The Irish standard., 1899-04-08
Sergeant Kay's Capture
T. BY Bleasdell Cameron

EIRST post had gone on the bugle at
i Fort Saskatchewan, and the ma jor
was sitting on the porch Of his quar-
tiers, discussing with his adjutant the
details Of a practice march arranged
the following week for B troop. The
hard blue Of the sky changed to pur-
pie, then TO steel-gray, and Saturn APP
peared low down on the western hori-
zon. Over the level stretches Of the
prairie the night wind blew softly,
rustling the yellow grass. 1t was pc
culiarly soothing to the two officers,
smoking in lazy contentment after an
arduous day in the blazing August sun.
They paused in their chat, and their
thoughts drifted to other lands; they
saw faces, the pensive faces of women
and the laughing ones of little chill
dren, while they watched the stars
come out, one by one, i'll the deepening
dusk. They remembered that those
same stars shone over the homes which
sheltered those women and children;
they seemed like sentinel eyes keeping
tireless vigil over those Loved ones,
separated from them by long leagues
of hill and plain and by the vicissitudes
of soldiers calling; and their hearts
warmed to their friendly twinkling.
AT length the majors vagrant
thoughts reverted to the matter in
hand. "rhirty miles will do for the
first day" he resumed. "That will take
you into the Beaver Hills, where
there's good camping, now the coo!
nights keep the flies down. How's
regimental number 2,142?"
"Al right again. sir" said the adiu-
tant. slight attack of influenza. the
veterinary surgeon said it was.
He'll
The door of the guard-house across
the square opposite swung open, and a
bugle rang out shrilly on the quiet
night air. The two officers spran" to
their feet. \ shot went off. followed
by another and another. Forms lttcd
back and forth through the bars of
light which strcamcd across the
paradc-ground from the barrack Win
dows The officer Of HE day hurried
up. touched his hat. and said:
81 have to report. sir, that the pris-
oners McCorllr and MiIligan have
ovcrpowcred the guard and escaped"
The ma, ior muttered something not
on record. took three strides up the
porch and two back. and then rapidly
delivered his orders:
Detail Kay and lIatherton to scout
south toward Blinlman's river: they'll
probably work round TO that vicinity.
sooner or later. Send Smith and Ed
monds north to the Nhnbasca Land
ing. and Murphy and Kraus east rs far
as Saddle lake. Fontane and Christian
son can take the north bank of the
Saskatchewan as far us Lac Ste. Anne"
Twenty minutes later the four de-
tails pulled out Of Fort Saskatchewan
OH blind search for rs choice a pair
OF blacklcgs as might have been found
anywhere within Il hundred miles.
UP to the winter before. some of the
Saskatchewan fellows had cultivated
the idea that they knew a little about
the game of poker, but after Cracker.
boN''-haptizcd William McCorkle-
had dwclt among them for Il month
they had been driven stubbornlv to the
conviction that somehow they had
made an error of Judgment. \ little
earlier, Calgary had been a flower. Il
night-blooming cerens. from the pro,
fessional gamblers point Of view, but
! the bloom had worn off: i; had become
too slow and staid. and Crackcrbox
!, nd hpa Il f,f ,,bo
and moved north. He thought there
! might be a profitable opening for him
there. and he was correct. His opera.
tions at the green-tablc had been quite
satisfactory to himself and necessarily
anything but satisfactory to anyone
else. Still. the game went on. and
CrackerboX continued to pull down his
| jack-pots with compliment regularity
until one night things happened. II
had been his deal of course. lie was
discovered with four mines in his hand
and as three We're held among the
other players round the board Crack
crbox was called on for explanations
which he gave-at the point of six
shooter. They carried the wounded
guard-housc. lie had done fatigue
duty on the woodpile and round tn,
kitchen sink under the eye of an un
| sympathetic sentry. and, while he die
not say so. thought it was no sort oil
! occupation for Il ycntlcmanly prcfcs
sional gambler. lie had been awaiting
with feelings of deep distruSt the de
parturc Of the next stage. which shou!C
carry him to the territorial pen tc
abide events while the sick mar
fingered. Perhaps they would ever
show so little Difference TO his clo1 i
and scnsitiveness there as to put him
on the stone-ple with abscondnc
bank officers and other low violators
of the law! The thought made his
nostris curl "But now" as he said tc
himself on the night of his escape. "we
have changed all that" The stage
would depart without him.
Milligan, the other fugitive. was a
promoter; and Miligan was in trouble,
as promoters now and then are apt Ia
be. He had been the chief instrument
in the mutiny that had occurred in
b troop three months before. and was
serving year at hard labor in the
guard-house for his zeal in a cause
which had been promptly frowned
down.
Early in the morning on the third
day after the escape, two cavaIrymcn
were riding across the prairie toward
| n distant 1or Shop1; Inside tho ~, II