THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, lOTLAI.l). CU.... I 'OltNING. JA..wV..
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THE ONE WHO THOUGHT
; jty JAMES BANCS . '
'Author of "The Oraai War Trk
(rvxrrrltit far ft. ft. UeOmn A Oa.)
H
E we the Junior subaltern ana
he could boast fir month
service almost to ft day. H
poaesosd iondsnoy to blush
- and a aUght.lmpodlment in his speech
that wm half stammer,- half Usp. His
-Hirly .bai was out-short aad hl hl-
-l-xuet which - was -trifle large, ame
down over his ear a. Ther wag no daa-.V.'-nwr
of Its failing off. bowvr, for ha
alwaya wora tha etrap undr hla chin.
- and It" had Btenclled ft Uttl whit Una
la. tha uabornad rod of hla faoa - -
Hla regiment waa oa wher tbay
, trrv ld-ttm traditions. Thar roaa
t and ealuted tha oolonel npon arary poa
aibla occasion, tbay "slr"-d each otbai
1 loft and right, and tha Junior aubaltern
' was. never azpoctad to : azpraaa an
' opinion upon any question whatever.
Tb regiment had ft fighting raeord bo
. ' . bind It. and waa aa good aa any of tha
. other ahlra regiments; and that maana
that It waa aa good aa any that avar
', wora rd or khaki. .
Now, on thla day It bad marchad aoma
11 Bouth African mile (which maana
- road 20 this olda of tha water), and
Incidentally It bad climbed one or two
rocky kopjea, and (truffled through ft
half aeora of dry, sandy alulta, down on
V bank and up tha other. It bad wadad
, three drift a deep in clinging, . black
mud; and when tt had aettled down- for
" tha vnmg. tha balk of tha traneport
' waa ft matter of four, mllaa or mora
. behind. Most of th blankete and grest
oata were on tha wagon,- and It waa
going to be cold. Twilight had merged
into .moonlight. . and - overhead In - the
, ' clear African aky vary early tha great
stars were blaalng and twinkling, and
somehow (it may bare been the march
. or tha moon), no ona aeemed much In-
eltned to talk. The maas waa not vary
large. To look at It. no ona would
have reoognlaed m tha thin-faced, tl red
looking man In tha smudged yellow uni
forma tha offleara Of ona of tha mart
', st of the Una; nor would any ona bare
1 ' known, after seeing - tba bivouac, that
- it was ft regiment at all.
. "When tha troopship left England It
t had Bumbared 1,20 stalwart young fel
lows, keen on Ufa and eager for flght
. Ing. Most of them talked with ft bit
' ef their own ahlra twlat In their speech
v that betrayed them aa much aa tha Uttl
printed name-whlt on, jed oji thaj'tt.
. aloe oi ineir neimeie. - bui now iae
uartrmastsr-sergeant oould bare told
; you that they numbered esaotly 16S.
and that Included tha colonel and tha
busier boy. . - - . "
Tba reat Ixrd knows where they
- (were! , Som had gone back to England
to be repaired (perhaps damaged bs
. ' yond all hope): others ware atlll In tha
hospitals, scattered as far back aa the
.long trail extended; ft few were on de-
' talis (thumping along with tha M. L,
, some), and tha rest, who were not pres-
nt to answer to their names, lay be-
reath Uttl unmarked rocky haaps, loat
and forgotten, somewhere out in tha
iwide-etreatohlng veldt They can ahow
una place, however, where so Ha togeth-
rr; and they can- how you a, hill that
Is remembered because they had aoma
. thing to do with maklng.4t-dlfferent
from other hills.
But to coma back to thla night. Tba
, fcolowl was grumpy because the little
cart that waa hla, own and carried hla
" particular brand or whlakey and cigar
fiad broken down, at tha second drift,
1 and tha wagon to which hla belongings
had been transferred had ' not yet ar
. rlred. Tha rest of the mesa were
grumpy at having to go out on thla
nr lid-goose chase of aa expedition, when
; they had rather . bare stopped in the
. town back there, which was a conquered
. . one, with conquered club and . con
i puered privilegea.
T think began tha Junior sub, sud
' Iflenlj breaking tba alienee, and 4baa h
. faltered. Tb looked round at him. and
tha colonel, from hla aeat on tha bla
. cult box, atopped spreading aoma caviar
, a ft big piece of soggy Boar bread and
. fclared at him. '
11 think," began tha boy again, this
.' Jtlme stammering slightly.
"Well." remarked tha senior captain,
what tha devil do you thinkr
T think that tha cavalry haa gone
through tba nek. sir."
' "And what tha devil makes you think
thatT put In tha oolonel. taking hla
. pue from tha aanlor oaptala.
. "I don't know, air," returned the boy.
