The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-13
CLARENCE.
BY BRET HARTE.

followed me, And the next minute we
was in the thick Of it. | had my hat
as fun of holes as that ice strainer;;
had dozen bullets through my coat,
the fringe Of my epaulets was shot
away. but 1 kept the boys at their
work-and we stopped EN-! Stopped
en-. gsntlemeni until we heard the
bugies of the. rest or our division, that
all this time had been rolling that
blasted rear guard over on US. And IT
saved the fight, But the next minute
the Johnny Rebs made a last dash and
cut me Off-and there l was--a prison
er. Ne that had saved the fight.''
a ripple of ironical applause Went
round as Hooker gloonsaly drained his
glass and then held up his hand in a
scOrnful depreciation.
II said ] was d prisoner. gentlemen.
he went on bitterly .but that amt
all asked to see tombstone, told him
what had done. and demanded to be
exchanged for a general officer. He
said, Not your l then sent word to
the division commander-in-chief, and
told him how 1 had saved Grey Oaks
when his brigadier ran away, and he
said, Not YOU I've bin rebuffed from
the lowest non. com. to the command
er-in-chief, and when was at last ex-
changed was exchanged, gentlemen,
But I'm here, gentlemen, as / was
thar!''
"Why don't you see the president
about it2' asked a bystander in affect
ed commiseration.
Mr.. Hooker stared contemptuously
at the suggestion. and expectorated his
sfornful dissent. Not much,'' he said.
But I'm going to see the man that
carries him and his cabinet in his
lsbreeclles pocket-Senator Boompoint-
err 4
''Boompointer's big man." contin-
ued his auditor, doubtfully. do You
know him."
Know hfm?" Mr. Hooker laughed
a bitter, sardoic laugh. We'll, gen.
tlemen, 1 amt the kind o man to go
in for family influence, but" he added
with gloomy elevation, "considerin'
he's an intimate relation CT mine by
marriage, 1 should say I did.
Brant heard no more; the facing
around of his old companion toward
the bar gave him that opportunity CT
escaping he had been waiting for. The
detection of Hooker and his peculiar
inventions were too characteristic of
him to excite surprise, and, although
| they no longer awakened his good
humored tolerance, they were power
| less to affect him in his greater trou-
! bic. Only one thing he learned-thaI
| Hooker knew nothing of his wife be-
| ing in camp as a. spy; the incident
would have been too tempting to es-
cape his dramatic establishment. And
the allusion to Senator Boompointer-
monstrous as it seemed in Hooker's
mouth-gave him q grim temptation.
J He had heard OF Bocmp0inter' Won
derful power; he believed that Susy
would and could help him, Clarence,
whether she did or did not help Hook
Ter But the next moment he dismis-
sed the idea with a flushing cheek.
How low he had already sunk even
to think of it!
1t had been once or twice in his
mind to seek the president, and, under
| a promise of secrecy, reveal a part of
his story He had heard many anec-
dotes of his goodness of heart and gen.
erous tolerance of all things-but with
this was jOined-sO said contemporary
eous history-a f3ippancy- of speech
and a brutality of directness from
which Cfarences sensibility shrank.
Would he see anything in his wife but
a common spy on his army; would he
see anything in him but the weak VIC
tim. like many others, of a scheming
woman. Stories were current in camp
and Congress of the way this grim
| hunOEISt mad. WIN an dppOSlIe dueS-
Gote or a rugged illustration, brushed
away the most delicate sentiment Oh
the subtlest poetry. even as he eX-
posed the sham Of the Puritanic NOR
ality or CT epicurean ethics. Brant
Had even solicited an audience, but
had retired awkwardIy, and with his
confidence unspoken before the dark
/ humorous eyes that seemed almost toe
tolerant Of his grievance. He had
been to levees, and his heart had sunk
equally before the vulgar crowd who
seemed to regard this man as Their
own buffoon, or the pompousness Of
position, learning and dignity which
he seemed to delight to shake and dis
turb.
One afternoon a few days later, IL
sheer listlessness of purpose, he found
himself again at the White House. The
! President was giving audience to {
deputation of fanatics who, with pa
thetic simplicity almost equal to hi:
Town pathetic tolerance. was urging up
/ on this ruler of millions the policy o.
an insignificant score, and Brant lis
tened to his patient, practical response
of facts and logic, clothed in simple bu