The National tribune., 1898-09-29

mere OF 1HF NATIONAL TRIBUNE
nadlv towards our BOYS line One Of then
lore a snail postilion, uniformed in blue
who belaboIed them necessarily with piece
of cannon'S sponge-staff. Behind then
they drew two six-pounderS without limbers
one fastened behiud the other The rebel:
seemed very anxious to stop The further prog
rcss of the guns, though rather uncertain
how TO do it. Some Of them began firing at
the horses and the desperate rider, but stop
ped this as they saw Others run out to head
them OFF. Such was the gait the animals
wc,e going at, however. that they distanced
I'll the would-be circunlyeatcis except one
rapid runner. who succeeded in laying his
hand upon The bits OF the nearest horse, but
WAS beaten to The ground by a savage blow
from the fragments of the sponge-staG in the
little postillion's hand. In another instant
the horses were galloping up the slope to-
wards our line, amid a storm of cheers from
the thousands who had witnessed the boys
gallantry.
The horses dashed through the line by the
side Of the File, and Walter said in amaze
ment:
why, if it isn't Inky!"
p" le can iist stack every chip we've got on
that keard," said Inky. as, radiant with his
achievement, he sprang from the painting
horse into the midst Of a crowd OF admirers.
IFS me and no mistake; Pm just the pill
that can do that thing. Say, Walt, you see
me welt that long-legged rebel with the
sponge-staff that caught the horses bits /?
Bet he'll nave headache that'll make him
| remember me for some time !"
You did it splendidly," said Walter
enthusiastically; ''you did it all magnifi-
Gently. But how did you happen to get cut
off out THEREOF
Didn't cut me off to any alarmin' ex-
tent. as 1 could see, did they? That's just
the thing beat EN- on" said Inky with a
pardonable exultation.
Well, but how did you get out there
alone, them" said Walter
90" said Inky, nonchalantly. "W'y,
you see our battery belongs to Premises
Division. Well. we had it mighty fresh out
there from the very first. Our battery took
a front seat-orkestry chairs-at the per-
formance. and they Just dealt out to us the
best they had in the shop They pounded us
with other batteries. doubled teams agin US:
had sometimes l 8 or "a guns beltin' away at
our SIX, and all that We faxed a good
many of them out; busted their caissons,
smashed their wheels and made them gener-
ally glad to quit and leave US alone. They
turned the infantry loose on us, and they
just made US sick, l tell you. They crawled
up in a blackjack thicket to within 400
yards of our left.
Then they give our infantry supports such
an awful blast that they couldn't stand it,
and they had to skip out and leave us. The
same FIRE killed the HOSES at every gun, ex-
cept these here two, and nearly every man
L was with No. ), which was double-loaded
with grape, and 50 was No. Is, but their men
were killed just as they fastened the lanyarJis
IN the primers to fire. seen this, and | says:
Now's yer time to git a chance to foire them
guns. Don't We miss it, i left where / was
standing at the hosses' heads and ran to the
guns just as the rebels, raisin' a yell, came
jumping out o. the thicket straight for the
pieces. They wasn't in no line, but mob, 40
or 30 deep, just right for dose of grape to set
well on their stomachs. There they are;
take 'em, take 'em.' heard 'em holler; and
| says to myself, Yes an here | am, too,
blast yer l ran up to No an snatched
the lanyard. The old smoothbore jumped /
a foot from the ground an just howlei, an |
Lord, you just ought to have seen how she |
lifted that mob of yelpers. Wy, they looked |
like wheatfeld struck by hailstorm. Then |
run over to No. 6 an pulled her lanyard |
She went off the same way, an all that was |
left alive o. them butternuts went back into |
the scrub burned sight faster nor they !
come out. Then | tied the two guns to-
gether with the prolong. hitched the only two |
hosseS that wasn't killed Wit TO 'em. an |
broke for the rear az fast as | could make |
'em go. You seen the rest just now. Bat |
got to fire them guns"