Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-03-02
copyright, ,s94, by ]. B. L,pp,ncott Comm

Close proved, MS was to be expected, q
thorn in the flesh of certain of his ac-
cusers, and stirred up trouble in the
gallant --tcenth. This was matter
| Close didn't much mind. He was grant
ed six months leave on surgeons Ger
tiicate of disability, which meant on
full pay, and he took it very hard that
some means We're not devised to
send him north under orders, so
that he could draw mileage. He and
Lambert went back to Tugaloo together
and packed up, for &c" company was
ordered relieved by another, and Close
was there made the happy recipient
of a pass to Chicago, while the old COM
pany, after seeing their cx-command-
er safely aboard the sleeper, went on
down the road to New Orleans and
took station once more with regimental
headquarters.
Here Mr.. Lambert found means of
getting occasional brief leaves Of alb
sence and of employing his two or three
days in visits to his erstwhile neighbors
of Walton hall, now comfortably domi-
ciled in picturesque but somewhat
dilapidated old cottage close to the
tnmbling waves Of the gulf. It had
been the property Of near relative
before the war, and was reclaimed and
put in partial order for their use, APP
parently, through the efforts of their
old physician and the energies of Mr..
Barton Potts. Here the warm, soft,
salty breezes seemed to bring new lease
of life to the beloved invalid, though
it was plain to one and all she could
never be herself again. Scroggs, her
kinsman son-in-law, was rapidly mend
ing and eagerly casting about for en-
ploymcnt. Floyd, restored to duty WITH
out trial, was serving patiently and
faithfully with his regiment in Texas,
bent evidently on making good his
words. The two events which seemed
to bring general cheer and rejoicing
to the household were those which three
months before would have been prompt
ly derided as absurd and impossible;
one was the weekly letter from a troop
er in the union blue, the other much
rarer visit from Yankee subaltcrn.
whose profession was not to be disguised
because he was in cts" On the oc-
casion of his first appearance in that
garb Miss Walton did him the honor to
say: "Ah never did like you, but All
do think those clothes wuhse than the
others" This was rather hard, be.
cause, as the spring came on, LAMBERT
lot at the barracks was not as pleasant
as 1t might have been, and his com
fort consisted in running over to see
how Madam Walton was doing.
Cram and his battery, with Warning
Pierce, and all, had been ordered away,
and then for the first time Lambert
realized, what his regimcntal comrades
had marked for months, that he pre-.
ferred the companionship of the bat.
terry men to that Of the men who wore
the bugle, the badge of the infantry in
those benighted days. Old Brax con.
cluded he had had enough of garrison
life, and sought long leave. Mai
Minor took command of the regiment
and post, and the adjutant and quarter.
master took command of Mai. Minor
1t had neither been forgiven nor forgot.
ten by these staff officials that Lam.
bert had been equally outspoken in de.
tense of Close and denunciation of his
accusers, and the further fact that he
preferred to spend his leisure hours
with his Undergraduates of the artil
lery rather than his uncongenial breth.
rem Of the, -teenth gave the offended
ones abundant material to work on
Minor was weakling-a bureau officer
during the war days, man who could
muster and disburse, without flaw
but never set a squadron in the field
without "ful1e." Lambert was cap
ital drill-master and tactician, and CO
company, under his instruction, wa:
rapidly overhauling every other in the
regiment, even those of Kinsey ant
Lively, the two real soldiers among the
captains. Minor hated the sight of {
page of tactics, and never even hello
dress parade. Lambert had clear
ringing voice, and Minor couldn't make
himself heard. One morning the or
derby came to Lambert at company drill
with "the majors compliments, ant
please to take company g outside thu
garrison, or make less noise" 1t was
the adjutant's doing, as things turned
; out afterwards, but it angered Lander
against his commander. Then, whe1
May came round and he asked for thre,
days leave, Minor hummed and hawet
and looked at his staff officer and final
ly requested that it be submitted il
writing; and ut" came back with cur
Endorsement to the effect that Lieut.
Lambert would be expected hereafter
to show more interest in matters con
nected with his regimental duties; tn,
application was disapproved.
All this time he had written every rev
weeks to Close, and got very nice let
ter in reply, written by young fel
low who announced himself MS the cap
tain's brother, Wallace. The captain
was getting better-very much bette
} but the eye doctors bill was big one
and he thought the government ough
to pay it. He had bought some land III
there six years before, and, what will
, schools and roads and bridges, the take
were awful. What he wouldn't mine
J doing would be to come back to tn
regiment as quartermaster; but il
these days there was no four-year limi
to staff positions, and the incumbents
both adjutant and quartermaster. pro
posed to hang on as long as possible
and Lambert replied that he feare.
there would be no chance.
And then one day there came tele
gram to the commanding officer of Com
J pany "G" at the barracks with the brie
announcement that a soldier serving il
the Twenty-sixth infantry under tn
name of Roberts had been identified b,