Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-02-17
The Man Who Ran
at San Juan Hill.
By Albert 6igelow Paine.

deep black woods that looked straight
up to where few stars we're showing.
The drowning rain that had continued
here for a week or more was at an
end. Presently the moon appeared.
The fresh air in the coach awak-
ened others. A few began to talk in
low voices, as if fearing to disturb
the sleepers who breathed heavily
about them. Some one began peel
ing an orange. and the pungent,
sweet odcr filled the coach. A baby
woke up and cried grievingly.
Half way down the coach man in
a seat by himself leaned forward
against the next seat, his head in his
arms. A few seats ahead of him sat
two men in soldier dress. These had
awakened aud were talking. One,
who was slim and rather dark, said,
sleepily:
"What d'y' s'pose they're stoppin'
for, Bill, anyway"
The other. a stouter, light-haired
man, yawned.
Dunno; washout, likely"
The conductor entering just then
with lantern confirmed this opinion.
A small bridge had been Weakened
it would require an hour to repair it.
He fingered a moment to talk with
the soldiers. 81 suppose you fellows
are anxious to get home now," he
said. -
The slim, dark man nodded. The
| stout soldier laughed.
"Of counsel" he said. "But we
can take our time. When q fellows
been up San Juan Hill and come out
alive he Gun afford to wait little fer
other things"
Behind them the man leaning for
ward in his arms started. Perhaps
he was just waking. Other passen
gers awoke, too, and sat up to listen.
The conductor was Interested. $50
you were at San Juan?" he said.
"Pretty hot there, wasn't it?"
"Hot enough fer me-" This from
the slim man.
"How did it feel, anyway, to have
the bullets coming right at you?
Didn't you feel like you wanted to
get out O. there?"
The man behind moved uneasily in
his arms. No doubt he wanted to
sleep, and was not interested The
stout soldier laughed again as he an
swered 80.
you're mighty right! u; If I'd ever
got turned around I'd been runnin'
yeti" 81.
Several people in the coach laughed
softly. The man with his head in his
arms uttered something like smoth-
cred groan. Why didn't they let him
sleep?
"Did anybody run?" asked the con-
ductor.
The slim sollier opened his lips to
reply, but laughed instead. His COM
rade laughed, too.
"Did anybody run?" he echoed at
last. "Well, we didn't see but one,
but he run fast enough fer the whole
regiment. Then they laughed again,
and others who were awake joined
them; all but the man leaning for
ward with his head in his arms. He
only wrlthed uneasily, and groaned as
one tortured. But no one noticed
! him.
"You ought to seen him." put in
the slim soldier. ga jack-rabbit
would be fool compared to that fell
low. He made regular crack in the
atmosphere, didn't he, Bill?"
"You bet! He only hit the high
places"
"And d'y' remember how scared he
looked?"
"Scared! He looked like he'd been
dead fer week."
Most of the passengers were awake
by this time, and laughing. The man
with the bowed head only shrank
down into his shoulders, and clinched
his hands.
"What did they do to him?" The
conductor took up his lamp to 60, and
the soldiers arose to follow. They
also would look after the progress OF
the work. TIE slim soldier al
swered. ooh, nothin'," he said;
"jes' let him 60. I reckon he's still
goin' somewhere"
They left the coach. The passengers
behind talked of the war in subdued
tones. Many opened windows to look
out. The man with bowed head
shivered. Perhaps he was cold. By
and by the soldiers stalked in again,
laughing. The train moved on slowly
through the deep woods. The warm
summer air came in, and the smell Of
wet trees. Those who had awakened
slept. Only the man with bowed
head moved now and then uneasily.
The train ran very slowly through
the night, coming now and then al
most to standstill. Then at last it
increased its speed little. Then
little more. By and by a roar as OF a
waterfall came in at the open windows.
| Almost at the same instant rending,
tearing crash-a scream of some one
waking-a falling away of all beneath,
and then about, above and below
from every side it came-the choking,
drowning water.
A moment later there were strug-
Cling forms ON the surface of the
moonlit river. A few with presence
of mind were dragging themselves
through the open windows to air and
life above the food. One man, a
strong swimmer, reached the shore
and helped two others up the bank.
They were the two soldiers. The
man who aided them plunged back to
save others. He caught another man
| just on the point of exhaustion and