Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-09-23

anu eoSSiue Will WiSuOul, as Ill luck
would have it, he met Armistead in
front of headquarters and beckoned
| him aside.
Or. Armistead." said he, .'in justice
to yourself 1t might be we'll to let me
see the dispatch you received the other
night. You-may have heard that 9th.
er motives have been assigned to your
going so hurriedly to town"
Il have heard. sir" was the doctors
spirited rejoinder, also of the ipuui-
ries Of certain of your officers of the
operator. In my state we shoot men
who stoop to such practices. Up here
you seem to encourage them"
The colonel flushed holly. "Hav! q
care, DR.. Armistead. Language like
that has.led to the loss of more than
one commission. do not resent your
words as they deserve. because know
the strain you are under and the an
noyance you've all-have had. | re-
peat that it seems due to yourself to
dispel. .this-uncertainty." and uncer-
tainly the colonel paused.
Then let me say here and now, Colo.
mel Sharpe. that if you mean to show
that telegram ! decline. AS for Mr..
i4angdon, after all that has been pub
lishedaand said, he has got to meet me
the moment he is well enough"
The coloners orderly, mufi1ed to his
ears in his heavy overcoat, stood with
In easy range, intently eying some OBJ
ject far out on the stormy lake, but as
intentlY5 listening.
Orderly" said the colonel inlpa-
tiently.i take these letters to Mrs.
Sharpe and say l won't be home to
luncheon and go and get your dinner"
| Then. when the soldier was well be-
| yond earshot, the colonel turned on the
| fiery young Virginian. CDR. Armi-
stead" Isaid he impressively, "you may
| judge for yourself as to the telegram,
but for the present have simply to
warn you to keep your temper and
away from Mr.. Langdon. There's to
be no meeting between you two in or
around this post. Understand that,
and Good day to you, sir"
This was four days after Langdon's
arrival, and by another day the Chica-
go papers had reached Pawnee and
served. as fuel to the flame of excite
ment already in full blast. TO begin
with Old Hurricane, Langdons faith
| full valet and servant, had been be-
quehthed to the care of Rodney May
and Woodrow, had been given q little
room back OF the main mess building
/ ord In VIC poc OF off
appeared as butler one evening at din
| her. A Virginia education had made
him familiar with every detail of such
duties, and. his grizzled pate and lined,
pathetic face went far to equip him to
look the character. To Langdon's
friends among the boys it seemed most
fitting that the lonely old negro mourn
Ing for his beloved master should be
cared for by their number, but Lang
don's friends were not too numerous
now that he was some weeks gone
from their midst, and Nathan, Tor
! rance. and satellites of theirs had the
floor. 1t pleased Mr.. Torrance, one
evening to speak brutally to the old
seryitor and then contemptuously of
his former employer. and when May
and Woodrow heard of the shabby af-
fair they hunted up Torrance and de-
manded the reason for his outbreak.
The particulars of that encounter never
got out, but q small party Of cronies
first cut Torrance and then "cut' loose
from the club. Taking Hurricane with
them, they set up housekeeping for
themselves, and this new establish
ment was in smooth running order,
very harmonious and companionable,
when the Sheridan news was received,
whereas there were still dissensions at
"the mess" The married men had all
club privileges, of course, but no seat
at table. The 10 or 20 bachelors who
thrice day had been accustomed to
commune together over the board had
taken much comfort in Hurricanes CO.
lonial dignity Of manner and consum-
| mate knowledge of a buffers duty.
They were annoyed that Torrance
should have taken it upon himself to
abuse servitor who was in nowise in
| his pay or under his authority; but,
having, fniled to pass the vote Of CEN
sure proposed by May, Woodrow and
lie Due or to take any measure what
ever to insure their butler against fur
ther abuse, they had precipitated the
secession Of six Of their choicest spirits
and with the six had lost Hurricane
! When 1t was too late, some of tho main
establishment thought they fought to
do something" for the six who seeded
We're gentlemen. and, il one might
judge from language and conduct, Tor
rance WAS not. Wealth, won with his
lackadaisical wife, had made him arro-
CANT, but nothing could make him pop
ular. The membership of the officers
club included the entire commissioned
list OF the garrison-cavalry, artillery
and staff. Cat" Of course was presi-
dent, but Mrs. "Cat" had her objections
to his giving much time to social enjoy
ment within its walls, and the doughty
| veteran who had led dozen dashing
4 charges during the great war and who
bore the scars Of more than one sharp
scrimmage with the redskins on the
1 frontier was no match for his better
half In domestic encounter. Mrs. "Cat"