Wichita eagle., 1889-10-06
LA14A-'rER /.

ET T WAS nearly midnight, and
%zE@A still the gay party fingered on
~ the veranda There had been
fortnight of getting settled" at the
new post, preceded by a month of march
ing that had brought the battalion from
distant service TO this strange Texan sta
ton. The new corners had been hospita-
bly, welcomed by the officers of the little
garrison of infantry, and now, in recog-
milton of their MANY courtesies, the field
officer commanding the arriving troops
had been entertaining the resident Off
GERS and ladies at dinner The colonel
was host in himself, but preferred not
to draw too heavily on his reserves of
anecdote and small talk, SO he had called
In two of his subalterns to assist in the
pleasant duty of being attentive to the
infantry ladies, and just now, at II As p
M, he was wondering if Lieut.. Perry
had not too literally construed his in
structions, for that young gentleman
was devoting himself to Mrs. Belknap in
manner so marked as to make the cap
tain, her lawful lord and master, mani
testify uneasy.
Mrs. Belknap. however, seemed to en-
JOY the situation immensely. She was
pretty woman at most times. as even
her rivals admitted She was beauti-
full woman at all times, was the verdict
of the officers OF the regiment when they
happened to speak of the matter among
themselves. She was dark, with lus-
trous eyes and sweeping lashes, with
coral lips and much luxuriance of tress,
and a way of CHANGING sideways from
under her heavily fringed eyelids that
the younger and more impressionable
men found quite irresistible when ac-
corded the rare luxury of a tete-a-tete.
Belknap was big and boisterous man;
Mrs. Belknap was small in stature, and
soft-very soft-of voice. Belknap was
either brusquely repellent or oppressively
cordial in manner: Mrs. Belknap was
either gently and exasperatingly indif-
ferent to those whom she did not care to
attract, or caressing!y sweet to those
whose attentions she desired.
In their own regiment the young Off
GERS soon found that unless they wished
to be involved in an unpleasantness with
udp IL Nsio DSSU W NC OlilN Ecl lLiOu-
erately devoted to his pretty wife, and
those 10 whom an unpleaSantnesS with
the big captain might have had no ter
rors of consequence were deferred by
the fact that Mrs. Belknap's devotee
among the youngsters" had invariably
become an object of GOODNESS and aver
sion to the other danes and damsels of
the garrison. Very short lived, there
fore, had been the little firtations that
sprang up from time TO time in those
frontier posts wherein Capt. and Mrs.
Belknap were among the chief orna-
mentS of society; but now matters
seemed to be taking other shape. From
the very day that handsome Ned Perry
disnounted IN front of Belknap's quar-
tiers and with his soldiery salute reported
to the then commanding officer that Col.
Brainard and his battalion of cavalry
would arrive in the course of two or
three hours Mrs Belknap had evinced
conteutment in his society and assumed
an air of Quasi-proprietorship that served
to annoy her garrison sisters more than
a little For the time being all the cav
alrymen were bachelors, either by ac-
tual rank or "bv brevet." as none of the
ladies of the TIL accompanied the bat
talon on its march. and none were ex-
pected until the stations of the regiment
In its new department had been definite
ly settled The post surgeon, too, was
living a life of single blessedness as the
early spring wore on. for his good wife
had betaken herself. with the children,
TO the distant east as soon as the disap-
pearance of the winters SHOWS rendered
staging over the hard prairie roads a
matter of no great danger or discomfort.
Ii was the doctor himself who. seated
In an easy chair at the end of the ve-
randa. first called the colonel's attention
10 Perrv's devotional attitude at Mrs.
Belknap's side. She WAS reclining in
hammock, one little, slippered foot occa-
sionallv touching the floor and impart-
ing a gentle, swinging motion to the
affair and making soothing swish
swish of skirts along the mating under
meath. He: leweled hands looked very
slender and fragile and white as they
cleaned in the soft light that shone
from the open windows OF the parior.
They were busted in Strengthening out
the kinks in the gold cord of his forage
ear and in rearranging 4 little sliken
braid and tassel that was fastened In n
clumsy. man like fashion to one of the
buttons at the side: he. seated in a camp
chair, was bending forward so that his
handsome. shapely head was only 4
trifle higher than hers, and the two
hers so dark al rich in coloring, his
so fair and massive and strong-came
rather too close together for the equa-
nirnity OF Capt. Belknap. who had es-
sayed to take hand at whist IN the par
lor.
One or two of the ladies, also. were
silent Observers of the scene-silent as to
che scene because. being IN conversation
at the time with brother officers OF Lieut..
Perry they were uncertain as yet how
comments on his growing Irritation might
i,- received That their eyes should &C.
rasionaily wander towards the hammock
and then glance with sympathetic sig
pificance at those of some fair ally and
intimate was natural enough. But when
ii l..came presently apparent that Mrs.