SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

? SATURDAY, JULY 8, iB9B.

ASOLDIER'S SECRET

met for forage cap, which latter head gear at this moment is being dandled in one hand, while the fingers of the other beat rapid tattoo upon the visor. Com rades of Rolfe would tell you this is a sign that he is nervous; yet to look at him there, smiling upon the group, quite as though remarking what a pretty pic ture they make, no one else would be apt to think of such a thing. "Ready in a moment, Rolfe," shouts the major from an inner room. "You ready, Berengaria?" "I am always ready, Richard, as you well know," is Mrs. Berrien *s placid re sponse. "I think 1 never kept you wait ing so much as a moment." "Promptest woman in the army qr out of it," booms the major from his sanctum, his "jovial voice resounding, through the rooms of the bright garri son home. "Never knew anything like it, Miss Guthrie. Why, do you know, even when I wasn't half proposing she never let me finish the sentence! 'Twasn't at all what 1 was going to ask her—that day, at least. Meant to eventually, of course, if I ever could muster up courage, but this time I had 1 only found grit enough to ask for her ( picture, and I was engaged in less than ten seconds." Winnie Berrien rushes from the par j lor into the paternal den, voluble with protestations against such scandalous stories at mamma's expense; but Mrs. Berrien, slowly fanning herself, remains calmly seated, as though impervious to these damaging shots, at which every body else is laughing merrily. "Possibly you don't believe me," again booms the major, his jolly red face aglow, as he is dragged forth from the den, still struggling with the sleeve links of his cuff. "Winifred, my child, unhand me. You'll never bring your old father's gray hairs in sorrow to the grave by such unwomanly precipitancy, unless it's a civilian with ten thousand a year: will you, dearest? Miss Guthrie, I never expect to be a rich man. I hadn't as many dollars when 1 fell iv love with Miss De Lancy as 1 had but tons, and we only wore single breasted coats in those days, and I was the junior captain. I pledge you my word I never would have had the cheek to offer my self. 'Twas the woman did it. I was going away for a week, and I said, 'You can give me one thing, if you will.' 1 only meant to beg for that picture, and, j by Jdve! she slipped her hand into mine. I was Bhaking all over. 'I—b-beg par don,' 1 stammered, 'I was only going to —beg for your p-p-p ' 'My promise? said Berengaria, sweetly, looking up into my eyes. 'You have it, Richard.' Prompt? Why, she just jumped at me. Splendid arrangement, though, Miss Guthrie. She furnished the quarters and all the money, and I the vivacity and beauty of the household, until Win nie came; she contributes a little toward it now. But we're a model couple, aren't we, Berengaria?" And the major bends with playful tenderness, the fun spar kling in his eyes meanwhile, and kisses his handsome helpmeet's rosy cheek. J'We have few crosses, certainly," re pH. Mrs. Berrien, whose own name is anything but Berengaria, that being, as she is frequently called upon %o explain, some of the major's historical nonsense. "We have few crosses, and those of course I bear. But now," she continues, with much decision of manner, "if you are partially restored to sanity we will go, or keep dinner longer waiting. Miss Guthrie, do they allow lunatics at large in the streets of St. Louis? Major Ber rien spoke of getting a month's leave this winter and going thither." "Oh, send him by all means, and he shall be treated at our own asylum. Father would rejoice in him—as I do, Mrs. Berrien." "And shall I get the colonel to detail Rolfe here to conduct me thither and turn me over to the asylum authorities?" queries the major, with a knowing cock of the head. "Rolfe hates city life as a general thing, but he would accept that duty, 1 fancy." "Captain Rolfe will be very welcome. Indeed, 1 only wish you might bring the whole regiment, major. Just think what a good time the girls would have this winter if that were only possible." "Berengaria says," bursts in the major again, "that if 1 only show you proper attention on this visit you'll be sure to send us invitations to bring the whole family and spend six weeks at least." "Father, you outrageous fibber!" gasps Winifred, rushing at him and placing one slim hand upon his mouth, ' while twining the other, with its soft, white arm, about his neck. "Indeed, Miss Guthrie, you must be told that father is perpetually poking fun at mother, making her say all manner of things she never thought of. It is all well enough in the regiment, where people understand it and are prepared for his nonsense, but many strangers are completely deceived at times, and mamma never so much as remon strates." Evidently mamma does not consider it worth while. "It would be wasting time, Miss Guthrie, and we are wasting time as it is. Captain Hazlett will never forgive you, Major Berrien, if you keep dinner waiting another minute. Captain Rolfe, will you escort Miss Guthrie? Come, Richard, march!" "After you, Rolfe," says the major, with a bow of extra ceremony. "After you." "Before them, if you please, you blind goose!" whispers his better half. "Haven't you sense enough to see he wants to speak with her and that this may be the only opportunity?" "What! Rolfe wants to talk with her? Why, Miss Guthrie," he booms aloud, "1 hadn't the faintest idea"— But here the wife of his bosom lays firm hand upon his snnbnrned ear and fairly marches him forth upon the veranda. Miss Guthrio weald indeed have been glad to lead, but Rolfe's hand, trem bling slightly, aB she cannot but note, is laid upon her wrist, restraining her. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to talk with Rolfe, Miss Guthrie? 1" queries the major over his shoulder, with every appearance of concern. "1 3ould have fir<?rt it. Jill for you."

