The Penn's Grove record., 1896-03-13
Won must hnin ma

And the poor devil burst into n M
sion of tears unt1 be shook. and lac
went half blind himself, and the h,
prairie danced and blazed In his eve
Tie took Baptiste back to the cam
And that nlgnt Baptiste went up /
Mexican Joe's. They gave him drin
gut Of sheer terror, for he scared the
white souls with bis y And h
alked and muttered and the tears ra
Town his face. Then one Of the Mex
ans, known as Pete, thought he ha
'oftened and vas chicken-hearted, an
ae began to fool with him. Just the
.he round moon got up on the whit
plateau n stared at the plain, whicI
vas so lonely save for the militar,
post and the place where they sol,
rink. And as the lights began L
blink against the moonlight Pete be
gan to laugh at Jean. Then Mexican
Toe sent of to the fort, and the guar,
,ame out ut the double, with Jacl
imong them. They were just In tim,
% see murder done; for Jean caugh
Pete and broke his black neck with hi.
hands. And b~ack-handed he strucl
Mexican Joe In the mouth; he fel, chok
ng with teeth, and his W knife cut
aim. and Jack came in running. Blu
lean was insane and blazing, and when
Door Jack took him by the arm HI
ooked red to Jean and the Frenchmar
'aught him by the waist and dashed the
boys brains out on the log wall. Then
tie Corporal, who was white as a dried
,lkali lake. struck Jean on the neck
with the butt Of q gun and felled him
But Jack and Pete were dead. They
had to carry Jean to the guardhouss
and 1t was dawn before he came to.
He knew nothing, and he asked for
lack Robertson, and he was so down
and so sorrowful that 1t made the men
pity him.
Who shall tell him?" they asked
zach other, and no one would.
But as Jack wouldn't come Jean be
gan TO think, and a dull, stupefying ter.
FOR came crawling into his mind. Was
t true, or a bloody Imagination of q
dream? he asked himself, dry-tongued.
And presently he wept out aloud and
hung at the heavy door and shook II.
lie asked them whether it was true-oh,
was 1t truef
Are you there, Winter7" he asked
Of one of the men.
Yes, yes, JEAN" said Winter, chok
ing.
is 1t true ~that-that / killed Jack.
Winter? If 1t is true, don't answer"
And Winter sat on one of the guards
beds with his face down. He never
spoke, and Jean groaned like a man
IN his great agony.
He neither ate nor drank, nor SPOKE |
again that day. and then the night drew !
IN, and the moon got up again, and she
looked down on two new mounds-one
was ont at the back of Mexican Joe'A !
and the other was in the little, white.
railed military cemetery where men
we're buried who died Of hanging and
bullets and c%ut-throats when they were
of Uncle Sans outpost duty. But
Jean was locked up close in hell.
But at Mexican Joe's there was h
great gathering, and they drank to
leans hanging and told of Black Pete's
at thieving and the knife
for the news had gone abroad, and Joa
norralled the half dollars that night
1t was close on IL. Then there
was a change in their entertainment
The devil entered in. .
About 11:50 there were only two men
IN the guardroom, and they were lying
On the benches dressed and asleep.
lean was walking up and down his cell.
Once or twice he came to the door and
felt it. Then he went back and meas.
lred the distance from the wall. 1t wa9
only nine feet. 1t was enough.
That long day had torn him in bits.
his eyes were ringed with black cir.
cles; his cheeks were sunken; he had a
pain at the back Of his head.
He could stand it no longer. He rushed
at the door with his shoulders and car.
ried it into the middle of the guard,
room. AS the men started to their feet
lean seized q carbine and q belt of
cartridges and disappeared through the
door leading to the main fort, and
ran down the road to Mexican Joe's
He hadn't got time to go to Montreal.
The light in the shanty shons through
the windows and the door-the one
door. The Mexicans stood up against
the bar. He saw Mexican Joe standing
there toothless. He shot him dead
through the door as they turned. He
killed six as they stood or wavered,
two more as they dropped for shelter
or ran. Two more he struck down with
his rife dubbed. And then, with two
bullets In him and a bowie-knife in his
breast, he went slowly to the cemetery.
When the guard hunted him up there
te was lying dead upon Jacks grave.-@
London Graphic.