Las Vegas optic., 1913-05-12

forbade her to be faithless to Hutton,
she had at least found marriage i'm
possible then
Now his duty was clear; at all cost
he must save this mans life, both
for his country's sake and for the sake
of honor. Lucy would not have had
it otherwise.
"I'n tell her." he said But you'll
pull through, Sergeant It's bad
wound in each place, but the ball has
only shattered the bone. Now lie
still behind this rock and wait till
the relief arrives.
A wild yell burst forth from beneath
the hill. re-echoed from 500 throats.
The Filipinos were charging again.
And this time they charged home.
The defenders, reduced to less than
twenty men, could not stop that reck-
less onslaught. They drew together,
striking out with dubbed rifles, sur
rounded by ring of savage, taunting
foes. There was no chance to load.
AS each rifle butt fell the fanatics
rushed in upon the wielder slashing
with their long knives, forcing the 9th
ers back, hemming them in, assailing
them from every side. There was no
thought of quarter Richards found
himself swapping the trigger of his
empty revolver. He drew his sword
and ran alone into the heart of his
foes, cutting them down, eluding their
blows almost miraculously. When at
last he stepped back, having gained a
little space, but six of his men re-
mained unscathed.
Suddenly, far down the valley the
clear notes of bugle rang through the
air Then, over the Stiffness Of the
afternoon came the faint sound Of
jangling bits A cloud of dust was ris-
ing above the palms The Filipinos,
surrounding the last of their enemies,
hesitated to rush forward to certain
death, and, swinging his sword, Rich
ards momentarily cowed the bravest
of them.
Now, men," he shouted above the
tumult each of you take a wound.
ed man on his shoulder and retire
down the trail I'll stay here and COW
er you until you reach the road" And,
stepping behind the rock, he seized
the rifle Of the wounded sergeant, and,
crouching over him, began pumping
bullets into the ranks of the enemy.
Richards was now facing the saw
ages alone. Poised between two gi-
gantic boulders, he could be reached
by but one man at time
Crack! went the rifle, and at each
shot man dropped Now his men
we're Fastening toward safety. Rich
ards emptied his rife into the retreat
ing masses and then, catching up the
wounded sergeant, crept down the hill.
It was whole minute before the ma
lives discovered that he was gone.
They dared not follow him beyond
the crest, for they feared the ven
geance of those yellow-clad cavalry
men now squirting toward the slope.
But they lined the hill and began fir
Ing with their old antelope guns, so
that the bullets Kissed and sputtered
round the lieutenant as he ran
through the Jungle Zip! A mass of
fused telegraph wire cleft tree at
his side; now a squirt of dust rose at
ais side and another between his feet.
Wen pull through, Sergeantr he
shouted cheerily to the man. on his
back, and stumbled onward A yell
from the ridge answered him and a
renewed volleying. Twigs. cut from
he trees by the hail of missiles, whirl-
ID past him as though driven by cy-
3lonic force, bark flew from the palms,
and the grass was alive as though with
myriad insects It seemed incredible
that anyone could emerge alive out
Of that storm Then s-s-s! a red-hot
wire seemed to be pressing against the
'ieutenant's arm, and, looking down,
richards saw that the pale yellow of
lis coat was turning a bright claret
color. At last the spell which had
leld him seathless so long seemed to
be broken.
Zip! That one nipped him across
the cheek Another missile carried
away his hat and the cool breeze Of
the afternoon revived his strength mo-
mentarily. "A near thing that, ser,
geant" he shouted But the man
IN his back made no reply, and, as
he raced forward, Richards felt his
strength waning again. Gradually a
ielirium took possession Of him. He
looked back. He seemed to have been
running for hours, and he was less
than 200 yards from the crest of the
hill In front of him the relieving
aorsemen were lost to sight in the
Jungle. In fact, he was at the bottom
Of the bowl, and the huge ascending
sides appeared Hnscalable. The sky,
.he earth, the trees spun round him.
He seemed to be in Washington again,
seated at Lucy's side, under the oaks.
Only the thought Of her sustained him
,or few yards more. Then, quite sud-
ienly his legs crumpled beneath him
and he reeled and fell forward.
Out Of the profundity he rose
through a region peopled by spectres
70 consciousness of his SURROUNDINGS.
He was lying in q bed--a real bed with