Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-03-17

Continued from last Saturday.
"There he Isl" she CRIED though too far
away for him to hear, and then. with
no more thought of coquetry than
kitten, with no more motive in the
world than that OF conveying to him
an idea of her sorrow. her sympathy,
her perhaps pardonable and exagger-
ated Indignation at what size deemed
an act of tyranny on the part of his COM
mander, with only an instant in which
to convey 1t all-her sweet face flushed
and her eyes famed with the light of
her girlish enthusiasm-in that Instant
she had kissed her hand to him. and
then Col. Armstrong, turning sudden
ly and sharply to see who could be the
object OF interest 80 absorbing. CAUGHT
one fitting glimpse of Billy Cray lift
Ing his cap in quick Acknowledgement
and the words that were on the tip
Of Armstrong; tongue the moment be-
fore were withheld for more auspl-
cious occasion-and it did not come too
soon.
It was only four days after that in
Itial meeting in the generals tent the
!oggy evening of the girls first visit
20 camp, but both in city and on the
tented field there had been several &C.
sasions on which the colonel had been
In conference with Mr.. Prime and in
company with the young ladies.
f,,~, ~9Eo Ip,1 ~ Il t1,n
time and attention of the latter, bat
| Armstrong was close observer and
| man who loved all that was strong,
high-minded and true in his own sex,
and that was pure and sweet and WIN
| some in woman. a keen soldier, he had
spent many years in active service, most
| Of them in the hardy, eyentful and Wig
srous life on the Indian frontier. lie
had been conspicuous in more than one
stirring campaign against the red war
riors of the plains, had won his medal
Of honor before his first promotion,
and his captaincy by brevot fer daring
conduct in action long antedated the
right to wear the double bars of that
grade. He had seen much Of the world,
at home and abroad; had Travelled
much, read much, thought much, but
these were things OF less concern 10
many woman in our much married
army than the question as to whether
he had ever loved much. Certain i was
he had never married, but that didn't
settle it. Many man loves, said they,
without getting married, forgetful OF
the other side of the proposition adj
vanced by horrid regimental cynics,
that many men marry without getting
loved. Armstrong would not have
proved an easy man to guestion on that,
or indeed on any other subject which
he considered personal to himself.
Even in his own regiment in the reg
ular service he had long been looked
upon as an exclusive sort of fellow
many companions, yet, officers and SOL
diers, he held the respect and esteem
1t the entire command, even of those
whom he kept al distance and few
are the regiments in which there are
not one or two characters who are not
best seen and studied through binoc-
ular. Without being sympathetic, said
his critics, Armstrong was square"
but his critics had scant means of know
Ing whether he was sympathetic or
not. He was a steadfast fellow, an I'M
swerving, uncompromising sort of man,
man who would never have done for a
diplomat, and could never have been
elected to office. But he was truthful,
Just, and as the English officer reluct-
antly said of Lucan, whom he hated:
"Yes-damn him-he is brave" The
men whom he did not seem to like in the
army and who disliked him according
~, were compelled to admit, to them
selves at least, that their reasons were
comprised in the above-recorded, re-
grettable, but unmistakable fact--he
didn't like them. Another trait, unpop-
ular, was that he knew when and how
to say no. He smoked too much, per-
iaps, and talked too little for those
who would use his words as witnesses
against him. lie never gambled. he
rarely drank, he never lent nor bor-
rowed. He was bachelor, yet would
never join "mess," but kept house
himself and usually had some favored
comrade living with him. lie was 40
and did not look 35. He was tall, erect,
athletic, hardy and graceful in build,
and his face was one of the best to be
seen in many line of officers at parade
His eyes were steel gray and clear and
penetrating, his features clear-cut, al
most too delicately cut, thought some
Of the best friends he had among the
men. His hair was brown, sprinkled
literally with silver; his mouth, an adj
mlrable mouth in every way, was
shaded and half-hidden by a long,
dropping mustache to which, some men
thought and some women Nid, his
tapering white fingers paid too much
attention, but doubt if knowledge Of
this criticism would have led to the
faintest alteration in the habit. Cen
orally the expression of Armstrong;
face was grave, and, on duty a triile |
stern; and not ten people in the world
were aware what humor could twinkle
in the clear, keen eyes, or twitch about |
the corners of that mobile mouth. |
There were no five who knew the ten
derness that lay in hiding there, for
Armstrong had few living kindred and |
they were men. There lived not, as he
drove this glorious August morning to
the breezy uplands beyond the camps,
one woman who could say she had seen
those eyes of Armstrong; melt and
glow with love. AS for Amy Lawrence,
she was not dreaming of such thing.
She was not even looking at him. Her /
thoughts at the moment were drifting
back TO that usually liUht hearted boy