The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-02-05

AoidSe cap III response 10 the Salut2ttop.
and then, seeing the manager still look
ing at bim as though he wanted to say
something and did not know how to be-
gin, gave Nolan his head and rode down
to short hailing distance.
1--WE meet on neutral ground out here.
Mr.. Even. / suppose your exclusive
employer over yondcr can hardly pro-
hibit your answering civil inquiries after
his health?' And, though he meant to
be distant, Perry found himself smiling
at the oddity of the situation.
"Do you know, / was Just thinking
about you," answered Even, 'and won
dering whether you were with that party
down yonder? The old gentleman Is
better, thanks. He had two pretty bad
nights. but Is coming around slowly"
"snd Miss Maitland-how Is shey'
ather seedy. She has had q good
deal of care and vexation Of late, I fancy,
and this is no place for a young girl.
anyhow"
"Wel, you have some appreciation of
the true character Of Dunraven as a resi-
dence, after allr' answerry Perry. snow,
If You can give me any good reason why
she should live in this utterly out-of-the
way place, you will lift weight from
my mind"
"Oh, they don't live here, you know"
spoke Even, hurriedly. ''She comes
here only when her father does. 1t is
her own doing. She goes with him
everywhere, and will not leave him.
She's all he has, don't you known
81 don't know anything about it.
You Dunraven people seem averse to
any expression of interest or courtesy
from your fellowmen, but I'm free to
say should like to know what on earth
there Is in American cavalrymen to
make them SUCH objects of aversion to
your master; and I would be glad to
know how it is such a girl as that is
dragged into such a hole as yonder."
Even sat in silence moment. study
ing the young fellows face.
"You deserve better welcome there, I"
he presently answered, land I don't
know that I can do better than to tell
you the truth-what know of it. And
let me tell you that if the old man knew
of my speaking of it to any one, I'd lose
the most lucrative but least attractive
place ever had. Do you see?"
''Then perhaps you had better not tell
me. I do not care to pry into secrets"
"Oh, this is no secret. 1t was that that
drove him here: everybody knew it in
England. You were mighty shabbily
treated at the ranch, and you requited it
by preventing what would have been a
bloody row, and by lending us helping
hand. Even the old man recognizes
that; and think he'd be glad to say 80
to you, and see you, II you were not just
what you area valry officer"
why, what on earth can we have
done? If any of our cloth have wronged
Mr.. Maitland in any way, it is our right
to know it and take it up"
''lt wasn't your cloth, old fellow"
said Even, thawing visibly, "but it was
the cavalry all the same that broke his
heart and his pride, and made his life
the wreck it is, and drove him from his
home, stunning the sight of his fellow
men, all these years-exiling her, too, in
the prime of her young life. Mr.. Perry.
there are only three or four of us al
Dunraven who know the story, but we
have only sympathy and pity-no blame
for him, though he is the hardest
master I ever served"
"How did it happen?" asked Perry.
Gall through his son. There had beer
more of them, but there was only the
ne-Archie-when the Lancers were
ordered to South Africa. He was 6
youngster, only II, they tell me, and he
had just been gazetted to his cornetcy
The old man was all wrapped up in him
for of the three boys the eldest had died
only the month before the regiment wa
ordered on foreign service and the sec
ond had been killed in India. Both
these two who were gone had made
themselves famous among their com
rades by their fearlessness and higl
character, and the old man, of course
could not ask Archie to quit the servic.
just when orders for dangerous duty
came. The boy went to the Cape will
his corps, and got into the thick of th'
Zulu war just at the time of the massa
ere of the Twenty fourth at Isandlwhan:
and the fight at Rorke's Drift. I wa
at home then, and all England wa
quivering with grief over such needles
sacrifice as was made Of that regiment
and all ready to fall down and worship
such fellows as Chard and Bromhead
who made the superb fight almost at th'
same time.
"They say old Maitland wanted to q
| himself, as volunteer or something, with
ho1X h,,k .S1sS r.
done. His father had fought at Aim,
and Inkerman. and his grandfather hat
led the Guards at Waterloo. The who'll
tribe were soldiers, you know; and nov
Archie was with the Lancers in Zululand
| and the Lancers were going to wipe ou
the disasters Of the first fights Of tn
campaign, and Archie was to uphold th'
grand old fighting name and come hom'
covered with glory. He was the het
now, and Miss Gladys was but a littl
| girl. I have heard 1t all from Mrs
| Cowan; she was their housekeeper IL
those days, and sort of companion. too
to Mrs. Maitland, who was very delicate
The old man was very fiery and prout
and full of fierce denunciation of every
thing that had gone wrong in the cam
paign; and he offended some people b.
the way he condemned some officer whs
was friend of theirs, and there wer
others who thought he talked too much
but he fairly boiled over when the new
came of how the prince imperial hat
been abandoned by his escort, and that
| British officer and dozen men had ru1
two miles at top speed from beggarl,
little squad of niggers before they daret
look round to see what had become o
their prince, whom they had left to figh
the gang alone That was old Maitland
text for a month. If any SON OF bis haa
eyer been of that party he would disown
disgrace, deny him, forbid him his sight
cut him of forever. And right In tn
midst Of it ala judgment, some peopl
said-there came the awful news tha
Cornet Maitland Of the Lancers was to b
court martialed for misbehavior in fac
Of the enemy.
"Of course the old man only ragged a