The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1910-01-13
POST NUMBER EIGHT
BY BEATRICE TUCKER.

copyright, 1909, by American Press Assoc
ciation.1
During the Spanish-American war
my regiment Of United States infan-
try occupied single position in Cuba
for quite awhile. We were not very
near an enemy and kept out no vedettes
or pickets, the colonel being satisfied
with the usual chain Of sent1nels.
There was one sentry beat overlooking
q valley from which every man posted
at the evening relief disappeared. NO
cry, no sound of any kind, was heard
at post No. s, but the sentry placed
there was not found when the corporal
Of the guard took a man to relieve him,
nor was he ever heard Of afterward.
Some concluded that an enemy craWled
up from below, stabbed him and TOOK
his body away. Some concluded that
the post was haunted and the sentry
was carried away by a ghost.
When the first man disappeared the
officer of the guard reported the mat
ter to the colonel, who, thinking that
it would be better that the next man
to stand post on No. should not
know of the occurrence, ordered the
officer to keep the matter secret and
If there were inquiries about the miss
ing man among his comrades to give
out that he had been ordered away on
a special service SO the second man
did not know of the mystery Of the
first, nor the third Of the second, nor
the fourth of the third. The fourth
man was the last to vanish, for after
he had gone the regiment was order1;
to the front.
I was member of Company G, and
we knew more about the disappear
ances than the officers thought we did,
but we didn't know what had become
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 ! came north with the
rest Of the command, but eight years
later went to Cuba on business, and
there one day. while passing sugar
plantation, who should l see sitting be-
fore a workman's cabin but John Hen
derson, the last man who had disap-
peared from sentry post No. s. At
first he pretended not to know me, but
I looked him square in the eye and
told him he couldn't fool me- Then he
owned up ard told me the following
story:
when placed ON post and left by
the retreating relief / stood for awhile
uncertain whether to risk death by
some unearthly means or by being
shot for deserving my beat I knew
that three men had attempted to hold
it against natural or supernatural enc
mics and failed. While 1 was deliber-
ating heard girls laugh and, look
ing down, saw a merry face and two
black eyes peering up at me. The
girl had 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. 1t wasn't long before l had my
arm around her and stole a kiss.
"She spoke some English and, point
ing to 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. 1 was
tempted and fell. 1 went with her,
danced several times and was thinking
Of returning when I was surrounded
by the men in the room and made q
prisoner.
'"They were about to take me out to
shoot me when the girl who had ar
ranged for my capture stood In the
door and jabbered Spanish at them
with constantly growing irritation. I
didn't know then what she said. but
learned afterward that, having given
thSh ShASS fASlAuIS, SuG W1SuGQ the
fourth to be spared. Finally she pre-
vailed, partly by threats to expose
them to our troops above and partly
by her influence over them. I was re-
leased and, accompanied by the girl,
started up to camp. 1 had plenty of
time to get there, but was daIlying
with her, she showing plainly enough
that she had gone daft on me. I tried
to tear myself away from her, but
couldn't. l knew she had BETRAYED
three other men, but her preference
for me caught ME, and while I was
trying to get away from her 1 heard
the relief visit my post. Then knew
I was too late, for if 1 went to camp
would be shot for being absent on nv
post.
THAT threw the whole matter into
the hands Of the girl. 1t was the same
as having sold my soul to the devil
deserted, and we went away toeeth-
er. She deserted, too, for she never
went back home Her people were
Spaniards, and the men who had heen