The Washington weekly post., 1900-03-27
KILLING HIS MAN.
b. n QrAp

~ n N(iAt
There was peace in war-that is. the
armies were in winter quarters. with
miles OF neutral ground between. and eX-
cept for a little skirmishing along the
front. there was rest for half a million
men. Men had grown weary OF marches
and battles and killing. They wanted O.
forget the cries Of the wounded and the
sight Of the dead. Along the river and for
est and over the old fields the picIets or
either side stacked their muskets and ig-
nored each others presence. In the heat
OF a campaign they would have been
sharpshOOting at each Other-hgJing dOdg-
ing. ambushing kHling-but now they
smoked their pipes OF roasted acorns and
read their letters from home as they went
on duty
Have ever killed a mang'
or sudden. as he lay doing on his
bed I'm camp one day. Private H0llIns ask
81 this question OF himself He had been
In battle and skirmish. IIe had fired away
his Forty rounds and fired 10 XIII. but as
he began TO recall all his battles ha coaij
not remember that he had ever had an
enemy so near and so fairly before him
that his bullet had surely cone the work
There were few soldiers who tr0ssted Of
.
who had brought down dozen men. bat
they never taik ed about Il. Men were
promoted for desperate fighting, which
sometimes meant killing single handed.
but they We're proud only OF the promo
tion. IL was a curious question Private
Hollins asked o. himself and /. led to
strange results. He vas not q blood
thirsty man, and yet as he lay thinking
the idea came to him that ne had not done
himself justice as a soldier. He had not
Killed man. " hen the war was over
| and he had returned home. ne would be
asked the question. His friends and
neighboTs wouldn't be satisfied with his
record OF battles, but would sweep II
! aside and say:
Yes; we know you were in five or six
battles and that you fired hundreds OF
bullets at the enemy, but can you truth
iully say you ever brought man down.
lie couldn't say IL. and he felt that he
would lose caste. This feeling brought a
SUDDEN resolve. IL was a resolve that
startled him at first, but the more he
thought of il the more determined he was
TO carry it out. He would kill a man: he
would do il next time he went on picket.
There were no orders against firing. II
was by tacit agreement among the pick
cts that they refrained. If ne brought one
OF the enemy down. he would not be re-
proved, even If not praised He would not
boast OF the kill to his comrades but
when he reached home and farmers and
their wives and sons sat listening to his
stories OF war; he could answer the dues-
tion they would be sure 10 put aud
answer in the Affirmative. II was a fort
| night before Private Hollins was detail
ed fer picket duty. He was not impatient
He was willing that time should pass. but
when the opportunity came he would kin
man. He never wavered In this reso-
| luton. There was no exultation at the
| thought, but neither did its contempla-
| tion cause him any qualms of conscience.
This is your post, Hollins," said the
! corporal. as he left him one afternoon az
the edge of a woodlunder a large oak
! I'VE don't know exactly where the
eremys picket is. but it's somewhere
around that log house. However. If you
DON'T get too fresh and get to walking
around in the open he won't bother you
| There hasn't been snot fired along hero
for two weeks. Ii you go I'm for roasted
acorls. don't make much of a fire
To-day / shall kill a man." said Pri-
vate Holins, as he was left alone. Gri
he began his preparations at once. Al
| long rife shat, away across an old cotton
| field was a log house with a few fruit
trees standing about II. One might b.
sure the farmer was off TO war and that
| wife and children, If they had not aban-
doned the place, were having a miserable
| existence. HollinS crept down 10 the
| fringe of bushes on his side Of the field
| and peered and watched and waited like
an Apache in ambush. For an hour h.
saw nothing Then a gaunt, ill-used doc
| he ~I L..t
| in the open in a sneakirg. furtiye way.
| If the dog was there, the house must be
| inhabited He had Just come 10 this con
clpsion when he caught sight Of figare
among the trees. II was between the
house and the bushes, where he believed
the enemy's picket was lying. 1t must
be the picket on his way to and from the
we'll Perhaps he had, gone to the house
10 light his pipe or boil his coffee There
was d glimpse and it was gone. Another
glimpse, another hiding, and then the
figure was fair TO view. 1t was long
shot, but pretty fair target, and without
an Instants hesitation he drew up his
gun and fired. When he looked over the
smoke, the figure was gone.
But 1 know / hit him, and he's lying
dead on the grass" said the soldier as he
reloaded his gun. Now L can tell them
at nome tndt kllIeu Il Un@H 3OilS
shot, but ! dropped him for sure"
The dog was still in the open. As the
shot rang out he looked back among the
trees. As the echoes died away he turned
his head toward Holins and howled dis
uaIly. A moment later and the figure OF
a young girl appeared beside the dog.
She was bareh saded, barefooted, and not
| over eight years old. Hesitating for only
| a moment, she began advancing acres
the field. The smoke from the soldiers
| MI sket had located him. The dog fol-
| lowed at her heels, head and tail down.
and with surprise H0llins watched the
girls approach. 1t took her five minutes
| to cross the field. She came straight al
| him as he stood up among the bushes. and.
when she reached him she extended her
| hand and clasped his and said: -
Come along your
He rested his musket against a log and
! permitted her 10 lead him out into the
open and ACROSS the field. He did not In
! GUire why she had come. He did not ask
where she WAS Leading him. Not a que
/ ton passed mis- lips nor did she speak
| further. Straight across the field 70 tae
| trees among which his victim had stood,
but long before he got there he saw q
| form oH the grass. BY and b. they were
close up 10 IL. and the girl let 90 OF his
hand and pointed and said:
| you shot mani.
/ II wasn't a man lying dead on the
/ grass, sOlder or farmer but a woman.
| The soldier rubbed MS eyes and looked
around IN a dAzed way. boy Of ten
/ and a girl Of flge came out Of the mouse
and stood there and looked from the sol
1 der 10 the dead woman ard back. They
I spoke no word; they shed no tears. u
[ vas true that the euemy's picket post
/ was In the bushes a few rods away. The
/ man on post came out of his hiding He
/ came walking slowly down, and when ~
/ reached the body there was a gasp In his
/ throat. He looked around upon the chill
/ dren. looked up az the blue sky as IL
| speaking 70 God. and. with a grOsn.
| turned bis back On the place and returned