Evening star., 1900-12-15

across the way. His verdict was imme
Glate, comprehensive, characteristics:
This manll never live to be hanged.
Take him to the hospital right off,
And so ii happened that when the regl-
| mcnt marched with others to reinforce the
command of ''old Maj. Slowtrot," dispatched
against the fiery Tennesseean. who, leading
his men through Cumberland gap, was
menacing central Kentucky opposite Mill
Springs, loyal faces in Company looked
Nanly for the bright, soldier.y fellow they
longed to hail first lieutenant-Private
Hot-who, accused Of treachery in deiber-
ately misleading scouting force. giving
warning to the enemy and betraying three
officers and thirty men into their hands, lay
writhing in the grasp Of brain fever in hos
pital. The man whom the company might
have considered but small loss, now that
they were beyond The reach Of those COM
modtieS with which his bounty and wealth
had so often supplied them, was most un-
willingly trudging along with the column
and cursing the luck that postponed the
trial Of Private Holt, on which occasion he
had promised himself and the Judge adyo-
cate of the department he would be present
with highly important testimony. At no
time had he been over-anxious to come
within range of hostile bullet. and at no time
had he ever been so anxious to sojourn in
Louisville. Strange. indeed was the turn
Of fortune that, sending his rival, Norman
Holt, to long languishing within hospital
walls. brought hither. too. only few days
later the girl on whose account his hatred
or Holt had become deadly.
Young Lane, stricken down by some kind
Of camp fever while at the 'front.' had man
aged to elude the vigilance Of attendants
break out of bounds and bring on relapse
so severe that 1t was deemed best to send
him back to the permanent hospital at
Louisville; and thither he was borne as the
regiment marched away, or letters were
written direct to Maj. Lane, judge advo-
Gates department. who was stationed east
He could not be spared, but down came his
wife and daughter, the mother and sister
OF the reckless soldier ol,
the first thing to fit across Hollis returning
consciousness the vision Of the face he
loved, which looked, yet never saw him az
all.
Nor could she be blamed! Severe Illness
had greatly changed him. Neither Mrs
Lane nor her daughter recognized In the
gaunt' haggard fuzzy bearded lad. lying so
white and still across the big, airy room.
the brave-hearted fellow whose welcome
home they had attended the year agone
But he saw. knew, marveled and i'm
portuned the steward for Information.
Certainly that was Lanes folks from Ci1-
cinnati and Lane was very ILL., too much
so to be moved, and the doctors though: the
case most serious. The ladies were come
to take him home, but stayed to nurse
him.. That was what Lieut. Malloy, It
might be shrewdly suspected, would be glad
to do. He anything but fond of hard
marching over frosty roads. January was
gone when Norman Holt began to feel
strength returning to him. He had lost in
terest in a campaign that brought moth
Ing but misery and misunderstanding, but
the sight of her face revived all, or at least
much of all the old longing, and love brings
life and kindles ambition and will and de-
terminate tss
New cases were coming every day from
the front. Other buildings Were f''ing with
the sick, though the army entel.ag Ken
lucky was hardy as any ever sent to the
field from first to last Of that long. trying
war. And when the news came that Buck
ner had let go at Bowling Green and was
falling back to the Cumberland, great was
the rejoicing among the Union camps and
great were the accessiOns at the hospitals
for Buckner cared not to be burdened with
wounded and SO those too severely hit to
be able to hobble were left behind for the
pursuing Yank. Among those brought in
were two men Of Wings squadron, who had
been badly shot in the assault on Belleview
were captured by the enemy, and after
time trunded over to Bowling Green. Now,
barely convalescent, these two troopers
had been turned over to the care of the
one day soon after Holt was able to sit up
an hour or SO he saw them brought in and
noted the queer look on the stewards face
as, answering his languid question, that Of
ficial replied:
1.-TWO Of that squadron that got cut up
trying to capture batch Of reb officers Wis
iting at-well, you know more about it
than do, unless everybody lies"
So even here, thought Norman, the belief
was general that he had deliberately led
that luckless column into an ambuscade. 1t
made him shrink the more from his fellows,
yet invested these wounded troopers with
keen and pathetic interest. To the young
and pure-hearted it Is a source of bitter
| sorrow to be misjudged. With advancing
years one gains philosophy, or enforced en-
durance. with the discovery that life 10