A HORSEMAN IN THE SKY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1645, 11 January 1913, Page 2

A HORSEMAN IN THE SKY.

(By Ambrose Biereo.)

One sunny afternoon in the autumn of tho year 18til a soldier lay in a clump of laurel by tho sido of a western Virginia. Ho lay at full length upon his stomach, his feet resting upon tho toes, his head upon the left forearm.: His extended right hand.loosoly grasped his rifle. I But for tho somewhat methodical disposition of his limbs and a 'slight rhythmic .movement of tho cartridge-box at tho back of his belt, ho might have been thought to bo dead. Ho was asleep at his post - .of duty. ... .Tho clump of laurel in which tho criminal lay was in tho angle of a road which, after ascending southward a 6tcep acclivity to that point, turned sharply to the west, running along tho summit for per-, haps one hundred yards. There it turned southward again and went zigzagging downward through the forest. At" the salient if that second angle was a largo flat rock, jutting out .'northward, overlooking the deep valley from which tlie road ascended. Tho rock capped a Tiigh cliff: a stono droppod from its outer edge would havo fallen sheer downward one thousand foot to tho tops of tho pines. The angle whert tho soldier lay woe on another spur ofthe same cliff. 'Had he been awake ho .would have commanded a view not only of the short arm of the road and the'jutting rock, but of the entire profile of the cliff below it. 'lit might well have made him giddy to lock. The country was wooded everywhere oxcept at the bottom of.the valley to the northward, where there was a small natural meadow, through, which flowed, a stream scarcely visible from (he valley's rim. This open ground looked , hardly larger than an ordinary door-yard, but was really several acres in extent. Its green was. more vivid than that of the inclosing forest. Away beyond it rose a line of giant cliffs similar to those upon winch we are Supposed to stand in our survey of the savage 6cene, and through which the road had somehowi made its climb to the summits Tho, configuration of the valley, indeed, was such that from this point of observation it seemed entirely shut in, and ono could but have wondered how the road which found a way out of it had found a way into it, and whence camo and whither went the waters of the ' stream, that parted tho meadow more than a thousand feet below.- :, - . : .- No .country , is so wild v. and difficult but men will mako it a theatre of war. Concealed in tho forest at the bottom , of. that-..' military. ■ rat-trap, in whicliihalf-a hundred-men in possession it the exits might.havo starved an army to Submission, lay five regiments of Federal infantry. . They,, had marched all the previous day and. night, and were resting. -At nightfaU they would take to tho road again;., climb to the place where their unfaithful sentinel .now 6lept, and; descending the other slope of the ridge, fall upon a 'camp of ' tho enemy at about midnight. ; Their hope was to surprise it, for the road led to the rear of it. In case of failure, their position would be perilous in the extreme! and fail they surely would should accident or vieilanco apprise the enemy of the movement., '.-'.'.•';.' ;'" - .. n -'"'.\' -.''.."' '" The sleeping sentinel in the clump of laurel was a young Virginian named Carter Druse. He was tho son of wealthy parents, an only 'child; arid; had known 6uch ease and' cultivation and' highiliving as wealth and'taste .were able to command in the mountain country of western Virginia. ' His home was nut a few miles from where ho now lay." One morning he-had risen from the breakfasttable and said,; quietly,. but gravely: "Father, a Union regiment has arrived at Grafton. ' I am' going, tq'join it.'V t : Thotfather, lifted ,;his.' leonine' head, looked-at. the son a:' moiriont"in silence, and replied-/ "Well, go, sir, and, whatever may: pOcur,rfdo ' what,j,yon to tK) Vouf.aaQr-T'' Virgitiia^to.which you ;aro a traitor, must gooii witnout you.

Should wo both, live to the end of the war, we will speak further of the mat-. iter.: Your mother,■ as;the physician' has informed you, is in ft most critical condition, i At the bast cannot be. with, us'longer than a few. weeks, but thai: time is precious. It would bo better not' to disturb her";i,'.;.i' ; : ■ ■ , i ',' So Cartor Dni6e, bowing reverently _to his father,, who: returned the salute- with a stately courtesy that masked a breaking heart, left the' home of his childhood to go soldiering, By, conscieii<i{ and courage, by deeds of- devotion Md'tdaringho soon commended himself ttihifl fellows and his officers) and.it weij to theso qualities and' to eomo'.knowlcdro of the country that ho owed his feelootv)nfor his, present perilous duty at tho extreme outpost. fatigue, had. .been ■stronger" thai resolution,"; arid ho had fallen asleep.. What, good or bad augd came in a dream to -rouse him from his state of crime, who shall say P; Without a movement, without ft sound, in,a profound silence and the languor of the afternoon, some, invisiblo .messenger of,fate touched with unsealing finger, the eyes of his consciousness—whispered into the ear. of his spirit, the mysterious: awakening word which no human lips'ever-have spoken, no human memory ever has. recalled. He quietly raised his forehead from his arm and looked between .the' ■ masking stxsTOS of the laurels, iristinctive,-' I ly.closinß his right hand about the stock of his rifle, i

