Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-10-12


box to the trunk of a tree, and Miss
DIivart hit it once out of 16 times-when
she was aiming at the head of prairie
dog at least 20 feet away to the right.
The other 10 shots were scattered among
the foothills.
Then her shoulder hurt her so that
she was ready to cry. Greyille would
have liked to have her cry upon his own
shoulder, but as she didn't he did some
fancy shooting to distract her. lie
found a mushroom can and threw it into
the air and filled it full of holes. She
had seen Burton do the same thing that
morning with a tomato tin. In fact
from where she sat now on a lichen COW
cred rock she could see the mutilated can
gittering in the sun over beyond the
arroyo. So she thirsted for fresher SEN
sations.
"I'll tell you," she said to Greville as
he held up the mushroom can for her to
inspect the eight holes he had made with
five shots, 'let me toss up your hat, and
you make a hole through the trademark
in the CROWN
1t was nice, new straw hat. Gre
vile had sent east for it, and it had
come by stage the day before. 1t had
cost him, express paid, SI.75. This, too
at time when anything he had left after
settling his mess and suffers and tailor's
bills went into stickpins and candy and
books and music and riding whips for
Miss Mvart. But he took off the hat
and gave it to her without even linger-
ing glance at that high priced trademark
within. And he felt that it was worth
four times $4.75 when she picked up the
tattered remains at last and asked if 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
perfectly awful trigger to pull"
Grevile did what any man might have
been expected to do-he caught the hand
and kissed it. Miss Mivart looked alb
solutely unconscious of it, She might
have been ten miles away herself Gre
vile therefore thought that she was an
gry, and his heart was filled with con-
triton. Yet he was old and wise enough
to be first lieutenant. He walked be-
side her back to the post in state of
humble detection she could not under
stand.
The next morning it was Burton's turn.
Greville was over on the range now, vain
ly trying to bring his record up to where
Burton's was. This time Miss Mivart
fired at n white pasteboard box cover and
hit it three times out of 20. She was iu-
bilant and so was Burton, because she
was making such progress under his tut
ton.
THAT'S an easy carbine to shoot, isn't
it" she asked as they wandered home.
at 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 will
use this afternoon when you finish upT"
He told her that it was.
"Well," she said complacently, 81 think
I'm doing very nicely, don't you? l 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 good many points
ahead Of Greyile and that night there
was the big hop. 1t had been understood
from the first that the man who won was
to take Miss Mivart to the hop. So she
went over with Burton and gave him one
third of her dances. Grevile had another
third, and the rest were open to the post
at large.
Greylle did not look happy at all. 1t
was not the target record he minded. He
never thought about that. 1t was having
to go down the board walk to the hop
room behind Burton and to watch Miss
Mivart leaning on his arm and looking up
into his face from under the white mists
of her lace hood. He was not consoled
at all when she looked up into his own
face even more sweetly at the beginning
Of the second dance and whispered that
she was so sorry"
Now, as the second dance had been
Greville's, the third was Burton's. That
was the way it had been arranged. As
the band began the waltz Miss Mivart
stood beside Greville in the center of
quite a group. The commanding officer
was in the group, so was Burton's 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 hap
pened so.
Anyway just as the waltz started Bur
ton, light hearted and light footed, came
skipping and sliding over the candle
waXed floor and pushed his way into the
LlluSls ouIS, uG Stllu lIlul
But Miss Mivart did not heed him at
once. She was telling them all how she
had learned to shoot a carbine as well as
any one, and they-the men, at any rate
were hanging on her words.
"Mr. Greville taught me-" she said
"and so did Mr. Burton" This was the
first either had known of the others part
in it, and they exchanged look. "They
taught me with their own carbines, too,
the very same ones they used themselves
in the competition. But | shot best with
Mr.. Burton's carbine. He must have
fixed his trigger to pull more easily. 1t
was almost like-what do you call it, a
hair trigger"
She looked about for an answer and
saw on their faces a stare of stony hor-
ror and surprise. They had moved a
little away from Burton, and the COM
manding officers steely eyes We're on his
face The face had turned white even
with the sunburn, and Burton's voice
was just trihe unsteady as he spoke.
"This is our dance, l think, Miss Mi
vart," he said.