Marions Faith

Marion's Faith., by Charles King

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Marion's Faith., by Charles King This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Marion's Faith.
Author: Charles King
Release Date: January 7, 2007 [EBook #20305]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARION'S FAITH. ***

Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

MARION'S FAITH.
BY THE AUTHOR OF
"THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER."
CAPT. CHARLES KING, U.S.A.,
AUTHOR OF "KITTY'S CONQUEST," ETC.
PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 1890.
Copyright, 1886, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Copyright, 1887, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
TO
The Memory
OF
EMMET CRAWFORD,
CAPTAIN THIRD REGIMENT OF CAVALRY,
ONE OF THE NOBLEST MEN, ONE OF THE KNIGHTLIEST SOLDIERS, AND ONE OF THE MOST INEXCUSABLE SACRIFICES IN THE HISTORY OF OUR ARMY,
THIS STORY
OF SCENES WHEREIN HE WAS LOVED AND HONORED,
IS DEDICATED.

PREFACE.
The kind reception accorded "The Colonel's Daughter" was a surprise and delight to the author, nevertheless it was a long time before he could be induced to write this sequel.
When Mr. Sam Slick, at the first essay, shot the cork out of a floating bottle some thirty yards away, he had the deep sagacity never to pull trigger again, well knowing he could not improve on the initial effort, and so Prudence whispered that with the Finis to the story of Jack Truscott and sweet Grace Pelham there had best come a full stop.
But many a plea has been received to "Tell us more about the --th," and at last the motion prevailed. Thackeray has said, "It is an unfair advantage which the novelist takes of the hero and heroine to say good-by to the two as soon as ever they are made husband and wife, and I have often wished that we should hear what occurs to the sober married man as well as to the ardent bachelor; to the matron as to the blushing spinster." And so, many of the characters of the old story reappear upon the scene. That they will be welcomed for the sake of auld lang syne has been promised, and that they and their associates may find new interest in the eyes of the indulgent reader is the prayer of
THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I.--TWO TROOPERS 5
II.--GARRISON TALK 20
III.--HEROINES 43
IV.--IMPENDING SHADOWS 59
V.--MARION SANDFORD 72
VI.--AT THE FRONT 84
VII.--WAR RUMORS 100
VIII.--AT RUSSELL 112
IX.--RAY TO THE FRONT 125
X.--A JUNE SUNDAY 147
XI.--THE WOLF AND THE SHEEPFOLD 162
XII.--A SERANADE 177
XIII.--SURROUNDED 189
XIV.--RAY'S RIDE FOR LIFE 207
XV.--RESCUE AT DAWN 222
XVI.--HOW WE HEARD THE NEWS 232
XVII.--A COWARD'S DEED 246
XVIII.--DESERTION 257
XIX.--IN CLOSE ARREST 272
XX.--A CORNERED RAT 286
XXI.--RAY'S TROUBLES 296
XXII.--A SHOT AT MIDNIGHT 309
XXIII.--IN CLOSER TOILS 322
XXIV.--THE GRASP OF THE LAW 334
XXV.--WHOSE GAUNTLET? 345
XXVI.--REVELATIONS 359
XXVII.--VINDICATED 373
XXVIII.--THE COLORS ENTWINE 396
XXIX.--A CAVALRY WEDDING 419

MARION'S FAITH.
A SEQUEL TO THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER.
CHAPTER I.
TWO TROOPERS.
"Ray, what would you do if some one were to leave you a fortune?"
"Humph! Pay for the clothes I have on, I suppose," is the answer, half humorous, half wistful, as the interrogated party, the younger of two officers, glances down at his well-worn regimentals. "That's one reason I'm praying we may be sent to reinforce Crook up in the Sioux country. No need of new duds when you're scouting for old 'Gray Fox,' you know."
"I thought you wanted to take a leave this summer and visit the old home in Kentucky," says the major, with a look of rather kindly interest from under his shaggy eyebrows.
"Want must be my master, then. I couldn't pay my way home if they'd take me as freight," replies the lieutenant, in the downright and devil-may-care style which is one of his several pronounced characteristics. "Of course," he continues presently, "I would like to look in on the mother again; she's getting on in years now and isn't over and above strong, but she has no cares or worries to speak of; she don't know what a reprobate I am; sister Nell is married and out of the way; the old home is sold and mother lives in comfort on the proceeds; she's happy up at Lexington with her sister's people. What's the use of my going back to Kentuck and being a worry to her? Before I'd been there a week I'd be spending most of my time down at the track or the stables; I could no more keep away from the horses than I could from a square game, and she hates both,--they swamped my father before I knew an ace from an ant-hill. No, sir! The more I think of it the more I know the only place for me is right here with the old regiment. What's more, the livelier work we have in the field and