CHAPTER I

When the Indian summer haze is hov ering over the bluffs along the Pawnee in these dreamy, sunshiny afternoons of late November, there is a languorous spell even in soldier life, and the troop ers love to 101 l about the wide porches of the barracks during their brief leisure moments or while waiting the trumpet call for stables. There is scarcely a breath of air astir. The broad, fertile valley under the bluffs, forest fringed along the stream, gives forth a faint, pungent, smoky odor, and the eye wan ders across its soft undulations, its vistas of alternate glade; grove and shadowy pool, and sees it all as through some filmy, intangible veil. The sharp out lines bo characteristic of the frontier ai other seasons, giving to the ridge to the northwest that razorback guise that in spired the original explorers, Kentuck fans and Missourians, to refer to the range as "Hawg Buttes," are mellowed into softer curves. There is an echo sprite abroad in the autumn skies, for the distant whistle of Che trains, the puff and pant of engines miles away;-the rumble of the express as it flies across the wooden trues at Big Bend far down the valley, the lowing of cattle and the tinkle of their bells at the farms beyond the reservation lines, the shonts and laughter of village children scouring the stream banks for the last of the year's orop of beech or butternut, the soft laughter of the ladies gathered in the veranda of the major's quarters, all come floating through the pulseless air to the listening ears of the sentry dawdling here along the post at the western gate and distracting his atten tion from the purely military functions which he is called upon to perform. Over at the guardhouse many of the men are drowsing in the afternoon sun shine. Among the stables the horses are standing at the picket line, with drooped heads and lazily swishing tails. The officer of the guard, knowing the colonel to be awafy on a late shooting excursion and the major held at home by the demands of hospitality, has dropped into a doze while sitting bolt upright at his wooden desk.

Scores of the garrison proper seem in clined to follow his example, and the tall, dark faced, black bearded soldier— ft handsome fellow—leaning on the breast-high wall over at the east end midway between the hospital at the edge of the bluff and the junior surgeon's quarters, his chin on his arms, his cap pulled well down over his eyes, seems to have been stricken by the general som nolence. It is only the ladies who are wide awake and alert, for this is Nita Guthrie's last appearance, so to speak. She has been paying a brief visit to Dr. and Mrs. Holden, kinsfolk of hers, but is to take the east bound train this very night. Mrs. Holden goes, too, leaving her lord, the junior medical officer of the station, to the mercy of the other wom en, and of all the families of some thirty married officers stationed in this big gar rison not one is unrepresented at Major Berrien's today, for Nita Guthrie has won all hearts. But this, say those who I have known her long, is an old, old story with Nita; she has been doing the same thing for years. There is tang'of suggest!veness about this statement; moreover, it is true: Mias Guthrie is not in the first bloom of youth. "Why, she must be nearly thir ty," say some of the younger girls and younger matrons, who envy her none the less the freshness, the grace, the win aomeness that hover about her mobile face; but those who are in position to know and have no reason to feel the faintest jealousy assert very positively that Nita is not more than twenty-five. "Well, why hasn't she married?" is the Instant query of Mm. Vance, to whose benighted mind it ever appears that be cause a woman hasn't she cannot. "Simply because the right man is yet to come," is Mrs. Harper's equally prompt reply. "Nita Guthrie has had more of fers in six years than any woman I ever heard of." "Then there must be something back at it all," responds Mrs. Vance, whose theories are not to be lightly shaken. "Was there some early affair?" "My dear Mrs. Vance, 1 have no doubt I could tell you a dozen stories, all plausi ble, all in active circulation when last I risited Sti Louis and saw her in society there, and all as near the truth, prob tbly, as any we could invent here. No-