■ His first feeling was a keen artistio delight. On a colossal pedestal—the cliff— 'motipnless at tho extreme edge of the capping rock and eharply outlined against tho sky, was.an equestrian Stahioiof impressive dignity.- Tho. figuro' of a man eat on tho,figure of a horse,' straight and soldierly,' hut with: the rcposo of a; Grecian god carved ,in ! tho marblo ; which limits tho suggestion of activity. Tho Bray costume harmonised with, its aerial background j tho metal of accoutrement and caparison, was softened and subdued by tho shadow; the animal's skin had'no; pohite of high.light. ; A carbine strikingly foreshortened lay; across tho pommel of the saddle, kept in place by the right hand grasping it at tho "grip";:the left hand; holding tho bridle rein, was invisible. ; In silhouette against the sky the profilo -of the horse was cut. \yith, the' sharpness of a cameo; it looked-across the heights of air to tho confronting oliffa beyond. The face of the rider, turned slightly away, showed.only an outline of tempio and .beard; he was looking down? ward to the bottom of <*o valley. Magi. nified by its. lift against tho sky and bf tho soldior's testifying sense of tho formidabloness of a near enemy, the group appeared of heroic, almost colossal, size. For an instant Druso had a strange, half-defined fooling that ho had slept to tho end of tho.waTi and was looking uponi a noblo work of art reared upon that eminence to commcmqrflts tho deeds of an heroic past of which ho had been on inglorious part. The foeling was dispelled'by a slight movement of tho group; tho horse, without moving its feet,, had drawn its body • slightly backward from ' tho verge; tho • man remained immobile as before. Broad awake, and keenly alivo to the significance >of tho situation, Druse now brought the.butt of his'rifle against his cheek by cautiously pushing the barrel forward through the bushes, cooked the piece, and glancing through the sights, covered a vital spot of the horseman's breast. 'A touch upon the trigger and all would have been well with Carter Druso.. At that instant the horseman turned his head, and looked in the direction'of his'concealed foem,in— seemed to look into his very face, into his eyes, into his brave, oompassionato heart. Is it then so terrible to kill an enemy in, war—an enemy who has surprised a 6ecret vital to tho. safety of one's self and comrades—an enemy more formidable for his knowledge than all his army for its numbers? Carter Druso grow pale; ho shook in every limb, turned faint,, and saw tho statuesque group before him aa black.figures, rising, falling, moving unsteadily in arcs of circles in a fiery sky. His hand fell away from his weapon, his head slowly dropped until his faoo rested on the leaves in which he lay. This courageous gentleman and hardy soldier was near swooning from intensity of emotion. .

It was not for long; in another moment his faco was raised from earth, his hands resumed their places on tho rifle, his forefinger sought the trigger; mind, heart, and eyes were clear, conscience and reason sound. Pio could not hops to capture that enemy; to alarm him would but send him dashing to his camp with, his fatal news. Tho,duty of the soldier was plaint tha man must he shot dead from ambush. Without warning, without a moment's spiritual preparation, with never so much as an unspoken prayer, ho must bo sent to his account. But no—there is a hope; ho may have discovered nothing—perhaps

ho is but admiring tho sublimity;of th« landscape. If permitted, ho may turn and ride carelessly away in tho direction whence he came. Surely it will be possible to judge at tho instant of his with* drawing whether ho knows. It may well be that his fixity,» of attention—Druso turned his head arid looked through tho deeps of air downward, as from the surface to tho bottom of a translucent Bca, He saw creeping across Cue groen meadow a sinuous lino of figures of men and horses. Somo foolish commander was permitting the soldiers of his cscoft to wator t heir hensts in tho open, in plain view from a dozen summits I

Druse withdrew his eyes from the valley and fixed thero> again upon tho group of man and horso'in tho sky, and'again it was through the sights of his rifle. But ' ■". .this tinio his aim was at the horse. In his memory, bb if they a divine mandate, fang the words of his father at their ; >. parting: "Whatever may occur, do what ' • you conceive to bo your duty, Ho was calm now. His teeth were firmly but not rigidly closed) his nerves were as tranquil .„* as a' sleeping babe's—not a tremor af» '1 ) fected any muscle of his body; his breathing, until suspended in the act of takine ' ; aim, was regular and slow. had ' conquorod) tho spirit had said to tho body: "Poace, be sffll.*. He fired. ; , '■'■■ ■■■' lIL' . .■',,. v'i

