The La Jara chronicle. (La Jara, Conejos County, Colo.) 1896-19??, 1905-04-28

Grafton paced rapidly back and
forth in the trenches striking at clods
and roots with his drawn sword. Close
against the rude parapet, the men
huddled and cursed the heat, which
was terrific. The rays of the sun
beat straight down on the newly dug
earthworks and the musty and oppres-
sive odor of bruised yucca roots ac-
centuated the sitting humidity of the
atmosphere. Flies and gaudy tropical
insects buZzed and circled oblivious
to the hum of high-aimed bullets and
the scream of occasional shells.
The company had occupied the same
line of trenches since early dawn.
The legs of the men were cramped
by the strain of long sitting. but
nervous good humor pervaded the
whole line. A riccochet bullet sent
shower of dirt and small stones rat
Ting down on the heads of a crouch
ing squad. The giant sergeant fiicked
the dirt from his dilapidated cam
paign hat with the delicacy Of snuff
taking gallant and the file on his rig It
said High Ball" The entire platoon
glanced at Grafton to laugh if tkey
could catch the glimpse of a smile on
his dead white face; but Grafton did
not laugh. He was struggling might
lily with the very fear of fear.
From his post in rear he could see
the low range of hills q thousand
yards in front and just below the
crest a thin yellow line of fresh-turned
earth marked the strong position Of
the enemy. At regular intervals the
faintest veil of light blue haze APP
peared on the left of the little ridge
and in an instant, silhouetted dead
black against the steely sky, fifteen
millimeter shrapnel caromed acr:ss
the stretch of open and burst with she
deadly accuracy of well-cut fuse,
Just in front of the grove of pssm
trees on the left, where he knew .he
line of attack lay waiting for the fl iaI
word.
Once he heard the vicious "ptick!"
of sharpshooters Mauser ball over
his head and a single leaf and twig
fiuttered down at his feet from the
one great tree in rear of the trenches,
and his throat choked with the fear
of sudden death.
His eyes glanced nervously along
the straw-colored open and up the
gentle rise of ground. In ten minutes
that ground would be torn and cut
with bullets falling as thick - rain
drops and he must cross it. God! He
could not do tit meant death. vio-
lent and horrible. The earth and hills
and sky reeled and danced before his
eyes.
mounted aid of the generals,
man who like himself had been a boy
cadet at West Point scarcely a month
before, rode into the trenches. The
gaze of the entire company was fixed
upon them as they held low-voiced
consultation-the great charge would
take place at once-in five minutes
three! His heart was beating wildly.
oh, he had found it out too late. He
was a coward-a coward, with a hun
dred men watching his every move for
signal to hurl themselves into
maelstrom of death and fearful de-
struction. His brain worked with de-
lirious rapidity and the thoughts fol-
lowed each other like the separate pic
lures of a kaleidoscope. He caught
momentary glimpse of his fathers
proud face humbled by the news of his
cowardice, and there were the men in
the corps at West Point and his moth
er and gray-eyed black-haired girl
and the regiment and his own com
pany and he-a shame to them all.
Over on the hill, cracking thunder
broke forth and branches fell from the