The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-19

OF the wounded. the hacking OF the
unarmed--and caught, too, in a
glance. the good, wholesome faces Of
marines. The Mallows, too, had faced
about, and in an instant Connolly had
thrown himself into the heart Of G
company, striving with the officers to
form the men up with their comrades.
But the mischief had gone too far.
The rank and file had no heart in their
work. They had broken before, and
this last rush Of murderous savases
was a hard thing for broken men to
stand against. They finched from the
furious faces and dripping forearrns.
Why should they throw away their
lives for a flag for which they cared
nothing? Why should their leader
urge them to break, and now Shrek
to them to reform. They would not
reform. They wanted to get to the
among them with outstretched arms,
with words OF reason, with shouts,
with gaspings. It was useless; the
tide was beyond his control. They
We're shredding out into the desert
with their faces set for the coast.
'Rhoys, will We stand for this 2"
screamed a voice. It was so ringing,
so strenuous, that the breaking NAL
lows glanced backward. They were
held by what they saw. Private Con-
oily had planted his rifle stock down
ward in a mimosa BUSH. From the
fixed bayonet there 1uttered a little
green flag with the crownless harp.
God knows for what black mutiny,
for what signal of revolt, that flag
had been treasured up within the cor
poraPs tunic! Now its green wisp
regimental colors were Keeling slowly
~ .
What for the fiag?" yelled the
private.
my hearts blood for lit! and mine!
and mine!" cried a score Of voices.
God sGod bless it! The flag, boys-the
6 company were rallying upon it.
The stragglers clutched at each other,
and pointed. There, MCGUIRE, Flynn.
O'Hara," ran the shoutings. "Close
on the flag! Back to the flag!" The
three standards reeled backward, and
the seething square strove for a clear
shattered ranks. but G company, grim
and powder-stained, choked with enc
mics and falling fast, still closed in on
the little rebel ensign that tapped
from the nimosa bush.
It was good half hour before the
square,, having disentangled itself
| from its difficulties and dressed its
ranks, began to slowly move forward
| over the ground, across which in it's
labor and anguish it had been driven.
The long trail of Wessex men and
| Arabs showed but too clearly the path
| they had come.
How many got into us, stephen?"
asked the general, tapping his snuff
! II should put them down at thou
sand, or 1900 SIR
II did not see any get out again.
| What the devil ; were the Wessex
thinking about? The Guards stood
well, tho; so did the Mallows."
Colonel Flanagan reports that his
front flank company was cut off. sir. y
| Why, that's the company that was
out Of hand when we advanced!"
| Colonel Flanagan reports, sir, that
the company took the whole brunt OF
the attack and gave the square time
to reform" =,
/ '"rell the Hussars to ride forward
Stephen" said the general, land try
| If they can see anything Of them
There's no firing. and fear that the
Mallows will want to- do some recruit
ing. Let the square take. ground by
the right and then advanced.
But the Sheik Kadra of the Haden.
dowas saw from his knoll that the
men with the big hats had rallied, anc
that they were coming back in the
quiet business fashion Of men whose
work was before them. He tool
, counsel with Moussa the Dervish ant
4 Hussein the Bagarra, and a, woestrucl
man was he when he learned that tn
third Of his men were safe in the Mos
lem paradise. So, having still som
signs of victory to show, he gave tn
word, and the desert warriors fittet
off unseen and unheard, even as the.
!. had come.
A red rock, plateau, few hundre'
spears and Remingtons, and a plai
which for the second time was strewl
!, with slaughtered men, was all that hi
s days fighting gave to the English gen
! Eeral.
It was a squadron of Hussars which
came first to the spot where the rebe
flag had waved. A dense litter O
EArab dead marked the place. With
the flag waved no longer, but the riff
still stood in the rnimosa bush, an
; round it. with their wounds in from
lay the, Fenian private and, the silen