Daily camera., 1897-01-20

four forms, vague and lEdlGf:.+c., ufry-
ing along the bank beyond the fire.
"Who are those Inen?" he asked.
81 don't know, sir. Iwarned the COM
pany to remain in camp. I'll see" And
burns turned quickly and made run
for the opposite end of the company
grounds. Some OF the men started up
and stood, gazing eNpectantly after him,
and the ci:at, and laughter suddenly
ceased. ! ne sbadoNy fol 1is lad d.s-
appeared; so, by this time, had Burns.
Then there came TIC sound of hispower-
full voice. out by the road:
Halt there, you men! Come back
here!
Then followed rush and scramble
in the bushes, and the sound of foot
falls, rapid and light, dying away in the
darkness. Then some low laughter and
comment among the men. Then Burns
came back. and,swithout waiting to re-
port, sternly ordered: Fall IN"
Knocking the ashes out of their pipes
and buttoning their 6sercoats-a thing
they might have overlooked before the
lesson. of the day-the soldiers slowly
obeyed the unusual summons. Burns
got his lantern and quickly called the
roll. Four men failed to respond. Leay-
ing the company still in line, the SER
geant fastened to the tents for the
absentees. Two of the number were
found placidly sleeping. Two were
! away carbohydrates Riggs and
Murphy.
eff I'm not mistaken l saw three
shadows" said Lambert, as the sergeant
made his report. what would the cap
tain do if he were here? ?-send a patrol?'
"The captain never had a night roll
call, sir; but he wouldn't send a patrol.
That's only good way of not ketchin
men, unless they're too drunk to run.
1t wouldn't be of much consequence,
only for that man Riggs bein' one of
'em. He's a troublesome case. If the
lieutenant approves of it, I'll sent Sergt.
Watts and couple of good men without
arms. They can find whoever's out.
What / don't like about it is that some
body jumped the fence into the Walton
place
'The old homestead across the road %
"Yes, sir There's been some trouble
between the captain and the Walton
family. He ordered the men never to
enter the inclosure on any preteXt, the
old lady made such row bout it,
"Who lives there? Surely they ought
to welcome our'sending responsible men
over to drive off our renegades.'
''Well, l don't know bout that, sir"
said tho sergeant. with nervous laugh.
eff there's anybody on earth the cap
tain's afraid of, it's old Mrs. Walton.
She's a terror Nothin' of the unpro-
tected female about her, sir, though she
and her daughters live alone there.
Both her sons were shot during the war;
one was killed, and the others in Havana
or Mexico: said he'd never surrender.
and won't come home. l reckon they'r
pretty hard up there, sometimes, but
you should see how the old lady rides it
over the captain, sir. | wonder she
hasn't been over to pay you a visit. Shall
I send after Riggs and Murphy, sir?
IL llht StllliI OOt dliNl Dtid
They haven't a cent, either of 'em, and
if town was their object there's no use
in their goin' !; nobody would trust EN-"
Then came einterruption-the sound of
"a horn, on ordinary tin horn, too, float
ing through the dark and muttering
night,
That's her, lieutenant. That's the
old lady herself She reads prayers
reg'larly at half-past nine every night
and some OF the niggers are out yet
They used to have conch shell that
sounded pretty. but Parmelee said they
had to sell it. They've had to sell pret-
ty much everything, tryin' to keep
alive"
Again the sound of the cheap and
despised tin. Lambert recalled it as a
necessary concomitant of the street
boy and straw rides about the Christ
mas holidays, and its summons, he
thought, was never to prayer; it called
for many lively malediction.
"Send Sergt. Watts, if you think it
advisable" said he, briefly. "I'm going
up on the road a moment"
Again the blast of the horn, short,
staccato, imperative, and then an i'm
patient, querulous voice at the north
end of the porch-a voice calling: "You,
Elinor you wuthless black gadaboutl
VIII ah you?"
And as Lambert scrambled UP the
steep path and reached the road an
other voice, low, tremulous, eager, close
at hand. whispered: "Oh, I thought
you'dnever come! Hyuh! quick! Leave
the money, shuah, and the pail,
t'maw'ow night"
And then, with a rustic of feminine
garments, bending low, slender, girl
ish form shot across the beam of lamp
light falling from an east window.
Another form, also feminine, scurried
away from the hedgerow and some
thing came rolling ont into the road
way, clinking against the stones. There
was sound of voluble reprimand and
fustered explanation at the north end
of the building, a quick, kitten-Ike pat
ter of little feet up the rickety old steps