Middletown transcript., 1911-11-18
CHAPTER X.
a Weman,a Tenderness

rendered me more thoughtful than ]
might have proven under ordinary
conditions, yet 1t Ii to be frankly con-
fessed, by one deslrous Of writing
merely the truth, that generally
acted more upon impulse than reason.
As stood forth In the sunlight Of
that lonely mountain road, my hands
securely bound behind my back, the
end OF the rope held by one Of my
captoFs, while his fellow leaned lazily
upon hIs gun and watched us: !
thought somewhat deeply over the sit
6atioa and those peculiar circum-
stances leading up to It
Under other conditions might have
felt tempted to enter into converse:
tion with my guards, who, as now
perceived, were far from being the
rough banditd had at first imagined.
Judging from their faces and language
they were intelligent enough young
fellows, such as ! had often found In
the ranks of the Federal army. But
realized they could aid me little,
II any, In the one thing ! most de-
sired to know, and even II they could,
q sense OF delicacy would b. We caused
me to hesitate in asking those per.
sonal questions that burned upon my
lips. MY deep and abiding spect for
this woman whom had 30 ,irangely
met, and with whom I ha attained
some degree Of intimacy, d never
permit OF my discussing her, even in
directly, with private soldiers behind
the back OF their officer. Every sense
of honor reYolted &C such q thought.
Not through any curiosity of mine,
however justified By the depth OF my
own feeling, should she be made the
subject Of idle gossip about the camp
fire.
For, In truth, at this time, unhappy
as my own situation undeniably was
and as soldier realized all its
dangers,I gave 1t but little considers
tion. Usually quick Of wit, fertile In
expedients, ever ready to take ad-
vantage OF each opportunity, had
taken stock OF all my surroundings,
yet discovered nowhere the slightest
opening for escape. The vigilance Of
the staa4 % well IS the thorough
manner in$hich I was bound, rend-
cred any such attempt the merest
madness. Realizing this ' with the
fatalism OF veteran / resigned myself
in all patience to what must be.
Then 1t was that other thoughts
came surging upon me in series of
interrogatories which no knowledge l
possessed could possibly answer. Who
was this proud, womanly woman who
called herself Edith Brennan? She
had been at some pains to inform me
that she was married, yet there was
that about her-her bearing, her man
ner-which could not in the least
reconcile with that thought. Her ex.
treme youthfulness made me feel 1t
improbable, and the impression re-
NAMED with me that she intended to
make soma explanation OF her words,
when the coming Of Bungay inter-
rupted us. How they might be ex-
planned could not imagine; merely
struggled against accepting what /
longed to believe untrue. And this
man? this Federal major, bearing the
same name, whom she called Frank,
who was he? What manner Of rela-
tionship existed between them? In
their meeting and short intercourse
had noted several things which told
me much-that she feared, respected,
valued him, and that he was not only
swayed by, but intensely jealous Of
any rival in, her good opinion. Yet
their unexpected meeting was scarcely
that Of husband and wife. Was he
the one she sought In her night ride
from one Federal camp to another?
If so, was he brother, friend, or hus-
band? What was the bond % C4ion
existing between these two? Every
word spoken made me fear the last
must beSthe true solution.
Such were some Of the queries /
silently struggled with, and they were
rendered more acute by that deepen.
ing interest which / now confessed to
myself was feeling toward her who
inspired them. It may be fashionable
nowadays to sneer at love, yet certain
1t IL, the rare personality Of this
Edith Brennan had reached and In
fluenced me In those few hours we
had been thrown together az that OF
no other woman had ever done. Pos
sibly this was 30 because the long
years in camp and field had kept me
isolated from all cultured and refined
womanhood. This may, indeed, have
caused me to be peculiarly susceptible
to the beauty and purity Of this one.
/ know not; / am content to give
facts, and leave philosophy to others.
My life has ever been one OF action, Of
intense feeling; and there in the road
that day, standing bareheaded In the
sun. I was clearly conscious Of but
one changeless fact, that loved Edith
Brennan with every throb Of my
heart, and that there was enmity, Bit
ter and unforgiving, between me and
the man within who bore her name.
Whatever he might be to her re-
5oiced to know that he hated me with
all the unreasoning hatred Of jealousy.
! had read 1t in his eyes, in his words,
in his manner; and the memory Of itg
open manifestation caused me to
smile, as hoped for an hour when
we should meet alone and face to
face. How she regarded him was
unable as yet to tell, but his love for
her was plainly apparent In every
glance and word.
As ! was thus thinking, half "a
despair and half in hope, the two
came out from the house together;
and II pleased me to note how imme-
diataIy her eyes sought for me, and
how she lifted her hand to shade them
from the glare OF the sun, 30 that
she might see mof@ clearly. Her COM
panion appeared t& ignore my pres-
ence utterly, and gazed anxiously UP
and down the road as though search.
ing for something
Peters" he asked sharply Of the
fellow On guard, where are Sergeant
Steele and the rest of the squadg''
The soldier addressed saIuted III q
manner that com iced ne he vas 81
- ,n..-.a.ssxss r.