Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-08-07

: WHEN BOYS
W WERE MEN
81 By JOHN HABBERTON,
al Author Of Babies Washington Etc
ol COPTEIGHT, HABBER?ON /
"What is that forI'' asked the cal

what is that tOrF asked Ihe cap
tain.
so" said Brainard, "that if I'm shot
| can't fall out Of the saddle. The
horse will be sure to hurry back tc
camp, and the enemy won't get the dis
patches, as they might if | were tC
fall"
The captain nodded to the colonel
who raised his eyebrows, and Brain
ard hurried out the road at an easy
gallOp. | walked n little way in the
same direction and strained my ears
for shots, but heard none. l did not
sleep much that night. Should Brain
ard be killed l would always feel thai
l had sacrificed his life to save my
own; should he succeed, why, COnfOunC
him, would again have to feel as un
comfortable as | did when he did the
work and got the glory Of our rescue
when we were made prisoners. | did
not feel any easier at learning thai
about an hour before | had started q
man on harnessed horse had come
galloping wildly out of that same road
and hurried to the rear. Until tattoo
l paced the ground on which our trOOT
was camped. After tattoo ] resumed
my tramp The guards were changed
at 10 o'clock, midnight, 2 in the morn
ing, and l was still awake, for Brain
ard had not returned. The captain
who felt responsible for the safe deliv'
cry of the dispatches, awOke, Joined
me and said he hoped my chum had got
through all right; then he also began to
pace to and fro, which increased my
anxiety. Toward dawn I fell asleep
through sheer exhaustion, Just after
sunrise | was aroused by being shak
en-. When opened my eyes. over me
bent Bralnard. very pale Of face. but
wonderfully bright of eye.
"Tell me about IT," demanded.
"Oh," said Brainard, 81 never was SO
frightened in my life. After looping
along q few minutes 1t occurred to me
that l had better know my way before
trying it, so l dismounted and bid my
horse In the woods beside tho road
leaving my saber there also, Then
sneaked down the road, with my re,
NOlhCl III Ill hCcilI III III
mouth, to find out where and what that
cavalry was. 1t might have been some
of our own men, you know, Pretty
soon I heard the clanking you spoke
of. Didn't 1t sound dreadful IN the
dark, thought crouched and sneaked
from one tree to another, and the noise
grew louder, but not human voice
could hear, nor was there any odor
OF tobacco in the air. These two facts
bothered me greatly. for when soldiers
Eho are awake cease talking and smok
ing there's something serious on hand.
Pretty soon heard a splash. Aha!
thought l. Somebody is watering hi.
horse in brook or pond L crept still
closer. The ground became lower n:
if there might be q brook there. | gOt
nearer still until | made out n bridge
at my left, but not a trooper could
see. | began to shiyer and recall ghost
stories. l don't believe in ghosts, yoU
know, but the dim light and mysterious
noises made me think of them in spite
Of myself. Finally l got right on the
bank Of the brook and looked over
Then / was more surprised than scared
for / could make out three horses with
out riders and something that looked
like a tent, but all in the water.
made bold to challenge, but there was
no reply. Then l became so excited
that thought / might as well be shot
as die through bursting blood vessel
so | got some matches out of my jack
ct struck a light and made little fire
of dry leaves and twigs, and what dc
you suppose / saw2 An ammunition
wagon lying on its side and three of its
four horses partly hitched. Apparently
IT had fallen from the bridge, which
was very narrow and had no rail. II
was the rattle Of the chains of the har
ness that made the noise you and l anC
the other fellow had mistaken for the
clank Of saber scabbnrds. But wasn't
l provoked with myself for having
been frightened"
"No worse, I'll bet, than am at hav.
ing been scared back to camp by such
n bogy."
81 felt so ashamed" continued Brain
ard, that l really wished there might
be soldiers somewhere in the neigh
borhood TO give me some honest eX
cuse for being frightened. My wisl
was gratified pretty sOon for after 90
ing along pretty lively for a few min
utes / heard TIaltr right in front OF
me rs a couple OF men sprang from &
fence corner. Awfully hard to swal
low ones heart sometimes, isn't it?
soon saw, however, in spite Of the
semldarkness, that they weren't dressed
like Johnnies, so l swallowed my heart
and gave them the countersIgn. TheI
they asked me If had seen any caval
ry In the woods. Three of the generals
Orderlies in succession had tried {
reach the center and had been frighten
ed into returning. So, you see, you ant
l AMI the man who started before u:
are not without company"
'Ye-es," I replied. But the informa
ton didn't comfort me much. Brain
ard had succeeded | hadn't Tha
reflection filed my mind to the exclu
sion Of all others. Brainard went on:
IOuHu tLc Hcdul ludIlCIS III Two 81
three minutes, passing through rOaC
full Of men who had been posteC
to repel an expected cavalry dash
There was a half battery of artillery
with them. The general, too, wag
awake and nervous-all on account o.
those three horses standing knee deeI
in brook and shaking in their har
ness! The general kept me until dawr
to bring back some dispatches. Bu
here / am"
The lucky little rascal! At least mel
called it luck.
CHAPTER XVIII.