Custer.”
The guard brought his rifle into the present- arms position.
“The colonel and his lady may pass,” the soldier said.
“Thank you, soldier, and good evening,” Falcon said, returning the salute.
Falcon and Lorena continued in one direction, while the guard continued in the other, gradually opening the distance between them.
“That was rather exciting,” Lorena said. “Seeing the two of you salute each other, like that.”
From the middle of the post came the long, mournful sounds of a bugle playing taps. Looking back toward the flagpole, Falcon and Lorena could see a soldier in silhouette. As they stood there, listening to taps, feeling a gentle breeze blow against them, with a vaulted sky full of diamonds and a gleaming river behind them, Lorena leaned into Falcon. She shivered, and as she did so, Falcon put his arm around her shoulders.
When taps was completed, there was a long moment of silence.
“That is one of the most moving things I have ever heard,” Lorena said.
“Yes, taps can be quite impressive,” Falcon said. “But that is the last official act of a military day. I had better get you back before the general sends out a search party.”
“Oh, I hardly think—” Lorena began, but she was interrupted by a call from the dark.
“Miss Wood? Miss Wood, it’s Tom Custer. Are you out there?”
“Yes, Captain Custer, I am here.”
“Alone?”
“I’m with her, Tom,” Falcon said.
“Oh. All right. The general was just getting a little worried, is all.”
“I’ll walk her back now,” Falcon said.
“No need,” Tom replied. “I can walk her back.”
“I guess you were right,” Lorena said. “General Custer did send a search party after me.”
The next day, the ballroom was given over for Andrew and Rosanna to give their performance. Every trooper of the Seventh Cavalry, except for those who had special duty or punishment detail, was present. General Custer himself introduced the act.
“Men of the Seventh Cavalry,” he said. “As most of you know, I was recently in Washington and New York. While I was in New York, I attended a show in which Andrew and Rosanna MacCallister were the principal players. And as I watched that show, I couldn’t help but think of you back here, and I wished that you could have been there to watch these two wonderful actors perform.
“I knew that wasn’t possible, though, as we will soon leave for a long scout.” He held up his finger. “But if I couldn’t take you to them, I could at least bring them to you. So I invited them to Ft. Lincoln and, I am proud to say, they accepted my invitation.
“Troopers, I present to you Andrew and Rosanna MacCallister!”
As the makeshift curtain opened, the soldiers applauded, whistled, and cheered. Andrew and Rosanna were standing in the middle of the stage, back to back. Andrew was holding a jug with his thumb. The jug was poised on his shoulder and, before either of them said a word, Andrew took a big drink, then patted the jug and let out a long “ahhhh.”
The piano player began playing then, the music bright and lively, the song “Little Brown Jug.”
Andrew and Rosanna began singing in duet, but they did much more than sing. They pantomimed, danced, and pranced around, accenting with their movement, the words of the song.
Andrew made a big show of drinking more from the jug and when Rosanna reached for it, he jerked it away and turned his back to her. The audience howled in laughter. They continued, singing in two-part harmony.
Again, Rosanna reached for the jug, and again Andrew turned away from her. But this time, Rosanna reached around to tap him on his shoulder, and when he turned to look, she grabbed the jug away from him and took a drink as the audience laughed.
