The Victim. Jr. Thomas Dixon
hurt you by not keeping it—"
To relieve his evident embarrassment, the mother introduced him in rapid succession to her daughters, the eldest Anne, the second Sarah Knox, the youngest Elizabeth. Richard, the handsome little boy, had introduced himself. He had liked the Lieutenant from the first.
He had been so surprised by the mother's possession of one of the sweetest secrets of his schoolboy life, and had blushed so furiously over it, he had scarcely noticed the girls, merely bowing in his confusion.
It was not until they were seated at the table and the dinner had fairly begun, that he became conscious of the charm of the second daughter, who sat directly opposite.
Her beauty was not dazzling, but in fifteen minutes she had completely absorbed his attention. It was impossible, of course, not to look at her. She sat squarely before him. There was no embarrassment in the frank, honest curiosity with which she returned his gaze.
The thing that first impressed him was the frankness of a winsome personality. He listened with keen attention to her voice. There was no simper, no affectation, no posing. She was just herself. He found himself analyzing her character. Refined—yes. Intelligent—beyond a doubt. She talked with her father in a quiet, authoritative way which left no doubt on that score. Graceful, tender, sincere, too—her tones to her impulsive brother and her younger sister proved that. And a will of her own she had. The firmly set, full lips were eloquent of character. He liked that above all things in a woman. He couldn't stand a simpering doll.
"Sing for us, Sarah!" her brother said impulsively, as they rose from the table.
"Certainly, Dick, if you wish it."
There was no holding back for urging. No mock modesty. No foolishness in her answer. It was straight, affectionate, responsive, open hearted, generous—just like his own sweet little sister Polly when he had asked of her a favor.
And then, he blushed to find himself staring at her in a sort of dreamy reverie. He hoped her music would not spoil the impression her personality had made. This had happened once in his life. He could never talk to the girl again, after he had heard her sing. The memory of it was a nightmare.
He watched her tune the guitar with a sense of silly dread. The tuning finished, she turned to her brother and asked with a smile:
"And what shall I sing, Sir Richard?"
"The one I love best—'Fairy Bells.'"
When the first line with its sweet accompaniment floated out from the porch on the balmy air of the June evening, the Lieutenant's fears had vanished. Never had he heard a song whose trembling melody so found his inmost soul. It set the Fairy Bells ringing in the deep woods of his far-away Mississippi home. He could see the fairy ringing them—her beautiful hair streaming in the moonlight, a smile on her lips, the joy and beauty of eternal youth in every movement of her exquisite form.
When the last note had died softly away, he leaned close and before he knew what he was doing, whispered:
"Glorious, Miss Sarah!"
"You like it very much?" she asked.
"It's divine."
"My favorite, too."
All night the "Fairy Bells" rang in his heart. For the first time in life, he failed to sleep. He listened entranced until dawn.
VIII
LOVE
In the swift weeks which followed, life blossomed with new and wonderful meaning.
In the stern years on the plains, the young officer had known but one motive of action—duty. He was an exile from home and its comforts, friends and the haunts of civilized man for his country's sake. He had come to plant her flag on the farthest frontier and push it farther against all corners.
In the struggle against the snows of winter and the pestilence of the summer wilderness, he had fought Nature with the dogged determination of the soldier. Snow meant winter quarters, the spring marching and fighting. The hills were breastworks. The night brought dreams of strategy and surprise. The grass and flowers were symbols of a nation's wealth and the prophecy of war.
By a strange magic, the coming of a girl had transformed the world. He had seen the strategic value of these hills and valleys often before. He had not dreamed of their beauty. The mists that hung over the ragged lines of the western horizon were no longer fogs that might conceal an army. They were the folds of a huge veil which Nature was softly drawing over the face of a beautiful bride. Why had he not seen this before?
The awful silence of the plains from which he had fled to books had suddenly become God's great whispering gallery. He listened with joyous awe and reverence.
The stars had been his guides by night to find the trail. He had merely lifted his eyes to make the reckoning. He had never seen before the crystal flash from their jeweled depths.
He looked into the eyes of the graceful young rider by his side and longed to tell her of this miracle wrought in his soul. But he hesitated. She was too dignified and self-possessed. It would be silly when put into words.
But the world to-day was too beautiful to hurry through it. He just couldn't.
"Let's stop on this hill and watch the sunset, Miss Sarah?" he suggested.
"I'd love to," was the simple answer.
With a light laugh, she sprang from the saddle. They touched the ground at the same moment.
He looked at her with undisguised admiration.
"You're a wonderful rider," he said.
"A soldier's daughter must be—it's part of her life."
He tied their horses to the low hanging limbs of a cluster of scrub trees, and found a seat on the bowlders which the Indians had set for a landmark on the lonely hilltop.
Westward the plains stretched, a silent ocean of green, luscious grass.
"What's that dark spot in the valley?" the girl eagerly asked.
"Watch it a moment—"
They sat in silence for five minutes.
"Why, it's moving!" she cried.
"Yes."
"How curious—"
"An illusion?" he suggested.
"Nonsense, I'm not dreaming."
"I've been dreaming a lot lately—"
A smile played about the corners of her fine mouth. But she ignored the hint.
"Tell me," she cried; "you studied the sciences at West Point, what does it mean?"
"Look closely. Any fifteen-year-old boy of the plains could explain it."
"Am I so ignorant?" she laughed.
"No," he answered soberly, "our eyes just refuse to see things at which we are looking until the voice within reveals. The eyes of a hunter could make no mistake about such a spot—particularly if it moved."
"It might be a passing cloud—"
"There's none in the sky."
"Tell me!" she pleaded.
"A herd of buffalo."
"That big black field! It must be ten acres—"
The man laughed at her ignorance with a sudden longing in his heart to help and