The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 7, 1895, Page 17

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 1895. 17 All the morning it had been thre snow, and now it was sifting slowl but presently the flakes fell th: thicker, soon shut out even the crestah Captain Leale, a calm, thoughtf comu picked out ce: eants and sent them, with a nd left ke nt and flank, so as tc . and then as the snow and sparred or wrestle ingly, many and many were tures as to the cause of the hal “Wha e waiting for? were the lip to lip, and r g glances toward tf t are that ¢ were the le group we pitch ¥ ing of ¢ s smoking and tal \d chaff- s Ormsby at the head of the column. With an Indian v a mile away, an Indian not an hour ahead, the Tw: ing things as coolly as befitt ason, and | e more to the d trying the chamber breech gfield carbine, | joined in t h all the coolness he could co ove to appear more inter: being said than in the i te business at hand. An t, when the adjutant came riding to meet him. s the trouble, Jimmy?”’ was the query on many & tongue. ‘“What are we g for?” v're going regularly into camp—put- up their tepees,” was the answer. *‘It oks as though they were waiting to pa- r with the parsuit. The colonel thinks y’re willing to come to terms rather than march further in such weather. \'.pgose the Eleventh can’t be very far be: hind them, and as yet don’t suspect we're over here at all. Lucky for us, too,” said he, gravely, “for it to one in their favor, if I'm any judge at all.” “The devil yor are there?” “Bat says nigh unto seventy, though they’re not all up yet, and_you can’t see a now for the snow. The old rip must been re-enforced heavily. There s to.be two or three bands rolled into What I can’t understand is_how the venth happens to be so far behind. We 1zht they were right at their heels. 1 » think how the settlers down the rk must have suffered.” or heard anything of them—or of e ng Ic o outfits passed up the valley they were worth this morn- a saw them from the The scouts say r wagons and took to ey were speaking there came 1 object off to 1e or two officers ride off in that di- llowed up in nt coming u ain Lealegang d men coming out. He thinks protection.”” s proved to be the case. clouds there soon came r ken-( upeds, and there w t on the part of hal ere two men, roug| T i en, garbed in the rou ear, men with faces so draw d with terror and suffering that tk dia not brighten even with the 8 ng the protection of a strong for: There was like his er make, r birth than th hird, a man hea gent y y shifting, restless, filled with a dread as great as theirs, gave no symtom of re- assurance. Like shipwrecked mariners on the broad ocean they had sought the succor of the first craft that came in sight,but | even now seemed to dread the storm and loubt the stability, the safety of the ng ship. “How m: have they had eagerly asked,and, when , had wrung their hands and implored st rescuers not to dare confront the a3s, who were at least 1000 strong. have wiped out everything in the elow, fired every ranch, murdered every man. They've got a dozen of our women prisoners now in that very camp, and the first thing they’ll do will be to butcher them if you attac! of God come away,”” they implored, “and let them be. be fifty miles behind.’ Thus eagerly, incoherently, ranchmen said their say. strangely silent, yet seemed to be full as eager to get away. W hat say you to this story ?” asked the ung lientenant, who had ridden out to g them in. 3 all God’s truth!” was the answer. be wiped off the face of the earth the two “ “You'll if you attack. Give us some provisions— | hardtack, bacon—anything, and grain for our horses, and let us go.” ““‘Well, you'll have to come in and sse the commanding officer first,”” was the short reply. ‘“He'll decide after hearing your story.” “What's his name?” asked the stranger. olonel Farrar.” “Farrar? Is this the Twelfth Cavalry? 1 thought they were ordered to Arizona.” ““We were, but this devil’s work of the ghost dance keeps us here. Now follow, and we'll get you something to eat.” But the stranger said that he would go no further to the front. “I'm too near that cursed band now,”” he protested, shak- ing his fist through the wintry air. “Go, you, Mullen, and see the colonel. Get what help you can. I’'m too weak to ride until I can have something to eat.” Even then it was noticed that Mullen his friend seemed anything but cordial to his_companion. *“D. im,” they growled, as, sullenly, they left him dis- mounting at the pack train. ‘‘His saddle- bags are crammed with meat. He hasn’t suffered. Other men staid and fought and tried to defend Crawford’s ranch and Mor- gan’s. They are dead, poor devils, but that sneak who calls himself Giaice, he only came among us six weeks ago, and if some he ain’t a jailbird I'm no judge. He's afraid to see your colonel, lieutenant. That's what I believe.” And when Cap- tain Leale heard their story at the head of the column he called to his orderly, mounted and rode back through the falling snow. “Where is that third refugee?”’ he asked of the pack master; “‘that man they call Graice?” 7 “He was here just this minute, sir. He’s worse scared than the others. He wants to go on. There he goes now. He’s light- ing out by himself.” Just then there came a movement along the column. Every trcoper was springing to_his horse. “They’re mounting, sir,” suid the orderly. But the captain was staring fixedly after the disappearing rider, who, clapping spurs to his jaded bronco, was burrying away. ‘“Where on earth have I seen that form before ?” said Leale to himself. “Orderly, ride after that lu- matic and bring him " in here. What?” he from the ridge, there was in- | 1l /1 How many lodges | ay compliments, sir, | . | that sl For the love | Thelroops in pursuit must | The third was | asked, turning quickly about in his saddle as a trumpeter came trotting to his side. “Move where?” “Off to the right, sir. The adjutant is leading the way,” and peering through the fast-falling flakes the battalion commander saw the dim figures of the horsemen already in motion. ome on with your packs, Harry,” he called to the chief packer, ‘‘and when that fellow returns send him to the front.” Five minutes more and they were stum- bling down into the depths of one of the deep ravines which openea out from the valley of the frozen stream to the eastward. Then, and without a word of command or | of him.” a trumpet call, only the uplifted hands of | the troop leaders and observant sergeants, | the column halted. “Dismount!” was .| mutilated; his wife and daughter, I be- | enth think the colonel should do,” he | added, with an attempt at jocularity that | somehow failed to provoke a smile. But Ormsby in turn shook his head. “I haven’t known your colonel a week,” said he, “but I've learned to know him well, and when he means to go in, all you've got to do is to go, too. That's what I've mapged out for myself, and doubtless so, too, have these gentlemen,” he continued, indicating the two ranchmen, now eagerly fingering their Winchesters and getting ready for business. The elder of the two it was who answered : “No man who has been through what we have, and seen the sights and heard the sounds of their raids on the ranches down the Fork, would do less than thank God for » chance of meeting those brutes on anythmf like equal terms. My poor brother lies there, hacked and scalped and lieve, are somewhere nmong those foul tepees now, unless God has been merciful and let them die day before yesterday. ‘We fought as long as there was a show, | and we got away in the dark. Those poor women wouldn’t leave their dead.”’ A tear was trickling down his cheek as | he finished speaking, but his lips and jaws were firm set. ‘You gentlemen,” he con- tinued, “are going into this thing just from ! sense of duty, but think what it is to me and to young Crawford here. His old father and mother were just butchered, by | God—butchered—and the worst of it is that ! if that damned hound Graice had stood by | him ten minutes he might have got them | safely away. They were too old to make | any time, and it was nouse. That fellow's a white-livered pup, and if I ever come | upon him again I'll tell him what I think ‘I wish you had seen that fellow. Orms- | by,” said Leale, in a low tone. *‘The more i I"think of it, the more I feel sure he had g il | i’ “THERE HE i i t\\‘|n\j(’\lq;.l'\w\\ WA TN "h\\k\\{\jl}\”\}.“l\l\“\' \'.),_. 1) ! GOES NOw !” at this rate,” muttered the sergeant-major to his friend, the chief trumpeter, “and never know it until we stumbled into a tepee.” : ““How far ahead is it?” asked the latter. “A mile, they say. We’d be deployed by this time if it were less.” Less than five minutes of gradual ascent and the crest of the divide was reached, and, one after another, every horseman realized that he was then on the down- word slope of the eastern side. Somewhere ahead, somewhere between tne ridge and its nearest neighbor, lay the hostile vil- lage, all unconscious of the foemen's coming, looking for disturbers as yet only from the eastern side. Old cavalrymen used to declare their horses could smell an Indian village before the sharpest eyes could “sight” it, and the packers swore the statement was true, “if it were only made | of the mule.” “The colonel knows. He hasn't forgot- ten, you bet,” was the comment, as_again the orderly rode swiftly rearward with orders for the pack trainto halt just west of the crest, and then every man seemed to know the village couldn’t be far ahead, and some hands went nervously to the holster flaps, others loosened the carbines in their leather sockets, and men took fur- tive peeps at one another's faces along the shadowy column, and then at their officer, riding so confident and erect along the left flank. And