The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-12-02


bursting shells destroyed the nearest
| pontoons, carrying off the working
party away with it. Yet, nothing
! daunted, fresh pontoons were pushed
off and foated down and a fresh com
pany of sappers were there to lash
the stanchons tight.
"They will never do it," said the
captain, as it seemed that the latest
effort had failed. See, they are
bringing down achievements from
the bluff above us" 1t was true-a
column of Russian infantry were de-
bouching from behind the hills on the
opposite bank of the river, and were
moving down to the threatening
bridge. The Japanese gunners had
seen them, and almost Immediately
the column was torn and shattered
with bursting shell, but this counter
was not sufficient to stay their adj
vance Down they pressed toward the
waters edge; SO near were they now
that the Guardsmen could make out
the CLINT of the individual bayonets as
they glistened in the midday sun.
Nov is our time" shouted Tanaka,
"see, here comes our orders" A staff
officer galloped up; as he came, the
two officers could see that the last
pontoon had hoated into its place, and
that by wading it would now be pos
sible for the infantry to dash across.
The staff officer shouted his order
"Bridge-head! Guard, column of fours
from the right" The suspense was
over. In a moment the battalion was
on its feet, and Tanaka was racing
with the men Of the leading four for
the bridge They felt the pontoon
sway under their feet-they jumped
from side to side to avoid the mangled
frames CT dead and wounded sappers.
A shell tore up the planks in front
of them, and spattered them with the
blood and flesh of some luckless engi-
neer Through the cloud of smoke
Tanaka could see that some fell in
the holes, others were hit. Now it
was the actual bridge-head, 80 yards
of water, how deep, how shallow, who
could say! All that they could see
were the bayonets of the opposing
Russians. They were almost down
to the waters edge. Tanaka was the
first at the actual bridge-head; what
had happened to his captain he did
not know, what had happened to the
colonel mattered not to him; with one
shout of "Banzai!" he leaped into the
water, and all that he realized was
that the men were leaping in beside
him. For moment it was waist deep,
it was knee deep, and now they are
on the dry land.
Of the next five minutes who shall
speak accurately? All that Tanaka
knew was that the sword blade, which
had been in his family for 400 years,
clashed roughly against a bayonet,
and was then fleshed true and hard.
Then the impetus from the slope
above bore him and his companions
back, but they made a stand at the
waters edge, and that stand was suffi-
cient to save the bridge-head Com
pany after company came splashing
through the water, and then the Rus
SLAMS were taking the steel in the
back. 1t was a horrible melee; and
when Tanaka really came to his
senses he was trying to form up his
company amid the smoking guns of
captured Russian battery, while cor
poral, chattering with excitement, |
was binding up his arm with first |
field dressing. Until this moment Tan
aka did not even know that he had
been wounded.
There was no paper printed in jap |
anese which did not ring with the |
heroism of Lieut.. Tanaka, Of the |
Guards There was hardly a shop win
dow in Toxic which had not colored |
picture detailing the lieutenant's hero
ism at the passage of the Yalu. For
the moment there was no more hon
ored name in all Japan. There was
no woman in all the many islands
which comprise the Far Eastern EN-
pire prouder than the little white
skinned Geisha, Teru San. Now her
self-sacrifice seemed as nothing. What
ever it may have cost, she had en-
abled her lover, not only to win his
ambition, but also to place himself in
the history of his country.
She had been making her toilet
since 4 in the afternoon, for that very
day Tanaka the wounded hero, had
returned to Toxic. Even as she sat,
rubbing the powder on her cheeks,
she could hear the shouts of the crowd
which were according him a public
welcome. 1t was meet that she
should look her best. for today was
to be the greatest day in her life.
The telephone bell rang. Anxiously /