The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-30

hind the stone wall just under the bird. It's song had welled out just as he was raising his rife But his gray Yankee eye sought the sights, his sinewY brown hand gripped the weapon, and he fired.
 He fred and pumped another car fridge into the bEeech and dEed2agafn, so quickly that his second shot had roared out before .cayalrynan who had pitched forward with the first bull let through his side had quite .toppled from his saddle.
 All along the stone wall they fired and pumped their magazines and fired. They were men who had hunted deer in early autumn cover and learned to send bullets driving after them at hot speed on the jump. The big horses and the big men, broad in che open road, were easy targets. But they were not deer. They were men More than one of the rife bullets went wifd because the xnarlzsman's horror shook his hand.
 In the rood lay two men, flashing in the dust. Down the road went a bleeding horse that screamed. It drag ged its rider, smashing his face against dier trying to balance himself on his
 
 breast, while the other reached out grotesque4y as if grop4ng for some thing to which he might hold
 A farmer behind the wall, unable to endure the sight of the men who were rolling in the road like animals trying to bury their agony, fired at them and made them lie still. My God!'' he said and cried.
 The wounded man fell from the sad dle and squatted in a queer hunched posture in the field, ,shiA head between his knees It was the cavalry man who had fed the child.
 The oehers scattered and charged tos ward the wall Instantly the defend CTS became eoo. Their nerves stopped | jumping These rfders, looming big, with swords out and fury in their eyes. ceased to be man. They were killers. The farmers shot as steadily as if they were aiming at deer
 Two riders escaped and galloped headlong down the road back Co taeir Forces. The New England men arose from behind the wall and ran across l the fields to gain the shelter of wood lot. Before they could reach it there l was a yelling behind them, and dog en troopers WeFe in the fields, follow l ing them desperately.
 ITO the houser' cried the sheriff He led the way to an old stone house built In Revolutionary times. The cav alrymen refined up sharply. 4 glance l at the solid little building with win showed them that it was dangerous. They opened out, remaining carefully out of rifle shot, and surrounded the Il xuT,ore ore,1l f,sav77 l all sides Then one rode back swiftly.
 The watchers sat easy and careless, as if they had been halted during a peacefuI practice march. Half an hour passed. The immobiIity of the sol diers, their passionless watch. was driving the farmers frantic. More than 1 once the, old leader had to growI at a 1 man who wanted to fire despite the hopeless distance.
 If the tension in the house had last ed much longer some Of these men 1 would have rushed out, but there came 1 a great sound from the distance. It might have been thunder rolling far away. It might have been river in food
 They're eoning!', said the sherff's s brother. It was hard for him to speak The defenders were all violent ly thirsty, and they. had not had time l to bring water from the we'll
 They came. Horses, horses, horses! Bayonets,8 bayonets, bayonets! They came and passed along the road, and more came on.
 They did not turn off to attack the house. They did not even turn their heads to look at it. This infuriated 1 the defenders.
 | Horses, horses, horsesi Bayonets, bayonets, bayonets! If the men in the stone house could have seen other roads they would have seen each one so filled with silent, steadily moving columns of men,
 A little party of men and horses turn. ed off from the column and entered the field. Before it was within the range of the rifles it wheeled. A shin ing, glossy little thing pointed at the house. 1t was field artillery, sleek beautiful
 The sherifs brother. carried away by rage, fired and fired. He ennptied his magazine at the distant men.
 Along the highway the column moved I steadily, silently. No soldier checked his foot for so much as an instant al the sound of the shots. Bayonets, bayo nets, bayonets. The machine moved on ;. It moved on, eyes front, while the captain commanding the cannon snap ped an order. It moved on, bayonets Il twinkling out of sight in front an6 twinkling past and twinkltng into sigh from behind, while the little gun tore the April morning.
 The stone house spouted clouds o dust and powdering stone It dissoIv ed. It became a ruin that staFe( nh .l it were looking with horribly expand ing eyes at the gun.
 If the besieged fired in return tn, men at the gun did not know it. Thei steel beast drowned the farmers tin! efforts in roar and flame. They pass ed as a breath. The cavafrynaen can I tered to the min A half wall 1za.