Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-02-07
\ MN eNiN nm IN II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
: BOB HAMPTON -.
Of PLACER
Va AAOAAA
By RANDALL PARISH Author of
When Wilderness was King My Lady
Of the Notrh" Historic lnlnois" Etc. -.

.--g...,; e ne savage. e.s
down the river, enough remained to
keep up a CALLING fire, and hold Reno
strictly on the defensive.
AS the men lay exposed TO the con
tinuous shipping fire, above the sur.
rounding din were borne to their ears
TIE reports Of distant guns. II came
distinctly from TIE northward, grow
Inc heavier AMI more continuous
None among, tSeE. doubted its oni'.ous
q a.ng. Caste VS. already en- ,aged
in ut action at / { right Ct the Indian
0L?age. WIZ - 9 they kept lying
t.-ere in idleties'! WHY were they not
pus I'D forward to do their part? They
loo ilto each others faces. God,
= ''' w'~a ~ '"w; they could sweep
'|'l L. C. at fringe of reG
SKI ' hay got the vo'd'
Of1cer d lreO.a to re,'ra d
AAS AhAPobAOA' 70 n fE.Ot = J.
bluff summit, :. xh tim y els
and personally begged - najc IL
speak the one word whic, ST ri
them to the rescue. They - id ike
women, they swore through cli7ched
teeth, they openly exhibited their con-
tempt for such a commander, yet the
discipline Of army service made active
disobedience impossible. They went
reluctantly back, as helpless as chill
dren.
1t was four o'clock, the shadows Of
the western bluffs already darkening
the river bank. Suddenly faint cheer
ran along the lines, and the men lifted
themselves to gaze up the river. Urg.
Ing the tired animals to a trot, the
strong hand of trooper grasping
every halter-strap, Brant was swing.
ing his long pack-train up the smoke
wreathed valley. The outriding flank
ers exchanged constant shots with the
skulking savages hiding in every "a.
vine and coulee. Pausing only to pro-
tect their wounded, fighting their way
step by step, N troop ran the gantlet
and came charging into the cheering
lines with every pound Of their treas
ure safe. Weir Of D, whose dismount-
ed troopers held that portion of the
line, strobe a pace forward to greet
the leader, and as the extended hands
OF the officers met, there echoed down
to them from the north the reports of
two heavy yolleys, fired in rapid sue.
cession. The sounds were clear, dis
tinctly audible even above the uproar
OF the valley. The heavy eyes of the
two soldiers met, their dust-streaked
faces flushed.
THAT was signal, Clusters signal
for help" the younger man cried, i'm
pulsively, his voice full of agony. For
Gods sake, Weir, what are you fel.
lows waiting here for?"
The other uttered groan, his hand
flung in contempt back toward the
bluff summit. "The cowardly fool
won't move; he's whipped to death
now"
Reno. you mean? Whipped? You
haven't lost 20 men. Is this the Sew.
enth!-skulking here under cover
while Custer begs help? Doesn't the
man know? Doesn't he understand?
By heaven, I'll face him myself! III
make him act, even II have to damn
him to his face"
He swung his horse with a jerk to
the left, but even as the spurs touched,
Weir grasped the taut rein firmly.
Its no use, Brant. It's been done;
we've all been at him. He's simply
lost his head. Know? OF course he
knows. Martini struck US just below
here as we were coming in, with a
message from Custer. 1t would have
stirred the blood of anyone but him
oh Cod it's terrible, s- .
q "a message? What was it,"
Cook wrote it, and addressed It to
Benteen. 1t read: Come on. Big VII
lage.i Be quick. Bring packs. And
then, p. S.-Bring packs That means
they want ammunition badly; they're
fighting to the death out yonder, and
they need powder. Oh, the coward"
Brants eyes ran down the waiting
line OF his own men, sitting their sad.
dies beside the halted pack animals.