The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-02-13

words of the challenge l was not able
to catch, but l heard Miller shout:
Forward, boys!"
We shook out more speed just as a
rifle spat its long flash at us from about
100 yards ahead. For one moment |
plainly saw the southerner's figure.
Kennedy reeled beside me, flung up
his hands with a scream, and fell. His
horse stopped at once. In moment
the lieutenant had ridden the sentry
down.
Then from the right side of the road
party, who must have been lying
around the campfire that we plainly
saw in among the pines, let fly at us.
They had surely been surprised in
their sleep. clearly saw them as their
guns flashed.
Forward! Don't shoot! Ride on!"
shouted Miller" Bushwhackers! Thank
God, not mounted! Any of you make
out horses with them"
mo, sir! No, sir!"
"Who yelled? Who went DOWN."
"Kennedy, sir" 1 cried.
TOO bad Anyone else?"
mo, sir"
"All safe?"
I'm touched in my right arm; but
it's nothing" l said. The twinge was
slight, and in the fleshy place in front
of my shoulder. | could not make out
that L was losing blood, and the pain
was scarcely perceptible.
Good boy! Keep up, ADAM" called
the lieutenant, with kind tone. l
remember my delight that he spoke my
front name. On we flew.
Possibly the shots had been heard
by the party half mile further on,
for they greeted us with volley. A
horse coughed hard and pitched down
behind me. His rider yelled as he fell.
Then two more shots came; Crowfoot
reeled in front of me, and somehow
checked his horse. l saw him no more.
Next moment we were upon the ground
with our pistols.
How many of my comrades had gone
down L knew not, nor beside whom |
was riding. Suddenly our horses
plunged into a hole; his stumbled, the
man pitched forward and was left be-
hind Then heard a shot, the clatter
of another falling horse, the angry yell
of another thrown rider.
On we went-the relics of us. Now
we rushed out of the pine forest into
broad moonlight, and | saw two riders
between me and the lieutenant-one
man almost at my shoulder and another
galloping ten yards behind.
Bader and Absalom Gray were near
est me. Neither spoke a word until
we struck upon space of sandy road
| Then [ could hear, far behind the real
man, a sound of galloping on the hard
highway.
"They're after us, lieutenant" shout.
ed Bader.
"Many?" He Stacked speed and we
| listened
"Only one!" cried Miller. Hes
coming fast"
The pursuer gained so rapidly that
we looked to our pistols again. Then
Absalom Gray cried:
Its only a horse!"
In a few moments the great gray
of fallen Corporal Crowfoot overlook
us, went ahead, and Stacked speed by
the lieutenant.
"GOod! He'll be fresh when the rest
go down." shouted Miller. Let the
last man mount the gray!'
Suddenly the hoofs of Crowfoot's
gray and the lieutenant's bay thun,
dered upon plank road whose hollow
noise, when we all reached it, should
have been heard afar. 1t took us
through wide orchard lands into a low
| lying mist by the banks of a great
marsh, till we passed through that
fog, strobe heavily up slope, and saw
the simmer of roofs under the moon
Straight through the main street we
pounded along.
| Whether it was wholly deserted
! know not, but not human being was
in the streets, nor any face visible al
the black windows. Not even a dog
barked. 1 noticed no living thing ex
cept some turkeys roosting on a fence
and white cat that sprang upon the
| pillar of a gateway and thence to q
| tree.
Out of the village we went off the
planks, again upon sand. 1 began tC
suspect that [ was losing a great deal
of blood. My brain was on fire with
whirling thoughts and wonder where
all was to end Out of this daze came
in amazement, to find that we were
quickly overtaking our lieutenant's
thoroughbred. Had he been hit in the
fray and bled to weakness? l only
know that, still galloping while we
| gained, the famous horse lurched for.
ward, almost turned a somersault, and
fell on his rider. "Stop-the paper!'
shouted Badcr.
We drew rein, turned, dismounted
and found Miller's left leg under the
big bays shoulder. The horse was
quite dead, the riders long hair lay
on the sand; his face was white under
the moon!
We stopped long enough to extricate
him, and he came to his senses just as
we made out that his left leg was
| broken.
Forward" he groaned. "NVhat in
thunder are you stopping for? Oh, the
Dispatch Here! away you go! Good.
by!"