Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1900-08-10

ner that 1t was not-not dishonest in
the least; only that it took away from
the excitement of the thing to GER
tam extent. Miss Mivart smiled and
shook her head. No, she didn't think
IL did, because, of course, she knew
herself which one She wanted to have
win. The adjutant admitted that that
might possibly be just as interesting
for herself and the fortunate man. And
which was he, if he might ask. Miss
Mivart shook her head and smiled
again. No, she didn't think he might
ask. AS the man himself didn't know,
she could hardly tell any one else just
yet, could she? She had her own ideas
about fair play.
Il can shoot carbine, myself" she
told the adjutant, with her cleft chin
proudly raised "and my shoulder is
all black and blue. Mr. Burton is teach
ing me-"
"Oh!' said the adjutant, "and what
does Greville think about that?" The
adjutant was married, so he was out
of the running
A'Ah' NiSNiiiC 10 lCuCllllS lie, 100,
said Georgia; land here he comes for
me now."
Burton was safe on the target range,
over behind the barracks. Miss Mivart
and Greville went in the other direc-
tlon, by the back of the officers row,
over in the foothills across the creek.
Greville nailed the top of big red
pasteboard box to the trunk of a tree,
and Miss Mivart hit it once out of six
teen times-when she was aiming at
the head of prairie dog at least twen-
ty feet away to the right. The other
hfteen shots were scattered among the
foothills.
Then hel shoulder hurt her so that
she was ready to cry. Greville would
have liked to have her cry upon his
own shoulder, but, as she didn't, he did
some fancy shooting to distract her.
He found mushroom-ca and threw
1t into the aid and filed it full of holes.
She had seen Burton do the same thing
that morning with tomato-can. In
| fact, from where she sat now, on a
lichen-covered Iock, she could see the
mutilated can slittering in the sun,
over beyond the arroyo. So she thirst
ed for fresher sensations.
iii 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 hole through the.
| trademark in the crown"
| 1t was a nice, new straw hat. Gre
vile had sent East for it and 1t had
come by stage the day before. 1t had
cost him, express paid, four dollars and
seventy-five cents. This, too, at a time
when anything he had left after set
tling his mess and suffers and tailors
bills, went into stick-pins and candy
and books and music and riding-whips
| for Miss Mivart. But he took off the
hat and gave it to her without even a
lingering glance at that high-priced
trademark within And he felt that it
was worth four times four dollars and
seventy-five cents when she picked ND
the tattered remains, at last, and ask
ed 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. II think
it's going to SWELL" she pouted. "That
is perfectly awful trigger to pull"
Greville did what any man might
have been expected to do He caught
the hand and kissed it. Miss Mivart
looked absolutely unconscious of it.
She might have been ten miles away
herself. Greville, therefore, thought
that she was angry, and his heart was
filed with contrition. Yet he was old
and wise enough to be first lieuten-
ant. He walked beside her back to the
post in a state Of humble detection she
could not understand. The next morn
ing 1t was Burton's turn. Greville was
over on the range now, vainly trying to
bring his record up to where Burton'sr
was. This time Miss Mivart fired at
white pasteboardboX cover, and hit it
three times out Of twenty. She was
jubilant, and so was Burton, because
she was making such progress under
his tuition.
THAT'S an easy carbine to shoot, isn't
it?" she asked as they wandered home,
''it isn't at all hard to pull the trig-
ger"
Burton glanced at her, and she met
his eyes innocently. ITS just like any
other trigger" he told her.
"Yes, of course. And is that the very
same carbine you use in the competi-
tion-the one you shot with yesterday,
and will use this afternoon when you
finish upY
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