T waa lust thinking, and wa don't aa
' their fire."
The fact was that ba bad first spoken
. kloud without meaning to.
-"Well, what if they havef pursued
. tha colonel, addressing tha adjutant this
'. time. "It's their business to keep In
touch with us, anyhow, eh t"
"I should suppoee so," returned the
kdjutant laconically. - '
1 do think they kept bit ahead, sir,"
put In tha Ueutenant of O company.
, ''Old Bpuff tola ma ha expected to
. ttvouac on tha other aide, near tha pan.
', gla waa out there last week, you know,
and knows tba ground."
"Confound hint," said tha colonel; "he
. ran't expect my man to keep up with
even hla bony old hatracka when a third
.... f them haven't any soles to their boots. ,
; What the devil we were sent out her
for beats ma, anyway, I'll wager there
' Isn't a Boer within J 4 miles." -
. Tt beard today that the Boers were
nn their way to thla very place," put In
tha boy.
"And how did yog hear thatT" asked
the Senior captain. "By gad, wa are
becoming very knowln." r -. . .- ;
"There was a Kaffir by the mad spoke
- to one of our Kaffir boys, and I asked
him. and h told me. air." -
'; "Humph, Kafflra!" snorted the major,
jrho-hUhartn bid not spoken a wosd.
1 "It-waa mwited lu in at tha "ttms.
volonel," ' spoke up a broad-shouldered
young fellow sitting elose to the Jlre,
Zyt didn't-think It worth noticing. He
. rinsed his silver cigarette case with
.. pnap. .-, . ' ' ' .' - ' ' '
The rest of tha mess, who had paid
Just enrmsh. attention to the ronversa-
- tlonjo follow it, smiled. Kafflra' tales
' ' were worse then old wlvea. It waa con-
' reded that black would tell another
anything that came into hla head., and
i Jell whit men only the things he
thought they would like to hear.
Ti--ne waa a very . Intelligent-look
!ng Kaffir," summered the boy. X
think"
"Ton better go turn Into your blan
ket a, youngster," aald tha major. .
"Na." .put In the thlck-eet, gray-tem-r-Vd
young captain. "He'a on guard
- with Mallon." .
. "'Have yon stationed the outposts?"
" asked lha colonel In- an undertone. Hi
araneraliy left rarrUilcg, to his adju
tant, who waa better soldier the 'be
was; and be knew it. I .
"Tea. air." waa tba reply In tb offi
cial voioe. There's one back there near
the drifUslrandAUllQn and hlaconul
paay are off bare on th,e slope of this
kopje." Couldnt gat 'em on the top; It's
too steep, and the men were done."
"How about ' thla sldet" asked the
oolonel, pointing-to another great black
hill whoa rocky abapa waa molded
Into soft shadow and rounded outline by
the moonlight :
"Sergeant and eight men over there,
air. Besides, I think the youngster waa
right; tha cavalry haa gone through the
nek. They will probably get their out
posts up the AM. and if they 'don't
they're gaardlnV the. other aide, anyhow.
We'raall right" . -.
"Don't think there Is -a .Boef within
t6 mllaa," observed - tha colonel, adding
a good alz to jia previous estimate.
-'Tha of fleers who were going oa -outpost
had had their, blanket rolls carried
out by "their aervanta. Tha aubaltern
buttoned hi coat tight under his chin,
and, leaving tha ruddy Mrcle of tha Bro
ught, began 't climb the bill on tb
right of the road,' v - -
Mai Ion was inly nontenant, but he
was In command of tha company and
tha fact that he was a good one re
flected aredlt upon the sub and tha first
eergeant, for Mallon, brave aa a man
could be, and ft good sporting chap; was
never-made for a soldier. ' The routrnt
part of t bored him; ha oonfeaaed the
fact frankly. Besldea this, ha waa laay
and a bit careless. - He- grunted a few
question to tha sergeant, who replied
neeia togetnsr, arme scirr "lea. air;
yas air." to each one, whereon Mallon
wriggled - bis hug- - shape tinder . the
karosa of hla aleeplng-aack, and stowed
hla bead- in the-shadow of a big rock
out of the moon glare.-. -. "
But tha sub walked a, few yards up
tha slope, and sat" down. He was atlll
thinking. v-Ha" remembered the' excited
gestltculationa of -the Kaffir that he had
aeon talking to the voorlooper of the big
ox wagon. He recalled the fact that
tb man appeared - to-be out. of breath
and that hla legs were dusty above the
knees. Tha blaok who had translated
the message had been excited, too.- Per-
haps there might be some truth in it
Be looked Over his shoulder.
The ateep sides of the kopje towered
400 or too feet above him. Then ht
lowered hla eyes. - Thr men lay hersl
and mere, nuaaied among the rocks, i ns
sergeant . pulling sleepily at hla pipe,
waa propped up with hi back to a great
bowlder. Tb boy went over to him.
