Arizona republican., 1902-05-18
CHAPTER ".

Miss Meeker received Willie's letter in due time and though she deprecated it's rhetoric. she read the epistle several times, and the barbarity of the lan- guage was forgotten in it's earnestness of tone. She herself had a good edu- cation. but felt proud of her soldier boy. though he was illiterate, and was delighted at her power over him. She was elated and amused at that portion of the letter which treated of Morris, and the writer's intention to remove him from the face of the earth when he returned from war if he was still prowling around the Meeker home stead. The first letter which she re- ceiVed, after Willie had recovered from his debauch, in which in the first flush Of shame and contrition, he offered to sacrifice his own affections in favor of Morris, was misinterpreted by Sal She felt that Willie held her love but light ly if he was so willing to retire in favor of Morris.
 She now knew that she was mistaken and admired the irlpulsiveness and de- termination of her soldier lover. and in the secrecy of her own room was crying softly over his last letter, when her mother announced that Morris had called and was in the parlor. She en- tered his presence with no trace of tears on her face, and was so genial and mirthful that Morris believed that he had but to speak and she would throw herself into his arms. He did not know Sal: she was but leading him on and when he was on the point of declaring himself shifted the conver- satiOn by carelessly asking him if he had heard of Willie since he left for the war.
 Yes" replied Morris. II heard that he got into a fight in Phoenix and was jailed
 Indeed" she answered indifferently. T think we are well rid of bad rub bish, and I think MT. Jones will be doing the community a good deed by remaining in Cuba"
 T am very glad to hear you say that, Sal. l thought at one time that you were a good deal taken up with him. He is no good, anyway: drunken. ig- norant fool, and you would be making the mistake of your life to marry a man of his caliber. 1 have some edu- cation. even if l am q cowboy. and would make a better husband that that hair -brained fellow. who is handler with his gun than anything else
 Morris might have gone on indeff-
 nitely extolling his own virtues and maligning the character of the absent
 Willie, for. in his enthusiasm. he did
 not perceive the danger signals gath l ering in Sai's eyes. until she inter rupted him.
 MT. Morris" she said quietly but with deadly menace in her tones. the [ itf
 that you decry. are the ones that I most admire in him. He is certainly inn pulsive and headstrcng. but brave and
 generous withal. and if he is illiterat te
 he is none the less man. l cannot say that for you. I have only listened
 to you to discover a phase of your char acter that l strongly suspected was in l you, and now that l know that you are
 a coward as well as a villifying scoun- l drel. l can only say your presence is 1 distaSteful and l would prefer to see
 no more of you in the future" She swept from the room with the air of
 q tragedy queen. leaving Morris nut l tering maledictions upon himself. lie shook his fist at the door through which she made her exit Never mind.
 my smart young lady, I am not
 through with you yet. You worked me
 nicely. but l will fx both you and your ! ignorant lover" Morris left the house.
 in rage and the next day disappeared ! from that part of the country
 i Willie and his friend BInllfe Were i kept iu the guard house until ti,c fol i lowing day. when they were hauled be- | fore the summary court officer to b., | judged for their misdeeds. Willie told | his story in his ininita ble manner. anC. 1 the cook. having related his version of
 the affair. the court officer found Willie
 guilty of q violation of the sixty eighth article Of war, and fined him
 ten dollars. He reprimanded him se-
 verely for his hasty and violent action.
 and warned him that repetition of
 the offense would result in severe pun tshniont. Willie was fast learning that
 il was prerequisite in a soldier to con trol his temper so he received the ad- m0nitiOu in silence. As for Blinkic the evidence showed that he had taken no
 active part in the fracas between Will