Daily camera., 1897-01-26

w %Aila. I'll 49,. " 'itii'ii u
weel: the rou fellow was spending his
cvenings at ta Towers, and within the
month was hopelessly in love. Then
came trouble. Ee hadn't cent in the
world. She was Il soldiers daughter
and presumably poor. Whether she
was poor OF not, he, at least, had moth
ing to offer, and, having nothing, held
his tongue, though he could not hold
his peace That WIS gone.
That was a wretched summer and
autumn. The fire ragged along the gulf.
and cholera swooped upon the garrison
Sweet got his wife and child away to
the mountains. They left suddenly,
while Floyd was on brief visit to his
mother and sisters. 1t was December
when they came back. Meantime Judge
Summers had abandoned practice and
gone to live at his old home at Sand
brook. Mr.. Todd could offer young
Walton no help; there was no money
in law business just then. Matters
at Tugaloo were going from bad. To
worse, ard Walton found himself abso-
lutely without money to pay his board.
That made no difference to Mrs. Tower.
She told him his mothers boy was as
welcome as her own, and made him well
come where fascination all too strong
already held him. Something in Jen
aie Sweets gentle MANNER had changed.
She was nervous, i'll at case, and sought
TO avoid him. Something in her
mothers manner, too, was very differ
ent. And one day the truth came out.
The frequency with which letters be-
gan chasing one another from the north
explained the whole thing. Jenny had
met her fate that fatal summer among
the Virginia mountains, and was en-
gagged to be married Mrs. Sweet re-
ferred to the happy man as "a wealthy
gentleman from Philadelphia. a few
wears older than Genevieve. but most
charming person" Genevieve herself
said little or nothing, but looked none
too radiant. Col. Sweet said less, but
looked much at her
Then FLOYD Walton found another
boarding place, and one where the in
position in the law Office and took an
humble clcrkship at a store. 1t paid
him enough to board and lodge him,
and here. from serving his customers
with drink. he got to serving himself,
and to associatinG with regular set,
some young townsmen, some soldiers.
There were stories of gambling and
ro1 7
that Jenny the apple of his eye, was
dropping in that southern climate, and
sent her, with her mother, north "for
good" The next thing heard of Floyd
Walton was that he had gone to New
Orleans with a discharged soldier; and,
even while grieving over her boys in
frequent letters and evident hopeless
ness and depression, Mrs. Walton re-
ceived a missive one day that left her
PROSTATE. She went alone to Quitman
as soon as able to move, and came back
within 4s hours looking years older,
had parted with the diamond earrings
that were their fathers last gift to her
in the happy, prosperous days that pre-
ceded the war. Floyd had written that,
starving, drunk or drugged, and des-
perate, he had been led by his associate
before a recruiting officer, had been
sent with others as reckless as himself
to sober up at the quarters of o cavalry
command near the city, and that, the
next thing he knew, he with squad of
seven recruits was on his way to Join
troop stationed within a few miles of
his home, instead, as he had been as
sured would be the case, of being sent
to the Fourth cavalry on frontier duty
against the Indians in Texas. "They
broke their contract" he said. "and
broke mine" He had deserted, and, if
captured would be sent to hard labor
ut Baton Rouge penitentiary or to the
Dry Tortugas.
Such stories leak out despite every
effort to conceal them, but not until
lust before Lambert's coming to join
Company did Mrs Walton dream
that Esther knew of her brothers
peril. \ sudden outcry in her garden
one day brought her in haste to the
spot, and there were drunken soldier
and her quadroon maid Elinor-he de-
manding liquor and she the return Of
a pitcher which he had evidently
snatched from her hand Madam Wal
toms stately presence and her imperious
order that he leave the premises at once
only partially sobered him. He gave
her. to understand sthat if she reported
him he could bring shame upon her
head-he knew more about her affairs
than she dreamed. His insolence tried
her temper, but could not alter her tone
and bearing. 1t was not until he was
gone that Esther, trembling and in
tears, came and begged her to lodge no
complaint against the man, as he in
deed knew more than she supposed.
And then, in reply to her mothers de-
mand, Esther brokenly admitted that
she had already heard of Floyds en-
listment and desertion through this
very soldier. He had been at the house
before. What she did not tell her
mother was, that the news first reached