Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1915-09-23

glanced nervously behind him.
don't believe there has ever been
Federal detachment down as far as
this before We're in old Ned Cowans
country"
'Confederate?" l asked, interested
at once by the name.
Heaven knows! To the best of my
belief the fellow doesn't give whoop
for either side. He's just natural
born devil and this war gave him a
chance to get the hell out of his sys-
tenn. Still, / guess, he calls himself
Reb."
"And his followers?"
Mountain men mostly, together
with bunch of deserters and con-
scripts from both sides. Nobody
knows how big {. band he has, but it
would take an army to run them out
of these mountains We had orders
to do it-but pif1e! Ramsay came
with regiment OF infantry, and a
cavalry guard, and sent out flag Of
truce asking the old devil to come in
and talk with him. He actually did
come; rode right up to headquarters,
with 2 dozen of his ragged followers,
heard what Ramsay had to say, and
then simply told the general to go to
hell, and rode off again"
"Were you there? Did yoN see the
men,"
mo, but the sergeant did: he was
detailed at tha& time as headquarters
orderly"
eyes," I said, determined on my
course. II was talking with Hayden
during the noon halt. He described
Cowan to me, and I believe he is the
same man l encountered at Hot
Springs, Captain Fox-the fellow Tay-
lor we are in pursuit Of"
The captain stared into the black
night, silent for several minutes.
1--WE been suspecting the same thing
for the last three hours" he admitted
at last slowly, "and that he hoped we
would follow him. The fellow hasn't
ridden fast, and has purposely left
plain trail More than that he was
expected along this road and there
were relays of horses waiting. He
only changed once, but he was met by
another party near that ruined mill.
Ever since then I have felt that we
were being watched by unseen eyes.
Did you observe the curl of smoke to
our right just before dark-how it
rose and fell in rings?"
II saw the smoke, yes-a thin spiral,
but supposed it to be from the chin
ney of some mountain shack"
"Well, it was not. That was an out
side fire, and the smoke was smoth-
That is their way of signaling tell
you, lieutenant, this murder of Har-
wood is more than an army matter. 1t
was either the elimination of feud
done for personal revenge-or else
the major had papers in his posses
sion bearing on the situation here that
could only be gained over his dead
body The man who killed him was
old Ned Cowan"
"But Harwood must have known
him." I protested.
"Of course he did; they we're neigh
bors before the war and met there by
appointment For all I know the ma
jor may have had some confidential
communication from the war depart
ment God knows what it was. All l
am sure about is that I would give a
good deal to be out of this fix right
now and twenty miles to the north Of
here"
We sat there for half an hour dis
cussing the matter and endeavoring
to convince ourselves the danger was
less than we imagined. There was
nothing to be done but wait for day
light. Finally Fox crept forth again
to make another round of the pickets,
to assure himself they were alert, and
before he returned I had fallen asleep.
The chill of the night awoke me,
cold and shivering. The wind had
arisen and swept down the funnel in
which lay with an icy breath against
which my single blanket afforded no
protection. The man who had been
lying next me was gone, and so there
must have been a change of guard
while I slept. l could distinguish,
dimly outlined against the sky, the
overhanging rockwell which inclosed
our camp, and the deeper shade Of a
cleft a yard or two to my left, where
the dead trunk of a tree stood like
a gaunt, ugly sentinel.
AS lay staring the figure Of a man
slipped out from behind it's protec-
ton and, dropping on hands and
knees, crept forward across the open
space. Another and another followed,
mere ghostlike shadows, scarcely ap-
pearing real For the instant I doubt
ed my eyesight, imagined I dreamed.
Then, before l could raise voice in
alarm, rifle spat viciously, the red
flame of it's discharge cleaving the
night. A fusillade followed and in the
flare I caught grotesque glimpses of