Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-01-15

llOuluS SIullScS uV ilS 1"SS, ehSt 1SAA 49,
maiden shyness He had speedily gaug-
ed the cause of that strange excitement
displayed by Armitage at seeing him
the morning he rode in with the scout
Now he was gauging with infinite de-
light the other side of the question.
Then, brotherlike, he began to twit and
tease her, and that was the last of the
condolences.
All the same it was an eager group
that surrounded the colonel the evening
he came down with the captains letter.
"It settles the thing in my mind. We'll
60 back to Sibley tomorrow, and as for
you, Sergeant Major Fred, your name
has gone in for commission, and I've
no doubt very deserving sergeant will
be spoiled in making very good for
nothing second lieutenant Get you
back to your regiment, sir, and call on
Captain Armitage as soon as you reach
Fort Russell and tell him you are much
obliged. He has been blowing your
trumpet for you there, and as some OF
those cavalrymen have sense enough to
appreciate the opinion Of such soldier
as my ex-adjutant-some of them, mind
you; I don't admit that all cavalrymen
have sense enough to keep them out OF
perpetual trouble-you came in for q
hearty Endorsement, and you'll probably
be up before the next board for exam
ination. Go and bone your constitution
and the rule of three, and who was the
father of Zebedee's children, and the Or
der of the Ptolemies and the Seleucide,
and other such things that they'll be
sure to ask you as indispensable to the
mental outfit of an Indian fighter" " 1t
was evident that the colonel was in joy
GUS mood, but Alice was silent. She
wanted to hear the letter. He would
have handed it to Frederick, but both
Mrs. Maynard and Aunt Grace clamored
to hear it read aloud, so he cleared his
throat and began:
"Fred's chances for commission are
good, as the inclosed papers will show
you, but even were this not the case l
would have but one thing to say in an
swer to your letter-he should go back
to his troop
Whatever our friends and fellow cit
liens may think on the subject, hold
that the profession Of the soldier is to
the full as honorable as any in civil life,
and it is liable at any moment to be
more useful. I do not mean the officer
alone. say and mean the soldier. As
for me, I would rather be first sergeant
of my troop or company or sergeant
major Of my regiment than any lieuten-
ant in it except the adjutant. Hope of
promotion is all that can make subal-
terms life endurable, but the staff SER
geant or the first sergeant, honored and
respected by his officers, decorated for
bravery by congress and looked up to by
his comrades, is king among men. The
pay has nothing to do with it. 1 say to
Renwick, Come back as soon as your
wound will let you, and l envy him
the welcome that will be his.
LAS for me, l am even more eager to
get back to you all, but things look very
dubious. The doctors shake their heads
at anything under a month and say I'll
be lucky if eat my Thanksgiving din
ner with you. If trying to get we'll is
going to help, October shall not be done
with before B company will report me
present again.
81 need not tell you, my dear old
friend, how l rejoice with you in your
bum and haw and this is all about
something else," goes ON the colonel in
malignant disregard of the longing
looks in the eyes of three women, all OF
whom are eager to hear the rest of it,
and one of whom wouldn't say so for
worlds. Write to me often. Remem-
Der me warmly to the ladies of your
household. l fear Miss Alice would de-
spise this wild, open prairie country.
There is no goldenrod here, and / 80 Of
ten see her as-hum and hum, and all
that sort of talk Of no interest to any
body" says he, with quizzical look
over his "bows" at the lovely face and
form bending forward with forgetful
eagerness to hear how she so often sees
her" And there is a great bunch OF
goldenrod in her lap now and vivid
blush Oh her cheek. The colonel is wax
ing as frivolous as Fred and quite as
great tease.
And then October comes, and Fred
has gone, and the colonel and his house
hold are back at Siblcy, where the gar
rison is enraptured at seeing them, and
where the women precipitate themselves
upon them in tumultuous welcome. II
Alice cannot quite make up her mind
to return the kisses aud shrinks slightly
from the rapturous embrace of some OF
the younger and more impulsive of the
siStc1hood, if Mrs. Maynard is tride
more distant and stately than was the
case before they went away, the garri-
son does not resent it. The ladies don't
wonder they feel indignant at the way
people behaved and talked, and each
lady is sure that the behavior and the
talk were all somebody else's-not by
any possible chance could it be laid at
the door of the speaker.
And Alice is the reigning belle be-
yond dispute, though there is only sub
ducd gayety at the fort, for the memory
of their losses at the Spirit Wolf is still
fresh in the minds of the regiment.