The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-09-01
Cavalry Lover
By
CHARLES ". LAMB
written for this paper.)

written for this paper)
hhKAJoR, want I should tell you a
N story?"
And the little sergeant took his pipe
from between his teeth long enough
TO speak, the while estopping the burn
Ing tobacco in the bowl with we'll
tleined little finger.
Story? That's kid talk. Why don't
yo, talk man and say lie? You lev
enth cavalery fellers can't talk any
straighter than you can Shoot
And Smithy, Little Smithy," hard
riding Trumpeter smithy, Of the
Dandy Fifth,' gave my off shoe sole
touch with his nigh one as we sat
together about the recruiting Office
stove, our feet half as high as our
heads, for it was cold, clustering day
in the Christmas season and I was
spending an hour with these old cav
alrymen whom wounds, received in
that wild frontier life of which they
so loved to talk, had sent to the
prosaic work of recruiting or retire.
ment-and they chose the former.
''I'll tell you love story" the ser
geant went on, not needing Smithy' s
interruption, for the sergeant and
Smithy were such good friends they
were always slandering each other, al
ways ready to scrap with each other,
approximation each other in reality
"A cavalry love story?"
"A love story" and Smithy's sheer
was an excellent imitation of the real
thing. Heap you know about love-"
"Ah, go on, you sawed off, patched
pants, broncho buster, you," rejoined
the sergeant. "Course I know about
love. Didn't love that housekeeping
chestnut sorre1 mare I rode in old
H troop along with Fourth Cavalry
Lawton when we licked Geronimo?"
"Oh,' SAID Smithy with an apparent
sigh Of relief, II thought you was
agoing to say that housekeeping Mo-
have squaw down at San Carlos" and
Smithy's face wore, or rather bore, a
look of beatifc satisfaction.
know about love-" the sergeant
went on, not needing the interruption
Didn't some writer Teller say that
only a soldier and poet could love
and amt l been in the cavalry &c
years; and amt the cavalry the only
soldiers? l don't know nothing about
poets, but I heard some teller say the
major was one Of that kind and he
loves the cavalry himself"
smiled.
But as was agoing to say"
Then why in Font Yuma don't 70,
say it?'' broke in the loose-tonguec
Smithy.
But az I was agoing to say" re
peated the sergeant, Jimmy Helde1
was corporal in old troop +
along in them old Arizona days. Tha
was about the time Smithy was a lick
ing SHINING Jim and we was dow1
along the Sonora line" Here Smithy
smiled broadly and audibly at thu
mention of the chief he had helped tt
subdue. And Johnny Bacon was {
corporal also and likewise. Helde,
was in my troop and he was a likely
sort of a Teller with hot temper ant
hard fist Bacon was in G troop anc
he Joined us after we had been on the
ella about a year.
I'VE had saddler with H troo1
named Jonson, big, good-natured
Swede, and he had a girl-well, yor
just had to look at her once and Their
you'd look again. Only she WOULDN'T
stand no fooling. Most of the boys
was stuck on her, but Helder got il
bad. He talked about her in his S|eep
and he was for licking any Teller who
winked at her with his of eye. After
awhile he wanted her to marry him
but she didn't savvy and STAYED hin
off.
well, by and by G troop comes rid
ing from New Mexico and takes guar
tiers in the other set of barracks ant
stables and with it comes john,
Bacon, as spruce and neat little cav
alryman as ever brushed Arizona des
ert dust of scouting hat. AND
smart, too, bucking hard to be an of
ficer. And as soon as he see Hilds
Jonson it was Just like all the rest
Hilda took rather shine to him frs
crack out, too. Helder was crazy ant
talked about licking him and in gen
eral made a fool of himself. Which
we told him. But Bacon didn't car,
and Hilda didn't mind"
Sergeant" broke in Smithy, DELHI
erately, you're a liar!''
Whats that?" came from the ser
geant, with well-feigned severity, a,
the hand made bluff of reaching TO,
the pigeon hole from which protrudet
the butt of the big blue Colt.
You're a liar" slowly repeated the
little e3-trumpeter. dc YOU suppose