Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-04-01


priests at the mission. who treat me
lust like one of themselves. but
somebody will want to marry me some
day, I suppose. so vusr,v -..~-.
what Is wrong with me-" She flushed
IN darkly under her brown checks
Corporal Thomas began TO perspire
uncomfortaby, but went on doggedly:
I'm goin' to tell you n story. not
because 1t applies to Lieutenant Bur
rell"--
"Of course" said the girl.
but Just to show you what mean.
1t was n good long spell ago. when !
was Mt Fort Supply, which was the .
| frontier in them days. like this is now.
We frcightcd In from Dodge City with
bull teams. and 1t was sure the fringe
OF the fronticr-no women. no society, ,
nothin' much except fort, lot of In
! jurs and few officials with their !
wives ard families. Now, them kind ,
OF places Is all right for Elarr'ed mon, |
but they're tough slcddin' for single /
ones, and after awhile n Teller gets
awful careless about himself lie
seems TO go backward and run down /.
mighty quick when he gets away from !
civilization and his people and rcstau- |
rants and such thincs. He gets plumb !
reckless and forgetful OF what's what /
| There was a captain with us. young
Teller that looked like the lieutenant
here and good deal the same sort
high tempered and chivalrious and all
that sort Of thing, West Pointer. too,
good family and ali that, and. what's
more n captain Mt twenty-five. Now.
our head freightcr was married to a
| squaW, CT leastwGys he had been, but
in them days nobody thought much Of
it any more than thcy do UP here NOW,
and Particularly because he'd had a
government contract for long while,
ran a big gang Of men and critters and
had made Il lot CT money. Likewise
he had q girl. who lived AZ the fort ard
WIS mighty nice to look at ned restful
to the eye after Il year or so of cactus
trees and mesquite and buffalo grass.
She was twice as rice and twice as
pretty as the women ut the post, and
as for money her dad could have
bought ard sold oil the officers in q
lump, but they ard their wives looked
down on her, and she didn't mix with
them none whatever To make 1t
short. the captain married her. Seem
cd like he got disreSardful of every
thing, and the hunger to have q wonl-
an just overpowered him. She'd been
courted by every single man for 400
miles around. She was pretty and full
Of fire, and they was both OF an age to
love hard. SO Jefferson sworc he'd
make the other women take her, but
sodierin' Is heap different from any
other profession. and the army has got
Its own traditions. The plan wouldn't
work.
BY and by the captain got tired Of
tryin' and gave up the attempt-just
devoted himself to hcr-and then we
was transferred. all but him. We shift
cd to better post. but Captain Jeffcr
son was changed to another company
and had to stay at Supply. Gee, it
was rotten hole. Influence had beer.
used, and there he stuck while the
new officers cut him out completely,
just like the others had done. so l was
told, and it drifted on that way for n
long time. him forever maxim an up
, Llli uSAI " SCl HIS W llC itCO ulLO anu
always quittin' loser His folks back
east was scandalized and froze him
cold calm him a squaw man. and the
,, story went all through the army, TIL
his brother officers had TO treat him
cold in order to keep enough warmth
; at homt to live by, one thing leadin
to another till he finally resented it
openly. After that he didn't last long.
? They made it SO unpleasant that he
quit the service-crow him out,
, that's all He was born soldier, too,
and didn't know nothin' else nor care
for nothin' else; as fine a man as
, ever served under, but it soured him
SO that rattlesnake couldn't have
lived with him. He tried to go into
, some kind Of business after he Quit the
army, but he wasn't cut out for it and
never made good as long as knew Of
him. The last time l seen him was
. down on the border, and he had sure
{ grown cultus. He had quit the squaw
who was livir' with greaser in Tue
5 som
! And do you think I'm like that wo-
mani" said Nicola IN queer, strained
voice. She had listened intcntly TO the
5 corporals story, but he had purposely
J avoided her eyes ard could not tell
how she was taking it.
5 mo. You're different, but the army
! is just the same. told you this to
show you how 1t is out in the States.
, 1t don't apply to you, Of course
, "Of course" agreed Nccia again.
, but what would happen to Lieuten-
, ant Eurrell if-if--well, IL he should do
something like that? There are many
4 half breed girls, dare say, like this
other GIRL or-llke me-"
She did not flush now as before. In
stead her cheeks were pale.
ut would 60 heap worse with him
than 1t did with Captain Jefferson"
said the corporal. "for he's got more
ahead of him. and he comes from bet
>. ter stock. Why. his family is way up"
Z II never thought Of myself as an In
diam" said Necia DULY. in this coun-
, try it's persons heart that counts"
q THAT'S how 1t ought to be- said the
i corporal heartily, "and I'm mighty sor-
!, ry If I've hurt you, little girl, I'm a
:. rough old rooster, and never thought
; but what you understood all this. Up
here folks look at 1t right, but outside
it's mighty different Even yet you