The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1900-12-22

IN Inc LflGk OF 1t. ! Aaa my nat
full of holes as thai Ice strainer; I
the fringe of my epaulettes was shot
away, but I kept the boys at their
work-and we stopped EN-! Stopped
EN-. gentlemen! until we heard the
bugles of the rest Of our division, that
all this time had been rolling that
blasted rear guard owe on us! And 1t
saved the flght!{ But the next minute
the Johnny Reds made, a last dash and
cut me off-and there I was-by c.,
a prisoner, Me that a saved the
fight" &
A ripple of tronlcal applause went
round as Hooker gloomily drained his
glass and then held up his hand In
scornful depreciation.
Il said i was a prisoner, gentlemen
he went on bitterly, but that amt
all! asked to see Johnston. told him
what I had done, and demanded to be
exchanged for a general officer. He
said, You be id I then sent word
to the division commander in chief,
and told him how I had saved Grey
Oaks when his brigadier ran away. and
he said, You be id I've bin you be
d-ded' from the lowest non com. to
the commander in chief, and when I
was at last exchanged was X
changed, gentlemen, for two mules and
u piOkeI wagon. BOt III LGie, 6SillIC-
men, as I was thar!'
why don't you see the president
about it?" asked a ~bystander in affect
ed commiseration.
Mr.. Hooker stared contemptuously
at the suggestion, and expectorated
his scornful dissent. mot much!" he
said. But I'm going to see the man
that carries him and his cabinet in his
breaches pockct-Senator Boompoint-
err
'Boompointer's a big man." contin-
ued his auditor, doubtfully. DO you
know him?"
Know him?" Mr.. Hooker laughed O
bitter sardonic laugh. well. gentle
men, 1 amt the kind o. man to go in
for family influence, but" he added
with gloomy elevation. "considerin'
he's an intimate relation of mine by
marriage, ! should say I did,
Brnnt heard no more; the facing
around of his old companion toward
the bar gave him that opportunity of
escaping he had been waiting for. The
detection of Hooker and his peculiar
inventions were too characteristic of
him to excite surprise, and, although
they no longer awakened his good hui
mored tolerance, they were powerless
to affect him in his greater trouble.
Only one thing he learned, that Hooker
knew nothing of his wife being in camp
es a spy. The incident would have been
too tempting to escape his dramatic
establishment. And the allusion to
Senator Observation-Disclosures as it
seemed in Rockers mouth-gaVe him Il
grim temptation. He had heard of
Boompointer's wonderful power: he
believed that Susy would and could
help him, Clarence, whether she did or
did not help Hooker. But the next
-. i .~~ 49, %T,~ sI-a ,.-tita -
flushing cheek. How low had he al
ready sunk to even think of 1t!
ii had been Once or twice in his mind
to seek the president, and, under a
promise of secrecy. reveal u part of his
story. He had heard many anecdotes
of his goodness of heart and generous
tolerance of all th~ings-Sut WITH this
was ~joined-so said contemporaneous
history-a fippaEcy of speech and a
brutality of directness, from which
Clarence's s%ensibslity shrank. Would
he see anything in his wife but a COM
mon spy on his army; would he see
anything in him but the weak victim,
like many others. of a scheming wom-
an? Stories were current in camp and
congress of the way that this grim hu-
morist had. with an opposite a%necdote
or IL rugged Illustration. brushed away
the most delicate sentiment Or the
SuttIcSl DpSltS CNCIl as ~ ShtiS|a SAiS
sham of the Puritanic morality or OF
epicurean ethics. Brant had even So
iicited an audience, but had retired
awkwardly and with his confidence I'M
spoken before the dark. humorous eyes
that seemed almost too tolerant of his
/ grievance. He had beer to leyees and
his heart had sunk equally before the
vulgar crowd who seemed to regard
this man as their own buffoon, or the
- -, !, ncs ne nositipn 1ao1-pinp and
dignity which he seemed to delight to
shake and disturb.
One afternoon q few days later, in
sheer listnessness of purpose, he found
himself again at the white house. The
president was giving audience to a
/ deputation of fanatics Who with a pa
sthetic simplicity almost equal to his
own pathetic tolerance, was urging Up
on this ruler of millions the policy of
an insignificant score, and BraGt list
ensd to his patient, practical response
OF facts and logic, clothed in simple
but sinewy English, up to the inevita-
BILE climax of humorous illustration,
which the young brigadier could o
see was necessary to relieve the grim
| ness of his refusal. For the first time
tBrnnt felt the courage to address him,
ana resolved tc wait until the deputa-
ition retired. AS they left the gallery
he fingered in the ante-room FOR the
president to appear. But he did not
come, afraid of losing his chances, he
returned to the gallery. Alone in his
privacy and shadow, the man he had
! Just left was standing by a column in
1notionless abstraction, looking over
tho distant garden. But the kindly hui
morous Lace was almost tragic with
an intensity of WEAKNESS. Every line
cf those strong, rustic features was re-
Taxed under q burden which even the
long, lank. angular figure -ovcrgrown
t and unfinished as his own west-seem-
ed to be distorted in its efforts to adj
just itself to, while the dark, deep
set eyes were distracted with the
vague prescience Of the propheS and
the martyr. Shocked at that sudden
change. Brant felt his cheek burn with
shame. And he was about to break
upon that weaiied mans u~nbending-
he was about to add his petty burden
to the shoulders of this western Atlas,
He drew back silently md descended
the stairs.
But before he had left the house,
while mingiing with the crowd in one
i2of the larger rooms, he saw the presi-
dent reappear beside an important,
prosperous-looking figure, on whom
the kindly giant was now smiling with
humorous liberation. He noticed the
divided attention of the crowd, the
name of Senator Boompointer was up
on every lip; he was nearly face &c
face with that famous dispenser OF
place and preferment-this second hus-
band of Susy! An indescrlbabie feel
ing, half cynical. half fanciful, came
over him. He would not nave been sur
prised to have seen Jim Hooker joir
the throng, which now seemed to hin
to even dwarf the lonely central figure
that had so lately touched him! Hi
wanted to escape 1t all!
But his fate brought him to the en-.
trance at the same moment tina
Boompointer was leaving 1t, and thai
distinguished man brushed hastily b!
him. as a gorgeous carriage, drawn b,
two spirited horses. and driven by a re,
%splendent negro coachman, dashed up
1t was the Boompointer carriage.
A acknowledgements, pretty WON.
an, who in style. bearing, opulent con
tentment and ingenious self-con.
seriousness was in perfect keeping witt
the slight ostentation of the equipage
was it's only occupant. AS ~Boompoint'
er stepped into the vehicle. her BLU
eyes fell for an instant on Rrant. a
HAPPY childlike pink flush came int
her checks, and n violet ray of recog;
milton and mischief darted from he
eyes to his. For 1t was Susy!