San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-27
An iRMY PORTIA.
By CHARLES KING, o. S. A.,
Author of "T,e Coloners Daughter" The
Deserter," "From the Ranks, D1tn-
rapen Ranch" ''1HDo Soldiers"


ronnded nv a gaping party of Central
citizens, that the colonel somewhat os-
tentatiouslv called out, "Orderly, give
nv compliments to the adjutant, and
saw that. in view of the presence of so
many gentlemen and ladies from town,
7 desire him to have the band ordered
ont at once" and went on his way
amid such audible evidences of popular
approval as "Ah! that's business
..Ain't he Jim Dandy" "That's my
candidate for brigadierr' "He amt no
stuck up second lieutenant And the
poor devils of bandsnen, Just seating
themselves at their supper of hot potato
stew and coffee, were compelled to drop
the savory bowls, and hastily button
| their full uniforms over their anything
but full stomachs and march forth upon
the parade to entertain the populace
until the rest of the show was ready.
If but now an apoplectic stroke were to
create vacancy among the brigadiers,
| Morris's star might indeed be in the
ascendant.
1t had been the custom of the ladies at
Capt. Lanes to appear on the piazza
| about the time that the officers came up
| from evening stables, and, REINFORCED by
the Whartons, next door, and sometimes
by other fair ones, to serve a fragrant
cup of tea to such of their regimental
| friends as had time to drop in. Today,
| too, the cozy little tables had been set
| upon the veranda, but the close prox-
| unity of the southwest gate, through
| which all the teams came driving in, and
| the rude stares of the occupants of the
various vehicles speedily drove the ladies
away; and Sam Ling, the Chinaman, an
old retainer of Lanes, was busily carry
ing the pretty china within doors again
and lamenting in voluble ''pidgin" the
coating of dust which had been received,
when the captain walked by with Hearn
at his side. In vain Mrs. Lane called to
him from the doorway to bring in any
| one who would come. He shook his head
and walked on, talking gravely and
earnestly with his younger friend.
Miss Marshall, standing at the win
dow, noted the inexpressible sadness and
distress in Hearn's once buoyant, hand
some face. He had grown years older
in one day, she thought; all the color
| had fed from his sun tanned cheeks and
| the light from his brave blue eyes; yet
there was a CLEAN in them, as he bent
his head to talk with his friend, the cap
tain, that spoke Of the smouldering fire
within. She had thought him grossly
| wronged in the occurrences of the pre-
| vious day, but it was the coming of The
| Palladium on the noon train that capped
| the climax. Omitting all the ingenious
and alluring head lines, condensing the
| sensational details in which the CORE
| spondent had worked up the case, Lieut..
Hearu stood accused before the whole
United States of having forcibly elected
from the reservation highly respecta-
| BILE business man who had vainly i'm
portuned him to pay the sum he for
years had owed the estate of the former
post trader, >'most of it borrowed money
| to help him out of gambling scrapes,"
| and had at last ventured to press his
claim in person, only to be met with
outrage and insult. There could be no
doubt of the truth, said the correspond
ent; the books were open to the whole
world, if need be, and the sum involved
| exceeded five hundred dollars.
Georgia Marshall, gazing at the pair
from the lace draped window, clssped
her shapely white hands in deep perplex-
| ity. The SANDER, the scandal, the wrong,
was spread world wide; a REPUTATION
could never overtake it, even with the
proofs of utter innocence at hand, and
where were they?
1t was comfort at least that he should
look up, and, as though in search of one
| friendly face, search the window with
his sad blue eyes. He should feel that,
no matter what the press might say and
| the Jews might swear to, more than one
| among his friends believed in him
| through thick and thin. Her dark eyes
were full of sorrow and sympathy, and
| yet flashing with scorn of his defamer.
And it was his picture of her face.
| framed by those shimmering curtains
and by the trailing, twining tendrils of
smilax that hung thickly about the win
dow, that suddenly met his troubled
| gaze, and that he carried in his memory
day and night long, long after.
| Half an hour later the orderly came
hurrying to Capt. Lanes quarters with
a note, and then ran on down to the
| stables.
"This will settle the question for you,
Mabel" said Lane, who was getting into
| parade uniform. "Col. Lawler comes
on the sunset train, and Col. Morris
| writes to know whether we cannot ex-
cuse him, or whether, perchance, there