Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-10

boy and Armstrong They had not moved. ex-
cept that the boy nodded his head in answer to
some hing Armstrong said. But while he
looked Armstrong arose and came toward the
camp leading the boy by the hand And his
face lighted up in the suns last rays with n
look That made us think of the little prayer the
chaplain makes at the end-"The peace that
passeth all understandiug"-you know how it
goes. Some made All involuntary motion to
remove their hats.
The man turned then and put his rifle on the
stack we had made.
I'm stay, said he.
Armstrong looked none the less peacefully
haopy when ne found that the mans repellent
humor had given way. He smiled as gently as
woman might, with both eyes and lips; and
yet he was man whom one would say had
nothing of the woman about him. And as
looked at him, so tender toward the boy, SO
winningly pleasant to the man, 1 wondered at
the rlingling of discordant elements in his
nature; for my mind went back to the night he
broke the bank of Mexico Charley most dan
gerous thing TO do. +" How he played
winning game out of pure luck at cards and
reckiessness OF spirit, in a room full of envious
malignant Greasers and desperate southwest
ern human drift, all of whom hated Armstrong
primarily for the soldiers blouse he wore SO
gayly defiant. And how afterward
unframed, he bore his clnking treasure out to
the street. though every man who looked at
him that night with evil eyes would have COM
many of them. And how, once out
side, he had flung the whole, by handfuls,
broadly into the air. and as it ratified down
among the crowd had shouted: scramble for
1t. I've had the fun, You can have the
money!! Then walked to the post, alone, I'M
scathed.
None of us saw that affair The little negro
barber told Of it the next day when he came to
the post to shave the officers. He asserted tina t
he tried to slip razor into Armstrong; hand
as he LETT the gaming table, so that he might
not be entirely defenseless. but that Armstrong
would not have it. BY his fearlessness he
daunted the mob. And the contrast forced it,
self upon me-his present softened manner.
And II there were not tears in his eyes
the hreiight was very deceptive. Beyond ques-
tion he was, or had BEEN a gentleman Such
do sometimes drop into the ranks of the blue
Long after we had turned in for the night
1t was warm and clear, and we slept with the
tent wall raised awoke. and looking out saw
Armstrong walking in the starlight 1t was
night TO remember. Not n breath of
wind-the air like clear crystal. and the earth
lighted by the rays refracted through it from
those infinite brilliant points set in a sky of
unclouded blue. The eastern shepherds might
have Journeyed to the manger under such a
canopy. Ihenanother shape came out from the
shadow-that of the man, the strange recluse,
and Joined Armstrong. Together they walked
back and forth, talking. And before they sep
arated Armstrong had walked with him to the
cave IL the hillside and gone within--I knew ii
was to look upon the boy sleeping. Then he
came back and slipped under his blanket
quietly so as to disturb no one, and breathed
as heavily as any sleeper.
We, marching ont along alkal roads. over
wind-swept plains. had been unwilling instru-
ments; but the work we did was such as soldiers
seldom have chance to do. 1t was Christmas
work-something for the cross. For the man
and the boy came back with us from the wilder
ness and an old trouble was healed on Christ
mas day, and life was made more worth the liv-
ing, and living well, to two men, Geo. 1. Put
nam in Scrib'aer's Magazine.