Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-07-19

er knelt in rear of his center. II was
Billy Gray. adjutant of the Third bat.
| talon, acting that day as adjutant t
| the regimeRtal commander. The bull.
lets whistled by his head as be darted
springingly along; and in their Joy
at sight of him even old hands forgot
the reserve of the regular service and
some man shouted: Now we're off,
and the popular query: whats the
matter with Lieut.. Gray?"
At any other time, under any other
circumstances, both questioner anC
respondents who gleefully shouted
Hes all right" would have been
promptly and sternly suppressed. But
the senior captain at their head well
knew the excitement tingling in the
nerves of that long-suffering line, and
only smiled and nodded sympathy
He saw, too, that Gray was quivering
with pent-up feeling, as the boy halted
short, saluted. and. striving to steady
his eager voice, said:
Captain, the colonel directs that
you open sharp fire on the woods in
your front and occupy the enemy there.
He is about to charge with the Third
battalion and drive them out of the
trenches we've located over yonder;"
and Billy pointed eagerly to the left
front-the southeast.
The captains grizzled face took on a
look of keen disappointment. You
mean we've got to stay here and see
you fellows go imp
"Only for few minutes, sir. The
colonel says that for you to charge be-
fore he's got onto their flank w Kid cost
too many men. You'll get the word as
soon as he's got the works"
well said, Billy boy! That sounds
almost epigrammatic. Hullo. You
hit? Stoop down here, man. Don't
try to get perforated"
MY hat only" was the answer, as the
boy stopped quickly to hide the ire
pressible twitching about the muscles
of his lip. A Remington had ripped
from side to side, tearing way through
the curly hair at the top of his head
and almost scoring the scalp. To save
his soul he could not quite suppress
the trembling of his knees; but steady
ing himself by great effort, he contin-
ued: The colonel says to commence
firing by volley the moment our bugles
sound the charge. Now l must get
back"
"All right, youngster. Tell the col
onel l savoy, and We'll Go our level best
only, let us into it as quick as you
can"
But Gray heard only the first part Of
the sentence. He was painting when
he reached his placid, gray -mustached
chief, and could only gasp,out: The
captain understands, sir" And then
the regimental commander simply
turned to the battalion leader stand
ing silent at his left in little clump of
timber-another veteran captain grown
gray as himself in long, long years of
service:
"Now's our time, old man! Pitch in!
Gray. We'll go with him."
All along the line from right TO left
there ran the cross-country road con-
Meeting the broader highway, from Ma
late to San Rafael and Paranaque on
the west, and from Pace by way of Sim
EdlOlA ~ asa III AAOhI VI lllG liz
wing all was swamp, morass or rice
fields. In front of the left wing all was
close, dense bamboo and jungle, save
where the broad, straight roadway led
on past Block House Is, or the narrow
er cart track stretched southwark, over
arched in places by spreading branches,
and commanded at its narrowest path
by the swarm of dusky fighters in
Block House IL. A year before the blue
shirts stormed these forest strongholds
from the south, and took them from the
troops of Spain. Now they were com
PEELED to turn and storm them from the
north; for, just as Stanley Armstrong
said at San Francisco, the Filipinos had
turned upon their ally and would-be
friend. Aguinaldo had bearded Uncle
Sam.
And while the volunteers and regu-
lars to the right could only remain in
support, it fell to the lot of the left
wing of this brave brigade to assault in
almost impenetrable position an enemy
armed with magazine rifles or breech
leaders, and entirely at home. The
bugles rang the signal; the officers in
silence took their station, and, stepping
into the narrow pathways through the
jungle, crouching along the roadways
or crashing through the stiff bamboo.
the blue shirts drove ahead. Two, three
minutes and their purpose seemed an
discovered. Then suddenly Block House
II blazed with fire and a storm of bull
let's swept the road. The earthworks in
the thicket 10 the right and left seemed
to be crowded with a running flame; and
down on their faces fell the foremost
soldiers, their gallant leader shot
through and through, plunging head
long, yet in his dying agony waving his
surviving men TO get to cover. Nenge-
fully now the "Krags" opened in reply
10 Remington and Mauser. The blue
shirts struggled inch by, inch through
the network of bamboo. Still the
storm swept up the roadway, and no
man could hope to face it and live. But.
little by little. the low-aimed, steady
volleys, driven in by squad and section