Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-12-20
CHAPTER XX.-CoNTINUED.

Far back towards the dusty high
way where the ambulances were hur-
rying, and close to the abutments If
a massive stone bridge that crossed
a tributary of the Pasig, three Off
GERS, surgeon, and half-a- dozen sol
.diers were grouped about PROSTATE
form in the pale blue uniform, with
the gold embroidery and broa,l
stripes of a Filipino captain, but the
face was CHASTITY white, the language
CHASTITY Anglo-SaXon.
With the. blood yelling from shot
hole in his broad, burly chest and the
seal of death already settling on his,
ashen brow, he was scOwling up into
the half-compassionate, half-con-
temptuous faces about him. Here lay
the Captain Americana of whom
the Tagal soldiers had been Boosting
for a month"; deserter from the
army of the United States, a COM.
missioned officer in the ranks of
Aguinaldo, shot to death in his first
battle in sight ofssome who had seen
and known him sin the blue
Lieut.. Stuyvesant, revived by a long
pull at the doctors flask, his bleed
ing stanched, had again pressed for
ward to take his part in the fight,
but now lay back in the low vic
toria that the men had run forward
from the village, and looked down
upon the man who in bitter wrath
and hatred had vowed long months
before to have his hearts blood
the man who had so nearly done him
to death in Honolulu. Even now in
Sackett's dying eyes something of
the same brutal rage mingled with
othe instant CLEAN of recognition
that for a moment flashed across his
distorted features 1t seemed retri-
button indeed that his last conscious
glance should fall upon the, living
face OF the man to whom he owed his
= rescue from a fearful death that
night IN far-away Nevada.
But, badly as he was whipped that
brilliant Sunday, Johnny Filipino"
had the wit to. note that Uncle Sam
had hardly a handful of cavalry and
nowhere near. enough men to follow
up the advantages, and hence the
long campaign of minor affairs. that
had to follow. In that campaign San
dy Ray was. far, too busy at the front
to know very much of what was GO
ing on at the rear in Manila. He
listened with little sympathy to Far
quhar's brief disposition of poor Fos-
ter's- case. .They could remove the
'desertion and give him commission.
but they couldn't make Wally a sol
der. He went home when the fight
ing had hardly begun" Somebody
was mean enough to say if he hadn't
his mother would have come for HIM
There was no question as to the
identity of the soldier who died IN
Filipino uniform Not only did
;Stuyvesant recognize him, but so did
Ray and Trooper Mellen, and Connei-
fy, fetched over from the north side
to make assurance doubly sure. 1t
was Sackett-Murray, gambler. horse
thief. householder, deserter, bite
murderer and double-dyed traitor
He had fled to 1.-The Insurgents in
dread of discovery and death at the
hands of Benton's comrades.
And perhaps it was just as well
Foster knew of his hapless. end be.
fore he took steamer 'homeward;
y knew, too, of Stuyvesant,s wound
and-possibly it had something to dc
with his departure-of the DISPOSE
ton made of that fortunately wound
ed officer. Miss Ray it seems, was
q regularly on duty now, with other
Red Cross nurses, and Stuyvesan:
went to the First Reserve and
stayed there whole week, and ever
DIR. Wells came and smiled on him
and Miss Porter beamed, and still hi
was not happy-for Maidie came not
She was busy as she could be at the
farther end of the other wards.
And SO Stuyvesant grew impatient
of nursing. declared he was well, ant
still was far from happy, for at tina
time Foster was still lowering abou
tine premises, and Stuyvesant couit
zee only one possible explanation fol
saat. They moved him back to hi