第56章

"I had forgotten, Sergeant, the younger officers have begged for a shooting match, and to-morrow has been named for the day.All competitors will be admitted, and the prizes will be a silver-mounted powder horn, a leathern flask ditto," reading from a piece of paper, "as I see by the professional jargon of this bill, and a silk calash for a lady.The latter is to enable the victor to show his gal-lantry by making an offering of it to her he best loves.""All very agreeable, your honor, at least to him that succeeds.Is the Pathfinder to be permitted to enter?""I do not well see how he can be excluded, if he choose to come forward.Latterly, I have observed that he takes no share in these sports, probably from a conviction of his own unequalled skill.""That's it, Major Duncan; the honest fellow knows there is not a man on the frontier who can equal him, and he does not wish to spoil the pleasure of others.I think we may trust to his delicacy in anything, sir.Perhaps it may be as well to let him have his own way?""In this instance we must, Sergeant.Whether he will be as successful in all others remains to be seen.I wish you good evening, Dunham."The Sergeant now withdrew, leaving Duncan of Lundie to his own thoughts: that they were not altogether disa-greeable was to be inferred from the smiles which occa-sionally covered a countenance hard and martial in its usual expression, though there were moments in which all its severe sobriety prevailed.Half an hour might have passed, when a tap at the door was answered by a direc-tion to enter.A middle-aged man, in the dress of an offi-cer, but whose uniform wanted the usual smartness of the profession, made his appearance, and was saluted as "Mr.

Muir."

"I have come sir, at your bidding, to know my for-tune," said the Quartermaster, in a strong Scotch accent, as soon as he had taken the seat which was proffered to him."To say the truth to you, Major Duncan, this girl is making as much havoc in the garrison as the French did before Ty: I never witnessed so general a rout in so short a time!""Surely, Davy, you don't mean to persuade me that your young and unsophisticated heart is in such a flame, after one week's ignition? Why, man, this is worse than the affair in Sootland, where it was said the heat within was so intense that it just burnt a hole through your own pre-cious body, and left a place for all the lassies to peer in at, to see what the combustible material was worth.""Ye'll have your own way, Major Duncan; and your father and mother would have theirs before ye, even if the enemy were in the camp.I see nothing so extraordi-nar' in young people following the bent of their inclina-tions and wishes."

"But you've followed yours so often, Davy, that I should think by this time it had lost the edge of novelty.In-cluding that informal affair in Scotland, when you were a lad, you've been married four times already.""Only three, Major, as I hope to get another wife.I've not yet had my number: no, no; only three.""I'm thinking, Davy, you don't include the first affair I mentioned; that in which there was no parson.""And why should I Major? The courts decided that it was no marriage; and what more could a man want?

The woman took advantage of a slight amorous propensity that may be a weakness in my disposition, perhaps, and inveigled me into a contract which was found to be illegal.""If I remember right, Muir, there were thought to be two sides to that question, in the time of it?""It would be but an indifferent question, my dear Major, that hadn't two sides to it; and I've known many that had three.But the poor woman's dead, and there was no issue; so nothing came of it after all.Then, I was particularly unfortunate with my second wife; I say sec-ond, Major, out of deference to you, and on the mere sup-position that the first was a marriage at all; but first or second, I was particularly unfortunate with Jeannie Graham, who died in the first lustrum, leaving neither chick nor chiel behind her.I do think, if Jeannie had survived, I never should have turned my thoughts towards another wife.""But as she did not, you married twice after her death;and are desirous of doing so a third time.""The truth can never justly be gainsaid, Major Duncan, and I am always ready to avow it.I'm thinking, Lundie, you are melancholar this fine evening?""No, Muir, not melancholy absolutely; but a little thoughtful, I confess.I was looking back to my boyish days, when I, the laird's son, and you, the parson's, roamed about our native hills, happy and careless boys, taking lit-tle heed to the future; and then have followed some thoughts, that may be a little painful, concerning that future as it has turned out to be.""Surely, Lundie, ye do not complain of yer portion of it.You've risen to be a major, and will soon be a lieute-nant-colonel, if letters tell the truth; while I am just one step higher than when your honored father gave me my first commission, and a poor deevil of a quartermaster.""And the four wives?"