Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-07-18
Found and Saved

" eS, tneTe IL no uepy ny luo1 w AoA
rather q stormy time Of II.
And Captain Ferdinand lawrence
strok ed his mustache. and compfacentiy
handled the scabboard of his !sword. AS he
spoke, Witfsthe air Of a hero who has no.
objection to being properly app eciated.
Grace Bryan has listened to the whole
of his circun,stantiat description with
blu, dilated eyes fixed on his, curved
lips, half apart, and cheek where the
color varied you have, seen sun
and shadow chase one another over slopes
of blossoming grass No wonder that
the doughty captain felt. inwardly selated
at the success of his etoquence. II I'd he
at last struck the responsive Keynote to
this pale young beauty's natureg Was
his long servitude of love at last to meet
tits exceeding great rewarda
oh, Captain Lawrence! Captain Law
renee! could you but have seen into the
hidden mysteries of Grace Bryan's
thoughts, what q crash there would be
among the dazzling colonades and airy
pediments of your grand Chateau en-
espagyne! But love is blind, and so, un-
fortunately, is self-esteem.
"Captain lawrence said grace, with
her little hands nervously intertoeked,
and her serious eyes never moving from
his face, <'was there not a private IN your
company called John Harrai?"
Captain Lawrence gave quick, invol-
untary start, but recovering himself i'm
mediatoly, though with heightened
color on his cheek.
sHarral-Harra]; yes, I believe there
was" :
sand can you tell me what has become
Of him2" ,<~s
'Upon my word," said the captain,
with little uneasy laugh that was de-
cidedly at variance with the keen glance
shooting from underneath his bent
brows -'Privatc Harral IS lucky fellow
to have inspired such an INTEREST,"
aCan you tell me what has become OF
him?" repeated Grace, as calmly as If she
| had net heard the covert sneer.
Zone don't keep the run of these
privates," said Lawrence, carelessly:
"but If Miss Grace really cares to know,
Why, OF course, my poor services are at
her disposal!''
He drew out little memorandum
book, neatly bound in black morocco and
leisurely turned over the leaves.
"Let me Gates-Hall, Hanna, oh
here it is! Harral, John. marked miss
ing Just the sort Of fellow to take par
ticularly good care of his bones and
sinews, deserted, dare say. Oh, they
will do it, Miss Grace Hold on, though
here's another entry. Harral, killed in
the action, buried on left side of creek,
'um-m--m. ANYTHING else can do
FIR you, Miss Grace?"
But Grace did not answer; she did not
even ask to see the 1reacherous "minutes'
which might have revealed their own in
consistency. She sat like one stunned.
with hands still folded, and eyes me
chanical.y fastened on the winter sun
shine that quivered along the opposite
wall while the blood slowly recede ed from
from her cheek, and the color from her
lip.
"Gracious Heavens, she has tainted"
calculated the captain, springiDg from his
seat. Halo here, somebody! Bring
camphor, cologne, anythingl Confound
Private Harralr'
Are there any wounds so bitter that
time, whose gentle finger draws the man
tie of velvet grass oyer new-made graves,
and puts the cLiaro- oscuro of many sun
rises and sunsets between us and our
griefs, cannot heal them? Yes, there are
some that bleed on silently, and niue lite
and heart away with their unseen gush--
and such one was hidden under Grace
Bryan's sad smile and heavy eyes, always
luminous with the melancholy shine of
unshed tears.
81 -aseurc you, Miss Grace, consider it
very Quixotic peace of business" said
Captain Lawrence, in accents of grave dis
pleasure you'll do nobody any good,
and only upset your own nerves. It's all
nonsense, this idea Of ladies visiting the
hospitals-what can a woman who has
been accustomed to shrek at the sight of
spider do in the midst of such dread
full scenes? Ny dear Mrs. Bryan, do per-
suade your daughter to abandon the alb 1
surd fancy!''
Mrs. Bryan looked helplessly from her
daughter 70 the Captain and then back.
''Captain Lawrence is right" she said.
"Consider. my love, what suffering you
will be compelled to Witness
mamma, said Grace, firmly, lis it any
worse for me to witness than for these
brave fellows to endure? On, mamma,
to think we have been sitting at home in
ease and luxury while the men who per
lied life and limb in our behalf lie per:
ishing within a stones throw of our Alad-
din palaces! Let me 60. for it breaks my
herat to remember how selfish I have
been,"
Soft-natured Mrs. Bryan looked appeal
lngl> toward the Captain. He shrugged
his shoulders.
"Well, if Miss Bryan chooses to be so
foolish, have, Of course, no right to inter.
tere. Only"
"Don't trouble yourself to finish the
sentence, Captain Lawrence" said Grace.
quietly. Il need not say that have not
expected the honor of your attendance,
nor do ask for it now!'
She walked out of the room with the
If of young queen. Laurence watched
her with a glance in which vexation and
admiration were curiously blended.
"The superb little vixen!'' he mutter-
ed between his teeth. "What evil genius
has put that hospital idea in her head2
However, it can't make any difference;
he must be dead long ago. Only 1 wish
I could have dissuaded her, for if
Pooh!" he broke off suddenly, "there's
no use bothering myself with such an
exceedingly improbable supposition L I
wonder what makes me love that girl |
better the more she sets me at defiance?
Why. can't I scorn her as she scorns me2
1tis curious sociological puzzle, the
ms and outs Of that throbbing, passion
ate thing that we call hearth By all
the powers she shall be mineif l peril !
my own soul to win herr
The monday sunshine lay brightly on
the floor of the long barrack room, with
its wooden ceiling, and range of narrow
pallets on either side. and Grace Bryant
felt sick giddiness running through
her brain as she saw the pale, CHASTITY
faces Of the men outlined against pillows
scarcely whittier than themselves-the8I
shattered arms, the mangled limbs Dound