The Dolores star., 1901-11-01
On the Triggers Pull.

OF the running.
Mr. Greville is teaching me. too, :"
said Georgia; "and here he comes for
me now"
Burton was safe on the target range,
over behind the barracks. Miss Mi
vart and Greville went in the other
direction. but 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 once out of
sixteen times-when she was aiming
at the head OF a prairie dog at least
twenty feet away to the right. The
other fifteen shots were scattered
among the foothills.
Then her 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 a mushroom can and
threw it into the air and filled it full
OF holes. She had seen Burton do the
same thing that morning with toma-
to tin. In fact, from where she sat
now, on lichen-covered rock. she
could see the mutilated can glittering
in the sun over beyond the arroyo.
So she thirsted 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 i've shots, ''let me toss up
your hat, and you make hole
th hrOuah tho IN ba ,-ou-r
1t was a nice, new straw hat. Gre
vile had sent East for 1t and it had
come by stage the day before. 1t had
cost him, express paid, four dollars
and seventy-five cents. This. too, at
time when anything he had left
after settling his mess and suffers
and talior's bill. went into stick pins
and candy and books and music and
riding whips for Miss Mivart But he
took on the hat and gave it to her
without even a lingering glance at
that htgh-priced trademark within
And he felt that it was worth four
times four dollars and seventy-five
cents when she picked up the tattered
remains at last and asked il she
might have them to hang in her room.
Then she looked down at her grimy
hand and considered the first finger,
crooking 1t open and shut.
Il 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
hlled with contrition. Yet he was old
and wise enough to be first lieuten-
ant. He walked beside her back to
the post in state OF humble dejec-
ton she could not understand
The next morning 1t was Burton's
turn. Greville was over on the range
now, vainly trying to bring his record
up to where Burton's was This time
Miss Mivart fired at white paste
board box cover, and hit it three
times out Of twenty. She was jubi-
liant, 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
trigger"
Burton glanced at her. and she met
his eyes innoce-tiy.
IT'S just like any other trigger" he
told her.
Yes, Of course. And is that the
very same carbine you use in the com
petition-the one you shot with yes
terday, and will use this afternoon
when you Iinish u-?"
He told her that it was.
We'll" .he said complacently, 81
think I'm doing very nicely. don't you.
1 hit the target three times, and nv
first finger doesn't hurt a bit-this
morning"
That afternoon the competition
came to an end. with Burton good
many points ahead of GreviIle. And
that night there was the big hop. 1t
had been understood from the first
that the man who won was to take
Miss Mivart to the hop So she went
oNCi Win oui toh, anu gave MIN one
third of the dances. Greyille had an
other third, and the rest were open to
the post at Large.
Greville did not look happy at all
It was not the target record he mind
ed. He never thought about that. L,
was having to go down the board walk
to the hop room behind Burton, and
to watch Miss Mivart leaning on bis
arm and looking up into his face from
under the white mists of her lace
hood. He was not consoled at all when
she looked up into his own face even
more sweetly at the beginning of the
second dance. and whispered that she
was so sorry"
Now as the second dance had been
Greville's. the third was Burton's.
That was the way 1t had been ar
ranged. AS the band began the waltz.
Miss Mivart stood beside Greville in
the center of quite group The
!