Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-12-24

THEN THE WILD RUSH CARRIED HIS LITTLE
BAND UPON THE ENEMY.
by the feeble light of the burned build
ings. The difficulties of the battlefield
the snow the darkness, the fierce resist
ance of the enemy, his inability to drive
them back, filled him with the unreason
ing rage of youth. A man who dcSpiSed
oaths he began to use them with rapidity
and junction and was unconscious of do
ing so. But his soldiers needed no spur
from their commander Evans, the sec
ond lieutenant, year younger than him
self-Fleming had reached the honorable
age of 20-was by his side, firing with his
pistols at the fitting black forms that op-
posed them, and around the two lieuten-
ants fought Il little band of splashed and
begrimed men with a courage and energy
equal to those of their leaders
A wall of a house fell on Il bed of live
Goals and the timbers blazed up with sud
den vividncss, cutting through the dark
ness and casting distorting light over
the snow, the ruined village and the fight
ing men.
Fleming paused for moment to grasp
his field of battle by the new light that
had come. The flames magnfied some OBJ
jectS, diminished others and made the
whole unreal and fantastic. The forms of
his enemies wavered as the flames flick
cred and grew to gigantic size, the bloody
spots on the snow spread and united, and
the scurched rafters of an abandoned house
made an ugly black tracery in the sky. In
the momentary stiffness that had seized
them all Fleming heard the suffering of
the snowilakes as they fell in the flames
Being able now to see his battlefield, the
lieutenant knew that the little church
which stood somewhat to his right was it's
key, and, shouting to his men to follow, he
rushed forward that he might seize it at
once and cut off his enemy.
The soldiers fired volley and dashed
toward the church. but the leader of the
hostile band was as quick of eye and as
ready of action as Fleming and when the
lieutenant and his men entered one door
of the church their antagonists dashed in
at the other.
Fleming's wrath famed to it's highest
pitch. 1t seemed personal injustice to
himself that his foe should be so stubborn
and so prompt, and his resolve to over
come him grew with his anger. He stop
ped just inside the door, and his men
gathered around him. The room was dim,
but Fleming saw the outlines of the
benches and at the far end the pulpit. The
building, until then outside the line of
BATTLE seemed to have been untouched
The light from the blazing house lared in
at the winCslw and fell across the faces of
his enemies, who We're entering at the
farther door. Neither side gave a thought
to the character of the place, but both
knew that fierce struggle WAS sure to
follow for the possession of so strong a
fort as IA brick building, and they prepared
at once for the issue. Three or four of the
heavy wooden benches, which served as
pews hastily thrown together, made IA good
breastwork, and standing behind it Flem-
ing and his men waited to see what the
enemy would do.
The hostile leader waited, too, perhaps
with the same purpose, and again the
building was silent The fallen wall was
burning finely and the light from it now
shono through the window with IA steady
radiance and drove the dusk from the
room
Fleming listened intently and heard
nothing from without. The battle, save
for his own part in it, seemed to have end
ed or to have gone far away The snow,
driven against the window panes, CLEANED
red III the light of the flames, and the
wind increased in violence. All this was
but the affair of n moment, and then