Daily camera., 1901-08-08
CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XII.
When Florence regaincd strength
enough to move she crept slowly back
to her little parior, where the Deacon
lights that were to summon her hGs-
oand were still faithfully, fruitlessly
burning. She looked in at the dining
room and its preparation. for cneor and
welcome, and turned away with n
shiver of disgust, and then, with moan
Of pathetic misery, threw herself into
an armchair and tried to think. What
should she do? What could she do? Her
love for Randy was so fond, so glowing,
that she had gifted him with the quail
ties CT god, leaning upon him in every
thing, trusting him in everything, rely
ing upon his word as though it were n
pledge on high; and yet within thee
few hours he had, all unaskod, given
her his promise not to sce or speak with
that-woman again except he came first
to her-hs wife--and told her the need;
then had gone secretly, almost directly,
to meet his old love in the shadows of
the night long after the hour that usual
ly saw the last light extingushed along
officers row.
If her old friend from baby days, the
colonel, had come to her and said that
Randy was false; if her idol, her be
loved father, had added his coniirma-
tion of the colonels views. she would
have laughed them down so long as
Randy-hcr hero Randy-swore that
he was true. Many woman will stand
by her lover against world in evidence,
yet turn TO stone against him when she
sees one apparent sign of interest in
another. Poo. rlrl, He was her first.
her only love. He was hers and cn!y
hers. and should be only hers, for when
that other-creature had scorncd and
denied him. had he not been brought
sore stricken to her doors? Had She
not won him back to life through the
wealth and glory OF her own umsuspeci.
ed love? From the day of their we'd
ding until this wCmun came never had
she known q wish that was not his. Day
and night she dreamed, planned, end
thought for him, sought only to make
herself worthieT his love. dcarer to his
eyes-sweeter to his caresS. Who wG:
there 10 compare with him in mas'i-
ness, in courtesy, in knighuy bearing :
What officer was the peer Of Handy
what officer even in the dear o,t
Riflers with whom had been her hem,
from baby days? They chidcd her
some Of the girls. in what they cll,.t
her detection. You used to say thCrS
could be no regiment like the Riilcrs
Fioy. You used to vow you'd rc;e!
marry out Of the old regiment" AYE
but that was before Randy came" VIZ:
her simple answer. and then they iC,'
her Randy was her world, and proud.
she answered: Il believe he is" They
warned her-some Of the elder ar;
wiser matrons-and God knows they
had much on which to base their Nigw:
i, was never safe 10 love any mun &c.
much. even Randy; 10 whic.. she ac
swered with sunshiLc in Lcr eyes:
How could one love Randy too much? -
Mind you, she never volunteered 'hcs,
overfiowings Of her heart. but these
women had been her friends from hC!
earliest days. She was still shy, ever
with him, but such wcll-nCaUi warn
ings always seemed to put hc. On the dc
fensive, as it were, and, poor child. 81,
believed il her duty 10 her husband lha
she should never allow him to go urdc-
Tended. even though the attack were
intangible as n wUman's sEoCr. AnC
they looked 50 wel! together, and he was
so proud of her, so devoted to her, "so
conscious Of her" as some one said.
Nowhere in that garrison was there
man or woman who was able TO say that
Randy had not borne him-ef as un al
most ideal lover and husband ever since
that sun-kissed wedding day. MANY
could even feel sense of what is called
agreeable disappointment" which al
ways strikes me us phraseologica'
parallel for that other remarkable
cuphemism of so many of cur country
women-"she's enjoying poor health
Yet withal, Florence had the sympathy.
the genuine affection of ali Fort Sedg-
wick, even in-or rather notwithstand-
ing-her enthusiastic estimate OF Ran
Gy's qualities as husband and as man.
and her own extreme b, attitude as
wife. Then Mrs. Buxton ventured &c
fire shot. as she stood watching them
strolling homeward after parade oIo
evening, absorbed in one another, ard
TO observe to her own supremacy in
different lord: There now, BuX
there's another girl making fool CT
herself over man. only she's the sweet
est fool | ever knew in my born days"
Bux himself roared it out for Floy's
benefit not long after, and did it so tha:
half Fort Sedgwick heard it, for the one
valuable quality Bux possessed as
cavalry officer was his voice. The vol
ume of sound he could produce whc.
believing instructions to rcgimcn;a
skirmishli linewas something prodigious
but Of so rasping and exasperating :
timbre that his old-time derider. Blake
likened 1t in force to a fog horn ard il
staying power to boiled cabbaTc-not
neat comparison but one expressly
fitting.
And now, strangely enough, this mad
lest Of nights poor Florence could no:
get those words and that tone out OF
her head. She had flushed and turned
speechlcss away ut the time, hurt to her
soul and indignant, too, but the train
ing Of her youth was strong. These
were people her father and mother had
taught her to respect, and though an
cry, indignant remonstrance was in
her heart, she stifled the words that
strove to spring to her lips.
II expect I've put my foot in it again
to-day" reported Bux to his better half,
when he got home.
"Well. I'm sure I'm never surprised"
was the lady's prompt reply.
Il fear I've been rude to Col. Buxton.
Randy" faltered Floy, when that gen.
tleman came in from troop drill an hour
later.
"You couldn't be rude even to Dux,
my darling" was his answer, as he
folded her in his arms.
And these are not .ypes of the first
year welded" and the Quarter CEN
tury mated" love as seen in the army.