The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-11-17


and fhsn 81 his perplexity schranm
pazed past the handsome boy and.
sought Comics face. It was beamrinR
s.Pa-Glon, !" he said, II am 50 dull. Does
the lieutenant mean it is his betrothed?"
Eyes, and we are here to drink her
health-we five"
For one moment Schramm's eyes
sought doubtfu;ly the eyes of the
maiden who stood there SO unhinch-
ingly and smilingly before them, and
then his hand went out in earnest.
CHAPTER XVI.
A winter of unusual severity was that
which followed upon the heels of
summer campaign that had been full OF
lively excitement for Tintop and the
regiment Once more, however, the
spirit of social gayety was abroad, and
the Christmas holidays were merry
with many charming function. Hops,
germans, dinners and luncheon-parties,
theatricals, minstrels and soldier
balls, day after day and night after
night, were in full career at Ransom,
while dense and binding snow-storms
blocked the roads and soon succeeded
In making the trip from fort to town
more Of adventure than the winter pas,
sage of the Atlantic. Starting from
town with sunshine and sleigh-bells
one might encounter storm and temp
est before half the distance was tray
ersed. December, though sharply cold,
had been bright and beautiful until
about the 18th; then cama the success
sion of billiards. that cut communica
ton almost entirely and caused a wall
Of dismay from the shopkeepers Of
Butte, most Of whom had laid in goodly'
stores of toys and trinkets for the 5&-
lectation of their best customers, the
people out at the fort The stage had
to be taken off, and for days the mails
were carried to and fro in saddle. The
doctors, senior and junior, found
plenty to do at the fort and little I'd
tempt them elsewhere, SO their visits
to Morgan became infrequent. There
| was just one man at the post whom no
gale could daunt, no storm could con-
quer, and that was, Schranatn.
| Every one knew that Morgan was
slowly growing feebler. He ought to
have gone to the Hot Springs long
ago. said the doctor, *"but now it is
too Kate" He could cot stand the jour.
1ev without special attendants and
accommodations, and those were
things he could not, and Uncle SAM
world not, pay for. Knowing that he
would have nothing'to leave, and deem
ing him near dissolution, his creditors
were hounsling him again. IL he lived
tine fifty dollars per month would grad
| ually pay them off, but il he dice
there was nothing; hence the renewed
sS1lamor for inun edaate settlement. This
swgeather was bitter, the little house
ascold and dramghty, fuel was horribly
Inexpensive, and there was the veteran
kalragoo1, 81 helpless cripple, looking
Es1eath in the face and impioring him
E-yet little while to hold his hand, mo-
that tlae broken-spirited soldier NIGH
l recover his strength-~he was past al
| :that-lsnt tfAat;he might Nnger or ever
I in labor and sorrow, that with ai'
annuity he might save his children
/ from utter desti tn ton. Hours he sss
I in loneliness, .asor it WAS impossible
! save at rare intervals, for his old com
trades to reach Elm now He wondered
! how Connie could sing so hap
ply about sthe house. Surely
she and Bertha, the naiddle-agee
maid of-ail-work, had accomplished
| wonders with the little SUM he
.eould devote to. household ex,
penses. Lot ana Billy looked hearty
and rosy and meil-fed and clothed
when they came tumbling noisiay in
from school. Comics sweet face and
slender form were rounded. The dark
circles under the big brown eyes were
gone. Here he was, hardly daring SO
| eat, thinking how soon they might be
left without bite, sup or cent. Yet
/ Connie smiled and sang, and was pick.
| ing s.p little household words and
| phrases in German. and blushingly ac-
| costed Schramn in his native tongue
| when S5chralnm came, as he rarely
| failed to come, twice, thrice or toftener
during the week, to pay his respects to
| the gnadige Fraulein and to see what
he could do for the Herr Rittmeister,
who, ever since the day of the Thorn
tons coming. had vainly protested
against the further use of the name
Schramm, had insisted that the time
had come for the German sergeant to
drop his punctilious observance of the
Difference due all superior officers, and
had informed Connie that he should be
addressed as Herr Won Rhetz: but it
was all to no purpose. Schramm for
babe. II left my name with my past
when came to enlist in this army"
said he ''I had to win a future for
myself, and SO took my mother name
meantime. Call me by that so long as
I wear the blue" Indeed, he couldn't
bear to have the gpadige Fraulein adj
dress him as sergeant" at all. He
said that from the first he loved to
watch her lips as she struggled with
the combination that finally gave ut
terance to Sch-r-r-ramm. There could
be no question that he loved to watch
her lips, no matter what she might be
saying, and small blame to him either.
But out at Ransom Schramm was
becoming a notability in earnest.