| Show 4 A vy 4 1 04 1 4 10 az otal r L V A or brucie dam L V 1 S BOY and man col bryant A had been a soldier As a boa bo arhip his ambition had been a cadet ship at west point and the nay as a I 1 te fe career blessed with wealthy par parents rits there seemed nothing in th ohp way to the accomplishment of his lis ideal when the opportune time ar rived ed at 15 he began a course of studs stud that would mould fit him to pass the required examination and admit him to the united states military acad emy at 18 the opportunity came there was a vacancy at the anadem to be filled by appointment from his congressional district and he entered eagerly into the competition for the coveted place feeling confident of winning the prize his most formidable opponent was billy edwards the son of a gling clergyman into whose path fate had lad thrown no special opportunities but who had improved every chance for study that had be been n given him thea and who mho v shed the appointment merely as a mean means of securing a de sired education the two had never been friendly and on one of two occasions had had some boish boyish quarrels over the atten eions each had attempted to bp be stow upon blossom nathan when billy edwards won the coveted ai every semblance of friend hip between the two boys ceased and bob bryant refused even to as soci boci e with anyone who called young edwards their friend grievously disappointed in not win ning th the e cadetship young bryant en a military academy with vv ith a deter min mi atlon nation to prepare himself tor for a military tiry career trusting to his ta fa wealth and influence to secure tor for him an appointment to the army during their school days both boys kept up a correspondence with BIOS blos som nathan until at the end of three years bryant insisted that she coul i not retain the friendship of both he and edwards and that all correspond enc ene between her and his rival must mut cea or her would have nothing more to with her the young lady very promptly informed her angry suitor that she would choose her own friends and he accepted her deci slon sion six months after edwards had graduated from west point and entered the army he made blossom nathan his wife and took her to the post where his command was stationed bryant in the mountains had fill shed his college course and not flau ing it so easy to secure a civil ap neut to the army had settled down to the study of law in h s home town and confined his military ambi eions to a place in a local company of state guards then came the call to arms to gave save the union the southern bad had exceeded eded the flag had been fired tired j upon every available company of the regular service had been rushed ea eastward for the defense of washing ton volunteers in companies bat and regiments were flocking into the mustering camps with v tho the volunteers went bob bryant as cap tain of his company with the regu lars sent to washington went first aleut edwards while mrs edwards went back to her old home to await the return of her husband from the front the four years of war dragged wear lly ily along r edwards dwards stuck to the regular service and rose to the rank of major and brevet lieutenant colonel as which he commanded his regiment capt bryant of the vol gunteer service rose to the rank of colonel at the battle of gettysburg col bryant was temporarily in command of a brigade stationed at cemetery hill during the first day days s fighting his command in company with all others at that point in the line of battle had suffered severely with the of the second day came the regiment commanded b I 1 lent col edwards and during the fighting of that day edwards tell fell and was buried on the field the war over col bryant found the wished for opportunity to enter the regular service and was sent to the tar far west as a lieutenant of caa t 4 bes de the wh te stone airy alry for 12 years he followed the trail of the red man and then the good of the service took him to washington to serve for a time on the staff of the general commanding the army it was this that account ed for his presence on the gettysburg battlefield on decoration day 1878 he walked over the ground so fiercely contested in 63 and glanced at the white headstones looking for the name of his comrades ai at each grave there was planted a small flag similar to one he carried idly in his land viand at one grave he noticed the frail staff had been broken and the flax flag blown away he ile stopped to read the name on tim th stone it was COL WILLIAM ED WARDS instantly all the old animosity of the years gone by returned the man mail burled buried here had stolen from him hib opportunity had stolen the girl he loved and then there came to him the thought that this man had his life for the flag that this man had lost his life V in bringing success to himself and his comrades and had helped in saving them from probable annihilation at the hands of the en emy reverently he stooped over the grave and planted the flag he carried beside the white stone As he did so a woman s voice close behin I 1 him said I 1 thank you he ile turned it was mas blossom na than the same blossom though a sad sweet faced woman now instead of 0 the chit of 0 a girl he had known so many years ago the years of ex exposure and hardship had changed him so she did not know him it Is my husband husbands s grave she ex ahe wind has evidently blown the flag away and I 1 have been looking for it but without success it seemed so lonely without a flag like the others blossom he cried don t ou know me the voice brought back to her the days of her girlhood the impetuous boyish lover she gave gate him her hand and er they left that battlefield where hope had died and hope was born again V A few months later she again jour keyed to the west to spend her life at an army post a soldiers wife |
