The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-12-28

| He turned from the backWoodSman and
shouted to his piper:
Are you ready. Angus?'
AYE, sir"
"Then let US have The March to Bat
tie"
The pipes burst forth with the stirring
strain. the players foot beating time on
the hard ground. At a word from the COM
ing step to the martial music and headed
| by the brave piper. the resonant drones
flung over his shoulder and the ribbons
f1uttering as he strobe along. In a Few
minutes the forest had swallowed them up.
but through the crisp air came back the
ever-lessening music of the march. and
none of the spectators moved until at last
silence fell once more on the stockade. then
| Amos Stebbins threw his rifle over his
shoulder. breathed a deep sigh and slouched
off In the direction of the settlement, muir
! muring to himself. Poor fellows. poor fell
lows"
Meanwhile the doomed company tramped
briskly along the rough road through the
forest. All nature seemed frozen into a ST.
fence that was broken only by the impact
OF well-shed feet On the iron-hard road,
and even that Sound became deadened as
they penetrated further and further into
the forest. for the dried leaves that had
fallen in the autumn made a thick carpet
under foot. The piper soon ceased to play,
NcpnlNS al nES pTtStH IbT his ITdWDlnE-
Now and then the stiffness was sha tered
by a sharp crack like a rifle shot. but the
Highlanders knew this to be the action Of
the frost on a tree here and there. for the
weather grew colder as the day advanced.
The gloom of the forest seemed to affect
the spirits of the marchers. They trudged
on in a sullen silence that was offspring to
the mystery of the wilderness. Once. when
Angus Moray tuned up his pipes to put a
spring in the unceasing steps westward.
Captain Maclean curtly commanded him to
be still. The officer was bordering on the
pessimism of the backwoodsman. and the
foreboding which he made light of In the
open by the stockade. pressed down upon
him In the somber shadow of the tall gaunt
trees.
After the short halt for lunch at midday
the Captain drew out from the company
six men to act as scouts, two to the right,
two to the left. and two in front of the
little company. These men he bugled in
every half hour. and six others took the
places of those in from the outlook. The
officer was somewhat encouraged by the
half-hourly reports of his watchers. No
trace of an Indian was to be seen. 1t ap-
peared that all life in the forest had been
nunhed by the cold, not even a black
squirrel crossed the trail. OF birds over
head there were none, yet not for one mo-
ment since they entered the forest had the
lli uild AiApo 'NNf - "
their enemy. who. silent-footed. had kept
step by step with them.
As the short day was drawing to It's close
the condemned marched YEARLY down a
slight declivity to cross a frozen stream,
when suddenly the woods all around them
blazed with fire. 1t was a staggering blow,
and an eighth of the company sank TO the
frozen earth. leaving the survivors stand
ing dazeti with the suddenness of the catas-
trouhe, The ringing call of their Captain
reused them from their momentary stupor.
Fix bayonets, Right face! Charge!'
Into the gloom to the right of them with
IeyeIed weapons and a wild Highland yel
the remnant rushed with undaunted cour-
age. Moray had the wind-bag under his
arm, the drones flung over his shoulder. his
nimble fingers on the chanter. and out upon
the turmoil screamed the martial strains of
THE Rout at Lamouch." The Highlanders
in their inpetuous rush met no opposition.
Maclean cried Halt" as he came upon the
tomahawked and scalped bodies of his two
Northern scouts lying on their faces silently
killed from behind. Charges south. east,
west, proved equally futile. There was no
trace of any foe in this secret Businesses.
The bodies of the other four scouts were
brought in and laid with their dead COM
rades. The wounded crying for water. were
bent over and administered to by their sur
vivins fellows; then the second volley
blazed out and the third. Captain Maclean
fell to his knees, grievously wounded.
'.Oh. my brave Clansmen." he gasped.
lied to your death by me. a fool. God for
give" A bullet in the head ended life
with self-reproach. A scant half-dozen stood
back to back firing useless rounds into the
Gardening forest. The pipes suddenly
ceased, and as the stunned body of their
player fell across them they walled out a