The Lewiston teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1905, 1901-06-13

J Of Miss Mivart's
!: !; !; !; :; !;
N +N concern. If she
1&&A. felt that she had
WI N}AI to play with fire.
00ZHZXN arms she should
X(/ have kept to Flo
az bert rifles. Moth
ing would do, however, but that she
must learn to shoot carbine, and the
result was that the whole post rose up
and cut Burton, to man; SO that there
was no peace for him any longer In
that regiment and he had to seek trans
Ter to smother. There we-e other re-
suits, also, but they come further on.
Some thought that what Miss Mivart
did was done oh purpose, and some
thought that 1t was a piece Of idiotic
silliness. The latter based their argu-
msnt upon the general righteousness of
her ways. AMI upon the innocency Of
her round. blue eyes. The former held
60 the belief that Miss Mivart was one
Of those women favorites Of Fortune
who look greater fools than they are.
They said, with certain show of rea-
son, that Georgia Mivart was a child
Of the service and not an importation
from civil life. She had been born in
. garrison and had played with rows
Of empty, green-rimmed cartfidge-shells
at an age when most little girls play
with paper dolls. She had hummed
snatches of the bugle-calls before she
could tall. a.sd the person she had ad-
mire6 .de most and obeyed the best
e. the first dozen years Of her life
ID been Kreutzer, Captain Mivart's
two-headed striker. A few years of
Soarding-school back East could not
have obliterated all that.
Besides, the veriest civilian, who has
aever come nearer to carbine than to
watch Fourth Of July parade. might
reasonably be expected to know by in.
tuition that In target-practice compe.
tition every trigger has got to, pull just
- hard, whatever the regulation mum.
Der or fraction of pounds. may be. 9th.
erwise, 1t Is plain that the nearer you
come to hair-trigger the better your
aim will. be.
However, whether Miss Mivart was
fully aware of what she was doing,
Nobody ever knew. unless perhaps II
was Greville-and he, like Tuleika,
oever told. But Burton had aid time
OF It, and all his beautiful score went
Cor worse than netting at all.
That, though, was the end. And the
beginning ought to come first. The be-
ginning was when Miss Mivart under
took to learn to shoot carbine.
There Was a target-practice competi-
don going on at the post; not one whilh
was Of any interest to the service, or
evsn 70 the department ut large: just
; little social affair, devised to keep up
the esprit de corps Of the troops and to
tighten the nlOnotony Of life. There
were three contests, one for troops and
companies, a. such; one for individual
privates. and ono for the officers. This
last was to finish off, and then there
was to be big hop.
Every one knew from the first, when
Burton and Grcville shot with their
troopA that the officers competition
would lie between them. This made it
Interesting In more ways than one, be-
cause the rivalry was not confined to
the target range, but extended to the
winning Of Miss Mivart's hand and
heart, and every one believed that this
would settle a matter she did not APP
wear to be able to settle for herself.
.Sot that she was to blame for that.
Any one. even person much more GER
cain Of her own mind than Miss Miyart
was. would have been put to 1t 10
choose.
They were both FIRST lieutenants, sd
both cavalrymen, and both good to
took upon. Burton was fair and Gre
vile was dark. but she had no fixed
prejudices regarding that She had
often said so. Also, both were as much
In love with her a. even she could have
wished, and were more than willing
that all the world should see it-than
which nothing 10 more pleasant and
soothing % right-minded woman.
The ride contest lasted ten days, dur
ting which time the air hummed with
TIE ping and sing Of bullets over on the
range, and with the calls Of the mark
ers In the rife-pits. Only scores and
records and bets were thought and
talked about
Miss Mivart herself had bet with all
the daring wickedness Of kitten teas
ing . beetle. She even went 90 far al
to bet on both Burton and Greville at
once. The adjutant undertook to ex-
plain to her that that was called ''hedg.
Ing" and was not looked upon ~ alto
gether sporty. Miss Mivart was hurt.
Was It really dishonest she wanted Ia
know. Tia ad3utant felt that he had
essn unkind He hAsesnsd T. assure