The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-02-01
Der by theis faces. Miss Hampden
dropped her head In her hands and

| urOpP6O uer neaO IN ner nanuB ana
laughed with the rest.
Between the acts Ardsley made In.
quiries and learned the truth. He was
bitten with a desire to obtain the unat-
tainable, and he was not one to daily.
He went behind the scenes.
Whom are you going home with,
Miss Hampden?i' he asked.
II fearp one will take me after the
lig6s> Mr. Graves has put me in."
MAY l do so?p
She nodded, and Ardsley went back
to his seat. ,5
80 you have refused the entire
army?'' he asked as they walked home.
mot quite"
"The entire Department. y,
"Well, fair percentage Of it," she
admitted.
care you going to refuse me?'
II can't say until you are offered"
II offer myself now.''
"And accept you now"
"Good enough. Will you announce
our engagement tonight at supper"
SAT the risk Of being adjudged IN.
sane-yes.
Put on this ring until can get you
another. Your hands are not small. 1t
will fit your middle finger. Now am
in earnest"
$50 am ]" she said.
They were very much in earnest, the
event proved, and the garrison derived
unmixed pleasure from the total, un-
conditional, obvious surrender of Miss
Hampden. She was as open in her in
fatuation as she had always been in ev-
erything else. And Ardsley was equally
infatuated, He took back the class ring
and gave her diamond which cost him
three months pay. They were altogeth-
er happy. So, just fortnight before
the day arranged for their wedding, the
gods demanded the first payment on
their loan.
Afdsley was ordered of on a scout
Miss Hampden was the sort of girl
who might have been expected to take
this reasonably. But she did not. She
olung to Ardsley and cried like any lit
uA0 6AAt u1lu ulA hoU uChdto Ill Uu0 ltdsU
like woman who had seen countless
scouts. And she let him go to the wars
remembering her standing with her arm
against the wall and her head upon her
arm, sebbing as If her heart were utter
ly broken. He himself was moved and
stern. Loring would have liked to re-
mind her that hearts which were really
wrung did not show their pain. He had
not yet recovered.
Ardsley did not come back from the
scout. He was in a fight on what should
have been his wedding day. Others were
killed and their bodies were recovered
and buried, but Ardsley's body was new
er found There was tale that fire
had been seen on the battlefield the
night after the encounter, and in the
midst Of the fire tree with form
which might have been that Of a man
against it. There were Indians grouped
around it. Miss Hampden never heard
the story. She never even guessed at
what had happened until 20 years after
ward.
She was the superb and spiritless wife
Of mighty general, and she was &C.
campaigning her husband OH tour of
inspection in the west They were at an
agency one day and were visiting the
tepees. 1t was the agency of the Indians
that young Ardsley had fought two
decades before, and the generals wife
was nerving herself not to show that
she remembered this.
The general was examining the trim
kets that hung ON a string around the
neck of half blind squaw.
Here is West Point class ringp'
he exclaimed.
His wife repeated her words of 20 |
years past.
MAY see it?" she asked coolly.
She took it In her hands and turned
it about She could make out the de-
sign, though Ii seemed to have passed
through some heat that had melted it.
There was 10 doubt in her mind. New
ertheless she looked inside. The heat
had not affected it there, and the mi
tials were quite plain even yet.
I'D. A." she said. at was David
Ardsley's ring. The fire did not touch
the letters. understand now why they
never could tell me which was his
grave"
The general broke the string and
picked up the class ring from among the
scattered baubles. The squaw was chat
tering and whining and clawing around
On the earth. The general held the ring
out to his wife. She raised the dark
ayes that had been so bright and happy
the last time it had been held out to
ler.
"Can I have it?" che asked.
The general put it in her hand, and
he hand closed over it.
THANK you" she said.-Gwendolsn
1vprton in San Fran nj sno Aroopauf