Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-04-20

King .Solomoa'- Mines" She" dc.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE TWELFTH OF FEBRUARY.
John soon settled down into the routine Of |
camp life in Pretoria, which, after one once |
cot accustomed to il, was no. so disagreeable |
CO might have been expected, end possessed, |
q. any rate, the merit of novelty Although |
be was Gil officer of the army, John preferred.
OF the whole, having several hcrses to ride, |
and, his services not being otherwise re-
quired, he made up his mind to en-
roll himself in the corps Of mounted vol
unteers known as the Pretoria carbineers, in
the humble capacity of a sergeant, and this
he obtained leave to do from the officer COM
manding the troops. He was an active man,
and lis duties in connection with the corps
kept him fully employed during most Of the
day. and sometimes, when there was outpost
duty to be done. during good part of the
hight to- b asE the rs sss rasssz;y
which he Lad stipulated lie should
be allowed to sleep in order to protect
jess in case of any danger-ho always found
her ready to greet him, and every little
preparation made for his comfort that was
possible under the circumstances. Indeed, as
time went on they found it more convenient
to set up their own little mess instead Of
sharing that Of their friends, and so they
used every day to sit down to breakfast and
dine together at 4 little table rugged up out of
packing case, and placed under an extern
porary tent, all for the world like a young
couple picnicking on their honeymoon. OF
course the whole thing was very irksome
in a way, but it is not to be denied that
It had a charm of its own. To begin with,
jess, when once one got thoroughly to know
her. was one of the most delightful conf
panions to man like John Mel that it
was possible to meet with. Never, till this
long tete a tete at Pretoria, had he guessed
how powerful and original was her mind,
or how witty she could he when she liked.
There was a fund of dry and suggestive
humor about her which, although it would
no more lear being written down than
champagne will bear standing in a tumbler,
was very pleasant to listen to, more especially
as John soon discovered that he was the only
person so privileged. Her friends and re-
lations had never suspected that jess was
humorous. Another thing that struck him
about her, as time went on, was that she was
growing quite handsome She had been very
pale and thin when he reached Pretoria, but
before a month was over sne had got, COM
paratively speaking, stout, which was an
enormous gain to her appearance. Her pale
face. too, gathered faint tirge of color, that
came and went capriciously. like starlight on
the water, and her beautiful eyes grew deeper
and more beautiful than ever.
@Who would ever havc thought that it was
the same girla" said Mrs. Neville to him,
holding up her hands as she watched jess
solemnly surveying n half cooked mutton
chop; "why, she used to be such q poor crea-
ture, and now she's quito q fine woman. And
that with this life, too. which is wearing me
70 n sEa0ow, ana n2s nalr killed my dear
daughter"
n suppose it is being in the open air." said
John. it having never occurred to him that
the medicine that was doing Jess SO much
good might be happiness But so it was. At
first there had been a struggle, then q lull,
and after that an idea Why should she not
enjoy his society while che couldl lie had
been thrown into her way through no wish
Of hers. She had no desire to wean him from
Bessie; or il she had a desire, it was one sh'
was far too honorable a woman to entertain
He was perfectly innocent of the whole story
to him she was the young lady who happened
to be the sister Of the woman he was going *
marry, that was all Why should she MOI
1luck her innocent roses while she might
She forgot that the rose Is q flower with I
dangerous perfume, apd one that Is apt Il
confuse the senses and turn the head. So sh'
gave herself full swing, and for some week
went nearer to knowing what happines
really meant than she ever had before. Eha
a wonderful thing is the love Of q woman il
its simplicity and strength, and how it gid
all the poor and common things Of life, an
even finds a joy in service! The prouder tn
woman the more delight does she extrac
from her self abasement before her idol. Onl
not many women can love like jess, an
when they do they almost invariably max
some fatal mistake, whereby tho wealth Q
their affection is wasted, or worse still, be
comes source Of misery or shame to them
selves and others.
It was after they had been incarcerated +
Pretoria for about q month that bright ide
occurred to John About quarter Of mil
from the outskirts of the camp stood o ittl
house known, probably on account Of it
diminutive size, as "The PalatiaL" This col
tage had been, like almost every other nous
in Pretoria, abandoned to its fate, its ownel
Is it happened, being away from the town
One day, in the course Of q walk, John an
jess crossed the little bridge that spanned ii
SLUT and went in to inspect the place. Pas!
ing down q path lined ON either side wit
young blue gums, they reached the little ii
rooted cottage. 1t consisted 81 Two rooms
. bedroom and good sized sitting room,
which still stood a table and a few chair,
with stable and a kitchen at the back. The
went in and sat down by the open door an
looked out. The grounds Of the little plae
sloped down toward valley, on the farthe
sils Of which rose a wooded hill To Ii
right, too, was q hill clothed in deep gree
BUSH The grounds themselves were plante
with vines, just now loaded with punches {
ripening grapes. and surrounded with
beautiful hedge Of monthly roses that forme
blaze Of bloom. Near tho house, too, was
bed Of double roses, some Of them exceedingl
beautiful, and all Towering with profusio
unknown in this country. Altogether it wi
delightful little spot, and, after the noise an
glare OF the camp, seemed perfectly heavenly
and they sat there and talked great de-
about the farm and old Silas Croft, and
little about Bessie
This is nice" said jess presently, putin
her hands behind her head and looking out
the bush beyond.
ayes" said John. II say, I've got an ide;
1vote we take up our quarters here-durin
the day. mean Or course VIC shall have
sleep in camp, but we might eat here, 20
know, and you could sit here all day;
would be as safe as q church, for those Boel
will never try to storm the town, l am SUI
Of that"
jess reflected and soon came to the concl,
sion that it would be q charming aIrang
ment, and accordingly next day she set {
work and got the place as nico end tidy
circumstances would allow, and they con
menced housekeeping.
q . !. ~ ~,
~ 'Y'R6 7a2Rl