still no man could see more than the depth of three sets of fours ahead. “Ain’t we going to dismount and go afoot?” muttered & young recruit to his neighbor. *‘I thought that was the way we always did.” “Of course; when one conld see to shoot and would be seen himself anywhere within five miles,” was the disdainful answer. “What'd be the good of dis- mounting here?” And now in places the horses plunged deeper into the snow and tossed up drift- ing clouds of feathery spray as the column crossed some shallow rutsin the eastward face, and then once more, snakelike, it began to twist and turn, following the track of those invisible guides, and then it seemed to take to evil courses and go splut- tering down into sharp, steep-banked coulees and scramble out again on the other side; and still the sure-footed horses tripped nimbly on, and then presently, his gyei a-twinkle, the adjutant came riding ack. *Just half a mile ahead, Jimmy,’ he murmured to the lieutenant riding in Leale's place at the head of the first troop. “Form left front into line and halt. I'll post the other troop.” Quickly the young officer reined out of column to the left about. ‘“Keep straight to your front, leading four,” he cautioned. Then, barely raising his voice and drop- ping for the time the conventional com- mands_of the drill-book, he rode back along the column, saying, ““Leit front into line,” until all the rearward fours were aligning; then back to the front he trotted, hafied the leading set, each of the others in_ succession reining in and generally aligning itself, all without a sound that could be audible ten yards away. Almost at the same time the second troop headed diagonally off to the left and presently rode up into line with the first, while the third and fourth were halted in similar formation at troop distance in rear. “By all that's glorious, we're going in mounted!” was the word that seemed to thrill down the line. ing to wait—not going to give him a chance to surrender.” Another moment and the word was, “Hush! silence there!” for dimly seen through the drifts the colonel, with his little party of attendants, came riding to the front of the line. Long, long afieb ward they remembered that clear-cut, sol- dierly, high-bred face, with its aquiline nose, keen, kindly, deep-set eyes, the gray- white mustache, snow-white now, as was his close-cropped hair. “Men,” said he, in th€ firm tones they had known so long and well, “‘fully half the band Emhnhly are some miles away; but Kill Eagle, with overa hundred war- riors, is right here in our front. So, too, are his women and children; so, too, worse luck, are some of our own unhappy cap- tives. You all know the first thing those Indians would do, were we to attack as | line noiselessly advancing and closing up *Then we're not go- | keep together. Watch your officers’ com- mands and signals and spare the squaws and papooses. Be ready in two minutes.” And then every man took a long breath, while the colonel rode through to say simi- lar words to the second line. Then, re- turning, he placed himself just in rear of the center of the first squadron, the second on the leaders, and then he seemed to think of another point. “Ask Mr. Ormsby if he will ride with me,” said he to the adjutant. ‘“Now, Leale, forward at a walk. Follow Bat. It's all level ahead of you. You'll sight the village in three or four minutes.” The tall, stalwart captain touched his hat, took off his broad brim, shaking away aload of snow, and s-purred out a little to the front. There, looking back to both his right and left, he gave the signal forward, and with almost a single impulse the long dark rank of horsemen open at the center in an interval of some half dozen yards without other souna than the slight rattle of accouterments and the muffled rumble of 500 hoofs, moved steadily forward. A moment the colonel sat and watched them, smiled a cordial greeting to Ormsby, who, pistol in hand, came trotting over with the adjutant, then signaling to the second line he, too, gave his horse the rein and at steady wafi followed close the center of Leale’s ‘command. In his hand at the moment he held a little pocket compass and smiled as he noted the line of direc- tion. “Almost due southeast at this instant,” said he. ‘“We ought to bag our game and be well across the Mini Pusa with them in less than an hour.” 5 Unconsciously, the pace was quickening. Foremost of all, well out in_front of the center, rode the hali-breed Indian guide, bending low over his};lmn ’sneck, his black, beady eyes peering ahead. Wellout to the right and left were other scouts, eager and alert, like Bat himself. Then, squarely in the center, on his big, powerful bay, rode Leale, commander of the foremost line, and Ormsby’s soldierli heart throbbed with admiration as he marked, just before Leale was hidden from view, his spirited, confi- dent bearing, and noted how the eyes