body knows but Nita, and she won't tell." Now as the autumn sun, all red bur nished gold, is sinking to the horizon on this final day of a charming and memor able visit, Nita Guthrie is bidding adieu with laughing, kindly cordiality to the little coterie gathered in her honor. To one and all she has the same frank, gra cious manner. Over all she throws the same odd magnetic spell, seeming to im press each and every one in turn with the same idea, "Now, you are just the most thoroughly delightful creature I have ever met, and 1 cannot bear to say goodby to you." There is the lingering , hand clasp, and yet not the faintest sen t timentality. Nita's blue eyes—very blue ) —gaze straight into those of her friends. . She seems to advance a step or two, as . though eager to meet and take by the i hand each newcomer. Even the elders I among the women find it hard to go, and aa for the girls, they linger spell i bound; they cluster about her, watch -1 ing the sunshine in her face, the play of i her features, the sparkle of her eyes, i drinking in her winsome words, her rip pling laughter. "It's just the only chance we've had to ourselves, Miss Nita," protests Wini fred Berrien. "You've been surrounded by men all the rest of the time, and we couldn't see you now if it weren't that they had to be in stables. Oh, if you only didn't have to go tonight!" ••Indeed, Winnie, I don't want to go. It seems to me nothing can be more de lightful than life in an army post like this. Certainly no girl ever had a better time anywhere than you have given me here, and it is so unlike what I fancied it might be." "It is entirely unlike what life on the frontier used to be, Miss Guthrie," an swers her hostess, the major's wife, in her calm, placid way. "Any one con trasting our beatitude of today with our life here, there and everywhere over the we3t during the Indian campaigns in which the regiment was incessantly en gaged can only wonder how we found it possible to exist in those days. Social conditions have changed, too, and in the gathering of our troops in larger gar risons a great many of the unpleasant features of the old life have been elim inated entirely. Indeed, I wish you might stay and see more of us. But you are coming again, are you not?" "If wishing will bring it about I shall be with you again with the coming sum mer or early in the spring. I have prom ised Mrs. Holden that I will return to her if only for a fortnight." The enthusiasm excited among the girls and apparently shared by all the women present when this announcement is made ought certainly to convince Miss Guthrie that they most reluctantly part with her now and most pleasantly anticipate her future coining. The clamor of voices is such that for a time no one ia conscious of the fact that out on the parade the regimental line has formed, and that the band is already trooping down the front. Berrien had taken his position as commanding offi cer. Several subalterns, whose heads were kept rigidly straight to the front, found their eyes wandering furtively over toward the major's quarters. In couples and groups a number of the la dies come sauntering forth, gathering opposite the center nearer the colonel's house, from which point they generally watched the closing ceremony of the day. But still oblivious to any music but that of her voice a dozen of their number hover about Miss Guthrie. Even gunfire fails to distract their attention. It is not until the major himself returns, tossing off his helmet and tugging at his waistbelt, that they realize that parade is over and dinner waiting. "Now, you will come back next spring?" "You will write?" "You won't forget to send me the photograph—mind, cabinet size—Miss Nita?" "Indeed if ever I get anywhere near St. Louis you'll be the first soul 1 shall come in search of." It is a little flock of enthusiastic army girls surrounding her, maidens whose early lives had been spent wandering from river to mountain, from the gulf to the Columbia, to whom city life was almost a revelation, and city belles be ings from another world. Winifred Berrien is the leader of the coterie, a girl whose eyes are as dark as Nita's are blue, and they are ready to brim over at this very instant. "Here comes Captain Bolfe for you now, and we've got to let you go; but we'll all be down to see you off at train time." The man who enters at the moment and stands just within the heavy Nava jo portiere, smilingly looking upon the group and quite unconscious of the al most vengeful glances in the eyes of the young girls, is a cavalry officer about thirty-five years of age. He is a tall fel low, somewhat heavily built, yet well proportioned and athletic. His face is tanned by long exposure to the sun and wind of the wide frontier. His brown hair, close cropped, has a suspicion of gray just silvering the temples. His eyebrows are thick and strongly marked. The eyes beneath are deep set and fringed with heavy lashes. The mus tache, sweeping from his upper lip, is of a lighter brown than his hair, but equally thick, heavy and curling. Other wise his face is smoothly shaved, and is one which impresses those who look upon it, even carelessly, as strong and resolute. He still wears the double breasted coat, with shoulder knots and fourragere, just as he had come off parade, though he has exchanged hel-

