, 1908-11-12
CHAPTER xxxIH.
The Old Rcuiment.

tentlOn everything Dut thc phoibc.'s
that had brought him there. He ex'
perienced no fear, no premonition of
coming disaster. yet the r~eawakencd
plainsman In him kept him sum cient
Iy wary and cautious. He possessed
a soldiers proud confidence in his reg
lment-the superstition that the old
fighting Seventh could be defeated vas
impossible: the Indian did not ride
those uplands who could do the deed!
Then there came to him a nameless
dread, that instructive shrinking
which a proud. sensitive nan must
ever feel at having to ace his old
companions with the shadow of a
crime between. In his memory he
saw once more . low-ceifnged room,
having a table extending down the
center, with grave-faced men. dressed
in the full uniform of the service,
looking at him amid a silence III e
unto death: and at the head sat a
man with long fair hair and mus
tache. his proud eyes never to be for
gotten. Now, after silent years, he
vas going to look into those accus-
ing eyes again. He pressed his
hand against his forehead, his body
trembled; then he braced himself for
the interview, and the shuddering COW
ard in him shrank back.
Away to the left something was
moving. a dim. shapeless dash of
color. 1t might be Benteen, but Of
Reno's columns he could perceive
nothing, nor anything of Clusters ex-
cepting that broad track across the
prairies marked by his horses hoofs.
This track Hampton followed, press
ing his fresh mount to increased
speed. confident that no indian spies
would be lettering so closely in the
rear of that body Of cavalry. and be-
coming fearful lest h attack should
ecu before he could arrive.
He dipped over a sharp ridge and
came suddenly upon the rear guard.
They were a little squad of dusty.
brown-faced troopers. who instantly
wheeled into line at sound OF ap-
preaching hoofs, the barrels of their
lowered carbines g~listening in the sun.
with a swing or the hand and a
shout OF dispatches" he was
beyond them, bending low over his
saddle pommel, his eyes on the dust
cloud OF the moving column The
extended lin OF horssmen. riding in
columns of four, came to a sudden
malt, and he raced on. A little squad
OF officers. several OF their number
dismounted. were out in front, stand
Ing grouped Just beyond the summit
of a slight elevation. apparently look
ing on into the valley through some
cleft In the blum beyond. Standing
among these. Hampton perceived the
long fair hair, and the erect figure
clad In the ~well-known frontier cos
tune. of the man he sought-ths
proud. dashing leader OF light cav-
airy. that beau ideal Of the sabreur.
the one he dreaded most. the one he
loved best-Custer. The commander
stood, field-slasses in hand, pointing
down into the valley. and the dispatch
bearer. reiEning In his horse, his lips
white but resolute, trotted straight ur
the slope toward him. Custe. wheel
%. annoyed at the i~nterruption, and
Hampton swung down from the sad
die, his rein flung across his arm, took
. single step forward. lifting his hand
in salute, and held forth the sealed
packet
dispatches, sir" he said, simply,
standing motionless as a statue.
The commander, barely Elancing
toward him, instantly tore open the
long Official envelope and ran his eyes
over the dispatch amid Q. hush in the
conversation
Gentlemen" he commented to the
little group gathered about him, yet
without glancinE up from the paper in
his hand, Crook was defeated over
On the Rosebud the 18th, and
forced to retire. That will &C
count for the unexpected number of
hostiles fronting us up here, Cook;
but the greater the task. the greater
Ah> ~Iory Al T -