News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-07-27


of your bad habits. You used to drink
and smoke and play poker, and, Richard,
sometimes you used to swear.
"Well, everybody did in those days" "
Exactly, and hardly anybody does
today, except perhaps one hears little
odd language when the wind is blowing
| from the drill ground. But in other re-
spects things are indeed different. You
and your cronies sometimes talk about
| how slow and how Indifferent young
! officers are now as compared with what
they were twenty years ago. Dick, if
the army were today what it was when
| married you would whisk Winnie
out of this garrison and never let her
venture inside another. But it isn't
In every possible way that a woman
and a mother can see, it is vastly better,
and you know it. | can conceive of
worse fates for our daughter than that
she should marry such man as MIR.
Brewster and into such a society as we
have here today. You are eagerly look
ing forward to your promotion. Do you
think being lieutenant colonel will COM
pensate you for leaving such comrades
anu ITleItlS dS yOu ttNS III IilO L NOllGn!
I'm hoping to exchange"
"You can't, Dick. Nobody will trans
fer with you who onco gets into the
Twelfth And now as to Winifred.
You always liked Mr.. Brewster. You
rather preferred him until lately. What
has changed your view?'
Nothing, except-why-why, Bess,
you must have seen or heard, for one
thing, this affair with Mrs. -, you
know"
AS utterly one sided an affair as ever
was known" said Mrs. Berrien stoutly.
81 believe can see clear through it. |
despise the woman. She has always
made dead set at some one of the of
ficers stationed here, | am told. She
was Just as absurd about Mr.. Martin, of
the Eleventh-everybody says so in town
and she picked out Brewster because
he was the handsomest of the new lot
! when our regiment came in. Ask any
one you choose, and | think my view
will hold good. Ask Captain Rolfe what
he thinks, and he and Mr.. Brewster are
not on friendly terms"
81 have asked ROlfe; asked him only
this evening"" replied Berrien, turning
redder, land he begged to be excused
from expressing an opinion"
"Why?"
"Well, he wouldn't say, but he had
seen something or other that we hadn't
and lIo doesn't like Brewster. L U5rAe1
have man making love to Winnie ont
minute and that kalsomined creature
the next | wish there were no dance
tonight want to see Rolfe again. Who
takes herr"
"Mr. Brewster, of course. He asked
her two days ago, when the affair was
first projected. He is in the parlor now,
but so are all the Others"
The major stepped over to the win
dow and began drumming with his
pudgy fingers upon the pane. All the
i yiality and gladness seemed gone from
his face The lights were already be-
trimming to twinkle in the quarters
across the parade, and darkness, ''waft
ed downward like feather" was shut
ting out the long line of shadowy bluffs
beyond the stream. Down stairs he
could hear the sound of joyous chatter,
the deep voices of the men mingling
with the rippling, silvery laughter he
knew and loved so well. How happy
the child seemed! How she loved the
regiment and gloried in his profession!
How proud she was at school of the pho
tographs he had from time to time sent
of his brother officers, and how the other
girls, her letters declared, envied her
because she was a soldiers daughter
and had lived ON the wild frontier. He
could hear the sound of other girlish
voices, too, Winifred's friends from
town, but he found that his ear listened
only for hers. How blithe and musical
and full of hope and gladness it seemed.
How lovely she looked as she came
down dressed for dinner just as he re-
turned from that odd, constrained talk
with Rolfe. Poor Rolfe! he was given
over to the blue devils now, sure enough.
He and Kenyon and pills" the doctor,
formed a triumvirate of sympathetic
souls, for since Jennie and 1.-The kids"
had gone Holden's life seemed to have
fallen into the scar and yellow leaf.
Kenyon, as in duty bound, was max
ing the circuit of the garrison returning
calls Just now, but Rolfe went nowhere
..
found almost every evening, for ever
since Nita Guthrie's visit the walls of
the old house seemed charmed to him.
"Begad,'" said the major, "I'll slip over
there tonight myself, while the rest of
the folks are dancing. want to see
what it is he is holding back"
For the life of him he could not be re-
pellant in manner to Brewster when he
went down stairs. The three young
fellows honOred with invitations ON this
particular evening were Brewster, Ran
dolph and Ridgeway. Brewster be-
cause he was to be Winifred's escort to
the hop, the others because they had
made the best of matters and invited
the other girls, Ridgeway, be it known,
not without inward evaporation. He
fancied Miss Kitty PennOyer as n sub
stitute for Winifred Berrien about as
much or as little as one is content with
back seat when he cannot have a
| box. But it kept him "in touch with
the house" so to speak, and gave him
| opportunities at least of occasional
word with the beautiful girl whom he
SO admired.
lie knew he was no match Tor Brew
ster so far as physique or reputation was
concerned, but then girls had been
known to prefer patrimonial estate to
| personal charms, and he meant ut least
| to try the effect of his solid qualihca-
tiOns as against those which made Brew
ster so attractive to the sex. He knew
the major liked him well enough, and
he thought he could count on the good
offices of Mrs. Berrien, but he was not
SO sure about Winifred. When the
| jOvial major appeared he was in readi-
ness to pay his respects at once, and
was cordially welcomed by that red
faced veteran; SO was Randolph; and
then there stood Brewster at Winnies
side, both, as it SO happened, looking
straight at him.
'Well, by Jove, they do make an al
most ideal coupler he said to himself.
| Brewster fair, stalwart, straight and
soldierly, Il picture of manliness and
vigOr Winifred dark, yet with SO rich
a glow mantling the soft, creamy skin,
with such glorious, deep brown-black
eyes, SO lovely and slender and graceful
a form. Her shapely head seemed just