The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-11
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Copyright, lp0l, b. Edwin Pugh.l

III Ntob'itation VI II Olurf va ~
matter for hot conjecture. Tile dead man
was the wooden doll of a New Highlander,
and the proved bounty jumper was Forbes.
OF course.
We went out with lanterns in the spark
ish daybrcsk an6 found the dead sentry at
his post. He lay I'm a punched heap. and he
smelt like an irish still. lie had been done
TO death with hocussed whisky. and his
mother nourns him FOR a hero to this day.
very likely. Died like z soldier at his
post!' said the obituary. And 1t read like
a reflection on the army.
When we found him he was cold and had
quilted it some hours. We reused the
camp and made search among .he tents.
but we were not dumrounded any when
we failed to find the bounty-jumper. The
word was passed, and / was summoned
to the generals tent.
The old man had done his hair and but
toned on his Jacket, and looked as fierce
and correctly martial in that purple light
of morning as he had at the Governors
house five years back when drst mat him.
He handed me a warrant-he was "a devil
for form-and ] saw scrawleh across it in
his rugged fist the wo-ds, Alive or dead"
To a man with &. liking for crude melo-
drama, that was a time to live in ana a
cause 70 fight for. / die the necessary an
tics and left the tent. My horse was out
side. groorned for a journey. ! took stock
OF the saddle and girtbs. then mounted and
rode or. A mile on / looked back. and the
army was blackenias = hill, ana along the
line OF its crest rolled the tinted smoke OF
the breakfast fires fin +he milky light OF
the morning shy. A sun doomed heavily
across the valley between Us, aud then
there was s rattle Of drums ] reckoned
they were striking camp for battle pur
poseS.
Now, q continent is 6 biggish thing and
a man is middling small at his tallest and
fattezt. And as / drew reir ar the war
riven ruins of a crossroaG some fwenty
miles from camp I came to that conclusion.
/ had made a guess at the lire OF Forbes's
probable flight. but :hon he might be dis
obligins enough TO Do orig.nal-ard that is
a thing in mar that beats Us all. You see,
1 knew about that buried wife and the child
and the other things ia Sioux City. And
he didn't know / knew. And he had been
away from IL all for close on six months
without a word OF news, and in the des-
perato state OF the country that was n
thing to tie knots in u father's heart
strings. l have been q father myself, and
this is a true bill.
Forbes must have known that the game
he was playing couldn't last forever.
amen. He knew 1 would be after him, and
my name was one that stank in tho uostrils
of his breed. 1 figured it out thai he would
make short tracks for Sioux City as soon
as he jumped. put the child in a place OF
safety with some money swaddlirgs and
then move on TO the bigger towns and lose
himself for a month or two. Still. as I
saw cutie clearly. he might go and be as
improbable az death and make a living guy
OF me. But l had TO take my chances, and
l pushed on as hard as l could without
spelling my horse for the stern chase hat
might bs lying ahead.
II you nave never seen a land made DESC
late by war (and Of course you haven't) no
words OF mine can give you any idea Of
what il is like. War is a savage thing, and
in a savage country its ravages are not so
apparent. The birds and the beasts devour
the dead bodies. and the earth drinks up
the blood and the flowers spring up be-
tween the skeleton ribs and the birds nest
IL tho skulls. Creeper and vine, weed and
~brarble, hasten tc hide the scars of the
conflict, and where the rude zariba was
made OF sticks and mose and clay there is
1900 oA0
creamy cymes and white-starred under
growth. The birds sing where tie death
SOB sounded.
But IN n civilized country, where life is
governed o. the principles OF geometry. so
10 speak. ard the d.siocetion OF a line
hears sno'chy to c community, war leaves
a wound ths. b,eeds for many q year. As [
rode alors ara looked st the riGdled coun-
tryside the tears were bot behind my eyes.
Whole villages we're devastated auI tender
household secrets. rudA cop.civsuces born
IN ar Impulse OF kindness and labo-cd out
ia love. were exposed to tba broad sheer
Of tho callou5 sunshine. Earthworku made
light OF baby gardens. and where q mother
had planted Il playground Cor her little
oEes there was an impromptr graveyard.
Disabled gun carriages and broken weap-
ous Uttered the wsysiGs here and there.
ana ! saw an old fellow in n field cutting
pea. sticks with a broken sword. felt go
human 1 was might glad TO be alone.
i passed through many little villages on
my way. and there was not one that did
not show some signs Of the war pass
over. IL there were no broken homes there
wers broken women, and everywhere the
only mon left were the aged and the sick.
This was ~ divided country. end, or the
whole, moro favorable to South than North.
In ans we- to my inquiries I got only blank
stares. or counter questionings. or sulky
evsxsons, so that L could not tell If Forbes
had passed that way or not. I got food and
drink. however, and that without paving
for IT. Some OF the women spoke TO me
OF their soma and husbands and brothers
at the front, and asked with a piteous
c~lasping OF their hands, us he safe?"
But 1 could satisfy very few OF them, for
the ramiicatioas OF The army were very
vest. and 1 had SO little to do with the
general rank and f.e.
Toward nightfall / sighted Sioux City. a
group OF squalid villages scattered over
some four square miles OF pasture land.
My horse had rested for an hour at my
last stopping place and was comparatively
fresh. / put him TO the gallon and we en-
tered the city in style. I knew the situ-
alton OF Forbes'5 house as we'll as I knew
my hand, having taken the utmost care to
locats IL when I obtained my information
concerning the jumper at the outset Of my
connection with him. q don't want to
make any myste-y. I got hat Inflammation
froTo a Southern SPY, who was a fellow
townsran OF Forbss's and c fellow-spirit.
and sold al, he knew very cheaply. His