Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-06


the source of comfort which reconciIel
him to the situation
The fort was crowded with officers
families at the time. A large force ha6
been maintained here during the winter
and when the troops took the field il
March the ladies and children remained
"a sacred charge for Major Miller anC
his two companies of e'Foot y No
only was this the case, but suef
was the threatening and truculent
bearing of all the Sioux and Chey.
enne Indians remaining at the agency
III White river to the northeast, that q
| few of the officers on duty at Fort Robin
| son (the post established there to over
look and overawe 90 the savages) had
sent their families back to Laramie I'M
der escort, and those gentle refugees
were received and housed and welcomed
with a hospitality and warmth that one
never sees outside the army Every set
/ OF Officers quarters, therefore were
crowded to its full capacity and thing
| that never before had happened in the
chronicles of the old frontier post was
! now matter of course. Even HBed-
lam, the ramshackle, two-story frame
rookery, once sacred to the bachelor ele-
ment, had now two families quartered
wife, maiden sister and three children of
Captain Forrest of the cavalry refu-
gees from Robinson - For several DAYS
after their arrival they had been housed
under Major Miller's roof-all the other
quarters, except Dr. Bayard s
being crowded-and Nellie Bayard
had begged her father to invite Mrs.
Miss and the little FORESTS to make
ms house their home The doctor
willingly accorded her permission to in
ylte Miss Forrest but drew the line at her
unattraetlve sister-in-laW and the more
than unattractive trio of youngsters. Be-
fore she had known Miss Forrest three
days, however, Nellie Bayard felt less
eagerness to ask her TO be her guest, and
Mrs. Miller, kind and generous a soul as
ever lived, had gone so far as to say to
her "don Il -
And yet it seemed so unkind-so utterly
lacking in hospitality or courtesy. Asa b
his second call at the commando" Liter
GERS, and sprightly chat 10 Off
beaming, bright-eyed, virsd with this
woman, DR.. Bayard h" .yacious Young
eddy inquired: I'D rather noint7
Nellie, dear, &E"
invite MISS Forr / thought you were to
nave you doilS. est to pay you visit
o, PSy e SO!
s"er lue3 pa was the hesitating an
eApeeetH' L did mean to-but-don t you
"ee b. DR.. and Mrs. Graham early next
= Tx? You know you III have to ask
~ y Iem -
ooh, 1 know that, child, but the
house is big. There are two spare rooms,
and even if we had to take i'll more, you
two might share your room awhile might
you not?''
''We might, papa dear; butt IN
afraid I don't like her. That is, she
doesn t attract me as she did at first. 1
thought her charming then. -
''Tut, tut, tut! Why, what on earth IS
the matter with my little woman?'
asked the doctor bending down over her
as they were walking home. 1t ism Il like
you, Nell, to be censorious. What IS she
been doing-making eyes at young Nc
Lean?'i
He might have judged better than that,
had he reflected an instant. He never
yet had thought OF his daughter except as
mere child, and he did not mean for
an instant to intimate that her growing
interest in the young lieutenant was any
thing more than school girl fancy
She was old enough, however, to take
his thoughtless speech au serieux, aud it
hurt her.
Papa! - was her one indignant word
of remonstrance. She would not even
defend herself against such accusation.
81 know! 1 understand! l didn't
mean it except as the merest joke, my
child he hurriedly interposed. 81
thought you d laugh at the idea.
But she would not speak of it and he
quickly sought to change the subject,
never even asking other reason for her
apparent aversion to Miss Forrest 1t
was true that the speedy coming of Dr.
and Mrs. Graham would make it necessa-
~ that he should open his doors to an
officer of his own corps and profession.
For few days, however, that thought
less speech seemed to ranlkle i'll his gentle
daughter IS soul. Never before had she
known hesitancy or embarrassment in
her daily, hourly chat with that fondly
loved father Now there was a topic
that she could not approach. Hitherto
she used to tell him all about her walks
and talks with Mr.. Mclean. That young
gentleman, indeed, had accompanied
them the evening they went to the
major s TO call upon the latest arrival
among the refugees-but now she shrank
from mentioning either Miss Forrest or
him. For several days after that talk it
seemed as though she avoided not only
the subjects but the two persons them
selves. At least both of them would have
sworn to the latter part of the statement,
and Mclean was at his wits end to ac-
count for it.
Meantime, there being nowhere else TO
go, the FORESTS had moved into " Bed
lam in the same hallway with the fam
lily of Lieutenant Post, also refugees from
but while the Posts occupied
rooms on the lower floor, the FORESTS
took the four chambers overhead Two
young cavalry officers were the occupants
up to the outbreak of the campaign, but
ali their furniture and traps were
moved over to the quarter
master s storehouse by order of the COM
officer-and one trip of one
wagon did the entire job-for the emer-
gency was one that called for action,
and Major Miller was man TO meet it
The FORESTS and the Posts, therefore,
were now sole occupants of the south end |
Of 50 Bedlam, and Lieutenant Mclean $ |
two rooms were on the ground floor of |
the north end. The Railways ran en-
tireIy through from east to west, giving |
On the west side into court yards separa-
ted from each other by high board |
fence and completely enclosed by one of |
similar make. On the east side, 'front.' |
mo- tho roadway Uerp broad veraD doS on 1