New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-16

And they found him. sound asleep at his
! post. IL might have been for moment; IT might
| have been for two hours. Asleep he was, at any
rate, when relief arrived. His post was the most
/ important on the whole line and ITS sentinel
asleep How could they know he had fought so
! hard to keep awake-and he had only fallen as
they were at hand? They had found him so.
/ and it was death. He knew that. He had not
been in the service six years to forget that. There
was no excuse that would save a sentinel from
/ ieath who fell asleep at his post in time Of war
and in the face Of the enemy. AS the grim faces
of the men that fell in about him to take him to
/ the guardhOuse showed sign Of compassion.
/ so Morton realized that he could expect enc
/ from any quarter but must suffer the full pen
atty of his crime
1t did not occupy much time his trial and con-
viction. The days were too busy for that
/ those days before Santiago. between Ell Caney,
San Juan and the surrender.
They grim and powder blackened, with
torn and faded uniforms that group Of officers
quickly called together for court-martial, but
they were stern and just The evidence v as
clear-there was no defence-the sentence pIief
Private Morton for sleeping on post was 10 be
shot To death. in the presence of his regiment.
the following day at noon. The action OF the
! court martial had been approved by the com
/ mander. and but few short hours remained
for the condemned man between this and an
other world.
In the old San Juan blockhouse. that served
az a prison now. lay Private Morton stretched
on the rough floor. and covered with his blanket
There time enough to sleep here. and that
sleep which seemed so precious but short time
ago and which would finally cost him mis- ife
why would il not come TO him now ard smut
! out the awful realities of his position? Why
could ne not stop thinking for moment and
sleep? Perhaps ii would come If he would only
turn on the other side. No that foot pained too
badly. Why did il not pain enough TO Keep him
awake that dreadful night-when was ii, year
ago or only last night? He could not tell. for he
had lost all sense Of time. Was he going crazy?
Ii not such dreadful thing to die. He had
faced death thousand times. and was not
afraid Of that During that charge up the NIL
the Lieutenant 1ad called 10 him, private Nor
ton. cut these wires" He was not afraid then
but had stepped out Of the brush into that hor-
nets nest of lead. and with his nippers cut every
wire before he left-and not bullet hit him.
though the lieutenant and eight or ten other
fell dead before they got through the gap
he had made Perhaps he bore charmed life.
and they might not hit him when they came 10
try to Kill him next day. 1t was the disgrace OF
it all though. In the presence Of his regi-
ment'-that had been the sentence. and the dis
grace of standing before his comrades. con-
demned for neglect of duty he Private Morton,
who had served six years in his regiment. and
had never a mark against his name before
This worse than death. II he could only
sleep a little while and forget that part Of H.
But that tooth would persist in paining 50. and
one ragged point kept cutting his tongue and
filling his mouth with blood that almost choked
him al times 50 that no sleep would come
Outside. the guard was pacing back and forth
keeping faithful watch over the wretched pris-
oner within. who turned and tossed upon the
hard floor in vain effort To find relief in sleep
He could hear the sentneis steady pace, and
began TO count the FOOTBALLS a sort Of relief
for his wakefulneSs. About sixty or then Woula
make a minute. or would il take hundred
perhaps not more than thirty. He would count
a while, and then try to fix the time Strange
that his mind should dwell such trifies at
such a time. Perhaps the sentinel would go 10
sleep Possibly he was asleep now, and he
might walk out to liberty. If only ne were not
so tired he would try it, but he must sleep.
With such feYerish fancies did the night pass
away. and then the brief forenoon seemed all
too short. They would come for him in rev
4 h
doom before the whole regiment Who would
come and who would be told off for the firing
party? He hoped they would be good shots
"Reddy James would surely be one he was al
ways on every special detail. and that bristlinS
red mustache would be sure to stand out SITTER
than ever to-day "Meay' Mason would be an
other. He was the man the sergeant always de-
tailed to shoot the sick and disabled horses the
summer they were up in the Bad Lands. But
before he could count up any more the lieuten-
ant came TO inform him that the time was up,
and he must march to the place OF execution.
1t struck him as a liule peculiar just then that
no chaplain had been sent to help smooth his
pathway to the grave; but il did not give him
much concern, as he never had much use for a
chaplain anyway. and all the boys knew il.
Another thing seemed queer. Had he not seen
the lieutenant fall there at the barbed-wire fence
with a bullet through his head? But here he
was and did not seem to be any the worse for
it. only his face terribly white and CHASTITY.
and a great splash Of blood almost covered his
once white gauntlet. Now he came to think Of
it, "Mealy' had fallen at the fence with the
whole side of his head torn away. so after all
he would not be one Of the firing party. He
wondered if his mother would know Of his dis
grace and If she would be there He remem-
bered now that he had heard her voice singing
Rock Of Ages some time last night. just as she
used TO when he was little chap ana she sang
him to sleep at night
The officer started to read something from a
large roll of manuscript, but stopped with an
oath You know what 1t IS he SAID Tor
ward march," And Private George Morton
took his blanket from the floor, rolled 1t up
properly as became a United States Regular
and followed his lieutenant to the scene OF MS