The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1899-08-17


lightfully, thing he could not DO at
all. Yet he had sweet hours with his
sweetheart and grew even more deeply
in love, so beautiful was she growing.
and went back to Sanders a second time
thinking himself happiest of the happy,
or bound to be, when, in the coming
autumn, he could claim her as his own.
But Waite was troubled. He was to
take the field the 1st of May; his troops
would be in saddle and on scout away
to the west all summer long; his wife
and daughter were to spend those
months at the seashore and in shopping
for the great event to come in Novem-
Der. He had long, earnest talk with
Barclay when once moro the devoted
fellow came to see the lady of his love
on the eve of her departure for the east,
but Barclay looked into her radiant,
uplifted eyes and could not read the
shadow of coming events, of which she
was as ignorant as he.
In May he led his men on the march
to the Big Horn, and in June she led
with Cadet Lieutenant Winn the ger
man at the graduation hop at West
Point. Then Winn was assigned to du-
ty, as was the custom of the day, one of
two or three young graduates chosen as
assistant instructors during the sum-
mer camp. He had an hour to devote to
drill each morning and dozen to de-
vote to the girls, and Laura Waite, with
her lovely face and form, was the talk
Of the brilliant throng of visitors that
summer. She and her mother returned
to the Point as guests of some old
friends there stationed, visit which
was not on the original programme at
all. VIM took the girl riding day aft
er day and to hops week after week.
The shopping for the wedding went on
between times, and VIM even escorted
them to the city and took part in the
shopping. In fine, when November
came, in spite of the furious opposition
Of her father, in spite of his refusal to
attend the ceremony or to countenance
it in any way, VIM, vice Barclay,
honorably discharged, appeared as
groom and bore his bride away to
round of joyous festivities among army
friends in New Orleans and San Anto-
Mo before their final exile to the far
frontier. From that day to this no line
had ever come from the angered and
aging man, even when Laura's baby
girl was born. Funds he sent from time
to time-he knew he'd have to do that,
as he told her mother and she told her
friends-and then, just as more funds
were much needed because of pressing
claims of creditors whose bills had not
been paid from previous remittances,
VIM being much in the field and Lau-
IA becoming disburser general in his
absence, the major suddenly died, leav-
ing a small life insurance for his dis
consulate widow and nothing to speak
of for his children. They had sucked
him dry during his busy life.
The Wins did not invite Mr.. Hodge
to dinner and were not hidden to meet
him. Laura was still in light mourning
for her father, and for days she really
heard very little Of Hodges revelations
regarding her discarded Wyoming lover
It was through the nursegirl, an old
soldiers daughter, that she first began
to CLEAN the chaf Of the stories fitting
from house to house and to hear the
exaggeration Of Hodges romancings
about Captain Barclays wealth, for
that, after all, proved the most wildly
interesting of the travellers tales he
told. Barclay proved to be, said Hodge,
an expert mineralogist and geologist,
and this was of value when a craze for
dabbling in mining stocks swept over
xrbo 80
in garrison, was discovered Through
breach of confidence on the part of the
officiating clergyman, that we'll nigh
led to another breach) to be the princi-
pal subscriber to the mission church be-
ing built in Laramie City. It suddenly
became known that Barclay had bal
ance in the local bank and reserve funds
at the east, whereupon promoters and
prospectors by the dozen called upon
him at the fort and strove to induce
him to take stock in their mines. Nine
out Of ten were sent to the right about,
even those who called his attention to
the fact that Colonel This and Major
That were large shareholders. One or
two ne gave ear to, and later got leave
Of absence and visited their distant
claims. He was out prospecting, said
Hodge, half the time in the fall Of
1868. The ventures of the other officers
seemed to prove prolific sources of as
sessments. The Lord only knows how
much fun and money the mine owners
Of those days got out Of the army. But
they failed to impress the puritanical
captain and by the summer of 1869 they
ceased to do business in his neighbor-
hood, for, before sending good money
after bad, officers had taken to consult
ing Barclay, and many an honest fell
lows boarded savings were spared to
his wife and children all through Bar
clay's calm and patient exposition of the
fallacy Of the 'company's'' claims.
Then, said Hodge, when Charming of
the Twenty seventh was killed by Red
Clouds band back of Laramie peak
and his heartbroken widow and chill
lren were left penniless, somebody
found the money to send them all to
their friends in New England and to
see them safely established there. And
when POrter's x1ifo Woo +olo,, ,, ~