"Silence, Dick," sternly murmurs Mrs. Berrien. ' 'There is no fun in this affair, and I waru you—not another word." I Twilight has fallen upon the garrison as they stroll across the parade. The i men have vanished from the scene, but the tinkle of guitar and banjo tells where they have gathered. Most of the officers are at dinner. One or two couples are just entering the gateway of Hazlett's quarters—guests invited to j meet the fair visitor on this the last evening of her stay. Dr. and Mrs. ' Holden can be seen among them, Mrs. ' Holden gazing somewhat anxiously at Nina and her escort, for it is plain that Rolfe seeks to detain the woman to whom he has paid such unusual and de voted attention ever since the hour of her arrival. Silence and peace have spread their wings abroad, hovering with the twilight over the broad reser vation, and the Berriens, walking rapid ly now, as the energetic lady can lead , her expostulating spouse, come suddenly ! upon the sight of the great golden moon : rising above the distant bluffs and peer ing in upon the garrison through the wide space that interposes between the surgeon's quarters and the barracks at the east end. "Now there is something Miss Guth rie really must see," says Berrien, halt ing short. "As one of her admirers and entertainers, I feel bound to call her at tention to it." "Dick!—stupid!—move on at once. You must not speak to her now. Can't you see?" "See? Of course I see, and I want her to see—that's why I stop." Again half teasingly, he attempts to turn as though bent on looking back. She promptly whirls him about and faces him in the proper direction. "Oh," he persists, "if It is something about her you wanted to me to see, can't you understand that I! have no eyes in the back of my head and that therefore I should be allowed to look about." j "You see, sir, and understand the sit- j oation perfectly well as it is. You're simply bent on mischief. You know | that Rolfe has been her shadow all day : long, hanging about her to say his say. He knows this to be his last chance. Everybody will be thei'e the moment dinner is over. Everybody will sur-l round her, and unless he speaks now he must let her go without a word." "Berengaria, you amaze me! Are you conniving at his capture? Didn't you tell me you knew she wouldn't have him?" "I did; I know it now; but he is a man who wants to hear his fate from her own lips and plead his cause, too, like a man, unless I am very much mis taken in him. No, sir, don't you dare look back." "Poor devil! Why couldn't He wait till after dinner? she might be in softer mood then. I always am. That's why you always wait till after dinner, I pre sume, when you have anything special to ask. Now this will take his appetite away entirely." "As if he had any in the first place! Positively, Richard, you have no soul above a dinner. When a man is as des perately in love as Rolfe, do you suppose he cares much what he eats?" "Well, seems to me 1 was never off my feed," is Berrien's reply with preter natural gravity, looking straight to the front now and refusing to meet his wife's dark eyes. "You!" with fine scorn. "You! Why, Richard Berrien, with all your amiable qualities of heart and weaknesses of head no one on earth wduld ever asso ciate you and sentiment in the same breath. Of course you and your appe tite are inseparable; but Rolfe is differ ent; he is a lover." "Well, what am I?" "You are simply a goose tonights- Come, don't stop at the gate now; push right on into the house after the Hold ens. I'll run up to Mrs. Hazlett's room with Nita." A dozen of the fort people only have been bidden to dinner, for hardly a din ing room at the post is big enough for more, and on the porch anxiously await ing the coming of his guests is Hazlett. "Where are Rolfe and Miss Ghithrie?" asks he as men will ask. "All here now but them." "Coming at once; only a few steps behind us," promptly answers Mrs. Ber rien. "Run in, major; I'll wait for Nita." Berrien looks as though he medi tated a mischievous remark, but some thing in her voice and manner tells him that instant obedience is expected. He gives one quick glance and steps into the hall. Presently, while chatting with others of the arriving party, he is conscious of the swish of skirts passing up the stair way. The door to the veranda is still open, and glancing out Berrien can see Rolfe alone leaning against one of the wooden pillars, his head drooping as though plunged in deep thought. "Poor old chap! he's got his conge to night, and that's the end of his two years' romance. Odd about that girL She fancies nobody." Three hours later, the moon being well up in the heavens now, and the whole parade shining revealed almost as bright as day, both the verandas and the parlor of Hazlett's cozy home are thronged with officers and ladies, chat ting merrily together. The lights are Btill blazing in the barracks. The trum peters in full force are grouped about the flagstaff sounding the last notes of tattoo. The Holdens have borne Miss Guthrie away with them, that the ladies might stow their evening gowns in the waiting Saratogas nnd then don their traveling garb while the quartermaster's big wagon trundles the luggage down to the railway station. Presently this lum bering vehicle can be seen slowly roll ing uwny from the Holdens' gate, and everybody at Hazlett'a waits impatient ly for the return of the party. Mrs. Holden is deservedly a favorite in the garrison. and Nit;i (aiithrie, as has been said, lias won golden opinions. The weiring ;iir is growing chill, however, and of the d<mni !■mHuh present only the younger, tim girls, remain longer upon the veranda. About this pretty group. laughing and rhattin"-. i^n fn--r i-r five of the vouriger