of all the line seemed fixed on their gallant leader. And now some of the horses began to dance and tug at the bit and plunge, and others to takea jog trot, for the In- dian scouts were at the lope, and their ges- ticulations became every moment more vehement, and then Bat was seen, though visible, only to the first line, to grab his revolver, and Leale’s gauntleted hand al- most instantly sought the holster, and out came the ready Colt, its muzzle raised in the air. Out in quick and ready imitation leaped a hundre% more, and instinctively the jog had changed to a lively trot, and the dull, thudding hoofs upon the snow- mufied earth rose louder and more in- sistent, and Ormsby, riding at the colonel’s left, gripped tighter his revolver and set nis teeth, yvet felt his heart was hammer- ing loud, and then dimmer and dimmer grew the first line as it led away, and still the colonel's firm hand kept Roderick dancing impatiently at the slower gait, and then, just as it seemed as_though the line would be swallowed up in snow and disappear from view, quick and sudden, two muffled_shots were heard from some- where just in front, the first syllable, per- haps, of some stentorian shout of warning, and then one magnificent burst of cheers and a rush of charging men, and a crash and cra« kle and sputter of shots, and then fierce rallying cries and piercing screams of women and of terrified little ones, and like some huge human wave the first line of the Twelith rode on and over and through the startled camp, and bore like a whirlwind, yelling, down upon the pony horde beyond. And now comes the turn of the second line. Seeking shelter from the snow- storm, warriors, women and children were for the most part within the tepees as the line crashed in. Some few were with the miserable captives, but at the first sound of danger every warrior had seized his rifle and rushed for the open air. Some few, throwing themselves upon their faces, fired wild shots at the foremost troopers as they came bounding through, but as a rule only a few opposed their passage, so sud- den was the shock. Butthen came the h»@ssed in low tone from front to rear. | some reason for tearing to meet our part; No noise, men. Stand to were the muttered cautions, and foremost officers | ““Silence now! horse! ! l:hcn once again the owly | gathered in a little group about the two | he rode away, but I've seen that man be- ees. Il fight with you gladly. Countus in,’” said one of them, refreshed by a long pull at Ormsby’s flask. ‘“But that sneak hat slipped away would see you all in hell He’s a fugitive in more senses than That man’s fleeing from the law.” How do you know? Have you any idea who he is and where he came from?” asked Captain Leale. “I didn’t see his ace, but somewhere before this day I've een his back.” “I don’t know him from Adam. He was | on his way to the Black Hills when the In- | dians jumped the reservation and cut us | off. He afraid to go back, and he’s just been stay- | ing there with us; seemed to have plenty of money, but there ain’t a white man left ve from here to the South Cheyenne | now.” | And then in silent respect the group opened and made way forthe gray-mus- | tached soldier who rode slowly into their midst and addressed them in low, quiet | tones: | “Look to your men and horses, gentle- { men. Large as that village is, I think that | all the warriors are not there, and our best | plan will be to attack before they can send | | and call in those who are watching the | pursuing column. We will attack at once.” | CHAPTER IIL white mist, powdering beards and broad- brimmed campaign hats and silvering the | Objects fifty feet away were invisible, and H J{I sounds muffled by the soft, fleecy | h E that everywhere covered the earth. vet with soldierly alertness, the hastened to look quickly over their ntly the veteran colonel { few yards out beyond the head of column jand sat therc on his horse, a white- mantled statue, peering intently through theslowly falling flakes, ““We move the moment Bat gets back,” | murmured the adjutant to Captain Leale. ‘‘He crawled out to locate the herds and pick our way. There are some cross- gullies beyond that ridge and down near | the village. Bat says he feels sure most of | the warriors are miles away to the east, ,gm—yr‘nere are enough and to spare right ere. | +Is Kill Eagle still to be given a chance to surrender?”’ asked Leale. “That was | the understanding at one time, wasn’t it?”’ “That was it—yes, and Bat was to hail as soon as we deploved within striking dis- | tance. Unless some scouts or the ponies find us out we can creep up under this snow cloud to within a few yards, and | they’ll be none the wisez. The colonel | hoped that the show of force would be ample and that the old scoundrel would throw up the sponge right here, but—I don’t know,” he added, doubtfully. “If only the women and children weren’t in that village, it wonld be simple enough. We could pitch in and double them upie— gore”they knew what struck them. As it is—"" and here the young officer broke off with a wave of ‘the hand that meant volumes of doubt. Then he turned and looked eastward again to where, silent and stamesage still, Colonel Farrar was seated on old Roderick. The same thought seemed to occur to both officers at the same instant. Ormsby, once more testing the lock of his revolver | and narrowly observing his new comrades, | remarked it at the same time and spoke of it oév,en thereaiwrj‘ ‘“‘Can’t you make him keep well back ?”’ asked Lea{e. s B ““Won’t you remind the chief he oughtn’t to be in front?” asked the adjutant. And then each shook his head, as though realizing the impossibility of getting their | old war-horse of a colonel to take a posi- tion where he would be less exposed to the fire of the Indian marksmen. “You might give him a tip, Ormsby,” said the adjutant, in the cheery confidence ing engenders. “You are his guest, not his subordinate. Tell him what the Sev- been afraid to go ahead and | The snow was falling now in a dense | dusty black of the fur caps of_ the men, | turned once more to the front and rode a | of the comradeship a few days’ campaign- | | here. They tell me he seemed excited an: worried the moment he heard we were the | Twelith Cavalry. I only saw his back as fore somewhere. He rode like a trooper, and it's ten to one he’s a deserter.’” ‘‘He’s a deserter this day if he never was | before,” said Ormsby in Teply. I judge | we need every man, do we not?” | “Looks likeit,” was the brief reply. “All right, gentlemen,”’ he contirmed!.1 turning with courteous manner to the two younger officers, his first and second lieutenants, who came striding up through the snow. Leale was famous _in the cavalry for his subalterns. He had the reputation of never speaking hastily or harshly, and of getting more out of his men than any other cap- tain in the regiment. All right, sir,” was the prompt reply. “Every man in my platoon boiling over i with ginger,” added the younger, his blue eyes flashing, though his cheeks were pale and his lips twitching with pent-up excite- ment. “I see the guidon is being unfurled, Cramer,” said the captain, quietly. “Per- haps Sergeant West wants to land it first | in the village, but tell him to handle his | revolver instead, if we charge,” and, touch- ing his fur cap the officer turned back. | “The colonel has said nothing about the plan of attack. We may be Efii“{; to charge right in, for all Iknow. Ha! Ormsby, there comes the word!"” Looming up through the snow a voun, German trooper rode rapidly back towarg the little group, and, reminE in his horse a few yards away, true to the etiquette of | the craft, threw his carbine over his shoul- | der and started to dismount before address- ing officers afoot, but Leale chccked him. | “Never mind dismounting, orderly. What’s the message?” ““The colonel’s compliments, sir, and he would wish to see Captain Leale a minute, and the command will mount and move slowly forward.” Instantly the group dissolved, each officer turning quickly to his horse and swinging into saddle. No trumpet signal was given. “Mount,” said Leale in the same quiet conversational tone. ‘“Mount,” repeated the first sergeant, halted along- sit!)e the first set of fours, and all in a few seconds the burly forms of the riders shot | up into the eddying fleece, and every horse | far back as eye could penetrate the mist was suddenly topped by an armed rider. | Then, first thing, the fur-gloved right | hands went up_to the shoulder and drew | over the little brown carbines and drove | the muzzle through its socket. Then in | the same soldierly silence the horsemen | edged in toward the center of each set and there sat, boot to boot, erect and ready. One or two spirited {opng horses began to | paw the snow in their impatience and to snort excitedly. The adjutant trotted briskly back along the column in order to see that all four troops were similarl ready, cautioned the rearward troop lEde- ers to keep well closed on_the head of the column and signaled “Forward,” while Leale disappeared in the snowclouds ahead. 