The National tribune., 1903-11-26


challenging him. a. should have donA
had not our attention been attracted to tho
Orderly Sergeant.
Advance and give the ceGntsfsign,'
commanded the officer, and I went for
ward. 'Countersign's correct he an.
swered. But who are your
Lieut.. Bosworth. Of Cunnel Sprig.
sins's rijimint, with recruits answered,
as naturally as could.
Yo' air? Well. it's monty lucky ]
met ye'. You air just the game I'm after,
Col. Spriggins's battalion has been dis
banded and his men put in other regi.
ments. 1 started out this morning q
gather up all the recruits l could find for
my regiment. How many We yo' got7 70
and them all fall in with usr
This was n sumner. but l answered
promptly: III do nothin' of the kind. I'm
ordered to find Col. Spriggins with my
men, and I'm a-gwine there. Git out o
the road and let me passr
Il noticed Larry was alongside Of me
with his carbine barrel raised ready.
haint no time to argy with yo'' he
said peremptorily? 1 got a heap to do
to-day. fo' fall in there, as I told yo',
without any further FUSS
He was so determined that saw there
was no use in wasting any more words,
for he brought his gun barrel down on the
Lieutenant's head, knocking him out Of
his saddle, and yelled to the boys to for
ward They started on the run after my
horse, and l turned and fred a shot back
to increase the confusion in the Lisuten-
| ants company, which had not been pre-
pared for such an event. My shot, how
| ever. alarmed the Orderly Sergeant, who
was forming his company in the road, and
they hastily snatched up their arms to be
| ready for whatever might happen. We
rushed through them. Larry and knock.
ing the first down with our carbne-barrels,
with my boys, to their credit, aiding nobly
with the sticks they had been carrying for
canes. We got through the Orderly Ser
geant's company, and Larry and I turned
and fired a couple of shots at them to de-
ter them from pursuing.
The confusion among them, however,
was only momentary. Both companies
speedily pulled themselves together and
started down the road after US. Swack-
hammer, in some mysterious way, had
wriggled through. and I noticed the white
hanch of his horse ahead leading us as
before. 1t was like the white plume Of
that fellow in the poem that We used to
spout at school. The thing was awfully
desperate, for they could speedily oyertake
my men on foot. / began looking for a
narrow place where Larry and l could
turn around and fire on them to hold them
back while the men got away. Just then
l noticed Swackhammer turn suddenly out
lowed him into swamp. As we made
our way down the bed of the creek, we
heard the companies rush on down the
road in pursuit The bugles were now
sounding the reyeille all through the camp,
and We could hear the men turning out
with the sounds of the shots to hurry them
up. We turned and twisted so much in
our road that was bewildered which way
we were going. and at times feared we
were heading back for the camps but
presently we struck lane on the other
side of the hill from the main road, and
rushed down it.
The picket's right ahead said Swack-
hammer to me. You go on and ride right
over 'em. We haint no time to STOP
The picket post had been aroused By
the noise of the firing. and the reserve as
well as the videt on post, were standing
gun In hand shivering nervously in the
chill morning air, trying to make out
what was happening. Larry and caught
sight OF them as quickly as they did of us,
and squirting our jaded horses for final
rush, rode square at them, receiving their
wild fire. and giving them couple of
shots apiece in return. We were through
them in an instant, they jumping over be-
hind a fence for projection We went
down the road little ways until we were
out of their sight, and then turned off
again into the brush, and after an hours
hard travelling our hearts were lifted by
the sight Of the morning sun cleaning on
the distant spires of Atlantis. We seemed
safe at last, but the thought of this. after
our awful nights work, took all life and
energy from us. We had done all that
men could, and now that it seemed we
were almost within our own lines, our feet
refused to take another step. The rebel
camps seemed SO far away. All sound
from them had ceased for it appeared an
age.
''For the howly mither's sake said
Larry. Lets foind some place and loie
down and rest. I'm clear bate out. I
can't go another rod fur the loife Of me,
and what's the use? Our pickets must be
right over there some place
"Swackhammer led us up into clump
of cedars which entirely hid us from view
in every direction, and We all threw our
selves on the ground in utter exhaustion,
but before we did SO Larry. pulling out Of
his pocket 81 900 Confed. which the strsg-
glers had given him, said to Swackham-
mer:
"'swack. Owe said good many avil
things agin yo'. for which I'm moighty
sorry. l take them all back. Ye've been
a man, and we've helped US out Of a
moighty tight place. I take off my hat
and humbly apologize for all Owe said.
Take this money. Yo've armed it.'
"Swackhammer grinned a sickly, SER
vile grin. and showed the money into some
blanket which I had spread out, and we
were soon fast asleep. 1t was past noon,
and the sun was shining brightly when I
was awakened up by a kick in my side,
and opened my eyes to see a rebel Cap:
tain standing over me with cooked revol-
yer.
Get up, Yanks,' he said I've done
got YER
81 sat up and looked around, and there
stood Swackhammer skulking behind a
tree, with a grin of evil triumph on his
face. / saw it all in an instant. His I'M
conquerable propensity for spying and be-
trayfng had overcome him again, and after
leading US to- a place OF safety. he could
not resist the temptation to betray us
again into the hands Of the rebels.
CTo be continued)
THE Government of Panama starts
without navy, but she has very oblig-
ing big neighbor who Is disposed to allow