The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-04-09
On the Triggers Pull
BY GwendOIen 0vertOn.
THERE is always trouble of one
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

sort or another when a Voman
NEEDLES with those things which do
not concern her sex.
Obviously, carbines were none of
Miss Mivart's concern. If she felt that
she had to play with firearms she
should have kept to Flobert rifles.
Nothing would do, however, but that
she must learn to shoot a carbine,
and the result was that the whole
post rose up and cut Burton, to a
man; so that there was no peace for
him any longer in that regiment, and
he had to seek transfer to another.
There were other results, also, but
they come later on.
Some thought that what Miss Mivart
did was done on purpose, and some
thought that it was a piece of idiotic
Stiffness. The latter based their ar
gument upon the general frivolous
ness of her ways, and upon the inno-
cency of her round, blue eyes. The
former held to the belief that Miss
Mivart was one of those women favor
ties of Fortune who look greater fools
than they are. They said, with GER
tain show of reason, 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
trimmed cartridge shells at an age
when most little girls play with paper
dolls. She had hummed snatches of
the bugle calls before she could talk,
and the person she had admired the
most and obeyed the best for the first
dozen years of her life had been
Kreutzer, Capt. Mivart's tow-headed
striker A few years of boarding
school back east could not have OBJ
| liberated all that.
Besides, the veriest civilian, who has
never come nearer to a carbine than
to watch a Fourth of July militia pa
/ rade, might reasonably be expected
! to know by intuition that in a target
practice competition every trigger has
got to pull just so hard, whatever the
regulation number or fraction OF
pounds may be. Otherwise, it 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. no
body ever knew, unless perhaps it was
Greville-and he, like Zuleika, never
told But Burton had bad time of it
and all his beautiful score went fol
worse than nothing at all.
There was target practice compe
tition going on at the post; not ont
which was of any interest to thu
service, or even to the department a
large; Just little local affair, devised
to keep up the esprit de corps of tn
troops and to tighten the monoton.
of life. There were three contests
, one for troops and companies, a
such; one for individual privates an
one for the officers. This last wa
to finish off, and then there was to b
big hop.
Everyone knew from the first, whe
Burton and Greville shot with thei
troops, that the officers competitio
would lie between them. This mad
it interesting in more ways than on
because the rivalry was not confine
to the target range, but extended I
the winning of Miss Mivart's hand an
heart, and everyone believed that TIL
would settle a matter she did nj
appear to be able to settle for hersel
Not that she was to blame for tina
Anyone, even a person much mol
certain of her own mind than Mi!
Mivart was, would have been put to
to choose.
They were both first lieutenant
and both cavalrymen, and both GOO
to look upon. Burton was fair al
Greville was dark, but she had I
fixed prejudices regarding that. 81
had often said so. Also, both we
as much in love with her as eve
she could have wished, and were mo
than willing that all the world shou
see it-than which nothing is mo
pleasant and soothing to a right-min
ed woman.
The rifle contest lasted ten day
during which time the air hummed wi
the ping and sing of bullets over on L
range. and with the call of the mar
ers in the rife-pits. Only scores a
8 records and bets were thought a
& talked about.
= Miss Mivart herself had bet, with
p the daring wickedness of kitten te'
8 ing a beetle. She even went so I
= as to bet on both Burton and Grew
at once. The adjutant undertook
" explain to her that that was call
an hedging" and was not looked upon
q altogether sporty. Miss Mivart W
81 hurt. Was it really dishonest, s
W wanted to know. The adjutant f
a. that he had been unkind. He hasten
X. to assure her that it was MOTT
~ dishonest in the least; only that it to
Gf away from the excitement of the thi
fM TO a certain extent. Miss Mivart smil
~ and shook her head. No, she did
~ think that it did, because, of cour
l@ she knew herself which one she want
~ to have win. The adiutant admit
~ that that might possibly be just
" interesting for herself and the for
lA nate man. And which was he, if
- might ask. Miss Mivart shook
W head and smiled again. No, she did
~ think he might ask. AS the man hi
NM self didn't know, she could hardly I