Connecticut western news., 1903-04-16

WEf~h the rigimint comes.
 - WN Dye moind meY'
 If the gov'ment"- began big Pal Callahan. but Mick snarled:
 ..Hould yer jaw an talk wid yer car bine. All av ye fix yer carbine soights at 800 yards. koie down an take good rest on the tince rails. Count off from the roight up to 16. Whin I give the worrud. number wan is to loire at the first mounted officer at the right for ninst him, number two at the mkt, an 90 on, an aich av ye kape on shootin' till yez bring down yer man. Whin they ain't got any ginerals an colonels an majors am things, mebbe they'll shtop to talk about it an give our rigi- mint chance to come up an charge 'em. Them min that ain't got no mounted officers to shoot at, foire loike blazes at the colors. Don't any man shoot till holler 'toime""
 The jacket filling heart throb that all soldiers can recall came upon me as 1 lay dowa and selected rest where there was . clear way between the shrub bery and weeds which always infest q country fence row. The promise was of a fight of kind for which had all ways longed-a fight with a mass of troops instead of with occasional heads and shoulders half screened by trees and stumps. But I had also longed to be in the saddle and following dash ing, trusty commander and with an even chance of success. Now I was hugging the ground, with an unfamil- far carbine in my hands, a Summerton ruffian for my commander and the odds against me at least 50 to l. .. . : "T0imew screamed Mick.
 Our carbines reported almost in vol ley force style. The heat simmer pre- vented good aim, yet there were three less heads visible above the gray line when the smoke had been blown away.
 '.Kape peggin' at 'emr' said Mick as he leaned on the fence, shaded his eyes and peered forward. A few more shots man, after which no more mounted officers were visible. The gray line stopped quivering like . heat band. Evidently it had halted.
 "Kape on foirin'." Mick ordered, stan' make aich shot tell! Pepper all along their loine. Take lot of ground to the rOight an lift, youse fellers on the Hanks, so they'll think our loine is lon ger an there's more of us than there be-"
 The order was 0beyed- The gray line had decreased the distance be- tween us to about quarter of . mile. % we could note breaks in the ranks whenever our shots told
 @Aim carefuly' Mick ordered. Its Ro toime to fool away cartridges"
 was of the same opinion. and was beginning to wonder what would hap pen should we run out of cartridges. There vas a standing order in the reg iment that every man should always have 4O carbine cartridges in his box and 10 full rounds for his revolver, but Q short had been our many previous fights that all of us had become care less as to quantity of ammunition. Sel- dom had any man more pistol ammuni- ton than that already in his revolver No one was astonished to hear big Pat Callahan growl:
 "DhfvH another cartridge hev to me name"
 Nor l." said Brainard
 We're dhivtls. both av yet But kape yer Reyolyers-al av ye-fer close ae- tionr' shouted Mick, ''an' pray fer the rest ay our Figimint to come up"
 The carbine fire continued, but more slowly, while men who were out of cartridges borrowed from comrades with fuller boxes. Soon the firing ceas- ed entirely. Mick frowned. glared wildly and said to me:
 'tCoppyral Frost, ye've the biggest ears in all Summerton. Go out to the road an lay yer ear down to it an see av ye can hear the rigiment a-comin'"
 l obeyed orders and at first mistook my heartbeats for hoofbeats. but was obliged to report that I could hear nothing.
 The silence was becoming appalling, for the enemy had not yet fired a shot. The Johnnies, more sensible than their adversaries, seldom or never wasted their bullets on smoke puffs and ''cov- CTS" behind which figures did not show
 '.Ofd loike to lux into the oiye av the felly that's a-bossin' lem an see that his thrick'l be-" said Sergeant Mick. "Av Oi was him an things so quoit in front av me, Oi'd think he was sneakin' for a back holt. Coppyral Brainard, fhat's yer own opinionT
 Same as yours, sergeant" Brainard replied. He doesn't know how few we are, for we've fired a great many shots and he doesn't imagine we have breechloaders. Probably he thinks his enemy has left his front aud is trying to flank him. I wonder, though, that he doesn't send out skirmfshers to look into the situation over here"
 Thrue fer yez. It's ividint yez didn't lave yer brains in yer bunk back in camp Now moind whoile Oi spake to yez all. Call in thim min on the hanks-tell 'em to come on their hans an knees. Are yez all here? Thin listen: Av they sind skirmishers over, we mustn't let none av 'em git back. ilse their boss'n know how wake our line is, an they'll try to cut off our rigi mint from camp. unless maybe the rigi- mint's already done the same by them, an they'll ate us up intoirely.
 sSo we must kape livery dhivil av 'em from gittin' back. Scatter to the roight an lift whin the skirmishers ceme- Let 'em git over the fince an toward the horses. Thin close in an give it to lem in the back wid yer pis- tols, an don't foire till yer so close that yez can't miss lem. They can't foire more than wan shot apiece-the skirmishers can't-if ye don't give lem . chance to reload.'
 An how'll we git away then, with the Johnnies close to our horsesY' ask ed big Pat Callahan.
 "Git away, is it7 Ye don't git away till ye kill me-ye or any av ye.' We're here to hould the ince, an here we stay till the rigimint comes, or we go to glory. If yer pistol gifts impty, pick up Auno rafl ns rrco if loil-o n lo.ao o- D