3 Not_knowing what else to do, Ormsby ranged alongside the senior lieutenant of Leale’s troop, as in perfect silence the column bore steadily on. A few seconds brought them in sight of the colonel’s form again, and he waved his hand cheerily, as though to say, ““All right, lads; come on.” Then, sitting Roderick as squarely as ever, the gray-mustached commander took the lead, a swarthy half-breed Sioux scout rid- ing on one side, the grave, soldierly Cap- tain Leale on the other. The adjutant, the chief trumpeter, sergeant-major and orderlies fell in behind, and the crack bat- talion of the old Twelfth rode noiselessly in to take position for the attack. For perhaps a hundred yards they fol- lowea the windings of the ravine in which they had been concealed, had concealment been necessary. Then, turning abruptly to his left as he passed a projecting shoulder, Little Bat looked back and mo- tioned to the colonel, “This way.” And then the leading horsemen began to ascend a gentle and almost imperceptible slope, for the snow was sifting down so thick and fast that the surface was invisible thirty feet ahead. ‘ “We might ride square in among them \\i’l i Y il COLONEL FARRAR’S DEATH. usual, would be to murder those poor | realization that the herds were being white women. This snowstorm is in our | driven, and that not an instant must be favor. We can creep right in upon them | lost in mounting such ponies as were still before we charge. The ponies are down in the valley to the south. Let the first line dash straight through the village and stampede the herd; then rally and return. Let the second follow at a hun- dred yards and surround the tepees at the eastward end—what white women are with them are tnere. The Indian men, asa rule, will make a dash in the direction of the ponies. Shoot them down wherever you can, but, mark my words, now, be careful of the women and children. T had intended summoning Kill Eagle to sur- render, but we did not begin to know he | had so many warriors close at hand, and did not know about the captives, Bat has seen, and that is enough. There is no other way to settle it. It's the one chance of rescuing those poor creatures. Now tethered about the villages and darting away in wide circle away m the troops, yet mncen:mtinfi:gnin beyond them an regaining the lead. And so where the first line met an apparent! sle:ging village the second comes cheering, charging, firing, thundering through a swarmirg mob of yell- ing braves and screaming squaws. Farrar, foremost in the charge, with the civilian ardsman close at his side, shouts warn- ng to the women, even as he empties his pistol at the howling men. Close at his back come Amory and his gray troop, cheering like mad, battering over Indians too slow to jump aside and driving their hissing lead at every w: T in their path. And still the colonel shouts, “This way!”" and Ormsby, Amory and the adjutant ride at his heels, and the grays especially fol- ‘of way. low his lead, and dashing through a labyrinth of lodges, they rein up cheering about two grimy tepees at which Batis excitedly pointing, and the ranchmen are both shouting the names of loved rela- tives and listening e‘sgerly for answer; and thrilling voices within are crying, “Here! Hereb!” and stalwart men, spring- ing from saddle, are rushing in, pistol in hand, and tearing aside the flimsy bar- riers that hide the rescued captives from the eyes of their deliverers, and the other troop, re-enforced again by strong squads from Leale’s rallied line are dash- ing to and fro through the village, firing at the Indians who are scurrying away. Just as Amory and the adjutant charge ata. knot of scowling redskins whose rifles are are blazing at tgsm at not a dozen yards’ distance, iust as the good old colonel, afoot now, is clasping the hand of some poor woman whose last hope was gone but a moment, before, and even while listening to her frantic blessings, finds time to shout again to his frantic men, “Don’t hurt the women, lads! Look out for the children?” a hag-like, blanketed fury of a Brule squaw springs from behind the shelter of a pile of robes, levels her revolver, and, pulling trig- ger at the instant, leaps screaming away down into the creek bottom, leaving Far- rar sinking slowly into the snow. An hour later, with strong skirmish lines out on every side of the captured village, with a score of Indian warriors sent to their last account and the others scattered over the face of the earth, the little battalion of the Twelfth is wondering if, after all, the fight was worth winning, for here in their midst, his head on Leale’s arm, his fading sight fixed on the tear-dimmed eyes of his faithful comrade—here lies their beloved old colonel, his last messages murmered in that listening ear: ‘‘Leale—old friend— find—find that poor girl—my—my son robbed and ruined and deserted—and be the friend to her—you’ve been to me—and mine. God bless—"" y 2R And this—while the regiment, obeyingits stern duty, goes on in pursuit—this is the news Jack Ormsby has to break to the lov- ing, waiting, breaking hearts at Frayne. [To be continued.] Copyright, 1895. ACCIDENTS. A vision seen by Plato the divine: Two shuddering souls come forward, waiting doom From Rhadamanthus in the nether gloom, One is & slave—hunger has made him pine; One is a King—his arms and jewels shine, Making strange splendor in the dismal room, “Hence!” crics the Judge, “and strip them ! Let them come With naught to show if they be coarse or fine.” Of garb and body they aré swift bereft; Such is hell's law—nothing but soul s left. The slave, in virtue glorious, is