The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 18, 1900, Page 7

THE SUNDAY CALL. Went to Die for Their Country-Now Return as Disgraced Mllltary Prlsoners stood up In the doorway to see if the —— e —— been recaptu ired, but the other was over- powered and taken to the consulate at | S s THE SAD LOT OF THE FOUR TIEN Fifoa: e WHO WERE CONDEFINED BY Bt COURT-I (£ REPT * a5 RIVETED °%,, o TRANSPORT THE~ BEST. THING- Fom vS 7o £a wa s To RoN age—lool out over the water and The McDowell touched Clay-street sighed. it S3ded: wharf and the procession took up Ite “When 1 had my trial my enlistment of march for the ferry three yenrs had already expired.’ The brown uniforms of the prisoners, ““What,” I began, and floundered hope- marked with the capital P, were sufficient lessly o\er my question—“how did you to charm the curious, and a crowd fol- feel"—again I paused—‘"when you heard lowed in their wake. At the foot of Mar- . that you were to be shot? What was the ket street there was still another attrac- charge and were you fum{: Let me ask n played an accordion and mem all at once whi ave the cour- “Then we ventured out one by one and ceed untfl we had ‘anteed up.’ Finally we eak a little English, and he started with ing to eat and not enough to wear. At ‘She told me that In manhood E s dropped below. The moon was shining took up a collection of 50 cents. T to the outskirts of the town, which last we came to a hotel. One of the boys 2 l‘;{g‘:.gfl,‘n’ P it & It tyoetad Temptation I would meet." come here,” sald the officer bright and the harbor was fllled with “We kept our eyes riveted on the trans- leads toward Mogl. One of the boys had in his pol!v.\sllvn. two deposit slpPs o+ peljeve it. What was I ol arged with? The men had been halted at the turn- risoners may talk of those little Japanese boats that ply about port but could detect no signs of unusual bribed him to take us by giving alm a that the paymaster gives when you de- A crime that would leave very few men table, but the ger continued with the amers and carry saflors ashore; usnally commotion. Then our boatman called for knife. posit money with . The landlord kept in your city if they were’'to be tried by business of her music mpany B, Sixteenth the sallors who have no leave of absence. ‘another ante. We were desperate. ‘Three "I had lost my hat and had traded my us at the hotel four days on the credit of military courts. ~BDut my charges, Itke “She also said the world was full was the first to "It was our intention at first to swim of us had been sentenced to death and knife for a Japanese straw sombrero, We these siips. D e o e G Of falsehood and deceit.” wore, and two out of the eighteen pris- several of the boys had long terms. Hay- did not rest easily until Nagasaki was out «I registered under a French name and saulf} and the blanket charse.dicy A man at my elbow said, brutally, “Are rs did reach land that way ing no desire to return to the ship, we O©f sight. gave my residence as Shanghai. This ho- conduct to the prejudice of good ord. ou fellows prisoners?” No one answered tn his vaice and e wer & : V : T here was & s oo oo P scraped (ogether some more dough any _*‘The bovs of our party scattered in the fel was quite a noted resort. Prince Henry military discipiine. “Robiery., ‘d g e X t ou He got the notion gav Jap. We hadn't gone twen- CItvi two of them struck out north and of Prussia had been tiere and written his ness, ete. These were just a few (Stand no more. Geeat twen b i et bves AN e g charges that were brought agains 1is cheeks and his lips . N . and that he could swim more easily If he sied iy.five yards futther before. he medo oo “the reat of us T e ey tho moun- autograph on the wall, and I put mine Byi'fere is McBennett. He and ( o pe . ecoliection, “is & story of his trousers around his feet, Instead of other demand. You can imagine that we !ains to Mogi. The prisoners in the other beneath it. had quite a time. How about that Me. to stop sInz"‘g and AT lled a kind-he ‘ en regretfully he added: “If rere we wouldn’t be uring them. He started off all right at didn’t refuse. 1 think if he had requesteq Doats we did not see again. “Two days later two of the boys wanted Bennett?"' art. st, and then we did not see him each of us to donate our clothes, plece- ‘““The mountains were covered with to go back reconnoitering to see if the Mciennett's eyes gleamed and his for fully five minutes cal, we would gnow and we had no underclothes on— Meade had left port. ‘We begged them Cheeks glowed; then he stammered shame- again at the boys In w - ave done So. Twenty- own, ane e 3 " In the meantime the rest of us had five vards further he stopped again, and only those thin khaki suits. We had bcen not to o, but go they would, and thelr ASeain, . - f'..'.‘» pd . the e dropped into a iittle boat rowed by a Japa- then our pocke: were empty. There for over a year in the tropical climate goilng was our undoing. On their way 'Go ahead,” sald Christine. in Billibia A nese sallor and made off. Every minute n't a cent in the whole party of seven; and were nearly frozen to death. down the mountains they met a squad of _““Well, you see.” he began, “Christine I had not .o e we expected shrieking bullets to plerce us the Jap had it all “The fellow whose clothes were wet was Japanese policemen. You never find a end I went north from Nagasaki after (b t ler the truth; and, Miss, f 4 fanfla and we had We discoveredthe fellow with the trousers “He finally got us ashore and we min- In & dreadful plight. We kept him run- single policeman in Japan; he is always leaving the boat, and we wers dead broke. if you say anything in our favor please | 1 fel Not a sou in our pockets; not even a and here his voice choked, “pleass ke our escape if we got near about his feet floating along and pulled gled with the crowds without attracting ning. In fact, all felt more comfortable plural to the extent of seven or eight. pocket-knife. We were hungry and cold. y* and hesitated again, “Christine and ell, we waited until him into the boat, half-dead with cold and attention. in sprinting for more reasons than one. And they took our boys for Russian sples. gnd beggzed from house to houga for some. 1 Were our mother’s only support.” at night; then one of the boys fright. Them our boatman refused (o pro- “We found & Japanese guide who could On we went like March hares, with noth- One of the boJe got away and has Dot {hing to eat, but everywhers they wanted R e