Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-01-28

yet that may BE- our l"tc, Frank
rrophcsicd
"Thc Lord Forbid" was the pious re.
l)indcr
but amid all this squnlor, one house
stood high on hill ut the further end
Of the village, which boosted greater
prctcnsions than its humble neighbors.
IL was n great, square, stone building,
utterly without ornament, but roomy
and capacious, which never by any pos
sibility could have suggested home, but
which was large enough 10 promise
accommodation for host; and out Of
its square, ugly gateway, Il tall. spare,
middlc-ngcd man was coming at "A rapid
walk towards the advancing column.
"lIowdyl lIowdyw cried one Of the
cracker gentry, coolly Offering n be.
grimcd paw 10 Major Hopkins, a court
esy which that gentleman pretended not
TO notice.
"Who Is this person coming down the
hill?' the officer asked.
films Squar' Dixon, him is. We
'uns don take much stock in hc--Syind
o pcnrt on his rnisin', an thinks his
self bcttcr'n rcs' q us"
Squire Dixon forthwith rose ono
hundred per cent In the Majors cstima.
tion, n good opinion, which was forti.
fed by his unaffected expression Of
pleasure ut the presence Of Northern
troops, and his kindly offers Of hospi.
tality.
81 am sorry kyant house you all,
he said, heartily, "but your officers will
find u welcome in my pore home, an
| your men can take up their quarters In
the village church, a proposition which
was gratefully accepted
All went merry as u marriagc.bcll
Considering the times u bountiful sup.
| per was done ample justice TO by the
grateful officers, who did not fail also
TO appreciate u box Of excellent cigars
und an abundance Of whisky, which,
though forced upon them with gcncr-
GUS display Of hospitality, they in
dulgcd in with moderation. The squire
| proved himself an admirable host, and
won golden opinions from his we'll
| pleased guests. His was u peculiar
case, as hc explained TO them. Sent aa
boy 10 n school in Massachusetts, he
had acquired sentiment which were at
variance with the opinions Of his neigh
bors, particularly ns regards the qucs-
ton of the abolition Of slavery, of which
he approved and which, " course, had
made him marked man In the COM
munity. When the war broke out,
though his sympathics had been entire
ly with the North, he had never dared
To declare them, though he was willing
now and 40 all times TO sacrifice any
thing In reason TO his conviction-any
thing, in fact, short Of bcggaring his
family. His family? oh, yes, he had
wife and three daughters who were
now In Cincinnati, thank Heaven, be-
You'd the reach Of Immediate danger.
As the Major said, when they reached
their chambers, Mr., Dixon was alto
gethcr most interesting person.
Lieutenant Cuthbcrtson, of Charlie Full
tons company, was ON guard duty; the
rest Of the officers were assigned 10 Il
suite Of chambers side by side at tho
bnclS Of the mansion overlooking a neg
lectcd garden After brief chat In
the Majors room they retired 20 rest.
but Hopkins, though he had proics,cd
| fatigue, was not inclined 10 follow tho
example Of his subordinatcs: 30 instead
Of throwing his weary limbs ON the
tempting fcathcr.bcd he lii cigar, put
ont his lamp, and drew chair up to
his chamber window. II was a brill.
liant moonlight plight, almost like day
In its scmi-trlpical clearncss, nnd the
| Major who was u man OF sentiment,
looked with unfcigncd pleasure ON the
pretty scene which met his gaze. In
front of him lay the garden and orchard,
and beyond, rugged country road
winding up the side of hill covered
with scrub, but whose top was crowned
with lofty forest trees, sharply defined
In the white moonlight,
Could Frank Bcsant have followed
the current of the Majors wandering
thoughts, he would indeed have been
startled; for his meditations were ON
the possibility Of man sincerely low
ing two women, with himself as an IL
lustrntion Of the problem, and one OF
the women, the true wife the sea had
robbed him OF, the other-whom he
could only remember as n lovely school
| girl-the mother Of his young friend
and subaltGTn. All, II was her face,
not his boys, that tho lad had reminded
! him of when he first noticed him on
board the ship going down TO st. Louis.
"Prctty Mary Carter" tho Major
thought, al wonder what she is like now
wonder II she was happy with that fell
low Besant, who always seemed to me
a bit OF a prig,-wonder if"
But his dreams were cut short by his
noticing the figure of n man creeping
stealthlly across the orchard. He first
thought II was Charlie Fulton, but as
the fellow emerged from the shadows
into the moonlit road, he quickly saw
his mistake, and moment after he
recognized the tall, spare figure Of his
host In an instant treachery flashed
across his mind like an electric shock
Surely Dixon had told him an hour ago
that he was so weary he could scarcely
keep his eyes open and would be In bed
In few minutes; then what did this
midnight ramble mean? Snntching his
hcld-glass from It's case, he fixed his
eyes on an open bit of road he knew
the midnight prowler would shortly
reach.
Yes, there he was, A long, shrill
whistle like the call of bird, and u
mounted man in Confederate uniform
rode up to him. They talked together
earnestly and Observation-Disclosures
because they thought themselves too
far away for observation, but they were
reckoning without the Majors power
full binoculars, Then the trooper
turned back up the hill and Dixon &C
companied him To snatch his cap
md pistols and spring from the WIN.