Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-09-12
Ole
Miller'S Ghost
A Story of GaribaIdi and the
One Thousand
By F. A. mitchell


who, strange to say, were not at all in
accord. and in the case of two Of them
there was great antagonism. These
three men were Victor Emmanuel,
king of Sardinia; Count Cavour, his
prime minister, and General Garibaldi.
The king acted as rallying head for
the Italian people. Cavour's splendid
diplomacy prevented the interference
of foreign powers, and Garibaldi struck
the blow.
When Garibaldi, at the head of 1000
volunteers, landed on the Sicilian shore
to support the revolution in that island
and advanced eastward he fought IA
battle in which he was victorious, and
the supporters Of his enemy. the king
of Naples. commonly called Bomba, re-
treated to Palermo. where the kings
main army was located. protected by
a feet Of war vessels in the harbor
During this fight. when Garibaldi
was advancing. an Italian soldier, Giu-
seppe Guardet, was captured by Bonn
ba's troops. This Guardet was as'much
of a genius in a small strategic way
as was his general in leading armies.
Guardet was sent forward with other
prisoners in the direction of Palermo
that they might not be retaken by
their advancing comrades. But in any
event soldiers in retreat do not make
the best of guards. and Guardet, who
had been wounded. pretending that
he could not keep up with his captors,
Jagged behind and when he saw that
he was unobserved by those hurrying
on ahead of him sank down behind
some bushes.
If the prisoner had been in the rear
instead of in advance of the retreat
ing army he would have needed only
to wait for Garibaldi to come up. AS
it was. he must conceal himself till
the main body and rear guard of the
royal troops had passed on. AS soon
as he ceased to hear the confused
sprang up, notwithsta nding his wound.
which was not in vital part, and ran
as fast as his legs could carry him into
a wood beside the road on which he
had been marching. Sicily is noun
famous country, and he, was on slope
at the foot of mountains, stream run
ming through it down to the plains be-
low. Following this stream he came
to a water mill.
Guardet found the mill deserted ex-
cept for donkey hitched to post, on
whose back were several bags of -four
evidently intended for delivery. In.
side grain and -four were in bags and
in heaps.
The fugitive. seeing that he had
found good hiding place. threw him.
self down on the bags of -four to rest
and, being exhausted. fell asleep. He
was soon awakened by voices and
starting, ran up pair of stairs to the
upper part of the mill, where he found
large heap of -four The voices came
nearer till he could hear them directly
below. Guardet burrowed into the
-four. leaving only breathing space
for his nose at the back part of the
pile, where it would not likely be
noticed. The comers were chattering
below, and the hider soon learned that
they were Neapolitan soldiers. He had
been missed almost as soon as he had
dropped behind. and these men had
been sent back for him Noticing that
the mill was good hiding place, they
searched it When they came up the
stairs Guardet withdrew even his nose
under the -four and held his breath.
They did not think of looking for a
man in such a plce, and Guardet had
the satisfaction of hearing them 60
away.
AS soon as he was free to come out
from his hiding place he did so, white
as the -four that had shielded him
Going into a little room where the
miller kept his accounts, he found a
fragment of looking glass fastened to
the wall and by it saw that his face
was like that of corpse. Wiping
the flour from his forehead with his
hand. which was covered with blood
from his wound. he left a smudge of
blood coagulated with -four. Then the
idea of playing the part of a ghost. il
necessary to effect his escape. occurred
to him, and he dabbed himself here
and there with blood, and with some
ink he found beside the miler's ac.
count books blackened the sockets OF
his eyes.
Surveying his image in the mirror
he lost all fear of capture. for. know
ing well the superstition of Italians. he
felt sure he could easily put to flight O
whole army of them.
The sun was now low behind the
mountains, and Guardet concluded to
sally forth with a view to working his
way backward to rejoin his comrades
Leaving the mill, he saw the donkey
still patiently standing tied to the post
and it occurred to him that there was
no need for him to walk when he could
rs well ride. To heighten the ghostly
effect he emptied the bags of -four over
his steed. with the exception of one
bag, which he left in its place for q
saddle. Then, mounting. be guided the
little beast down to the road.
There he hesitated If he rode 70