I officers, Brewster, "the swell of the 'Bubs," keeping close to Winifred Ber f rien, and claiming more and more of the glances of her big dark eyes. Down at the gate, the moonlight gliutiug on his polished saber, the officer of the day is exchanging a few low toned words with Major Berrien. Rolfe, who with silent and dogged resolution luis taken his place at Jktiss Guthries side us she came down the stairs and assorted her to the | doctor's, has turned from there and gone E slowly across the parade to his own quarters on the other side. Everybody seems to see and know what has hap pened, and many half whispered com ments are being made, not all in sym pathy with the willowed lover. Every body .respects Rolfe, yet among the ' younger officers are several who feel no warmth of friendship for him, and, as j between man and man, garrison girls ' can only side with the youngsters. , Their story of their slight differences is : sometimes told again and again; the elders' seldom, for theirs would hardly be believed. Little by little the chat and laughter subside. "Oh, why doesn't she come back?" | pouts Miss Berrien. "The ambulances I will be here in less than half an hour, and we won't see anything of her." A chorus of girlish voices echoes Winifred's views, Mrs. Berrien and Mrs. Parker at this moment com c forth from the house and look expectantly up the road. "How long they are!" says Winnie again. "What can keep them, mamma?" "Packing, I doubt not, my child. 1' "But the wagon's gone, trnnks and all. It can't be that." "Still, I would not fret about it, Win nie. Has she not promised to come next I spring and pay us a long visit?" "Yen, but who knows where we may all be next spring, or what may happen meantime? Every paper we get is full of stories of the ghost dances among the Sioux, and if there should be another In dian war"-— "Nonsense, Winifradt Don't think of such a thing. After all this regiment has had to suffer in Indian battle, you don't suppose we, of all others, would be sent from here to a winter campaign in the northern department? We've seen the last of such troubles, God be thanked!" Major Berrien, his interview with the officer of the day ended, has just started to rejoin the group on the veranda when he hears his wife's pious words. He whirls around sharply. "Oh, captain, theres one thing I for got to tell you." And the saber of the officer of the day clanks against his leg as Captain Porter iraces about. The younger officers go on with their blithe chat; but Mrs. Berrien..has known her lord twenty long years, and no sooner has the officer of the day departed than she hastens to join him. "Dick," she falteris, "surely you do not believe that there is any chance of the Twelfth going, even if there should be trouble? Dick, telil me." "Berengaria, beloved inquisitor," he begins, "I didn't even know there was a row anywhere." But she rebukes him by a single glance. "Tell me, Dick," she persists, and' clings to his arm. "You don't think, after all we've been through, that, now that we are so happily settled here, there is a possibility of sucli a thing? It isn't only for myself now. It's—it would mean more to Winifred than either of us dreams of." He looks at her in silence and amaze. Then—then comes sudden distraction. On the stillness of night there rises a Bcream of terror—a woman's voice up lifted in the expression of an awful shock and agony. Then a dash toward Holden's quarters, every man joining. "My God!" shouts ifcJerrien. "it's Nita Guthrie." Following the rush of soldiers' feet, half a dozen ladies, too, have hastened, Winifred Berrien foremost of the lot. At the head of the stairs, on the landing of the second floor, dressed for her jour ney, lies the fair guesi; of the regiment, a senseless heap, with the blood flowing from underneath her pallid face.

CHAPTEiR EL

Indian summer was over and done with. The soft haze had gone. For three daya the wind had been blowing hard from the northwest and the air was as clear as an Arizona sky, the dis tant outlines sharp aa the tooth of the prairie blast. Colonel Farquhar had suddenly broken off his shooting trip, and, without saying why, returned to the post. Captain Rolfe had "cut" the club, once a favorite resort, and was much in Dr. Holden's company—Holden, who was lonely enough" now that his Wife and little ones were gone. Through out the garrison there was one leading I topic for conversation and conjecture— j Miss Ghithrie's strange adventure the night of her intended departure and her equally strange conduct thereafter. She had remained senselesss but a few mo menta. Gentle hands had raised and borne her to the bed in the room she was evidently fust about entering when suddenly halt ed by some mysterious cause. Here, when restored to consciousness, an al most hysterical attack of laughing and weeping had followed upon her prostra-

