The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-15

wandering rays caused the eyes 10 gilt
ter like silver. The girls heart pounded
so that she put her hand over it.
The sentry and the prisoner remained
immovably vaxen and over in the gloom
the head thrust from the floor watched
them with its silver eyes.
/ Finally the prisoner slid from the
feed-bOx and raising his arms, yawned
at great length. 'Oh, well" he remarked,
you boys will get a good licking If you
fool around here much longer. That's
some satisfaction anyhow Even if you
did bag me. You'll get a good walloping.
He reflected for a moment and decided:
I'm sort of willing to be captured If
you fellows only get a damned good lick
! ing for being so smart"
The sentry looked up and smiled su-
perior smile Licking hay? Nixey." He
winked eXasperatingly at the prisoner
You fellows are not fast enough my
boy. Why didn't you lick us at -? And
/ at -? And at -" He named some of
the great battles.
To this the captive officer blurted in
angry astonishment. why. we did
The sentry winked again in profound
irony. 'Yes-I know you did or course:
You whipped us, didn't you. Fine kind
of whipping that was. Why We
He suddenly ceased. smitten mute by
a sound that broke the stiffness of the
night: 1t was the sharp crack OF dis
tant shot that made wild echoes among the
hills. 1t was instantly followed by the
hoarse cry of human voice, faraway
yell of warning, singing of surprise, peril,
fear OF death. A moment laIeT IHeIe
was a distant fierce scattering OF shots.
The sentry and the prisoner stood facing
each other their lips apart, listening.
The orchard at that instant awoke to
sudden tumult. There was the thud and
scramble and scamper of feet, the hol-
low, swift clash of arms mems voices
in question, oath. command. hurried ana
unhurried, resolute and frantic. n horse
sped along the road at a raging gallop.
A loud voice shouted: What is it. Fer
guson?" Another voice yelled something
incoherent. There was sharp discord-
ant chorus of command. An uproarious
volley suddenly rang from the orchard.
The prisoner in gray moved from his in
tent listening attitude. Instantly the
eyes of the sentry blazed and he said
with a new and terrible sternness:
stand where you are"
The prisoner trembled in his excite
ment. Expression of delight and triumph
dubbed to his lips. "a surprise, by
Gawd! Now Now. you'll seer
The sentry stolidly swung his carbine
to his shoulder. He sighted carefully
along the barrel until it pointed at the
prisoners head, about at his nose. well
I've got you, anyhow Remember that.
The prisoner could not keep his arms
from nervously gesturing. Il won't,
but"
And shut your mouth
The three comrades of The sentry flung
themselves into view. ''Pete-deyil Of d
roW-can you
I've got him." said the sentry calmly
and without moving. 1t was as if the
barrel of the carbine rested on piers of
stone. The three comrades turned and
dove into the darkness.
In the orchard, it seemed as if two
gigantic animals were engaged in a mad
foundering encounter, snarIing, bowling
in whirling chaos of noise and motion.
In the barn, the prisoner and his guard
faced each other in silence.
As for the girl at the knot hole-the
at no nf
clamor. She would not have been as
tonished to see the stars swinging from
their abodes, and the vegetation. the
barn, all blow away 1t was the end OF
everything, the grand universal murder
When two of the three miraculous sol
diers who formed the original feed-box
corps emerged N detail from the hole
under the beam and slid away into the
darkness, she did not more than glance
at them.
Suddenly she recoIIected the head with
silver eyes. She started forward anC
again applied her eyes to the knot hole
Even with the din resounding from the
orchard. from up the road and down the
road, the central fascination was this
mystic head. There to her was the darl
god of the tragedy.
The prisoner in gray at this moment
burst into a laugh that was no moe
than hysterical gurgle. 'Well, yor
can't hold that gun, out forever. Pretty
soon you'll have to lower it."
The sentry's voice sounded slightly muf
fled for his cheek was pressed agains
the weapon. Il won't be tired for some
time yet"
The girl saw the head slowly rise. tn,
eyes fixed upon the sentry's face A tai
black figure skunk across the COW stall:
and vanished back of old Santos quar-
ters. She knew what was to come tC
pass. She knew this grim thing was up
on terrible mission and that it would
reappear again at the head of the littI,
passage between Santos stall and tn,
wall, almost at the Sentry'S elbow anC
yet when she saw a faint indication a.
5 of a form crouching there scream from
an utterly new alarm almost ESCAPED
l her.
j The sentry's arms after all were no
Z of granite. He moved restively. At las
he spoke in his even unchanging tone
We'll. | guess you'll have to climb int,
that feed box. Step back and lift tn
) lid"
Why, you don't mean
Step back
The girl felt a cry of warning arising
to her lips as she gazed at this sentry
I She noted every detail of his facial ex
preston. She saw, moreover, his mas.
OF brown hair punching disgracefully
about his ears, his clear eyes lit now
: with hard cold light, his forehead puck
cred in mighty scowl. the ring upor
/ the third finger of the left nand.
"Oh, they won't kill him. Surely the.
won't kill him. The noise of the figh
a the orchard was the loud music. tn,
tempest which people love during TIT
2 critical scene of a tragedy
l When the prisoner moved back in re
d luctant obedience, he faced for an in
: slant the entrance of the little passag,
! and what ne saw there must have beer
written swiftly graphically in his eyes
e And the sentry read it and knew theI
e that he was upon the threshold of hi!
$ death. In a fraction of time, certain in
i formation went from the grim thing il
g the passage to the prisoner and from tn
S prisoner to sentry. But at that instant
= the black formidable figure across. tow
n cred, and made it's leap. new SHADOW
a flashed across the floor when the blow
t was struck.
AS for the girl at the knot-hole. wheI
a she returned to sense she found hersel
e standing with clenched hands ant
d screaming with her might.
AS if her reason had again departed
o from her, she ran around the barn, il
. at the door and flung herself Sobbing be
e side the body of the soldier in blue.
The uproar of the fight became al las
, coherent inasmuch as one party was Civ
ing shouts of supreme exultation. Tn
e firing no longer sounded in crashes;
G was now expressed in SDiteful crackles
: the last words of the combat, Spoken
with feminine vindictiveness.
r Presently there was thud of nylnl
S feet A grimly painting red-faced mo-
3 Of troopers in blue plunged into IN
4 barn, became instantly frozen to atti
y tudes of amazement and rage, and tnel
roared in one great chorus: lie gone!
1.-THE girl who knelt weeping beside tn
body upon the floor turned toward then
+. her lamenting eyes and cried lie 5 no
! dead. is he? He can't be dead?
= They thronged forward. The sharp lieu
D tenant who had been so particular abou
! / The feed-box kneIt by the side of tn