The Southern herald., 1902-01-31
THE MARQUISE RING.

"About the meanest thing l ever
did," said Bass McPheeters, who had
served as a volunteer through the
Cuban campaign, "was to steal bran
DIV off the dead dagos, Every man
Jack Of them had a flask. / guess it
was the worst brandy ever distilled,
but it tasted mighty good to me, and,
as | say, | stole it and drank it and
felt like ghoul all the time"
"Ah, you're very thin-skinned,"
growled lIeathcote, a Harvard man
who had come 10 be Texas Ranger
because he was pluckedat West Point;
"if You want TO feel real downright
80 cents YOU ought to try peaeemak-
ing between a woman and a wife-beat-
ing husband. | did. You remember
it, don't YOU, Harris? The time l
came from LAngtry in an ambulance?
Imadc 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 remu-
nerative."
"Neither one of you knows what
he's talking about" drawled Lieut..
Collins, who was doing his second
year on the frontier with hfs regi-
ment, and held the record as the only
officer in it who was not pulling wires
for detached service. "One Of you is
thief and the other a fool, but can
tell you an experience that made me
look like a thief and feel like a fool
for long time"
He got fresh bottle out of thecup-
board. sent the Chinaman for another
tiphon, and said:
you remember, Heathcote, while
] was al the academy was forever
running back to Cincinnati to spend
a day. a week or a month, orwhatever
time l could get on sick leave, bOgu:
kilograms or other subterfuges. Well
they were all bogus, but | had rea'
son, Or thought | had, for going there
so often. Woman? Yes, of course
it was a woman. That is, she was the
making of fine and beautiful wOm
an. She was a mere girl then, just
come IS, and as gentle and generous
soul as ever lived. l might as vel
admit that had my heart set andmy
hopes built on her and-lost. j
didn't find out that part, the losspart
though, till my last visit to Cincin
natl, and as that's what Istarted out
to tell about III just begin there.
"Well, | don't think ,Edith-tha
was her name-I don't think she eyel
knew how | felt toward her; you see,
was never forehanded with women
or she wouldn't have invited me t.
that theater party. | don't know ex
actly how her mother sprung it, but
anyhow, we hadn't been in Edith
house five minutes before everybod,
knew that she was engaged to Herber
Humphreys, spruce little dand.
with light-colored eyes and clOthe
that would have made Freddie Geb
hard look like a costermonger.
didn't like him first, last. nor an,
time, but of course l was a prejudiceC
party.
well, | was assigned, that's wha
you call it, | guess; l was assigned t
Fannie Ziegler-you know the Zieg
lers, Heathcote? Brewers, you know
and we went off to the theater in a 10
OF carriages, the girlsa all talking abou
the coming wedding and what Lowell
doings would be pulled off, and wha
a lovely ring that was Edith had, ant
me-you can just guess how | en-
Ioyed that theater party. i don
remember what the play was or VIII
was in my carriage besides Fannie
anything about it except that one
The party was girl cousin of Edith
who had come from New Orleans t
be leading lady, or bridesmaid, o
Whatever it is at the wedding.
We'll, sir, she was a sumner?
think if | hadn't been so faded o1
Edith I'd have gone after that cOusir
her name was Co1inne ForgerOn,
blond creole with purple eyes and
forml Oh, say! Pve seen her onl
once since then, but it was too late
I'm always too late on the wooin
business, but wait. That comes I'M tn
story, too. We we're at the theatel
weren't We? Well, / noticed thi
squirt Humphreys, Edith's fsnc'
seemed 70 make better headway Tit