Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-02-09

| ollnk OF glasses and murmur OF voices,
sometimes accumulated BY laughter,
came drifting on the night from the
open clubroom. Beyond the guard tents
the dim walls of the corral doomed
darkly against the dry, cloudless, star
dotted sky that bordered the eastern
horizon.
The sentry, slowly pacing his beaten
path along the aoequia that conducted
the cool waters Of the Yavapai from the
northward hills to the troughs in the
corral, moved noiseless, dim and ghost
~. and Loring, listening for moment
to the faint sounds Of revelry at the,
shack. turned away to the north. passed
the rude shelters which had been built
| BY the labor of troops for the accommo-
dation Of the officers and the few fam
lilies there abiding and found himself
presently on the open plain full 100
yards out from the buildings and be-
yond the post Of the sentry on that
flank. who. far over at the west end of
his long beat, at the moment was dream
ing of the revels he'd have when his
discharge came, and neither heard nor
saw the solitary officer whose one desire
was to get away by himself to soma
point where he could calmly think He
needed to be alone. Even Blake, whom
he had grown to like and whom he be-
lieved to be still at the camp, would
have been in the way.
| A strange fellow was Loring, man
grown, so far as Judgment and expe-
| yph OF th,
of 90 he entered West Point, and from
| the very start became one of the leaders
of his class in scholarship and later one
of the prominent officers Of the battalion
of cadets In scientific and mathemat-
ical studies indeed he had no superior
among his comrades, but languages and
drawing. as taught in those days at the
academy, threw him out of the head Of
! the class. but could not prevent his
landing close second to the leader in
general standing.
Never popular man in the corps he
| commanded nevertheless the respect and
esteem of the entire battalion, and lit
tie by little won deeper regard from
his immediate associates. He was a
man of marked gravity Of demeanor
He rarely laughed. His smile was only
trif1e more frequent. He was tacitur-
nifty personified and for two years at
| least was held to be morose. OF his an
tecedents little was known. for he never
| spoke Of them and seldom of himself
He was methodical in the last degree
exercising just SO long in the gymnasium
every morning during the barrack days
and putting Oh the gloves for l5 min
utes every evening with the best middle
weight in the corps
There were times in his early cadet
days when he was suspected of having
an ugly temper, and perhaps with rea-
son. Exasperated at some prank played
at his expense by little "yearling''
toward the close of his first - the
"plebe "-encampment, Loring actual.
ly kicked the offender out Of his tent
The boy was no match for the older,
heavier man. but few at him like
wildcat then and there, and Loring sud
denly found himself in fierce and
spirited battle. The little fellow had
pluck, science and training, and Lor.
ing's eyes and nose were objects to be-
hold in less than minute For that
moment. shame stricken. he fought ON
! the defensive. then stung by the taunts
OF the swift gathering third class men
he rushed like bull and two heavy
blows sent the yearling to grass. and
that fight was ended But challenges
rained on him from "meh Of his size
and weight. and the very next evening
he went out to Fort Clinton with one of
the champions of the upper class. and
In 10 minutes was carried away to hos
pital. total wreck 1t was ten days
before he was reported fit for duty
Then camp was over and barrack life
began Not word would he or did he
say about his severe defeat, but system
atlcally he went to work to master the
noble art of self defense. and two years
from that time the corps was treated to
sensation Loring. back from cadet
furlough. had been made first sergeant
OF Company d, in which as a private
and first class man was the very cadet
who had SO soundly thrashed him Lor
ing proved strict. Certain FIRST class
privates" undertook to rebel against his
authority. his former antagonists being
the ringleader Matters came to crisis
when Loring entered the names of three
OF the seniors on the delinquency book
for "slow taking place in ranks at for
nation for dinner.
1t was declared an affront His old
antagonist demanded satisfaction in the
name of the aggrieved ones. and that
fight was the talk OF the corps for six
months Locing named the old battle
ground at Fort Clinton as the place
and III ten minutes utterly reversed the
issue u: his "plebe" effort, and the first
class man w,st the worst whipped victim
seen III years, for he fought until tairIy
knocked senseless. That was Loring's
last affair of the kind He went about
his duties next day as seriously and
methodically as ever, without the faint.
est show of triumph, and when the
vanquished cadet finally returned from
hospital treated him with scrupulous
courtesy that before the winter wore
away warmed even to kindness, and
when the springtime came the two
were cordial friends.
The summer Of his graduation y,or;p,