Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-03-28

reason for refusing so good man, so
Bragg growled and grumbled, and
finally said he couldn't have his horses
ridden all over creation, and Schramm
must walk thereafter or hire a coach
and-four. Schramm never by word or
sign showed irritation. He received
the blunt, ill-natured reply with silent
salute. He hired Curran's buggy, and
then, an evening or two thereafter,
just before stables, came Looping back
from Butte on a splendid bay, Lieut..
Edwards favorite horse, which that of
ficer had vainly asked three hundred
for when he needed money to go east
on sick leave, and failing to obtain his
price had lent him to the. Empire
stables in town. Schramm, it tran
spired, had bought the entire ''outfit,"
equipments and all, but had the bride
and housings stored and replaced by
modest black leather and dark blue
blanket. Bragg forbade his keeping
his horse in the troop stables, and
Schramm, flushing slightly, replied,
with the utmost self-command and re-
spect, that he could not presume to
think of such a thing. Mr.. Curran had
kindly consented to take charge of his
horse in his private stable, where
Schramm, you may depend upon it,
paid roundly for forage and grooming.
Then it next transpired that Schramm
had named his new acquisition I" Rand,
and, as Rand, in his capacity as inspector
general had frequently raped Bragg
over the knuck1es, this gave greater
offense to Bragg. Then a famous
opera company, crossing the continent,
struck blizzard and were snow bound
in special car at Butte. There was a
big hall with a fair-sized stage in town.
The owner urged a performance, and
the manager agreed to give Faust" on
guarantee that took the owners
breath away. He braved the drifts,
however, and galloped out to the fort
and told his story. go ahead" said
Tintop. you shall have the band,
and we'll all take seats" But when he
heard the price Tintop retracted. "We
can't stand the fgure-that is, can't,
and few of my officers can" Neverthe-
less the owner found means to give the
trout row Of the gallery, all around, at
a reduced rate, and there the fort con-
tingent looked down on the two-do11ar
seats in the so-called parquet, and just
before the overture began in marched
forty sergeants, cavalry, infantry and
staff from Ransom, each man in his
nattiest dress uniform, and took pos
session of the rows of chairs reserved
for them, and after the opera was over
did these non-commiSsioned officers ad-
journ to Conway's, where another
bountiful supper was spread in his Dig
room, and then back to the fort in the
dawn OF the frosty morning to the tune
of soldier sons and merry sleigh bells.
''Schramm's stag party" was the talk
of the post for a week thereafter.
Bragg thought it an outrage that en-
listed men should be allowed to sit in
public entertainment in presence of
their betters- Tintop. on the contrary,
said he was proud to see so many of his
men intelligent, soldierly, and so thor
oughly capable of appreciating such
music and such a company. As for the
opera people and the local manager.
they were enraptured. Connie, you
may be sure, was there to see- She
and her friend Miss Franzen had been
brought thither and taken home in a
carriage from the Empire, and invited
and escorted by the principal of the
public school, to whom, it transpired
later, tickets as well as instructions
had been sent beforehand, and it was
just about this time, just before Christ
mas, that somebody started the new
name for the b1ue-eYed Prussian,
and Schramm, to his manifest concern,
was hailed as 'sSergt. Crosus-"
no n CozxIEDED.i