Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-03-20
AN ARMY COQUETTE.

1
railroads now, and big garrisons nea
towns, and there are no Indians-as goot
old soldiers understood Indlans-and gam
| bling is in discredit, and colonies whose or
ders are obscured by liquor fumes have de
creased So per cent and there are house
with every improvement instead of wal
tents and adobe huts, and the men hav
as many rights as women IN Wyoming
and the officers have fresh oysters ant
don't pay 81 a bottle for beer, and thei
wives have more interesting subjects t,
consider than each others most sacredly
private Observation-Disclosures there Is NJ
longer war in time of peace. Nevertheless
10, Is, 20 years ago-when all these things
were not-was the good old time before
the service had begun to go to the particu
lar bowwows
This that am going to tell happened
in the good old days. 1t could not very
well happon now, because, as say, things
have changed At the time Betty Man
devillc's father was in command at Apache
and Betty was engaged to be married to
an unusually fine fellow, whose name il
not part of the story. He was Il second
lieutenant, and he was in love, with all the
beautiful disregard of the facts of life that
is characteristic of tho enamored state.
Of course the post knew of the engage
ment before either of the two most inter
ested parties did. That was because this
happened in the good old days. For the
same reason-though it can occur some
times even now-opinions OH the match
flew thick and fast and obscured the sky
OF charity. They said that the second lieu.
tenant was making fool Of himself,
which was the only unkind remark he fell
heir to. But Betty Jared worse. She came
of a bad strain There were things in the
histories of both her parents that every
one knew and no one was supposed to
know. Her father was English and had
been "A jockey. He was the son of a con-
cert hall singer and a man whose only no.
bility was his birth.
Miss Mandeville-who was more Next
can than Spanish--bore good Castilian
name, which covered a multitude of sins.
There were any number of Vaudeville
children younger than Betty, and all I'M
mistakably favoring their swarthy mother.
They were SO dirty that they were dis
grace to the post But Betty was tidy-as
to dress-and was blond-flufflly, curlily
blond with fine skin and innocent blue
eyes and a rosebud mouth. 1t was said
she looked like an English professional
beauty, but there was no one to recognize
the startling likeness to the concert hall
grandmother. She had taste for laces
and hosiery and high heeled slippers that
may have been either a Spanish OF theat-
rioal inheritance. And she was beautiful
beyond question, with beauty that was
only skin deep
After she had promised to marry the
second lieutenant Betty went down to
Lowell to visit her aunt, who was her
mothers sister and was the wife Of Cap
tain Locke. Betty knew that she would
enjoy herself more If the engagement were
kept secret. She could keep it quiet, be-
cause 1t was in the good old days, and
news travelled slowly, and distances were
great.
Mrs Locke was nothing to be proud of,
but Betty, who detested her mother and
all her mothers family, liked her uncle
well enough and got along famously with
him despite his temper. She could herself
understand how life with one of the Fran
quelos might change naturally placid
disposition.
On the second day of her stay her aunt
took her to stay overnight with Sonora
Franquelo in Tucson, which was the be-
ginning.
The Franquelo family was large, and
most Of 1t dwelt In the one house--an
adobe with the external whitewash broken
off In oddly shaped pieces and built as
all adobes were built In the good old days
one story around courtyard There was
nothing in the courtyard but chickens and
and otherwise--for the soil
of Tucson is not fertile Outside, where
the narrow doorway faced upon the street,
hardly less white under the burning sun
than the whitened walls that lined it, a
bird cage Of willow hung against
the house, with red chile stuck between
it's bars. 1t was the first time Betty had
been under the ancestral roof.
Besides her grandmother, who was more
unpleasant than the aunts, there were
many cousins, male and female. OF these,
two-second cousins--were In love. They
were Carlos and Ines. In less than ten
minutes Carlos had deserted black browed
Ines and was languishing at Betty with
his two soft eyes. Ines was openly wretch
3D. Carlos openly infatuated, Betty openly
flirting. But Carlos did not know that.
Betty and her aunt went back to Lowell
the next day, and the same evening Carlos
rode over to the post to see her
There were six officers calling on Miss
SO Carlos sat apart and sulked. |
But he outstaid them all. When they had |
gone, after supper of canned oyster stew |
and tamales, he drew his chair close beside |
the sofa upon which Betty was half reclin-
ing.
"W'y do you like doze oofteecers better |
dan me?" he asked her.
II DON'T" said Betty. "They're a
bore"
"Do you moot truly?"
COT course don't. How could Ip''
Carlos was not accustomed to Betty's
ike, and, as even those who should have
known better had believed her because of
Ter round, blue eyes, he was not to be
,lamsd for his faith. would you raider
;alk to mep"
IA great deal rather.
"But dey hat staid 80 late dot must
,oon CO."
ITS not late. It's only half past IL. It
would be too bad Of you to 60 just when
ne begin to get chance to SETTLE down for
! nice, cozy talk. =
Carlos persisted ooyly, But you wssl
vessh to sleep.
VERY wall" Miss Vaudeville shsasssa !