Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-12-21
a Guard-House Gentleman.


same, but Smythe looks better in the register
was commander of the post, and pnoucstioned
aatocrat or territory comprising sixteen
square miles of granite, meso nit and sand.
But supreme authority was never vested in one
more unapprectatsd OF its privileges and re-
sponsibihties. perhaps because in his dominion
ne wa 80 seldom called upon &c exercise his
prerogative that he nearly forgot his distin-
gsishe position. Certainly his thoughts were
very far from any troubles OF this kind tkis uly
he IN sas 0 sse Of sAe
There was round pine table there, covered
with a red artillery blanket, and the f0Or had
been sprlnsled and swept away until each leg
stood rpon little pedestal OF earth. Many a
rude game OF poker had been played there, and
the small box OF "bsaDs' still sat upOn the
cloth, but the useful piece OF furniture had its
sole use at this moment in being a rest for the
heutenantsfeet- The commander WAS irving
TO read q copy of the New York Herald ONLY
four weeks old, but his ewes wandered away
from the dull columns, through the small win
dow, and out upon the foothills shimmerirg in
the sunlight, and the white stre2k s Of snow upon
the far blue Sierras.
The ar was heavy with silence. There were
no bees 10 hum, and no twitsering of snail
birds. Only occasionally, near the spring the
ndgety, yeliow-breasted and spiritless little
lark which seems to be careless Of all climates
anywhere between N aine and California sat
and svayed upon tall weed. The ravens sailed
IN lazy circles, or sat in long rows upon the
lodges and croaked TO each other. And these
were the only living things. But the command
ant was not taking any lively interest in these
irresponsible denizens Of his dominisns. 1t is
doubtful If he saw them az all, for has mind vas
engaged in one OF those name reveries which
are the precursors of sleep. The Herald slipped
nom his fingers, and a faint wish that it was
night half developed itself In his incident head
Then, remembering his dignity, he reused him
Self enough to yaVD, and to remark thrOu oh the
window to the group of deliberate ravens that
ne wished something would happen. Where
upon something did happen, which, in that dull
country, was enough 70 keep hiR awake fOr the
rest OF the day.
1t was circumstances wholly unimportant of
itself which attracted HIS attention, for il was
only the sound OF a peculiarly mellow voice
from the outer room. Voices are common
enough. Nearly every individual has ore OF
his own, and some OF them are harsh and some
are soft, but All are Characteristic OF the posses
sor. As there are eyes whick are never deceived
IN the recognition Of face, so there are ears
which remember vSIces heard casually months
or years before. Generally, such voices have
some popularity Of their own, and such was the
case here. The tones were low, peculiarly
modulated, and perfectly polite, and the accent
was that OF q German educated in the English
tongue. AT first the cOmmandant listened
through the open door with that degree of inter
eSt when attaches 10 a stranger in lonely
place. Then IL began dimly to remind him Of
something or some one more than a thousand
mites away. Very soon he had determined that
u was the voice OF a soldier, one that he had
noticed Tor its perfect cultivation and gentle-
manly tone when he first heard il, and that
he had wondered at as coming from a throat
encircied by q leathern stock, and possessed
III.
Finally, as he sat there with one hand
on the back OF his chair, and the other upon
the table before him, in an attitude which
suggested hesitating suspicion, the whole
story came to him like a Remembered PICTURE
Moments accomplished these things in reality,
and they are not worked out in the dali
The Inspector Generals Office at Fort Leaven
worth; the group of Off GERS who sat there how
lsh faced, rakish, idle in time of peace-braye
active ana enduring in war, the material OF
standing
but far OF, stood the man whose voice he seamed
now to hear as he heard Ii then, in the con-
strained position OF attention, his bright black
eye and regular features marking him more dis
flnctiy from his humble position, and his con-
else answers and clear definitions Impartin0
information to bis superiors, leaving the i'm
preston that one August Stein, private In the
U. ). infantry, was the ablest man then in the
once Of the inspector general of the department
OF the Missouri. But IL was not for these things
alone that Lieutenant Smythe remembered the
man whose voice he thou Eht he heard. Ii was
partly from the peculiar look darted after him
Ike lightning as he left the room, which seen
sgaln under any circumstances, would mark the
man. IL was the look which distinguishes that
class OF men of which there are fortunately few
who, Tor a Efficient stake, will face any danger
and commit any crime; who disdain law as not
meant Tor them; who fasoinate when they will |
and DEFY when they must, and who are the Ma.
Of social life.
And this voice was the voice of Stein, The
I'VE years OF hts enlistment could not have ex-
u A
1red miles away. man discharged for disa- |
Disity would hardly come to these en- g OF the |
earth for home, and-the gentlemanly soldier /
Was a deserter. This is why the comm aniant |
listened and hesitated, and as he threaded out /
the story he remembered sill his former impress
sions OF the soldier, among them, that he was |
q man 10 whom the ranks would be insuffer- |
able-a humiliation nearly ALWAYS ended ar last :
by the only way possible. As he thought of ali |
this in his listening attitude, he nodded his heat
n final certainty, and said, as to himself, {" / /
thought SOL thought So"
By this time certain OF the man, and morally !
Certain of his crime, the comma dant still felt /
. feeling of regret, which was only half ac-
kncwledged TO himself, that this mans evil /
by whom he could possibly have been recog-
niZed. Here was man detected By his voice /
more than thousand miles from where that /
voice had last bsen heard, and who was himself /
ignorant that his unconscious gift, was about |
10 bring upon him his LIES greatest misfortune |
and disgrace. Here, after travel and toll, at 1
this last stopping place on the border, With free
troubles which would probably end in the Tor
tugas- As the cOmmandant pondered these |
things the voice ceased, and he rose and entered
the room Just a. the stranger was turning to 20 |
out. glance lighting into CLEAN OF recog- |
milton from the remarkable eyes, and down to- |
wards the canon, through the sage, Stein was |
gone like fash, with all the vigor and deter
minatiOn which belongs 20 such men
Immediately in front of the door stood small |
train or asses; laden in the usual manner with
sac - anu mouse uOiu utensils. STANDING
near were three or four Meyicans, and mou pted
upon one was q woman whose rebosa had fallen
from her face, and who watched the flight with
clssped hands and startled manner. These
things the commandant took in at a glance.
They were common. In this country no man
travels alone, unless IL be in some desperate
emergency in which safety Is a secondary con.
sideTation, and these, he thought were n tray-
cling party in whose company the deserter had
reached the post The flight, causeless under
any other circumstances, had a strange effect
upon the girl. Her brown cheek blanched aud
as she watched the fast-retreating figure her
eyes had in them q kind of desperate agony.
Stems light was in full view of half a dozen
soldiers. Any lingering disposition TO play with
duty for the sake Of pity was idle now, and these
sous ~ MsrSthoroughly understood the situation.
In q moment more three OF them were in pur-
suit The girl slipped from her donkey, and
with frantic gestures and q torrent of Spanish
endeavored to hinder their progress. Almost
needless Of her presence they passed on, and she
sat upon the granite with covered face and
rocked to and fro Her companions looked
stupidity on, and apparently careless Of either
her or the fugitive, quietly awaited results.
In half an hour the desertcr had lost in one
OF the most desperate ventures OF life, and had
taken his place IN the common guard house,
among men as desperate and hardened as COM
mon crimes and misfortunes ever placed in
chains together. But before he entered the
post the woman, who seemed in some degree 10
nave regained her eomposure, found means 10