Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-03-12

that belonged to one of the poor men
| who went out with DR.. jameson. He
had just come, and didn't hear his
name. My, but-but-sure, the boy
here is like him."
"With DR.. Jameson?" the lady whis-
pered, very white. 1--WE heard on the
train that the raiders were killed and
captured. Was he there-at Krugers
dorp?"
Nobody was heard to speak. The
man at the door slipped quietly in and
examined the papers on the floor unob-
served. For moment the lady trem-
bled, then, taking her little bewildered
sons hand, she said steadily:
Mr.. Brown, will you order n car
riage and horses? will go there at
once"
my lady, where"
ITO the battlefield"
ut is late in the day, my lady, and
many miles,"
She bit her lips.
please order the horse at once" she
said mo doubt we can find fresh ones
somewhere If these fail us on the
road"
He looked at her and opened his lips
to protest, but looked ut her again and
obeyed. The good woman of the house
pitied, but had sufficient instructive
tact not to press the feverishly agi-
tated wife to remain. The landlord
hustled about and himself saw to the
guides and horses.
In the meantime the lone traveller
took one glass of beer and q sandwich
at the bar and, grabbing his valise,
made haste to catch southbound train
for Kimberley after consulting for a
moment the timetables which explained
how one should quickest reach Pretoria
in the Transvaal.
Wrapped in cloaks, the lawyers clerk
and the tired child slept fitfully through
the night as four horses ratified them
over the wide and lonely yeldt. But
the wife was sleepless, staring with
anxious eyes into the continual shad-
ows. Shapeless shadows to the driver
and guide shadows Of no meaning,
they were animate for her-forms and
faces of long ago leaping to fantastic
life, forms and faces even more fan
tastic, of future doubtful and dread
ed. Once or twice her fatigue over
came her anxiety, and she slept lit
tie. The last time she woke up with
cry for help. In her dream she had
seen tall ladder resting in unseen
depths of blackness, yet whose top was
in sunlight. Her husband was falling,
falling to the ladders foot, to dreadful
darkness, but she and an old man were
looking down at him from above.
'.Oh, dear God" she sobbed, shudder-
ing. "Wherever he is, whatever he has
J done, blame not him, but me! pushed
him down! My God, l pushed him
} down"
His friend Wyvil and he had ridden
side by side, disarmed after the sur
) render. Triumphant Beers. from whose
( lips at intervals rose hoarse psalms Of
praise, rode on either side and In front
and rear. Some of the ruder Trans
vaalians, the young and hot blooded
were reused to high pitch of excite
ment by their victory and tainted their
prisoners, threatening them with retri.
J button as outlawed raiders The un-
lucky uitlanders rode gloomily on, I'm.
) answering, In manner stunned te
speechlessness by SO overwhelming. sc
unexpected, n catastrophe. That spirit
ed dash, that daring gallop to the Rand
that revival of medieval chivalry which
their hot, naught rocking brains hat
3 dreamed would be greeted by an EN-
pire's cheer, had come to this humili
ating defeat half way and an ignomin
9 ious procession to prison, perhaps tt
' the gellows. Two or three proud hearts
ignorant of their captors' real mind ant
abhorrent of such an end, welcoming
q any fate but that, made hopeless dart.
g for the open veldt in useless effort t.
8 escape. These were shot down-poor
9 unlucky exiles from home, who hat
= vainly sought retrieval of name ant
9 fortune on the rim of the death pit.
Young Wyvil stuck fast to the side o.
. the man whom first he had met at tn,
& canteen on the border the man Of di
9 vers names, who had introduced him
= self as Lawrence, but had elected Il
. Join the raiders under another appella
Q space, had made friends, and If he wer,
q reticent Of his past that was no uncom
9 mon thing in ranks wherein few mel
Is stood save as last resource. Wyvil
9 himself with past, and Corpora
q Dome, now cold upon the yeldt, hat
Q attached themselves to one to whom
3 their old school and varsity tradition
9 were fraternally familiar. And now
= without the light hearted outcasts sup
D port, Lawrence could not have finished
q the dismal journey to Pretoria. Strip
o from torn shirt bandaged his fac
= where Bocr bullet had plowed hi
o check and cut away a portion of hi
y chin. He had lost blood, but when still
q miles away from their destination h.
y swayed in his saddle more than tn
g wound seemed to warrant Wyvil press
2 ed close to him and thrust his arm un
o der the others.
g "Old man." said he. SIS 1t bleedin
q fresh?'
. Lawrence steadied himself resolutt
Q ly and shook his head, but Wyvil, hin
. self unscratched, looked anxious.
3 Look here" he said, "that little Ho
lander medicine man doesn't seem hal
. bad, you know, but he was In hurr
g when he patched you up. think we
o better get this Boer fellow to let u
g drop to the rear and have the doc max
8 another examination. Honest, you know
. lyon look pretty near dead"
= - e 5-s s-