Hon. Bhe insisted on i!it< uiptim: to rye wdgototho train, «n originally planned, but this Holden positively• forbad-.* He had succeeded in sUnt.-hmg tht- ikwof the blood from a jagged cut new *\>e temple, and could suggest ready thcor* as to the cause thereof—in falling she had probably struck thp.edge of thn lit tle, wooden post at the top of the ImUia ters—but beyond this explanation there was absolutely nothing. Nita Gulhrie would only account for her sudden ter ror by the half nervous, half laughing statement that she thought ehe saw a* ghost, had played the coward and turned to run. But to the trained physician it wa«= evident she had received a severe shock Despite her pleadings Dr. Holden had re fused to allow her to attempt the jour ney until three days had elapsed, during which time, though she laughed at him and laughed at. herself, her condition continued so nervous and excitable that he would not permit visitors to see her This was pretty hard treatment, thought her many lady friends at the post, but he was wise and they could only obey When the evening came for the depar ture a large contingent, ladies and offi cers both, assembled to say farewell, and Nita, Mrs. Holden, each of the children and even the nurse could have had two or three escorts to the train. But no one had opportunity to say much to the cen tral figure of all this sympathetic inter, <3st. Only at the last moment did she appear, and was ushered almost instant ly to the waiting carriage by Holden vho had only summoned her when vigi lant eyes had reported the headlight ot the express visible far up the valley But then down at the dark platform of the station faithful, sad faced Rolfe was waiting, and in the minute or two that intervened before the huge train came glaring, hissing and thundering along side he managed to have a word or twe with her. Mrs. Vance, had she been present might have vowed that Nita shrank and clung to Holden"s arm, but others whe Were there saw her extend her gloved hand cordially, saw that Rolfe clung tc it an instant—charitable others whe could only wave adieu, for the party was hurried aboard, and away went the ex press, the tail lights of the rear sleepei disappearing in the dripping glooir. around the bend, for, as though in syni pathy with the mouraing of the post, a drizzling rain had begun to fall jnsi after retreat. Rolfe, gating after then to the last, wore that look seen on the face of many another man many uuolhei time. There can be few sensations mot t dismal than that of watching the dfoup pearing lights of the train that betuv away one's best beloved, especially ir the eyes of him who stands rejected. Within the days that followed, when he had leisure to think it all over, fcloUeii felt his perplexities incrtuise. Up to the very last Nita had persisted in'her'state ment that nothing had happened to war rant the absurd exhibition she had made of herself. "1 was overwrought, nerv ous, unstrung," she said. "1 had not been feeling quite well. 1 had inn np to the room for my gloves, which I had left upon the table. 1 had not reached the door, and it was just the waving ol those white curtains in the draft from the side window. 1 must have thought I saw a ghost, and, like a fool, I scream ed and tripped, and—voilatout." But Holden had known her for six years and felt well assured she was not of the stuff that is easily stricken with terror. With every confidence in liei veracity in general lie did not in the least believe her now. The more he studied the matter he felt that she was hiding something from them one ;tmi all, even from Jennie, whom she dearly loved and whom ordinarily she frankly trusted. It was evident that Jennie, too, believed, as did her hushaud, the doctor, that there was something behind it all. But Jennie was gone, and, except possibly Rolfe, there was no one to aid him in his search after the truth. Roii'e'g heart was now so shrouded in its own gloom that any phase of tragedy seemed credible. Rolfe evidently wanted tc know Holden's suspicions or surmises md again and again led up to the sub ject; but of all men in the garrison, much as he esteemed him, Rolfe seemed hardly the man to make a confidant of now. Was he not Nita's avowed though rejected lover? Of course, no time had been lost in making investigation on the night of the occurrence. Even while the doctor and others were raising the unconscious girl from the floor, half a dozen officers were scouring the premises for signs of intruders and had found absolutely nothing. The room occupied by Miss (Juthrie in the doctor's house was imme diately to the left at the head of the stairs. The hall was broad, the landing roomy. It was one of the oldest sets of quarters at the post, and an oddity in its way. Entering the door of the rear room on the east, three windows ap peared, two opening at the back and one at the side. The two at the back looked out over the roof of the rear porch. It was perfectly practicable for any one with a ladder to have clambered to this roof, and, had the blinds been open, peered in the windows at the occu pant. But there was no ladder. What was more, the blinds were tight shut and bolted on the inside. The shades withiu were drawn down, and the lace curtains looped over each. Between them stood a long, old fash loned mirror above the toilet table draped with lace curtains very much as were the windows themselves. No one from without could have beeu visible to uny one within. No" one within could have been seen by any one without

"I want a man who is a bit. smart," ■aid the Boas, "a^fellow who can romance a bit with an air of truth Now, do you think that l'terary' aspirant friend of yours would do, Oracle ?" " I should think he would,'' responded the Oracle; " why for two years he prepared the weather fore casts for the daily papers."

