Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-04-05
MAsH,Sc7oN STANDARD
The CoIOneI's Kid

lCopyri.;ht le-t; Il, M,ElJi'. ThilNiS% col
Among the batch IF lurtH recruits re-
ceivrl AT Fort Blank "I" clay from
jefferson BARRACKS WIS one who at
tract,rl attention immediately from his
superior looks and hearing. III" h:id
an ariStocratir face. II good figure. AMI
il WAS evident III Il -ilir" that he did
not h,-l"u:: anon" that .'rnW,, Private
UnrLrr had not l.,.,n i'll the barracks
an hour when it had been determined
from colonel to corporal that he was
II man who must be disciplined.
Colonel Banks had lost his wife two
years before but he had not sent his
little daughter Edith east among rela-
tives. as it had been supposed he would
do She was a handsome. sunny haired
child of ten. and he cluug to her AMI
had ~ aunt come out and act us his
hoIsekeeper and mother to the moth
crless. Scarcely any one at the fort
gave the child her name when speaking
of her. She WAS referred t. affection
ut"ly us the culonel's kid.
The colonelS kid stood holding her
fathers hand when the recruits lined
up for roll call. Her eyes roved along
the line until they rested on IIarkcr.
and there they paused. There was that
In his face that attracted her. and she
secretly determined to be friends with
him. lie saw her from his place In
the ranks, and his face sOftened. lie
dared not smile ut her, but more friend
Illness came into his heart than had
been there for many n day. The next
day, and the next. and the next, he saw
her from a distance while he was be-
ing drilled. On the fourth day, while
he was doing sentry duty Mt the flag
staff, she came walking up to him and
held out her hand and said:
Il like you. Won't you shake hands,"
Private Harker's face was all smiles
as he took her hand and assured her
that he liked her In return and that
back in the east he had little niece
who looked almost like her. Ten
minutes later the colonel's kid was
back in Officers row with tears In her
eyes, and Private Harker was In the
guardhouse. 1t was tremendous
breach of discipline he had committed.
Never before In the history Of the
American army. according to the SER
geant, had sentry on duty dared to
pause In his monotonous tramp and
ground arms and shake the colonels
daughter by the hand. The captain
agreed with the sergeant, and Private
Harker got five days confinement. He
knew that spite was the foundation.
and he set his jaw hard. He had been
Mt liberty only three days when fault
was found with him at inspection of
barracks. He answered back. and this
time 1t was ten days in the guard
house. At the end Of that time lie was
called before the colonel.
In barracks even the children know
what goes on. The colonel's kid had
learned that Private Harker had been
disgraced for shaking hands with her.
She defended him. When he received
his second sentence. she defended him
more vigorously. In fact, she wept
over 1t and was scolded by her father
friendships In an hour. but their judg-
ment Is not as good as the intuition Of
a child. The kid had taken liking to
Private Harker. and they argued In
vain. The colonel was upset over It
He was In angry mood when he re-
ceived the recruit. There was nothing
he could do officially. and yet he would
not talk as man to man.
Private Harker," he began, II am
sorry to hear bad reports of you. If
you begin this way. where will you
end? You may be above the common
run, sir. but let me tell you that you
can put on no airs here. II I catch
you tripping again. shall put you
down as q trouble maker and act ac-
cordingly. Go to your quarters. SIR"
The intent had been to humiliate him.
and the soldier knew 1t. From that
hour on he had but one object in view:
It took him three months to accomplish
It, but in the end he had talked revolt
until the 200 rank and file at the post
were ripe for 1t. They would leave the
fort and scatter among the mines and
ranches. Before leaving they would
kill four or five Of the officers that had
been marked down. Never was q con-
spiracy better planned or q secret bet
ter kept. Not the slightest hint reach
ed the officers ears or the ears of those
who would remain loyal. At 10 o'clock
at night the 200 would arm, parade
and march out in the face Of the off,
GERS. and there would be shooting done
before the last of them left the gate. =
The signal was to be given by Pri-
vate Harker-a musket shot. He had
planned for days that the ball from
that musket should find the colonel's
heart. He would reach the coloners
quarters and fire ON him through an
open Window. They had kept the kid
out Of his sight for weeks. and be did
not take her into account in his plan
ming. 1t was her father he meant to
kill, but her feelings were not consid.
cred. When the night came, he slipped
out Of barracks. lodged across the pa
rade ground and skulked up a dark
alley and reached the point aimed at.
The evening was warm, and the colo
mel had fallen ascleep as he sat over
his papers. The soldier raised his mus
ket and drew a fair bead for the off,
GERS heart, and his finger was pressing
the trigger when a hand was gently
laid on his arm. He lowered his mus
ket to find the kid by his side and
standing ON her tiptoes to whisper:
Don't shoot him. He is my father.
He don't like you. but for my sake
don't shoot him."
Private Harker bent down and kiss
cd the child and then walked away and
oct Of the fort and was never seen
again. The signal did not come, and the
waiting conspirators covered N their
hunks and made no move. The colo
nel's kid had saved the day.
NJ QUAD
Work and Fatigue.
What fatigues the motive power Is
getting to work. Once the mind Is fas.
cln0te1 and the field Of consciousn o~o