Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-02-15

stopped suddenly with an exclamation
Of disgust Nothing could be gained
by longer masquerade. and ! felt In
expressible shame at being thus at
tired. Neither pass nor uniform
would suffice to get me safe through
those outer picket lines, and n | should
fall in the attempt or be again made
prisoner, | vastly preferred meeting
my fate clad in the faded gray of my
own regiment. With odd sense of re-
lief hastily stripped on the gorgeous
trappings, flung them in the ditch be-
side the road, and pressed on, feeling
like a new man.
There was small need for caution
here, and for more than IN hour I
tramped steadily along. never meeting
a person or being startled by a sus-
picious sound. Then, as rounded a
low eminence | perceived before me
the darkoutlines of trees which marked
the course of the White Briar, while
directly in my front, and half OBJ
scured by thick leaves of the under
brush, blazed the red glare of a fire.
| knew the stream well, its steep
banks of p~ercipitate rock, its rapid,
swirling current which, | was well
aware, | was not a sufficiently expert
swimmer to cross. Once upon the
other bank l should be comparatively
safe, but to pass that picket post and
attain the ford was certain to require
all the good fortune | could ever hope
for.
But despair was never for long my
comrade, and l had learned how de-
termination opens doors to the coura-
geous-it is ever he who tries that en-
tiers In. 1t took me ten minutes, pos
sibly, creeping much Of the way like
a wild animal over the rocks, but at
the end of that time | had attained a
position well within the dense thicket,
and could observe clearly the ground
before me and some of the obstacles
to be overcome.
AS supposed, It was a cavalry out
post; l could distinguish the crossed
sabers on the caps of the men, al
though 1t was some time before l was
able to determine positively where
their horses were picketed. There
must have been all of twenty in the
party, and l could distinguish the leu
tenant In command, a middle-aged
mar with l~ight-colored chin beard,
seated by himself against the wall of
a small shanty Of logs, a pipe in his
mouth and an open book upon his
knee. His men were gathered close
about the blazing fire, for the night
air was decidedly chill as it swept
down the valley; a number were
sleeping, a few at cards, while a little
group, sitting with their backs to-
ward me, yet almost within reach of
my hand, were idly smoking and DIS
cussing the floating rumors Of the
camp. | managed to make out dimly
the figure of a man on horseback be-
You'd the range Of fame, and appar-
emily upon the very bank of the
stream, when some words spoken by
an old gray-beared sergeant interested
me.
Bob" he said to the soldier loung-
ing next him, "whut wus it tibet staff
officer sed ter Their leftenant? | didn't
just git Their straight of it."
The man, a debonair yong fellow,
stroked his little black mustaches re-
tlectively.
Their cove sed as how Coles di-
vision wud be along here afore day
light, an tibet our fellers ,wud likely
be sent out ahead of EN-"
"Whar be they a goin'?" &
The leftenant asked him. an the
cove sed as it wus a gineral advance
to meet OIL Hancock at Minersville."
".Thet's good 'nough, lads" chimed
in the sergeant, slapping his knee. 1T
means a dance down the valley after
Early. Pm a guessin' we'll have a
bang-up oil fight fore three days
more"
"Pervidin' alters tibet Their Johnnies
don't skedaddle fust," commented IN.
other, tartly. "Whut in thunder is
Their matter with them hosses?" he
asked suddenly, rising and peering
over into the bushes beyond the hut,
where a noise of squealing and kick
ing had arisen.
"Oh, the bay FLY is probably over
the rope agin," returned the SER
geant, lazily. "Sit down, Sims, an be
easy; you're not on boss guard ter
night"
81 know thet," growled the soldier,
doubtfully, but tibet thar kid is no
good, an l don't want my boss all
banged up just as we're goin' on
campaign. 'Tain't NO sorter way ter
hitch EN- anyhow, to a picket rope;
ruins more bosses than Their Rebs
dew"
(To BE CoNTINUED.)