Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1902-04-12

/ ne nOTSeS pulled ana luBBed at lne
bit and tossed their heads impatienty.
| The clanking of sword and scabbard
began to lull my mind, and my eye
| lids began to droop Through the
| light gray of the early morning, the
| figures OF the troopers looked ghost
| like and shadowy as they swayed
| automatically with the motion OF
their mounts, and the low hum of
voices came TO my ears as from afar.
| The soft, sucking thud of the horses
hoofs on the corduroy road, acting
with the easy mist that hung over
the valley, began to send feeling of
drowsiness over me, and my eyes
slowly closed The world had been
shut out from my view but moment,
when became conscious OF something
riding beside me- something cold and
silent, and in a moment my eyes flew
open.
The men were Just as | had last seen
them, and for moment | laughed at
my sudden fears. But gradually an
| object, black, silent and mournful, be-
| gan to close in upon me, and even as
| | looked, figure after figure began to
/ spread throughout the troop until
| there were thousands of them riding
| amongst us.
| looked at the one cantering beside
me. He seemed to breathe cold damp
ness, and involuntarily ! wrapped my
military cloak closer round my body.
He was black from his skull-tight
| cap and loose coat to the powerful
| charger he rode-a deathly black He
was tall and gaunt, and in the ligl%
breeze that had sprung up, his clothes
/ tapped loosely about his bony frame,
and his horse, though galloping along
side Of mine, gave no sound as its
/ hoofs struck the road An orderly
came riding from the rear, and rode
straight for him. warning cry was
on my lips when, to my horror, the
! trooper swept past, having ridden
through my companion as though he
We're nothing but air. For a moment
| reeled unsteadily in my saddle, but a
grim chuckle brought me to myself.
and | sat upright to find what had
once been a human face, staring at
me. 1t needed but a glance at those
sunken hollows and whitened bones
to tell me l was looking at a skeleton.
who are you?" J muttered.
/ The one in black broke into another
chuckle. "We," he said indicating the
others with a sweep of his shadowy
arm, ARE the Hussars of Death"
| | shuddered and swerved my horse
from the phantom. But in an in
slant without any visible effort, he
leaped his charger over to my side.
"tfe'll have work here to-day" he
| croaked. work, work"
| shivered slightly, and glanced at a
low, fiat line, far down the valley, and
through the rising mists, thought
could distinguish the CLEAN of can
non. So these were the trenches we
were to charge. Even as l thought a
white puff a dull boom and the
Shrek of a shell, awoke the echoes of
the distant hills. And the Hussars of
Death had work to do
At my elbow a bugle blew, but I
scarcely heard or understood the notes.
/ saw a thousand right arms bend,
heard the scraping of steel on tin, and
In moment thousand blades flash
ed in the air, breathing defiance at the
smoke ahead.
Around rae | could dimly see strain
ed and bloOdless faces trying to look
encouragement at one another. But
my eyes ~sre not for them. Far as
che eye could reach were hosts of