. every sensation in fullest work
ing orders and now but one little act Of
mine. and the whole is TINS collapsed.
Only now the moon was looking down
on two human beings approaching each
other over the wide yeldt A moment
later she looks sadly down on one stand
ing beside the crumpled remains Of the
ether.
The two horsesare still grazing peace-
fully on opposite sides of the rocks.
I ronsed myself from my musings and
took up the dead man rife 1t was a
Martini Henry After appropriating its
cartridge. knocked ont the block axis
pin and threw the block away, so that
it might no longer be Of use to an enc
my. And then thought toreplenish my
own ammunition from the enemy .
store and turned again to the corpse.
felt "A reluctance to touch the poor
limp thing, but his haversack was part
" underneath him aud had 10 be got
ont. That done, drew the cold hands
down to the sides and Strengthened out
the legs, but could not 90 SO far rs to
turn the body ON sits back--I feared TO
see the face. In the hayersack found
besides the cartridges Bible and some
rusks and s'biltong" (sun dried meath
The cravings of hunger We're reawaken.
ed by the sight Of food and was soon
munching away at my newly acquired
supply, while l still stood in kind Of
fascination over the body Of my victim.
How strange to be eating the food pre-
pared for one who had no need for it'll
To be tasting the flavor, which somehow
/ did not altogether like, that possibly
he would have been tasting now had not
all power of taste suddenly gone out of
him foreyerl Then his Bible lying there
reminded me that we We're both practi-
cally of the same belief. Two Christians,
whose religion told them to love one am
other, meeting in the midst Of a heather
land-strangers to each other on earth,
but brothers in spirit We meet-to
greet each other with peace and good
will? No, but without even a word of
anger one to kill the other.
And great remorse comes over me.
What right had / to take his life? BY
killing him, in what torrent of grief and
ruin may not have involved awife and
BARNS? Did / not fire before there was
need for it? In vain tell myself that
had / not killed him he would have
gathered me-
All feeling of animosity is drowned
in that of pity. At any rate if his COM
rades find him they shall know that we
"Rooi patches bear no grudge but
have some good feeling in us. May it
help to dispose them more peaceably to-
ward u.s.
So, after a very short meal, stow
the ammunition and the remainder of
the food into my pocket. Then / drag
the body from where it lies, leaving
only black, shining blotch among the
stones, into shallow cleft between the
rocks. Here turn it ON TO its back and
see the pale, dead face, the paler for the
contrast with its black beard in the
clear moonlight. close the CLASSY,
staring eyes and compose the limbs in
their narrow bed, and then, with large
powders, / overbridge the grave and
fill up every crevice well with stones.
Little now is left to do. On the highest
rock, just above the grave, / build a
cairn of stones, in which / firmly plant
the rife upright. | take his Bible,
which has writing in its cover that may
tell his name, and fasten it, inside his
hat, to the muzzle Of the rifle, and to
the cleaning rod / tie my handkerchief,
to serve at once as scare TO beasts and
an attracting sign to men. And then
l turn and leave the spot.
reached Standerton all safely with
my two horses soon after daybreak and
delivered my dispatches. When emptied
my pockets, daylight showed me that
what was left of the biltong and rusk
was all besmeared with blood. Sketch.