The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-03-13

what made me worry; that, and know
Ing a single misstep. the slightest
noise. would bring those devils on US.
where I couldn't fight, where there
was just one thing I could do"
There was silence, her hands
pressed to her face. her eyes fixed on
him. Then she questioned him soberly.
you mean. kill met"
Sure" he answered simply. with
out looking around: Il would have had
to do it-just as though you were Q
sister Of NINE"
Her hands reached out and clasped
his, and he glanced aside at her face,
seeing 1t clearly.
II thought you would" she said.
her voice trembling. Il was going
to ask you once before I was hurt,
but-but / couldn't, and somehow I
trusted you from the first. when you
got In" She hesitated. and then
asked: How did you know I was
Molly Mcdonald? You never asked"
The Sergeant's eyes smiled, turning
away from her face to stare out across
the river.
Because I had seen your picture"
my picture? But you told US you
were from Fort Union?"
Eyes; that Is my station, only I had
been sent to the cantonment on the
Cimarron with dispatches. Your ia
Their was in command there, and wor-
ried half to death about you. He could
not leave the post, and the only officer
remaining there with him was a dis
abled cavalry captain. Every man he
could trust was out on scouting serv-
Ice. He took a chance on me. Maybe
he liked my looks, / don't know; more
probably, he judged I wouldn't be a
sergeant and entrusted with those dis
patches I'd just brought in, II / wasn't
considered trustworthy. Anyhow I had
barely fallen asleep when the orderly
called me, and that was what was
wanted-that l ride north and head
you off,"
but you were not obliged to go?"
mo; l was not under your fathers
orders. l doubt If / would have con-
sented II I hadn't been shown your
picture. / couldn't very well refuse
then"
She sat with hands clasped togeth-
er, her eyes Swallowed by long lashes.
81 should have thought there would
have been some soldiers there-his
own men,"
There were," dryly, but the army
just now is recruited out Of pretty
tough material. To be in the ranks Is
almost a confession Of good-for-noth.
ingness. You are an officers daugh-
ter and understand this to be true"
YES" she answered doubtfully. 81
have been brought up thinking SO;
only, of course, there are exceptions"
mo doubt, and l hope l am already
counted one"
"You know you are. My father
trusted you, and sc do l."
II have wondered sometimes" he
said musingly, watching her face bare
ly visible in the dawn, whether those
Of your class actually considered US
as being really human, as anything
more valuable than mere food for DOW
tNOAs L SohlO Aato AN iC6dloi LII az
the close Of the war from the volun-
teer service. l was accustomed to dis
cipline and all that, and knew my
place. But / never suspected then
that q private soldier was considered
a dog. Yet that was the first lesson
I was compelled to learn. 1t has been
pretty hard sometimes to hold in, for
thar1 xyoo N x{-r0 x,hzn 7 AoI 49,
cial standing and could resent an In
suit"
She was looking straight at him.
surprised at the bitterness In his
voice.
They carry it altogether too far"
she said. II have often thought that
mostly the young officers. the West
Pointers-and yet you know that the
majority Of enlisted men are-well,
dragged from the slums. My father
says 1t has been impossible to recruit
a good class since the war closed, that
the right kind had all the army they
wanted"
Which is true enough. but there
are good men nevertheless, and every
commander knows 1t. A little consid-
crate treatment would make them bet
ter still"
She shook her head qu~estioningly.
II do not know" she admitted. 81
suppose there are two viewpoints. You
were In the volunteers, you said. Why
did you enlist In the regulars?" .
Largely because I liked soldering.
or thought I did. I knew there would
be plenty Of fighting out here, and, I
believed, advancement"
you mean to q commission?
Yes. You see, I did not understand
then the im~possibility. the great gulf
fixed. / dreamed that good fortune
might give me something to do worth
WHILE"
"And fate has been unkindr"
I'm a way, yes" and he laughed
rather grimly. IT bad my chance
twice: honorable mention, and all
that, but that ended II. There IL no
bridge acros the chasm. An enlisted
man is not held At for any higher po-
sition; II that was not sufficient to