The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-11-07
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renee Joins the minute mon.
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who are those fellows back
there" | questioned at last. made
nervous by the silence
The boys in the guch? Jersey
milItiamon." he explained shortly.
'You see there's some Of us that
cant get away all the time. because
OF the women and children, and the
farm work. Besides. regular soldier.
ing don't just appeal TO our sort. SO
we Go our fighting round home In our
own way However. the most Of us
man"Gc to have a hand in the real
thinE once In while even at that.
We were over at Germantown. and
down NJ Brandywlne Farrells got a
comm .slnn. but the rest Of us are
taKius cur chances. It's neighbor
nGaius' nc!Ehbor Whatever we've
got lcit has been held nj the point OF
the rife. We're doing our share in
this war. an Washington knows t.
Over there 10 the east Red Fagin,
Old Man Kelly an their gangs Of Pine
Robbers, are making the fields red:
sometimes they get down this far
raidiuT the farms. but mostly. we're
fighting fOraEcrs out OF Philadelphia.
and they're not much better. Half the
houses in this country have been
burned, and mercy isn't very common
on either side Those lads yonder are
efif Lone 60. IgTI A,,e
thcy'r" wolves to fight. and hungry
for II"
They are called on whenever Far
,rell wishes9"
"Wcll, yes; those come who can
They're not always tho same bunch
You see Farrell covers quite n bit Of
country. with lieutenant in each sec.
tIon who Is In touch with the neigh
bors there. belong in Camden, and
don't go outside very often but there
is sort Of organization all the way
between here and New York When
ever there Is a big fight on. the most
of us get into II somehow Washing.
ton counts on us in pinch, but most.
! ly we're raIding or cutting OF British
supplies, Say. Major. isn't that those
fellows coming?"
! lie pointed into the caRt. in which
direction the road ran. barely revealed
by the faint light OF the moon for per
'haps hundred yards. looked eager.
fly, and could dImly distinguish n |
Ivaguc shadow on the summit Of n dis. |
liant rise OF land. The shadow moved |
however. and as we both stared in I'M
certainty. there came to our enrs the |
far-of crack OF whip We drew |
farther back against the bank, paus.
ing to make sure there was no decep- |
tion. One by one we could perceive |
those vague shadows topping the rise |
land disappearing. counted ten. con.
WINGED they were covered wagons. |
and then the night wind brought TO
us the crealtlng Of wheels. and the
sound OF mans voice Duval's hand |
grippcd my arm, and to the signal we
crept back beyond the crest. and then
hurried down to where Farrell had
concealed his men, He was awaiting
us In the middle OF the rond, his short
broad figure almost laughabe in the
moon shadow.
We'll, are they coming"
Just over tho crest" replied Duval
81 counted fifteen wagons"
Quite n convoy an worth fighting
for Take the left Duval: Major,
come with me"
We drew aside under the protection
a |
clearly to the top Of the ridge. Only
for Il moment was there silence, the
mon all about us lying low in their
covcrts. breathless and intent. Then
we heard horses hoofs and the mur.
muir Of approaching voices.
We could see them quite clearly. ns
they topped the crest the moonlight
revealing men and horses so distinct.
ly ! could even guess at their uniform.
Those In advance rode slowly, four
abreast, down into the black shadows,
lolling In their saddles, voices muir.
seemingly unconscious OF any
danger. II was easy to comprehend
their state OF mind Delavan had been
left alone fcv week. permitted TO
sweep the countryside unmolested.
He and his command had naturally
grown careless. never suspccting their
avery move had been watched by
teen-eyed scouts. Now. guarded by
irant's troop. they believed them.
elves sufficiently strong for any
Emergency; that no force the scat.
cred enemy could gather would ven.
ure upon attack. BY daylight they {
could be within sight of the Philn.
elpha outposts. and serenely conf 4
eni In their numbers, the night
careh had therefore become a mere
o,tina ] heard Farrell chuckle grim.