The citizen., 1913-06-27

'4S Hope-natural coquette that
she was-to regain her hold upon
MN! The man smiled grimly. conf.
dent OF his own strength. Yet whv
should she care for such A conouest
me winning of common soldier?
lhere must be some better reason,
some more subtle purpose. Could it
De that she feared him. that she was
AFRAID that he might speak to her in.
Jury! This was by far the most like
~ supposition. Molly McDonald-the
woman was aware of their acouaint-
ance, and was already alarmed at its
possible result
Hamlin stood up resolved He
would meet the woman, not from any
desire OF his own, but to learn her
purpose, and protect the girl The
meeting could not injure him, not
even bring a swiftcr beating of the
heart, but might give him opportunity
to serve the other. And LIE Fevre-
surely she could tell him something
of LIE Fevre.
Leave was easily obtained. and the
sergeant, rejoicing in freshly issued
uniform, dressed with all the care pos
slble, his interest reviving at this new
point of view. 1t was not far down
the bluff road to the squalid little viii
lage which had naturally developed in
close proximity to the fort-near
enough for protection, yet far
enough removed to be lawless-a
rough frontier outpost town, of shacks
and tents, most of these dispensing
vile liquors. Among these, more en-
terprising spirits-hopeful of future
development--had erected larger
buildings, usually barn-like, with false
fronts facing the single main street
filed with miscellaneous stocks of
goods or used for purposes not so le
gitimate. One Of these housed the
Poodle Dog" saloon. with gambling
rooms above while a few doors below
was great dance hall, easily convert
ed into theater if occasion arose-a
grotesque. onestored moLStrosity. Be
low these was the stage office, built
against the three-storied wooden ho-
tel, which boasted of wide porch on
two sides, and was a picture of ugli.
ness.
BY daylight all was squalor and dirt
dingy tents tapping in the ceaseless
wind, unpainted shacks, wooden
houses with boards warping under the
hot sun, the single street deep in yel
low dust, the surrounding prairie lit
tered with tin cans, and all manner OF
debris. But with the coming of night
much of this roughness departed. Sol
diers from the garrison on pass, idle
plainsmen, bull-whackers, adventurers
of all kinds stranded here because of
Indian activity, stray cowboys from
the nearby valleys, thronged the nu-
merous dives, seeking excitement.
Women gaudy of dress, shrill of voice
fitted from door to door through the
jostling crowds. Lamps blazed over
the motley assembly, loud-voced bark
ers yelled, and band added its dis
cords TO the din. The Poodle Dog"
glared in light, resounded with noise;
lamps cleaned from the hotel win
dows, and the huge dance hall stood
wide open. Out from the shacks and
tents crept the days sleepers for
night of revelry; along the trails rode
others eager for excitement; it was
the harvest-time of those birds of prey
in saloon and gambling hell.
Hamlin saw all this, but gave the
surroundings little thought. He was
of the West, of the frontier, and be-
held nothing unique in the scene.
Moreover, the purpose for which he
was there overshadowed all else, left
him indifferent to the noise, the jost-
ling. drunken crowd. Some he met
but he passed them in word. and
pressed his way forward. At the ho-
tel he mounted the steps and entered
The office was in one corner of the
bar-room. The proprietor himself, a
bald-headed Irishman, sat with feet
cooked up on the counter, smoking,
and barely glancing up as the Ser
geant asked for Mrs. Dupont.
who are yer?" he asked.
my name is Hamlin; / am here on
the lady's invitation"
Sure; thets ther name all right,
me bhoy. Yer ter go out on the east
porch there, an wait bit whole
sind her word yer here. Dim imag-
inin' she he'd sum doubts about yer
comm, the way she spoke"
How do | get there?"
Through the winder of the parlur
over thar-sure. it's a noice quiet spot
fer a tate-a-tate" He got up, and
peered through his glasses across the
room. Here Moike; damn thet slapy
head VIII one O. yer gents wake the
lad-that's it. Now come here. Moike.
You run over to the Palace an tell
Mrs. Dupont the feller is here waitin'.
Hold on now. not so fast; wait till
Oj'm done tellin' yer. Say thet to her
alone-do yer moind thet, ye sap-head;
nobody else is to hear whut yer say;
stay there till yer git a chance ter
whisper it to her. Now skip"
Hamlin hesitated. watching the boy
disappear
"At the Palace-the dance hall
across the street" lie asked incredu-
lously.
Sure" indifferently, relighting his
nine ,Officers' ball; couldn't break in
with a can-opener unless you had in
vite. Guards at both ends, sergeant
taking tickets, an Third Regiment
Band maxim music He'll of swell af-