"I forbid you to ever put your foot inside my quarters again!"
"Colonel--"
"Silence, sir! I forbid you to ever speak to my daughter again!"
"But, Colonel--"
"I repudiate you and all yours. I wipe you from the map. You don't
exist. I don't know you. I never knew you. Get out of my sight!"
The tall, slender form slowly straightened and a look of cold pride
shot from the depths of his blue eyes. Without a word he turned and
left.
X
ROMANCE
Black Hawk was leading his red warriors in a great uprising. A wave of
fierce excitement swept the frontier. There was stern work now for men
to do and women must wait alone.
The regiment marched to the front. The Colonel as a man was freezingly
formal with the Lieutenant. As an officer, he knew his worth and relied
on it in every emergency. The State of Illinois had raised two companies
of raw recruits to join in subduing the Indians. The Colonel sent his
most efficient subordinate to swear in the new soldiers. On the morning
of the muster, there appeared before the tall Lieutenant, a man full
three inches taller, and famous in his county as the gawkiest,
slab-sidest, homeliest, best-natured fellow in the State. He was dressed
in a suit of blue jeans.
In slow, pleasing drawl, he announced:
"I am the Captain, of this company--"
And he waved his long arm toward the crowd of his countrymen on the
right.
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