Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-05-23

style of telling it. How breathlessly
have myself hung upon his lips in
agony of apprehension for the fate of
the hero, as he dipped his hands into
the but that is to anticipate. I sus-
pect that a critical llstener-if any one
could listen and remain critical, which
doubt-might have detected some
vagueness as to date and place. If
my memory serves, the old gentleman
told the tale as story of the Carlist
rising in Spain, and dated it about 81
But it is fair to say it may have been
Mexico or China, and any date you
please. SO now for the story.
The generals had been in consulta-
tion all the morning. Hour after hour
passed by, and the wretched prisoners,
closely guarded, waited on in all the
agony OF suspense. There were four
hundred of them in all, few haggard
women and half-starved children
among them. As you may imagine,
there was not much conversation. The
men, for the most part, We're dogged
and sullen. Some of the younger ones
assumeda mood of forced gayety which
deceived no one. And still captives
and captors stood watching for signs
of movement about the entrance to the
Generals tent which would announce
the end of the conference, and that the
fateful decision had been arrived at.
At last, soon alter noon, there was
q murmur of excitement. The sol
diers on guard drew themselves up in
military fashion and roughly CON
strained their prisoners into line. The
Commander-in- Chief of the victorious
army emerged from the tent, mounted
his horse and advanced slowly to
where the captured force was drawn
up, as if he did not half like the duty
he had to discharge. He held a pa
per in his hand, and as he refined up
his horse and proceeded to read it,
you might almost have heard the pull
sations Of four hundred hearts.
The substance of the message was
awful. Every man, woman and child
was to be shot; they would be allowed
until 6 o'clock next morning to pre-
pare themselves for death. The gem
erals were determined to strike terror
into all hearts. Moreover, it was we'll
known that provisions were scarce,
and it was easier to shoot their pris-
oners than to feed them; so the four
hundred We're doomed.
The scene that followed this fright
full proclamation battles description.
Some of the male prisoners who had
awaited it with most apparent uncon-
Germ broke into wild volleys of oaths
and curses. Fathers clasped their
children in their arms, as if with the
intention of defending them. The
children We're the least moved in all
the throng. Such was the effect upon
the condemned. But more serious.
and of far greater moment, was the
effect upon the victorious army. Sol
diers trained to find terrible 10Y in
battle have an unconquerable aversion
to cold-blooded massacre and to shoot
ing down defenseless men, women and
children, simply because they have
fought losing fight Moreover,
these prisoners were of their own flesh
and blood, natives of the one father
land; and the bitterness of civil war
could not destroy the fact of their
common race and lineage. The con-
sequence was that in the course of an
hour or two it became known to the
generals that their own troops were On
the verge of mutiny.
Then there was further conference.
held in hot haste, and lasting late like
the other The sun went down upon
the misery of that doomed host, which
had only death to look for with the
dawn. About 10 o'clock the sound of
n trumpet was heard through the
camp, and confused noise as of troops
rapidly mastering. Then followed q
second proclamation. TIE generals
had decided to be less than just that
they might be more than merciful.
They would make an example of forty
out of the four hundred; and, as the
fairest method of determining which
of the prisoners should die, they would
compel them to draw lots in the
morning. -Four hundred papers
woald be placed in bag, ana OF
these four hundred papers forty would
bear blood-red cross; the remainder
of the papers would be blank. Every
man, woman and child must draw out
paper, and for the forty who drew
those with the red cross, Death; fol
the rest, Life.
At the appointed hour an officer gal
loped up with the bag, shaking it as
he went, that every one might know
that the tokens of Life and Deatl
were fairly mixed. Then he dis
mounted, and the business of drawing
lots began. There was breathles
stiffness in the camp, and it was curl
Gus to notice how the prisoners be
haved under their ordeal Some o
them, when they drew blank, wavet
the little white paper above thei