The suburban citizen., 1900-04-14

the cnapatfal BrOWlu WAS III lUselt an
obstlclc TO the transmission of sound.
Trooper Thomas turned as he sup
posed in the direction from which the
shot signals came and once more
fought his way through the thicket.
He struggled on for a few minutes
and then slipped another cartridge
into his Springfield and fired. He
listened intently for five minutes, but
no answering discharge gladdened his
ear. He fred three more shots in
rapid succession. Still no answer.
The cavalryman was lost in an almost
impenetrable Jungle, through which
every step Of progress was a toiling
pain and where there was no means
whatsoever to give him key to direc.
tion. He stood still for a few minutes
to think what was best to do. He
had no compass, and while he knew
that the northern edge of the chaparral
was within a comparatively short dis
tance he had not the remotest idea
whether that edge lay before him, be-
hind him or at his right or left. For
two days thick, heavy clouds had OBJ
scured the sky. They were full Of the
promise of rain, which would not
come. Time after time the few people
living in the region had looked upon
just such lowering clouds with some
CLEAN of hope that they might let fall
a burden of blessed showers. There
was promise, but no fulfilment. The
heavy, murky bank, however, served,
with the aid of the matted canopy of
the chaparral, TO prevent the lost
cavalryman from getting any idea,
however faint, OF the position of the
sun. North, south, east and west
were alike to him.
Trooper Thomas finally determined
to trust to luck, and taking the course
which he thought was right he worked
his way through the thorny growth.
For two hours he toiled on, and then
in despair he realized to a certainty
that he was hopelessly astray. When
the line had been deployed Thomas
had left his canteen behind, and he
now began to suffer severely from
thirst.
Hoursp passed, and still neither open
ing in the chaparral nor the CLINT of
water gladdened his eye. The trooper
slipped cartridge from his belt, and
taking his knife cut the head bullet
from the brass cup. He put tbs, isia-
sile in his mouth and it momentarily
relieved his raging thirst.
1t was beginning to grow dusk, and
the soldier realized that he must spend
the night in tho chaparral. He cut
some Of the thick leaves of the prickly
pear, and scraping off the thorns from
the green surface chewed the pulp for
the slight relief that the juice afford
ed. Then he cleared a place, and ly-
ing down tried to sleep. Physically
worn out though he was, his thirst
and the horror of his situation kept
him awake. Toward morning he had
a little feverish sleep that brought no
rest. AS the first streak Of daylight
stole into the chaparral the trooper was
on his feet and on his way once more.
The puckering juice of the priekly
pear leaves seemed simply to have ag-
gravated his thirst, and his suffering
was beginning to be more intense than
can be expressed in words. Painfully
making his way along, Thomas came
to an open place in the chaparral. At
the farther side of it he heard a crack
ling, and in a moment a peccary-one
OF the little wild hogs of the Texas
iungle-broke into the clearing.
Thomas steadied himself with an ef-
fort. He raised his carbine, aimed
and fired. The shot was clean one,
and the little wild pig fell dead in its
tracks. To ease the pangs OF his
thirst Thomas drank of the animals
blood, and it gave him strength and
courage to keep on. The effect Of the
drink, however, was not lasting, and
in an hours time he found himself
suffering as keenly as before. He
strobe along, however, with occasional
rests, all through the morning and
the long afternoon. At night he was
half delirious with suffering, but the
utter exhaustion of his body forced
him into slumber. He slept in a
troubled way for some hours, and
then, waking, found his suffering so
intense that remaining still was i'm
possible, and through the darkness of
that Southern chaparral be stumbled
on. Finally he fell from sheer ex-
haustion and lay for some time in a
half-dazed condition.
Then the morning came. Little by
little some expression of returning
sense came into the troopers face.
He looked straight ahead, and there,
not ten yards in front of him, he saw
that there was break in the thicket.
New life came to him in an instant,
and he fairly dashed through the nm
derbrush. In moment he stood at
the chaparrals edge. Before him lay
a great clearing, with a house in its
center. With a cry Of Joy the soldier
made his way to the building. IL was
deserted. There was not sign of
life anywhere, and all around, com
pletely inclosing the clearing, he saw
the chaparral walls. A great wooden
cistern, such as one finds in southern
rose beside the house. In
the times when there had been rain