Moreover, the Holdens' cook—an indom itable Irishwoman —was on the back porch at the moment of Miss Gnthrie's fright saying good night to Corporal Murphy, who had long been Kathleen's devoted admirer, and both stood ready to swear that nobody was on that roof. The rear windows thus disposed of, the doctor had turned his attention to the window at tlie side, and here there was possibility of explanation. As has been said, the Holdens' house , was one of the oldest at the old frontier [ fort, but so solidly and substantially had | it been built that, when others were con- j demned and ordered replaced along the row, the authorities bad decided to re tain "Bayard Hall." It was originally a double set, with hallway in common, intended for the use of four bachelor officers, each to have his two rooms, there being four rooms on the first and four on the second floor, while the kitchen and servants' rooms were placed in a wooden addition at the rear. The ground fell away rapidly from the front piazza, so that while the first floor front was but a few steps higher than the walk, the rear porch was a full story above the ground, giving abundant space for storerooms, etc., under that part of the house, and necessitating a flight of a dozen steps to reach the porch or the kitchen doorway. Around the front and sides of the second story there ran originally a broad gallery, but this was before the days of the war of the re bellion, during which the post was lit tle used, and when, after certain repairs and alterations, the house was declared assignable as family quarters, the old wooden gallery had been condemned and torn down. Nevertheless, the beams which were its support on the east were found solid and firm. They projected through the wall cf : rough hewn stone, and an old time quar termaster, selecting the house for his own use, had thrown a light gallery out upon them. It made such a convenient place for flower pots, shrubs, bathtubs and things of that description, said he. Furthermore it was a place where he could go in the warm evenings and smoke and sip his toddy with his chosen associates, and not have every garrison gabbler crowding in to disturb their chat and absorb his precious Mononga hela. The gallery had no roof, was only five feet wide and was inaccessible except through this one window, which the un sociable major had had cut down level with the floor: "Robbers' Roost" the disdainful subalterns used to call it in the days when bluff old Blitz had occu pied the quarters and barred out all but his chums, anil by the same name was it known when Holden moved in with hia wife and olive branches and took up his abode there a few years before the open ing of this story. When the Eleventh marched out and the Twelfth came in, Colonel Farquhar, finding the debtor in possession, decided that the Holdens should not be disturbed —that there was abundant room for others in the new quarters. The Hol dens entertained a great deal. Pleasant people were visiting them month after monttf, and everybody in the Twelfth blessed them for the brightness and gay ety their presence lent to the garrison. A sterling fellow was Holden, one of the best men in one of the very best corps, personally and professionally, in our lit tle army; and as for his wife, an accom plished society woman, a St. Louis belle, still in the heydey of youthful woman hood, everybody in the garrison delight ed in her friendship and kindliness. There was no more popular parlor than Holden's, and night after night the young . officers gathered there. But "Robbers' Roost" bad fallen into disuse. The glass door was generally shut, and the Vene tian blinds with which old Blitz had decorated it were ordinarily closed ex cept when this, one of their two guest chambers, was occupied. Shades and lace curtains similar to those at the rear windows draped it within, so that from the interior this side door presented al most the same appearance as the win dows themselves, and it stood directly opposite the hall door. But Miss Ghithrie had become enthusi astic over the lovely view down the Pawnee valley from that side gallery. She was frequently to be seen there. She had gone out for one farewell look as the valley lay flooded in the light of the full moon, and this was immediately after changing her dress. She was exclaiming over its beauty as arrayed for her jour ney she came dancing down the stairs to join her hostess and the excited children in the parlor. She suddenly missed her gloves, remembered that she had left them in her room, had scurried up the stairs, had reached the landing at the top, but never entered her room at all, when there was heard that awful shriek of terror and a heavy fall, Holden at the instant was in his own room, the rear room on the opposite side of the house, and was changing his best uni form into something more suitable for a run down to the railway. This had delayed him a second or two, so that Brewster and Randolph, two of the most active of the junior officers, were foremost at his heels as he flew up the stairs. His first care was for Nita, but the youngsters had bounded into the room and out on the gallery, as though expecting to overtake some intruder there. The side door was wide open, the shade up, the lace curtains drawn apart If any one had been in the room escape to the gallery was easy enough, but from there there was practically none except by a leap of fifteen or twenty feet to the hard ground below. No one had run out, either front or back, for Murphy and the Irish cook were at the rear on the east side, the rushing swarm of officers ,at the front If any one had hidden there escape unobserved was well nigh impossible. No one was found—no trace of anyone. Indeed, when Nita was per mitted to talk she vowed that no one had been there. She herself had left the blinds, door and curtains open as she came in from the moonlit gallery, had turned out her lamp and descended the stairs. The gallery doorway could not be seen from where she fell, and as all was darkness in the room itself, how could she have seen any one? . Out on the gallery, of course, any one j

