Mower County transcript., 1895-02-27

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trom number of camp fires met his
eyes. Grouped about near the springs
was village of about twenty lodges,
and near by herd of ponies roamed
over the hillside cropping the sparse
grass which sprouted out from between
the rocks.
His searching eyes failed to discover
the presence of a guard on any of the
hills, and he rightly in
terpreted this to mean that the In
dians, having travelled with great speed
to their present camp, knew that they !
need fear no pursuing party before the !
following day. Even had the capture
been discovered shortly after the poor
girl was seized, the cavalry horses
could never carry their equipment
laden riders more than half the dis
tance from the fort to the mountains
before darkness came upon them, and,
not being able to follow the trail, the
troops would camp until daybreak.
Fully satisfied that there were no SEN
tinels to discover his presence, his hope
of being able to gain an entry in the
village was greatly strengthened.
He must now wait until darkness
should come to conceal his movements.
Lying down upon the brow OF the hill,
he eagerly scanned the distant camp.
,Dusky forms moved to and fro about
the Pickering fires, but the one beloved
form for which he sought with aching
eyes appeared not. Although the ap-
preaching storm materially aided in
driving back the gray light of day, to
his anxious, impatient soul the night
fall came with all too tardy footsteps.
The great black clouds rolled rapid
ly toward him, at times splitting out
vivid flashes of lightning followed by
peals of angry thunder. These premo-
nitions Of the coming storm filed his
breast with unspeakable satisfaction,
and he almost shouted with joy when
the storm burst upon him in all it's
fury. The inky darkness which &C.
companied it would hide his move
ments, and the rain beating down upon
the lodges of the Indians would drown
the sound of his stealthy footsteps.
As he lay there, his brain was busy
formulating plan of action. He must
enter the village, a perilous venture,
and when once there how could he de-
! tormine in which one of the twenty or
more lodges his loved one was con-
fined? He could but go ahead and
trust to Providence for guidance. Not
one man in a thousand would under
take such hazardous task; but the
light of his life-all he cared to live for
was in that village of deadly, treach-
erous foes, and if ne could not effect
her rescue it was his desire that he
might die with her.
When the storm struck the village
the Indians hastily sought shelter in
their lodges, and the drenching rain
soon extinguished the camp fires. Be-
ing driven to shelter, the waiting SOL
dier knew the savages would soon seek
comfort in their blanket beds, and
after waiting about an hour, that to his
impatient spirit seemed an age, he re-
mounted his horse and rode toward the
village.
Securing his horse to a bush behind
an embankment which marked the bee
of an old creek near the village, the
soldier took the pistols from the hol
sters and thrust them through the bell
above his waist, and taking hunting
knife from one of the saddle pockets
moved .stealthily into the camp. AL
was quiet, save the beating of the rai1
and the occasional volleys from heav
ems artillery overhead. Even th'
snarling, half-starved ours with which
every Indian village is infested ha1
crawled into the lodges for shelte
from the storm, and did not discove
his presence.
How would he ever be able to locat
the object of his search? His lips move'
in prayer to Heaven for aid, as h
: moved along like dark specter ami
the lodges. Anon he would pause an
. listen intently, hoping to hear a coug
, or sigh or a spoken word to tell hi1
. of the presence of his loved one.
{ AS he cautiously moved onward
{ vivid fash of lightning revealed to hi
. eyes an object like crouching for1
near lodge in the center of the vi
y lage. Dropping prostrate upon th
, wet ground he peered through tn
? darkness toward the object, and cage
, ly awaited the next flash. 1t came, an
! seated upon the ground near the doc
q of lodge he saw the form of an Imdia1
his blanket thrown over his head
protect him from the storm. The heal
of the young soldier beat with renewe
y hope as the truth burst upon him thu
| the Indian was a guard, and that tn
l.. object of his search must be In thu
lodge.
The guard must be disposed o
q Much as he dreaded the shedding (
n human blood except in the line of dut
= on the field of battle, he felt that
must allow nothing to stand betwee
himself and the success of his missio
>. Making detour in order to approae
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