The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-09-17
The Chirp of
the Cricket va
BY NJ. QUAD.
Copyright, 1908. by Daily Story Pub. CO..

n RIVATE John White had answered
roll-call on this Wednesday night
81 Fort Concho, and between that time
and taps had worked his way past the
sentry lines and become a deserter. He
had been planning the move for a
month. If his captain and his orderly
sergeant had taken the trouble to study
him a little and to handle him on differ
ent lines he would not have had black
mark against his name. Neither COM
Elissioned nor non-commissioned Off
GERS study private soldier If he has
arms and legs and head. that is enough.
He is told to do this or that. as material
is fed through machine, and he does
1t or takes the consequences. it is not
asked of horse or man, when the one
is bought and the other enlisted. if their
tempers are good or bad. Discipline is
depended on to settle that,
Private John White was over-sensi-
tive and naturally impatient of re-
etraint. No matter how he came TO en-
list. nor why he hadn't philosophy
enough to submit to the inevitable He
was fast-bound for three years. and his
feelings were not to be consulted. In
month after he had Joined his regiment
at Fort COncho his officers were down
on him and his comrades were calling
him fool. The marks piled up against
him, and he spent more days in the
guard house than out of it. He was so
continually on police duty that it was
not once in a fortnight he was seen in the
ranks
Damn the mani" exclaimed Col.
Blank, one morning, after seeing the re
turns for the previous day and noting
a further report against Private White.
The delinquent was sent for The
colonel meant to look him over. at least.
There must be something queer in the
makeup of a man who would tilt at
stone walls. Private White appeared,
but scarcely had a question been asked
when the colonel was called away and
the delinquent was returned to the
guard-house. He took it that other pun
ishment was to be heaped upon him,
and that evening he deserted He took
neither arms nor rations in his fight.
The remainder of the night was passed
in the bushes to the west of the fort, and
when daylight came the deserter set off
across the plains stretching away for
hundreds of miles. If they looked for
him it would be in any other direction
No man in his senses, no matter how
desperately driven. would head to the
cDlrth that
terless waste, whose far edge. if ever at
tanned, rested aginst grim mountains.
Without food-withOut water-without
firearms. the man set forth. looking fur
lively over his shoulder now and then
to see if he was followed. and after an
hour he felt safe from pursuit. Squads
were ordered out in search of him, but
they went east north and west.
mo use to try the plains" said the
colonel. IF that were the only way he'd
come back to us in less than "a hours"
Private White had looked off over the
sterile plains thousand times. but he
had not listened to the stories told by
the men in whispers as they smoked
their evening pipes. They had said that
for 300 miles there was no water. 1t
was ridge after ridge of sand and alkali
plain, on which only wire-grass and
cactus could grow, and on which only
crickets, Lizards and serpents could
live. There were bones of horses and
mules bleaching under the sun-bones
Of hunters and soldiers bleaching be-
side them. OF all human beings, only
the Apache Indians skulked to and fro
over that monotonous waste. and of
birds only the vultures winged their way
over, and now and then descended to
pick again at the whitened bones The
soldiers told of men gone mad of thirst
of other men being driven mad by the
awful loneliness, but Private White had
sat by himself and heard nothing
Before noon the deserters tongue was
parched with thirst and the sun beat
down numerically, but he simply rested
for awhile and then pushed on. On the