Middletown transcript., 1912-01-13
fend?" I asked.

Ihe front OF the house; the mai
point of attack has been there"
We could distinguish the sound Q
firing by this time, and its continuou
Volume convinced me that Caton'
estimate of the number engaged wa
not greatly oVerdrawn. AS we toppe
the summit of the hill a great burs
of red fire leaped suddenly high int
the sky.
Great God, Wayne! we are to-
late!" he cried wildly. Those devil
have fred the house"
With f1ercely throbbing heart
gazed down at the flames far below il
the black valley.
No." said with eager relief. ut il
the stable which is ablaze. See, thu
light falls full upon the white side
of the house. Thank Heaven, we are
not too late"
AS l sat my horse there, gazing
down upon that scene of black rapine
unwilling to venture into its midst
until l could formulate some definite
plan of action, fully a dozen wilt
schemes thronged into my brain, only
to be cast aside, one after another, as
thoroughly impracticabie.
I'VE shall have to make a dash fol
it, and trust in God" said Cation
guessing at my dilemma.
mo-" I answered firmly, there
would be no possibility of success in
such a course. Tnose fellows are old
hands, and have pickets out. See
Cation, that is certainly a picket-fre
yonder where the road dips. Every
man Of US would he shot down before
we penetrated those guard lines and
attained the house. We have got to
reach their inner line some way
through strategy, and even then must
risk being fired uron by our own peo-
pie before We set within cover"
Even as l was speaking I evolved a
plan of Acknowledgements it certainly
was, yet nothing better occurred to
me, and time was golden.
"Ehers," I said, didn't I see an ex-
ira jacket strapped back of your sad
dle?"
at is no good" he protested We
hemently. ut vos for der rain come"
Cal right; hand it over to the Lieu
tenant here. Cation, throw that uni
form coat of yours into the ditch and
don honest gray for. once. Sands,
come here. Take your knife and cut
away every symbol of rank on my
jacket; tear it Off, any way you can"
In another moment these necessary
changes had been accomplished.
Now" I ordered, "pile your sabers
there with mine beside the road; then
hobble your horses, all but the mule;
shall want him"
does We go der rest of der way on
toot?" questioned the Sergeant, anx-
iously.
Certainly; and I desire you to re-
member one important thing: let me
do the talking, but If any Of you are
asked questions, we are deserters from
Hills corps, tired of the war"
'Mein Gott!" muttered the German,
disconsolately. II hope it vos not long
OF, Captain; 1 am no good on foot in
der dark, by Chiminy."
"You had better manage to keep up
tonight, unless you are seeking to
commit suicide. Now, men, mark me
carefully! Load your carbines. Are
you all ready? Sergeant, see that each
man has his gun properly charged and
capped. You are to carry your arms
as thoroughly concealed as possible;
keep close to me always; obey my or
ders instantly, and to the letter. We
are but twenty men pitted against
over two hundred, remember, and
when we strike, it must be both quick |
and hard"
mounted the mule, counted the
dim figures in TIE d-r.-ness, and then
gave the order to march. AS we
moved slowly down the hill 1 was |
aware that Cation walked upon one
side of me, while Bungay plodded
along upon the other; but my mind
was SO filled with the excitement of
our adventure and all that depended
upon its successful elimination, as
to realize anything other than
The part l must personally play. Good
,ortune and audacity alone could COM
oine to win the game we were now en-
gagged upon.
A tall heavily beared mountaineer
stood squarely in the middle of the
'oad to the north of the picket-fre.
could make out but little of him as
he light shone, excepting that he
wore high coonskin cap and bore a
ong rife.
Stop right thar" he called out
loarsely, upon hearing us. who are
-ou uns?"
AS he challenged, a dozen others
prang up from about the flame and,
,uns in hand, came toward us on
un.
I'VE uns are doggoned tired O. sol.
ierin', an a gittin' nuthin' fer it." I
aid in the slow Southern drawl, IAN
Tanter jine yer gang, pervidin' thar's
ny show fer it."
How many are ye?" asked one of
he newcomers, striding forward be.
ween us and the sentry.
"A right smart heap O. bunch; bin
pickin' O. 'em up ever since we left
harlotte," I returned evasively
They be dandies ter fight, an
eckon as how ye kin use 'em, can't
e?"
Maybe; who did ye want ter see"
wal, they sed as how a feller
AIMED Lowrie wus a runnin' this yere
ang, an if thet's ther way O. it,
eckon as how it's Lowrie we're after.
e you Lowrie?"
Nav"
The answer was so gruff and short,
nd the fellow hesitated so long in
1ding anything to it, 1 began to think
was all off.
"Wal," he consented to say at last,
ngraciously, thar's a blame pile O.
: kim in lately, an calculate we got
out 'nough fer our business, but
'ckon as how Red will use ye some.
har Anyhow you uns kin come
L