Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-05-16


30 coldly and with such marked distance
of manner to the colonel and his wife
when they met in society Immediately
after the dinner that the colonel quietly
told his wife she need not give either
dinner or reception in honor of Mrs. Ray
ners return. lie would like to have her
do something to welcome Miss Travers
for he thought the girl had much of her
father in her. He knew him well in the
old days before and during the war, and
liked him. He liked her looks and her
sweet, unaffected, CHEEKY manner, lie
liked the contrast between her and her
sister; for Miss Travers had listened in
silence to her sisters exposition of what
her manner should be to tho colonel and
his wife, and when they met she was
bright and winsome, The colonel stood
and talked with her about her father
whom she could remember only vaguely,
but of whom she never tired of hearing;
and that night Mrs. Rayner rebuked her
severely for her disloyaltv to the cap
tain, who had given her a home
But when Mrs Rayner heard that
Maj. and Mrs. Waldron had invited Mr..
vited to meet him two of the cavalry
officers and their wives, she was ncensed
beyond measure. She and Mrs. Waldron
had brief talk, as a result OF which
Mrs. Rayner refused to speak to Mrs.
Waldron at the evening party given by
Mrs. Stannard in honor of her and her
sister. 1t was this that brought on the
crisis Whatever was said between the
men was not told. Maj. Waldron and
Capt. Rayner had long consultation,
and they took no one into their conf
dence; but Mrs. Rayner obeyed her hus-
band, went 10 Mrs. Waldron and apollo
gizcd for her rndeness, and then went
with her sister and returned the call of
! the colonel's wife; but she chose a bright
afternoon, when she knew well the lady
was not at home.
She retired from the contest, appar-
emily, as has been said, and took much
| Christian consolation to herself from the
fact that at SO great a sacrifice she was
| obeying her husband and doing the duty
! she owed to him. In very truth, how
| ever, the contest was withdrawn from
her by the fact that for a week or more
after his evening at the Waldrons' Mr..
| Hayne did not reappear in garrison and
| she had no cause to talk about him.
| Officers visiting the house avoided men,
| ton of his name Ladies' OF the cavalry
regiment calling upon Mrs. Rayner and
| Miss Trayers occasionally spoke Of him
! and his devotion to the men and his
| bravery at the fire. but rather as though
they meant in Il general way to compli-
ment the Riiiers, not Mr.. Hayne; and so
| she heard little of the man whose exist
! ence was so sore a trial to her. What
| she would have said, what she would
have thought, had she known of the
meeting between him and her guarded
| Nellie, is beyond US to describe; but she
never dreamed of such thing, and
Miss Travcrs never dreamed of telling
| her-for the present, at least. tortu-
nately, or unfortunately, for the latter,
it was not so much of her relations with
Mr.. Hayne as OF her relations with half
a dozen young bachelors that Mrs. Ray
ner speedily felt herself compelled to
complain. 1t was blessed relief TO the
elder sister. Her surcharged spirit was
in sore need of an escape valve She
was ready TO boil over in the mental
ebullition consequent upon MIR. Haynes
reception at the post, and with all the
pent up irritability which that episode
had generated she could not have con-
tanned herself and slept.
But here Miss Travcrs came to her re-
lief. Her beauty, her winsome ways,
her unqualified delight in everything
hot Il
vastly attractive to all the young officers
in garrison. Graham and Foster, of the
infantry. Merton, Webster and Royce, of
the cavalry, haunted the house at ell
manner of hours, and the captain babe
them welcome and urged them to come
oftcncr and stay later, and told Mrs.
Rayner he wanted some kind OF a sup
per or collation. every night. He set be-
fore his guests u good deal of wine, and
drank good deal more himself than he
had ever been known to do before, and
they were keeping very late hours at
Rayner's, fer, said the captain II don't
care if Nellie is engaged; she shall have
good time while she's here; and if the
boys know all about it-goodness knows
you've told them often enough, Kate
and they don't mind it, why, it's nobody's
business-here, at least"
What My. Van Antwerp might think
or care was another matter. Rayner
never saw him, and did not know him.
he rather resented it that Van Antwerp
had never written to him and asked his
consent. AS Mrs. Rayner's husband and
Nellio's brothor-in-law, it seemed to him
he stood in loco parantis: but Mrs. Ray.
ner managed the Whole thing herself
and he was not even consulted. II any
thing, he rather enjoyed the contempla
ton Of Van Antwerp's iidgety frame oil
mind as described TO him by Mrs. Ray
ner about the time it became apparent Il
her that Nellie was enjoying the attcn
tons of which sho was SO general an oh
ject, and that the captain was sitting uI
later and drinking more wine than wal
good for him. She was aware that the
very number of Nell's admirers woulC
probably prevent her becoming entangleo
! with any one Of them, but she needed