The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-09-08
Colonel Frank Lemoine sat on the


gether with pair Of powerful ielG
| glasses, through which he had been
| examining, of and on for the las
| hour, tie defile which led throHgl
! the gorge, and SO to the desert plains
! beyond. His broWs were knit, his
| keen gray eyes We're troubled, the
| strenuous face had aSed in twenty
! four hours beyond the telling. The
thing that had aged him does not hap
DILL. d. @.;- IL -@,l- lit -.,.-l.', .tH.
more than once in one. Suddenly
he leaped to his feet. \ horseman
was in view in the bride path which
cut the defile in two. a few moments
more and he saw the white folds Of
the rurban on the riders head. In
less than half an hour th2 spent steed
was at the veranda steps. and Lee
moline conversing with the rider
thereof t was colloquy both
brief and unsatisfactory Lemoine,
having dismissed him. passed within.
Are you there Una?"
Yes. papa" She came to him as
she spoke. A young girl, who bore
herself well, as soldiers daughter
should. but whose wOmanly charm
far surpassed her dignity.
Ahmed is here and his report
could not be worse
She leaned against a chair, AMI
for a moment her face became white
as the soft muslin Of her gown.
What does he say"
Only what We have feared. They
are cut eff at RagOote, and nothing
can save them
His face worked as he spoke these
words. And small wonder At the
hill station of which he spoke We're
his wife, his younger daughter
handful Of friends: and they were at
the mercy. if not now in the hands
of a hostile tribe, who, in comparl-
son with the slender garrison, Wero
And We are here" she cried des-
perately But Ahmend sometimes
lies. don't trust him. If we had
had trusty messenger Dalton's COM
pany would have got to Ragoote in
time.
"A trusty messenger" he retorted
CURLY. That is the curse OF this
cursed country. Outside of our own
people, there are none"
She was silent a moment. and
faint flicker of color rose in her
cheek.
Papa, we have forgotten William
Briggs
Then did the Colonel laugh in
sheer disdain.
Did we forget him. what's the
odds? How could little civilian,
good chap though he is, work mir
acle?"
He has been gone three weeks,
she said.
And dead two of them, l could
swear" he retorted NO, no, Una,
there is nothing left but the mercy
of God"
He went back to his chair and his
solitary, desperate musing, which was
interrupted once more by the appari-
ton of another horseman in the de-
file He stood UP and raised his
glasses to his eyes. and his face be-
gan to work. He did not wait the ar
rival. but took the compound in
series of long steps, and went swiftly
forward A haggard man on a foam
covered and weary horse drew rein
close to him, and bent from the sad
die, after he had saluted.
"All's well at Ragoote, sir"
The Colonel started.
Briggs, you must have gone mad!
The things impossible!"
mo, Sir Frank. | got to Del Pindi
in time, and then rode on, because
it was deserted, to Washmak. l
caught up with Dalton in time. nine
miles out, and he arrived at RAJ
goote five hours ahead of the enemy.
| did not wait to hear the result,
but | know by the outpost signs as
rode back that they had been beat
ell, and that probably the trouble is
wholly over for the present
The man spoke modestly, and his
tired voice had certain melodious
sound. Also his face, though COW
cred with the dust of the plains,
seemed to shine.
The Colonel continued to stare.
Relief and wonderment struggled for
the mastery on his handsome face.
Briggs, you're hero; a hero, !
tell you. I'm dumb. | don't know
how it's been done. Would you mini |
telling me how as we go back? It's |
not ten minutes since | told my
daughter you'd been dead a fort
night She was trusting to you
BRIGGS bent down under pretenSe |