Show tr tta 1 of A TT A romance of flie american army VICTOR ROUSSEAU fighting on the of rance Copy copyright Fight by br NV 0 chapman r CHAPTER XV continued 11 sandwith and with the blow all his strength returned till nil ills his energy and zest aest for battle ho he forgot everything till fig waving laying the sword ho he hurled himself into the attacking ranks they gave aind with a cheer the defenders swept on into tho the main street mark leading them how he fought that day lie bo biever kne know long afterward he would see eoa visions of 0 it in weep and battle pictures that forever eluded his waking consciousness round hound the little vil from uti unexpected expected places hideous derth death traps caught alie unwary and venturesome sometimes a a at street reet was filled with a jostling mob too packed to use their steel tearing at one another with elsts find teeth leoth there was no order find and the command fell to him who as swept on into the main street mark leading them inge tho the key to the days fortunes fortune the tlde tide ebbed and flowed company after company c gme came up on either side now advancing doiy now driven back the americans fought from street to street tand and back again 31 machine guns opened fire fin seized it through all that nightmare mark fought at the head of ills his company om looking the like a madman as ai they salil sald of him afterward when became he came to himself ni at ins loathe the found himself umi unwounded bounded save for ills his bleeding arm from which the bandage lind had long since fallen and in command of a battalion I 1 they had driven th the e germans from the last house of the village tho the delay had saved the day the reserves had conic come pouring in on the ridge beyond thee the enemy was mars marshaling haling for a pst last counterattack counter attack attach mark looked about him lieutenants captains who should have comma commanded tided mingled with privates ariates ates and noncoms non coms were fon following owing as if hypnotized this middle caged aged c private with the red cross on his arm As aa mark looked ills his heart swelled with the conscious cons clous ness and pride of leadership and nt at his glarice glance a roar went up that crip was 1 caught up from man to man and sent echoing into the distance and mark was swept away wath unconquerable enthusiasm it was his bis day the day of which every soldier dreams come along boys I 1 break them apt he shouted find ran forward with one resound resounding ini cheer the lines linds swept after him A ripple of machine gun fire caught them but could not hold themi them over the fallen they pressed on cries of triumph upon their lips the faces set above the gleaming bayonets animated by a single p purpose ur and now they were upon them mark fought in the bloody swirl blades thrust at him bullets tore ills his tattered uniform once he was waa down and lie he saw a glant giant rush at him with clubbed rifle ile he raised his arm he tried to drive with his bis sword lunged and missed then the uplifted rifle fell harmlessly beside him and the giant fell forward dead over him pinning him to the ground and covering him with his blood A bayonet thrust bad passed clean through hla his body and looking up bewildered mark thought he saw hartless Hart leys ays eys face look lato into his own next moment mark alark was on his feet again and hartley had vanished but already the lest tussle was over the germans broke and fled mark stood still gasping the men were crowding ill ell about him waving their helmets on oil bayonet points cheer ing in him slinking shaking hla his hand across the dald two mounted men were ridlia they eme came up to the ridge and one a walte trad jaired old of officer fleer ledged to the garouni ind wrung marks hand mi our count rys thanks to you ou I 1 lie he cried what Is your nara barj marl looked and saw tho the Gen generald Gener cralle alt insignia aport tho tha dr raph i weston 11 he answered 41 1 and suddenly ho be remembered elennor and ashamed and humiliated iw nud yet strangely cl elevated he began to push jils his wy away anck through tho crowd no ile turned ot of the jall dead bodies lay everywhere and al ready some pt the ambulance men were werd I 1 succoring the wounded wo broken guns attles haversacks haver sacks alt the paraphernalia of battle strew strewed ed afie streets alig debrief of the Jall came camor into view tad sun dancing above it it Indi indicated cited to marks astonishment that hours had passed and that it was at afternoon marl elt suddenly sick ho he trembled and with his last reserves of strength lie staggered forward then he lle saw colonel coward within h tho the orielee iri id alf 0 wall abat and eleanor kneeling beside him holding a water bottlo bottle to his lips she turned saw him and endran ran to him folded her arms about hla his neck and press edher lips to we CHAPTER XVI even as he kiss kissed edher her in return b ho 0 saw tho the startled glance that she cast en st behind her and following his bis eyes he saw a tall figuro in uniform emerge from the recesses ceases re of the orl I 1 flee and again ho he stood ethod faco face to io face with kellerman eleanor released him find and stood still clinging to him at his bide acri and drawn through hla his arm aim