Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-08-25

der Meflodew to follow, Tor his chat.
tering teeth and his grin were sure
signs OF fright. Remembering a by
| road short distance back running into
dense wood, determined to take Il,
A few minutes run brought us to 1t,
and, turning, we found concealment
In another moment we heard firing In
the road.
And here at the very outset I proved
the grounds of the generals want Of
confidence in me by disobeying his In
structions to let the others do the fight,
ing and stick to Margaret. Leaving her
with Mellodew, who was still shivering
and grinning like an ape in midwinter
galloped back to take a hand in the
fight. Scarcely had I entered the main
road when I heard a Gathering Of hoofs
ahead and saw PUNK and his men com.
ing full tilt before troop of rebel cav.
airy. The situation brought me to my
senses. Turning, I rejoined Margaret
found her alone.
where's Mellodew3"
"Gone. There he Is now"
| AS she spoke, Mellodew emerged
from a thicket and tore through nj
open space not far distant. A second
time l lost my head, thinking only Oh
getting my hands on the cowardly
sneak, and, leaving Margaret, spurred
after him, though this time my action
was not altogether unwise, for Mello.
dew had our mess kit and blankets. ]
caught him hating on ditch over
which he dared not jump, and, Selling
his bride rein, dragged him back to
Margaret.
PUNK, who was better mounted than
his men, led the fight, and, recognizing
an opportunity to insure our safety
drew the confederates past the point
OF our DEPRESSION. Farther on he man.
aged to elude them, and soon after re.
Joined us. have never seen nor heard
of any other Of the men from that day
to this.
A relief from immediate danger
brought renewal of my anger at Mel.
lodew. "You sneak" "a cuff) you COW.
ard" "a cuff), ''you chalk-faced, grin.
ming, chattering idiot, I'll teach you to
desert us at the approach of danger
Turn over the kit and 60 back to camp
and I'll attend to you when 1 return"
mo, lieutenant" protested PUNK
who rode up at the moment; don't re.
ward him for desertion; leave him to
me; I'll watch him. He's only a beast
OF burden, and you can't expect dumb
brute to take care of himself in fight
For once Mellodew did not grin; he
cast malignant glance at me, such as
a dog might cast at the master who had
whipped him.
"All right, corporal; take him under
your wing. But what shall we do?
We've lost our escort"
"And better off, lieutenant, than we
We're before. We're in a country swarm
in with the enemy, and no escort is bet
ter than small one. We've got to
skull1."
True. Lead on, and when you reach
farmhouse, go in, feel your way with
the inmates, and if you find you can
trust them, get me some 'butternuts,
and some clothes for the pack mule Mel
lodew."
"All right. I'll try that cabin yon-
der"
When we arrived there, Margaret and
took position in an orchard while
PUNK went ahead to reconnoiter. He
was gone but little while, and when he
returned he told me to go with him tc
| the house.
"Are they union 2" asked.
"Not much"
"Afixed?"
mot mixed, neither" aa
"What! Rebel?"
"Rebel, hot"
"How the devil do you expect me to
go among rebels in this tog?"
II fixed up lie on 'em, lieutenant;
and my experience is, if you're goin
to lie at all, the bigger one you tell the
better chance you have of bein' be-
lieved. / told 'em we were confed.
crate prisoners escapin'; that l had
got cts clothes and you and Mel.
lodew had stolen Yankee uniforms as
the best you could do under the cir.
cumstances, and now you want to
change off to country farmer"
~ Sl'ASi'ool VI Ills AdASSllOOQ uCCOuu-
plished its purpose. Mellodew and ]
exchanged our uniforms for citizens
clothes, and, after breakfasting with
the family who furnished them, we pro.
ceeded on our journey.
We were now on the outskirts Of
Charleston. The railroad ran through
the town, crossed the Hiwassee by c
bridge, and through the little towr
Calhoun on the opposite bank. The
prospect of going through these two
towns or over railroad bridge was
not inviting. We therefore bore to the
right, crossed the river above by ap
propriating skitf we found tied tc
the bank, and half a mile farther or
struck a road which led us to hill sep
arating us from the point we sought
Once on the crest, there before us was
spread out the valley of the Tennessee
while directly beneath was the rail
road. Passing into ravine, Margarer
led the way to crevice between two
rocks.
There" she said, pointing, sis the
mouth of the cave"
To be continued