They grew
nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great
excrescences which looked like people's heads, in the vague light
which fell upon them.
They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be
something human.
The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too
much about the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when
we emerged from this dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the
post, lying low, long, flat, around a square.
CHAPTER XXV
OLD CAMP MACDOWELL
We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in
front of the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and
we received a great welcome.
Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his
company, and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I
did Ehrenberg. Now Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could
laugh at the mention of it.
Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall,
wife of Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's
absence, put the finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at
once to a comfortable home, and life in the army began again for
me.
How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had
met first at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and
Jesusita into the Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he
was such a good doctor, and we never had a moment's anxiety, as
long as he staid at Camp MacDowell. Our confidence in him was
unbounded.
It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were
then no hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers'
families; no dreaded inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do
you employ a soldier for menial labor?"
Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he
was glad to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we
required. One of the laundresses let me have her daughter for
nurserymaid, and our small establishment at Camp MacDowell moved
on smoothly, if not with elegance.
The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings
with no space between them; the houses were separated only by
thick walls. In front, the windows looked out over the parade
ground. In the rear, they opened out on a road which ran along
the whole length, and on the other side of which lay another row
of long, low buildings which were the kitchens, each set of
quarters having its own.
We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay
window looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the
large and well-kept hospital.
