The Holly chieftain., 1916-01-14

~uoue IOr personal reVeuse-OF elbe
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." l protested.
"Of course he did; they were neigh
bors before the war and met there by
appointment. For all know the ma.
jor may have had some confidential
communication from the war depart
ment. God knows what 1t was. All
am sure about is that would give
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 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 change of guard
while slept. could distinguish.
dimly outlined against the sky, the
overhanging rock-wall which inclosed
our camp, and the deeper shade Of q
cleft q yard or two to my left. where
the dead trunk Of tree stood like
gaunt. ugly sentinel.
As lay staring the figure Of man
slipped out from behind its 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 doubt
ed my eyesight, imagined dreamed.
Then, before could raise voice in
alarm. q rife spat viciously. the red
flame OF It's discharge cleaving the
| night. A fusillade followed and In the
flare l caught grotesque glimpses Of
men leaping forward, and there was
confused yelling of voices, din Of
noise.
was upon my knees, revolver In
hand, but in the melee below could
not distinguish friend from foe-alike
they were . blur OF figures, one In.
stant visible. the next obscured. Yet
there could be no doubt as to the final
ending Of the struggle. Taken by sur.
prise, outnumbered. the little squad Of
troopers would be crushed, annihilat-
ed. Nor was there reason why
should sacrifice myself In their defense
"a valueless sacrifice. My choice was
instantly made, as there flashed to my
mind what my fate would be II I
ever fell into Cowan's hands attired in
Federal uniform.
On hands and knees crept to the
cleft in the rock wall and began to
Chamber up over the irregular rocks
The shouts and yells, the cries for
mercy, the sound Of blows. grew faint.
er and finally ceased altogether. Lean.
ing back and looking down could per.
ceive nothing in the black void. A
voice shouted an order, but 1t sounded
far OF and indistinct. / was In
narrow gully, the incline less steep
than amid the rocks below, and could
perceive the lighter canopy of the sky
not far above me-
As crept out into the open space
someone touched match to q pile of
dry limbs in the cove below. and the
red flames leaped high. revealing the
scene. ! caught glimpse OF it,
staring down as though l clung at the
mouth of hell. seeing moving black
figures, and the dark. motionless
shadows of dead men. The one
glimpse was enough. the fearful
tragedy of 1t shifting me like blow.
and turned and ran, stumbling over
the rough ground, my only thought
that Of escape.
There were stars In the sky, their |
dim light sufficient to yield some faint
guidance. My course led me close
beside the edge Of the ridge. Here
the ground fell away to the banks OF
a shallow stream and some instinct of |
woodcraft led me to wade down with |
it's current for considerable distance,
until the icy water drove me to the
bank once more. knew l had GOV.
cred several miles and was beyond pur.
suit and safe from discovery. re-
mained there until dawn, the first
gray light giving assurance that my