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Show ) IBECOlMSWlEE forme cr'2fcJXSM7ttj3&!XP.'jZrc -. CHAPTER XXIII. "Tears Shed for Mo7" Colonel John was not killed by the bullet which tho Confederate trooper sent In his direction. Tho Intention of tho aforesaid trooper troop-er was doubtless good enough, but his execution a trifle faulty. Perhaps bis haste was to blame, or his aim a llttlo unsteady. In all probability, however, tho real causo might bo laid at the door ot the flashing flames which mado It very dcccptlvo light. Tho motlvo of tho colonel for pretending pre-tending that he had been laid out by tho bullet was plain enough. Ho fully expected tho other two men, and Indeed perhaps halt a scoro to boot, would bo ready to follow tho first Bhot with a showor of lead. It was In tbo hope and expectation ot avoiding theso that ho threw him-self him-self forward, and rolled upon tho ground with all tho symptoms of n dying man, when in truth the leaden messenger had hurtled harmlessly by a foot or two from his head. He was only ten fcot, more or less, from tho edgo of tho woods. Once In the shelter of tho trees, Colonel John felt his chances of escape es-cape would bo much better than on tho open. When he throw himself forwnrd with such a dramatic effect, Ulilge-way Ulilge-way managed to roll over and over several times until ho had roduced tho distance by half. He brought up In such a position that he could look In tho direction ot tho house. v This was a wlso precaution. Tho fellow who bad fired might evince some curiosity concerning the nature of his game or the posslblo brilliancy of his aim, and It would bo only natural tor him to como out to investigate. In this surmlso Colonel John mado a center shot. Some such motlvo influenced tho marksman. Ho had left his comrades and was advancing toward the spot where tho object of his quick fire had fallen. 1 Rldgoway had no idea ot awaiting his coming, since ho was in no condition condi-tion to raeot tho man. I Knowing his only chance lay in speedy flight tho Federal rolled over a few times more. 1 Ho was now at the border ot tho trees. Tho troopor stumbling along and shouting at the top ot his hoarse votco, had managed to clear half ot the distance that originally separated htm from tho unknown object at which his bullet had been sent it seomod in vain. Now, while Colonel John had a healthy rospect for flying lead, born of Intimato acquaintance In tho past, he cared llttlo or nothing for more vocal muslo In tho shape of threats, no matter what fearful aVpo they assumed. as-sumed. Consequently, when he had arrived at what he considered tho proper position for a now move, ho jumped to bis toot without further ceremony and Immediately made a plunge Into tbo woods. A singular thing occurred just then. Tho colonel bounded str Ight Into tho arms of another trooper who, attracted at-tracted by the conflagration) bad been hurrying to the spot, taking his course through the woodB. When two bodies tovlng in opposite oppo-site directions como to;thor, the collision col-lision Is apt 10 bo Bevere, and In nlno case out ot ten the ono which at the momunt ot contact chances to be moving the fa(or comes out better than tho her. In this Cttso it was the Federal who dc-hed upon the Confederate trooper, ho, too astonished to offer any re-vlstance, re-vlstance, oven It such a thought hed come Into his head, merely opened his arms and received tho shock. Such was the impetus wit'' which John commenced to make his dush Into the woods that ho quite carried tho other oft his foct, and both rolled over in a heap, This was in ono wtj n unfortunate unfortun-ate thing for tho Federal officer. Ioft alono with tho fellow ho could readily havo mastered him, The thought that struck him with alarm was the fact that the otbor trooper was advancing as fast as his legs could carry him. Given half a mlnuto or so of time and ho must reach tho spot. What then Well, he would havo a chance to use his saber to somo advantage, and without any danger In return, scolng that the Federal would bo In no condition con-dition to make any defense. Tho vory thought encouraged John to mnko tho most despcrato efforts toward release. Although they hod gono down together to-gether the Confederate was naturally underneath. Through Instinct moro than anything any-thing clso he had clasped his long arms around tho body of his unknown antagonist. , It was with tho pertinacity of a bull-dog, however, that ho maintained this hold. Vain wero John's frantic endeavors to mako thoso steol-llko bands relax. Ho seemed held as tightly as In a vise. Then llko an Inspiration thero camo to him tho rcmombrance of tho fact that he held In ono hand tho empty revolver. This he had clung to through all. It might now servo him a good purpose. pur-pose. Without n second's delay he commenced com-menced to batter the1 trooper with the weapon. Such a fusllado of blows raining upon his face mado the follow lose all desire to hold his tormentor in the circuit of his ombrnco Indeed, just then his one thought seemed to be a desire to get rid ot such a plaguo without delay. No sooner did John find tho long arms rcleaso their hold than he was quick to avail himself of the chanco prosonted. He sprang to his feet It was high time. Tho second trooper bud mae good use ot his opportunity, and was almost