The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-03

and upward, and the fintlock. which was.
so TO speak. his second barrel, and was
allowed 10 live peacefully in sight of the
camp.
And as every day passed his love for the
British increased. so that the amiable camp
commandment allowed him TO visit the camp
and sell the brutal sOldiery milk and veg
etables. But the amiable commandant was
not the fool his eyeglass and his drawl led
you 10 believe, and he had a notion that the
new convert TO Imperialism Was in the
maitland a disgusting habit ii is-of COM
municating with outside pals. And once a
culvert was mysteriOusly blown up, and no
body saw the Beers who did il. So the COM
mandant took that - - O won't at
tempt TO tone down the adjectiyes) BOer
into his confidence The culvert south of
the siding had been blown up, he said. but
had been repaired; he was now having it
carefully guarded. He did not intend hav-
ing the other culvert. which was north of
the siding. watched. as ne did not think the
Boers would experiment on that, and. be-
sides, he couldn't spare the men. And the
Boer was touched by the confidence the
Suileless Philistine reposed in him and
wept. THAI night the commandment sent
fOr the farmer and held him in conversa-
ton for two hours on agricultural pros
poets, what time two engineers laid down
a devlish contrivance near the northern
culvert.
And this is the way it was made. They
dug a hole and placed therein a camp ket-
tie. Within that camp kettle were fifteen
pounds of dynamite. Inserted in that camp
kettle was the muZZle of a loaded Martini
CdIOAit, dnC 4lJdCneQ 10 the trigger OF that
carbine were wires that the foot Of the
most careful walker would not fail TO
catch. Well that night
The story stops suddenly, two pairs of
hands grip the right-hand brake and the
trolley jars to a standsti!l-
a NARROW ESCAPE.
We are off in a second. and the corporal
is gingerly scraping away the earth piled
round a thing that looks like a bottle with
the neck protruding. Ii is placed by the side
of the rel, the bottle raised to the rails
level. and had the truck gone another doz-
en- feet it would lay smashed the neck.
This" said the corporal. speaking with
great niceness, and picking his words as
though some discordant phrase would be
sufficient to agitate the contents. lis a new
fake. I'm not going TO take this along with
NE. Here, What's-your-name, take this bot
te out about three hundred yards and
stick II on a rock where we can see it"
What s-his-name tucked the bottle under
his arm with as much unconcsrn as if il
were a bottle OF beer. and SIrOiled tn the
required distance. l fancy il was half that
distance. for the bottle was quite distincf
in the broadening light. When What's-hie-
name had got back the four men took I'm
their rifles from the trolley floor and taxi
ing steady aim, opened fire. The third shot
took effect. The little black object. lust
visible. became instantly a broad white
fan OF angry flaming light. Only for a sec
ond and then smoke was where flame had
been and the earth shook with the roar of
one, said the corporal laconicallv. and
the journey was resumed. Back to the
charge came the anecdOtal Tommy.
Well. this blank. blank Boer was found
in "A dozen different places the next morn
ing, he having prohted by the cOmman-
dants confidence TO walk around the un-
guarded cClVert I'm the early morning with
a dynamite cartridge and a wicked smile.
Tommy lapsed into fiction at this point to
sketch the Beers glee as he walked 10 his
work OF destruction.
Now we are at the top OF the bank "
and there is a clear run down 10 the next
siding. Day is here now. and as We rattle
down the steep grade we disturb the thou
SAND tiny creatures of the sun that are
waking 20 activity.
STEADY with that! Put the brake on.
This from the corporal. for we are NOV
Ing at q great rae. and the watchers.
up TO turn the wine from their eyes.
The brake fails on the wheel, but we have
gained TOO great a momentum, and the pace
Is not perceptibly slackened. The corporal
locks eagerly forward; the growing light
has increased his range OF vision. but the
speed of the trolley has lessened its useful
Brake. Brake, For Gods sake.'
He has seen something on the Inca
something smuggling close to the rail-an
ominous shapeless something that has no
right 10 be there. In a moment you see
there is not time to jump for it; you can
hardly rise TO your feet in the time. Then
q SWIFT hand snatches up A rifle. the rifle
is poised for a moraeat before the whirring
wheels OF the trolley. then dropped cross
wise on To the metals.
There is a jump. a bOne-racking thud.
thud. thud. as the wheels kick UP against
the Sieepers. the next minute there is an
overturned trolley. with wheels still RIM
ains and five human beings %sprawllnS un-
hurt up0n the veldt. but the five little
sticks OF dynamite with the uptUrned per-
cuSSlon cap are Untouched.
only "A broken rifle a few feet from them
shows where the trolley left the line.