held fit For those blest islct of peace where just Kings go. The King, by vice deformed, is sent below To herd with base slaves in the wailing pit, —John Hay, in the Century. SHARPERS OF ROTTERDAM How the Bunko Man of the Land of Dikes and Ditches Works. A Percentage on Cigars Instead of the Gold Brick Is His Craft. “Americans are apt to think that they belong to the only enterprising nation in the world,” said a New Yorker lately re- turned from Europe, “but I had alittle ex- | perience in Holland recently which showed | me that business is business all the world over. I was walking through one of the principal squares of Rotterdam smoking a | cigar when I was approached by a well- dressed, middle-aged man, who had an un- lighted cigar in his hand. He stopped me and, in good English, asked me for a light. 1 gave him a light and was about passing on, when he said: & see that youaresmoking a Dutch cigar. Would you mind telling me where | you bought it and what you paid for it?’ 'hough somewhat surprised at the request | I told him I had bought it in a large shop on Hoog straat, and that I had paid 10 cents (about 3 cents American money) forat. “‘The reason I asked,” he said, ‘is that they do not deal honestly with foreigners here. You should have got a better cigar for that money. If you wish I can show you the place where I get my cigars, and ‘where you can get twice as good a cigar for the same price as the one you are smok- ing.” As 1 had intended to lay in a suppl of cigars for a few days at least, and as }I' had nothing else to de, I agreed to go with im. ‘‘He led the way through quaint and crooked streets and over many canals to a tiny tobacco-shop in a narrow out-of-the- way street. We entered the shop, and my new-found friend had a brief conversation in Dutch with the woman behind the coun- ter, which resulted in the production of a box of cigars from a shelf near by. Taking my cigar‘fently out of my hand my men- tor sniffed at it, and then with a ‘sudden gesture of disgust threw it out of doors. He then took a cigar from the box and offered it to me to try, saying that it would not cost me anything. While I was smoking this in a tentative way he had another con- versation in Dutch with the shopkeeper, and then having apparently arrived at some compromise he told me with a glad light in his eyes that sne had agreed to let me have the whole box of fifty for four guilders (about $1 60) and seemed very much pained when I told him I did not care for so many, as I had to pass the Eng- lish custom-house in a day or two. I finally bought half the box and departed. ‘‘That afternoon I was seated in the front of the statue of Erasmus, smoking one of my newly acquired cigars, when I was ap- proached by a respectable-looking man who had an unlighted cigar in his hand, and who mlitel{ asked me for a light. ‘When he got his light he asked me where I had bought my cigar and what I had paid for it. It dawned upon me then that in this country of the slow Dutch I had run \Ha against a form of enterprise that would do credit to Baxter stréet in our good town of New York, and the humor of the situation so overcame me that I laughed then and there. To the man with the cigar I ex};’leainedA to his evident dis- ust, how I had been already taken in, and e wentaway after remarking that I should | haye %n a better cigar for the money I paid. During my stay in Rotterdam I | was tackled séveral times by these ropers- in, and hugely énjoyed telling them of the manner in which I bought my cigars; but Ialways madea point of letting them light their cigars first. They all seemed to have r opinion of the cigars I had bought."” —New York Sun. ————— A Railway Curiosity. Work is about to. begin on a railroad in Florida which is a curiosity of its kind. Some time ago the citizens of Avon Park and Haines City, Fla., believed that a tnns&mnnnon route connecting them ‘wouls beofdgreltadvnntage. The country is sandy and nearly level. A company was formed, but the people lacked in capital what they made up in enterprise. It has been decided to build the road with wood rails, which are large .em;\:gh to be laid so that they will be half ilnnt ded in the sand without other bal- St. They are to be held in position b; wooden pins two mnches in diameter an eighteen inches long, while the ends are connected by glunk couplers placed under- ' neath and held by pins. Not a pound of metal will be used in construction of the fmk, although the line will be forty miles ong. Most of the ‘“rails” will be furnished gratis by property-owners along the right ‘T'he company oelieves that in a few years the fruit, vegetable and passen- ger business over the roate will pay for regular steel rails, when the others will be used for ties. A small steam dummy will furnish c&ower for the Avon Park and Haines City road.—Manufacturers’ Record. 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