by Charles King
CHAPTER XXI.
RAY'S TROUBLES.
"Here we are, Billy! Whoop! What did I tell you? Official communicationsdisrupt bad grammar. The chief sends back your letter. Wants it changedagain, I suppose. It's the old, old story,--
'You can and you can't, You will and you won't; You'll be damned if you do, You'll be damned if you don't.'"
Ray took the paper with a hand that was hot and flushed. For a week hehad been in close confinement, and that and a complication of annoyancesand worries had combined to make him fretful; then some grave anxietieswere added to his troubles; and then, his quick, impetuous nature haddone the rest. He had no cool-headed adviser in Blake, who had taken upthe fight with him, and now he was involved in an official tussle withthe post authorities that added greatly to his fevered condition. He wassore in body, for the wound in his thigh was now beginning to troublehim again. He was sore at heart, for, except the impolitic Blake, he didnot seem to have a friend in the world. There had come one or two kindlittle notes from the ladies "up the row," as they called theStannard-Truscott household when they did not care to be more explicit;but these had ceased, and what was worse, in his days of worry andtrouble and heartsickness, Ray had sought comfort in an old solace, thathad done no great harm when he was living his vigorous out-of-door life,but was playing the mischief with his judgment and general condition nowthat he was penned up in the narrow limits of his quarters. Very, veryanxious had Mrs. Stannard's face become; very wistful and anxious, too,was Miss Sanford's; and very sympathetic was Mrs. Truscott's. The firstfew days of his arrest they used to stroll down the line, and make it apoint to go there and chat with him on his piazza; and this exasperatedold Whaling, who was indignant that the cavalry ladies should make amartyr of their regimental culprit. The third day of his arrest, theywere all seated there on the piazza, while Ray sat at his open window,and Hogan, his orderly, had led Dandy around to the front, and thepretty sorrel--the light of his master's eyes until eclipsed by onebefore which even Dandy's paled its ineffectual fire--was cropping thejuicy herbage in the little grass plat in front of the piazza and beingfed with loaf-sugar by delicate hands. Blake was sprawled over therailing, limp and long-legged, chatting with Mrs. Truscott. Miss Sanfordwas seated nearer the window, where Ray's eager eyes seemed to chainher, and Mrs. Stannard was doing most of the talk, for they seemedstrangely silent. It was a pleasant picture of loyalty and _esprit decorps_, thought Mr. Warner, as he came down from the office; but to oldWhaling, coming home crabbed from the store, where his postquartermaster had beaten him several games of pool, it was a gallingsight. The ladies bowed in quiet, modified courtesy,--there was nocordiality whatever in it. Blake straightened up and saluted hissuperior in a purely perfunctory style that had nothing of deference andlittle of respect in it, and the colonel and his quartermaster bothraised their caps in evident embarrassment. They looked back at Dandyafter they had passed on a few rods, and Blake muttered,--
"Now, Billy boy, they'll be sending you a note to keep your horse out ofyour front yard hereafter." But Blake had undershot the mark.
That evening there came bad news. Rallston had been named as one of theprincipal witnesses, and Ray had telegraphed and written to his sisterat Omaha asking where he was. His letter explained the situation he wasin, and, though he would say nothing to accuse her husband, he told herthat one of the allegations was that he had accepted five hundreddollars from him as a bribe to induce him to "pass" certain horses. Thefacts were these: Rallston had been among the first to welcome him toKansas City, had taken him to his own rooms, had been most cordial andkind, had brought all manner of loving inquiries from sister Nell, andan invitation from her to visit them at Omaha before his return. Ray didnot and would not drink anything beyond a little wine at dinner, norcould he be induced to touch a card at play, though every evening someof Rallston's friends were there playing poker, and Ray was a laughingand interested spectator. In the course of two or three days Rallstonhad grown very confidential, and had finally, most gracefully, told Raythat he had disliked to mention it until he felt he knew him well, butthat Nelly had told him her brother had some outstanding debts; he owedmoney to several different parties and it worried him; they were dunninghim all at the same time, and he could only meet their claimssuccessively. "Now," said Rallston, "why not let me be your banker? Letme hand you the amount you owe these fellows. Pay 'em off at once, andthen you're a free man. You can repay me when you choose, and if younever do, why, it's all right--it's Nell's present to you. I've gotseveral thousand dollars in the bank this moment that I've no use for;"and Ray had thanked him from the bottom of his heart and accepted. Laterthere began to grow a breach. Rallston had quickly seen how keen an eyeRay had for defects in horseflesh, and had striven to get him to acceptsome horses he knew to be "off color." Ray had firmly refused. Then,later, he asked Ray to sign an I. O. U. for the five hundred dollars,which was done, and the next thing he noticed Rallston was consortingwith Gleason; and when the board adjourned there was no Rallston to saygood-by. Ray went to Omaha and saw his sister, who was rejoiced to hearhow generously her husband had behaved, but Ray was a trifle worriedthen at her repeated questions about him, though Nell was brave andbuoyant as ever. She was living at the hotel until his return, and hedid not return up to the time Ray left for the regiment. Ray had writtento him and received no reply. Now he had written to her asking where hewas, and then she broke down and told him. She had not seen her husbandfor a month, and had only an occasional line. She needed money at thatmoment and knew not where to find him. She thanked God they had nochildren.
