Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-01-23

a regard for him that was almost like
that Of younger sister for brother in
whom she implicitly believed and trust
ed. For his part he was proud Of the
position ane would not have lost it for
anything else that the world might Of
fer. Toall others besides herself he was
the same dull. stupid fellow that he had
ever been.
She came to him one day weeping
and in great distress and told him that
her lover had been ordered to Africa
with his regiment War was looming on
the horizon, and the work there would
be desperate.
Il know how brave he is, she sob
bed, and l know that he will 20 there
with no arm save his own to stand be-
tween him and death. / think I would
give the world TO know that there was
some one with him who would watch
over him and bring him back to me at
last =
The words were carelessly spoken
said only in the agony of the moment.
But her head was on the poor, foolish
| fellows breast, her hands were touching
his, and the words spoke to him trum
pet tongued, even as command.
He had no thought in his simple
heart but that he might be of service to
her and might help this man whom she
loved. The next day William Tucker,
Esq, left the world wherein men had
laughed at him, and Private William
| Tucker entered the regiment which had
been ordered to the front, and Of which
Lieutenant Charles Lacey was one of
the officers.
In the course Of time Private William
Tucker became merged as a mere unit
in the regiment to which he belonged,
and, with certain latent purpose in his
mind, was glad to lose sight of the
world he had left behind and to take his
place as one of the rank and file The
latent purpose was never knoWn-at
least until the end--but it became a ira
dition among the rough men with
whom he served that wherever the 1.-the
and active form of Lieutenant Charles
Lacey was seen in the fight, there, close
beside him, was one grim faced Tommy
Atkins, fighting with a ferceness I'M
known in the character of the William
Tucker, Esq, who had disappeared.
AS matter of fact, Lacey knew
nothing about who the man was or
whence he came. He had met him but
seldom in those old days, and the fact
of Private William Tucker was scarcely
one to be remembered.
There came day when Lacey, with
a mere handful of men, was sent on a
| forced march, in an endeavor to Join
forces with another camp. But the
march was not a success, and they pres
emily found that they were cut off, in
the midst of the hills, with the day fast
closing in, and the hostile, yelling war
riors all round them. They closed Up
silently with dim feeling upon them
that there was but small hope, and
fought there steadily and doggedly,
| while the light failed.
1t was a certainty from the first of
their being absolutely outnumbered,
and they fell one after another, with
those horrible black faces swarming
round them-with fiendish warcries in
their ears, and with only the determi-
nation in their hearts to fight to the last
for the honor Of the flag they served.
There was one gallant young figure
standing there and cheering ON his men
and overav ing for moment even those
who swarmed about them. A spear
thrust had reached him at last and he
staggered backward, with a score of
weapons leveled at him. But there was
another who sprang in there before him,
with dubbed rife swung madly round
his head-one who knew only that the
man he had sworn in his heart to serve
was lying there beneath him; one who
saw only woman's face in faroff Eng
land, as it had lain last on his breast /;
one who knew that they should not
reach the figure at his feet while he had
the power to stand and to fight.
81 have come back to you, my dar-
ling, Charles Lacey was saying when
we were cut off there, with a mere
handful of men, little thought l should
ever see your face again. I--of all those
who were with me-alone escaped, al
though my wound took a long time to
heal 4"
''But how did you escape?" she asked
breathlessly, while she clung to him.
"There was soldier there-a brave
fellow who, for some unknown reason,
had stuck o me through all the cam
paign. They found him lying across me,
with broken rife in his hand, and they
told me that his wounds were frightful
enough to have killed half dozen
men. l only found out afterward who
be was. They called him Private Will
liam Tucker 2
He wondered why she wore black
dress that night at dinner. When he
asked her, she said, with the tears shin
ing in her eyes, that it was for the sake
of the dead soldier who had sent him