The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-01-18
CHAPTER X
A Woman's Tenderness

Woman's Ie0Gef0CaS
Youth IL never largely given % re.
Election. which is the s.r OF years,
and although my life had Ia measure
rendered ne more thoughtful tran !
might have proven urdD ordinary
conditions, yet It is TO be- frankly con
tessed, by one degrous OF writing
merely tho truth, that ! generally
acted more upon impulse than reason
AZ ltood forth IN the sunlight OF
hat lonely noun = 10 !. my hands
securely bound behind my back. the
end OF the rope held by one OF my
captors, while his fellow leaned lazIly
upon his gun and watched Ms,
thought somewhat deeply over the ST,
uatIon and those peculiar CircUm
stances leading NJ to "
Under other conditions ! might have
felt tempted TO enter into converse.
ton with my guards, who. as ! now
perceived were far from being the
t1u.n hEniiiI had ut first imagined
Judging from their faces and Language
thcY We're Intelligent enough young
fellows such ~ / had often found IN
the ranks NJ the Federal army. But
| realized they rould aid me little.
II any. In the one thing | most de.
sired to know. and oven II they could.
sense Of dcllcacy would have caused
me to hesitate In asking those per.
Bonal questions that burned upon my
lips, My deep and abiding respect for
this woman whom had so strangely
met, and with whom | had attained
some degree OF intimacy. would never
permit OF my discussing her. even In
directly, with private soldiers behind
the back Of their officer. Every sense
Of honor revolted at such a 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 a soldier | realized all its
dangers,-I gave It but little consldera
ton. Usually quick Of wit. fertile In
expedlents. 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 guard, as we'll as tho thorough
manner in which ! was bound. rend
cred any such attempt tho merest
madness
Then It was that other thoughts
came surging upon me In series OF
lnterrogatories, which no knowledge |
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-whlch | could not In the least
reconcile with that thought Her ex-
IRENE youthfulness made me feel #
improbable, and the impression re.
NAMED with me that she intended to
make some explanation Of her words,
when the coming OF Bungay inter.
ruptod Us. How they might be OK.
planned could not Imagine; ! merely
struggled against accepting what /
lOnged 10 believe untrue And this
man? this Federal major bearing the
same name, whom she called Frank,
who was he? What manner OF rela.
tionshlp 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?
II 80, was he brother, friend, or hus.
band?
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. 1t may be fashionable
nowadays to sneor at love, yet certain
II is, the rare personality OF this
Edith Brennan had reached and In.
fluenced me In those few hours we
had been thrown together as that OF
no other woman had ever done. Pos
sibIy this was so because the long
years In camp and field had kept me
isolated from all cultured and refined
womanhood This may. indeed. have
caused rle to be peculiarly susceptible
IN the beauty and purity Of this one.