The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-11-04


were locked firmly in their sockets, and that
the cut-otfs Of the rifles were not set, Off
GERS drew theirswords, laid theniattheir sides
hetrenches and threw awaythe scabbards
while piles Of haversacks and blanket-rolls
appeared, for charging men must 60 light.
Five minutes before nine, Morton, hat
and coat off, sleeves rolled to the elbow, his
sword hanging from his wrist by loop,
crawled into the gun-pits, where he found
Thatcher, stripped to the waist, waiting
gloomily among his ugly guns. They shook
they had done since ~. day at West Point.
"I'm ashamed Of y5u,' Thatcher said,
seriously. "I'm beginning to think you're
to blame for this folly. Wen be butchered,
the lot Of us-say, what have you and those
engineers been doing, Steve?"
Morton's irrepressible grin broke out.
'sYou cold-blooded old fish, : he scoffed
"You'd have burrowed and steamed in this
hole in the ground till the end Of time. The
generals man after my own heart; he'll
take chance"
Thatcher stared at him, unconvinced.
Morton glanced at his watch and rose.
"Now, young man, he said Importantly,
"Ill explain bit. Ii you'd looked at that
railroad with the eye Of an engineer -ahem!
You'd have noticed that there's a long
grade, two miles of it, sloping straight into
the city. OF course the Burghers have torn
up the track, but track can be fixedi Three
weeks ago you'd have noticed that tangle of
half-burnt, derailed box and flat-cars three
miles back of usand you'd have put two
and two together"
4 "What?" demanded Thatcher, with so
much unwonted excitement that the steel
glasses slid to the end of his long nose,
what"
3 "You Just watch the railroad and my
chariots and horsemen," Morton went on.
"And, for the love OF Heaven Billy, give us
all the noise and metal those tubes Of yours
will produce! Well, can't be late to dinner.
SO long!"
1 From the direction of the railroad sounded
distant, low rumble. Men in the trenches
pricked UP their ears and listened. The
rumbling grew louder, punctuated by sharp
clicks which could only be made by cars
hitting the worn ends of hastily laid rails.
Sharp orders snapped through the waiting
lines and the men gripped their weapons
and rose to their knees. The rumbling
grew louder, and the staccato chatter of
Maxims tore into the night. The enemys
searchlights reeled about in great arcs,
throwing the landscape into high lights and
burying it in darkness like the flicker" in
musical comedy. A sudden sputter Of
rife-fre, settling into the measured crash OF
volleys, came from beyond the railway, and
the rumbling Of cars increased. The waver-
ing searchlights steadied, and their long
fingers Of light pointed blindingly down the
lines of glittering steel rails
Another order barked through the
trenches and the long rows Of dirty, 4iervous
figures sprang over the heaps Of earth as
though every man had been on steel spring.
"Open out, open out!" cautioned the low,
anxious tones Of the officers. Remember
the minesl Don't get past the wire-men!
No shooting till we're among 'eml"
The men bent low like runners and the
scufing Of many feet mingled with the slow
patter of big rain-drops. Into the fixed
glare of the searchlights came freight-car,
its forward end smashed, its doors gaping,
but its wheels gaining momentum at every
revolution as it slipped down the long grade.
The enemy's lines toward the railroad were
suddenly pricked out in pattern against the
darkness by thousands of little spurts of fire,
with here and there longer jet of flame as
the batteries woke up. Through the grow
ing din of the enemy's fire sounded the
steady clatter of the missing Maxims, and
the crash of the mysterious volleys beyond
the railroad.
From the gun-pits Thatcher saw another
car, another, and then solid string OF six
fiat-cars, their wheels spinning as they
gathered speed, rumble into the broad bands
of light The artilleryman's solemn face
hghtened, and his breath came quickly as his
trained ear realized that all the enemy's fire
was being poured out on the railroad. Across
from his own position, beyond where the
brown infantrymen were scurrying through
the darkness, there was complete silence.
Now he yelled at the waiting gunners,
with ring in his usually placid tones that
made them jump, " and for Gods sake keep
'em high! Don't hit Steve's infantry
As his first gun crashed he glanced again
toward the railroad and saw the enemys
batteries frantically pitching common shell
at trundling string Of cattle cars and gnn@
dolas"
Under cover of the smothering darkness
the scattered lines OF running men painted
toward the distant slopes, the shrapnel from
Thatcher's guns screaming above their
heads. To their right they could see the
glareoflight and hear the din of the strange
attack at whose nature only Morton could
guess. And he, one fist gripping his Colt so