The Caucasian., 1913-10-09
MYSTERY Of A
SENTRY POST
A Strange Episode of the
Spanish-American War.

| my regiment of United States infantry
| occupied Il single position in Cuba for
! quite awhile We were not very near
! an enemy and kept out no vcdettcS or
| pickntS. the colonel being satisfied with
the usual chain of scntinels. There
was one sentry beat overlooking Il val
| ley from which every man posted ut
the evening relief disappeared No
cry. no sound of any kind, was heard
ut post Ne s but the sentry placed
| there was not found when the corporal
| Of The guard took II man to relieve him,
! nor was he over heard of afterward.
Some concluded that an enemy crawl
cd up from below. stabbed him and
| took his body away Some concluded
| that the post was haunted and the
| sentry was carried away by ghost.
When The first man disappeared the
officer Of the guard reported the mat
ter to the colonel, who thinking that
| it would hc better that the next man
| to stand post on No 9 should not know
| of the occurrence. ordered the officer
| to keep the matter secret and IT
| there were inquiries about the missing
man among his comrades to give out
| that he had been ordered away on n
special service So the second man did
not know of the mystery Of the first.
nor the third of the second. nor the
| fourth Of the third The fourth man
was the last to vanish. for after he had
| gone the regiment went to the front
| was "A member of Company G. and
| we knew more about the disappear
| ances than the officers thought we did
| but we didn't know what had become
| of the Sentrics. 1t was the prevailing
| opinion that the men were murdered
| by hostile Spanish citizens, but with
what object we We're ignorant. After
rest of the command. but eight years
later went to Cuba on business, and
! there one day. while passing Il sugar
| plantation who should l see sitting be
fore workman's cabin but John Hen
derson, the last man who had disap-
prarcd from sentry post No. 8. At
first he pretended not to know me, but
| looked him square in the eye and
told him he couldn't fool me. Then he
told me the following story:
When placed on post and left by
the retreating relief stood for awhile
uncertain whether to risk death by
some unearthly means or by being
shot for deserving my beat.
| While was delibcrating l heard
| girls laugh and. looking down. saw
merry face and two black eyes peer
ing up at me. The girl had basket
on her arm full of flowers and began
to pelt me with them. l supposed she
was simply passing that way and
didn't connect her with the ghost who
had spirited away the other sentries.
seized one or two pOsies and threw
them back at her. She was too pretty
to keep at q distance and invited her
TO come up and sit with me. on the
slope. 1t wasn't long before l had my
arms around her and stole a kiss
''She spoke some English and, point
ing to house below. told me she was
on her way to dance to take place
there. We soon heard the sound Of
music and the girl begged me to go
down with her. have dance and get
back before the relief came. l was
danced several times and was thinking
Df returning when l was surrounded
aad made Il prisoner.
THEY We're about to take me out to
shoot me when the girl who had ar
ranged for my capture stood in the
door ard jabbercd Spanish at them
with constantly growing irritation. l
didn't kn6:y then what she said, but
learned aftt,rward that. having given
them three victims, she wished the
fourth to be spared. Finally she pre-
vailed, partly 10y threats to expose
them to our troops above and partly
by her influence over them. was re-
leased and. accompanied by the girl,
started up to camp. had plenty Of
| time to get there but was dallying
with her, she showing plainly enough
that she had gone daft on me. ! tried
to tear myself away from her, but
couldn't | knew she had betrayed
three other men. but her preference
for me caught me- and while I was
trying to get away from her heard
the relief visit my post Then l knew
| was too late for If / went to camp
would be shot for being absent from
my post.
That threw the whole matter into
the hands of the girl. 1t was the same
as having sold my soul to the devil.
deserted. and we went away togeth-
err She deserted too. for she never
went back home. Her people We're
Spaniards. and the men who had been
bent on shooting me were Spaniards.
They lived about there with their fam
lilies. and had the girl told on them. as
she threatened to do. our colonel would
have arrested and shot them. They
had only consented to let me go on her
promise that she would keep me from
getting back to the command. OF
course. not understanding Spanish, ]
didn't know this at the time or should
have been forewarned."