•An officer oi the Fedorti force, who In' , iv spirit of adventure or in quest of know- ' lodge had left tlia hiddon bivouao in >tho r < Vallev, and with aimless feet had made. '.'■'■/ his way to the lower, edge of a email open >/ space near the foot of the oliff, was con- ■ sidering what ho had to gain' by pushing his exploration: further. At a distance of a quarter-mile before him, but nppar- ■■.! entty at a stone's. throw, rose:from its fringe of pines the gigantio face of rock, towering bo so great a height ftbovo him that it made him giddy to look mrto. ; : where its edge put a sharp, rugged lino against-the Bky. It presented! a clean, ; : . vertical profilo against a background of , 5 blue sky to a point half the way downj and pf. distant hills hardly less, -.blue, ,' thenoo toHhe tops of the trees at ita base,.-.,.- | Lifting his eyes to tho diz&y altitude of i its summit, the officer saw an, astonishing ,! Sight—a ; man on horseback riding • down . j into tho valley through the air 1 • ■■■ \ -Straight upright Bat the rider, in milk ~ tary - fashion, with d firm seat in*tho : saddle, a strong clutch upon the rein to ; hold ■ his charger from too impetuous a, • ; plunge. From his bare (head his lonß . ; hair . streamed > upward, waving like : 1 plumb. His hands were concealed in tho' ,:..'. oloud of tho,horse's'lifted'mane. 'Tho., animal's body ;was as\ level as if every hopf-stroko ,were,thoso of h wild, gallop,' ■'■■;•; but even as tho officer looked-they ceased.' •":■ 1 with-all tho legs thrown sharply forward, .','.;. as-in' tho act of alighting from a; leap. ; .1, But this was i a'flight rC; 1 .-' l: '' ; -'■'■:> V """'>' Filled with amazement and terror by ■■ this apparition of a horseman intho sky ~, ; —half believing himself the chosen eenbo, ~•• of- some new Apocalypse,- /the officer' was overcome by,,tho:intensity,of 'his emo* j tions j his-legs failed, him and ho-fell. Almost at the eamo instant ho.hoard a .*, crashing sound in tho tres—a sound tliat died without an echo—and alb was still, , Tho officer rose to his, feet, trembling. ..•! '. Tho familiar Beneation; of-an abraded; ■ , s ghin recalled his dazed faculties. Pulling, ; himself together ho ran rapidly obliquoly ; : away from tho cliff to a point distant from v its "foot; thereabout ho expeoted to. find ,;; his manV and thereabout he naturally ■ foiled.' In tho fleeting . instant of his \. 4 ; vision his imagination had been so wrought- : , upon by tho apparent grace and ease end !.-. ', intention of the marvellous performance ,; j-!, that it did not occur to him that the lino ..;„ ■- of march'of aerial cavalry is directly ; , downward., and that ho; could find the ': ,; objects of : '.his search at; the very, foot , ? of tho cliff. 'A half hour' later he rw"; :i turned to camp. ''■ '•■•■■■;■■■ •• ■• ;■ ■■■■: ".,; ..This officer was a .wise, mam he \w% ; bettoT than' to tell an incredible truth. : ,i ! Ho said nothing of-.', what, ho had seen, : , ; But' when' tho, commander asked . him- v: ' whether; in his Woting.he h<uT. Icarncq .'/■.; anything of adyaiitago tovtnoi/eitpediuon;,!;,.-;. he answered: ■4'-'.ii'-i<*?'-,'' -■ '')i'''' into 'P . . The oomma»der,,krU>wing:ii«ttor;smUoAi, .)\.\< ! Iftorv:firing Ihieiimbti ';Prjvat» v 'Cart** ■;;'■■> Druso' reloaded hfa iriflo: land resumed - hia /: ■ watoh." 1 ;• Ton passod, 1 ■' i to,him on'hands land< We«B.-?.'Dni« nol« ;', \ th'er turned his 'head 1 nor,: looked -at 1 him,. -.;■•■ . but lay without motion.; j' ;j .iiition.■'; ''•'•■.■y-'-'.-'i,-*"--,- 1 !.-"-J:r'•■:;:'j:; 1 - ; ''■;■,' ; !v : " !• '.'Did' you: JwFTi;tho.;6oygeaiit ; whl« ? pe'red.''- , V-'--Vi-'.' ; \-'. >.'■/.' ..'■,.>.;.'i v- ..■..'.",.:..>. '■:■' '--1 .■■f f ye».??v- .'.••;.;) ,■-:.• ■ ■ v \\ . , ■■■;■' '■:,'.-.':; • ■, .-. '.'A.horso,: It was standing on rondo? ~.-j rock-pretty ; far out. Ton boo >it js no ■'.■-. k )onger ; there. It wont over. the'oHit. . - . • Tno man's faoe was white, put ho ehwTW '<: ; ed no other sign of emotion. ■, Having an,,. y-.\ pwnrod, ho turned away hw eyes and ■-. no more, ~Tho 1 stand.,' '■■, '.'. •'■.;■ '~'■ , .''■ .','■'.,.'.. „yVl'''"" i "See hero. Drnßß.". he said,, after *:],,( moment's silonco,, ."it's no tiso making a!.-:,,: mystery.'. I'order you to. report. >\»4.;, there: anybody-on tho horse?': nkr : :"',■■• ■'-;■';■ ''.■.'•'■■: . ■-,;." ■ 'flVollP"-. .'.;'..' •:-■ ,'■: ■:',.■'.•..■■>• " ; - : '■. '-■■ "My >':''} ..... Ar> .■•'..';,;'•'..,: 1 Tho sergeant rose to his foot and walked > * away-* "Good Qodl" ho^said.-H''Currenti ; Litcraturb." ■'.'■ '.■'. '.'•■;' ; ■■ : ; --''■:.'■■ ■■'■'.' ■;:■::;.■