The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-01-22

softly to earth by billowing piece OF .
envelope which acted as parachute. .
Fighting proceeded in La Tir in |
stages Of feroCity and blank silence, |
The upper part Of the town, Which'I
the Browns still held, was in dark |
ness; the lower part, where the Grays |
were, was illuminated.
Another one of Lanny's plans"
thought Marta. He would have them
work in the light, while we fire out
of obscurity."
Soon all the town was in darkness,
for the Grays had cut the wire in the
main conduit shortly after she had
heard the groans of the wounded man.
There the automatiCs broke out in
mad storm, vOicing their feelings at
getting a company in close order IN
street for the space Of a minute, be-
fore those who escaped could plaster
themselves against dOOrways or mo
cover in alleys. Then silence from
the automatics and cheer from the
Browns that rasped out its triumph
like the rubbing together Of steel files
From the line of defense, that in
cluded the first terrace Of the Galland
grounds as the angle of redoubt, not
shot, not a sound; silence on the
part of officers and men as profound
as Mrs. Galland's slumber, while one
of the Browns search-lights, like some
great wltch's slow-turning eye in
narrow radius, covered the lower ter
races and the road.
Marta gave intermittent glances at
the garden; the glances Of guardian
She happened to be looking In that
direction when figures sprang across
the road, crouching, running with the
short, quick steps of no body move
ment accompanying that Of tw- legs.
The search.light caught them in mer-
CHESS Silhouette and the automatic
and the rifles from behind the sand
, bags on the first terrace let go. Some
of the figures dropped and lay in the
, road and she knew that she had seen
= men hit for the first time. Others, she
; thought, got safely to the cover of the
gutter on the garden side. OF those
, on the road, some were still and some
she saw were moving slowly back on
their stomachs to safety. Now the
), search-light laid its beam steadily on
the road. Again silence. From the
4 upper terrace came great voice. hke
!. that of the guns, from human throat;
=. "Why didn't we level those ter
" races? They'll creep up from one te
n. the other!" 1t was Stransky.
at In answer was another voice-Del
" larme's.
~ perhaps there wasn't time to de
is everything. If they get as far as thu
We first terrace-well, in case of a crisis
er we have hand-grenades. But, Coz
CHI knows, I hope we shall not have t.
i'll use them"
re After an interval, more figures mad
il a rush across the road. They, too, II
en- Stransky's words, paid a price TO
seeing the garden. But the fashe
ty. from the rifles and the automatic pre-
he vided target for Gray battery. TIL
IN, blue spark that flies from an overhea
nth trolley or third rail, multiplied
Ter hundredfc!d. broke in Martas fac,
mn 1t was dazzling, binding as a bolt {
zen lightning few feet distant, with tn
thunder crash at the same secon,
or followed by the thrashing hum of bu
or lets and fragments against the sid
ho- of the house.
en-. 81 knew that this must come!
md something within her said. If 81
had not been prepared for it by tt
she events Of the last twelve hours 81
would have jumped to her feet vii
az. an exclamation of natural shock al
vol. horror. AS it was, she felt convl
raf. sive, nervous thrill without risil
rita from her seat. A pause. The ne
an. shell burst in line with the first, o
mo, by the linden-trees; third above Il
nal veranda.
es: We've got that range, all right
ing thought the Gray battery commando
She who had judged the distance by t.
,wn staff map. This was all he wanted
win. know for the present. He would
ear loose at the proper time to suppc
ing the infantry attack, when there we
With enough driblets across the road
by make a charge. The driblets kept
Tgly coming, and, one by one, the numb
ills of dead on the road was augmented
,ora Marta was diverted from this prt
,ers ess of killing by piecemeal by a me
ILLS theatre spectacle. A brigade CO
rim. mander of the Grays had licked
the order over the wires and it had 20
heir from battery to battery. Not or
, a many field-guns, which are the t
let's riers of the artillery, but some gu
nv of siege caliber, the mastiffs, in
md sudden oltburst started havoc
ling tumblins walls and cornices in t
With upper part Of the town.
de. Then an explosion greater than a
WINS from the shells shot hemisphere
light heavenward, revealing a shade
p,,;,,,r ouorbooI opJ nv IN s,