Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-13

party a-flutter. Three there were OF
these, the rest of the sisterhood pre-
ferring to follow the hunt by buggy or
blackboard, though frankly expressing
| their envy of the fortunate riders.
:. Mounted on her own spirited little bay,
admirably fitted as to habit, and sitting
squarely and well, Mrs. Belknap would
have been the center of observation of
all the cavalry officers even had she not
been, as she incontestably was, the
| beauty of the garrison. The colonel had
offered Mrs. Lawrence one of his own
horses, and therefore was accorded the
right of being her escort. Mrs. Sprague
was similarly indebted for her mount
to Capt. Stryker; and very bright and
beaming little body she was as she rode
over the springy turf at the side Of the
dark haired troop leader.
Hard lines on Perry, isn't it, said
Mr.. Graham. as he trotted up beside Mrs.
Belknap and took his place for the mo-
ment with her bevy of cavaliers. First
time he ever missed hunt, reckon"
He needn't have missed this one"
said Parke 1T was nv week, and
told him to go; and Capt. Stryker said so,
too; but
Here Mr.. Parke broke off suddenly and
looked in mild wonderment in Dana's
! face, for that young gentleman had man.
aged, unseen by Mrs. Belknap, to swing
free his right foot and give the speakers
left vehement kick. Too late, however.
Mrs. Belknap had heard it.
Are you cavalrymen all so little to be
trusted" she asked, with brilliant smile
upon her flushing face. Exercise and
excitement had lent unusual sparkle TO
her ewes and color 10 her cheeks-''she is
/ positively beautiful today" as Mrs. Law
renee confessed to the colonel at the mo-
ment.
Il had a note from Mr.. Perry this
morning saying he was grievously dis
/ appointed, but that some troop duty had
been assigned to him which could not be
transferred and he must stay and finish
it."
! "What he said is true. Mrs. Belknap,"
promptly asseverated Mr.. Dana. 1.-The
papers have all to be in readiness for
muster on Monday. and the saddle Kits
i put in shape for inspection.
.'Only IN Capt. STRIKERS troop softly
inquired the lady, with eyeEds rising in
credulously.
''No, of course not. One officer is
back at the post from each troop. 1t
happened 10 fall on Perry in his
Il fancy | should prefer serving in
some older captains troop if l were Mr..
Perry. 1t seems that while your other
captains stay home and look after their
companies, Capt. Stryker has a sub
altern attend to his while he comes a.
hunting"
''On the other hand, we fellows have
a dozen things to do in our troops that
Capt. Stryker does himself in his. It's
as broad as it's long, Mrs. Belknap," said
Dana. He did not fancy her criticisinS
the methods of his cavalry associates.
and was possibly little piqued at the
decided ANNOYANCE she showed ct Perry
failure to attend. Meantime, Stryker,
nll unconscious Of her censure. was chat
ting laIghjngly with Mrs. Sprague and
exchanging shots with the colonel and
Mrs. Lawrence, The four were getting
on admirably together, and seemed too
much absorbed in their own fun to note
the fact that Mrs. Belknap and her knot
of four or five satellites had been grad
ually edging away toward the right, and
that the rest of the hunt was becoming
widely scattered
ut is time we stirred up jack rabbit
at least, said the colonel. Suppose we
veer over toward the northwest a little.
Whatever we do, we want no chase down
there toward Dunraven; those wire fences
would spoil it all.
Il wonder if those people never hunt"
said Mr.. Farnham, who had joined the
quartet: he always kept close to his
colonel, as beftted an aspirant for the
adiutancy. "Englishmen are generally
game for all sorts Of sport"
Il can see horsemen out there on the
prairie to the east of the ranch, sad
Stryke~, whose eyes were kee-, and
could ha7s sworn . ",ocl1 - ego tharI
saw ? horsewonaaa."
"Nonsense, Capt, Strvterr' exclaimed
Mrs. Lawrence, yet with quick glance
at Mrs. Sprague. What could you
have taken for a lady on horseback
Do you suppose there could be ladies at
Dunraven and we not know it,
Hardly possible, answered the cap
tain, land therefore i doubted the evI-
dence Of my senses. Yet something very
like lady followed by a groom rode
down the slope into the valley about ten
minutes ago. She is out Of sight in the
timber now. If Perry were only with
US I'd send him off there TO see"
Eyes, we miss Perry on our hunts"
said the colonel to his lady friends
He is one Of our best riders and most .
enthusiastic sportsrlen. lie VIII be out,
will he not, Strvl
xYes, sir. There is really no neces- +
sity for his staying in, and | so told him;
but he felt that he ought 10, at least
until certain work was finished. Then
he said he could ride eastward and Join
rs Hurrah, there thev-a.o,'
Close behind the master OF the hounds,
all eyes fled on that bounding tuft Of
gray and white few score yards ahead,
bending over their horses necks and
keeping just enough pressure on the bit
TO prevent overriding the huntsman, ride
Parke and Graham, two eight weights"
who have coursed many mile Of prairie
Just behind them, little 10 their right,