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                            KITTY'S CONQUEST.

                         BY CHARLES KING, U.S.A.,

                    AUTHOR OF "THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER."


    PHILADELPHIA:
    J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
    1890.

    Copyright. 1884, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.




PREFACE.


The incidents of this little story occurred some twelve years ago, and
it was then that the story was mainly written.

If it meet with half the kindness bestowed upon his later work it will
more than fulfil the hopes of

     THE AUTHOR.

February, 1884.




KITTY'S CONQUEST.




CHAPTER I.


It was just after Christmas, and discontentedly enough I had left my
cosy surroundings in New Orleans, to take a business-trip through the
counties on the border-line between Tennessee and northern Mississippi
and Alabama. One sunny afternoon I found myself on the "freight and
passenger" of what was termed "The Great Southern Mail Route." We had
been trundling slowly, sleepily along ever since the conductor's "all
aboard!" after dinner; had met the Mobile Express at Corinth when the
shadows were already lengthening upon the ruddy, barren-looking
landscape, and now, with Iuka just before us, and the warning whistle of
the engine shrieking in our ears with a discordant pertinacity attained
only on our Southern railroads, I took a last glance at the sun just
disappearing behind the distant forest in our wake, drew the last
breath of life, from my cigar, and then, taking advantage of the halt at
the station, strolled back from the dinginess of the smoking-car to more
comfortable quarters in the rear.

There were only three passenger-cars on the train, and, judging from the
scarcity of occupants, one would have been enough. Elbowing my way
through the gaping, lazy swarms of unsavory black humanity on the
platform, and the equally repulsive-looking knots of "poor white trash,"
the invariable features of every country stopping-place south of Mason
and Dixon, I reached the last car, and entering, chose one of a dozen
empty seats, and took a listless look at my fellow-passengers,--six in
all,--and of them, two only worth a second glance.

One, a young, perhaps very young, lady, so girlish, _petite_, and pretty