The suburban citizen., 1902-03-08

"About the meanest thing ever did"
said Bass McPheeters, who had served
rs volunteer through the Cuban cam
paign, was to steal brandy off the
dead dagos. Every man Jack of them
had a flask. 1 guess it was the worst
brandy ever distilled, but it tasted
mighty good to me, and as I say, 1
stole it and drank it and felt like a
ghoul all the time"
"Ah, you're thin-sknncd," growled
Heathcote, a Harvard man who had
come to be Texas ranger because he
was plucked at West Point; "lf you
want to feel real downright thirty
cents you ought to try peacemaking
between woman and beating.
husband. 1 did. You remember it,
don't you, Harris? The time 1 came
back from Langtry in an ambulance?
made peace between them all right,
but what they did to me between
them was a plenty. Robbing dead
dagos is a Sabbath pastime compared
to peacemaking and twice as remuner-
ative."
Neither one OF you knows what he's
talking about" drawled Lieutenant
Collins, who was doing his second year
on the frontier with his regiment, and
held the record as the only officer in
it who was not pulling wires for de-
tached service. "Onc Of yo1 is thief
and the other a fool, but can tell you
nm experience that made me look like
thief and feel like a fool for long
time.
"You remember. Heathcote, while
was at the academy l was forever run.
ming back to Cincinnati to spend q day,
q week or n month, or whatever time
could get on sick leave, bogus tele-
grams or other subterfuges. Well, they
were all bogus, but l had a reason, or
thought had, for going there so often.
Woman? Yes, of course it was wom-
an. That is, she was the making Of a
fine and beautiful woman. She was a
mere girl then, just come eighteen, and
as gentle and generous a soul as ever
lived. 1 might as well admit that l
on her and-lost. l didn't find out that
part, the loss part though, till my last
visit to Cincinnati, and as that's what
/ started out to tell about, IL just be-
gin there.
"Well, don't think Edlth-that was
her name-I don't think she ever knew
how / felt toward her; you see l was
never forehanded with women, or she
wouldn't have invited me to her thea.
ire party. / don't know exactly how
her mother sprung it. but anyhow we
hadn't been in Edith's house five min
utes before everybody knew that she
was engaged to Herbert Humphreys, a
spruce little dandy with llght-colored
eyes and clothes that would have made
Freddie Gebhard look like costermon-
ger. didn't like him first, last nor any
time, but Of course l was prejudiced
party.
"Well, was assigned, that's what
you call it, 1 guess; 1 was assigned to
Fannie Ziegler-you know the Zieglers,
Heathcote? Brewers, you know. and
we went off to the theatre in n lot OF
carriages, the girls all talking about
the coming wedding and what lovely
dongs would be pulled off, and what
a lovely ring that was Edith had, and
me-you can just guess how / enjoyed
that theatre party. 1 don't remember
what the play was or who was in my
carriage besides Fannie or anything
about it except that one of the party
was a girl cousin of Edith's who hat
come from New Orleans to be leading
lady, or bridesmaid, or whatever it Is
at the wedding.
WELL sir, she was sumner!
think If / hadn't been so faded or