San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-30
Soldiers S6Cr6t
By Captain CHARLES KING, q. s. A.
copyright, 1899, by J. B. Lippincott company,
and published by special arrangement with
them.l

y
favorably as to the commission before
our return to Pawnee?" he asked tenta-
lively.
"No, doctor. If we meet again it
must be as / was, not what this cam
paign has made me-"
What you have made yourself, man!
Don't talk of it in that way. The Lord
made you gentleman. You maze
yourself soldier
Ellis smiles.
"a gentleman despite night prowling
and petty larceny
WELL" says Holden, "that's some
thing leave you to settle with her. Il
seems you only carried out fair Warn.
ing, though of course you had no idea
of the CHASTITY effect it would have. But
you never told me how you reached
that balcony" ~
Easily enough, doctor. simply took
alight rope, and graphing hook from
the tirehogSe, climbed up the rear porch
at the end away from where Kathleen
and Murphy were, went along the south
slope of the main roof to the chimney,
slupg the rope about it and lowered my
self gently to the balcony, then threw
off my overcoat and stood at the open
window. She had gone, and l thought
. l was too late, but catching sight of the
very picture whose return she had de-
manded and which | had sworn to have
again as we'll as to see her, was just en-
tering when heard her step upon the
stairs. did not see her. | do not see how
it was possible for her to see me; yet there
came that scream of terror, and the fell
and then the rush. 1t all flashed over
me in an instant that had been guilty
of a mad Drained prank-that it would
never do to be caught there; it could
never be explained. was up on the
roof in second, snatched away the hook
and rope, crouched down to the back
porch, waited a moment for Murphy
and Kathleen to run inside, then slid to
the ground, hid the rope under the wood
pile in the dark cellar, squeezed through
a gap in the fence into the captains
yard next door-they were all over at
the Hazletts'-then donned my overcoat
and joined the men running up from
the laundresses' quarters. Late at night,
as the sentry told Captain Rolfe, went
back, ostensibly to get my pipe, and re-
covered the rope and hook. That was
ALL"
Holden ponders moment:
"My wife has told me what she knew
of your interview with Mr.. Guthrie
after poor Jacks death; but Miss Guth-
RE would never speak of what passed
between herself and you"
On the pale, clear cut face the lines Of
care and sorrow and privation seem to
deepen. The shadows darken about the
mournful eyes. 81 suppose l should
never have blamed her as | did," he
answers, "but l was mad with grief over
Jack, with helpless, hopeless indigna-
ton over Percivals accusation; and
then, of all others, to have her turn
against me as she did-that was the Bit
terest cup! Her fathers influence in
her overweight condition was what
did it, suppose; but she drove me from
her sight as though l were indeed a
felon, demanded the return of every
line and trinket she had ever given me
even that priced little carte de visite
l had carried about me for year. 1t
was then, when she declared she would
never look upon my face again, that
went wild with misery, or despair, sup
pose. swOre that sooner or later she
should see me, and that before l died
her picture would be back here in its
I Lea
knows, the experiences of the years that
followed might have knocked the ro-
mantle nonsense out of any man. Ny
poor sister seemed to be the only one
who had any faith left in me. l wan
dered all over the west as Ralph Enroll,
mining, grub stalking, working like a
dog.
81 was starving in the hills when
Brewster came to my aid. / couldn't
take his money without telling him
something of my story, but | gave no
names He doesn't know today any
thing about the old trouble-dOesn't
dream that he well knows the people
friends. 1t was through him | enlisted,
and within three months mine l had
located and yet couldn't sell for dol
lar began to pay By the time we
reach ID Pawnee my half interest in il
prov Il worth all my years of toll. Then
l thought to see her again-took my fur,
Tough at the very time her father was
west trying to find me and undo the
wrong he had done, and-you know
the rest. She was here, and returned
only to learn that she was about tc
leave and that Captain Rolfe was hel
accepted lover. Bearded, aged, uni
formed as l was, believed she would
not know me even if we were to meet
face to face, and believing, more, that nc