The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-12-11

ments and their bitter grief. He often
est disturbed their quiet neutrality, was
their chief reaction, was the one slender
thread that connected these prisoners of
the desert with the world In which they
had been reared, had for awhile resign
ed and hoped again to form u part.
This was Friday afternoon, and the
mail was overdue. The crowd had col
lected, awaiting its arrival. One could
hear the chatter of poker chips in the
officers club. Outside the general store
room were gangs Of tethered bronchos.
and near them, lying in their shadows
for protection from the suns rays a
medley of NANCY ours and pelon dogs,
painting with the heat, while stretched
on the ground in the shade Of the adobe
store was q motley crowd of Mexicans
and Indians SO unused to haste that pa
thence and waiting were &1stinct, hard
" habit.
Hodgson, the junior subaltern of the
cantonment, now galloped through the
group of tethered ponies and flung the
reins of his hot horse into the midst of
a pack of painting greyhounds that fol-
lowed and were o c~rouching i'm the
scant shade of the adobe wall against
which the Mexicans were lying. Hodg-
son was clad in service cords, jersey and
sombrero, for he had been chasing jack
rabbits with greyhounds on the mesa.
He entered the traders store brusque-
ly. Mail not in YETI" he asked. "Ut
is not, lootenant, answered the trad
er's clerk from behind the lattice where
he sat working at the months postal re-
port. Coggins spoke shortly, without
looking up, for he recognized the voice
as the youngsters pleading for square
letters, and it annoyed him. It had
successfully made the same appeal each
mail since Hodgson joined the regi-
ment, 10 weary months before, al Cog
gins could bear witness, for he knew
the secrets Of the cantonment, keeping
them in mind, having no cause TO speak
of them to others, save to O'Leary, who
could hold his tongue Coggins was
fond Of the youngster, liking him as
heartily as he hated women, whom he
thought minions Of the devil, made for
mans confusion. He even loathed their
dainty letters, regarding them as en-
sharing missives, ~corrupting alike to
rank and file, and believed they should
be prescribed from military correspond
ence or treated like mails from infested
districts, bringing maladies whose fires,
once lighted in the blood, will never
cease in tho idleness of camp and can
torment, disturbing alike good COM
radeship, health and duty.
Coggins himself had been a soldier,
serving two enlistments before getting
his leg shattered and shortened in an
Indian skirmish. Since service he had
clerked some 30 years for Sullivan, the
trader, and seen scores Of youngsters
join from the Point at this frontier
breaking yard Some were now captains,
returning for their second tour of
Arizona duty, with double bars well tar.
nished. Frontier life compels men to
observation, 30 Coggins felt entitled to
his own opinions. In the remembrance
Of these veterans In their callow shave
tail' days, knocking about badly and
hardly bride wise, he felt his opinions
were even entiEed to respect, but he
kept them to himself, save when speak
ing them 30 O'Leary.
Tim O'Leary and he had joined as
"recruities" In the same batch from
Depot so O'LeaEy was a man Of privi-
leges. Many were the nights after
"hours. when, alone in the general bar
of the traders store, they discussed the
needs and tindincies av the service. "
At present the ''tindincies" d~ispleased
them. .s
"Ot'u tell you phwat Mt is, Coggins,
ut's thin weekly mails ull be sinding MS
destruction ytt, " said OIeary.
"And who would be knowing av that
beforeninst me, Tim? Don't Oh handle
livery ship av Mt from the purity pink
notes that's deceiving av the bhoy up to
the ordhers for the commanding OFFICER
from the gineral av the army"
"Oi moind that We do, Dan'l, al ut's
divine service they'll be afther giving us
~nixt-asking forgiveness av the Houly
Virgin for showing her Son disrespect-
an psalm singing for soiering, av some
av thin had ut's ordering"
IAN be drilling wild books instead
av carbincs. Oh hear today there's an
ordher out for school," added Coggins.
School Is ut? SCHOOL," said Tim.
"Ut's cooks palace and camp cook and
camp herd guard they more be needing.
Before nor a week, Dan'l, as Oh predict
ON ut, the recruities'll be afthe- telling
men loike you an me phwat's sojering.
Gineral Harvey protect usl Peace rest
his sowll Widout school and wild good
free '~thumbing' and swearing-begging
pardon av the Lord av Oh c~ountenance
the being too free in vain wild his houly
name-made ~sojers-sojers loike you an
me, Dan'l! An the evil av Mt don t sthop
wild the ~recruities. fer ut's invadin av
Their young OFFICERS an shpoilin thin fer
shport, " whispered Tim.
"Oi moind phwat You say. Tim An
yez know Oh loike the lad, but moind
Olive no faith in the craytures, barrin
me own mother, who's been dead In Orr
land these twinty years. Well, he's
afther running 1t full tilt ON some frock
in the east. Wan day comes a photo
graph by mail, Al he shows me the