The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1897-10-21

49, 'lRh III
whelming force of hostile Indians, until
finally relieved by the a%rrivalof n detach.
ment of troops and volunteers success.
fully and CALAMITY led by Lieut.. I. y.
Lambert, -teenth infantry (woundcdJ,
and Sergt. Dolnn, Fourth cavalry.
Sergt. Walton, promoted within the
week, had been granted "a months fur
Tough as q as able to travel. and with
his arm in a sling had hastered home
ward, where within the forty-cight
hours succeeding his arrival he had
time and time again TO tell his story of
that fearful day. They had got With
in five miles of the Caliente before dis.
covering that only n smoldcring ruin
remained of the stage station. Hear
ing from fleeing settlers of the raid,
Col. Sweet had decided to push for
ward at top speed to reinforce the little
party of defenders. The driver hnd
urged the same course. and the two
civilian passengers had NATURAL" de
INJURED. Then. when they found il too
late, they turned and strove TO retrace
the road to Lampasas, were headed OIL
at dawn, but fought n way to WithCr-
ellis old dug-out, the driver and two
soldiers being killed. Col. Sweet ana tie
corporal both shot in the attempt. and
The stage abandoned and burned. And
there in that sitting hole, without wa
ter for the wounded, they had fought
off dash after dash of the Indians. hut
their ammunition was almost gone
and only two men had any fight lert in
them, when they heard the welcoming
crack of the r~escuers' rifles. Even then
the Indians hung about all the long
afternoon and night. and Lambert got
his painful wound in heading a little
squad that ran the gauntlet to u neigh.
boring spring for water for the fevered
wounded. or his own conduct Floyd
had little to say. ("What else did they
expect of n Walton? ?" was his mothers
comment. as bravery so rare an NJ
tribute in the federal army?") but he
could not say enough about young
Lambert. I'VE were fighting for orr
lives. we had to fight" he said; "but
he risked his to fetch us water. say
that young fellows a trump" And he
flashed a significant glance at Katcsic.
''' C''a NJ ~ 1T iIAI'N'ilANN u
manhood, had let that domestic cat out
Of the bag, and then, once started. had
told more. Floyd Walton, under pledge
of secrecy, was held II s~pcll-bound lis.
tener to Cousin Bart the second night
after his arrival, when the rest of the
family had gone TO bed. Bart had
been celebrating his cousins deeds and
rejoicing over his return to the eXtcnt
of tangling his tongue, but Floyd could
not trip him on his facts. IF you
don't believe me. you can ask the doe,
tor-ask Col. Scroggs--or Walton
he'll be hyuh ~to-mawwo," said his in.
Dormant. That's the kind of Yank he
is, by Gawd, sub: an if | thought they
was nav like him you bet I'd recon
struct, too. But the Lawd don't make
too many like MIN, o young Lambert,
either"
And when Floyd finally went to his
room that night after the low
ing visit to his mothers bedside. he sat
long at the open easement, gazing out
on the soft, still beauty of the moonlit
night, his heart touched and thrilled
as it had not been for years, and his
pride BUNDLED. While he, hayward
and forgetful of their needs. had left
mother and sisters to struggle for
themselves. and had lost himself in vain
dreaming of a sweet-faced girl who he
had early enough been warned was not
for him-while he, reckless. selfish.
weak, had abandoned himself to drink
and despair and then to the cold char
ity of the world-it was an alien and an
enemy, an uncouth soldier in the hated
blue, who had stood between the strick-
en- and helpless ones at home and abso-
lutte want and privation. The good
angel who ministered to them in their
distress, even when STIMULATING that
they should never know whence came
the needed aid, and who finally became
the purchaser" of the Gesolate and
ruined place, thereby supplying the
means to make them so content and
comfortable now, was that creature of
strong contrasts, Capt. Close.
Not until long after midnight did
Walton leave his seat by the open case
ment and seek his pillow: but there
was another watcher whose vigil out
lasted his. In the little batch of let
iers brought by Cousin Bart from the
post Office that evening was one which
bore the Austin stamp and was adj
dressed in Lambert's hand. Reading il
hsrriedly, Floyd had changed color
ana thrust it in his pocket, Katesie
watching him with furtive eyes, yet
never trusting herself to a question.
Ii was Esther who eagerly demanded
news of their absent friend. "Oh, yes,
he's getting better" Floyd admitted,
but then faltered. When was he COM
ing" oh, Lambert didn't say. The
doctors probably wouldn't let him
travel just yet. The letter was main
ly about--other matters-about Col.
Sweet, who didn't seem 10 be doing
ms well as they could wish. His wife
was on the way to join him. Didn't
Lambert send any word or message?
No. He probably wrote in IA hurry.
And that night Miss Katesie sat with
her dimpled chin buried in her pref
~ round arms, gazing long out upon
the flashing waters, a sad, silent and
troubled girl. There was some
thing in that letter that concerned her;
and how diagreeable she had been to
Lambert! and she just knew il. and
Floyd was mean and wouldn't tell her!
least this was the burden of her
song when at two O'Clock in the morn.
ing she threw herself sobbinp into