Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1905-03-31

FIRST caught Benton's weary eyes. But
On this lovely. breathless evening no
human form appeared, no human voice
was heard in concert with the vesper
hymn OF the myriad songsters of the
air. Purposely had Benton given no
hint OF his coming. Indeed, to whom
should he send word? Why should he
send to any one? Why, indeed, should
he have come at all?
Three years before, this very month,
he had escaped in the darkness of mid
night from these surroundings, and it
was Rosalie who pointed the way. Two
years before, this very month, she had
driven him forth from her presence, or
turned from him in fury of disdain,
with insult on her lips, with wrath and
contempt in her flashing eyes Surely,
encouragement he had none, yet, the
moment military duty would permit,
here again he stood, the knight. the
champion, the lover she had spurned,
and never again even by faintest sign
had summoned
He wished her not to know of his
coming. Men who deeply love and
deeply long for answering symptom
throw to the winds their every chancs
in coming heralded, for the fondest wo-
man, given time and warning, is a
consummate dissem bier The warmest
heart will coat itself with ice impene-
trable. No, he meant to take her by
surprise as completely as Gordon's fell
lows had amazed the men of the Eighth
corps that dark dawn under the shad-
ows of old Massanutten, and only to
Winston at Richmond had he spoken
of the possib ility OF his stopping over
day at Charlottesville. Half a
dozen girls, however, knew of the
presence of the invader before Resale
Chiffon, but none learned it in just
such a way.
A few minutes Benton stood there in
silent reconnaissance. He might have
seized the old-fashioned brass knocker
at the door and brought somebody in
answer to the summons, but that would
have spoiled the surprise. He be-
tn ought him of that old arbor in the
garden, and wondered if he could pass
the windows and the kitchen without
attracting notice. Then, looking about
him, and drawing closer to the shelter
Of the vine-shaded portico, he saw
that the placidly grazing horse had
uplifted his venerable head and, with
ears on end, was regarding, evidently,
some approaching object; then, with
low and welcoming Whitney, moved
slowly through the fruit trees as
though to meet some one still beyond
the field of the soldiers vision. Then
it was that Benton for the first time
realized that this was old Pyramus,
the horse that three years before had
safely borne him through the woods
and by-rOads to the mountain CO Bin,
thence on to the gaps of the Blue
ridge, on from Rivanna to the Rapidan,
and again to Bucklands and the final
rescue north OF Bristoe, only to be
turned loose and abandoned to the pur-
suing gray-coats when poor Hector
sank exhausted, crippled, and begging
not to be left to the vengeance of the
foe Pelham's friends must have re-
stored the old horse to his owners, yet
now the veteran was being made at
home here at the Chiltons'. How
came that?
Fred would have gone instantly to
renew acquaintance and reward his
old fOur-fOOted friend witS careSS and
praise but someone else was crossing
the lawn, with a white hand extended,
palm uppermost. before heT-some one
in white dimity, though Benton didn't
know it from damask, and cared moth
ing what it was. save that the waist,
at least, chung to the queenIy form he
was so thrilled to see. The volumin-
Gus skirt was doing its best to balloon
without the aid of ''skeleton;" for
crinoline, being the height of fashion,
was contraband of war, scarce in the
south as cinchona; but these were de-
tails of which Benton took no note.
There had been a time when he fully
intended that, not SO much for what
she had said in her wrath as for what
she must have believed of him, this
proud, imperious, wilful girl should be
made to feel that he, too, could rebuke.
but at sight of her and the WEAKNESS
and lassitude with which she moved,
all this seemed vanished into the air.
All that he now saw-heard-felt-
| knew-was that it was she, Rosalie,
who, only half a dozen rods away,
| lovely as ever in her dark beauty, yet
pathetically changed had thrown one
arm about that scrawny, grizzled, equine
neck, and stood softly stroking the
lean old head, softly murmuring to the
unheeding ear and nesting the warm
velvet of her cheek upon that unre-
sponsive jowl-an that sweetness
thrown away upon superannuated
steed that, ignoring sweets incompar-
able, nuZzled about her rounded neck
and arms in quest of lump sugar, long
since a forgotten luxury. Rosalie's
| back was toward the intruder in blue.
as: no longer hesitant, he went str1d-
ing under the trees until almost with
Low Of OT- t1xyT. INN
while, regarding him with mute and
placid curiosity, with neither hope nor
fear. And here the soldier stood and