The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-12-20
Ninth? Answer now, for your life de

:. 49, SSoho " oCOVell eyes as IL
IL mad been etched in white. He saw
tne eager group about him, the atten.
i've faces. Something was hootine
high overhead.
Crash
Night fell. A thousand tons OF earth
seemed to rise up and strike him.
ocovell gasped for breath He fought
| WIN Jury to worm his way through the
oVerWhelming mass. He was aware
OF fragments of debris that had once
] oeen flesh and blood about him. He
! lound the free air. drew in breath,
struggled out of the immense crater
made by the shell.
IN the center of the hole lay the mu-
tllated and mangled bodies of the off,
GERS who had comprised the court-mar-
tial
And suddenly Scovell realized that
ne was free None but the party knew
mat he had slept, They had placed
NOBODY on guard in his stead He had
not been absent more than quarter
OF an hour. If he hurried he could be
He was about to hurry down the
empty trench when he saw a piece OF
paper flutteripg on the ground beside
the body OF the general He picked
1t up. The sky was family illumined
by the light of distant star shells.
somewhere in the distance the artil-
lery was booming. Scovell could just
make out the meaning of the paper
1t was i'll German and contained a
number of rough diagrams which he
believed to be plans of the German
trenches.
He must deliver the document as
soon as he was relieved, to his head
quarters.
lie waited no longer, but started OF
as fast as he could 60 AS he ran he
remembered that the officer who had
disarmed him had thrown his rifle
down beside him.
Five minutes later Scovell, breath
less and overjoyed, resumed his soil
tary post among the trees. The sweat
streamed down his face as he thought
of his escape. What an escape!
But then-the document! He must
in duty deliver that at headquarters
NO doubt it was of the utmost conse-
quence. The death of the general and
the destruction of his aids by the
German shell occurring, as it had done
in lonely spot, could not be known
Though it meant death 10 tell the
truth Scovell must tell it.
For the sake of France, to whom he
had sworn fealty, whom he had SC
nearly betrayed, he must confess. He
fingered the document in his tunic
pocket and shuddered with horror as
he realized the meaning of his duty
And he thought again of the girl in
Boston
Halt Who goes there?"
. At once he was the alert, keen sol
dier again. The man who had come
with the corporal to relieve him gave
the countersign. Scovell went through
the formula of the relief drearily. Their
he accompanied the noncom. back Il
the trenches.
Ten minutes later he was standing
in the presence of the general in com
mand And he poured out his story O
treachery and sudden death.
He told the general everything II
the broken French that the boy hat
I acquired during his short term II
e France At the end, without askin
o for his life, he handed him the docu
ments
: The general pressed bell upon tn
J, little camp table and directed the OF
l. derby who appeared to summon tn
c colonel of the Ninth. A few minute
It afterward the two men were porin
d over the document, head to head, an
Scovell was entirely forgotten.
a He waited. Death meant not muci
and lfe-well, he had long since r.
n signed the prospects Of long life. Blu
l. to be kept waiting for the death orde
3 was unnerving. He waited.
Long afterward, as it seemed, tn
general raised his head and looked 9
e. him with an inscrutable expression
a. his eyes.
Private Scovell, you say that
y shell burst near you when you were
d sentry duty and killed group of OF
IS GERS whom you had not observed?" b
II asked.
mo, sir. l."
Whom you would undoubtedly hay
challenged a moment later" the ge
eral continued.
Scovelrs heart leaped, At last
!? understood. The general was delibe
r. ately misunderstanding him. He mean
then. to find an excuse as q rewal
s. for his discovery Of the paper.
Il. Yes, sir" he stammered.
:" The general clapped him on Il
* shoulder. You have done well,
said Those officers whom you o
ty served were German spies; this dc
he ument is a complete description
~ our defenses, and would undoubted
I'll in time have reached the hostile hea
as quarters and resulted seriously for
IS Your act shall not be forgotten, c.
poral Scovell.
IN And. in the midst of his bewildt
re- ment. Scovelrs mind went back wi
as none to the girl OF Boston-not nec'
vs. sarily of living to see her again, b
al. al least OF dying with an untarnish
"a name.