Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-10-31

ASuA Aiohi TIC SleTTlldS, IL III
all, between 2 and 8 o'clock in the
morning. At L awoke the command
ana issued our remaining ration. 1t
was eaten ravenously, and when the
last morsel had been consumed told
all to be ready at the slightest sound.
was going down to the unlighted fire,
and in case they heard me hammering
the percussion powder they would
know had heard the enemy approach
ing. Then, taking Jacks revolver, I
sailed forth.
l passed down to my flrewood, in
spected it to see that it was all right,
then went on farther, crawling on my
stomach and listening. Noticing what
in the darkness supposed to be n log,
L resolved to crawl up behind it for
concealment. On reaching it 1 raised
my head and looked down into the face
of a dead man. 1t was the body of one
Of the guerrillas we had shot during
the day. This uncanny object, encoun-
tered at dead Of night, startled me.
There were the CHASTITY skin, the sunken
check, the open mouth, while the eyes
We're staring up at the heavens as if
they saw wonders hidden from the liv-
ing. drew back. A consciousness of
the horrors that awaited us struck me
like q gust Of cold wind. Perhaps be-
fore morning Helen Stanforth or Jaque-
line or little Buck or all of us would
be lying stiff and stark like that dead
guerrilla.
Then a greater strength, a daring, a
cunning never before felt welled with
in me. l crawled on till came so near
the guerrilla camp that I could have
thrown a stone into it. They had no
fire, and this in itself was suspicious.
l thought heard voice, but it was
doubtless some animal or bird giving
note of warning to its mate. I lis
tened, but could hear nothing which
knew to be human. At last I sat down
on a rock and began what to me seem.
ed an endless vigil.
7 twas perhaps an hour after that /
heard unmistakable sounds of the guer-
rillas. l could see nothing, though /
could hear voices, and voices at that
time of night meant mischief. Darling
back to my wood, I set the paper of
gunpowder on the rock under the dry
grass, keeping little in reserve, and
got a stone ready to use for a hammer,
then listened for sign of advance. I
had not long to wait. A man must
have stumbled. At any rate, heard
something which convinced me the enc
my was coming, and, laying on my
percussion powder, l raised the stone
and brought it down.
Horror Of horrors! The grass was
blown away without being kindled.
The last chance was gone! 1t was
dark as pitch; not even ray of moon
light to protect us against the coming
cutthroats.
Wait n bit. There are several spears
of grass smoldering. a spark on the
end of each. l gather them and put
the ember ends into the hollow of my
hand, where l hold the reserve gun.
powder. a tlash-a mere bit of flame
no bigger than pea! l nurse it and
put more grass with 1T, shove it all
under the wood, and 4 beautiful bright
flame shoots up that gladdens my
heart. A joyful shout from the fort
sends pleasant thrill through every
fiber in my body.
Ping! A bullet within an inch of my
nose. l dart away into the darkness
and in another minute am in the for.
tress.
/ had scarcely got behind the breast
works when the glare of the burning
wood showed me half dozen men
dashing up to the fire, and 1 knew they
would try to scatter it.
when I count three, fire into the
crowd. One, two. threew
-Four bullets fled at the little knot OF
men below. We could not see who was
hit, but all turned and started down
the declivity, though one man dropped
before he had gone dozen yards. We
lost no time in reloading and had q
new charge ready in every piece before
seeing any signs of their return. But
Buck, who took more time and made
more fuss about his work than all the
rest together, had scarcely rammed his
charge home and fixed the percussion
cap on The nipple when three mer
made dash at the fire. Two of them
reached it and began to kick vigorous
ly. l took deliberate aim at one OF
them and shot him through the head
My gun had scarcely cracked when
Helen let drive at the remaining man
He staggered, but kept on kicking al
the fire. l snatched Bucks gun and
finished him, dropping him on the burn
ing brands. The third man, who had
started forward several times and
each time turned back, got out of sight
as quickly as possible.
Look a. dar!" cried Ginger, pointing
to the east.
l turned my head, and there above
the horizon was the faintest trace OF
dawn.
Ito Be Continued.)