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A Soldier's Secret: A Story of the Sioux War of 1890, and An Army Portia
A Soldier's Secret A Story of the Sioux War of 1890 and An Army Portia Author:Charles King General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1893 Original Publisher: Lippincott Subjects: American fiction Dakota Indians Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial ... more »access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: " I don't know," answered Berrien, surprised. " I think he followed me up the steps and was standing at the door." " Why do you ask, Rolfe ?" queried Holden, closely studying his face. " Because, if he was, the search I spoke of would now be useless." VII. Daylight at last, hut the sun is hidden in banks of dripping mist. Daylight, wan and chill and comfortless, and the bleary lamps still smoke and flicker about the parade. Daylight, yet without one spark of gladness. Even the birds huddle in the shelter of the autumn foliage, now so crisp and brown, and not so much as a chirp is heard. All around the big quadrangle night-lamps are still aglow within the shaded windows, telling of sleepless vigil, of pallid cheeks and tear- dimmed eyes. Only in the barracks of the men or the lively dens of the bachelor subalterns do the windows blaze, uncurtained, undismayed. There no silently-weeping wives, no clinging, sobbing little ones, crying "because mamma cries," yet little dreaming for what cause, no thought of " What will come to these should I never return?" daunt the spirit of the soldier. There all voices are ringing with eagerness, even exultation, as the men brace on their woven cartridge-belts and toss over their brawny shoulders carbine-slings and the straps of canteen and haversack, and then come streaming forth upon the galleries, muffled to the chin in the blue cavalry overcoats. Out on the parade the trumpeters are gathered under the moist folds of the flag, awaiting the signal to sound " assembly;" and now the band comes...« less