The Florida agriculturist., 1889-10-16

through reveille again this morning,
and never got down till stables
were nearly over" that even that cross
grained but honest troop commander
was disarmed, and, though he threat
ened and reprimanded, he would never
would never deny his subaltern
the faintest privilege; and when promo
ticn took the captain to another regi-
ment he bade good-by to Perry with eyes
that were suspiciously wet. "Why,
blow it all. what do you fellows hate
Canker so for2'' the youngster often
said. He ought to put me in arrest
time and again, but he won't. Blamed
if don't put myself in arrest, or confne
myself to the limits of the post, and do
something, to cut all this going to town
and hops and such things Then can
stick to the troop like wax and get up at
reveille; but if I'm out dancing till or
3 in the morning it's no use. tell you; l
just can't wake up.
1t was always predicted Of Ned Perry
that he would be married and done
for within year of his graduation.
Every new face in the five years that
followed revived the garrison proph-
ecy, ''Now he's gone, surer' but, how
ever devoted he might seem to the damsel
in question, however restless and impa-
tient he might be when compelled by his
duties to absent himself from her side
however promising to casual Observers
perchance to the damsel herself-might
be all the surface indications. the abso-
J. te frankness with which he proclaimed
his admiration to every listener, and the
fact that he ''had been just so with half
a dozen other girls, enabled the cooler
heads OF the regiment to decide that the
time had not yet come-or at least the
woman
II do wish,' said Mrs. Turner, THAT
Mr.. Perry would settle on somebody, be-
cause, just SO long as he doesn't, it is
rather hard to tell who he Belongs TO.
And. as Mrs Turner had long been
reigning belle among the married women
of the -th. and one to whom the young
officers were always expected to show
much attention, her whimsical way of
describing the situation was readily un-
derstood
DuL mere at G10 new SCdCIOu-dI IdT
away Rossiter-matters were taking on
a new look To begin with. the wives
of the officers of the cavalry battalion
had not joined, none of the ladies of the
-th were here, and none would be
apt to come until the summers scout
ing work was over and done with The
ladies Of the little battalion of infantry
were here, and. though there were no
maiden sisters or cousins yet at the post
(rest assured that more than one was al
ready summoned), they were sufficient
in number to enliven the monOtony of
garrison life and sufficiently attractive
to warrant all the attention they cared
to receive. 1t was beginning to be gar
rison chat that if Ned Perry had not
''settled on somebody" as the ultimate
object of his entire devotion, somebody
had settled on him. and that was pretty
Mrs. Belknap
And though Ned Perry hated reveille
and morning stables, as has been said.
and could rarely take his week with
out making one or more lapses, here he
was this beautiful May morning out at
daybreak when it was his juniors tour
of duty. and vending his way with that
youngster out to the line of cavalry sta
bles, booted and spurred and equipped
for ride.