This was one letter to cause Ray bitter anxiety. Another came that heread with infinite surprise, turned over the enclosure in his hand, roseand looked through his bureau-drawer, and then, with a long whistle ofconsternation and perplexity, shoved the note and enclosure into hispocket.
All that night he was restless and feverish. The next morning brought anew trouble. Once let a fellow get in arrest and all the buzzingcontents of Pandora's box will be turned loose upon his unlucky head. Hehad risen late, could eat no breakfast, and his wound was troubling him.There came a knock at the door, and the orderly with the commandingofficer's compliments,--"Was that horse of the lieutenant's private orpublic property?"
"Why, public, of course," said Ray; "but say to the colonel that eachofficer of the --th Cavalry has been allowed to use one horse forcampaign purposes to be considered as his own."
Blake had gone off somewhere. It was too early for the ladies. Rayfretted and worried, wondering what this new move could portend, when heheard a row in the back-yard; and in came Hogan, full of fight andwrath.
"There's a doughboy sergeant out there, sir, as says he's ordered totake Dandy to the quartermaster's stables, an' I told him to go toblazes, an' whin he shtepped by me an' into the paddock an' beganuntyin' him, I told him he had a right to shpake to you furrst, an' hesaid he'd slap me into the gyard-house if I gave him any lip, and Iturned the kay on him, sir, an' here it is. I locked 'em both in, sir.Shure they couldn't take the lootenant's horse without his knowin' it,sir."
Ray took the key and hobbled out to his back door, simply telling Hoganto come with him. He was thunderstruck at the idea of their taking Dandyfrom him. He never thought of that as a possibility--Dandy, who seemedafter that wild night-ride to be part of himself.
"Go and open the door, and tell the sergeant to come here," said Ray.
But the instant the sergeant was released, he rushed out with fury inhis eye, fell upon Hogan, seized him by the collar, and, with rage inevery word and expletive, ordered him to go with him to the guard-house,swearing he'd teach him to resist an officer in the discharge of hisduty. Hogan clinched his fist and looked first as though he would knockthe sergeant into the next yard, which he was physically able to do, butdiscipline prevailed; he lifted neither hand nor voice, but simplylooked appealingly at his own officer as the sergeant marched him past.Ray called to the irate infantryman to hold on a moment, he wouldexp
lain; but Ray was in arrest and could give no orders. The sergeantknew that for the time being he was virtually the superior. He simplydid not choose to hear the lieutenant, but went on with his prisoneracross the parade, lodged him in the guard-house, then went to thequartermaster's and reported that he had been violently resisted byprivate Hogan, locked up by him in the paddock with the horse, and thatas soon as he could get out he had "arrested private Hogan and confinedhim by your order, sir," the customary formula in such cases made andprovided.
Meantime, Dandy, finding himself untied and the stable-door open, hadventured forth from the paddock while his master had hurried through thehouse to again fruitlessly call to the sergeant from the front door, andas the sorrel sniffed the mountain breeze and felt the glow of thesunshine on his glistening coat, all his love for a wild gallop hadpossessed him; he trotted out on the triangle in rear of the houses,looked triumphantly about him a second or two with his head high in air,his nostrils quivering, and his eyes dilating, then with a joyous snortand two or three exuberant plunges, with streaming mane and tail he toreaway northward, and went careering over the prairie. Miss Sanford,seated near her window in an arm-chair--and a revery, heard the thunderof hoofs, and ran to see what it meant. She stood some minutes watchingDandy racing riderless over the springy turf before she knew that Grace,too, was by her side gazing from the same window. If Billy Ray couldhave seen those two faces when Marion turned to her friend--the quick,hot flush on one, the speaking eyes of both--he would never have donewhat he _did_ do,--turn back to his room with a bitter imprecation onhis lips, with anger and desolation in his heart, and, raising his handsin almost tragic gesture of impotent wrath as he glared around at thewalls of his undeserved prison, he heartily damned the fates that hadconsigned him to the unsympathizing limits of an infantry garrison; heheartily included the colonel and quartermaster in his sweepinganathema; and then--oh, Ray! Ray! it was so weak, so pitifully weak!--hedragged forth the old demijohn, filled and drank a bumper of rye, hurledthe goblet into flinders against the door, and threw himself upon hisbed in an ecstasy of pent-up wrath and misery, just as Blake cametearing in to tell of Dandy's escapade. Yes, it was wofully weak, but aswofully human.
