l, then
far-away voices--voices that I seemed to have heard in another world. A
door was opened, and then--oh! how can I ever tell you--in the hall came
Faye's mother! By that time dreams had ceased, and it was cruel reality
that had to be faced, and even now I wonder how I lived through the
misery of that moment--the longing to throw myself out of the window,
jump in the river, do anything, in fact, but face the mortification of
having her see the awful condition of her son's house!

Her son's house--that was just it. I did not care at all for myself, my
only thought was for Faye whose mother might find cause to pity him for
the delinquencies of his wife! First impressions are indelible, and
it would be difficult to convince Mrs. Rae ever that the house was not
always dusty and untidy. How could she know that with pride I had ever
seen that our house, however rough it might have been, was clean and
cheerful. And of what use would it be to arrange things attractively
now? She would be justified in supposing that it was only in its company
dress.

I was weak and dizzy from fever and a sick heart, but I managed to
get dressed and go down to do the best I could. West prepared a little
supper, and we made things as comfortable as possible, considering the
state of affairs. Mrs. Rae was most lovely about everything--said she
understood it all. But that could not be, not until she had seen one of
our sand storms, from the dust of which it is impossible to protect a
thing. I have been wishing for a storm ever since, so Mrs. Rae could see
that I was not responsible for the condition of things that night.

Now this was not all--far, far from it. On the way out in the cars, Mrs.
Rae met the colonel of the regiment--a real colonel, who is called a
colonel, too--who was also on his way to this post, and with him was
Lieutenant Whittemore, a classmate of Faye's. Colonel Fitz-James was
very courteous to Mrs. Rae, and when they reached Kit Carson he insisted
upon her coming over with him in the ambulance that had been sent to
meet him. This was very much more comfortable than riding in the old
stage, so she gladly accepted, and to show her appreciation of the
kindness, she invited the colonel, also Lieutenant Whittemore, to dine
with us the following evening!

Yes, there is still more, for it so happens that Colonel Fitz-James
is known to be an epicure, to be fussy and finical about all things
pertaining to the table, and what is