Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-08-21

sake. Oh, Gerald If you knew how
have suffered for weeks past, you would
live for my sake. do not care about the
brand or the lashes I know you are in
nocent, and that there has been some hor-
rible blunder committed in this matter.
Oh, Willie, dear, do think of something to
save him.
''Oh, do, there's good fellow get me
some stuff that will make an end of me-
. Don't talk like that, Gerald, there's
some Internal mistake in it. Don't des-
pair yet Let's 90 over the ground again,
whole story over again.
90 1t seems to me, Gerald, we want but
a few things to show you are not guilty.
We want the tiger you shot at and that
we shant get and we want the clue to
the mystery of the other rife"
"Oh, I've thought of it all till I'm sick
| don't care what happens now I'll wait
till the day before it's to come off, and then
break my head against the walls"
Don't be fool, Gerald, I'm sure
you are innocent So is Margaret
& Yes; SO are a hundred others but it's
all no use. In three days I am disgraced
for life, if | live"
We'll, | must leave you now, and see
what | can do"
:" Let me have five minutes with Maggie,
will you?'
[ left them alone for some ten minutes,
and then told Maggie she must 90 home
with me.
! | was beaten; | could not see how
could get any fresh evidence, and without
that a reprleve, postponement, was i'm
possible.
/ [ went to the wounded officer, the cap
tain of his own company, and got him to
tell his own story; it was just the same
thing over again-always the exceedingly
/ loud report, and the fouled and still
smoking carbne.
Il would" said the captain, have
given the price of my commission rather
than have had it happen. He's as fine a
! fellow as ever sat horse brave, kind, and
as thorough gentleman as the colonel
I himself; | always made him my orderly
when | could, so as to have company. [
declare to you that [ did my best at the
court-martial for him, and got into disgrace
with the general presiding for coloring
my statements that was his expression
4 ~ dS ~ IdNOI IuC pIISpllCI dIHlOSU SHlN
elled when | heard the sentence, as if he
had been my own brother. The men are
mad about it; there has not been a lash
or public punishment of any kind in the
regiment for the last twenty-five years"
| | hardly knew how to pass the time |
tried to think, but my ideas only travelled
in the same old grooves again.
/ | invited the assistant surgeon to come
up to my quarters, and introduced him to
my sister He was quite young fellow,
and seemed quite fattered by my simple
attention. for in the army they have not
quite made up their minds whether med
ical officer should be treated as a gentle
man; but the strangest thing | ever saw
in my life was my sisters conduct. OF
course, speaking to you fellows [ shan't be
misunderstood, and some Of you have seen
her. She laid herself out to please him to
dear, grave Maggie capable Of sang to
him. played to him, and made eyes at him
till thought her brain was turned. She
said she should like to see his quarters,
asked him to ask US to lunch, and shut me
up like a rat-trap when | ventured to hint
that it might not be convenient.
Well, he went away at last mad as
She [ spoke to her after he was gone, and
She fell into my arms, sobbing as if her
heart was breaking, and then, without a
word of explanation, ran out Of the room.
Next day we went to his quarters, and
nothing would satisfy her but that he
should mix up some medicine for her out
of the bottles of his little travelling case.
There she was, handling, and shifting, and
tasting everything, like child of ten rather
than "A girl of eighteen. She sent him
about the room; made him bring books
from the opposite side of it so that she
might read about the properties of drugs
and, in short, behaved 50 like a lunatlc
that | thought the trouble about Gerald
must have affected her mind. l got her
away at last, and intended to insist on her
remaining in the house and putting some
ice to her head 1t was quite unneces-
sary; the moment we left the surgery she
was calm and silent as a nun.
Well, the days passed in some sort of
dreary fashion till the evening Of the lIth.
[ Rad been asked during the day to go
down with the officers to see some rifle prac-
tce, at some temporary marks, and L went
down
1t was rather late when | rode up to
the firing point, and they were just leaving
off; and one of them came up and said,
L say, captain, tell us the cause OF
these new bullets turning inside out?" and
he handed me bullet reversed; just such
another as Williams has in his hand.
took it, just to explain the matter to
him, when a thought struck through my
mind like a flash of lightning.
Saved, by God! !" | exclaimed Who's
rot that bullet out of the saddle ~
. What bullet ?"
Gcrald's-my Cousins"
:. Oh /! Gentleman Jacks affair.
The doctors get it"
Where is he ?"
. Don't know-quarters, [ think"
No, he's come into town; L saw him
on the road as we came by"
| sped on into town, leaving them to
think what they pleased; and spent more
than two hours finding the doctor. At last
| caught him.
/ In another minute we were riding full
gallop to his quarters.
He had the bullet-a little bruised and
sineularly fattened, and blunted at the
point-it must have been just spent when
it struck.
[ then went to the sergeant who had
charge of the nineteen rounds of ammuni-
ton that were found in Gerald's pouch.
About midnight | contrived to find him,
and after some little delay got possession
of them.
. nd