- "Sergeant No; aa you were! don't
get up. Haven't wa got a man farther
op the hill here?"
. The-sergeant struggled to hla. feet 1
' "Tea, alt."- said he,- "there's a poet up
there, air. by th Jedge:".
"How farTr . j, ' ' -:
fob. a good bit, air." , - . '
Tha sub walked away and sat down on
th rook again, and the sergeant sank
down in his old ' posUton. The moon
rose and grew., bigger aad brighter. ' The
aky waa blua Things were not masses
merely. . but- resolved themselves ' Into
colors in' the clear light- It was a
night that" one never ae"esrTn England,
nor. In fact, anywhere, exoept In South
Africa, or fairyland. . The very earth
seemed to sparkle, and tha water Is the
nearest spruit abono like quicksilver, a
The boy took a- letter from hla
pocket" Ha had really at first taken tt
out to see if he oould read M, aad and.
Ing that It waa no taak at all, ha want
on tb the end. . -
. There came Into tha boy's mind, aa ha
sat there with tha letter In his nngers,
tha picture of aa old man walking up
tha pathway of. art English garden.
Then, in his imagination,. the--syfoK
lowed the old gentleman Into tba h til
way of tha big house, with tha staring
windows that overlooked the terraces
- This letter that ba had read by tb
moonHght , was from his grandfather,
an old soldier who knew' the Mutiny
and tha Crimea, and could remember
shaking hands, aa a subaltern, with tha
Iron Duke himself. It was fuU of ad
vice, delivered In th old-fashioned way,
exactly aa th squire apeak In "San
ford and Merton" little trite texts. Ilka
tha tblnga that wa copied In the copy
books On this oocaalon they were on
military subjects, snd they were good
In tba- main; bnt they harked back to
tha days of Brown Baas and ateel to
steel. Here was ona of them: "Re
member, my boy, that If you - are
charged In an open plain by a superior
foroe, you abould meet them with a
voUay and a counter charge. Tb baro
net la tha more deadly in th bands of
a moving body."
- "Bayonets," thought tha boy. ' II had
bee in Ave battlea (at least so they
were called In tha papara), and ha had
seen men kilted and men wounded, but
never yet, so far as b oould remem
ber, had he seen a lighting enemy. Ut
tl moving figure dodging her and
there on mile-distant bills, snd retreat
ing clouda of dust, and all of that
which Includes, of eourae, smokeless
noise and Invisible, whining, scurrying
projectiles. But war bad changed atnoa
the daya when they wore curly topknots
and high leather ' stocks, snd a battle
waa not Ilka tha first -ideas h had -of
battles It was much less picturesque
than an Aldershot field day. To come
back to the letter. It concluded With
a sentence that th old gentleman must
have cribbed from pennywla modernity.
"When you ha v nothing else to do,
my boy, think of what may ba coming
next" Whether it was from the ad
vice or. notr- the boy had been thinking
all day. And ha thought now , that It
waa very foolish to be In camp under
tha foot of a kopje; la fact between
two of them, and ona at the and of a
gr-anhlng ridge, without having an
outpost on thetop.f II wa "Just that
way that th transport had been taken
on thfJWJ.rlvjir. soma. months .before, J
and he remembered that incident well,
for he. had been there and had seen it
But tha rest bad apparently forgotten,
and ha waa only a subaltern so what
waa th usef
- Ha looked down" at tba bright valley.
Ha could see th smoldering embers of
the fires; he could see th brown shapee
of some Katnr kraals, huddled away
near .the laat drtf tand farther oft there
roaa ft line of trees, narrow and straight
like th on that com with a child'
Noah'a ark. There 'was a Boar farm
house nestling there. ' Ha ' thought ha
saw. a light la th window. A few be
lated -wagons of tha transport war
struggling np th road. H could bear
tha yapping mule-talk of tha drivers
Ha leaned ' his . head bark and looked
up at the stars, and now h wa think
ing not of war, but of anything that
cam la his head, I thought of big
- v- z '.j ... ,. ...
i rssV - -r i '5 - 5.. .- -s rr-r, wry.jix A i nnr-x i
mother; ha bardly remembered her;
...
other chaps had mothers to write to.
but. ha waa ait orphan, and had nothing
but , a foolish, gabbling old granddad.
