Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-04-30

AS he lay watching with the men OF
Guienne. Jcens could scarcely have
guessed that this scene of pastoral
beauty was the stage upon which one
OF the epic tragedies of HI time was
about TO be enacted. feeling Of
rest possessed him. rs II period had
come to mark the end Of the eonfu-
sion and nnNappinrss which had held
him a victim for three years. and lie
felt mysterinnsy near the presence Of
Influences he could not see. lie was
a prudntt ~ times when faith In the
spiritual guidance Of the affairs Of
men WIS strong. and II was not diff
cult for him to conceive that Toinette
was close ut his side. whispering in
words Which only his sauI could hear
that he had come home.
SIX O'clock grew into seven. seven
into eight and eight into nine. In
front of him England WIS forming.
Behind him. tricked and outgeneraled
Montcalm was rushing In mad haste
across the st. Charles bridge and I'M
der the northern rampant of Quebec
to enter the city through the Palace
gate. At tlie edge OF the Plains OF
Abraham the boyish Wolfe, poet and
philosopher, WAS preparing for glory
or doom. In the quaint, narrow
streets Of the town were gather
Ing h0rdes Of Indians in scalp
locks and war paint troops Of starved
and cheated Canadians ready to make
last stand for their homes. hat
taIions Of Old France In white uni-
forms and with cleaning bayonets,
haftle-scarred veterans IF Sarre and
Languednc and Ronssillon and Bearn,
fed on meagpr rations for weeks but
eager to fight for Montealm. Ahead
where Jeems was looking, were quiet
and order and the stole surpness OF
EngIands morale Behind were cour-
age and chiyalry and the iron snews
of heroes III the thr0es af excitement
and mndiscipined rush.
Ieems saw none OF this and moth
ing beyond the distant red lines. The
Plains lay In sunshine, With bird wings
flashing. crows feeding in the corn
fields Tile earth WIS Il great oriental
rnE warn with autumn Things. tile
woods yrIinw and gold In Il frame
about it, Tile guns uf sanos, of
SIIery. If the boats iii tie ristl made
sleepy det0natiuns and OIL tue rise af
ButfeS-a Neven JeemS misht have
SLEPT. lulled By that neveren,ling
monutony Of sound, the warmth oe Tie
sun. Tie blue Of the sky. I'M sliIkTrss
of the Plains lie closed his eyes.
and lille silver and gold misis Of sun
sets rose about him. the ends Of DAYS
in which he saw the Plains pennled
again, first by Abraham Martin and
his cows a hundred and thirty-four
years before, then by Tnineite. his IN
ther and mother. llepSihah Adams
and himself. Here was place he had
known. q place his feet had trod. his
soul had lived. He. heard the earth
whispering these things. the earth
which he held between his fingers rs
Ii 1t were. .T0inette's hands.
In the town, priests and nuns were
praying. and bell sent forth It's
melody, a cheer to man, another ap-
peal to God New France was on her
knees. and Montcalm was on the
Plains, some OF his men coming
through the gate OF st. Louis and some
through that OF st. John. breathless
and eager. to where the banners OF
Guienne fiuttered on the ridge.
Tartans waved and bagpipes
screamed defiance as Montcalm waited
for reinforcements which never came,
and the bushes and knolls and corn
fields were taken by fifteen hundred
Canadians and Indians whose guns an.
swered with roar Back and forth
the battle ragged. and France began L,
crumble
Then came ten O'Clock.
Something must have broken IN
Montcalm's heart His Judgment way
cred, and he gave the fatal command
which raised England to the suprein-
acy of the world
The French had formed with bayo-
nets fixed In five short. thick ines
four white and one blue: the English
stood with douhle-shotted guns in
long, six-jointed thin red line Level
ground lay between. Had England
advanced, history might have written
itself differently. But England waited.
France advanced.
Jeems went with her. He was al
ready hit. A shot had caught him in
the shoulder, and blood ran down his
arm and dripped from lis fingers. He
!. felt no pain. but a slumherous feeling
was creeping over him MS he staggered
on with the lines. lie saw Mont
calm ride along the front of his men.
cheering them on To victory: he noted
the gold-embroidered green coat he
wore, the polished cnirass AZ his
breast. the white linen of his wrist
band, and he heard his voice as he
asked, Don't you want little rest
before you begin2" The answer.
Were never tired before hattle,s'
rose about him. Jeems' lips framed
the words which were repeated like