Show an the K A 0 ys V of poo ak T achard IRVING tv BACHEL LEIZ CHAPTER continued 20 year near kings ferry in the highlands on the pluton hudson they spent a night in the camp of the army under putnam there they heard the first note of discontent with the work of their beloved washington it came from the lips of one colonel burley of a connecticut regiment the commander in chief had lost newport new york and philadelphia and been defeated on long island and in two pitched battles on ground of his own choosing at brandywine and germantown Gennan town the two tuo scouts were angry it had been a cold wet afternoon and they with others were drying themselves around a big open fire of logs in front of the camp caan post office solomon was quick to answer the complaint of hurley burley iles hes allus been a bigger fo force ace 0 well trained well paid men that had plenty to eat un in drink fin an wear an hes fit ern cm with jest a shoe string 0 nu all army when it come to him it know but how to shoot an dig a hole bole in the ground the men enlist fer moren six months month RW an as soon as they learnt sut liln 1 they put fer hum an with that kind 0 an army bo be the british out 0 boston with a beetle bunch 0 unpaid barefoot ragged backed devils lie druy the british out 0 jersey an they had men in that neighborhood hes had to dodge an has kep his army from abeln et up hide horns an taller by the power 0 his brain iles hes managed to take keer 0 himself down in jersey on an Pennsyl vaney with the british on in all sides 0 him while the best fighters he had conic come up here to help gates I 1 dont see how bow he could W a done it d n if I 1 do without the help 0 god gates Is 19 a real general burley r eald it id washington don I 1 amount to a hill 0 beans solomon turned quickly and ad upon curley burley to find an enemy 0 ray my kentry in this ere camp lie said in a quiet tone ye got to take that back mister an do it prompt er yere goin to be all mussed u up 0 ye could see fee the har begin to brustle under his coat solomon was wont to say of burley in speaking of that moment ile he stepped up clus aclus an growled an showed ills his teeth nn an then lie he begun to git ned burley had kept a public house tor for sailors at new kew haven and lad had lad had the reputation of being a bad man in a quarrel of just what happened there la is a full account in a little army journal of that time called the camp gazette burley aimed a blow at solomon with his fist then as solomon used to put it the w water ater bust through the dam it was ills his way of 0 describing the and decisive action which was wa a crowded into the next minute ile he seized bailey and hurled him to the ground with one hand on the nape of his neap and the other on the seat of his trousers solomon lifted ills his enemy above ills his head and quilted him over the tent top burley picked himself up and having lost his head drew ills his hanger and like a mail mad bull rushed at solomon suddenly lie found his way barred by jack would you try to run a man through before he be can draw the latter asked solomons old sword flashed out of its scabbard let him come on ile he shouted im more to hum bum with a hanger than I 1 be with good vitt bittles vittles les of all the words on record from the lips of this man these are the must most immodest tru modest but it should be remembered that when he spoke them Us his blood was hot jack gave way and the two came together with a clash of steel A crowd had bad gathered about them and was vas increasing rapidly they had bad been fighting tor for half a moment around the fire when solomon broke the blade of his adversary the alie latter drew its his pistol 1 before lie he could raise it solomon had alred ills his own wear wearon weapon on hur bur leys pistol dropped on the around in its owner oner reeled and ami fell beside it the battle which bad lusted no wore more thun a minute had come to its end there had been three kinds of fighting in that lively duel solomons voice trembled when hen lie he erlea out aary ary man who says a word agla aeto the great leather father Is coln to git mussed up lie ile pushed his way through the crowd bich had gathered around the wounded man let me bind his arm he said but a surgeon had stood in n the crowd lie he was then alien doing what lie he could for the shattered member of the hot bot beaded colonel burley jack was helping him some men arrived with a litter and the unfortunate officer was on his way to the hospital jack und and So solomon lonion set out for head quarters they met putnam and two officers hurrying toward the scene of the encounter solomon had fought in the bush with him twenty years before they lind had been friends and comrades solomon saluted and stopped the grizzled hero of many a great adventure Nen ture binkus the trouble here the latter asked as the crowd who had followed the two scouts gathered about them solomon gave his account of what list had happened it was quickly verified by many eyewitnesses eye witnesses ye done right said the general burley has got to take it back an apologize ile he aint fit to be an officer he behaved himself like a bully any man who talks as he done orto be cussed an Binkus sed an sent bent to the guardhouse within three days burley lind had made an ample apology for his bis conduct find this bulletin was posted at headquarters liberty of speech has its limits it must be controlled by the law of decency and the general purposes of our army and government the man who respects no authority above ills his own intellect Is a conceited ass and would be a tyrant it if he had tit chance no word of disrespect for a superior officer will be tolerated in this army the Bink of Bi hurley irley a phrase which traveled far beyond the limits of rutn ams ms camp and the notice of warning which followed was not net without its effect on the propaganda of gates and his friends next nest day jack and solomon set out nut with a force of 1200 men for camp tit at white marsh near philadelphia delp hla there jack found a letter tas AND HIM to GROUND ly M from margaret it had been sent first to benjamin franklin in paris through the batters lat friend sir mr david