Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1906-07-05
BY THE
mon KEY"
DRILL ~
Michael james
Copyright, rsos, by Ruby Douglas


when Rex Burgess had invited the par
! u to pile In
"Oh, Gormley can ride on the front
seat with the driver" Burgess had re
piled lightly enough, though Gormley
felt the undercurrent of malice In his
voice, ''up near the horses. These gal.
liant cavalrymen like to be about
horses, you know"
A January thaw had left the clay
roads liquid, but hard freeze follow.
Ing had reduced them to smooth iron,
and the rumble of the wagon on the
hard surface echoed far through the
breathless, glittering cold OF the moon
light.
Ii was the night of the Grangers'
party at Merrifeld town hall, five miles
from Slocum, and a week before Bur
CESS had invited half dozen young
people Of Slocum to attend, riding over
In his sleigh The thaw had necessi-
tated the change from sleigh to wagon.
II wish hadn't come, / wish
hadn't come" beat necessarily In
Gormley's brain to the steady clop-clop
of the horses feet. II had no business
to do It. Burgess is boor. He never
forgets his money nor remembers his
manners. What got into me, l won
derY and much more of the same sort
Of self deception, for Gormley knew
perfectly why he was Drawing the nip
ping cold and Burgess thrusts. Moth
Ing but sudden death could have kept
him away. Sylvia Gerrish was there
dashed by the thought that Burgess
was nearer still-beside her, in fact
To secure that coveted place their host
had boldly ordered his rival to the
front seat.
Any man with red blood In his veins
could scarcely blame Burgess for his
maneuvering. The girl was a bewitch-
Ing little figure. mutiied in furs, a CO
quettish red tam-o'-shanter setting Off
her piquant face and mischievous eyes
Burgess had never seen her look pref
tier, and he glowed with satisfaction at
his neat disposal, for the drive at least.
Of his rival.
ley, by nature almost too submissive,
was near to being reused. He was
flashing himself In bitterness of spirit.
II had always been so. Fate had made
him the football of Rex Burgess, even
In schooldays. Burgess was big and
brave and handsome, while he was
slight and pale faced. The boys had
nicknamed Gormley "Molly" because
he had once tainted at the sight OF
blood. Burgess father was the wealth
lest man In Slocum, and every cent of
the money would one day belong to
Rex, for he was the only child.
Regardless of the merry chatter and
the snatches of song from the others,
Gormley plunged deeper into his mel
ancholy reflections. He, puny clerk in
dry goods store, to aspire to Sylvia
Gerrish's love against one so favored
of gods and men as Burgess!
His cheeks burned, too, when he
thought of the others contemptuous
reference to "cavalrymen." Frankly.
he admitted. 1t was ridiculous that he.
Molly" Gormley, should have martial
aspirations. Yet when the state mill
tary board had offered Slocum the
equipment for a troop of cavalry for
the national guard Gormley had been
unanimously chosen captain. And he
was the man for the place. He could
ride. 1t had always been the sport In
which he excelled. He knew the .'mon-
key" drill Of the United States cavalry
az he knew the alphabet.
They talk Of Cossacks and Bedouin
Arabs and Indians and the way these
savages handle horse, but the man
who follows the yellow guidon Is a lit
tie the best horseman of them all. And
Captain molly" Gormley, Troop A,
First cavalry, state troops, rode like
regular whether In the saddle, bare
backed over the hurdles or standing,
each foot planted firmly on the back Of
q galloping horse. Besides the first
qualification of a cavalryman he had
the other requisite for an officer, the
gift of command, and even West Point
can't touch that. So despite the fact
that his body quailed at the sight OF
blood Gormley's spirit sang with the
notes of the bugle when Troop A. two
long straight lines Of men and horses
moving beautifully In unison. passed
In review at camp.
The thought Of his creation--he had
made Troop A the pride Of the national
guard In the two years 1t had been or
ganized-gradually lightened the gloom
which had overspread Gormleys splr-
Its. He reflected with considerable COM
fort that Burgess could not ride well.
The big fellow did not understand
horses and feared them. The bully In
him crept ont, too. on horseback. He
thought 1t merely discipline to jerk the |
head Of his mount cruelty and without
reason. Burgess was not member Of |
Troop A. Maybe this ding at cavalry
men" had been due to envy.
Even the possibility that Burgess en-
Wed him was balm to 0ormley's sore |
heart. Aud II he could only plan II 20
- to cit BY Sylvia on the homeward |
journey now his cup Of Joy would be
suil- 1t was mighty bound from the
depths or despair almost q the pima
Gle Of bliss In one short half hour, but |
Gormley was young, and youth has
hope for Z heritsSs
insensibly the young man was IT.
txacted BY the beauty Of the night. I
The burnished moon glistened On mil
Hons Of tiny floating frost crystals IN
n they sparkled like diamond dust l