The hearts of two of the party were
wrung as never before. Wade Ruggles and Felix
Brush saw with noonday clearness the dreadful mistake
they had made in the past in hoping to win the heart
of the maiden who had declared that if her beloved
was to die she would die with him. It was contrary
to nature and the laws of God, and it was characteristic
of each that he felt a thrill of gratitude over the
belief that no person suspected his secret. Both
would have died rather than allow it ever to become
known.
With this awakening came a transformation
of feeling toward the couple. They sympathized
with Lieutenant Russell, but more than all, they pitied
her whose soul was distraught with grief. They
had never before seen her in the agony of distress
and neither could stand it.
“Brush,” whispered Ruggles, “this
must stop.”
“Hold!” called
Brush in a loud voice, striding commandingly forward
with his arm upraised; “I have something to say!”
There was a majesty and an impressiveness
of mien like that of the Hebrew prophet who hushed
the tempest. Captain Dawson, without moving body
or limb, turned and glared at the intruder; Ruggles
kept his position; Nellie Dawson, with arms still
clasping the neck of her betrothed, looked over her
shoulder at her old friend; Lieutenant Russell reached
up so as to hold the wrists of the girl, while still
retaining his grip upon his rifle and fixed his eyes
upon the tall, gaunt figure that halted between him
and Captain Dawson and a little to one side of him.
“Lieutenant Frederic Russell,
do you love Nellie Dawson?” was the astounding
question that fell from the lips of Brush.
“Aye, more than my life,” was the prompt
response.
“And you have started for Sacramento
with the purpose of making her your wife?”
“That was my resolve with the help of heaven.”
“And, Nellie, you agreed to this?”
“Yes, yes; we shall not be parted in life or
death.”
“Such being your feelings,”
continued Felix Brush, in the same loud, clear tones,
“I pronounce you man and wife, and whom God hath
joined together let not man put asunder!”
It was a thunderclap. No one
moved or spoke for a full minute. Felix Brush
was the only one who seemed to retain command of his
senses. Stepping forward, with a strange smile
on his seamed countenance, he extended his hand to
the groom.
“Allow me to congratulate you,
lieutenant; and, Nellie, I don’t think you will
deny me my fee.”
With which he bent over and tenderly kissed her.
“O, Mr. Brush, are we really
married?” she asked in a faint, wild voice.
“As legally as if it were done
by the archbishop of Canterbury and if ”
But he got no further, for her arms
were transferred from the neck of her husband to those
of the parson, whom she smothered with her caresses.
“Bless your heart! You
are the nicest, best, sweetest, loveliest man that
ever lived, excepting Fred and father ”
“And me,” added Wade Ruggles, stepping
forward.
“Yes, and you, you great big
angel,” she replied, bestowing an equally warm
embrace upon him.
The two rugged fellows had won the
greatest victory that can be achieved by man, for
they had conquered themselves. When the great
light broke in upon their consciousness, each resolved
to let the dead past bury its dead and to face the
future like the manly heroes they were.
And no braver deed ever was done.
Poor Captain Dawson! For a time
he believed he was dreaming. Then, when he grasped
the meaning of it all, his Winchester dropped from
his nerveless grasp and he staggered and would have
fallen, had not Lieutenant Russell leaped forward
and caught him in his arms. He helped him to
the boulder from which Nellie had risen and then he
collapsed utterly. The soldier who had faced unmoved
the hell blast of battle had fainted for the first
time in his life.
Nellie ran to the brook a few paces
away, and catching some of the water in the hollow
of her hand darted back and flung it into his face.
“There, dear father; it is all
right; rouse yourself; O, Mr. Brush, suppose he is
dead!” she exclaimed, turning terrifiedly toward
him.
“He is as likely to die as you
are, and you don’t look just now as if you mean
to put on wings and fly away.”
In a few minutes the veteran revived
and looked confusedly around him. He seemed unable
to comprehend what it all meant and his gaze wandered
in a dazed way from one countenance to another without
speaking. Nellie was still caressing him, while
Lieutenant Russell stood back a couple of steps, looking
pityingly into the face of the man who had suffered
so much.
Felix Brush was the hero of the occasion.
Turning to the group, he said:
“Leftenant, you and Nellie and
Ruggles and Vose move off for a short distance and
leave him with me for a little while.”
Understanding his purpose the three
withdrew, and the two men were left alone. The
captain instantly roused himself.
“What does all this mean, Brush?”
“It means that you and Ruggles
and I have been the three infernalist fools that ever
pretended to have sense.”
“How?”
“How? In every way conceivable.
Wade and I, as we told you, saw that those two were
in love with each other; instead of persuading you
to consent, we have helped you to prevent it.
I must say, captain, that though Wade and I played
the idiot, I think the championship belongs to you.”
“I begin to suspect it.”
“There’s no doubt of it.”
“But, you see, parson, I had never thought of
anything like this.”
“Which goes to prove the truth
of what I have just said. If you hadn’t
been blind you would have seen it.”
“I got the belief into my head
that his intentions were not honorable toward Nellie.”
“You never made a greater mistake;
Lieutenant Russell is the soul of honor; heaven intended
him for the husband of Nellie, and we were flying
in the face of Providence when we tried to prevent
it.”
“I suppose it is all right;
but how is it possible for a man to make such a consummate
ass of himself?”
“You have just given a demonstration
of how it is done, Wade and I adding material help
in the demonstration.”
The captain looked to the ground in
deep thought. When he raised his eyes there was
an odd twinkle in them.
“I say, parson, wasn’t
that a rather cheeky performance of yours, when you
made them man and wife?”
“The circumstances warranted
it. There’s no saying what might have happened,
if it had been deferred for only a few minutes.”
“True,” replied the veteran
thoughtfully; “it begins to look as if the hand
of Providence was in it.”
“It is in everything that occurs
in this life. It was in your coming to New Constantinople;
in the blessed influence of your child upon that barbarous
community; in the impulse that led you to bring Lieutenant
Russell to us, and now comes the crowning Providence
of all in their marriage.”
“Parson, you ain’t such a poor preacher
after all.”
“Perhaps I can preach a little,
but my practice has been away off, though I hope to
get back one of these days to where I was, but ”
He suddenly turned and beckoned to
his friends to join them. They came smilingly
forward, for they suspected what it meant.
Captain Dawson rose to his feet, and,
without speaking extended his single arm toward his
child. With a glad cry she flew into his embrace
and pillowed her head on his breast. No one spoke,
but there was not a dry eye among the spectators,
while the silent embrace lasted.
Finally the daughter was released
and then the captain reached his hand toward his son-in-law,
who eagerly stepped forward and grasped it.
“Yes, lieutenant, we have drunk
from the same canteen,” he said, “and
now let’s all go home.”
And it was accordingly so done.