Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1901-04-11

90 YOU SEE THAT BOY SITTING on THE
cHEsTY"
train brought II past our station, where
It rested for "A day and then moved
on In a dcfile - miles to the north
Of us IT was ambushcd by over a thou
sand dacoits and suffered a severe
misfortune. There was not only
heavy loss In killed and wounded. but
the treasure and n portion of the sup
plies were captured and run off.
The remnant OF the train returned
to ~ and went into camp until re-en.
fOrcements could come up. and the
bullet headed. tyrannical Colonel KEN
bic, whose obstinacy and recklcssness
had brought about the disaster, pro
cecded to make It rcdhot for every.
body Any set of men except British
soldiers would have mutinied and
taken his life. Raging over his de-
feat and feeling his helplessness. hc or
dcrcd out detacbmcnis and command.
cd them 10 bring 10 every native they
could overhaul II was n well populat-
cd country. with hundreds Of loyal ma
tiycs 10 be picked up, but the colonel
proceeded TO look upon each and every
one as guilty Of having had hand
in the attack Oh the train. More than
score were shot or hung offhand,
while others were whipped nt the post
Or ordered out Of the district II was
reign Of terror for three weeks, and
the end was fitting one.
My own detachment one day brought
IN n mere boy whom we had found
covering in thicltct do not believe
he had the slightest knowledge OF the
ambush or took any part IN IT. He was
n tind lad. whose father had been one
| 6f the first ones hung, and he was no
frightened that but little could be got
out of him. The colonel buldozcd and
browbcat bin and finally ordered his
execution on the ground that he was
| SPY. IL was only when hc knew TINT
be must die that the young fellow
| braced MP and showed his courage, and
ns he was being led away 10 execution
be said 70 the colonel:
/ "Sablb Colonel. / am innocent, and
you win be punished for my death
! You may shoot me and bury my body,
but my spirit win follow you TO the
| grave"
Half nm hour later hc was dend. but
! BE- was the last one 10 be executed
! That evening as the colonel entered the
! officers mess tent for supper all Of us
| noticed that he had queer. troubled
| look on bis face ana that he cast fur
! tive Rlnuces behind him. After n bit
| he tried 20 be jOculnr, but the effort
was failure. He gnid something
about not feeling well, but nobody dnr
cd question him. ~ midnight that
night we got an explanation The
| colonel called the sentinel into bis
tent. ana with white face and trcm-
bling voice ana the pcrspirnlion stand
Ing ont on bis forehead he said.
Man. do you sec that boy sitting on
the cbcstY
81 sec nobody. sir" replied the senti
pcl
| "TTc is there. ! tell youl He fol
| lowed me 10 mess nnd back. ana he
has been here IN plain sight nll the
evening. Take him AWAY"
| "Bur there's nobody here. sir"
And there wasn't The sentinel cnll-
cd 10 two officers. who looked nud
! scnrcLcd in vain ana assured Colonel
| Kcublc thnt no boy wns present He
| tried - turn 1t Of with laugh. but in
| less than - hours every man in comp
| know that the colonel was haunted by
spcctcr. he made brave effort TO
| blur IL out, but IL was useless. The
| spcctcr followed nl his heels by day
end sat by bis bedside Mt night md
| IN u week the strong. aggressive man
was becoming mental wreck. He
turned TO ua for pity and sympnthy.
bat wc had little 10 give. He had been
| brutal ~ hia Vengeance.
| Tho surgeon looked upon the cnse
nt FIRST ~ some disorder Of the brain,
but Inter on acknowledged tlnt II wns
something beyond bis medicine. No
one else could scc the apcctcr The
colonel would any that IT sat beside
| him or stood in the door. but there was
nothing for other eyes 10 rest upon.
| He would draw his sword ana cut md
! slnah aud thrust ~ the spccter, but hc
| could not harm n. By the surgeons
advice the colonel returned 10 Goruck-
| poor II was reported Ms n cnsc Of
| brcntug do~yn over mental anxiety,
but hundreds of people cnme 10 know