Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-01-21


Capt. Lytton turned on his heel and
walked away.
At the end of the third dance, while
they strolled together up and down
the line, Claiming experimental to see
how far she would go. To his conster-
nation he found that she would stop at
nothing short of blazoning her ihfatu-
alton from the housetops. A scandal
was not what Charming wanted. He
was very gentle with her, but she wept
and said all manner of foolish things,
until Capt. Lytton came upon them and
took her home.
Very soon after this the lieutenant
went on to visit his mother. She was
Virginian, of the conventional poor but
proud order; and she lived on what had
once been the kitchen-garden of the
family estate. Quite as often as not
she was on the point of hunger, when
there was no demand for the needle
work of her quivering old fingers. Her
son did not contribute to her support.
''All of my beggarly pay, and more,
too, goes to keep up appearances. My
regiment is great on esprit de corps.
I'd like awfully well to help you, moth
er, but L must hold up my end of the
row. am Charming" And she loved
him all the better.
While he was with her in the summer
of 's5, through sheer lack of excite
ment he became enamored of certain
Anna Trafford. He asked her to marry
him-ouite the last thing he would have
expected himself to do-and she, being
completely fascinated, consented with
out even a decent amount of hesitation.
It was arranged that in the late fall she
should join Charming at the town near
est his post, and there be married.
In September, the unhappy Mrs. Nor
ton having gone hopelessly away to an
other garrison, the lieutenant rejoined
his regiment. He mentioned the fact
OF his engagement to no one, but pro-
ceeded promptly to lure on another
woman, girl of gorgeous beauty, a hot
blooded brunette, with the eyes of a
Jael, the brow of a Madonna, and a
sensitive, well-made mouth. She was
the only daughter of Col. Ross, mother
less. and betrothed to one Lieut.. Haw-
thorne, who had loved her since they
had been babies making mud-pies to-
gether on the sun-blasted parade-ground
of Camp Thomas. She broke her en-
gagement, and she broke young Haw-
thorne's heart; but her own turn was
to come.
In November, giving way ungracious-
ly enough to Anna Trafford's pleadings,
Charming granted her permission to
Join him at the railroad town. She was
very poor. Generally she was consid-
crate and self-sacrifcing. Now she
clamored, and would not be quieted I'M
til mortgage was raised on the
wretched little house that was all in
the world her mother and crippled sis
ter owned. She bought her ticket
with the money, and ten days after the
receipt of Channing's letter she was at
| the ting-place-a1one-
She spent day and two nights in
the mean little depot hotel, very nearly
out of her mind with loneliness, fright,
and at last an acknowledged distrust.
Then Channing's. mother arrived, and
an officer met them with an ambulance.
Charming was dying of fever, the
mother told her. The doctor had tele-
graphed for her, without her sons
knowledge, the day after the girl had
left the village. Then Anna re-
preached herself for her suspicious
with unreasoning bitterness.
The drive to the post took two days.
It was a horrible experience for the Of
ficer. The road stretched on, on, on,
across desert and bad lands, where
even the greasewood and mesquite was
burned by the terrible sun. The old
woman sank from the dust and the
heat into an almost senseless state.
The girl, being young and strong and
alive, fought with the strangling dust.
gasped. twisted her small hands, and
bit her lips in perfectly silent strug-
gle. Sometimes, as the lieutenant sat
opposite them, he wished that they
could cry or make sound.
The beautiful daughter of Col. Ross
was standing by Channing's bed alone.
when the doctor led the mother and her
Young companion in. The lieutenant had
been dead 20 minutes. The dark-eyed
woman did not turn, she had forgotten
everything in all the world. save only
Channing's face. When the southern
girl dropped down at the bedside and
screamed for her husband, she started.
us the poor thing crazy?" she asked,
duly, of Mrs. Claiming.
NO. But she was not married to
him. Only she was to have been mar
ried at Santa Maria, two or three days
ago; forget when. He sent for her."
THAT can't be true, because am his
wife,
Mrs. Charming caught at the bedpost