St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-16
AN ARMY COQUETTE.
HY GwENDoLEN ovERToS.

Cs
rose tea years ago shone on good
old day. There are railroads now, and
big garrisons near towns, and there are
no Indians (tss good old soldiers, uu-
derstood Indians), and gambling is in
discredits and calonels whose orders
are obscured by liquor fumes have de-
creased 9S per cent, and there are
houses with every improvement in
stead of wall-tents and adobe huts.
and tho mem have as many rights as
women in Wyoming, and the officers
have fresh oysters and don't pay dol
lar bottle for beer, and their wives
have more interesting subjects tocon-
eidea. than each others most saerediy
private Observation-Disclosures THERE is
no longer war in time of peace. Never
theless, 10, Is, 20 years ago-when all
these things were not--was the good
old time before the service had begun,
to go to the particular bow-wows.
This that ann going totellhappened
in the good old days. 1t could not very
web happen now, because, as I say,
things have changed. Atthe time Bet
fy Mandeville'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.
lie was u second lieutenant and he was
in love, with all the beautiful disregard
of the facts of life that is characteristic
of the cnamored state.
Of course the post knew ofsthe en-
gageme1t before either of the two
most Interested parties did. This was
because this happened in the good old
days. For the same reason-though it
can occur sometimes even now-opin-
ions on the match few thick and fast
and obscured the sky of charity. They
said that the second lieutenant was
making a fool of himself, which was
the only nnlSind remark he fell heir to.
But Betty Jared worse. She came of
q bad strain. There were things in the ]
histories of both her parents that every
one knew and no one was supposed TO
know. ITersfather was English and had
been a jockey. He was the son of a
ooncert-hall singer and a. man whose
only nobility was his biEths zssssassssgzs5ss
Miss Mandeville, who was more
Mexican than spauish-bore. d good |
Castilian name which covered multi |
tude of sins.
There were any number of Atande. |
vile children younger than Betty, and I
all unmistakably favoring their
swartly mother. They were so dirty |
that they were Il disgrace to the post.
Bit Betty was tidy-as to dress land |
was Blonde; fluffy, curIi1y blonde,
with a fine skin and innocent blue eyes
and a rosebud mouth. 1t was said she |
looked like an English professional
beauty; but there was no one to reeog-
niac the startling likeness to- tho con-
eertfaali grandmother. She had a taste
for QIces, and hosiery, and high-heeled
slippers, that may have been either a
Spanish or theatrical inheritance. And
she was beautiful beyond a question.
with a beauty that was only skin
deep.
After she had promised to marry The
second iientenant Betty went down to
Lowell 70 visit her aunt, who was her
mother's' sister and was the wife of |
Capt. Locke. Betty knew that she |
would enjoy herself moreif the engage
,nent were kept a. secret. She could i
keep it quiet, Because it was in the |
good old days and news travelled slowly |
and distances were great.
On the second day. of her stay heI !
aunt took her to stay over night with |
scnor Franquelo ia T'ueson. Which
was the beginning. "a "a. k
The gFranqueio family was large, and
most OF; itadselt in I hegones heuse--an
adobe with the external .whitewash
broken of. i1l odd yss1laped pieces, anfl |
built as all adobes we're built in tie
good old daSssr7ope story around a
courtyard. There was nothing in the
courtyard but chickens and ollas- +
broken and otherwise-for the soil of
Iucsonis mot fertile, II Outside, where
the marrow doorway faced upon the.
street, hardly Jess white under theit
burning sun than the wbitened wallis
fhat lined it, a moekingrbird cage OF
willow. hung against the house, with
red chile stuck between it's bars. It
was the first time Betty had been under
Il
Besides her grandmother, who was
more UNPLEASANT than the aunts, there
were many cousins, male and female.
OF these, two---second cousins-were in
love. They were Carlos and Ines. In
less than ten minutes Carlos had de-
serted Black browed Ines and was Ian
gushing at Betty with histwo soft eyes.
Ines was openly wretched, Carlos OPEN
ly infatuated, Betty openly flirting.
But Carlos did not know that.
Betty and her aunts went back to-
Lowell the next day, and the same even
Ing Carlos rode over to the post to see
her. *tt@l 4
There were six officers calling on
Miss Vaudeville, so Carlos sat apart
and sulked; but he outstayed them all.
When they had gone, after a supper of |
canned oyster stew and tamales, he
drew his chair close beside the sofa up
on which Betty was half reclining. I
'Wy do you like doze ooffeecers bet
ter dan me?" he asked her.
II DON'T" said Betty; They're "a
bore" 8,
DO you moot, truly ?"
''Of course 4 dop't; how couldiIe"
Carlos was not accustomed to Retty's
like, and, as even those who should have
known better, had believed her, because
Of her round, blue eyes, be was not to
be blamed for his faith Would you
raider talk to ne2" IA A