That the breach between the post authorities and the cavalry officerswas widened by the day's occurrences goes without saying. Blake went andasked for Hogan's release on the ground that as a cavalryman he had doneperfectly right in refusing to let the horse go until he had seen hisown officer, but the colonel properly replied that that by no meansjustified or explained his locking up the sergeant, and in plainlanguage said that Hogan should be tried forthwith. Blake then urgedthat Dandy, being a regimental horse, should be returned to Mr. Ray, asthe colonel well knew the circumstances that had endeared them to eachother; but the colonel replied that an officer in arrest had no use fora horse, and that Mr. Ray had no right to a public animal anyway. Againhad the colonel law and right on his side. Then Blake declared that thewhole regiment would resent such an action, and the colonel waspunishing Ray before he was even tried; and the colonel, who was meek asMoses in the presence of his wife, and who preferred peace to war whenthere was any chance of becoming personally involved, but knew hisstrategical strength in this contest and was prepared to use it, mostproperly, pointedly, and justifiably told Mr. Blake that unless he, too,desired to figure as the accused before a court-martial forinsubordinate conduct, he would mend his ways forthwith; meantime, toleave the office. And Blake went.
If Blake had been wise as Gleason he would have cultivated Mrs.Whaling's society instead of dropping her, as he did in this criticalstate of affairs. When the good lady called to see the ladies of thecavalry the next morning, she referred with poignant sorrow to the factthat those two misguided young men were drowning their sorrows in theflowing bowl. Mrs. Stannard ventured a disclaimer, but Mrs. Whaling hadher information straight from the quartermaster, and was not to bedowned. Mrs. Stannard wrote a few earnest words to Mr. Ray, making nomention of what she had just heard, but begging him not to lose heart athaving to part with Dandy, and saying they would all be down to see himthe next afternoon, and he must be sure and be ready to welcome them.Ray and Blake _had_ been drinking confusion to the doughboys togetherduring the evening, and the former was very feverish and excitable whenthe letter came. He knew well that somebody had already been telling herof his weakness, and it only angered him. He wrote no answer until laterin the day; but when he did, it was to say that while he would be gladto see them to-morrow as suggested, he could not but feel disappointedthat they had not come this very afternoon. But as they had not come, heand Blake proceeded to get into more mischief.
It almost broke Ray's heart when that morning Dandy was led past hiswindow, and presently he saw the post quartermaster, a bulky youth ofsome forty summers, climb on his back, get a rein in each hand, andwith knees well hunched up and elbows braced, settle himself accordingto his ideas of equestrianism in the big padded saddle. As Dandy felt atrifle fresh, and chafed under the weight of the heavy rider and heavydragoon bit, he switched his tail and tossed his head, being instantlyrewarded by a fierce jerk on the huge curb and a shout of "whoa there!"that stung him into amazed and suffering revolt and drove poor Rayalmost distracted. Dandy's mouth was tender as a woman's. Ray rode himwith the veriest feather touch on the rein, and to see his pet torturedby such ignorance was more than he could stand. He flew to the door, andshouted,--
"For God's sake, man, don't use that curb! He'll go all right if yougive him his head." But the infantryman only glared, probably did nothear, he was so busy trying to keep his seat; and paying no attention toRay, went alternately jerking and kicking up the row, while Dandy,startled, amazed, tortured, and high-strung, backed and plunged andtugged at the bit. A mother who sees her child abused by some ruffian ofa big boy knows what Ray suffered from that scene. Only to such, and tothe trooper who loves the horse who has borne him through charge aftercharge, who has been his comrade on campaign after campaign, sharedwounds and danger and hunger and thirst with him, will Ray's next movebe conceivable; he threw himself upon his bed, buried his face in hisarms, and broke down utterly.
