Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-04-12
"Bride of Battle"
BY VICTOR ROUSSEAU
A ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY
FIGHTING ON THE BATTLE
FIELDS OF FRANCE.
Copyright W. &. Chapman.
CHAPTER ].
By VICTOR ROUSSEAU
Copyright by W. &. Chapman.

To Hn :ItruU Standstill. III" was alone
IN ,b. Iuurl,., upon the blazing hillside
before Santiago in the month of June
1895.
Through the branches Of the trees
,hc Mauscr bullets still whipped and
whistl"d and the prolonged screen o'
shells and distant shouting indicated
that the battle. which had ragged all
d:,y. had not vet reached It's end. Bu'
within the short radius of Wallaces
vision nothing stirred. not even the
Is,Irn"ttn b0ughS. that ruStlcd with the
least breeze like the sound OF the sea-
Wallace, had only the most confused
and incuh-Y,nt kuowl"dG" oi what was
l,pr.nin" on that historic day. There
had been AN advance in the cool oil the
morning. il - brief respite from In"
uppI, ssiy" heat could 10" called cool
ness ~ contrast. Then cam" In" de-
uluymcnt along the base of the hills
aS t'u. un.t shells began 10 ihll. 'h'
advance in oIp'u order. ia which III"
nicely IuruIcatrd teachings OF tn"
t.,r:,,Ir ground fell to pieces. III"
,nnli,lr uI m"n. of companies ana.
later uI regiments. pressing forward
tc,si the. dead and stricken. IN" $houtS.
Ih.. rattle oi mnrhin" guns and iifi"S
ait,rirs came -ullopins where they
had no theoretical business 10 bc. up
x,trm: ia, jurinr officers desperate
attempts To preserve alignment: iS"
Cross men invaded the hattl" line 10
srIctor tn, wound"d: CommlSSarIht
mules. Simkiua of th" lcthargy which
no amount of bclabUring had ever
overcome. ran away with supplies
and strcwcd cmlalmCd beef over TN"
hillside. In the midst OF IL all Wallace
h:r! rallied som" men of his own troop
and led them forward; he plunged in
io the patch al ruh-covcr"d jungle,
.,ui rnunu that ne was alone.
I'm front oi him was Il small clear
in... made 10y some Cuban Squatter III
the preceding year and abandoned
after the rcaping. Ii contained the
ruin of a palm shack, and the burrows
scrapcd by Il primitive plow were only
nIs, disccrnhlc amid the rank growth
that had sprung up. The lieutenant
stopped and shouted, expecting 10 see
his men come running through the
trees.
But none appeared. and 1t was AT
= rf1fs monieht lhat che buffet rhat Hau
been stamped with his name. accord
,h., ..o,,,;o,,S sun,rstiton. rouni
N ,,, ,,o,,. nm IN,
""' -, ,,i,, h,cl
o., Iov,, so, nm
"''"' -, ,,,,, t,is ,rh,,y
,,,,,., .rh, .,,,u bupr helm
""H
,
lie managed |" "'''" wv ~"
with his mana ana ''''"' "''' we"
not ihhch pa'h' "'' '"'' W
lahEhor' "h''" ''''"' "'''' 'l,.'.-
when h' arose. ''''' "", .
thirSt 100 u wis 'N''"''
u htti" 'hihS ih' '"'' '"'
IN" Srl' OUT "' '''''"
WAS r''h''S "'"" "''
W""h" S'''''''
Wallac" leaned aG'lhS' 'h' "''' VI
the shack ami waited ior i''S ''''l''
He shouted one" or 'wi'' i'or'' ""'
nohudy answered nm. ana the na''''
seemed To he drifting III announcer III
rrciiun. Wallace imagined that ms
troops had advanced around IN" i"'e"
of scrub. i'll when case he WIS "o'
likely to "Stahllsh 'oh'h WITH '"'''
and started iorW'r"' ""' Wv
began I" reel ar""hn hiih' "' ''"''"-
"d at lh' wall o' '"' S'''"' ''''''"
and fell.
Then h" realized That he WAS out VI
the fight. Vet. in spite OF his intense
disappointment. he knew that worse
might have hciallrn rim. II" h'u
fought through hours Of TN" day-tha'
WAS much; h" was prohahiE Si"rea ''
lead his men aSain-;hu 'h''' wis
more. He had found ana prove"
himself; and at twcnty-one young
man. for all his srlf-coniidehce' Is
composed oi fears ana doubts rs we'll
In spite oi his soldier ancestors
Mark Wallace had not been sure 'ha'
his capacity for leadership eNteho'u
hryond the parade ground. ana ne
had suffered from tn" young soldier
inevitable fear ot tear
80 he resigned himself TO ms situa-
tion. He emptied his water bottle anu.
gripping the end OF his gauze roll WIN
his teeth. managed to bandag' ms
wound sufficiently 10 stop the bleed
ing. The lanruor however. was in
crraSins. Sometimes he would dozc
for few moments. awakins with a
start. TO wonder where he was. and
what had happened. The air was very
still. The shouts had long since diu
away. the rifle firing was distant
cracking: the tremulous staccato tap
ping OF the machine guns was like the
roll OF drums far away.