The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1905-09-01
Fear Of the Night

the north, ''you are going on picket in
ate picket will be only twenty rods
away. Some bushwhacller may try to
steal upon you, but there's not much
chance Of 1t. Don't get nervous and fire
your musket in the air or call out.
Don't shoot unless you see man and
unless that man ts creeping up on you ;"
No man knows whether he is brave
until he has been tested. Sometimes
the test is not fair one. 1t was not
fair to test Williams bravery in this
way. In quarrel by daylight with a
single man into whose eyes he could
have looked he would have fought hard
and had no fear in his heart.
There was plenty for Williams to
think Of, and for time he did not real
ize the lonesomeness of his position.
Then it came with long drawn gust
which swept through the trees and left
sort of wall in its wake. The wall
sounded like the signs Of thousand
wounded men lying on battlefield in
| the darkness, and 1t struck chord IN
the heart Of the man gripping his mus
ket and peering about him. The bab-
BILE of the creek had had CHEEKY sound
at first. Up home on the old farm there
was creek that babbled just that
way. He had gone down and hidden 1t
goodby before coming away After
that long gust Of wind the creek seem
ed to change its notes, however. 1t
scolded and complained. 1t fumed and
fretted. 1t seemed to tell u story Of q
battle and Of a thousand men crawling
down to drink Of its waters and turn
them to crimson.
There was no walking to and fro.
The man on post must simply stand
there in the deep shadow under the
beech tree and peer and listen and
think and feel his nerves gradually be-
coming raw. At the end of three-quar-
tiers of an hour the recruit felt his
teeth clicking together In scorn and
indignation he gave himself blow
ON the chin and forced his thoughts
back homeward.
whats that"
1t was only coon or poSSum scam
pering over the dead leaves, but the
noise was near by and sounded so like
the footsteps of a man that the recruit
felt his heart freeze within him. By
and by the animal uttered squeal and
ran away, and then he knew what 1t
was, but he was all of Il tremble and
the sweat starting out on hands and
forehead. He sat down under his trem-
bling legs and fought himself. A
thousand recruits have done that same
thing, but only few have conquered.
Let his nerves get the better Of him
in the lonely darkness, and his will
must be Of iron to chase away his
fears. Imagination gets in its work
after the first fright Williams had no
thought Of running away. He could
not have done so had he wished. The
wind came again, telling of death and
wounds and lone graves never to be
resurrected for all time. The coons and
possums rustled about, believing that
he was asleep or had stolen away, and
now and then a branch of tree sawed
against another with mournful sound.
Something stumbled along on the OPP
poslte bank of the creek. 1t was only
a sore backed horse which had been
turned adrift from one of the armies
as not worth the cost Of the cartridge
to shoot him, and the animal was
browsing at the twigs and seeking to
get down the bank to the water. To
the recruit, crouching on his post, 1t
was bushwhacker prowling about
and trying to locate him and drive
knife to his heart. There were the fall
ing of dead limbs, the rustic of dead
leaves, the half moan, half sigh, high
Up among the treetops. A year later
he would not have paid heed to one
of these things, or, If he had, he would
have reasoned them to cause In
flash.
"They are creeping up on me-they
are closing in-they mean to murder
mew moaned the recruit as he Rugged
the ground and threw the cape Of his
overcoat over his head, as if that was
a protection against bullet or bayonet.
After that he had no will. A child
could have crept upon him and led him
away captive. He wept and prayed.
He groveled and moaned. A rabbit
crept close to see what manner Of thing
that was ON the ground, and, hearing
long drawn sobs, the timid animal
scurried away and wondered that 1t
reached its burrow without pursuit.
The horse drank its fill and lay down
with groan. 1t had an intuition that
some human being was near by, but It
would avoid rather than seek the pres
ence Of man and his inhuman ways.
As the minutes dragged along there
were more groanlngs from the saving
limbs, more gusts with their tales Of
war and suffering, more scattering and
scurrying over the dead leaves. And
man and a soldier lay huddled up on
the cold earth and listened and shiv-
cred and wept and moaned. When the
two hours had dragged themselves
away the corporal came again with his
relief.
"Williamsl Willlamsr he softly call
ed as be reached the post,
No answer.
Williams, where the devil are your
Has the greenhorn deserted his postT
HE is here, sir" replied one Of the
men as he bent over the huddle on the
earth. HE is here, sir, and I'll be
hanged If some bushwhacker hasn't got
in on himv'
When the body had been conveyed to