The Huttig news., 1915-09-25
CHAPTER V.
The NlQht Attack.

The Night Attack.
 The incidents of that ride do not re- main with me iE any special clearness Of detdi!. We rode steadily, keeping well together. conscious that in all proba oi.:ty we were watched by hos tile eyes, peering out from behind rock and tniehet. We foraged through de serted shacKs. finding poor reward. vel managed to subsist, although with hunger ulaatisfied The men grum bed eId Fox swore, as. long before light came, he comprehended the fact that we were on fools errand; that his little squad was being lured deeper and deeper into hostile country, but no opportunity to turn aside present ed itself The night overlook us in the midst of mountain solitude. The scouts had discovered a spring at the bottom of a rocky hollow, and there Fox reluctantly ordered camp to be made, the horses finding scant pas turage beyond. The grumbling and cursing soon ceased. however, and those not on duty slept fitfully made the round of the sentries with Fox. slipping and stumbling over the rough way, through the darkness.
 ."rhis weird place gets on the nerves" he said, as If half ashamed of the confession. Do you know. Ray mond, have felt for the last hour as if we were riding into some trap" He f glanced nervously behind him. "l don't believe there has ever been a 1. Federal detachment down as far as h this before. We're in old Ned Cowan's I country"
 f at once by the name.
 Heaven knows. To the best of my belief the fellow doesn't give a whoop for either side He's just natural born devil and this war gave him a 1 chance to get the hell out of his sys- tenn. Still, guess, he calls himself a 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 1t would take an army to run them out of these mountains We had orders to do it-but piffle. Ramsay came down IS far as Fayette Court House with regiment Or infantry, and cavalry guard. and sent out a flag of truce asking the old devil to come in and talk with him. He actually did come; rode right up to headquarters. with 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 you see the men?"
 "No, but the sergeant did; he was detailed at that time as headquarters orderly"
 Yes" I said, determined on my course. q was talking with Hayden during the noon halt He described Cowan to me, and I believe he is the same man I encountered at Hot Springs. Captain Fox-the fellow Fay Tor we are in pursuit of.
 The captain stared into the black night, silent for several minutes.
 I've 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 a 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?"
 "I saw the smoke, yes-a thin spiral but supposed 1t to be from the chim- ney of some mountain shack"
 Well it was not That was an out side fire, and the smoke was smoth cred and then thrown up by blankets That is their way of signaling l tell you, lieutenant this murder of liar wood is more than an army matter. It was either the culmination 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