He ' got thinking of home and-school
and tha Thames, and some girls he
knew, -and -what a arrange thJng life
waa, and -what, he would do when, he
went back to London, and so ba went
to sleep.' ' t i ' ' ' '
Ha awoke because It waa -cold. The
moon vaa almost down In the west' but
It -wasstllLllghtUhenUtlcj!rtalii4
shadowless sky glare. He looked aitne
watch upon hla wrist and to hia sur
prise he found that it waa not ao late,
after all. 'In a few mlnutee.tlje relief
would be sent out So he got to hla
feet and with hia mind Intent on some
thing that had been there before he
had dosed off, he atarted up th hia
He had meant to have seen where the
farthest sentrV waa posted that waa
-HI He climbed over rocks and bowlders;
his teeth were fairly chattering at nrsi,
but the exercise made him farmer, and
h waa glad-to ba moving. Suddenly
ha found himself Close against what
appeared to bo th aheer aid of a cliff.
But -no sentry I He turned and looked
back to tha valley again. "
The Are embers were our; mere was
a chilly mist spread slong the stream
bed, and tha voices or the Kamr anvers
had hushed. "The transport's In; that'
one blessing," he thought His foot
struck - something that -. rattled. He
stooped down and picked It up. It waa
a little pasteboard box, yellow ta color
and made to Imitate wood fiber. -There
waa something printed on tt In German.
Tha boy knew what it waa, for ha had
seen bundrede of them tha little boxes
In which tha Mauser cartridges In clip
of ftva were, packed. Bo the Borrs had
been there! Oh. yea, ha remembered
of course It was her that they had
tha skirmish It days ago when poor old
Jack Lieonard. of tha lumbering, well
intentioned "M. I," was pipped through
both lunga There might b something
mor about Thb oub bent over, and
then straightened himself and bent
over again.
Than. In a little paten or sano. Be
tween two big rocks, were the marks
of horsea' hoof a. Small, unshod hoofs:
He waa not enough of, a acout to know
if they were freak or -not out now naa
they got there? Nothing but a goat
could hava climbed th hill th way he
had coma Then suddenly ha saw he
waa In a path, a tortuqus, narrow. path
that twisted In and out among the
bowlders, but kept clooe to tha baaa of
the aheer atone wall that roaa above It
Next-question where - did - thla silly,
foolish path lead tot "Must go some
where." he thought "I aee; it'a a short
cut into the nek." 4
"Deuoed odd," aald tha sub aloud. Bo
h followed It for perhap 100 yards.
-i.Now ha remembered having noticed,
aver since ha had aeen tha kopje from
afar, a Jagged, brown Una, like a apllt
or cleft that ran down Ita aide from th
crest halfway ta th middle. t
Th path led o tna oottom - or ie
jaggsd brown Una. -Well, I never.
thnuaht the sub aa h. stumbled along.
But-when-ha. f nmn to tha placaLarhers
toe- trait af tar adouui- rouna- a ,uix
rock, turned sharp to the left ha stood
and whistled. The brown line was not
a crack. "It -witf "th-r rrpentng tntff m rmr--row
pass that almost divided tha hill
In two,, and tha path led, steep and
straight to the very top. It waa very
dark, but ha could eae a path of white
light rising Uke a cloud way up on the
rim." ' """ .......... r
"Hare's ft go." ha thought "What
iff Ha turned and looked Over hi
shoulder at the valley "Qad, I'U risk
It I oaa gat ap and back befor relief.'
So h went up th steep Incline, some
time on his bands and koees, but going
It for what wa in him. In leas than
five minutes he clambered out into the
center ef tha patch of light aad ha aaw
how things were. The narrow pass was
only ft dent In ,tha kopje aide that led
down to th lower opening. .Th top of
th kopje was quite flat, and the
bowlders were not ho big as down below.
But-ha aeon forgot nearby things In
looking fat awav all around him, H
"Fix Bayonet F-Put In tha Sub Suddenly.
had the strange sense of unreality that
ona feels upon suddenly coming out Into
tha vantage spot of a panorama It
looked quit artificial, and yet It mad;
him dlsxy. In hla imagination ha could
see Just where th foreground ended and
tha can vaa began. The view aeemed to
stretch' up and down, painted so skill
fully that he would like to go up closet
to see how It waa dona And tha reason
for 'this waa th stillness nothing
moved, nothing sounded. He walked
over to th edge, where he Could look
down on th sleeping regiment - -He
oould mak out th wagona ; varyi
thing els, faded into the color of th
earth and rock a; but aa he looked he aaw
a spurt of flam, and then another. He
could see soma dim flgurea moving, and
ha knew - that the fire were ' being
lighted. At the same tlm there came
from ever ao far (from the (Kaffir
kraals more lhan-likely ) tha sharp,
clear crow of a oock.
It was wonderful how all these things
brought the sense of realit- to him. The
moon .was sinking behind the .distant
Una of hills. . but there was a glare In
thb east that he knew well enough. The
dawn waa breaking. He lifted the watch
In hla little leather bracelet to hla ear.
