Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-07-14
A CRISIS.
BY THOMAS WINTHROP HALL.

nall an nOur AFTER the occurrence. OIL
GERS, soldiers, civilians, servants, troo
laundresses, even the Apaches in tn
camp down the river, / fancy, kne,
about IL, and they al had more or less I
say about it; the general verdict bcin,
that 1t was shame-that the Colone
ought to let him off, and that he was tn
finest fellow in { G world, any way. l
was singular thing that two such popu
lar men as Jack Lake OF the dear oil,
-th Cavalry, and the Lieutenant Colone
of that same regiment, Familiarity known
(behind his bacG) as 'the old man." bu
drawing his pay under the name and till,
OF Lieutenant-C Colonel Theodore Brown
should not be able TO get along together
Both of them were ado. cd by the Off
GERS and en- o. the regiment and (shal
| say IT'D by a good many of the women
The one was rollicking young lieutenan
toll, hand ONE, talented, and brave to
recklessness, Just as cavalry lieutenant
should be. The other was ones beat
ideal OF field-officer of cavalry, still 1
stronF, hearty man, although he had seen
much hard service during the war and on
the plains; man who never shirked q
duty, and what was more, never permitted
any one else to; hard worker and q
Just though severe post commander.
In word the kind of man
the authorities usually sent to dangerous
posts-and such post was Apache.
1t had all come about some years be-
fore, at West Point Lake had been
cadet at the military academy while
Colonel Brown was the commander of
cadets, and the elder man had, to use a
little West Point slang, ''got the equa-
ton" of the younger man down fine. :"
In other words he had ''sized him up"
and concluded, rather rashly it must be
admitted, that Lake was utterly worth
less except for the purpose of raising the
deuce whenever he so desired This, it
must be admitted, he could do TO per-
lection. 1t was not Lakes fault, how
ever, that they could not get along to-
gether. Oh, no! Lake could get along
with any one, and he could not see for
the life him why the colonel did not en-
JOY hts pranks just as much as he and
apparently every one else did. But the
colonel did not, and the result was that
Lake was undergoing punishment most
Of the time he was cadet at the acal-
envy.
1t was said that Lake was really in
love with the coloncl's daughter. TWAS
not improbable. Most of the cadets
were. Indeed. few who had ever met
Miss Hyacinth Brown were not in love with
her. But she was queer girl, after all.
poor girl she had been a half orphan
from her early girlhood-and perhaps she
inherited some OF the obstinacy of her
father.) Strange as it may seem, she
loved this same scrapegrace, Lake. 1t is
more than probable that the discovery of
this fact, coupled with what he knew of
the youngsters character Tor thought
he knew was but added fuel to the fire.
1t was hard to tell, though, for the
colonel had always been hard on Lake
and remained so. He did but one thing
In regard to it He forbade Lakes CALI
ing on his daughter and he insisted that
she leave him entirely alone. Well
every one knows more or less about HUI
man nature. The interference of the
father merely made the young man more
determined to make love to the daughter.
and the young lady but the more anxious
to receive that love.
The young lieutenant made matters all
the worse when he graduated and re-
ceivcd his commission by voluntarily
joining the calvary regiment of which
Hyacinth's father was the lieutenant
colonel. Most youngsters would have
hesltated at such step. 1t is no agree
able thing to have superior officer of
ones own regiment down on one. But
Il was precisely Lakes style. II he were
TO join another regiment he might as
well say goodbye to the girl, and he
hadn't the slightest intention of doing
that.
1t was Just Lakes lnck to be assigned |
10 company that was stationed at a |
post commanded by the father of his |
sweetheart. Good luck, he thought it, |
because it kept him nearer her; bad luck |
ill his friends thought it, because it kept |
him in the power of his unreasonable |
enemy. Forbidden her fathers house |
under her fathers eycs-what |
could he see of her, any way9 Did he
ever see her, any wayl Well--he was
Lake, you know
And he was put under arrest for what? |
For very grave ofense. Hyacihth's |
'ather was man who would not have
gone cut Of his way to do Lake an in
Jury. On the contrary, If Lake had not
Always offered the occasion the Colonel
would have left him alone. Even the
COLONEL recognized the youngsters good |
qualities. There was that time in the
Geronimo campaign when he made ride
IN duty, unaccompanied, of eighty miles
through hostile country in less than
wenty houis. And there was the occa-
ion when he risked his own life to save
hat of wounded corporal in the fight
iCwn in the San Samoane valley. His
general efficiency in the field, his willing
less to perform duty no matter how hard
{ was, were all in his favor. But when
here was no serious duty to perform,
when il was mere matter of post duty
Or company discipline, Lake and the
Colonel could never agree. He was al
ways breaking regulations and post
,rders h mself, and always trying TO
hield men in his company from Just
punishment for doing the same thing.
He was put in arrest because, with his
usual impudencc, he had entered the
presence of the colonel one morning as
ne marched off duty as officer of the day
md reported that he had not inspected
he preceding night between midnight
md broad daylight" BE it known that
very officer Of the day Is required to
perform this duty between these hours,
md il he does not he is, as they say in
he army, ION honor" to report himself
or his failure to do so. So he did moth
NO more than was REQUIRED c. him. But