Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-11-11

We shall take them IN front across
the bridge and drive them before US,
while the others take them in the
flank"
This was all very well, but unfor.
tunately the good majors explanation
did not always tally with the facts.
To begin with the bridge had not been
blown up as he had promised. and
Vaughan began to have grave doubts
whether 1t would have been possible
to do anything OF the kind. He saw
no signs of a pontoon train In the
equipment of the Greek army. AS a
matter of fact. the unfortunate Greek
commander neither had IN pontoon
train nor any commissariat worthy OF
the name.
His total force In cavalry was exact
ly n hundred and twenty men. A
General 90 provided would have need
ed the genius of a Hannibal to conduct
a brilliant campaign Of invasion
against any but the weakest foe.
All that day the firing continued at
intervals. The chief comfort from
which Vaughan suffered was thirst. and
as he saw numbers Of the soldiers re-
firing from time to time to the rear to
fill their bottles with water he took oc-
car;on ~ foliow them
Passing through a grove of olives,
whose pale green foliage impaired al
most a melancholy tinge to the land
scape, he found himself in a series of
gardens, in which the orange trees were
in full fruit. This was an unexpected
boon. He did not know whom the
oranges belonged to, nor did he care
% ask. All is fair in love and war,
and he helped himself to the luscious
fruit. which he found to possess a fla
your such as no orange tasted in Eng
land had ever had. Finding that the
finest fruit grew high up on the tree,
he swarmed up amid the branches, sat
there plucking and eating the rich
glowing punches, while the bullets
whistled through the leaves all around
him.
By this time Vaughan had almost
ceased to notice the presence of the
leaden messengers. When the firing
came very fast and furious 1t annoyed
him. He felt like a man surrounded
by a swarm Of wasps. They were not
very dangerous, but their c~ontignity
was a little unpleasant.
Late that afternoon a sound OF some
furious volleys across the river gave
rise to the belief that the fianking force
had achieved it's object, and was driv-
ing away the enemy slowly up stream
on the other side. The Turks opposite
as if to shew that they were still in
command OF their position, commenced
a furious fire upon the point occupied
by the little engineer force. Vaughan
found himself loading and firing, re-
loading and firing again without a mo-
ment's intermission, till the barrel OF
his rifle was almost too hot for him
to load IL.
Once or twice during the heavy fire
he glanced along the line OF the trench
and was amused to see members of the
poor Greek soldiers crouching down
behind their breastwork and firing
aimlessly into the air, in the hope, nc
doubt. that their bullets might fall
somewhere among the enemy on the
opposite side.
AS a rife carries about a mile or a
mile and a half, and the enemy was
onl va few hundred yards away, 1t is
/ exceedingly improbable that any oil
these shots took effect. The fact was
that the Greek army was practically
without training in the use of their
weapons, and though the officers, with
commendable perseverance gave spec
ial directions to their men, 1t was to
be feared they were OF littles use. In
order to take aim at the enemy it was
of course. necessary to stand up and
expose ones head above the breast.
work.
While Vaughan was IN, the act Of
discharging his rife at a spot on the
opposite bank, where he thought he
had caught sight of a lurking foe, a
sudden splash of water struck his
cneek. His first impression was that II
must have come from the river, but
realizing the next moment that this
was impossible. he spoke to Cheriton
who explained the mystery. The cac-