The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-06-19

the opportunity for distinction. That
opportunity, he felt, would come, as it
comes to all in war time. Meanwhile
he did what he could. No service was
too humble for him to perform in aid
of the south, no adventure too perilous
for him to undertake il consistent with
the character of a civilian who was at
heart a soldier, and who in good faith
and without too much qualification as
sented to at least a part of the frankly
villainous dictum that all is fair in,love
and war.
One evening while Farquhar and his
wife were sitting on a rustic bench near
the entrance to his grounds a gray-clad
soldier rode up to the gate and asked for
a drink of water. Mrs. Farquhar was
only too happy to serve him with her
own white hands. While she was gone
to fetch the water. her husband APP
preached the dusty horseman and in
quired eagerly for news from the front.
THE Yanks are repairing the rail-
roads" said the man, ''and are getting
ready for another advance. They have
reached the Owl creek bridge, put it in
order, and built a stockade On the other
bank. The commandment has issued an
order, which is posted everywhere, de-
claring that any civilian caught inter-
fering with the railroad, its bridges,
tunnels or trains will be summarily
hanged. I saw the order"
How far is it to the Owl creek
bridge?s Farquhar asked.
A.. 4Isuk- -.sIo. -
rs there no force on this side the
creek?"
"Only a picket post half a mile out,
on the railroad, and a single sentinel
at this end of the bridge"
Suppose a mana civilian and stu
dent of hanging-should elude the
picket post and perhaps get the better
of the sentinel" said Farquhar, smil-
ing, what could he accomplish"
The soldier reflected. II was there
a month ago." he replied. ct observed
that the flood of last winter had lodged
a great quantity of driftwood against
the wooden pier at this end of the
bridge. 1t is now dry, and would burn
like tow"
The lady had now brought the water,
which the soldier drank. He thanked
her tremendously, bowed to her hus-
band and rode away. An hour later,
after nightfall, he repassed the planta-
ton, going northward in the direction
from which he had come. He was a
federal scout.
AS Peyton Farquhar fell straight
downward through the bridge he lost
consciousness, and was as one already
dead. From this state he was awakened
ages later, it seemed to him-by the
pain of a sharp pressure upon his
throat, followed by a sense of %suffoca-
ton. Keen, poignant agonies seemed
to shoot from his neck downward
through every fiber of his body and
limbs. These pains appeared to flash
along well-defined lines of ramifcation
and to beat with an inconceivably rapid
periodicity. They seemed like streams
of puisating fire heating him to an in
tolerable temperature. AS to his
head, he was conscious of nothing
but a feeling of fullness-of conges.
ton. These sensations were unaccom.
panied by thought. The intel
l%ectual part of his nature was already
etfaced; he had power only to feel, and
feeling was torment. He was conscious
Of motion. Encompassed in a luminous
cloud, of which he was now merely the
fiery heart, without material substance
he swung through unthinkable arcs OF
| Ceos11o4f4n 1s1ya a roe+ rooal,,J,v,, U1ar
all at once, with terrible ~suddenness
the light about him shot upward with
the noise of a loud plash; a frightfu.
roaring was in his ears, and all was cold
and dark. The power of thought wa,
restored; he knew that the rope hao
broken and he had fallen into the
stream. There was no additional
strangulation; the moose about hi
neck was already %suffocating him and
kept the water from his lungs. To di'
of hanging at the bottom of a river,
He was not conscious of an effort, bu-
a sharp pain in his wrist appraised hin
that he was trying to free his hands. HI
gave the struggle his attention, as al
idler might observe the feat of a jug
gler, without interest in the outcome
What splendid effortl-what magnifi
cent, what superhuman strength! All
that was a fine endeavorl Bravo! Th'
cord fell away; his arms parted an.
loated upward, the hands dimly seen OF
each side in the growing light. Fix
watched them with a new interest a.
first one and then the other pouncec
upon the moose at his neck. They tor,
it away and thrust it ~fiercely aside, it
fluctuations resembling those of a wa
ter snake. Put it back, put it back!
He thought he shouted these words t,
lis hands, for the undoing of the noos,
had been succeeded by the direst pan,
which he had yet experienced. His necI
! ached horribly; his brain was on fire
: his heart, which had been 1lutterin,
family, gave a great leap, trying t
force itself out of his mouth. His Who'll
(, body was racked and wrenched with a
insupportable anguish! But his disc
hedient hands gave no heed to the CON
e mand. They beat the water vigorousl
with quick, downward strokes, forcinI
: HIM to the surface. He felt his hea
emerge; his eyes were blinded by tn
? sunlicht: his chest expanded cor