He and Blake concocted between them later in the day a letter to thecolonel expressive of their views as to Dandy's rights; but the letterwas so pointed a protest against their seizing a regimental horse forquasi-quartermaster's purposes, and so deep a sarcasm on infantryhorsemanship, that it came back with a stinging reprimand. Even Warnerfelt it a slur. Then Blake tried another: setting forth that as neitherthe commanding officer nor the quartermaster had been in saddle sincethe war of the Rebellion,--if they had then, the latter being apromotion from the ranks,--they could not be expected to know what they,as cavalrymen, were required to know, that a horse of spirit was not tobe ridden like a cast-iron mule; but luckily for Mr. Blake's chances forfuture usefulness the post surgeon dropped in just then, and casting hiseye over the screed, coolly took and tore it up, sent Blake over to thehospital for the steward, chatted pleasantly with Ray while he dressedthe wounded thigh, pointed significantly to the demijohn, saying,"There's where much of this fever comes from. No more of it, Ray." Andthen when Blake came back, took him out and gave him a rasping; told himthat his hot-headedness was only making matters worse for Ray, and thathe must take things quietly. He knew that Ray hadn't been treated rightabout the horse, but old Whaling couldn't be expected to have any moresentiment on such matters than his stolid quartermaster, and by fightingthem he was simply doing harm. In fact, said the doctor, Ray is now in avery feverish and excitable state, and if this continue I cannot saywhat will result. So a more temperate letter was written, and Ray bowedto the yoke, and meekly signed a civil explanation to the quartermasterof the horse's character and the proper way of handling him; but thatworthy had meantime represented to the colonel that Mr. Ray had come tohis door and sworn at him when he mounted that morning, and he wouldhave no advice; and so by direction of the commanding officer acommunication was sent to Mr. Ray to the effect that as he was no longer
responsible for the care of the horse he would refrain from interferencewith or suggestions to the post quartermaster. This was the letter thatBlake had brought in with a flourish; and that morning--all that dayfrom eight A.M. until late in the afternoon, without water, without hiscustomary feed, saddled and bridled, poor Dandy stood in the hot suntied to a post in front of the quartermaster's house, in full view ofRay's front windows. The quartermaster was too stiff and chafed afteryesterday's experiences to attempt to mount to-day, but he could worrythe horse and madden Ray by keeping him tied there switching the fliesfrom his scarred flanks, and wistfully neighing and pricking up his earsevery time any one approached along the walk.
Blake had gone to town early in the morning after giving that letter toRay. Hogan was in the guard-house a prisoner. Ray was penned to thelimits of his house in arrest. He could only see and hear the sufferingof his pet and not relieve him. Late in the day he called to a soldiergoing by and offered him a dollar to go to the horse and tie him to apost ten yards nearer where there was a little shade. The soldier untiedand was leading him away while Dandy tripped gratefully after, when thequartermaster's Hibernian accents were heard thundering an order to"come back wid dthat harrse." The soldier saluted and said Mr. Ray hadasked him just to move him into the shade, and the officer damned theman for not knowing better. Then Ray came to the door and asked thesoldier to take Dandy a bucket of water, and as the man carried it andthe horse pawed and whinnied at the welcome sight, the quartermasterappeared on his piazza, and shouted in wrath to the soldier not tointerfere again or he'd "have him in the lock-up." And poor Dandy, likean equine Tantalus, was robbed of the needed fluid. Ray could bear nomore. He kept one foot inside the door-way as his arrest demanded, butleaning far out, with blazing eyes and clinching fist he hurled hischallenge at the quartermaster in a voice that rang along the row likethe "to arms" of the trumpets.
"You cowardly brute! I'll horsewhip you before the whole garrison themoment I'm free!" The surgeon heard it and came hurrying to him. Mrs.Turner heard it and feared poor Mr. Ray must have been taking too much.The colonel heard it far up the row and incorporated it in theadditional charge and specifications he was drawing up against Mr. Ray;but the ladies "up the row" were busy dressing to come down according topromise and see him, and they did not hear. Ah, no! Nine out of ten ofthose who read this may say it was all improbable, impossible, or, iftrue, that there was nothing but drink to explain poor Ray's franticoutburst; but ask any cavalryman who deserves the name, and we will restthe defence with him.
The ladies came as Mrs. Stannard had promised, and with anxious facethe doctor met them at the gate. Mr. Ray was in no condition to see anyone.
That night Mrs. Stannard returned with the doctor to his bedside. Raywas delirious, in a raging fever.