The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-09-28
[coNTINUED.]
CHAPTER iii.

were making their welcoming call she
had with motherly pride and pleasure
yielded to their constant opportunities
and shown to one party after another an
album of Observation-Disclosures of her
only daughter. There were little cartes
de visite representing her in long dresses
and baby caps; quaint little pictures of
chubby faced, chubby legged infant q
few months older; charming studies of
. little girl with great black eyes and
delicate features; then of tall, slender
slip Of maiden, decidedly foreign look
ing; then of a sweet and pensiye face
with great dark eyes, long, beautiful
curling lashes and very heavy, low
arched brows, exquisitely nodded mouth
and chin and most luxuriant dark hair;
then others, still older, in every variety
Of dress, even in fancy costume, such as
the girl had worn at fair or masquerade.
These and others still had Mrs. May
nard shown them, with repressed pride
and pleasure, and with sweet acknowl.
edgment of their enthusiastic praises.
Alice still tarried in the east, visiting
relatives whom she had not seen since
her fathers death three years earlier,
and long before she came to join her
mother at Sibley and to enter upon the
life she SO eagerly looked forward to-
way out in the west, you know, with
officers and soldiers and the band and
buffalo and Indians all around YOU
there was not an officer or an officers
wife who had not delightedly examined
that album. There was still another
picture, but that one had been shown to
only chosen few just one week after
her daughters arrival, and rather an
absurd scene had occurred, in which
that most estimable officer, Lieutenant
Sloat, had figured as tho hero. A more
simple minded, well intentioned fellow
than Sloat there did not live. He was
SO full of kindness and good nature and
readiness to do anything for anybody
that it never seemed to occur to him
that everybody on earth was not just as
ready to be equally accommodating.
He was perpetual source of delight to
the colonel and one of the most loyal
and devoted of subalterns, despite the
fact that his locks were long silvered
with the frosts of years and that he had
fought through the war of the rebellion
and risen to the rank of field officer in
Maynard's old brigade. The most tenn
perate of men ordinarily, the colonel
had one anniversary he loved to cele.
brate, and Sloat was his standby when
the Sd of July came round, just as he
had been at his shoulder at that supreme
moment when, needless of the fearful
sweep of shell and canister through
their shattered ranks, Pickett's heroic
Virginians breasted the slope of Gene
terry Hill and surged over the low stone
wall into Cushing's guns. Hard, stub
born fighting had Maynard's men to do
that day, and for serene courage and
determination no man had beaten Sloat
Both officers had bullet hole mementos
to carry from that field, both had won
their brevets for conspicuous gallantry,
and Sloat was happy and grateful man
when, years afterward, his old command
er secured him lieutenancy in the
regular service. He was the colonel's
henchman, although he never had brains
enough to win place OH the regimentai
staff, and when Mrs. Maynard came he
overwhelmed. her with cumbrous com.
pliments and incessant calls. He was,
to his confident belief, her chosen and
accepted knight for full two days after
her arrival. Then Jerrold came back
from brief absence, and as in duty
bound went to pay his respects to his
eolonel's wife. and that night there had
been singular scene Mrs. Maynard
had stopped suddenly in her laughing
chat with two ladies, had started from
her seat, wildly staring at the tall.
slender subaltern who entered the gate
way, and then fell back in her chair,
fairly swooning as he made his bow.
Sloat had rushed into the house to call
the colonel and get some water. while
Jerrold stood paralyzed at 50 strange o
reception Of his first call. Mrs Maynard
revived presently, explained that it was
her heart. or the heat, CT something, and
the ladies on rhe'rIaay aome decided
that II was po-i0i" he heart, it was
certainly ct The .,,; il was unques
tionablv 81 Athr~ 2Lo that something
was Jcrro @. n@yer took her eyes
off him cc!i.e evening and
seemed 7 Ike c!R che fasCina
ton. n Giued there, and
from tha, Ae az ..e was q daily visitor
Every O.. o;.U LIS MayAard's strong
interest aim hut no one could &C.
count She was old enough TO be
bis II. .c, SAID the garrison. but not
until Air G,nwick came did another
consider 90 fPear He was singularly
like the Gai..hter Both were tall, 1.-THE.
slender 10th had dark, lustrous eyes;
dark, though almost perfect, skin, ex-
quisitely chiseled features and slender,
shapely hands and feet. Alice was "the
picture Of her father" said Mrs May.
nard, and Mr. Renwick had lived all
his life in New York while Mr.. Jerrold
was of an old southern family and his
mother q Cuban beauty who was the
toast Of the New Orleans clubs not many
years before the war.
Poor Sloat He did not fancy Jerrold
and was as jealous as so unselfish
mortal could be of the immediate as
cendancy the young fellow established
in the colonel's household. It was bad