Far away in the distance she
heard faintly the boom of big guns; but she could not locate their
direction. She strained her ears until her nerves were on the point
of breaking; but she could not tell from whence the sound came. And
it meant so much to her to know, for the battle-lines were north
of her and if she could but locate the direction of the firing she
would know which way to go in the morning.
In the morning! Would she live to see another morning? She squared
her shoulders and shook herself together. Such thoughts must be
banished--they would never do. Bravely she hummed an air as she
arranged her saddle near the fire and pulled a quantity of long
grass to make a comfortable seat over which she spread her saddle
blanket. Then she un-strapped a heavy, military coat from the cantle
of her saddle and donned it, for the air was already chill.
Seating herself where she could lean against the saddle she prepared
to maintain a sleepless vigil throughout the night. For an hour
the silence was broken only by the distant booming of the guns and
the low noises of the feeding horse and then, from possibly a mile
away, came the rumbling thunder of a lion's roar. The girl started
and laid her hand upon the rifle at her side. A little shudder ran
through her slight frame and she could feel the goose flesh rise
upon her body.
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