Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-04-20

no man answering his description had
boarded the transcontinental trains far
or near. Butte was ii big, Struggling
frontier town, il!imitable in its future
possibilities. SAID the promoters, and
equally illimitable in present devices
tor concenling stolen property or steal
inu practitioners. Butte had a large
floating population and small sinking
fund, the latter devoted to rewards Tor
capture of maletactors and Conway had
widespread reputation for sleepiosS
vigilance and luckless ventures He
made many arrests, and nearly as many
errors III the eyes Of the law, since con
ViCtlQns Gara rev and far between. He
bad glOricd in his seven deSperadOGs
just about ~ hOurs. Then as man after
man looked them over and said he
couldn't testify against them, as they
proved to be perfect strangers, Con-
ways face grew lined and anxious. 1t
began to look as though failure were
again about to stamp him, when some
one suggested that Pat llcaly at tho
post could tell him all he wanted to
I
that the sooner he got every man even
remotely connected with the robbery
the better would it be FOR his chance Of
.e-electiOn Then he came to Ransom
trcbly armed. but his very first victim
proved far too clever, adroit and dan.
gcruus. The knife was driven furiously
and it was Gods mercy the sheriff was
not killed outright,
And then Miss Leroy, the Mainwar-
ings' guest, had developed an odd fad
for an eastern girl, \ more independent
young woman had never been seen at
Ransom. She was always unlike other
girls, said Mrs. Mainwaring She bad
always visited the poor and needy at
home, had headed all manner Of chart
table schemes rs q young girl and had a
| mania for reading aloud to the sick.
| Few Of the ladies of the til, deeply
inbuod though some of them We're with
religious faith. had ever thought it
their duty to visit the patients in the
big post hospital. The surgeon and the
steward did all that. The young assist
ant surgeon was Il bachelor and suscep-
tible. Miss Leroy's plea to be allowed
to visit the hospital was eagerly grant
ed, and he himself was there to escort
her.
One of the first patients to interest
her was Sheriff Conway. to whom she
was now reading aloud an hour every
morning, Mild raillery had no effect
upon her. EXpostulation was not resort
cd /, hat
with all her slender, dainty physique,
Miss Leroy had vigorous, if placid,
Will of her own. The post surgeon had
said there was no harm whatever, in
fact it was n blessing to more patients
than one therefore by all means let
Miss Leroy keep it up. Thereafter there
was no one to say her nay. secretly
Mrs Mainwaring had hoped the colonel
and her husband would express disap
prOval, but, with the perversity Of THEN
sex, they persisted in saying to Miss
Leroy that she was an angel of goodness
and it was wonder that other women
had not done likewise long before. BY
the time she had been three weeks al
Ransom Kate Leroy was better known
tera OF the married soldiers whose little
ones were ailing and i'll the wards OF
the big hospital than all but two Of
three Of the ladies Of the regiment. l,
was new departure mt the post.
Day after day, them was she to be
seen, each morning abOut 10 o'clock
on her way to hor patients, and witt
them she would stay until orderly cal
sounded at noon. There were four mel
in hospital when she began; there wer,
seven men 1T the end of the week. ant
the doctor said she was making it too
attractive place after all.
"NcXt thing" said wilkins "shol
be after boatifying the gyardhouse. "
Mrs MainwArng found that telling
her niece what people said about thi
fad of hers had no effect whatever. -
she went bit further and told he
things people really had not said, bu
might ray. This, too, fell harmless
Afternoons and evenings Miss Lero,
was ready to devote to social duties anC
Mrs Mainwarlng, but tho morning
readings to the men i'll the cohvalesoen
ward went on without interruption O