Daily camera., 1901-07-30

III ueDl. ne IlHtp no SECRET Ol IL. lie
was cXtravagant in his tastes, had in
Cured obligations before going on duty
at the Point, and found it impossible
to "catch up" there. There were three
or four accounts he had been asked to
settle, as they had been running some
time, but he put them off from month
to month hoping that he might soon
be able to obtain possession Of small
sum of money left him by the will OF n
relative two years before. 1t was only
a few thousand dollars, yet even that
had been contested. together with
number OF similar bequcsts, and the
legal complications had been as ex-
asperating as the laws delay could
make them. One day. soon after Char
lotte's wedding. Merriam was sum
moned to the presence of the super
intendent and was regretfully told that
four of his creditois had united in an
appeal to the war department, and the
matter had been referred to him as
post commander Merriam was con.
founded. He had seen and talked with
one of them only few weeks before,
and no such action had even been hinted
at. Nor did he know that any one OF
their pumber was aware of his indebt-
edness to the others. Frankly he had
told Miss Fan Of these matters before
he told her of his love, but it made. ap-
parently, no impression on her. LET
them watt" she said. You'll soon be
able to pay them ten times over"
Frankly he had talked of il to one or
two of his intimates, and later to Parry,
who had grown TO like him, and who,
as lawyer, thought his little inherit
nnce could not be much longer with
held. II would free him; il would very
pre,tily furnish their quarters and still
leave a few hundreds TO the fore. He
RENE embered, too, that Uncle Mellen had
made some inquiries Of him. and that
| in perfect frankness he had replied.
And now, just at the moment when he
was full of hope and happiness, came
this cruel modification. Such action
on the part of his creditors was unac-
countable, but, as the superintendent
said, it was solemn fact. Deeply cha
| grined, he told the colonel the whole
story, and the colonel was full Of sym
pathy. but as full OF sense.
| I'm sorry, Merriam" said he, "but
there's only one thing for you to do.
! There's no telling when you'll ever get
that inheritance. When lawyers once
get hold OF an estate it's dollars TO
dimes nobody else ever does, and by the
time judgment is awarded in your IA
vor it will be eaten up in fees and in
Vulnerable charges. You cannot count
oil cent of il. You cannot save any
thing to speak of here. Just capitalize
those debts of yours; borrow the money
from some business man on reasonable
time and interest, get your life insured
I in his favor, and go out and join our
troop. We can have you relieved as at
your own request, and once out on the
frontier you can save so much month,
and little by little pull yourself out"
And leaving his pretty sweetheart,
his chosen friends and pleasant sur
[ rpundings, this was exactly what
I Randy Merriam did. Ned Parry, with
puzzled look on his face, had listened
/ TO his mournful recital, had promptly
/ offered his services and his bank ac-
count, and made but one stipulation:
Don't you go near those fellows, Mer
riam. Let me have the bills and I'll
send you the receipts" for Parry had
theory of his own.
Scdgwick was us drcary post. so far
rs surroundings were concerned. as
/ could be found in the west. II stood
on pebbly mesa, fiat and barren. over
| looking the narrow, tortuous, shallow
canyon through which rifpled the
waters OF the San Matco. Across the
| western horizon hung n low. jagged
curtain OF distant blue mountains. Far
[ away to the northwest a snow peak
shimmered in the dazzling sunshine,
but north, east and south the low roll
| ing contour Of the prairie. like the
ground swell of the ocean. was lost in
| illimitable monotony. The only trees
were some willows down in an arroyo
| that cmptied its rivulet after n rain
/ storm into the stream. The only green
| things were the blinds and vines upon
the piazas OF the officers quarters. Yet
Sedgwick was big post, an important
post. for great Indian reservation lay
only 20 miles away toward the noun
tains. Two lines of railway met at the
junction three miles down stream, and
by riding few miles westward one
came suddenly upon fertile valley,
where grass and trees abounded, and
where all nature seemed to smile, and
where by rights the old post should
have been located; but all that was In
dian reservation when Sedgwick was
built. and not until long after did the
territorial officials succeed in getting
i. Topped off from Los allotment and
thrown open to settlement. Along the
bowery shades of the Santa Clara were
now ranches by the dozen, and hun
drcd or more of enterprising settlers,
and between them and the thronging
garrison at Scdgwick was peace and
good will and every kindly relation,
when Randy Merriam came out in the
December of the Columbian year, de-
termined to take his punishment like
man. He had sworn off cigars and
extravagances Of every kind. For a
time he even declined to subscribe to
the hops, which were charming affairs,
for the band was excellent and the regi
ment blessed with many lovely and
lovable women. Merriam spends all
of his money in stamps" was the COM
ment of the garrison wits, for he wrote
day after day to his distant darling in
the east That winter Ned Parry nc
cepted the junior partnership in the
great firm of Graeme G. Rayburp, in
Chicago, and moved thither with his
lovely wife, while Fan remained with
Aunt and Uncle Mellen in Gotham, pin
ing, presumably, for her far-away sol
dier boy, and yet writing much less fire.
quently than he did, for the demands
of society were incessant and auntie
kept her ION the CO."
One day in April there came letter
from the east at sight of which Randy