Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-08-07
The S~ergeants
Promotion
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1918. by Associated Lit
erary Press.
BY M. QUAD

the depot as an escort.
Miss Bell was a regular chatterbox.
She couldn't understand the wide gulf
separating officer from private, but in
ignorance thought a soldier was a sol
der, no matter whether he carried a
saber or a sword. Being left alone
with Sergeant Larkins for q few mo-
ments while the captain sent off a
telegram for her. she did not hesitate
to chatter away as If they had been
formally introduced and had met be-
fore, and this action of hers was to
have a strange bearing on after
events. After a couple of days we no.
ticed a change in Sergeant Larkins.
He was a young man of thirty, well
above the common. and there were
rumors that his father was a wealthy
New Yorker and that the son had en-
tered the army because of a quarrel
between them. | repeat that we saw
a change in him. and pretty soon it
came to us that he had fallen in love
with Miss Bell at first sight.
Miss Bell had been at the fort about
a month when the Sioux on the reser-
walton began to make trouble. and the
Indian police reported that a number
of them had broken away and were
marauding in the foothills. Such sto-
ries were always afioat. and nc Gre
dence was given them until some deed
of violence had been committed. 1t
had been planned by half a dozen of
fcers and their wives to hold a picnic
at the falls of Buffalo river. and so
Sergeant Larkins and the same half
dozen Of us were again detailed. 1t
was twelve miles to the falls. and the
p~icnickers were loaded into two am
bu,ances. There were five officers.
even ladies and three children. and
the escort was ordered to keep them
In sight.
From the first Sergeant Larkins sat
apart from us and seemed moody and
%taciturn. There was no question but
that Jealousy was at work. and he
hadn't the strength of mind to throw it
off and realize the situation. We had
many a wink and laugh at his expense.
and yet we felt to pity him. We had
been told to go up for the empty bas-
kets at 4 o'clock, and the hour had
just gone 2 when a fusillade of revol-
yer shots. followed by the warwhoops
of Indians. jumped every man to his
feet. Ten seconds later we were fol
lowing the sergeant up the gorge. and
in five minutes we came upon the wo-
men and children hidden away among
the rocks and stricken with terror. A
quarter of an hour before the five off,
GERS had caught sight of a cub bear on
the other side Of the falls. They had
gone up stream a few rods and crossed
on a log. but the shots we heard had
not been fired at the cub. A band of
twenty or more renegades who were
hiding In the foothills had discovered
the picnickers half an hour before
and were planning a wipeout of every
soul when the officers moved. They
played right into the hands of the red
men. In their chase after the cub
they left the falls half a mile behind.
and as they came slowly back they
found the Indians confronting them.
There was but one course-to make a
dash for it-and it was CALAMITY done.
The Indians We're too strong and too
well posted. however. A lieutenant
was dropped dead In his tracks and a
major and a captain wounded.
The first move on our part. seeing
that the women and children were
safe. was to secure cover behind the
powders and open fire on the Indians.
They had counted on a sure thing. and
their yells OF rage when they knew of
our presence were loud and long. We
had them between two fires. and vet
so well were they sheltered that they
had no meaus of knowing that they
had only two ~unwounded men in front
of them, armed with revolvers. The
women told us about the officers going
away in a body; but. although there
had been rel firing. we hoped none
of them had been hit. After we had
fired three or four rounds apiece the
sergeant called out to know how 1t
was with the officers. The major an
swered. giving the names of the killed
and wounded. Three of the five were
behind the same bowlder and could use
their revOlvers. 1t was a curious po-
sition in which the three parties were
placed. but as the Indians were in
such a strong force they could defend
their front and rear at the same time.
If we left cover to cross the creek we
would be exposed to certain death. If
they left cover to attack the camp we
had only to shoot them down. What
we feared WIS that they would get out
of the trap by dashing upon the Off
GERS in front or work to the left and
finally take them in the a
We solved the difficulty by sending
one man back to the post for re-en-
forcements. while we held the Indians
with our fire. When the new troops
a