The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-11-23


She didn't go to dances or dinners.
She could, perhaps. ride and play ten
mis-, but tennis she did not care for.
Riding was unpleasant, because there
were no winding wood roads, no elastic
turf. The mesa was pebbly or sandy
by turns, the canyon narrow, the roads
dusty. Ladies' lunches, very, very
quiet and informal. she consented to at
tent, but she did not care for lunches.
The women presently declared she did
not care for women.
The men. especially Minturn and
Whitaker, had early become devoted
to her. and there could be no doubt of
her powers of fascination. The gunner
and the trooper grew, cold and con-
strained in their manner toward each
other, and Whitaker quit going. as go
he used to day and night, to Haynes or
Merriam's. The colonel's wife, dying
to be hospitable, had urged little,
quiet home dinner. Just yourself,
your friends, the Graftons and Merri-
ans, and, say. Mr.. Minturn." Mrs. Graf
ton assured the kind army woman that
Mrs. McLane would not think of ac-
cepting. Mrs. McLane amazed her host
ess by eventually saying yes.
Since the Tuesday evening of their
call, not once had the Merriams held
conversation with the widow. She
called, as has been seen. and Mrs. Mer-
rio m hod 70 ha avoucad Mro Horr;o,,
used to love tennis, but quit the game
as soon as Mrs. McLane began coming
to the court. Mrs. Merriam. who used
to love to ride with Randy. had discon-
tinued it day or two after that al
legged illness, as though to carry out
the illusion, but by the Thursday she
again appeared in the saddle and gal
loped out upon the mesa by her hus-
bands side. Returning. they met Mrs.
McLane just starting out with her gun
ner friend, and the ice had to be broken.
The stylishly habited widow beamed
on both, begged Floy to let her know
at what hour they would ride next day,
as she adored it of all things, and next
day Floy's horse was reported dead
lame," and she would ride no other.
When Mrs. Colonel's invitation came for
that utterly unlooked-for dinner, the
Merriams were cornered, for Floy,
though looking sallow and heavy-eyed
now,was not really i'll and could urge no
excuse. Garrison dinner "bids" must be
answered as promptly as those in city
life. "We've got to go dear" said Mer-
riam calmly, $50 send our acceptance"
II won't CO." said Floy to herself, as
she penned and signed the little note,
and when Saturday came she was too
ill to leave her bed. Mrs. Hayne came
to minister to and sit with her. The
Freemans were hidden instead, and
Mrs. Freeman could have stamped
her pretty foot in vexation, for neither
she nor her lord thought it the proper
thing for Mrs. McLane to be going to
dinners so early in her widowhood; be-
sides, there were other reasons.
The dinner came off, however, and
was dismal feast with dramatic con-
clusion.
AS has been shown, only twice had
Mrs. McLane had speech with Merriam
during the seven days, and both times
it was in presence of his wife. The
Graftons, Haynes and Freemans were
delighted with him as consequence,
and rejoiced in secret over her. But
| not whit did the widow show disap-
pointment or discontinue. She was
amply entertained, apparently, with
the increasing devotions of Minturn
and Whitaker, and the latter spent
two miserable hours this Saturday
evening in jealous contemplation of his
own outcast lot and Minturn's presum-
able bliss. Yet the colonel could not
have both to dinner, so Mrs. Colonel
was allowed to decide, and her pref
erence was for the artilleryman. The
Graftons went with rather bad grace,
Mrs. Grafton warning her guest that
the whole garrison would be talking
of her Inconsistency, but, as Ned Parry
remarked on previous occasion, Fan
had had her own way ever since she cut
her first tooth, and did not propose to
be ruled now.
almost the last words Mr.. McLane
whispered" said she, Indignantly,
"were to implore me not to waste my
youth in vain lamentation. Life is too
short to be spent in tears were his
very words" and evidently the widow
was here in full sympathy with the
expressed or reported views of the
dear departed. She went. She looked
uncommonly pretty in gown of deep
est, most somber and most expensive
Grape. She sat at the colonel's right,
and made eyes at him all through din
ner, leaving Minturn on her right to
sulk and scowl and seek comfort in the
commandant's champagne. Fanny her
self partook not too sparingly of this
seductive fluid, and was sparkling with
animation and good spirits when, just
before coffee was served-just as the
trumpets were sounding tattoo out on
the moonlit parade, servant came and
whispered to the master of the house.
"Tell him I'm at dinner and can't see
him now"
The servant vanished, then reap
peared, bent and whispered again.
"Tell him I'm at dinner and won't
see him now," said the colonel, not un-
willing to impress on his fair guest the
idea of his professional Importance and
personal force. The servant bent and
whispered again, whereat the colonel
changed color and glanced up uncer-
tainly in the troubled face of the mes
senger. then as uncertainty around the