Th sub swor softly, not vary bad
swear words stammering a Uttl as he
did so. - What would the others- say 7
Of course, ha had a right to go to sleep
If he' wished to, but "be should have been
awaxa at . the time relief .was posted,
Mallon probably aaw him - and - good-
naturedly let him rest- Mallon wouldn't
aay anything about It; to be sure. It was
lucky nothing bad happened. But the
gray, shai" wleaa light was widening
growing, It was astonishing how the
dawn came on. It rushed op and (airly
apllt out of th eastward aky,.- Tha sub
atarted suddenly, and paused; Ha had
caught a glimpse of a maa'a head and
shoulders almost a --lie away rising
above tha big atones on the cliff side.
The man's back waa turned and ha waa
waving hla band as If wafting aoma on
to him. i
Now, what tha sub aaw when ha moved
a little (keeping well out of sight) was
enough to lift his helmet well off th
bridge of hia nose. It started creepy
feelings down hla back aad tingling
patchea back of hla ears. ' Tha - path
that ran along tba ridge top, sloping
slightly northward la ft half circle, waa
full of men! Shaggy, unkempt men on
shaggy, unkempt horses I Some were dis
mounting, other were going up the lit
tle slope In tha direction of the beckon
ing arm, their rifles held like deerstalk
ers, balanced and easy. Tha aub did not
atop to count but ha Judged there muat
be at least 600, for the Una ran back as
fas as ha could see. Preceded by a small
avalanche of rolling stones he rushed
down tba steep path by which ha had
ascended.
"Ca-powl" -' There went a Mauaerl
"Ca-pow," another, "Neck-erf There
answered a Lee-Metford from some
where down the. slop.. -Just aa he
plunged Into the open there ripped out
a volley from the kopje overhead. "Pah-pah-pah-pah-pah"
th mr;a sines were
going! .
"Hi. there! you men! where the devil!
youl you therel Haiti 'Halt! all, B com
pany 1" The aub didn't anew" hla own
voloa. "Sergeant Where'a Mr. Mallon T
Halt those men-brlng them back fasre,"
"Orders was to r"r."
"Bring -Vm back.1 1 in giving ordorar
"Tea, sir." away, went tha sergeant
down-' the ' hill, - - - -
- A few belated smuers of tha outpdel
war hurriedly getting Into their slings
on man waa tying up tb ends of a
putte wrapped- around -hie-fooV for- he
had ne right boot and merery the trace
of a left Tha aub thought of thoee
amall, sharp-pointed stones.
"Can yoa remember a messager He
waa pointing hla finger at tha kneeling
maa. - - ,
"Tea,' air." " -- "
"Then find tha colonel tell htm from
mo there's a path her leads to the
top. I am going up there aend ma 10
men and ammunition we can save tha
guns and wagons off with you, quick
now!" . '. '
Th-man hobbled after the sergeant
Tha othera looked at on another-and
smiled, foolish, embarrassed smiles
one or two had nervous, half -frightened
looks In their eyes. - A tall lance-corporal
bgan to breathe a soundless, tune-
leas whistle all to himself. He atopped
suddenly. ' x -
"Taira la th bell ox ft mack flown
there," he-said -to tha nearest man, nod
ding into tha valley .
lT'"l'J-"rfcH ""1 fnlrlT grffTi'l,
Men" werenmnlng this way and that-
some On the flanks war lying flat be
hind stones snd firing up st th kopje
some were getting into their . slings,
with a sergeant hustling them as if
they were a trifle tardy for roll call. In
one case a company waa standing at at
tention aa If for Inspection. TheH
Kafflra were doing their best to get the
mulea Into tha harness, but some were
down alreadyr and othera" were clearing.
A few men - were hit for ha could see
the stretcher-bearers come running from
left to right The scene had all the
confusion of complete - surprise. It
would soon be worse I What if tha Boera
ahould reach the spurt - But here came
tha sergeant and with bim five panting
men.
, "All I could get air Mk Mallon,- he
wen catch it 'ot If wo atay here, air!
"Fall in. Follow me at a double. Are
magaslnea charged"
"Tee, sir." '
With 1 men behind him - tha aub
scrambled up to- the little path and
atarted up along It ahot foot Ha did
some thinking, too as h ran. It would
be a bit uncomfortable, if ha ahould
com out in th middle of them when
ha reached th top." and It . would ba
equally uncomfortable if caught half
way. ' .
-.. "There goes tha guns, sir," panted the
sergeant who had, kept pace with him,
8ur enough,athey entered - the
kloof th reports of artillery and burst
Ing shells sounded over tba Una Of
kopjea on the farther aide. ' T. .
. "Th cavalry' getting it now," grunt
ed tha , lanoo-corporal.
" 'Ot and 'aavy there goes ths "ten-
penny,'" gasped a short-winded Uttl
private. . . a
The "chung-chung-chung" of th Tick
ers-Maxim Joined In tha row. - .
