Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-29

house porch, to gaze silently forth at the
little band of soldiery in the center Of the
parade. and there to listen silently to
the music of the fife and drum. The mo-
ment 1t was all over they would rise with
out waiting for directions, and shuttle
stolidly back to their hot wooden walls.
They had had the one intellectual treat OF
the day. The savage breast was sOothed
for the time being. and Plume had come
to the conclusion that aside from the fact
that his Indian prisoners were better fed
than when on their native heath. the In
dian prison pen at Sandy was not the
place Of penance the department command
er had intended. Accessions became so
frequent. discharges 50 very few.
Then there was another symptom; Sem
tries on the north and east front. Nos.
and s.. had been bit startled at first at see
ing soon after dawn. shadowy forms rising
slowly from the black depths of the valley,
lowering uncertainty along the edge OF the
mesa until they could make out the lone
figure of the morning watcher, then slowly.
cautiously, and with gestures OF amity ana
suppliance. drawing gradually nearer.
Sturdy Germans and mercurial CeltS were,
at the start, disposed to 'shoo" away these
specters as being hostile, or at least In
congruous. But officers and men We're soon
made to 1t was to hear the morning
music these children of the desert Hooked
so early. The agency lay but twenty miles
distant. The reservation lines came no
nearer; but the fame Of the invaders big
maple tom-tOm 1--WE wore still the deep,
resonant drum of Bunker Hill and Water
loo. of Jemappes. Saratoga and Chapulte-
pee, not the modern rattle pan borrowed
from PrusSa). and the trill of his magical
pipe had spread abroad throughout Apache
land to the end that no higher reward for
good behavior could be given by the agent
to his swarthy charges than the begged-for
pepper permitting them, in Jumps of twenty.
to trudge through the evening shades to the
outskirts of the soldier castle on the mesa
there to wait the long night through until
the soft tinting of the eastward heavens
md he fxry{ft of ha hrHt In th. wi
lows along the stream, gave them courage
to begin their timid approach.
And this GREATNESS October morning was
no exception. The sentry on the northward
line. No 4. had recognized and passed the
post surgeon soon after O'Clock, hasten
ing to hospital in response to a summons
from an anxious nurse Mullins seemed Tar
too feyerish. No. as well No. had
noted how long the previous evening Shan
non and his men kept raking and searching
about the mesa where Mullins was stabbed
in the early morning, and they We're in no
mood to allow strangers too near them I'M
challenged. The first shadowy forms to
show at the edge had dropped back abashed
al the harsh reception accorded them
Fours infantry rifle and Elves cavalry car
bine had been leveled at the very first
to appear, and stern voices had said things
the Apache could neither translate nor mis-
understand. The would-be audience OF the
morning concert ducked and waited. With
more light the sentry might be more kind.
The evening previous six new prisoners had
been sent down under strong guard by the
agent, swelling the list at Sandy to thirty
seven and causing Plume to set his teeth
and an extra sentry. Now. as the dawn
grew broader and the light clear and strong.
-Four and Five were surprised, IL not start
led, to see that not twenty, but probably
forty Apaches. with a sprinkling of squaws,
were lowering all along the mesa, mutely
watching for the signaled permission to
come IN Five at least. considered the
symptom one of sufficient gravity to war
rant report to higher authority. and full
ten minutes before the time for reveiile to
begin. his voice went echoing over the arid
parade In a long drawn. yet impressive Cor
poral Of the Gna-a-rd, No. ST.
Whereat there were symptoms of panic
among the dingy white-shirted. dingy
white-turbaned watchers along the edge
and a man in snowy white fatigue coat.
pacing restlessly up and down in rear.
this time, OF the majors quarters. whiried
suddenly about and strobe out on the
mesa. gazing nOrthward in the direction
of the sound. 1t was Plume himself, and
Plume had had a sleepless night
Go be continued tomorrow.)