Putnam patriot., 1909-07-02
POST NUMBER EIGHT
ey BEATRICE TUCKER

tTf otShpAr1ea eAas4e Ro>itAo4 1a Cnka for quite awhile. We were not v.-- near an enemy an6 Kept out 10 raaa,.,. or pickets. the colonel being satiss.s win the usual chain of seDfIn.,, There was one sentry beat oYerleokT.- valley from which every man nos..s it the evening relief disappeared S- cry. no sound of any kind. WIS ha.., at post No. s, but the sentry nia..s there was not found when the eornoss, of the guard took man to relieve b3,. nor was he ever heard Of afterwars Some concluded that an enemy craw,as up from below. stabbed him and soa. his body away. Some concluded ths. the post was haunted and the septr~ was carried away by a ghost.
 When the first man disappeared th. officer of the guard reported the mat. ter to the colonel. who. thinking th.. it would be better that the uext man 10 stand post on No. s should nat know of the occurrence, ordered tba officer to keep the matter a secret ana if there were inquiries about the miss. ing man among his comrades to giy. out that he had been ordered away m a special service. So the second man did not knew of the mystery of the first, nor the third of the second. nar the fourth of the third. The fourth man was the last to vanish. for afts, he had gone the regiment was orde>, to the front.
 was a member of Company c. and we knew more about the disappear. ances than the officers thought we aid but we didn't know what had beeome of the sentries. 1t was the prevailing opinion that the men were murdered by hostile Spanish citizens. but with what object we were ignorant. After the war closed l came north with the rest of the command. but eight years later went to Cuba on business. and there one day, while passing a sugar plantation. who should l see sitting be. fore q workman's cabin but John Hen. derson, the last man who had .disap- pearea from sentry post No. s At first Ire pretended not to know me. but I looked him square in the eye and told him he couldn't fool me Then be owned up ard told me the following story:
 "When placed on post and left bv the retreating relief I stood for awhile uncertain whether to risk death by some unearthly means or by being shot for deserting my beat knew that three men had attempted to hold it against natural or supernatural che mics and failed. While was deliber- ating I heard a girls laugh and look ing down, saw a merry face and two black eyes peering up at me The girl had a basket on her arm full of flowers and began to pelt me with them. supposed she was simply passing that way and didn't connect her with the ghost who had spirited away the other sentries. I seized one or two of the posies and threw them back at her. She was too pretty to keep at distance. and I invited her to come up and sit with me on the slope. It wasn't long before had my arm around her and stole kiss
 .'She spoke some English and, point ing 10 a house below, told me she was on her way to a dance to take place there. We soon heard the sound of music and the girl begged me to go down with her. have a dance and get back before the relief came. l was tempted and fell l went with her, danced several times and was thinking I by the men in the room and made prisoner.
 "They were about to take me out 10 shoot me when the girl who had ar ranged for my capture stood in tne door and jahbered Spanish at them with constantly growing irritation. ! didn't know then what she said, bn1 learned afterward that. having gwen them three victims. she wished fne fourth to be spared. Finally she pre- vailed. partly by threats to expose them to our troops above and party by her influence over them. l was re leased and. accompanied by the gifi, started up to camp. 1 had plenty or time to get there. but was daliylhs with her. she showing plainly enough that she had gone daft on me. triea to tear myself away from her, ou' couldn't. I knew she had betrayed three other men, but her preferenes for me caught me. and while Mas trying to get away from her l heafu the relief visit my post. Then l kne. 1 was too late. for if went to camp would be shot for being absent on ns post
 That threw the whole matter lhso the hands of the girl. It was the sah's as having sold my soul 10 the aesa- 1 deserted. and we went away tese'h CT. She deserted. too. for she ns's' went back home. Her people "e'e Spaniards, and the men who had peeA bent on shooting me were Spaniafus- They lived about there with tneir ial. uies, and had the girl told on them z, she threatened to do. our colonel wooA1 have arrested and shot them had only consented to let me eo V Der promise that she would Keep
 from getting back to the coinmaDa- Of course. not understanding spanise. 1 didn't know this at the tiIae VI should have been forewarned Henderson had married the girl .oA they had several children. III enAs country women fade early. ana up'- an introduction l found the wife ho'' v enough to use for seareero". have remembered the incident sinee ., a warning to all men uot to pe away from their duty by pretty faee Henderson was living in terror, scions of being q de<erter. and aa