Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-10-20

lieving that the disturber hau been
there before. He had never forgotten
for a moment that extraordinary &C.
currence the night Of the hop-the
shadowy civilian who tossed pebbles up
at her window and then foored him in
the twinkling of an eye when he had
sought to challenge. Furthermore,
Maynard had caught the outlines of the
strangers bulk that night, and those
outlines strongly resembled those of the
man who bent so confidentially over her
as she stood with bowed head, yes, with
apparently attentive ear, down at the
end of the row by old No. l. What
could be the explanation? What but
that some former lover was pursuing her
here and that she, though unable to
welcome him to the garrison, was not
unwilling to meet him, and if she would
meet him stealthily by day away out on
the prairie in some of its swales or de.
pressions, why not by night, when none
could spy upon her actions? What other
explanation could there be? Was not
her beauty enough to lure man from
! the ends of the earth? Would not he
have sought and followed her anywhere,
had she but kept the queendom of his
faith and trust. Love her? He did, Deep
ly, passionately. miserably, for now he
recalled that she had never given him
encouragement; that only for day or
two before his mishap had she shown
shy pleasure at his coming, and all those
days that he used to ride out in search
oh,1 L.
now that he had only been very much
in the way-a nuisance to her and to
her skulking lover? Very bitter were his
thoughts, and, manlike, he included in
his jealous anger not only the girl who
had caused him such poignant suffering,
but that other-the sister who had been
the first to open his eyes to his queen g
unworthiness.
And SO when Grace Maynard came to
him soon after evening gun fire with
some dainty refreshment Mrs. Stannard
had prepared for him he turned away
almost petulantly and with his face to
the wall said he could not bear the sight
of anything to eat And this was the
brother who ever since babyhood had
been her charge to keep, her loyal and
obedient vassal
Signing heavily, she turned away and
would have gone, but he called her
back. Grace" he said, ''there's some
thing I've got to say. I'm getting all
right. l can sit up just as we'll as not,
and there's no reason why tomorrow or
next day shouldn't go to my own room
and why within the week I shouldn't
hurry after the regiment. y
ooh, Ronald" she interrupted, the
doctor says it would be death to you to
try it,.
Well, better that kind of death than
fretting to death here. It's killing me
by inches Grace, and l want to get
away, and-we've staid too long here
at the STANDARDS anyhow. It's awfully
good Of them, but we have no right, no
claim, SO I'm going to move day after
tomorrow to my own den, and-you
ought to be thinking about starting for
home.
Think about starting for home, in
deed? Was she in her sound senses? Was
this her little Ronald telling her she
should be returning to that far Mohawk
village before he was fairly we'll? 1t
was incredible, it was more than that,
it was ungrateful, undutiful. cruel,
heartless. Size had arranged it all Oh
very different lines. The doctor was to
give a certificate. She had studied out
the whole situation-a certificate on
which Ronald was to be granted a
month s leave with permission to apply
for another, and then she would bundle
up her hero baby brother, and by easy
stages she would trundle him home, and
there he would swing in his hammock.
and she and Gertrude would do all the
reading and nursing and petting-she
and Gertrude at first, so as to arouse nc
suspicion and consequent rebellion
then she would gradually slip away for
few moments at a time, then for half
an hHur or so, and more and more leave
them alone together, and Cupid and
proximity would do the rest.
But here he was calmly, positively
telling her that it was his purpose to
move to that other roof, never suggest
ing that she should follow and occupy
Dana's room or Hollis, but with al
most callous Indifference saying it was
time for her to be thinking of the
homeward start because he meant as
soon as possible to take the field. 1t
meant defeat to her hopes and plans It
might leave him still under the influ-
ence of this dangerously lovely New
England girl, whom she was bound to
regard as unworthy his notice. yet could
not really believe guilty, no matter
what Mrs. Turner thought, of anything
graver than indiscretion.
The same cleaning that shrouded
Nathalie and her gentle friend in the
adjoining quarters had stolen in upon
this unprompted conference. The sister
could no longer see her brothers. face.
He lay there vaguely conscious of, yet
never hearing, the rapid beating of her
aching heart. Perhaps in his own dumb
misery the young fellow did not wish
to see or hear the first symptom of
| either pain or remonstrance. The one
thought uppermost in his mind was
that for long, radiant, beautiful days,
for rapturous hours of night thoughts,
Nathalie Baird had lived queen of his