Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-03-24
A WOMAN'S VALOR

tent was pitched upon Il damp, uneven
piece of ground. Mason was the first
to break the long silence.
'Well, for my part" quoth he, 81
don't believe one word Of women Ell.
listing and serving as soldiers. Every
paper you take up is full Of some such
trash. The other day ut inspection
Jay, the assistant surgeon of the For
ty-ninth, said he'd bet that splendid
bay Of his that one of the corporals in
Company Of the Tenth was wom-
an. l haven't seen him since to in
quire. but l never should have thought
Of suspecting the MANTLE woman, l
mean"
Hardy did not reply.
Mason" said l, do you remember
at Bull Run, when We were both in
the Seventh infantry, what Il splendid
young fellow we had for color SER
geant? How CALAMITY he defended his
flag and then how almost miraculous
ly he saved Colonel Blair's life in the
charge!'
Indeed do" replied the captain.
with enthusiasm, starting to his feet
as he spoke. 1T was the most gallant
action performed that day. Why. doc
tor, his hands We're all shattered to
pieces by ball passing through them
as he grasped the flag, yet he managed
to hold it by pressing it to his breast
with his arms, though he must have
suffered awful agony. Blair said he
had given up ever getting out of that
scrape alive when this fellow came
dashing along and, throwing himself
between him and the enemy. received
in his own body the ball intended for
the colonel. l never saw Il man feel
anything as Blair did that"
you never surmised that the color
sergeant of the Seventh was a wom-
an?" 1 asked quietly.
by George! Do you really mean it,
doctor?' exclaimed Mason in aston
ishment, and even the quiet Hardy
started up from his board and looked
at me to see if were in earnest.
"You need not stare So" continued.
II am telling you the truth. l dressed
the poor creatures wounds that night.
and the next day she sent for me and
an orphan when quite young, and
Blair's mother, who was very wealthy,
had taken her into her family as a
sort of confidential servant, keeping
her mostly in her own apartments. In
this way she had seen more of Blair
than she would have done under ordi-
nary circumstances. He was Il hand
some, dashing young fellow. and, al
most uncOnsciously to herself and EN-
tirely so to him, she became deeply at
tached to him. Not long before the
war broke out he married and brought
his wife home to live. This opened
poor Margaret's eyes to the sad truth
that her peace of mind was gone for
ever, and she could not endure the
misery to which she knew she must
be subjected If she remained in the
family. You know that Blair was one
Of the first to offer his services and
raise a regiment when the war came.
Margaret heard of it and, by what
means she did not tell me, managed
to disguise herself and enlist in it.
can't imagine how she escaped detec-
ton, but she did, and all know with
what bravery and GOODNESS she full
filed her duty. Her last words to
Blair were: I was sure l should save
your life in some way, and l die hap
by. Think sometimes of poor Mar
garet. Oh, my God, pardon And
the next moment Margaret Powers,
the brave color sergeant of the Sev-
enth infantry, was dead"
MY two auditors made no comment
on my story. Hardy covered his face
with his hands and turned away.
Suddenly Mason started and listened
intently, then, without word, sprang
to the side of his horse, which was
fastened near the tent, and began plac-
ing the saddle upon him with his own
hands. We hastily followed his ex-
ample and in few minutes stood
thoroughly equipped beside our horses,
ready to mount. Then l asked:
"What is it," Mason.
''The long roll" he replied.
"On the right; DevereauX's division,
think"
"Another stampede among Hazel
by's mules probably" said l.
"No," said Mason. "Hazelby is on
the left now, and. besides, the general
heard it and started before l did. He
is as ready for action as any one when
there's fighting ahead Have you any
cartridges to fit my pistol, doctor?"
gave them to him, and even before
he had finished loading his revolver
the general had mounted, and we were
by his side fastening to the front For
time all was quiet. but just before
daybreak the enemy attacked and
drove in our pickets, Of whom two
were killed and several wounded. A
skirmish followed. and for the next
few hours I was fully occupied with
my professional duties. About noon
they brought in a poor young fellow.
mere boy apparently, and one glance
at the fearful cash in his head as
sured me that he had but few mo-
ments to live. would not annoy
him by examining his wound, as
knew | could do nothing to prolong
J., tat h c