The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1893-11-09
IL SAD Z I1E OIE m b VE i b
TWO CAPTAINS AND a HEAuTI.
FUL WOMAN.
Handsomo captaIn Tom who courted
Death Among Bullets and Found
1t In n Broken Heart
The other Captain.

Oh our company. says Wf1Cee IN the
Detroit Free Press. hadn't known
him as a civilian but as his first luff'
when | was assigned to his company
had a right to expect something like
friendship and confidence on his part
The captain ranks his first lieutenant.
of course, and when he stands on his
dignity he is the superior officer"
but when off parade there used 70 BIS
no question of rank among company
officers. Captains and lieutenants
were 'chums'' and partners and
pretty well posted on each others
private affairs.
Captain Tom was less than 80 years
old. AMI handsome dashing fellow.
only he was abstrac ed and melan-
choly. He shut himself up like a
clam and kept you at distance. He
never sang. nor whistled nor entered
into conversation outside of military
matters. Now and then | walked in
on him when his thoughts were else
where. and there was either such sor-
row in his face as to make your heart
ache or such a look of devilish
ferocity as to make you chill.
Down in the ranks there were whis-
pers that he had been married to
beautiful young lady; that after
year or so they had quarreled; that
she had gone from his home one day
aud never returned-gone with man
she loved better. i caught some of
these whispers as did the second lieu
tenant though we never mentioned
the fact to each other. We held our
Y1fo iF1bo fn no hic
while we thought him bit too icy.
we did not seek to break down his re-
serve.
knew more about him after our
first fight. knew that he was utter
ly reckless OF life-that he courted
death. When our company was de-
tached and advanced as skirmishers he
held us right up to the work until the
enemy's battle line fairly walked over
us. killing or capturing half our
j strength. They must have fired at
! him fifty times. but he was not even
! scratched. After that l knew that she
| story must be true and that he no
] longer cared to live. | knew it and
/ pitied him the more.
At Frederick ,burg as we marched
! against Mayre's HILL fragments of the
same shell wounded both of us and we
! were carried back across the river and
sent to Washington. My hurt was in
the side, his in the right leg. 1t was
/ something to keep him in bed for
! a few weeks, but nothing really seri-
/ Gus. Our cots were side by side, but
we had little to say to each other. He
had grown even more reserved since
! the fight. When the surgeon came to
overhaul him and told him that it was
only question of few weeks. he
seemed disappointed. think he had
cherished the hope that he was NOR
J tally wounded.
Well, one day after we had been
there about fortnight. L lay looking
at Captain Tom, who was asleep and
wondering if the sunshine would
never come back to his life Our feet
were toward an aisle or passageway.
ard Just opposite mis- cot and perhaps
ten feet away, was that of captain
who had been wounded in the same
fight The room was large, and Sc
full of wounded officers that no one
paid any attention TO any one else, un-
less he was d comrade. | just simply
knew that he was captain across
there and that he was badly hurt.
AS l lay looking at Captain Tom
heard the voice OF a woman in the
aisle. and l turned my eyes to behold
a lady OF about %, richly dressed
and with one of the sweetest faces
man ever looked upon. Some one
had brought her to see the captain
across the aisle, and as she reached
his cot she uttered a little cry of sur
prise and gladness.
1t was that cry that woke Captain
Tom. As his eyes opened his face
betrayed a scared and puzzled look.
Had he heard Alright? Was that a
familiar voice? Had he dreamed ot
hearing it? The lady bent over the
wounded officer and kissed him and
called him her darling and now Cap
tain Tom struggled upon his elbow
and looked at ker.
In ten seconds his face was whittier
than any dead mans. He shut his
teeth, uttered Kissing noise through
them. and such look of suffering and
despair as came over his face l hope
never to look upon again. / was be-
wildered for a moment but was about
TO cry out VIXEN he fell back. gasped
once or twice, and l knew that he was
dead.
They took his body away, and the
lady never looked into his face nor
learned his name. An hour or two
after she had gone away smiling
through her tears, the surgeon came
to dress my wound. He asked what
had seen and heard and l told him.
..Ah. That explains!" he said.
Captain Tom died of a broken heart
Just that and nothing else"'
They Both FaITted.
While a young man and a young
/ ladv of Abbeyille, G. were gathering