San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-15

keep him from brooding over his woes
He had counted on spending the hours
from two until stables basking in the
light of those wonderful, deep, dark
eyes of Miss Winifred Berrien. Some
what petted and spoiled in his earlier
years of service, Brewster had had much
of the nonsense knocked out of him in
the harsh experiences of seven years in
the saddle with a regiment renowned for
its touch-and-go sort of work. He had
steadied greatly in those years, part of
the process being due to his own latent
good sense, and not little thereof t.
incessant striving on the range to win
high honors as sharpshooter, and to-
day there was not finer looking soldier
wearing the broad yellow stripes in the
Twelfth than this same ex-dandy Sur
ly Brewster"
There still fingered about him Ger.
tain repute for self consciousness, if not
for actual conceit, but he had grown 70
be thoroughly respected in the regi.
ment and was vastly popular with the
men. He was ever ready to umpire
their matches at baseball, coach their
shooting, lend his own fishing tackle OF
shotguns to longing sportsmen in the
ranks who had none of their own
and he had won the lasting gratitude
of g troop, two of whose men were
being mobbed by a gang of toughs
one windy night in Sheridan City
just as Curly came trotting back
en- route to the post. He was off his
horse and into that crowd quicker than
winking," said Murphy, land the way
he laid over that gang with them white
fists of his just made my sides crack
with delight" He had more sense than
they gave him credit for, said the sen
iors of the regiment after a while, and.
barring an early experience, cadet
love affair that he was long ago well
over, had never let himself go again
never until the Twelfth came to settle
in this happy valley and Winifred Der
rien returned from her eastern school
Then he went all of sudden. Only one
man did not see it; that was Berrien
Only one woman couldn't forgive his
devotion, and she had no business inter
fering, being herself otherwise dis
posed of.
To his credit be it said, Brewster and
the lady's husband were about the only
men who appeared unaware of this au.
tumnal infatuation. Nevertheless, in
those numberless ways in which women
can claim and secure the appearance, at
least, of attention from men, the dame
had managed to mOnopOlize consider
able of his spare time up to the week of
Miss Berriens coming, after which it
was not he who rode to town, but she
who drove out to the post and sent for
him to come and talk to her as she
leaned back in her stylish victoria and
looked up at him from under her tinted
lashes. She could have found it in her
heart to strangle the lovely girl so dark
ly, richly beautiful, but her call upon
p 1.-The ladies" had been returned when
she was conspicuously absent from
home, and opportunities for meeting
were not afforded by the damsel's par
ents. There were girls at the post who
were quick to see how "Antinous" had
lost his heart: but these, those at least
who were near enough to Winifred to
dare allude to the matter at all, were
content to archly quote the warning
Change the name and not the letter.
Marry for worse and not for better
There was one man with whom Brew
ster was at odds, sentiment due to an
old difference when both were younger
and that was Rolfe. There was one
man the gallant major especially liked
and swore by, and that was Rolfe
These facts, added to the coincidence
that the cap in had never forgotten the
hot words used by his second lieutenant
long years before, made a combination
most unfortunate for fellow so much
in love as was Carroll Brewster.
On this particular morning he had
striven to hurry matters through on the
court-tO try three or four cases where
the accused were only too ready to plead
guilty and throw themselves on the
mercy" etc, and then adjourn ON the
specious plea of giving the judge advO-
cate time TO write up the proceedings.
But the president of the tribunal had
other views and held him. Brewster
knew that Randolph and Hunt and
Ridgeway, perhaps others, had taken
advantage of the weather and no drill
to slip over to Berrien's for blithe
morning hour with the girls. He could
imagine that pretty parlor. with its pic
lures and piano, its attractive curtains
and portieres, the group of bright, sweet
faces, the animated chat, Winifred her
self, in her dark, rich beauty, seated at
the piano, with Ridgeway hanging over
her, eager to turn the leaves, eager to
do anything that might keep him at her
side. Confound the fellow! he had