- The sub's heart beat almost aa loudly.
" 'Owl my word!" panted tha sergeant
"Must be ftttackln' in fore, sir!" -
This waa Just it - Tha party ha had
seen on tha kopje top was not alL
"Muat be a lot of 'em," thought th
sub. But it was too late to draw back
now. ' Th guna war with tha cavalry
(It was not mounted Infantry tbla
time). They oould aav those guns If
tbay tried to get iaok through th nek.
A thay debouched on to th Uttl pla
teau his vole was ahrtlL
"We're In tlm. sergeant Spread out.
yoa men 1J down, 11 down. Don't
you see them! Her they come close
to along th path here Firs! First"
Thar was no question about it. tb
sub was excited. "Down, downl and
fire, you bally Idiots!" he cried. (He
quits forgot ha waa atandlng up In plain
view.) A few shots were loosed befor
th Boers discovered that ' thay war
headed, and now tha reason for th da
lay in reaching ' th apot was , clesr.
They-were pushing and - dragging-a
seven-pounder Krupp up tha. path. At
th first ahot they vanished among tha
rocka on lthr hand like gopher.
; "'Avi a car, sir," implored th ser
geant "For Gawd's Bake, get down
yourself, sir!" He put up hla hand and
gently grasped th long great coat and
aa ba did ao tha sub felt a quick tap on
his helmet and audden swift breath
along his hair. Ha crouched down, atlll
giving- orders-qulet and" cool now
though a glorious axeltemant was humming-through
him the Joy-of -the
of self.
"Farther out on th left-Msraw! out
don't, -keep-. together. There you are-
save your ammunition. . , wa. can - nota
'em back." '
He settled down beside th sergeant
and poked hla own rifle for all the
company offlcera carry riflea over th
top of the stone In front,- - -
The' air waa run or tna crasy, uiuo
hurtling musical notea changing from
sharp to flat tng(ng out of key
whimpering' shrilly or - whiffling
viciously with a sound, half snap, half
whistle. "Prr rtprrrtt" they would
strike In among the rocks; "tslnga g"
they would go glancing off. Tha
Mausers were coughing out there among
tha rocka: but neither aide had aettled
down to tha alow aad sure shooting that
is the deadliest . , ,
"Better fir from round th rock, not
over M. slr.'N. cautioned the sergeant
who had don hill fighting In Ttrah. A
bit of nickel steel had atruck In close
and fllld tb aub'a (aca with atlnglng
anvers of atona. . "They 'aee. you, air,
that Way." - - : . N .' .
Tha aub- aettled himself farther1 down
on hia elbows and th sergeant rifle
barked. . - '
"Oot one, sir!" Be'e kicking like a
old i" , ' " ,. -
"Spatl ; Tha tub didn't - dara look.
Tha sergeant's head bad fallen' forward
with hla face in hla helmet on of his
feet quivered a moment than ba lay
still.-,
A feeling half of Sickness, half deapalr
made the sub shut his eyes. ,
Why did men want to do this sort Of
thing A dry sob came in hla .throat
"Why couldn't they J" -He ehook the
feeling off, and it never oama again. It
waa all right. . What would hla grand
father say T Ha was there to aava thoaa
guns. , .-. . i . -
"Steady there, men." ha called. "Cor
poral, pass tha word to that man on th
left to aav hla ammunition."
- " 'E thinks '' a blooming hsrsenai,"
muttered tba corporal to hfmaalf. "Hey,
you., Perkins, wot'nell you- firing att
Orders are let up on that," .'...-k.-i'---
- -Manley 'era ' It" called a
headed fellow down the Itne. "Keep
atlll, lad; rollln' round won't help you!"
There waa sllemw fur a mrnutar
Then: "Oh, myi oh, my!" muttered
voice two or thr time it waa not a
groan; it waa not even, -"a complaint
"Liet'a 'are your water-bottle Bill oh!
Lord move m a bit carn't you" "
, The red-headed one half rose.
"Aa you ware!" said th aub sternly,
"There's no use having two." .
The way the bullets war driving over
the plateau would have ' meant sure
death lo-any moving thing out of the
shelter or the rocka The men lay with
their heads down. They looked as if
they were holding on- to avoid being
blown away. - The artillery and the
"pom-pom" were having a merry-time
over uiw am now,
"Manley, -we'll get to you in ft minute
aa much encouragement in hia voice aa
possible. - i- ' ..
"I'm all right all right, elf," an
swered the man faintly. Then he began
to cough. , . ...;,... . j.
, "'Ea dona for. slr,"'muttered tha cor
poral, "Good Oawd, 'ere they come!"