would have been revealed, thanks to the brilliancy of the full moon, almost as in the broad glare of day; but one had to be at the hall door or in the square room itself in order to see the gallery at all, and Nita declared, as before, that she had not reached the door. What she fancied was a ghost, bathed in a pale, cold light, was probably the white curtains of the rear windows. But the light—whence came that? j The possibility of any one having been > in the room was not entertained. Prompt and thorough search had been made in every nook and corner of the the upper story. The rooms of the mine and children were on the westward side of the hall, and the nurse was in one of them, putting on her hat, at the very moment. The front room on the east was unoccupied. Nita had chosen the other because of that gallery and its lovely view. Then there was the rear * ope of the' main roof above the gal lery. That, thought Holden, might have offered a way of escape, because it was out of sight from the parade. But Brewster and Randolph had both ■ essayed to reach the eaves, and even when standing on the railing could bare ly touch them with the tips of their fingers. Then, again, a sentry walked along the edge of the slope leading to the river bottom south of the long row of officers' quarters and close behind the rear fence, but he was at the eventful moment well down the row beyond Has lett's house, whereas Dr. Holden's was at the eastern end of the line. The moon shone full against the back fence, said the sentry, and he was sure he would have seen anybody who ran out of the gate of the doctor's yard, and the first who appeared were the searching offi cers, Corporal Murphy with them. Sev eral men had then come running from the direction of the laundresses' quar ters to the west, and after them Ser geant Ellis. Indeed, it was Ellis who first suggested a search of the roof by means of a ladder. He was sergeant in charge of the fire apparatus kept in that long, low building at the east end, and had the keys of the door. It was by his aid that some of the Junior officers made a thorough exam ation of the roof and the front porch. No more signs there than had hitherto been found. No, the sentry on the south post was confident that no man came out of Holden's yard until he got to the gate, whither he had run the in stant he heard the cry. He thought it might be a lamp explosion or a fire, and he was watching with eager eyes. He had been on post nearly two hours when the alarm came, and, except Corporal Murphy and the quartermaster's men who took the trunks, he had not seen or heard a man about the premises. Kath leen, the nursemaid, and the children had been home all the evening, and they had neither Been nor heard anybody. Captain Rolfe, unable to sleep, and making the rounds on his own account about one o'clock, found the sentry of the third relief gazing curiously in at the open back gate, and questioned him as to what excited his attention. "Nothing, sir," was the prompt reply of the trooper, as he threw his carbine to the position of "arms port." "I was Bimply wondering how any man could have ventured in there this bright night and expected to get out unseen, es pecially early in the evening, when men are passing to and fro all the time." "What made you think any one had been there?" asked the captain quietly.. "Everybody has heard by this time that there was a search made, and that the young lady had seen something to frighten her. Besides, Sergeant Ellis Bpoke of it to me an hour ago." "What was the sergeant doing on your post at midnight?" "Why, sir, the captain remembers Sergeant Ellis is in charge of the fire house and sleeps there. He came out a little before twelve and said he'd lost his pet pipe while he was hunting around with Lieutenant Brewster after he brought the ladder, and 1 let him pass in, sir. He said he'd been working there long after taps, and it would be all right. He found the pipe, sir, right at the edge of the wood pile, yonder. He showed it to me as he came out." Captain Rolfe was silent a moment Ordinarily none of the enlisted men had any right to be away from quarters after the "lights out" signal, but this case was unusual. Furthermore, Ellis _ was a man superior in intelligence, ft sergeant of more than a year's standing, and one who had been selected for this especial duty for the very reason that; holding himself much aloof from the average run of the rank and file, he would be apt to attend strictly to his duties as custodian of the fire house, and no one had ever heard of his abasing his trust His own little room was a model of neatness when the command ing officer made his monthly inspection of the garrison, and the' hose carriage, the hook and ladder truck, the fire buckets and other apparatus were al ways m perfect order and readiness for service. No one ever inspected Ellis* quarters at any other time. The guard often noticed his light after midnight, and he had the reputation of beings good deal of a reader and student, tak ing books from the post library very often, besides owning quite a number of his own. Observant officers who had glanced about when making the inspection with Colonel Farquhar noted that many of these were texts on mining, mining en gineering, mineralogy and geology, and \ some had gone so far as to question the sergeant as to whether he had ever prac tically essayed mining. With perfectly respectful manner Ellis replied to these occasional queries, merely saying, "Yes, sir; but without success." Asked where he had made his essay, his reply was rather vague, "In several western states and territories, sir—mainly Arizona and Colorado." Only once had he displayed anything like annoyance or impatience under such fire. He had served his three years'enlistment, was entitled to his discharge, yet quietly notified his r^op commander that he proposed to re* ex. <jst In a somewhat bharp manner thi» official had whirled about. (To be continued.)

"My God! it's Nita Guthrie."

"When did you shavz off your beard, ; sergeant?"

Printed and published by tit* Asaburton Publishing Company, at their registered Printing Offioe, Burnett street, Ashburto . 9ATU&DAY, 4uljr », 1983, *









"Are those shirts of Wigby's ready?" asked the laundrywoman of her assis tant. "No, ma'am," she replied. "I haven't had time to fray the edges of the cuffs yet." "Trust men and they will trust you,' said Emerson, " Trust men and they will bust you," ' says the average business man. j "Didn't you tell me to poke that 1 man with my stick ?" I " Yes." " And what did you want V 111 wanted to see if you would poke him or not." By the Popl.-~Twi.ikle, twinkle little " star," what a costly thing you are! Up upon the marking boar.J, where my wasted " lives " are scored. Up above the world so high, why did I accept you—why? All through twinkling little " star," gone my bloom ing thick 'uns are i



She turned the paper over, with a pucker on her. face, and searched the journal vainly, still she couldn't find the place. Ihen she threw it down disgusted, with a murmur quite re-1 signed : " The case is not reported—it's | in camera I find." I Unprepossessing old Bachelor : "And why dc you think I ought to get married V Edith (aged twelve): " Oh, you look as though you needed some body to take care of you, and—oh. ' goodness, you didn't think I said that to lead you on, did you V Mrs Nicker (whispering to her hus band) : " Oh, John, I believe there's a burglar in the room routing about your clothes i" Mr N. : » Well, it doesn't matter. You've been through my pockets al ready, haven't you f Be Ooquene: " I hope you admire my shirt stud—it's intended to repre sent a butterfly."



Sergeant was once drilling a squad of Militiamen. One of them a country pumpkin, did not know his right hand from his left. The sergeant proceeded to teach him. And, after holding them out several times, he seemed to have some idea of which was which. "Now," said hia instructor, " hold them in front of you and twist them round quickly oae over the other, Stop! Now, which is the right and left ?" After staring at them a motreat he looked up, with a puzzled expression on his face, and said, "I'm bio wed if I know now—l've gone and mixed 'em." 'Arry: "If yer weren't too rich to digest, blow'd if I wouldn't eat yer." " That's a Very lovely baby of yours, Lawson I wonder what he will de velop into?" "Well, if we caujudge of the future by the present, 1 think he will be a town-crier when he grows



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