Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-03-05
CHARGING THE Aosr,Lss.
A Brave Little Fellow Rides Through
a Band of Indians.

-. bo&
a Band of Indians.
In st. Nicholas Gertrude T.. Greble
has Il story of frontier life called Dan
ny and the Major" Danny was the
%T-year-old son of an army captain, and
the Major was a favorite horse. One
day he was riding him in company with
his friend, a Scotch corporal. when the
horses of the post We're stampeded. and
the corporal was thrown and injured.
Danny started to ride for assistance,
II this was his experience:
Away to the north a cloud of dust
marked II recent passage of the herd.
ON every other side swept the table,
land. empty and placid and smiling.
And beyond, to the south, stood the fort
and home. Danny took heart, settled
himself in the saddle. and put the Ma
jOr into a smart canter. holding the
reins firmly, and trying to recall the cor-
poraTs instructions as he rode. think
Ing with an ever-recurring pang of his
friends condition. happy that the dis
lance to the necessary succor was di-
minishing so rapidly, and totally forget
full of the anxiety which had agitated
the veteran before the accident that
had separated them.
Suddenly. at the end of some fifteen
minutes of tranquil riding. as the Ma
tor galloped along the edge of the tim
her which fringcd the bluff. there was
a loud crashing in the bushes. and Il
gayly decorated war-pony scrambled
through them. his rider grunting in sur
ly surprise: while at the same moment,
from the thicket beyond, three other
h%alf-naked figures appeared and lined
up in the path which led to safety.
The child's heart stopped beating.
His frontier training told him that all
that had gone before. even the tragedy
which had darkened the afternoon, was
as nothing compared with this new and
awful danger. In Il parOXysm of terror
he tried to stop the Major-tried with
all his small strength to turn him aside
toward the open plain, to check his
mad plunge into the very arms of the
enemy. But for the first time the horse
paid attention neither to the beloved
voice nor to the tiny hands pulling SO
desperately upon the reins.
Whether it was the sight of an old
and hated foe. or whether the wise,
kind heart of the animal realized the
full extent of the peril of which the
child was as yet only half aware, it
would be hard to say. But little Dan
found himself going faster than he had
thought possible-and faster-and fast
IT'LL the tawny, sun-burned plain,
IL the pitiless smiling sky, and the
nearer, greener foliage of the willows,
and even the outlines of the dreaded
savAges themselves became as so maDy
parts of a great rushing, whirling
whole. and all his strength was absorb
ed in the effort to retain his seat upon
he bounding horse.
And ST. like some vision from their
OWN weird legends. straight down upon
the astonished Indians swept the great
bronze beast with it's golden-haired
burden! Down upon them, and through
them. and away-till by the time they
had recovered from their amazement
there was Il good fifty yards between
them and their flying prey! And that
distance. hard as they might ride, WAS
not easily to he overcome!
After that first wild rush the Major
settled into a steadier pace-a smooth.
even run. so easy to sit that the lad re-
Taxed his clutch upon the animals
mane and turned his eyes to the hori-
Zon, where gathering swarms of saw
ages showed like clusters of ants
against the slope of the hillside. In
his track, with shrill. singing cries, like
hounds upon IL trail, came his purs,l-
crs. And far to the south there was
Il puff of white smoke from the walls of
the fort. and IL moment later the first
heavy. echoing boom of the alalln-gun
t%hundered across the plains!