Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-20

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is strange, odd. insolent and de-
/ fiant in manner. Shuns all friendships
I and refuses TO tell anybody what was the
cause of her leaving New York as she
4 did One thing more: She has sent two
registered letters from here within the
| last three days.
/ Now, how do you know that?' burst
in the major, an angry light in his eyes
Well, my dear, don t fly off at a tan
! gent. 1t is q perfectly natural thing to
/ speak of. Hardly anybody ever sends
/ registered letters -
That Is not so, there are dozens sent
I by the officers and men after ever pay
day -
- mean hardly any women, major
| m not talking of the men, Hardly any
woman ever sends a registered letter
and so when she sent two it was not at
all strange that Mrs. Griffin should speak
of it to the steward s wife, and she told
Mrs. Gordon s Sally, and so it came to
me. -
''Oh; yes. I'll be bound it reached
you sooner or later, said the major
wrathfully. 81 IN d-blessed if any
thing goes on at this or any other post
you women don It get hold of and knock
out of shape. L shall tell Griffin that his
powder that II blow him into the middle
of the Platte if that wife of his doesn t
hold her tongue. No, won L listen to
any more of it tonight anyway. 1 want
to think over what you have told me. -
And over at Bedlam there were lights
still burning at l 'clock. One of them
shone from Mr.. HattOn 8 room at the
north end of the second floor. He
was officer of the day and that
accounted for it, The other beamed
from the corner window at the
south, and a tall, graceful, womanly
form, wrapped in a heavy shawl was
leaning against the wooden pillar on the
veranda. A beautiful face was upturned
to the few stars that peeped through the
riffs of clouds that angrIly swept the
heavens. Then, as one jeweled hand.
clasped the railing, the other encircled
the cold, white wooden post, and in
another moment the shapely head was
bowed upon it and great sobs shook the
slender figure. There was the sudden
rattle of an infantry sword at the other
end of the piazza and Mr. Hatton, strId-
ing forth from the hallway, was startled
to see dim, shadowy feminine form
spring from the shadows of the southern
side and rush with sweeping skirts into
the shelter of the FORESTS hallway.
- thought / heard some one crying
out here, he muttered, ''and supposed
it was Mrs. Forrest She's always in
tears now that the captain is up in the
Indian country But who would have
thought of Miss ForTest?''
An anxious day was that that followed
the departure of Capt Terry and his
"grays'' on their midnight ride down
the Platte. The river was so high and
swollen that it was certain that the In
dians could have forded it only among
the rocks and shoals up at Bull Bend,
days march to the northwest, and that
in getting back with their plumber to the
shelter of their reservation there was
only one point below Laramie where they
could recross without having to swim and
that was full twenty-five miles down
stream. As particulars began to come in
of the fight with Blunt s little detachment
tie previous day, the major waxed more
and more wrathful. 1t would seem that
there were at least fifty well armed and
perfectly mounted warriors in the party,
many of them having extra ponies with
or to serve as change mounts when their
own chargers tired 1t was next to i'm
possible that such a. force should get
away from the reservation without it
being matter of common talk among
the old men and squaws and so coming to
the ears of the agent whose duty it was
to notify the military authorities at once.
But in this case no warning whatever had
been given The settlers in the Chug-
water valley had no signal of their COM
inc and two hapless ''freighters toll
ing up with ranch supplies from Chey-
enne were bounced upon in plain view of
Hunton g, murdered and scalped and
mutilated just before Blunt and his little
command reached the scene. Despite
the grave disparity in numbers, Blunt
had galloped in to the attack and found
himself and his troopers in hornet s nest
from which nothing but his nerve and
GOODNESS had extricated them. Most of
his horses were killed in the fight that
followed, for Blunt promptly dismounted
his men and disposed them in a circle
around their wounded comrades and
thereby managed to stand off the In
dians despite their frequent dasEes and
incessant fire. After some hours of siege
work the sayages had given it up and
OH up IIlO NdlISS anu Hc1c
next heard of shooting into the stage sta
ton at Eagle Nest. If he only had 100
cavalry thought Miller, he could head
them off and prevent their return to the
where, once they crossed the |
lines, they were perfectly safe and could |
not be touched. All told, however, |
Terry could only take with him some |
thirty men aud he was glad indeed to |
have Mclean As a volunteer
1t was about noon when the ambulances !
came in from the Chugwater bringing |
Mr.. Blunt and the other wounded The |
surgeon of the post had ridden |
out with them at midnight, soon after |
the receipt OF the news, and now, while |
the soldiers were taken TO the post hospi-
tai and comfortably established there,
Mr.. Blunt was carried up stairs in the
north hall of 80 Bedlam - and slowed
away in the room opposite Hatton IS.
Mrs. Forrest, poor lady, nearly went into
lysterics as the young soldier was lifted
,ut of the ambulance. Day and
hight her soul was tortured with
he dread that at any moment
news might come that her husband
vas either killed or wounded, and in the
rf of borrouviDU fro1ibIa che xvaS ,nora |