The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-12-23

=. >
~ ~, ~ 49, \ ~ / ~! ~ 4
!hsFsnsH dEd d
a1tvtls iassssn dsys-yus~s1sesu
/ Frfvste Green "Mans yourvGlf et;hon&s
Yon win have % wait here until ~ ~
dams clear out. /" Z
That was the watsr the soldist ~ -
10 quench his thirst-the shAll0W ooRe "
shelter from the sun and the night TheEs
was no nre--no food. He must hsss I'D
/, food to live. but be must have beea oona-
PEELED to eat IL raw. No wonder he looke1
pinohed and haegard and wolfsh. H
flung himself down on the sands nd
turned away from the officer. Had The
deserter been armed the officer would have
feared an attack. While he did NOT fear
that, the mans singular demeanoF bred
apprehension. He had been driven to de-.
sert-to become wanderer on the face Of
the desert--to hunger and thirst and foel
that his life was In peril every hour. esp
tain Bowers thoughts were anything but
pleasant as he sat In the shelter and looked
out upon the recruit who had the out
spoken sympathy of four-ffths Of the gar
rison. An hour passed away. Then the
officer said: IL
"Green, I've been thinking We were TOO
hard on you, and am free to say am
sorry for it, II you'll go back to the fort
with me, things will be different"
The man stretched on the sands made
no reply. He knew enough Of military
discipline to know that court martial
awaited him for striking his superior on
Ger and deserving. They must find him
guilty and pass sentence no matter how
well disposed. He had stood all he could,
and on the night of his desertiop he had
sworn solemn oath to have revenge upon
his captain before he died. Chance had
thrown the officer into his hands. As he
lay there he was planning murder He
meant to get up by and by and spring
upon the captain; no matter about tho
pistol. Reduced in strength as he was for
the want of proper food, the thoughtof
his wrongs nervcd him up and be felt
himself more than match for the man
at his back. After awhile, however, the
thought Of bloodshed left him and he
smiled grimly as he got new PLAN The
sun was almost down as he reused and
said: x
ave must DO moving. Follow mo-
(Which way?" asked the officer. "
The.recruit headed for the west out up
ON tho open desert, without reply, and
the captain followed him In da1edta and
wondering way, The sun went downsaads
they toiled on. Darkness came, and yeta
they walked. At first the captain knew
that they were going west Wien dark
ness came, lie lost his bearings, just as the
soldier had planned he should. By and
by the two were walking around ina dr.
Gle, each plodding along with his head
down and neither asking nor answering
questions OF sudden the recruit disap.I
peared. The officer peered through the
darkness, but could catch no sight OF hui
man form. He stopped and listeneds but
no football reached his ear. He had been
nervous and apprehensive before; now he
was suddenly almost terror stricken He
was miles and miles from the fort-miles
and miles out upon the lonely desert. A
dozen times he tried to brace up and fight
away the feeling of helplessness but IL
was too strong to be shaken off. He should
have sat down to wait for daylight, bnt
his fears kept him moving. He called for
Private Green. He shouted and shrieked
his name hundred times. But theredwas
no answer When he had grown so hoarss
that his voice could no longer be heard, he
began running, and he grew yet more
fearful. He was not afraid Of the soldier
not afraid Of the serpents and lizards. /,
He did not fear the darkness. He was
afraid of ltlngelf. Until midnight he ran
and walked by turns, always hoping that
every darker shadow was the form Of the
man he had driven to dosertion, but ever
disappointed. At length he fell down
from exhaustion, and daylight found him
groveling In the sand and human figure
seated beside him. When the sun came
up, Private Green reached out his hand
and quietly said:
Come captain, we are going to the
fort"
The officer looked upand smiled vacant
ly and talked to himself in whispers.
Next day at noon hee entered the post
alone, but the sentinel at the gate caught
sight Of another figure down in the bushes
and knew that officer and deserter had
met.
Hero is Captain Bowers!" was shouted
by score Of privates and officers as the
man stood at the gate and stared stupidity
around him.
They pressed forward to shake the on.
Ger by the hand and question him about
his adventures, but he drew, away and
cast his eyes down and muttercd and
smiled. He no longer had mind, and
Private Green was rcvenged. Months aft
crward tho captain got about again, but
he was so "queer" that his resignation
was handed in and accepted and he driftsd
no ono knew whittier.