The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-26

I'd.
He stood up ON his toes and peered.
A moment longer and glad cry
reused the colonel.
1T is a horse" the young man said
happily, "saddled and bridled and ri
derless. Hurrah, Now to try TO catch
him"
A long time seemed to pass before be
returned, and the colonel, in his new
found distrust, began to believe that
Spencer had deserted him; but he came
up after a moment leading a horse.
WhiCh he fastened TO a bush. After ali,
he was a mere boy.
The boy came slowly up and stood
ever the colonel. He thrust his hands
into his belt and squared his jaws.
Colonel Hayward" he said IF we
set away from here. and you get back
alive, what are you going TO tell peo-
pie about NEE
His tone and manner left nothing un-
explained TO the other
Spencer feared the revelation of his
cowardice, and offered him, in his help
lessness a rescue as the price of his
silence.
The colonel turned fiercely upon the
boy. To his distempered fancy the
parted red lips seemed to betray the
( fanged snarl Of an animal. and the
beastly instinct of se1f-preservatiOn TO
fill the whole figure before him.
"Weil?" said the boy insolently.
In a fury he whipped the revolver
from his belt.
Help me out of this you hound he
cried, wei settle that score after
ward"
/ The pistol was not loaded; thought
might have reminded the boy. but the
cOlOneFs personality lowered above
him, and no favorable circumstances
could prevent him from knowing his
master. Into the others blazing face
he looked and covered as he had never
done before. He put up his hands
whimpering
Don't Colonel Hayward, don't for
Gods sake, 1 intend to see you safe to
quarters. You do me injustice
He led the horse up and helped the
wounded man to mount. The colonel
I got painfully IN, still holding the pis-
F tol in his hand.
The horse seemed 4 fairly fresh one
and travelled rapidly urder the double
! load. The ground SKINNED under
them. Colonel Hayward closed his
I eyes. He thought surely they must be
near to camp, when horrid cry
i sprang from Spercer's throat and the
horse plunged madly forward The
colonel twisted his head around weakly
and saw the explanation. a small body
/ of mounted men were holly pursuing
them. Spencer's face was like wax.
! He looked at the colonel and then at
/ the pistol in his weak grasp.
For Gods sake, tighten the load,
sir" he shouted as the painting horse
/ began to flag, that pistol weighs"
/ The colonel IOOsened his hold and the
thing went gathering to the ground.
I 1t did not help matters. The horse was
/ too heavily burdened. 1t was breath
/ ing in gasps and could not last much
! longer. The others were gaining upon
/ them rapidly.
The colonel saw the whole situa ton
/ in flash: he was an aging man who
was supposed to have had his day;
| he was wounded. too, perhaps fatally:
on the other hand, here was Edith's
! boy-prOven coward, il was true-but
! then life was no less dear to him on
that account, and he was her son. The
one life for the other-which?
But his mind halted there, already
1 answered.
He felt a bullet scorch his leg and
loosened his hold. AS he did so a
voice sounded in his ear 1t rang rau-
cously, with frenzied excitement and
terror. Hands thrust and tore him
from the saddle
LET co. the voice sounded. Let
go. This horse can't carry us both
Get off: you're dying anyhow. Oh God
Wen both be shot; Let so, d--n you
let go YOUR hold. l say
5 SOS0OsS 8a5Na11 Se2 Nas 1eean. III
pursuing men, other h0rsetacn from
other directions, the earth, the sky, the
world seemed spinning around him
Cruel hands thrust and tore at his
wounded arm. As he struggled. in his
frenzied fancy, he thought he was
young and hopeful and talking WITH
Edith again. then. with rocking stag
ger the worn-out horse fell. bringing
them down together in a limp and
broken heap.
When the colonel came to himself
he felt a decided change in his attitude
to life. On shutting his eyes the last
time upon the humiliation of all things
| as il had seemed TO him. he could not
reCollect any very poignant feeling of
/ regret; but now, as ne lay comfortably
in bed. his interest in things revived.
His wounds gratefully pressed tho
cool linen bandages. II was his OWL
room in which he lay it's calm order
contrasting forcIbly with the thought
of that last resting place of his. He
realized keenly how good ii was to be
| among friends again as he recalled thai
CHASTITY duello on horseback. He tried
| to keep his mind from recalling tht
facts, but they flooded back beyond re-
sistance. He w eht over them again ir
! their sickening details. and when, later
! in the day, his next in command sat
quietly talking things over ne did not
| foresee that he had anything new to
hear He wondered whether he had
heard arisnt when Major Miller had
reached a certain point in his remarks
1T was a splendid rescue" he said
something gilt-edsed for the Twentyl
fifth cavalry, and IL will certainly mean
rapid promotion for Spencer. Jovel He
was lucky fellow to get chance like
! that. ] don't say we would have all
| embraced il so nobly, but / can give
my testimony 7 never saw a Drawer
] thing done. Why, man, the bullets