The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1897-10-15
XVI.

The honorable acquittal of Capt.
Close proved, as was to be expected, q
thorn in the flesh of certain of his &C
cusers, and stirred up trouble in the
gallant -teenth. This was a matter
Close didn't much mind. He was grant
ed six months leave on surgeons GER
tificate of disability, which meant on
full pay, and he took it very hard that
some means were not devised to
send him north under orders, so
that he could draw mileage. He and
Lambert went back to Tugaloo together
and packed up, for &c" company was
ordered relieved by another. and Close
was there made the happy recipient
of a pass to Chicago. while the old COM
pany, after seeing their ex-command-
er safely aboard the sleeper, went on
down the road to New Orleans and
took station once more with regimental
headquarters.
Here Mr.. Lambert found means of
getting occasional brief leaves of alb
sence and of employing his two or three
days in visits to his erstwhile neighbors
of Walton hall, now comfortably domi
ciled in a picturesque but somewhat
dilapidated old cottage close to the
tumbling waves of the gulf. 1t had
been the property of a near relative
before the war. and was reclaimed and
put in partial order for their use, APP
parently, through the efforts of their
old physician and the energies of Mr..
Barton Potts. Here the warm, soft.
salty breezes seemed to bring new lease
of life to the beloved invalid, though
it was plain to one and all she could
never be herself again. Scroggs, her
kiDsman son-in-law, was rapidly mend
ing and eagerly casting about for en-
ployment. Floyd, restored to duty with
out trial, was serving patiently and
faithfully with his regiment in Texas,
bent evidently on making good his
words. The two events which seemed
to bring general cheer and rejoicing
to the household were those which three
months before would have been prompt
~ derided as absurd and impossible;
one was the weekly letter from troop
er in the union blue. the other much
rarer visit from a Yankee subaltcrn.
whose profession was not to be disguised
casion of his first appearance in that
garb Miss Walton did him the honor to
say: "Ah never did like you, but All
do think those clothes wuhse than the
others" This was rather hard. be-
cause. as the spring came on. Lambert's
lot at the barracks was not as pleasant
as it might have been, and his COM
fort consisted in running over to see
how Madam Walton was doing.
Cram and his battery. with Waring,
Pierce. and all, had been ordered away.
and then for the first time Lambert
realized, what his regimental comrades
had marked for months, that he pre-
ferred the ompanionship of the bat
terry men to that of the men who wore
the bugle. the badge of the infantry in
those benighted days. Old BraX con-
cluded he had had enough of garrison
life, and sought a long leave. Maj.
Minor took command of the regiment
and post, and the adjutant and quarter
master took command of Maj. Minor.
1t had neither been forgiven nor forgot
ten by these staff officials that Lam
bert had been equally outspoken in de-
Tense of Close and denuncia ton of his
accusers, and the further fact that h"
preferred to spend his leisure hours
with his Undergraduates of the artil-
lery rather than his uncongenial breth-
rem of the -teenth gave the offended
ones abundant material to work on.
Minor was a weakling-a bureau officer
during the war days, a man who could
muster and disburse without a flaw.
but never set a squadron in the field
without "fluke." Lambert was u cap
ital drill-master and tactician, and "G"
company, under his instruction, was
rapidly overhauling every other in the
regiment, even those of Kinsey and
Lively, the two real soldiers among the
captains. Minor hated the sight of
page of tactics, and never even held
dress parade. Lambert had a clear,
ringing voice, and Minor couldn't make
himself heard. One morning the or
derly came to Lambert at company drill
with ''the majors compliments, and
please to take company C. outside the
garrison, or make less noise" 1t was
the adjutant's doing, as things turned
out afterwards, but it angered Lambert
against the commander.
(ro BE Continued