The Princeton union., 1900-10-04

y. III. Jne SKIES were OPerCdSC. Ou1y
here and there twinkling star was
visible, and only where some trooper
struck a light for his pipe could
hand be seen in front of the face. The
ambulance mules that had kept their
steady jog during the late afternoon
and the long cleaning that followed
still seemed able to maintain the gait,
and even the big, numbering wagon at
the rear came briskly on under the tug
of Its triple span, but in the intense
darkness the guides at the head Of the
column kept losing the road, and the
humping of the wagons would reveal
the fact, and halt would be ordered,
men would dismount and go bending
and crouching and feeling their way
over the almost barren surface, hunt
ing among the sage brush for the dou-
BILE furrow of the trail. Matches in
Vulnerable were consumed, and min
utes of valuable time, and the quarter
master waxed fretful and impatient,
and swore that his mules could find
their way where the troopers couldn't,
and finally, after the trail had been lost
and found half dozen times, old
Brooks was badgered into telling
Dean to let the ambulance take the
lead. The driver shirked at once.
"There's no tellin' where We'll fetch
up,' said he. "Those mules can't see
the trail if man can't. Take their
harness off and turn 'em loose, an T
suppose they can find their way to
the post, but sure as you turn them
loose when they've got somethin' on
'em, or behind 'em, and the doggone
cussedness of the creatures will
prompt them to smash things"
But the quartermaster said he'd
tried it with those very mules, between
Emory and Medicine Bow dozen
times, and he'd risk it. The driver
could get off his seat If he wanted to,
and run alongside, but he'd stay where
he was.
''Let me out, please" Said the en-
gineer, and jumped to the ground,
and then the cavalcade pushed on
again. The driver, as ordered by an
employer whom he dare not disobey,
let the reins drop on the mules backs,
the troopers falling behind, the
yellow ambulance and the big baggage
wagon bringing up the rear.
Then, with a horseman on each side,
the. mules were persuaded to push on
again, and then when fairly started
Burleigh called to the troopers to fall
back, so that the mules should not, as
he expressed it, "be influenced" .""Leave
them to themselves and they can get
along all right" said he. "but mix
them up with the horses, and they
want them to take all the RESPONSE
blltE: ~s.''~s~.s'>A.~.
b. And now the command was barely
crawling. Brooks, heavy, languid with
splitting headache, lay in feverish tor
por in his ambulance, asking only to be
let alone. The engineer, a subaltern as
yet, felt that he had no ght attempt
ing to advise men like Burleigh, who
proclaimed himself an old campaigner
The aid-de-camp was getting both
sleepy and impatient, but he, too, was
much the quartermaster's junior in
rank. AS for Dean, he had no volition
whatever. escort the party" were his
orders, and that meant that he must
govern the movements of his horses anc
men by the wishes of the senior staff of
ficial And so they logged along per
haps 20 minutes more. and ther
there was sudden splutter and plunge
and stumble ahead, sharp pull on thu
traces, a narvelously quick jerk bacl
on the reins that threw the wheel team
on their launches, and, thereby savet
the "outfit,' - for when men and matche!
were hurried to the front the lead mules
were discovered kicking and splashin{
in mud hole. They were not only of
the road by dozen yards, but over
bank two feet high.
And this last pound broke the bac]
of Burleigh's obstinacy. 1t was nearl,
midnight anyway. The best thing t.
be done was to unhitch, unsaddie an,
bivouac until the gray light of daw1
came peering over the eastward prai
rie, which In that high latitude an,
"long-day" month would soon be afte
three. Then they could push on t.
Reno.
Not until nearly eight o'clock in tn
morning, therefore, did they keave i
sight of the low belt of dingy gree
that told of the presence of a strea1
still long miles away; and here, know
ing himself to be out of danger, th
major bade the weary escort march i
at walk while he hurried on. In ]
minutes the black-hooded wagon wa
twisting and turning over the powder
road good mile ahead, it's dust risin
high over the sage-covered desert, whil
the other two, with the dust-begrime
troopers, logged sturdily on. Lorin{
the young engineer, had waved a col
dial good-by to his old cadet acquain
ance. "See you later, old man." h
cried. Stone, the aid-de-camp, nodde
and said: ''Take care of yourself" an
Burleigh said nothing at ALL He we
wondering what he could do to muzz.
Loring in case that gifted young grad'
ate were moved to tell what the qua
termaster actually did when he hear
the rush and firing out at the front O
the road from Warrior Gap. ...