The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-03-17

know, fancied until the very next day
that I'd left the ring here" And, suit
ing the action to the word, he slipped it
on her finger. "And yet the very next
day, when l was on scout, found-I
found il here" And with that he again
replaced it on his own finger. Lucretia's
face was sight to see. There was an
instant of silence, and then, failing to
note the expression of her face, looking
nto the dim recesses of the past, he
igain wandered off.
"Uf course / might have known
couldn't have left it on your finger
without even seeing-without even see
ing if it would fit-without''- And
| here he lost the thread of his language
entirely, and, cropping for his glasses,
| finding them, distractedly he tried TO fit
their spring on Lucretia's finger. Fen
ton, who had Joined the group of on
lockers, could stand it no longer. Burst
ing into roar of laughter, he came to-
ward them, and, thus interrupted, poor
Wayne dropped both hand and eyeglass,
madly trying to fit his own ring into his
own eye and look through that under
|
what OH earth are You people laugh
ing at?" he inquired.
Laughing at? At your trying to
make spectacle hook of Lucretia's
hand, you inspired old lunatic," was
Fenton s unfeeling answer, and poor Luz
cretia, unable to stand the raillery at
the moment, turned and fled to the dress
ing room, leaving Wayne to confront
his tormentors as best he might.
But while music and laughter reigned
within the wooden walls of the assem-
bly, room and many young hearts were
able to cast aside for the time being the
oppression that had settled upon the
garrison earlier in the evening, and
while in some of the barracks there
were sounds of merrymaking and Christ
mas cheer, there was raging in many q
breast storm as wild as that that
whirled the snowdrifts in binding
clouds all around and about the guard
house, where score of seasoned troop
ers, silent, grim and by no means in
love with their task, were keeping
watch and ward over their little batch
of prisoners, especially Of the covering
wretch who had been slowed away in
the upper room, an utterly friendless
man.
Over across the wind swept parade,
among the rows of wooden barracks,
was one building where no laughter
rang and about which, wary and vigi-
liant, three or four noncommissioned
officers lowered necessarily. Here were
| K,,f foxxy inn
comrades of the Indian troop. Here were
gathered already a dozen of his kindred
from Big Roads transplanted village,
forbidden by the fury of the storm to re-
turn to their tepees up the valley, BAN
ished by the surgeon from the confines
of the hospital, where they would fain
have set up their mournful death song
to the distraction Of the patients and re-
fused by the colonel the creature COM
forts they had promptly and thriftily
demanded, except on condition that they
, consume them in quiet and decorum at
the Indian barracks and deny them
! selves the luxury of their woe. Tomtom
, and howl were stilled, therefore, while
the funeral baked meats went from hand
! to mouth and disappeared with marvel
: Gus rapidity, and indeed but for its ex-
citing effect upon the warriors the colo
mel might as we'll have accorded them
the right to lament after their own
, fashion, since the bowling of the tenn
pests would have drowned all human
wall from within the wooden walls.
| But while they had promised to hold nc
aboriginal ceremony over Crow Knife
, death and meant to keep their word
they had refused to pledge themselves
tn attempt no vengeance on his slayer.
Well they knew that throughout the
garrison nine out of ten of the troopers
, would have cared not sou had some
, one taken Graice from the guardhouse
and strung him up to the old flagstaff
without benefit Of clergy, but this would
, not have satisfied Indian ideas, hang.
ing according to their creed being far
[ too good for him.
{ Two of the best and most trustworthy
{ Indians were placed by Leale, with the
r surgeons consent, as watchers by the
. bier of the soldier scout, but the others,
. to q man, were herded within the bar
, racks and forbidden to attempt to SCI
foot outside. Close at hand in the adj
joining quarters the men of two troops
were held in readiness, under orders not
. to take off their belts, against any sud
. den outbreak, but the few who first had
talked Of lynching or other summary
I vengeance had soon been hushed tc
I silence. What was feared among the
officers was that Graice had been told
by some of the guard that the indiana
were determined to have his scalp, and
that the soldiery so despised him tina,
, he could not rely upon them to defend
him. Sergeant Grafton was confident
/, that Graice hoped in some way, by con
nivance perhaps Of members OF the
guard, to slip out of the building and
take refuge among the outlaws at the
groggery across the stream. Having
killed an Indian he had at least some
/, little claim, according to their theory
to frontiersman s respect.
Returning to the guardhouse, no he