The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1917-02-02
CHAPTER XIV. '
On Wildcat Greek.

10 David and left him without hope
or aim or wish for life. one Of the
Indian prisoners told the horrible
story OF her death 10 his captors. with
CLEAN of fiendish malevolcnce In his
eyes.
David shuddered as he had not
among all the carnage Of battle. and
his limbs tottered beneath him. Some
one OF the soldiers raised up his rifle
and struck down the boastcr rs IL he
were crushing n snake. No one held
back his hand.
one, with awkward sympathy. put
his hand on the shoulder of the
shaken David and led him back 10 the
American camp. Behind them the
ruined village lay smoldering In the
November sun; but David himself
walked as I'm dream. Men who met
him stepped aside In silence. 10 let
him pass. daring to ask no question:
Behind him rose the wailing OF tho
Indian women, mourning for their
dead, wniling among the trampled
maize; and the unutterable sorrow In
his heart grew heavier beneath their
unending lamentation as the stalks of
corn are beaten to the soddcn ground
In the cold rains OF the dying year.
Mechanically he took up his work of
watching over the wounded In the
heavy wagons. The camp was struck,
the homeward Journey begun.
The suffering OF the men In the
wagons was torture indescrlbnblc.
over the uneven ground the oxen
dragged the numbering carts, the
wooden disks that served ms wheels
slipping and joting over rocks and
into ditches with cruelty which was
no less hcartrending because Il was
unavoidable. The carts were spring.
less. Hot with fever under the icy
wind and rackcd with the terrific Jolt.
Ing, the wounded men rnved, cursed,
sang In delirium. or the 151 wounded,
% died on the mercilcss Journey from
the battlefield TO the blockhouse on
the Vermillon river. where the boats
had been left. Day and night David
heard their pitIful moaning the
snatches Of pleadings, the impreca.
tions and the incohercnt wanderlngs
Of their tortured minds:
"A tubful OF honey I'm the lean.to
through the hoop"-"Make the stock.
nde highcr"-"From Kaskasky with
George Clark. / tell ye"----"The An
gel Gabriel set his feet on those
stones"-"That calrs got the milk
sick"--"No, dearic, there nin't no more
meal"-"Teacher. may l get fresh
| quIllT-"Tm old man an ! want
some whisky"-"All the Federalists'
scheming'-"Wntcr ain't there even
s"rne roinwaterY-"Oh. Molly. Molly.
Molly V-"Wntch the right flank The
right flank l''-"Water Waterl"
Three miles below Tlppecnnoe the
neeing Prophet made nights camp
on Wildcat creek, the Panse Pchou
OF the French. Dubois scouts found
the wnrm ashes of his campfire there
and close by one OF the guides picked
up bit OF lace. The man put II I'm
the pocket OF his shirt and brought II
back to the marching column. David
was among the men who crowded
about him TO gaze at the tiny shred
OF cloth; and having seen II he put
out his hand and took IL, and no man
said him no; for they saw that he
had recognized II as n part Of gar
inent OF AntoInette OBannon, whom
he had loved and who was slain. VIII
llngly the man who had found the
cloth led David, at his request. back
TO the ashes OF the fire and there left
him In silence; and for long time
David stood looking AT the ground
where TOinette's feet last had been.
The frozen wilderness was very still.
The bare branches Of the forest
creaked and groaned I'm the November
gusts, but there was no sound OF hui
man life. On dead limb a mottled
woodpecker WITH u scarlet mp
searched industrlously and yainly for
It's food. A sleek, brown-furred bea-
yer cr0wled TO the top OF the streams
bank, looked inqulrDgly at the mo-
tlonless figure brooding over the ashes
OF the fire, and slid back into the wa
ter with splash. Deep In the woods
a flock OF Wild turkeys clucked among
the underbrush. And no standing, Da-
vld tasted 10 the dregs the bitterness
Of his failure, the numblng conscious
ness OF lrrcmedIable loss tasted tho
bitterness Of helpless defeat and spent
his hour Of agony and vain self
reproach. while the grim forest shut
him I'm with silence.
a rife cracked.
The ball knocked the cap from Dn-
vide head. An inch TO the right and
he would have fallen. his skull shat
tered; but he had bent his head q.
the very moment when the hidden
marksman's finger pressed the trigger.
He was all alone: only his own
speed and quicknesS Of resource saved
him.
CTo BE coNTrNUED)