The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1899-08-24

away. 1t was much as her husband
said. The Wins had come to the regi
ment after round Of receptions, din
ners and dances in their honor all the
way from Washington to Worth and
had "started with "a splurge, '@as the
chroniclers declared. Laura's gowns
and airs and graces won her no end Of
prominence, but very few friends
Winn's thigh and mighty" ways, SO
they were termed by all the garrison,
in which at that time only two or three
West Pointers could be found, had |
alienated all the subs, most Of the SEN
iors and many of the women. Their ex-
travagance during the first year Of serv-
ice, the explanations and excuses ten
dered by Laura in the next and Har
RVS increasing pcoodiness and distrac-
ton served only to widen the breach.
Men and women both, who began by
envying, turned to openly decrying.
Cutting things were said to Laura,
whose mendacities provoked them.
Sneering or at least suggestive things
were often said in presence Of VIM, if
not exactly to him, for there was one
quality about the swell the garrison
had to respect-his cheerful and entire
readiness to fight on very small provo
cation-and those were the days when
the tenets Of the "code' were not total
ly forgotten, and there still remained
in the army sentiment in favor of the
doctrine Of personal responsibility for
disparaging words. There would be
fewer courts martial today were there
more Of it left.
But when women heard the stories
about the big bill at the suffers and
others that came by mail, and made
little icy comments about some people
being able to afford much more than
they could, Laura laughed off the allu-
sions to their superior style Of living
by stories of an indulgent papa, until
papa's death left her without further
resource from that quarter. Then she
set ahoat fabrication about a doting
aunt Of Harry's who had no children
of her own-an amiable old widow who
was to leave him all her money. He
did have an aunt Of that description,
but she didn't have the money, and
there were men who were malicious
enough to refer in WINS presence to
their wish that they had wealthy IA
thers-in-law or doting dowager aunts
,. thereby giving some other fellow a
chance to say, fAnd so does Fuller, no
doubt
Indeed SO practically friendless were
the Wins that among nine out of ten
families along officers row there was a
; feeling Of lively curiosity to note the
, effect Of this supposedly crushing blow
on the unhappy pair and consequent
) sentiment, only partially yelled in many
cases, Of keen disappointment when the
news flew areund the garrison that Mr.
!! VIM had announced his readiness to
meet the demand in full.
'Why, it can't be true," said many
woman. "I'll believe it when I see
,, the money" said many man. EDO
you suppose-he could have accepted it
from-Captain Barclay?'' asked, in
strictest confidence, Mrs. De Lancy Of
, Laura erstwhi1e infinite, Mrs. Faulk.
! ner.
: "Not Harry VIM, probably" an
> swered Mrs. Faulkner, in confidence
) equally inviolable, "but''- and the
pause that followed was suggestive
u Follansbee and Bellows bolted down tt
i the suffers with the surprising news
wondering if Fuller could have been ass
> enough to advance the money. There
= was time when he would have done
so perhaps, for he was one Of the first
) to be inthralled by young Mrs. WINS
! grace and beauty, and lavished presents
upon her-and upon VIM, of course
u for month, until VIM put a stop tt
>! the presents and Mrs. Fuller came post
haste back from San Antonio and put E
d stop to other manifestations. Bat Fuller
had long since become estranged from
the Winns-the presentation Of his bill
,, at inopportune times having latel
widened the apparent breach. His jaw
fell and his mouth opened wide whe1
j. he heard the news, for Fuller had begun
to believe that he would never get hi!
'C money, and resented it that Uncle San
$ should be luckier.
u "Send up another bill rendered. b,
= Ikey to Mr.. VIM this afternoon" b.
q bade his clerk as the Investigators de
IL parted to follow other clews. Fulle
: had gone down into his pockets unbe
Il known to the post and had actual.
pressed on Lawrence loan of $500 AM
babe him come for more when that wa
gone, but not cent would he put u
for Harry Winn-not he. "The damned
supercilious snob" was what Fulle
now called him, not so much becaus
he thought him snob or superciliou
or even deserving of damnation as be
: cause he had allowed himself to be rob
bed of So, 900 worth Of goods that Nigh
otherwise have been purchased of him
Fuller, for double or treble the money
No; plainly Fuller was not the ange
that had come to the rescue of VIM
nor could Follansbee or Bellows or tn
rest Of the fellows find out who had
The mystery of Gilgal was outdone
Even Frazier and Brooks did not know
and when some one, possibly Mrs. Fra
zier, suggested to the colonel that as th
oHGoor ho ,ool1x- o,,,l,k 1