The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-11-30
A HOWLING SUCCESS.

| Barton was young and as enthusiastic
| as only second lieutenant can be. More
over, he had theories, which, except in
popular novels, are very bad things for
young officers to have If they are not alb
solutely useless, they are apt to be worse
than useless, very much in the way. He
came straight from West Point to fort
near goodly sized town in the western
states and brought with him, besides his
own acceptable presence in a community
| including five girls and two bachelors the
idea that there should be such thing as
sociability in the small circle of an army
post.
Being a young person OF determination,
J he meant to put his theories into practice
| and at first even went so far as to hope
that he might bring the nonspeaking fam
| lilies to terms again and act the beautiful
role of pcaccmaker.
1t is in fiction, and in fiction only, that
everybody in a garrison is as sweet as
straw berry jam and lives in perfect har-
mony with his neighbor. Rcmcmber that
the army is fighting institution. If it
| has not Indians or fnircr foes to battle
with, it will set up system of civil strife
wonderful in its completely. What do
| they find to quarrel about, you wonder?
I How is 1T possible to ask, knowing that
handful of people, all with more or less
natural energy to DO disposed of, are shut
up year after year within the narrow linn
it's of a reservation without ever a change
of scene and rarely having new blood in
| fused into their veins? Familiarity is said
to breed contempt. In this ono phrase lies
| tho reason of it all. These dozen or two
of congenial and uncpngenial people are
for time on a footing Of the greatest in
timacy and familiarity. No wonder, then,
| that contempt follows and is in turn fol-
| lowed by dislike.
After very little experience Barton
| gave up the role of peaccmaker. He found
! that it was most likely to end in his in
heritng not tho earth, but q corner of
coventry. So he tried to work out his
theories on the few remaining mortals
who were not yet on strictly official terms.
1t was astounding to his young and I'M
I tried spirit that SO many people could be
SO entirely lost to q sense of the pleasures
| to be gotten out of this world, such as
moonlight rides and walks, picnios pri-
vate thoatricals and hops. He suggested
rides The two bachelors were cavalry
men and said they rode for living and
not for fun. Two Of tho girls could ride
but one hadn't u habit. The other two
were afraid to try it. Barton got up some
riding parties of two-himself and the one
girl-but she was tho least charming of
the quartet SO he found them dull, He
ventured upon suggesting some walks, but
the idea was secuted. Walk in that alkali
dust, with coyote bowls the only sounds
in the air! They Knocked at his youthful
ardor. The board walk around the parade
ground was good enough for them II they
wanted to STROLL but as that was perfectly
within the range of vision of some $50 en-
listed men it was not agreeable to saunter
along with nice girl under their eyes.
Barton gave that up and tried picnics. All
the world knows that picnic is trying to
the sweetest temper, to the most compla-
cent souls. The outcome of this particular
one was that it put one more family on
the "official terms list. No ono could be
worked up to the private theatricals point,
for in army, as in civil life, every one
wanted to have the star role.
Any one else would have been disheart-
ened at these repeated failures and have
settled down into the ordinary round of
duties of the ordinary lieutenant, but Bar
ton had the making of general in him,
coupled with desire to be leader of
men. He could not reconcile himself to
getting up at reveille, going to bed again
and sleeping until breakfast at the mess
at O'Clock, twirling his mustache and
incidentally his thumbs in the suffers
store all the morning, sleeping from lunch
con to retreat, dining and retwirling his
mustaohe and thumbs until taps. OF
course he could have put in his time at
reading and thinking, being intellectual,
but man in his position should not be
intellectual.
No; Barton would make last and SUI
prelne effort to awake these lethargic peo-
pie from their stupor. He would get up
hop Visions of old West Point dances
rose before him and filled his soul with
longings He made it next the order Of
the day to find room big enough to hold
an ordinary set of lancers. There was no
ballroom, nor was there the usual avail
able library room which SO often does
service. OF course none of the quarters
would answer the purpose. He bethought
him Of one of the hospital wards and got
the DOCTORS permission to use it. 1t was
not big, not more than 20Sby 80 feet, but
it could be made to do. The floors were
rough, but sperm candles would make
them slippery. The walls were bare and
tho plaster cracked He would draw on
private. houses and the suffers store to
decorate them. Nothing should daunt
him.
So he sent his own striker to sweep and
dust and scrub. Ho gave the post children
o jubilee by letting them shave candles in
tho boards and slide about to smooth them
down. 1t was lots of fun for the children,
and Barton took pleasure In watching
their pretty gambols until the G. 0. g
youngest son slipped and broke his wrist.
When that happened, even this inoxper-
enced youth knew that it was little short
of calamity for him; that it would he
many o long day before the commandment S
wife-theroforo the commandment himself
would smile upon him again. He car
ried the child homo and submitted in 81
lcnco to the stony glare from its mother
eyes. When he tried to explain, she walked
away. 1t was evident that he was held as
guilty Of the sweet little fellows nishap,
and he loved the child accordingly.
When the hall was all draped in flags,
bunting Chinese lanterns and parasols,
Barton began to believe that fate was at
last propitjous. 1t looked very pretty, and
the incest girl told him SO, with shy
glance which made the lieutenant feel as
he had not felt since old West Point days.
The hop was to be on Saturday night.
The band contributed 10 pieces to make
music for tho flying feet. The incest girl
blushod and consented to let Barton take
! her and have the major part Of the waltzes