al-most within striking distance. Patience has Its limits. Tho Federal had abont reached that point whero forboarance ceased to bo a virtue. He was moreover forced Into n corner, cor-ner, nnd whero It beenrao absolutely necessary that ho adopt some new line of tactics. The man as ho camo swinging forward for-ward had his gun raised. No doubt It was his full Intention to mako use of the clubbed weapon In scattering tho brains of the Intrepid Yankee to tho four winds. To this disposal ot his own individual individ-ual property Colonol John was ready to enter a demurrer. Ho believed there were othor uses to which this samo brain power might bo put, and which would be more to his advantage Instead ot endeavoring to leap in among the trees and make off, he simply backed away and stood thoro as If awaiting the onset. His defiant attitude and tho manner man-ner in which he presented tho revolver re-volver gavo the trooper the Impression Impres-sion that he was heading Into great porll. He fully expected to hear the sharp roport, and feel tho sudden twinge, that would declare tho fact of his being be-ing wounded. Nevertheless, he was possessed of grit, and Instead ot dodging aside, as the colonel had hopod might bo the case, be rushed directly forward, moaning to be upon the enemy ero ho could fire. It wa.- a foolhardy act .providing John had been so tltuated that he could reap the full advantages thus offerod to him. Thore was plenty ot opportunity to pull a trtggur and plant a ball just whero It would accomplish the most good. Unfortunately John could not avail himself ot the chanco, but after all It did not matter. Something else Intervened. Fortuno was not yet done playing strange tricks. Tho man who advanced found it necessary to keep his eyes upon the object of his assault, for he believed he might even yet escape the bullet ho oxpected soon to he loosed. Under theso conditions he could not very well observe "the routo he was taking. There wis an obstacle In the way. This proved to bo nothing moro nor! less than tho half-stunned fellow with whom Colonel John had just engaged, and over whose devoted cranium he had exercised his arm with so much vigor. Of courso the socond trooper tripped. trip-ped. Losing his balanco he fell headlong to the ground at tho feet ot tho colonel. colo-nel. Somo Instinct seemed to cause him to Immediately lay hold of tbo other's ankles. This tho colonol at once resented as an Insult to his dignity. As his flight was impeded ho found himself compelled to turn upon his enemy, bound to mako him release his hold. Down upon his knees ho dropped and ngaln began striking out right and left with his revolver. Oaths and then groans and cries of pain attested to the fact that ho was visiting condign punishment on the head of his enemy. In spite ot his agony tho fellow held on with the tenacity ot a bull-dog. "Let loose do you hear lot go, or I shall havo to kill you," said tho Federal. Fed-eral. " Colonel John had a pretty good Idea that reinforcements were on the way to tho spot, ond ho was fully determined deter-mined to get nwoy before they arrived. ar-rived. Whothcr the man understood or not, ho did not obey tho demand, and John wns, much against his will, compelled com-pelled to commonco with tho tattoo business again. Really this was growing monotonoustoo monoton-oustoo much ot the same thing when he particularly desired a change In tbo program. At any rato his bombardment must bo producing a chaotic state in the fellow's mind, and It continued a short time longer would result in his releasing his clutch, which oven now was moro a condition ot habit than anything else. Tho first fellow had by this time recovered re-covered his senses to a certain degree. de-gree. At any rate ho seomed to know what was tho causo ot tho beautiful hcadacho from which ho was suffering. suffer-ing. Tho first thing Colonel John saw was this man, still squatted upon tho ground, and covering him with a gun. How was he to know It was the empty carbine of tho first trooper? Ho thought his life was In dangor, nnd giving a desperato wrench succeeded suc-ceeded in getting nway from the clutch that would havo detained him. A quick dodge tho sound ot a hammer ham-mer falling upon an empty chamber, and John knew his chanco had come at InBt. He did not wait to finish either ot tho two men whoso Interference had been tho causo ot so much trouble to him. Freedom was too valuablo tor him to fritter away 000 second ot time In tho endeavor to avenge his wrongs, and this freedom scorned bo closo to him that nil ho had to do was to put out his hand and grasp It. When he plungod Into tho forest ho know somo of the other troopers were coming up, and In a very short tlmo they must know all. What mattered it? The surrounding wood was familiar to this soldier of the Federal host-as host-as a lad he had spent many a day In play in this section, so that almost every treo was known to him. Ho could with Impunity defy' them now. Of course ho had not yet left all danger behind, slnco ho was Inside tho Confederate linos and It would bo well for him to keep constantly on the alert for signs of his foes. So ho mado bis way along. Sovcral times he drew noar camp fires only to give them a wider berth, for around them he could see many stalwart figures In the gray ot the Confederate host. (To be continued.) |