tho the contrast between the ibe two men was is extras extraordinary r kellerman lookeb as if ho had jut just stepped into ills his uniform his glov 24 hands his adjusted belt the creases in his tunic were those of tile t fashion plate looking atmark lapkin lap kig ba P kaw aw a 0 dirty grimed almost unrecognizable egure with ith uniform that hung about him in great tatters blotched arid and stained with brood you said he would not cameo back I 1 cried eleanor Elcanor you sou see he be bascome has come back went have you cosay to say horev more 1 you misunderstood rn me eleanor 1 I understand yoa forthe the fielt first time in my life I 1 liked you major kellerman I 1 trusted you arid I 1 bl bc llevad in you when you told meth mer tit you were nap to get wat lace ills his recognition I 1 was glad lid find and proud of you both and happy what do A What did he do man furlou furiously sly why should you believe evil things ot of me because he said t them hem JI ile he never nevar spoke ono one word against you I 1 when the decision lids has already beff made by an impartial court anxious io fo cleara soldiers Character lf If that were possible i because bave ibave I instinct instine at major kellerman enough of this interposed mark what are are you doing here sir ile he snapped the last word out in irony so eo bitter that kellerman wine ell so youve cheated the firing party private weston Wes tont it be said with his habitual sneer 0 call me mark while youre about it answered wallace or please remember that I 1 am no longer under your cor command nor a soldier in the ifie american army technically I 1 um nm a dead man ma major J or kellerman find and dead men ja tell no tales ehr eh responded acl lerman savagely well hero here we stand mand man to man and the conditions r rant plain speaking it Is not my business bu d to eyou under arrest but it I 1 do so BO you tire aware that your life will be worth about five minutes purchase so go mr weston or wallace or whatever you call yourself now go it if miss eleanor here says the one word that williet will set you tree free go and in this con contusion lusion you wll havea have a reasonable chance to escape with those of yoiiro yours the one word eleanor gasped the one wor word dyes yes responded kel lerman 1 I will n ever become your wife major xelle kellerman aman 11 so you told me the other day otter after leading me to suppose that iha t it was your intention answered kellerman easily stop mr westone Wes tonj lf if boil you please and let me finish war leave much sentimentality in a man we kno know w whet life Is worth and we know that lifes a matter of bargaining when we wire were in n america have accepted my dismissal leanor eleonor U i but here we three stand under the naked heaven like ants on a hill all artificial dis ions have fallen away ive loved you for many months eleanor Eleann rr and I 1 want to marry you the bald truth of it in order to persuade you I 1 am willing to leathis let this gentleman escape to io facilitate hla escape oven even to make our marriage dependent on my success fairi it and what have you against me Is it my fault that helas he iwas court and sentenced to death for striking an of fleer the mans effrontery took marks breath away my answer responded eleanor steadily Is no Andev cn it you could send him to his death it would still be no because he be himself would wish t hat hal but you cant harm him some convinces roe me that all the harm barm i UM pr that has como come to him has como come from you and it tells tella me too that your power has hag ended ano no Is id my iny answer and yours M mr Wb weston ston asked kellerman looking nt at mark mark unable to reply pointed toward the opening of the kellerman turned arid toward it ati then ito ho turned i theres one thing thine moro more cosay to say 1 I lie ho said yo your action tn in dismissing roe me miss bliss howad savors of the romantic drama your tit alfo baabe haab cen en q n ro romantic mantle one olio with ft a certain high big afi strung idealism in it duo to td iho circumstances of your upbringing it was that I 1 believe which mado made you think it your duty to follow your adopted fathers unit toabe to the front cronl I 1 think you ought to know who you are arc your father died on tho the battlefield of santiago ho was n fugitive from justice iio he was tho the notorious nam a cry lie sprang g to ta ward but K dealt him rf blow that sent iliam stumbling mumbling among tho bricks bricki rf a lie kellerman I 1 said colonel howard quietly tile tho old colonels ayes open ile iio laid ills his hands laboriously upon tile cogo of tha brich wall and with a great effort raised himself to his feet a lie lie ho repeated it Is no lie ile colonel tl tr oward yo you told tho the whole captala Capt aln wal lacohn jacc in the hospital tent never mind how I 1 know I 1 know you damned dirty spy I 1 said the old colonel A confession h answered naw nsw bcd keiserman Kei lerman blandly your words were strong stron 9 ones ones idolly deny d bliem lem it I 1 t you ou can yau years of hell that crime you said lt it was calculated cold blooded deliberation you said the caso case against 11 ampton was absolutely proven he was to have been lian hanged ged as as soon as we captured santiago III ho was as born rotten ile he