The St. Johns herald., 1898-03-19

1 ::; 5:sss ;:s.:, :;5 ]; ;;$';;:':; ';: ;;. | listed men are having a better time
 than the captains used to. For G troop | 1as seer some of the hardest service
 known to the regular army. It has
 served all the way from the fiery plains
 of Arizona to te moisture and frost of l Washington. It has gone to more old ! forts and there builded new ones than my other organiZa ton that ever rode 1 lorses. But it has been well command 1 d from the far away time when R. r. Bernard was captain and Happy
 lack" Kyle was second lieutenant-not
 to mention MT. Winters, who was first | lieutenant-down to the present, when gentlemen as modest and a whole lot
 better accoutered take care of the for tunes of company G."
 All that has nothing to do with the
 romance. The man in the case was call | ed Big Smith," The first name be- | longed to him of rights, for he was just as tall and just as heavy as the maxi
 mum cavalry limit would allow, and he
 called himself Smith because that nev-
 er had been his name.
 Big Smith was from Dallas, and he
 was about as good type of the genu- he Texan as a man would find in a
 months travel. He was handsome af- ter virile and un-Bostonese way, and his voice was of that deep and mellow quality which suits itself to nonsense songs for the pleasing of women. He knew enough to get along with the in tellectual and was able to buy enough to get along with the other kind. He
 was, at his home, an altogether accept able fellow.
 Her name is another matter. Besides,
 1t is another name now, anyway. And
 there is no use bringing her into the
 romance of G troop any further than
 she Is willing to come. It seems there
 was some sort of understanding, fol- lowed by a misunderstanding, between them, and Big Smith shook the dust of Dallas from his shoes, went down to Galveston and enlisted in the regular army. He must have regretted their quarrel a good deal, for the regular army in 1871 was composed in large part of about the hardest lot of men that have got together for military pur- poses since Mir. Falstaff joined the forces of Henry ". Once in, however, there was nothing for it but to stick, and Big Smith addressed himself to the task of waiting.
 He made good soldier and was pro- noted. As a corporal and later as a sergeant the only complaint against him was made by the tailor. It took too much buff flannel to make his chev- rous. But he was very good fellow, given to drink pay day, as became frontier warrior; given to fighting occa- Sionally, when that seemed the proper escape valve for abundant energy. However, he never failed in the one es- sential. He did his duty. He could always be relied upon. His fort was Yuma, in the hottest oven of Arizona, where the Colorow Apaches frequently made the camp still hotter.
 Sunday inspection was the same there as everywhere. After the roll call and scrutiny on the parade ground the men repaired to their sQuadrooms, and each one stood at the foot of his bunk while the officers walked through, glanced about for signs of careleSSneSs and cor rected or commended, as the case might require, and then walked out again.
 Often citizens visited the officers at Fort Yuma, and the privilege of attend ing in the SQuadroom inspection was prized. The soldiers were so interest ing.
 That Sunday an unusual number of women were on the balconies in otti- cers' row while the routine went for ward on the parade ground, and there was general offer of an even bet that some of them would "come down the line with the captain"
 And some of them did. They were very interested. The soldiers stood there so absolutely oblivious of any presence, so erect and formally mill tary, so painfully clean, with their hunks behind them rolled up and the folded blankets ranged on top; the little personal vanities of each man on the wall at the head of his bunk, anl his "kit'' box open at his feet.
 Big Smith had a number of books that were not often lent. One was a collection of verses with Dallas book sellers card for mark. The other was a very stilted and tedious account of the wanderings of queerly fortunate person with habit of alluding to him. self as a much enduring man." No one but Big Smith had ever looked very deeply into either.
 The first sergeant came down through the suuadrooms at the head of the group of officers and women, his brass and braid as fine as skill could make them. his saber clanking in a very om- inous way.
 "'Tentionw he called, as he appeared at the door of Big Smiths squadrOom. And every soldier added little starch to the general stiffness of his bearing.
 The officers did their customary quick sweep of the room and its details, but the women, unused to such things, tar ried a little longer.
 "Why. there are booksr' said one of the visitors. Big Smith, looking straight ahead, as soldier standing at attention should, heard the voice, and the red blood ran down and his face hon