There waa a lull in tna firing." ' and
then at th word th Lf-Mtfords b-
gan. . They awept th advancing Boers
out of th path, and once more they
scuttled In among the rocka- But an
other man had caught It and was lying
siiii oi x on nm ngni.
"We've atopped themr remarked the
prlvat next to the lance corporal "Bet
a tenner they won't try that again."
Then everybody lay -without talking'
for a time, only th shot anawered ana
another back and - forth. "Pat pat
ea pow thwacker." Sometimes a bul
let would go whlssing down th path,
leaving Ita trail of sound, Juat aa It doss
at the rifle butta Then all of a sud
den another man was hit a glancing
shot clean through ths throat, Tha
aub wriggled over to hlra and bound btm
up clumsily with a first-aid bandage.
Th man could not speak, but bla ayes
were frlgh'etehed. Tha red-headed prl
vat Vegan taking off poor Manley's
cartridge pouches. Four men now gone
out of tha sixteen) But they still held
th hllll If th cavalry oould keep back
tha Boera in front tba guna could yet
gat back through tha nek. But tha
shots aeemed all round, even behind, and
th gun wer atlll at It Thay bad not
moved I .. -
Tha nmy in front seemed to b
less in numbers ' They had apparently
gone off to left and right , There was
a Una of firing atretahlng away to tba
aaatward.
It waa getting very warm; th aub
guessed It muat be nearly t o'clock.
How much longer' would they be able to
stay there f . Th men had settled down
to tha work now in businesslike fashion.
Tbey wer firing slowly and saving
their cartridge But even at this rat
there would ba- non left In an hour.
All around - th- reports -war growing
leas and less, but occasionally they
would break out In a fresh place a If
som on had found a nest and poked It
Th men- began to complain of thirst
Tha water bottles wars emptied long
sgo. . .. . . -
But th aub was thinking again. If
ha had a hundred mora men and tbey
could coma up the path yet safely he
could throw out a 11 n on th right work
round care fully and enfilade the force In
front; It would be simple enough. They
might sweep tha hill I Why had the col -
pjcLnoJUCoiiowad nut .hla.auggi
least, why had he not sent up ammuni
tion T He might hav known they would
need it hv tela tlm
PTI. took "out his notebook and-aorlK
bled a few' lines, after making two or
three false starts Than ha folded It i
"Want that taken down, slrr asked
tha lance-corporal. "I'll take it."
. ."No, I wapt yoa to stay here." '
."Let me go, air." . Th man on th
other aid spok up. Ha was a good
soldier, with . a handsome, dissipated
faoa, - deplorabla drunkard : whan b
could get liquor.
"Let Talcott take tha bottles, too,
air! 'Kre, pasa . along them bottles,"
shouted th corporal.- v
They were ton Bed from shelter to shel
ter, and TaJoott half reclining, slipped
th strap over hla shoulders; then h
took tha nota and buttoned It into hla
pocket.-
"Never fear, air, I'll ba back I wa
oom to die In a bed." ha laughed.
Thay watched him creep to where th
path pitched avar th ateep adga down
Into th slanting well. , Hs roe '
U hla : fv and than, as if
thrown by an lavialbi wrestler,
down ha want with a Jangle of
tha water-bottles, and lay there.
Aa if encouraged by, thla, tha
Mausers started furiously. ' .
To red-headed soldier. In tha
act of firing, lost ths thumb
of his left-hand, tha thumb of -hi
rlghtt-and-thrHnrlet glana--1
Ing from th atock of hla rifle,
traversed his cheek. In a mln-j
ttt ha waa a gory, helpless
I ipaotacla. But wot a word Hd-h-
utter. , He twisted . hla . hands -Into
bis tunle and lay back, the ,,
picture of daspalr. r , r.-j-.;
An hour want by.rThera Weral
19 cart rldgee left! The guna
beyond th hill had not fired a
shot for 1 minutes, but there
was an intermittent snapping
round tha edge of th kopje, and
out In front there were aoma
painstaking ; marksmen : lying'
well bid, . Th rocks on th crest
were splotched with ' bullet ",
marks, crushed and eurled-up
DioDS ox nicaei ana ieaa lay an ,
about But 10 cartridges! Three
belonged to him. The two men ,
oa tha flanks had thrown down ,
their useless rifle on lit-hi
pip, v .
7"I wondr whr theyni tak;
ua tof heJiaU asked -the 'man
bid him. ,- v
. ."Fix bayonets r put in th aub
Y suddenly.
Tb men looked . at. him as If they
thought ha had gone lhad. But they
obeyed, snapping. tbe--ugly knlvea t
their rifle barrels, and then they lay
there waiting. If h had told them to
charge, they would hava gone forward ,
It was none of their responsibility.
"Just pok thoaa bayonets over tha
rocka, you men." ordered th aub.