sold his country to pai pay his gambling debts and you by the worst namo name one man can call another that was why you tried to persuade mark wallace not to adopt hamptons Ham child like father like daughter he swung round upon eleanor and tor for the first time seemed to lose his self control who you are I 1 he cried the child of a wretched traitor who worked in the war depart department merit with colonel howard and mefi me fi a man without honor entangled with A Wi wretched etched woman spy who sold our secrets crets mid and that man your adopted father whom you love and revere spied on him in turn watched matched him read ills his letters went through bia pockets snared him trapped him brought him to his deserts and adopted you E leanor eleanor staggered toward the colonel her arms raised imploringly and cried in a choking ch voice S say iby its ita untrue I 1 only say that its untrue I 1 its a damned lie said the colonel but there was not the least conviction in ills hla voice tell me the truth I 1 its arbe then its more more or less true said howard wearily its not truel true I 1 shouted ed mark remember colonel the rn mans ns face had been practically blown away awny how do we know that it was hampton who was with the child it might have been nt another iother we dont know for sure and we cant know ive never believed it I 1 ever dare to let myself believe it you found hla his papers said kellerman nobody answered him eleanor went up to mark and raised glicr ter white face to his tell me what you think aap captain mark she pleaded and onea once more mark was mute site she read his face as if by inches she turned toward kellerman now will you yon go ehe che asked kellerman sti saluted her with mock formality 1 1 til go he but hes bes sp spent ent his chance A 4 says daughter and aspis a says 11 the ambulance bearers appeared at the entrance to the recess they bore a stretcher propped up in it swathed in a bloody clout of bandages was ijar hartley tIcy there he Is ill I 1 he cried pointing his hand in triumph 1 I knew hed come this way iles hes here sir 1 ill lie he cried to soule some one outside the orifice the stretcher bearers set down their burden oo on a ledge of the wall into the little place strode the general nis ills appear appearance appearances ancer there exercised a paralyzing elect effect upon them all kellerman was the first to td recover its his self possession ne III saluted stiffly this man inon he said pointing to mark la is the prisoner who was to ta have been executed this oils mor morn nog ng 11 the general gendral without a word strode toward mark arid and clasped him bythe by the hand kellerman gulped and moved toward tile the entrance ent ranco for the last llast alm time the halt haiti sir air I 1 he commanded col colonel obiel howard will you have the goodness to go to the man on the why I 1 beg your pardon colonel colone I 1 1 I not badly hu hurt r tv j i Not bins ria nuch ch air i the 4 colonel attempting to mako make tho the passage tho the general gave him hla his arm and assisted him and when ho he stood still placed ono one arm about him to steade blin do you that mant man ho he asked tho the colonel stiffened kellerman bollback fell foll back tho the wall As im a living ninn man cried colonel howard Oward I its ita hampton III CHAPTER hartley sat up 04 46 the stretcher and nd fixed his eyes on oft howards wards face it was evident that ho he was desperately wounded P one no of tho the orderlies kneeled beside it him ita and nn d hid held e him film tills this 11 sald tho the general chewing at his mustache in emotion which ho he could not nl altogether together hide was once an officer in abo service vico of our cc country un ile ho ans ns engaged in confidential work in tile the war department he was waa accused of espionage unjustly accused 11 with a low cry elennor eleanor rushed for ward and kneeled tho the stricken clie n man sho she placed d her arms about lit him and drew hla his head down upon her shoulder looking piteously into the weary eyes hampton raised her hand to his lips and kissed it unjustly accused repeated tho the genera 1111 ilanor ajor kellerman stand to attention clr I 1 you shall be heard later ile iio was tho the victim of tile tho tern tem which was even then laying its plans in washington ile iio was thelic th the evIc victim of acoman named Mor borsheim hilda More Mors helm whose activities avero i well ell known though wo could then do nothing to counteract them she shorn mada A do a 4 specialty of luring young officers into gambling dons dens winning large sums from them and thus thu leading sledding them town down the slope toward disgrace and death she had n u confederate who wai waft highly placed in the war department when by their united efforts they the failed to mako make a traitor ot of captain hampton they compa compassed sied ills his ruin now how they did so I 1 need not describe now the facts are 0 0 record it t Is enough to say eay that they succeeded hampton wits was driven into exl lebut exile but they we were not satisfied with that thal they broke hlo hla career carcer they drove him from the company of nil all decent men but that was not elou enough gh they broke hla his cifes heart she died they madenis made hla name one of execration still they |