The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-07
How He Died.

| the plOW. 1neE proved lOSelner lOT TWO
| hours One of ''Bess' " eyes was blind
| the left one. They had breakfast at S,
| and Jock asked the blessing: We thank
| Thee, O. Father. for giving us our daily
| bread" That was all. He remembered
| it. every word. He wondered if Jock
| asked the blessing yet II had a letter
| in his pocket from his mother and Jock.
/ Neither of them could write, so the min
| lister had written il for them But his
| mother had spoken it all-he knew her
| in every word-except that bat at the
| got his leg broken in the act of hanging
! on 10 Bess tail. That was Jocks contri-
| button. hose terrible flies. He coulGn :
| turn round either. Something wrong
with his back He couldn't feel anything.
He seemed 10 be resting on air. and the
ar hurt him.
He was lying beside a rock. It was
| black-smooth-hard. 1t cleaned with the
many colors of an opal where tie sun
| struck it. The sun was going down. 1t
seemed TO be hot with its days work.
| 1t buried its red face in the sand. How
! silent everything was, 1t was ike the
! kirk on the Sabbath. How large the
rock was when he lay at its feetl Like
| life He had never thought II so large
when lie walked about 1t four hours ago.
| Like life again. He had walked about it
on his feet. How strange to walk on one 5
| feet
| Where were the soldiers-his mates
| Were they all killed? He was alive, but
| dying His heart throbbed too fast How
! still everything was; no humming in the
| air, or yelling Of the black white-elad
| devils, o. oaths. or squirtings of blood
| nothing but silence. Could he turn lis
| head? He could. but something like
not water trickled over his brow. There
| was dead black Arab about two yards
away-a CHASTITY bunch of mortality. How
| black he wasl Jock had never seen a
| black man. His eyes were staring at him
| like balls Of glass. What were the staring
at him for? His teeth were clenched.
and his right hand held d spear. The
spear point was red. One dark leg was
drawn up. He looked like waxwork
figure blown over by the wind.
| When did he leave home? Two years
| ago-two years ago-two years ago.
| He remembered that morning very well.
| A bonnie morning. The birds were sing
| ing and the burn murmuring to itself.
| 1t would be murmuring now Jock would
| he in bed by this time. The great mount
aims were clothed in purple-crimson
| thrones. The sheep dotted them with
white spots, and they were very silent
| and lonesome. He had his red coat on,
and his sword and all; but he cried as
| he went over the brae
| He remembered it very well. "Slong
Jock" he had said. but they never shook
| hands. 'S'long, Dick said Jock, and
combed down the mare.
"S'long, mother" His mother was max
| ing Jocks porridge-stirring it on the fire.
| Tom, the cat. squirmed in and out and
around his legs his tail in air, as though
| he was drunk. Oh God!
Rover followed him up the brae. Ro-
yer was his collie his dog. They rad
worked together many morning up on
| the hills. He had shared his breaktas -
many a time That nigger's eyes-how
| they stared. Rover stared at him Ike
| that. ''Hame!" he cried. 'Hame vi We.
/ Rover!' The dog whined, but dill not
| move. He took up stone and flung IT
at the dog. 1t struck it. lie covered
under the blow. "Hame, Roveri" he
| cried sternly, and the tears ran down
his cheeks. The dog ran back a little
way, faced about, pumped down on the
heather and watched him. When he turn
ed at the top of the brae and looked
back it was watching him still.
A brown fly was standing on the black
rock about a foot from his face. 1t
stood very STILL 1t might have been paint
| ed. He watched it intently. Its wings
were like the glistening armor. Its feet
and legs were bright and red. 1t had
/ been wading in blood. Woulc IL never
/ go? He could not raise his hand to brush
/ it away He blew it with his breath
! gaspingly-but it did not bulge. Suddenly
/ it started away.
Was the world dead that everything
4 was so hushed? Something hovled very
| far away-a dog, perhaps. How beaut-
| full the desert was-like a great beach
with the ocean rolled away out of sight.
! A ha ~
! But one did not die in heaven. A star
! glimmered very far away, like a SHIN
mering jewel in a deep blue evening robe.
| The moon rose up to the roof of the
world like a yellow Chinese lantern.
Why was he lying here? How had 1t
! happened? Then he remembered-the reg
! iment standing in the sandy desert wait
I ing for the rush. How strange II all was.
/ The silence was terrible. A man behind
! him began TO laugh. Another swOre
| oaths in a low voice. Another said: Got
a bite o. baccy. mate2' Then, from be-
hind the rocks. long row OF white
smoke pufTs curled up, like smoke from
! gigantic pipes Rem tongues spit at them
| The air hummed and whistled. A man 5
/ hat went off. A bayonet fell with a jim
| gle, and man sat down upon the sand
with a scared white face. fddling with
the buttons OF his coat. Somebody began
| TO moan Inc captain SalQ- STEADY
| men. Take the beggars low down.
Then the great dark wave, white-crest-
ed. come racing across the yellow beach.
It broke upon the red rock-fierce, angry
/ faces, blazing eyes, white teeth, big flap
ping feet He set his teeth and drove
| his bayonet in a big black body. How
| soft il was. 1t squirmed on the end Of il
Ike a fly on the end of a pin.
! Then the blow came-a terrible shock
/ II seemed TO lift him into the air and
fling him backward Something stopped
J his ears. The Keeling black and red fig
/ ures flashed downward
Now he was lying beside the rock. How
| strange he felt, That dead soldier-!iOw
/ white his face was, A little hole in ais
forehead-a little red pea. LIE had leapec
| through that. What a small thing "a
/ was, Who was moaning for wa:er2 Nas
II he. or some one behind him? He could
/ not tell Il was getting cold The stars
were all watching him The beautiful
| desert That was Rover bowling He
. was very near How loud the howiins
wasi Deaths watchdogs. he was near
! deaths house.
81 long. Jock" How dizzy ne felt. Hs
/ could not see very wei.
S'Ionv. mother" A black mist rushei
! over the sand.
HIS head tunbled backward as thopgH
I a prop had been suddenly removed. The
diamond eyes turned into gas OF a vais
/ blue ard green color.
Extract from tae newspapers-ths sol
! dier's ep'taph. Killed in the sudan
Richard AcDorald. aged 2
No Microbes i'm the Mountains.
4 scientist. looking for microbes. sayF
there are absolutely none on Ne sEss'