The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-07

the quartette be decorated.
| the foothills across the creek. Greville
n"iIeu the TOP OF big red pastebOard box
~ the trunk OF a tree, and Miss MfVare
NIT 1t once out of sixteen tInes-vyben she
was aiming at the head of a prairie dos,
| at least twenty feet away to the right
Inc other fifteen shots were scattered
among the foothills
1hen her shoulder hurt her 40 that sba
was ready to cry. Greyille wouId have
| Lked TO have her cry upon his own shout
uer' put as she didn't he did some fancy
| shooting to distract her He fOund n
H'uShroom-can. and threw II into the air
| ana MED 1t full of holes She had seen
f'urron do the same thing that morning
| with tomato tin. In fact. from, where
she sat now, on O Iichen-covorel roclr
she could see the mutilated can glitterine,
III the sum- over beyond the arroyo 40
she thirsted for fresher sensations.
II tell you, she said to Greviile, as
| ne heid Up the mushroom can for her to
| inspect the eight holes he had 1nada with
! five shots. ''let me toss lIp your lat ana
\ you make a hole through the trade mark
| In the crown"
1t was a nice, new straw hat GrevilIe
| had sent East for 1t and It had come by
stage the day before. 1t had cost him.
| express paid Ss.75. This. too. at a time
|
| MS mess and suffers and tailors bills.
| went into stick-plns Rnd candy and books
| ana music and riding whips for RIls1
| NiiNart But he took OFF the hat and gave
| 1t to her without even a lingering glance
| at that high-priced trade mark within.
| And he felt that 1t was worth four times
| -FOUR dollars and seVenty-fiVe cents when
I she picked up the tattered remains. at
| last, and asked IL she might have them TO
! hang in her room.
| Then she looked down at her grimy
| hand and considered the first finger.
| crooking it open and shut. Il think It's
| going to swell, she pouted. That IS n
| perfectly awful trigger to pull"
Greville did what any man might have
been expected to do. He caught the hand
| ana kissed 1t. Miss MiYart looked abso-
| iuteIy unconscious of 1t. She might have
! been ten miles away herself GrevilIe
therefore, thought that she was angry.
! and his heart was filed with contrition.
! let he was old and wise enough 90 DE a
! first lieutenant. He walked beside her
! back to the post in a state Of humble Ie-
lection she could not understand
| The next morning 1t was Burton's turn
GreVllle was over the range now. valnly
! trying to bring his record up to where
| Burtons was. This time Miss Mivart
| fired at a white pasteboard box cover.
and hit 1t three times out of twenty She
| was Jubilant. and so was Burton because
she was making such progress under bis
| tuition.
That's nm easy carbIne to shoot, isn't
| it?'' she asked as they wandered home.
1T isn't at all hard to pull the trigger
Burton glanced at her, and she met his
! eyes innocently. It's just like any other
trigger" he told her.
Yes, Of course. And is that the very
same carbine you use In the competition
the one you shot with yesterday. and
| a ryEn
up?"
He told her that IT was.
We'll she said. complacently, Il think
I'm doing very nicely, don't you.
| hit the target three times, and my first
| finger doesn't hurt a bit-this morning.
That afternoon the competition came
to an end with Burton a good many
points ahead OF GrevIlle. And that
night there was the big hop. It had
! been understood from the first that
! the man who won was to take Miss Mi
vart to the hop. SO she went over with
| Burton, and gave him One-third of her
| dances. GreYiilo had another third. and
the rest were open TO the post at large.
Greville did not look happy at ALL It
! was not the target record he minded
| He never thought about that. 1t was
| having to go down the broad walk to the
| hop room behind Burton, and to watch
! Miss Mivart leaning on his arm and look
/ lHS up INTO MS race from under the
| white mists of her lace hood He was
not consoled at all when she looked I'D
| into his own face even more sweetly
! a the beginning of the second dance
I and whispered that she was 80 sorry"
Now as the second dance had been
Greville's, the third was Burtons That
! was the way it had been arranged. As
the band began the waltz, Miss Mivart
stood beside Greville In the center Of
! quite IL group. The commanding officer
was in the group, 50 was Burtons cap
tain, and so was the adjutant. There
| were some others as well, and also some
| women. Miss Mivart may have chosen
that position. or it may simply have
| happened so.
Any way, just as the waltz started,
| Burton. light hearted and light footed,
came slipping and sliding over the can
dle-waxed floor. and pushed his way into
the midst Ours" he said triumph
antly.
But Miss Mivart did not heed him at
once. She was telling them all how
she had learned to shoot a carblne as
| well as any one, and they, the men at
any rate, were hanging on her words
Mr.. Grevllle taught me-" she SAID,
land 50 did Mr. BuAon." CThis was the
first either had known Of the others
part in It, and they exchanged a Iook)
They taught me with their own car
bines. too. The very same ones they
used themselves in the competition But
I shot best with Mr.. Burton's carblne
He must have fixed his trigger to pull
more easily; It was almost like, what
do you call it, hair trigger"
She looked about for an answer, and
saw on their faces a stare OF stony
horror and surprise. They had moved a
little away from Burton. and the COM
handing officers steely eyes were on
his face. Tho face had turned white,
even with the sunburn, and Burton's
voice was just trife unsteady as he
spoke.
'"Fhis is our dance. think. Miss MI
vart" he said.
The innocent. round blue orbs looked
just little coldly into his. No. she
told him. Il think you are mistaken. II
is Mr.. Greyille's dance. And she turn
ed and laid her hand on Greville's arm.