The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1888-09-05

DeeN vigorous, Oul tHey WOulu Hos
have swerved the Captain. As it was.
the unexpected turn seemed to give the
Major new lease of life. In an in.
slant he had resolved to live-he who
a moment before had hidden his friend
goodbye forever Astride the Cap
tain's horse he seemed to get yet an
other lease of life, and all this stood
him in good stead. The troops, tired
and despirited as they were, moved
rapidly on the road, and the Majors
horse kept pace with them. Long be-
fore the night was gone Major Cation
was safe in an ambulance and up on thu
way to Chattanooga with not a thought
of any thing but rest and sleep.
And Captain Milney? Why. the
captain Jared badly. He had already
been too much about on his injured
foot, and it was swollen and stiff. He
started to hobble after his men, bat it
was so hard that in half an hour he
gave it up and lay down by the road
side. mile or two behind the rear
most of the retreating soldiers. 1t
seemed almost as if Major Gallon s
new life and spirit had been distracted
from the captains store, leaving the
latter ambitionless and despairing.
81 am whippedH' he said to himself,
as he lay down and gave up to weari-
ness and pain. am whipped; but not
by the enemy back there. No; a
woman did itr'
At daylight next morning Captain
Milney was wounded prisoner OF
war, bound for some Southern mill
tary prison. II am whipped he said,
as on the night before, and prepared
as we'll as he could to take it philo-
sophically.
Seven or eight months afterward the
captain awokc one morning from the
delirium of long fever. lie was in a
hospital near Washington. When he
first became conscious things about
him looked almost as strange as the
fantastic visions of that dream-haunted
fever land from which he had just
emerged. All things strange, except
-ah! except the female figure at the
side of his cot. That was familiar
enough; it was Nina Clark. She was
reading, and he had been looking at
her and wondering dreamily for some
time before she turned her head and
saw that he was awake. Then he
asked the question that was uppermost
in his mind.
"Whcre is Major-Major Galton?'
he asked.
"Oh, Charleyr' she cried, glad tears
streaming from her eyes. You art
conscious again, thank God! You vii
get we'll, dear! But the dreadful
things you have been saying while on
of your head. The Major is here, anc
comes in every day to see you. Blu
you must not talk now, and l mus
not talk to you. You are to take
good sip of this and then 90 TO sleep
Not a word now-only, Charley, j
any thing is in your head about Majo
Galton-and--an I-such as you'v
been talking about in your fever, it
all mistake, Charley-a cruel, crue
mistaken
Well. he found that out in the after
noon of the same day when he sa,
Major Gallon and his wife-his wife
who was not Nina Clark. He dis
covered that Mina's promise to tn
Major--that promise which had so e1
allied the Major and so wrecked tn
Captain--was simply promise to Sc
things right with Cations lady love
who in his absence was being Unfit
cnced by an unworthy rival. Doin
this service involved for Nina the sac
ritice of some maiden pride and II
serve, but at the Majors urgent pet
ton, she did it, and even raised hi
to the seventh heaven of happy ant
; cipaton by writing him her promise
deliver his girl safe into his arm
whenever he came home.
The Captain came to think that /
; had jumped at conclusion too quicl
/, " and that little faith in the ri
whose solemn troth he had would ha,
! saved him trip to Libby prison an
saved him also the fever which Il
,, tackled him the very day his exchane
was effected. But then where woul
the Major have been if the Last Ma
at Chckamauga had not lent him
4 horse?-"R. L. Kiln Cincinnati Con
nlercidL Gazette.