Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-01-29

tents, the papers placed before him,
then slowly left the tent without an
other word. Not until he had buckled
on his pistol belt-he carried no sword
and was about to start with his silent
and yawning squad, did he seem to wake
from his fit of abstraction, and then
only when Lambert appealed to him
for orders.
"Oh, yes. Well, just have an eye on
them mules, will you, lieutenant?
Everything else, almost, is under lock
and key. The quartermaster sergeant
is pretty solid"
"But in case of disturbance, or de-
mands for more detachmcnts, or men
wanting to go away?"
'.There won't be nuthin' now fur a
week. Dos you like about givin' the
men q little liberty. They've Ind
good deal. Everything around here will
be quiet enough and you'll hear what
I'm after-well. when I've got it,
That night, though worn and weary
and downhearted, Lambert could hard
ly sleep. At IL the little detachment
had trudged away into the blackness
of the night, and the tramp Of their
march was swallowed up in the rustic |
of the crisp brown foliagesand the creall
of overhanging branches. The men re-
manning in camp crawled back to their
blankets; the cook fire smoldered away |
only occasionally whirling forth a re-
luctant flight of sparks in response to
some vigorous puff of the restless wind;
the sentry yawned and dawdled about
the wagon und the store tent; even the
mules seemed SO sympathetic with their
recovered associate that no whisper of
a bray came from their pen on the bank
of the stream. Lambert had received
the assurance of his sergeant that the
missing men would surely turn up be-
| fore breakfast on the morrow, and had
| given permission to that harassed and
evidently Disguised official to go TO bed.
Then, after turn around his sleeping
camp, the young fellow went to his
| lonely roost ito think things over"
In the first place, as he lighted his
candle, there was the tin pail which had
rolled out from the Walton hedge row,
and which, on inspection, he had found
to contain about two pounds of fresh
butter, very neatly packed in lettuce
leaves. That proved that the Waltons
still had something of. their old garden
left. Lettuce could surely be raised
| only under glass at this inclement sea-
son. He had hitherto had no time for
close inspection of She contents. Now
as he turned over the leaves he found
little slip of paper on which. in girlish
and somewhat "scratchy" hand, We're
penned the words: "Please send small
currency. It's hard to get change. You
Gun have buttermilk tomorrow nightif
you'll bring pitcher. Due, $50. You
must pay it this time. / must have it"
"Now, who on earth is this young
lady's customer" thought Lambert.
Surely not Close. lie never spends
cent on butter. Nobody elst, lives nearer
than Parmelee's to the north or town
to the south. Can it be that some of the
sergeants have been buying supplies
from this quarter and running up but
ter bill?" Burns had spoken of trouble
between the captain and the, old lady
and of all hands being forbidden to
enter the Walton grounds on any pre-
text whatever. That, of course, did not
prohibit the men from buying what the
Walton servants offered for sale outside
the fence, and if they We're SO straitened
i'll circumstances they might he glad to
find a market for their surplus produce
even among the Yankee invaders, pro-
vided Nine. Walton were kept in ignor-
ance of the traffic. She was uncom-
promising. No intercourse with, no
recognition of, the barbarians, was her
rule to kith and kin, and the few negroes
who still hung about the crumbling old
place repeated her words with the fear
hprn of long-continued discipline under
her roof and rod in the days of thei. en-
forced and unquestioning servitude.
These and other items of information
as to his surroundings the young lieu
tenant had obtained from Sergt. Burns
in the course of their evening watch to-
studying the situation, and was but one
of many new and comparatively mex
= perienced officers thrown upon their
!. own resources at isolated posts among
'the states lately in rebellion" Not yet
!. "a hours on duty with his company, he
had been ordered to proceed with an
armed force to the succor of officers OF
. law supposedly besicged by rebellious
> mob, and now, at midnight, in the heart
of a strange country and far from the
heart of it's people he was commanding
u officer of his company and camp, with.
y out definite instructions of any kind
and only his native common sense TIC
guide him.
Lambert has since told two wome1
t his wife and his mother-how hi.
thoughts wandered back to the peace
full old homestead in the far northland
+ and to the teachings of his boyhoot
days. He made a sturdy fight agains
the feeling of LONELINESS that oppressed
. him. He wished the wind did not blow
e SO sulkily. in such spiteful. vicious
puffs. 1t seemed as though nature hat
e combined with old Lady Walton to Civ
him ungracious welcome to this par
, ticufarly shady side of the sunny south
&c The wind itself was whispering sarcas
u tic and whitening remarks to him, Xix
le those the sergeant repeated as comin
= from Madam Walton. to the defenseles
l. captain; and even Burns sense of sui
N ordination could not down his impuls
y to chuckle over some of them. VIVA
- would Lambert do or say if the prir
= and starchy dame We're to call upo
y him. as she occasionally had on his ST
- perior, driving him at last to the refug
~ Of the nethermost depths of his ten
~ whence, as Burns declared, "the caI
u tain couldn't be induced to come OF
till the old lady was back inside he