Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-12-08
white hands stretched ~appealingly to.

White stretched appealingly to-
ward him.
said, eagerly. Let us leave this hor-
rible place-those vulgar, cruel people,
foreveri Come with mel Come with
me to my people, TO my w faith. to
my own house, which shall be yours!
Come with me to defend IL with ytaIr
good sword, Clarence, against thtSe
vile invaders with whom you ha We
nothing in common and who are tile
dirt under your feet. Vest Yes! /
know you! 1 have done you wrong!
l have lied to you when / spoke against
your skill and power. You are a hero
"a born leader of men! l know 1t!
Have i not heard 1t from the men who
have fought against you, and yet ad-
mired II understood you, aye, better
than your own? Gallant men, Clar-
ence! Soldiers bred, who did not know
what you We're to me, nor how proud
l was Of you, even while / hated you'll
Come with me! Think what we would
do together. with one faith, one cause,
n ambition! Think, Clarence, there
is no limit you might not attaini We
are no ~niggards of our rewards and
honors, we nave no -hirelings' votes to
truckle to; we know our friends! Even
!, Clarence. H. there was a strange
pathos in the sudden humility that
seemed to overcome her-"I have had
my reward and know my power. /
have been sent abroad, in the conf
dence of the highest, to the highest.
Don't turn from me. i am offering
you no bride, Clarence, only your de-
serts. Come with me! Leave those
ours behind and live the hero that you
are!'
He turned his blazing eyes upon her.
IF YOU were a mani he began, pas
sionately, then stopped.
no. ] am a woman and must fight
In a woman's way she interrupted,
bitterly. Il entreat, l implore, |
wheedle, / fatter, l fawn. 1 lie! l creep
where o stand upright, and pass
through doors to which you would not
bow. You wear the blaZon OF honor
on your shoulder. / hide mine i'm a
slaves gown. And yet l have worked
and striven and suffered! Listen. Clar-
ence-" her voice again sank to its APP
pealing minor. Il know what you men
call 'honor'-which makes you cling to
a merely spoken word and an empty
oath. Well. let thai pass! l am
weary; l have done my share of this
work, you have done yours. Let us
both fly; let us leave the fight to those
who shall come after us and let us go
together to some distant land where
the sounds Of these guns or the blood
Of our brothers no longer cry out to us
for vengeance! There are those living
there have met them, Clarence
she went on, hurriedly, who think 1t
wrong to lift up fratricidal hands I'm
the struggle, yet who cannot live un-
der the northern yoke. They are"
her voice hesitated, good men and
women-they are respected-they
are"
"Itecreants and slaves, before whom
you, spy, as you are, stand a queen!"
broke I'm Brant, ~passionately. He
stopped and turned back toward the
window. After a pause he came back
again toward the bed, paused again,
and then said In a lower voice: -Four
years ago, Alice, in the patio Of our
house at Robes. ] might have listened
to this proposal, and, | tremble to
think, | might have accepted it. l
loved you; | was as weak, as selfish, as
unrefecting, my life as. purposeless,
but for you, as the creatures you speak
Of. But give me now at least the credit
of a devotion to my Il equal to
your own, which | have never denied
you. For the night that you left me l
awoke to a sense OF my own worthless
ness n neutrality-suspicious. | nave
even TO thank % for this awakening
and | realize the bitter truth. But that
IlSll L lOuUu my true NOCdllOu, my
purpose, my manhood
A bitter laugh came from the pillow
on which she had languidly thrown
herself. II believe l left you with
Mrs. Hooker-spare me the details
The blood rushed to Brant's face,
and then receded as suddenly.
You left me with Captain Pinkney.
who had tempted you, and whom L
killed!' he said, fuIiously.
They were both staring at each 9TH
Ell. Suddenly he said: "Hush!" and
sprang toward the door, as the sound
OF hurried footsteps echoed along the
passage. But he was too late; ii was
thrown open to the officer OF the guard
who appeared standing on the thresh-
hold.
1.-TWO confederate officers arrested
lowering around our pickets. They de-
mand to see you
Before Brant could interpose two
men, in riding Cloaks OF confederate
gray. stepped into the room with a
jaunty and self-confident air.
mot demand, general" said the
foremost, a tall, distinguished looking
man, lifting his hand with a graceful
deprecating air. I'm fact, too sorry to
bother you with an affair of no impor-
lance except to ourselves. A bit Of
after-dinner bravado brought us in
contact with your pickets, and OF
course we had to AXE the conse-
quences. Served us right, and we were
lucky not to nave got a bullet through
us. Cad! I'm afraid my men would
have been less discreet! / am Colonel
Lagrange, of the Fifth Tennessee; my
young friend here is Captain Faux
ner, of the First Kentucky. Some ex-
cuse for a ~youngster like him-none for
me! L"
fell upon the bed and it's occupant.
But to the natural unaffected dismay
OF gentlemen who had unwittingly In
truded upon a lady's bedchamber,
Brant's quick eye saw a more disas-
trous concern superadded. Colonel La
grange was quick to recover himself,
as they both removed their caps.
"A thousand ~pardons," he said, hur-
riedly, stepping backwards to the door.
l hardly need say to a fellow
officer, general, that W. had no idea Of
making so gross an intrusion. We
heard some cock-and-bull story OF
your being occupied with an escaped or
escaping nigger-or' we should never
have forced ourselves upon you"
Brant glanced quickly at his wife.
lie bowed formally and, pointing his
hand toward the door, said.
Il will hear your story below, gentle
men,
He followed them from the room,
stopped to quietly turn h key in the
lock, and then motioned them to pre-
cede him down the staircase.