Daily camera., 1897-01-30

6V y Llms.
their friend, saw the erect, soldierly
figure marching off in the moonlight:
saw her ittle sister standing as though
rooted to the spot, nrdru lne ostenta-
tious spirit and swing and rhythm OF
"Buenas noches;;" heard q faint, ques-
tioninS, incredulous, fearful little voice
piping: "Mr. Lambert! Mr.. Lam
bert!" and the woman mad learned in
that instant what the lover would have
given worlds to know.
XVII.
"Lieutcnant, there's no use trying.
We're only twenty. and there must be
two hundred of 'em. They've got that
stage load long before now, escort and
ALL The whole things over with. If
there were any women 'twould be diff
ferent: every man of us would go then
to try to rescue them; but there were
only men. I'm as sorry for Col. Sweet
as you can be; but we can get his body
when the Indians have gone. We can't
afford to lose any more of our people"
The speaker was the captain of
party of Texas frontiersmen-rangers
tbev were afterwards called, when
their organization was more complete,
but these were the days when the Lone
Star state was unlnvaccu by railways
and when to it's very heart-far as the
capital = the savage Kiowas land
Comanches often raided in full force
ravaging the scattered settlements far
and wide Lieut.. Lambert, his duty fin
ished with his testimony in the case OF
the deserter Riggs. had obtainedpermis-
sion to delay his return few days and
taken stage to Lampasas. where Floyd
Walton was stationed with. his troop.
Lambert would not willingly return
without seeing him and delivering in
person the little packages so hurriedly
prepared at the new home. Then. too,
there was no man in the army in whom
the young ofrtcer now felt so deep an in
tcrest Was he not Katesie's brother,
and might not that brother have some
influence over that obdurate heart?
It was not the porter of the hotel who
went for these packages. 1t was Lam
bert himself, hoping, of course, to see
the young lady whom he had so sue
cessfully tormented the evening previ-
Gus: but his scheme had been check
mated in most absurdly unromantic
fashion. The New Orleans evening
paper among its military items con-
tained brief paragraph to the effect
that Lieut.. Lambert was ordered over
to Austin as a witness before a court
martial there in session, but would re-
turn to the barracks in a week or ten
days. and this paper he had been care
less enough to leave on the veranda.
Katesie had gone miserably to her
room, Esther had lit upon the para
graph. and in ten minutes Lamberts
melodramatic scheme was exploded.
Never would he forget the saucy merrl-
ment in ner pretty race when he ap-
peared upon the scene that morning,
hoping and expecting to find her peni-
tent, piteous, and mutely begging to be
forgiven before he went away. He had
come prepared to be grave, sorrowful.
dignified, and then to be disarmed by
her distress. to lead her away under the
Inagnolias to the shaded recesses of the
old southern garden, there to assure
her that she was pardoned, and then
to tell her how she was loved A charm
ing chateau en- Espagne was that which
the boy had builded; sweet sad, bliss
ful, ecstatic parting was 1t all to be as
result of his skillful use Of his "sud-
den orders to Texas" but, like many
another well-laid plan, it went ludi-
crously aglee. She was there on the
veranda, romping with her kitten.
when he came and never made the
slightest reference to his departure.
He alluded gloomily to the fact thatthe
boat would be along in less than an
hour, and she cheerfully responded:
"Yes; All thought All huhd it's whistle
just moment ago." and raced pussy
to the far end of the gallery. He tried
other announcements with no better
success, and was bewildered and de-
.feated and stung by her apparent
heartlessness and Indifference when at
last he had to go, and went away mis-
erably jealous and wretchedly in love,
fairly beaten at his own game.
y So gloomy and unlike himself was
Lambert that the two/or three class
mates who happened to be at Austin
were much surprised, and so absorbed
was he in his own woes and pangs that
not until he reached Lampasas did he
learn that the soldierly-looking man
who rode all the way from the capital
with him was no less person than
. the Brevet Lieut. Col Sweet of whom
he had heard so much at Tugaloo, and
who, promoted to the rank of major,
was now on his way to report for duty
at frontier post. The stage with the
colonel rumbled away on its journey
for supper. Lambert went on out 70
camp, cnly to find that Corporal Wal
tor with four men had gone as escort
to that very stage, as there were ru-
mors that the Comanches and Lipans