Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1896-11-12

playmate a. fulI neoged Omcef, Dear
ing the presidents commission. But
Mac was savagely roasted by Sergeant
Stein and other elders, and did his best
to amend. It was Terry Rorke that was
incorrigible Time and again he broke
the rules he laid down for himself. and,
as Terry had been the household
striker" in the days when it was Dap.
tain FaErar, and they first lived al
Frayne, he found especial favor tn the
gentle eyes Of the widowed mother. apd
was encouraged to come and see her, for
In all that crowded garrison he alone
could recall her flrstborn-hes hand
some, daring. dashing Royle, whom he
was boy Of ID. (
To all the world he was an outcast,
but tho mothers heart had never yet
been able to quench the fame Of love
that burning like beacon in her pure
and prayerful heart, seemed ever beck
oning to him to return. Yea Terry
Rorke had never forgotten "Masther
Royle," and he alone could come and
talk with her Of the son when all the
rest Of the world would only too gladly
believe him dead and forgotten.
Thrice had Will, bustling into the
hallway, as was his custom, without
knock or ring, come suddenly upon his
mother in conference with his old
friend and hers, aud Rorke had sprung
to attention and stood like statue and
had striven to say 1.-The Lieutenant"
and not "Masther WILL" in bis refer
ence to his officer, but Will plainly
showed he thought this frequent com.
ing OH imposition. Mother. DEAR"
said he one day, If old Rorke is an.
noying you by coming 80 often, can
give him q gentle hint"
Annoying! Why, Willy, dear, I
love to talk with him. He was tho most
faithful, devoted creature we ever
knew. All through your boyhood he
watched over you, and he was almost
the only friend your poor brother seemed
to have
II appreciate all that, mother" said
Will, Juggling uneasily at his budding
mustaohe, lat least I try to, but all the
same. you know, 1t isn't the thing OF
course Rorke never presumes exactly. I
understand that. and he only comes be.
cause you bid him, and then 1t Is only
to the back door and all that, but still
it's the effect Of the thing Oh the other
men, and it's time he was learning to
understand I'm decidedly no longer
Master Will. "
All, there was the rubl Two days be.
fore in the presence Of Wills fair little
ladylove had one Of Rorke's lapses &C.
Cured, and the lieutenant had been
Masther Willed and had Redeemed to the
roots Of his hair, seeing which Kitty
Ormsby, as determined as ever lived.
had taken to calling him "Masther
Will" on her own account, and thun.
derstorms were imminent. There were
other fellows, presentable fellows In
the garrison who were quick to feel the
fascination Of this charming little niece
Of Fenton's, and just the moment Will
showed disposition to sulk she show
cred smiles and sunshine on the first
subaltern to appear, and thereby drove
Will nearly rabid. Had his comrades
ventured to dub him "Masther Will"
there would have been row. Had any
Of the other bellies Of the garrison 80
transgressed he would have turned his
back upon her then and there, and so
elegant dancer and reputably wealthy
young officer was not to be offended,
even before Kitty came. But Kit could
and did torment him without mercy
and without fear Of consequences, and
before she had been at Frayne q week
was making life burden for the fellow
who had prayed for her coming a. it's
sweetest blessing. -.
And so, like tho big outside world,
the little community Of Fort Frayne
was living its life Of hopes and fears,
smiles and tears, love and jealousy and
hate, while Kitty had speedily made
herself completely at home aud was
tyrannizing over everybody at the colo
nel's as we'll as over Will, and torment.
ing Aunt Lucretia by making eyes at
Major Wayne, who never saw them,
while Wayne had got to drifting over
to his new colonel's almost every even
ing, just as 40 years before he infested
the quarters Of his old friend at Leaven-
worth, rousing once more all the fut~
tering Of that maidenly heart, and
while Mrs. Farrar, rejoicing In the evil,
dences Of love and reverence In which
her husbands name was held on every
side and in the honors Will was win.
ming in his chosen profession, and even
while she found comfort in the fact that
one faithful old friend could recall her
maynard boy as he was before dishonor
and disgrace had swamped him, she
would have been less than a woman had
she been insensible to Fenton 8 repressed
but unvarying devotion.
Never intruding, rarely calling, he
was gentleness, tenderness, personified
in every look and word. It was evident
that all these years had never served to
Danish her image from his heart.
Mourner though she may be, can wom-
an live and not rejoice in knowing her.
self the object Of so much love on every
slider Widowed though even by few
brief months does she resent it that the
man lives who would be glad to teach
her to forget? Life was not without 70.
nance, then, even to one who had lost
her best beloved not three years gone by
and for whose firstbOrn she still shed
bitter tears
And to another sorrowing heart, to
another gentle and stricken soul, this
wintry sojourn on the far frontier was
bringing strange emotion. Day after