"We'll ahow 'em what they'll get it
they, come on,"
Tha strange signal of defiance flashed
as the bright bladea caught th sun. It
brought a drov of bullets, and tha men
lay cloaa
"Let 'am all come!" chorUed tha -lance-corporal.
Hardly had ba spoken, when from 00
yard a, directly rear, a plunging fir
came down. . Th Boors had gained tha ,
higher ereat across tba nek! There waa
no shelter now for tha obstinate little ,
band. They could be picked off
caught like rata in a bin. Almost be-
for any one - could more eight men z
werb hit Tha . red-headed man waa
atruck In lha head -and never stirred
killed outright -The little prjvate next
to the lance-corporal threw down his'
rifle, and ran for the path, bounding
orer lbs rocka Ilka a rubber batr
"For Oawd'a sake, air, let's out ' of
thla" groaned tba corporal. "Run for .,
Hi there's no no staying here, sir." He
to his knees and then crouched
down again, hla ayes filled. with a wild
appeal. ... ' . ...
"Let's try to get out soma of ' th
wounded.". . : '
"Lord, '-air! t Ther won't ba no
Wounded. They're flrln' , 'eavler, air;
worst I ever see." v .- V-
"Come, thent" Tha" boy almost sobbed. .
"Keep low crawl, -, sir 3awd. that '
waa close!" -' ;
' "No; I can't leave them, corporal!' ' '
"Then I'll stay witn you, air." i u,
Tha sbsoluta hopelessness was sick-
lenliig. Th sop-groaned. IflBwHi wa
leaving him; everything within him was -srylng..
."Run, : yuni". , Th chanc of
reaching the edge of the gorge was
alight; he hated to leave kla stricken -menTt
b saw that to stay meant
sooner or later a bullet would find him.
The Mausera on the hill behind kept pot-.
ting steadily, and their range waa excel
lent Suddenly a wounded man spok a
"Better leave us here, get away If you
can. air." - - -t
', Tha man war right ther waa no use
staying. - Besides, if - on started tha
enemy might aee that th rest were
disabled and atop firing. He rose to
hla knees "Coma, corporal. We'll make -a
try for ltv --r- - - ; v . .
'"T, air. rm with you. air."
Thay gained th path in safety and
plunged down.. . '
- How they reached the bottom neither
oould hava told. But when they mad
th aloplng hUl outside, th corporal
half etumbled. . -r
'Tve got It air." ha faltered.
Are yoa badly hit?"
"Not much tba arm keep on, air."
On they ran. Way, way ahead they
oould see what wa left of the regiment
across tha spruit They wer going back
tba way thy had coma The guns were
not with them! Near by, tha Boera were
looting the wagons. There were many
limp, huddled flgurea among tha rocka '
Although tha aub did not know it, hla
own colonel waa over there on the right,
wounded and a prisoner. He slipped hi
arm . through tha corporal's, and thev
bora away to the left No one fired at '
them now. - In II minute they reachel
th spruit and lay down on the bank to
brsatha
"We're well out of that mess," gasped
tha corporal. "Oh, thanka, air it'a but
ft scratch."'
Tha aub did not reply. He waa ban
daging tba eorporal a arm with hia hand
kerchief, but he waa thinking of ono
thing. Ha had not aaved the gunsl
, Late tha next day the adjutant of th
regiment entered tha club, for they wore
all back once more, what waa.Jeft.of
them) In the conquered town.
' "Hello, young man!" ba called to soma '
one, at on of the writing desk. "Hearl
you'd got back safely. Wher wer you
yesterday" ,
"I waa on top of ths' kopje. Tou aee,
I t thought" '
"Well," Interrupted the adjutant bit
terly, "yon were the only one. who did!"
("The -Peaes-Hf fertng,"- by Octav
Thanet is next in Tha Sunday Journal's
Banner ssrlea bt abort stories) - . .
rrhe ataalaiBr-
Varlraa In Id down for himself f rtnV !j
COmmanamDIA.jn gaoiuon ia Lne origi
nal 10...... - - 7 - -- :
The worst fooled man la tha man I
who fools himself." . . -!
"Hava ona a reat object In life. Fol
low it persistently and.- determinedly.
If you divide your energlea you will not
succeed." - . .
"Do not look for what you do not wish
to find." -
"Hava M' resrats. Look to tha fntura.
Ths past is gone and cannot be brought
naqg."
(
y-. Tb Wis Widow. ,; v
From th Chicago News.
"I feel sur that ha lovea ma,". said
tha dear girl. "Bnt I ahould Ilk to put -him
to strenuous test , How can 1
do itr" - - ' . - ,. . -
"Welt" auggeatad tho Wise widow,
"yon might accidentally, let him get a '
glim pee of you with your front hair "
don up In curl papara." ...
. .T . . , . . . V , . N
: V