The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-02-05
AN ARMY COQUETTE.

a hoarp Wnoso lOF0 Ii luuOc60b.
Byron.
AN ARMY C0QUETTE.
| In civil life the good old days were at
time not nearer than 80 years apast, but
In the service sun that rose ten years
ago shone on a good old day. There ary
railroads now, and big garrisons neai
towns, and there are no Indians-as good
old soldiers understood Indians--and gam.
bling Is in discredit, and colonies whose or.
ders are obscured by liquor fumes have de-
creased oS per cent and there are houses
with every Improvement instead of wall
tents and adobe huts, and the men have
as many rights as women In Wyoming,
and the officers have fresh oysters and
don't pay 81 a bottle for beer, and their
wives have more interesting subjects to
consider than each others most sacredly
private business-wherefore there Is no
longer war In time Of peace Nevertheless,
~, 10, 20 years ago-when all these things
were not-was the good old time before
the service had begun to 60 to Che partlcu.
lar bowwows.
This that I am going to tell happened
In the good old days. 1t could not very
| well happen now, because, as say, things
| have changed. At the time Betty Man.
deYille's father was In command at Apache
and Betty was engaged to be married to
an unusually fine fellow, whose name Is
not part Of the story. He was second
lieutenant, and he was IN love, with all tho
beautiful disregard Of the facts Of life that
is characteristic Of tho enamored state.
OF course the post knew Of the engage.
Inent before either Of the two most inter.
asted parties did. That was because this
happened in the good old days. For the
same rsasOn-though 10 can occur some.
times even now--opiniOns on the match
+ hew 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 camo
OF 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 Jockey. He was the son of con.
cert hall singer and a man whose only no. |
bility was his BIRTH
Miss MandeVille-who was more Mexi. |
can than Spanish-bore good Castilan |
naine which covered a multitude of sins
There were any number of Vaudeville
children younger than Betty, and all I'M
mistakenly fayoring their swarthy mother.
They were 80 dirty that they were dis
graoe to the post. But Betty was tidy--as
to dress-and was blond--1uffily, curlily
blond, with fine akin and innocent blue
eyes and 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 heelod slippers that
may have been either a Spanish or theat.
rical Inheritance And she was beautfui
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 II tho 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.
MIS- Locke was nothing to be proud Of,
but Betty, who detested her mother and
all her mothers family liked her uncle
we'll 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 dayof- her stay her aunt
took her to stay overnight with Sonora
Franquelo in Tucson, which was the be-
ginning.
The Franquelo family was largo, and
most Of it dwelt in the one house--an
'dobe with the external whitewash broken
III In oddly shaped pieces and built as
I'll adobes were built In the good old days
me story around courtyard There was
Nothing In the courtyard but chickens and
and otherwise-fer the soil
II Tucson Is not fertile. Outside, where ;
he narrow doorway faced upon the street, | 6
lardly less white under the burning sun 8
han the whitensd walls that lined it,
hooking bird cage of willow hung against {
he house, with u rcd chile stuck between
b bars. 1t was the first time Betty had a
ean under the ancestral roof b
Besides her grandmother, who was more Il
npleasant than the aunts, there were @
many cousins male and female. OF these, h
Wo-second cousins-were In love. They D
'ere Carlos and Ines. In less than ten
,inutes Carlos had deserted black browed
nes and was languishing at Betty with I;
Is two soft eyes. Ines was openly wretch m
!, Carlos openly infatuated, Betty openly 81
irting. BIT Carlos did not know that q,
Betty and her aunt went back to Lowell h
10 next day, and the same evening Carlos
'ie over to the post to SEQ her
There were six officers calling on Miss
andeyille so Carlos sat apart and sulked.
ut he outstaid them ALL When they had W
me, after supper OF canned oyster stew "
I'd tamales, he drew his chair close beside Vi
70 sofa upon which Betty was half reclin- "
"W'y do you like doze ooffeecers better OIL
N meS' no asked her.
II DON'T" said Betty. "They're a AZ
re-" en-
81 Do you moot truly9" ca
"Of course don't. How could IP'' rt
Carlos was not accustomed to Betty's "a
10, and, az even those who should have W.
own better had believed her because Of ie e
I round, blue eyes, he was not to be Oil
lmed for bis faith. "Would you raider
k to mes"
: great deal rather +.
: But dey hat stajd 80 late dat must rec
III CO." czs
It's not late. It's only half past 10. 1t spl
uld be too bad of you to go just when the
begin to get chance to settle down for mo
ice, cozy talk Th
CARLOS persisted coyly, "But you weel, viii
Dsh to sleep" nea
Very well" Miss Vaudeville shrugged the