The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-01-04

KXEIIs%~EXSyJ1 SAT IT tIlc uCiNH0s
NM NJ before Platburgplay-
! INN HTs1 ing poker as though
W%\NA9TLE.ss} a siege were the last
4fstS sSS sJs9 thing in the world to
4&&| Ss.<<9 beconsidered They
sxtson old ammunition boxes, and
wtfeAusing empty Maxim cartridges
forscEips
Matcfer, the red stripes which
married him as an artilleryrnan still
$li0Winx through the dirt on his
trousers, leaned against the legs Of a
MAxirii qtiick-fircr, and the two men
Who worked the gun looked over the
tlAyers' shoulders with faces discreetly
Blank of expression.
FsssRaiseyou ten, announced That
cher, shoveling the brass shells onto
the iniprovised table.
Morton met The bet without raising
his eyes from his cards. An instant
laFr Thatcher called and Morton
tAkctl III his winnings carelessly.
MJnths Of hard work in the field lead
iilg His sturdy infantry here and there
hhineithcr reduced Morton's rotun-
ditylnor rubbed the ever present grin
frsiifi his features He let his merry
eyes travel lip 1hatcher's long figure
to his long face--and laughed.
Billy lie said, whimsicallv,
ebeine ail artiilerynan you cant be
agocd poker player, 1t isn't in the
nnttre ~ things You fellows are too
slow. too calculating YOU don't
ktihW the meaning Of the word bluff
Eelgiysscd long enough htocxchange
iyinks, aYitn the appreciativc c.ew Of
The Maxim, ard 10 rake III the cards
sliieh Thatcher solvnnly dealt him.
80 Look at this siege, = he went on
ak the arranged his hand. We've
bean gssuatting il front Of this dinky
l.Ainier for three interfninahle weeks,
ollscfnuse yorr Fabian artillery can t
ptucii holes Cor us to climb through =
Thatcher looked at his friend
severely over the tops Of stccl-howed
yyectacles
You know perfectly WELL he
demonstrated, that it would be
sheer butchery to try and rush that
place with infantry now"
t'Of course know it, answered
Mortnn. and that 'swhyI belaboring
YOU, II you gunners moved little faster,
tonk more chances at going wrong and
thnhght things out on paper less, we'd
have hccn IN there ten days ago"
dull boom sounded from the direction
0llh0 town, and shell screamed shrilly over
TIE tnp of the trench. Morton looked
~tound with an expression Of mild annoy
nee.
How many shots does that gun need to
1t the fsngc9' he asked Of one Of the
aHBout ten,n answered the man, with a
ins
Then VIC III make this a Jackpot and dis
u tthe cascmstes," announced Morton.
Three more shells, each Of them swirlms
Bic closer. ripped over their heads before
'kstchsr called again.
aThrne queens!n announced Morton
milling. Thatcher threw down his cards
vith d ForIorn expression, and Morton ex
1adM with laughter.
ssNilliana, Y he said, "therc is nothing fcl
4. 10 saveyour honor youmust 80 out anc
ret shot You now owe me nearly iouI
hundred dollars; you viii never have that
much at one time You can't stand in my
debt forever, ergo, youmust goand get your
self killed.!
Another shell droned overhead; the
Msxim's crew were getting maniiestly
nervous, Morton looked mp critically, ther
gathered his winnings in tinklng handful
i"rAl ye what III do he proposed
"i'll bet you this much, three to one. they
dbbit get the range in three more shots"
EffAtchershook his head soemnly, and a:
heidi ", ,the fifth shell hurtlcd through The
aih&ha blifSt 80 close to their position that
thN four haen scuttlcd for the casemate or
haNds aj5l knees. AS they crawled tc
saftty, Mcftoncaled.-
ssyou'd have won your bet, Billyw
Inside the casematc the four men squattec
and waited for the enemy TO get through
with his morning practice Such things had
become matter Of course after three weeks
duringwhKlgthcp operations Of the siege kad
worn tterdsafe4aeeply into pretty dchnAt
grooves. THIS condition had been assisted
by the slenderness Of the opposing forces
The tiny force in platburg had been coopeC
upbya daring, flying column, strong enough
tokeep them penned in and nothing more
while the besieged could hold their own
but did not dare attempt sortie in force
Day ,sfter day Of the same sort had rollec
past0 thatcher, whose battery Of six three
inch guns threw 50 many rounds at regula
sr.tA-1ziS- was d-lirh'SA. n~-+c- -.h~.