The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-07-22
This Courageous 2,

meut his face was raised from the
earth, his hands resumed their places
on the rifle, his forefnger sought The
trigger: mind. heart and eyes Were
clear. conscience and reason sound
lie could not hope To capture that
enemy: TO alarm HIM would be to send
him dashing into his camp with hls
fatal news. The duty OF the soldier
was plain: the man must be shot dead
from ambush-without warning, with
out moments spiritual preparation,
with never So much as an unspoken
prayer he must be sent to his account.
But, no-there is hope; he may have
discovered nothing perhaps he IS but
admiring the sublimity Of the land
scape If permitted, he may turn and
ride carelessly away in the direction
whence lie came. surely it viii be
possible To judge at the instant OF his
withdrawing whether he knows. 1t
may well he that his tixitv Of atten-
ton Druse turned his head ard
looked below, through the deeps Of
air downward, as from the surface TO
the bottom Of a TRANSLUCENT sea. He
saw creeping across the given meadow
a sinuous line OF figures Of men and
horses-some foolish commander. was
permitting the soldiers to water their
beasts in plain view from L hundred
SUBMITS!
Druse withdrew his eyes from the
valley and fixed them again upon the
group Of man and horse in the sky,
and again it was through the sight of
his rifle. But this time the aim was at
the horse. In his memory, aSif they
were a divine mandate, rang the words
OF his father at parting: Whatever
may occur. DO what You conceive to
he vour duty" He was calm now.
His teeth were firmly but not rigidly
closed; his nerves were as tranquil as
& sleeping babe'S-not tremor at
fected any muscle of his body; his
breathing, until suspended in the act
of taking aim. was regular and slow.
Duty had conquered: spirit had said 10
body: Peace. be still" He fired,
At that moment an officer of the
federal force, who, in spirit of adj
venture or in quest Of knowledge, had
left the hidden hivouac in the valley,
and, with aimlesS feet, had made his
way to the lower edge of a small oLen
space near the foot Of the cliff, was
considering what he had to gain by
pushing his exploration further. At a
distance OF 4 quarter-mile before him.,
bat apparently at a stones throw, rose
from It's fringe Of pines the gigantic
face Of rock. towering to so great a
height above him that it made him
giddy to look up to where its edge cut
sharp, rugged line against the sky.
At some distance away to his right it
presented clean, vertical profile
against a background of blue 5 Ky to a
point half of TIE way down, and of dis
tant hills. hardly less blue, thence to
the tops of the trees at its base. Lift
ing his eyes to the dizzy attitude of its
summit. the officer saw an astonishing
sight-a man on horseback riding
down into the valley through the air.
Straight upright sat the rider, in
military fashion, with q firm seat in
the saddle, a strong clutch upon the
rein to hold his charger from too inn
pctuous plunge. From his bare head
his long hair streamcd upward, waV-
ing like plume. His right hand was
concealed in the cloud OF the horse S
lifted name. The animals body was
as level as if every hoof-stroke en-
countered the resistant earth. Its mo-
tions were those of a wild gallop, but
even as the officer looked they ceased,
with all the legs thrown sharply for
ward as in the act of alighting from a
leap. But this was a flight.
Filled with amaZement and terror
by this apparition of horsemau in
the sky-half believing himself the
chosen scribe of some new apocalypse,
the officer was overcome by the in
tensity of his emotions; his legs failed
him and he fell. Almost at the same
instant he heard crashing sound in
the trees-a sound that dies without
an echo, and all was still.
After firing his shot. Private Carter
Druse reloaded his rifle and resumed
his watch. Ten minutes had hardly
passed when q federal sergeant crept
cautiously, to him.
Did you fre?" the sergeant whis,
pered.
Yes
''At what?"
"a horse. 1t was standing on yon.
der rock-pretty far out. It is no long
cr there. 1t went over the Cliff
"See here, Druse, the sergeant said
after silence, its no use making a
mystery. I order you to report. Was
there anybody on the horse2"
Yes"
"Who?"
My father
The sergeant rose to his feet and
walked away. Good God!'' he said
Tales Of Soldiers and Civilians.
.'Plug Hats and overalls.''
MILWAUKEE, Wis, July 1.-THE
announcement is made by John Too
hey, one of the leading Republicans of
this city, that he could not vote for
the gold platform and would support