hartley a distinguished englishman who wits was LOW and then sounding the doctor on the hie of pence peace 1 I am sure that vou ou will be glad to arlow mat my love for you Is not growing feeble on account of its age she wrote the thought lias has come to ive ire that hat I 1 am england and that you are america it will be a wonderful and beautiful bt tiling thing it if through all this bitterness ta aness and bloodshed we can keep our love for each other my dear I 1 would have you know that in spite of this alien king and his followers I 1 hold to my love for you and am waiting with that patience which god has put in tl it c soul of u your race and mine for the end of our troubles if you could tome come to france I 1 would try to meet you in doctor franklins home at rassy so I 1 have the hope in me that you may be sent to france this Is as much of the letter its as can claim admission to our history it rave gave the young man luau a supply of happiness sufficient clent to till the many days of hardship anil and peril in the winter at valley forge it was read to solomon say this ore ere letter kind 0 tellies beches my frell feell ns does sald solo to worl nion im coln to see what kin b bo done unknown to jack within three days solomon bad a private talk ith the commander in chief at ills headquarters the latter had a high regard tor for the old blout ue ile maintained a dini fied silence while solomon made ills little speech and then alien arose and offered his bis hand saying in a kindly tone colonel binkus I 1 filuba alil you good night CHAPTER the greatest trait jack irons used to say that tha I 1 no man he had known lad such an un omm amount of common sense a as george washington lie ile wrote to his father fit t b ef it would seem that lie he must be la in atlon with tiie the all seeing mind if 11 he were ere to make a ailous blunder here our muse cause would fall the enemy trios tries in aln to fool him their devices lire are ns as nn an open book to washington ashin ton they have fouled foiled me ond and So solamon lurann and other oilier officers but not film I 1 had got quite n conceit of myself in judging strategy but now it lj is nil all gone one day I 1 i was ins scouting along the tha lines a few miles from philadelphia when I 1 came upon a little rugged old woman she wished to go through the lines into the country to buy lour flour the moment she spoke I 1 recognized tier her it was ins old lydia clydla darrah who had done my washing for me the last year of my stay in philadelphia why ldla how do you do I 1 asked the way I 1 have allus done laddie buck she answered ln im her good irish tongue Work ln at the tub an figh tIn the divil lind bod cess to him but I 1 kape me nn an lucky I 1 am to do that thanks to the good god how Is me fine lad ind that I 1 id d niver a but for the voice 0 him not ns as fine as when I 1 wore the tha white ruffles but stout as a moose I 1 answered the war Is a sad busl business ness 11 it Is that may the good god de find us I 1 we cross the sea to be rid 0 the daill nn an lie he follas an grabs us be tile the neck we were on a lonely road she looked about and seeing no one put a dirty old needle case in my hands take that me smart lad its for fer good luck she answered As I 1 left tier her I 1 was in doubt of the meaning of her generosity soon I 1 opened the needle book and found in one of its pockets a piece of thin paper rolled tight on it I 1 found the information that howe would be leaving the city next morning with five thousand men and baggage wagons and thirteen cannon and eleven boats the paper contained other details of the proposed british raid I 1 rode post to headquarters and luckily found the general in ills his tent on the way I 1 arrived at a definite conviction regarding the plans of howe I 1 wits was eager to give it air having no doubt of its soundness the general gave me respectful ful attention while I 1 laid the faeta before him then I 1 took my courage in my hands find and asked general may I 1 venture to express nn an opinion certainly lie he answered it Is the plan of howe to cross the delaware in hla boats so EO as to make us believe that he Js Is going to new york lie will the river above bristol and suddenly descend upon our rear washington sat eat N with nith ith his arms folded looking very grave but made no answer in other words again I 1 presented my conviction still helas he was silent and I 1 a 0 little little em in halt half a moment I 1 ventured to ask general what Is your opinion lorit lie he answered in a kindly tone colonel irons the enemy has no business in our rear the boats are only for our scouts and spies to look at the british hope to fool us with them tomorrow morning moraine about daylight they will be coming down the edgely be road on our left he called an aid and ordered that our front be made ready tor for an attack in the early morning 1 I left headquarters with my conceit upon me and halt half convinced that our chief was out in his judgment of that matter no like notion will enter my mind again solomon and I 1 have quarters on the edgely bye road A little after three next morning the british Biltl sli were reported oming coming down the road A large number of them were killed and captured and the rest roughly handled snow and bitter winds descended upon the camp early in december it was a worn ragged weary but dev devoted army of about eleven thousand men that followed washington into valley forge to make a camp for the winter of these two thousand and ninety eight were unlit unfit for duty most host of the latter had neither boots nor shoes they marched over roads frozen hark hard with old rags and pieces of hide wrapped around their feet there were many red tracks in the snow in tile the valley of the schuylkill that day hardly a man was dressed for cold weather hundreds were shivering and coughing with influenza when I 1 look at these men I 1 cannot help thinking how small are arc my troubles jack wrote to his mother 1 I will complain of them no more solomon and I 1 have given away all tile the clothes we have except those on our backs A fiercer enemy than the british Is besieging us here lie he Is winter TO BE CONTINUED |