Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-20
copyrighted 1889 by the Author i

loss. Suppose we turn IN now and L IL
look around my room once more.
Half an hour later the doctor tapped
softly ar his guest s door.
Found it?'' he asked
''No, not yet, going to bed, - was the
answer, accompanied by an ostentatious
yawn, good night, doctor.
Mr.. Holmes had indeed found no
pocket book The discovery he made
was far less welcome An amethyst pin
with sleeve-buttons to match-a piece Of
personal property that ne highly valued
had disappeared from his dressing case.
There were three pairs of sleepless eyes
in the DOCTORS quarters when the sentries
were shouting the call of 'hast-past u
o CLOCK. Nellie Bayard in her dainty
little white room was whispering over
tear-stained pillow her prayer for the
safety of Randall Mclean who was
riding post haste down the swollen
Platte. Dr. Bayard, too excited to go
to bed, had thrown himself on a sofa and
was plotting for the future and planning
an alliance for his fair daughter that
would mean power and position for him.
self And Mr.. Holmes was sitting with
darkened face at his bedside, gazing
blankly at a handkerchief he had picked
up on the floor just in front of the bureau,
a handkerchief embroidered in one cor
ner with the letters R. Mel.
Over at the majors quarters we're
other sleepless eyes. 1t was late, nearly
midnight, when the commanding officer
finished debating his telegraphc dis
patches to department headquarters and
when he reached his home Mrs. Miller
was still sitting up for him. A faith
ful and devoted spouse she was,
something of the Peggy O'Dowd
order and prone at times to order
him about with scant ceremony, but
quickly Tesentful of any slight from other
sources. She could not bear that any
man or woman should suppose for an in
slant that her major was not the embOdi-
ment of every attribute that became
soldier and a man. She stood between
him and the knowledge of many a
little garrison squablne or scandal rather
than have him annoyed by tales that
were of no consequence, but now she had
that to tell that concerned the honor and
welfare of the whole command and she
felt that he must know at once.
'fMajOr. - she said to him when once
they had gained the seclusion of the
marital chamber, has Capt. Bruce ever
said anything further to you about that
story from Robinson last winter?
- N-nothing much, - answered Miller,
who dreaded that something more of the
same kind was coming and would gladly
have avoided the subject
- know that be babe Mrs. Bruce de-
stroy the letter she got and say no more
about it, - pursued Mrs. Miller, Fbut
she and l are very old frieLds as you
know and she could not well avoid telling
me after told her of the letter | got
Now il is bad enough that these things
should have occurred there and that sus-
picion should have attached to some one
in Captain Forrest s household, but
things are worse than ever now. Have
you seen Mr.. HatUon today
owe seen him, of course, but he
didn Il say anything on-on such a sub
ject. -
"Now, don t want you TO blame Mr..
Hatton, major. You must remember
that he has always said / was like a
mother TO him because l nursed him
through the mountain fever, and he has
always confded in me ever since; but the
other night while he was at the Gordons,
the same night he came here after tattoo,
somebody went TO his room and stole
from his trunk over $50 in greenbaclzs |
and a beautiful scarfpln that his brother
gave him
"And he did not report it to me?'
asked the major, impetuously.
''He did not then, though he meant |
to, because MIR. Mclean induced him TO |
promise not to because
"Well, because what? What reason
could young Mclean assign that could |
Justify his concealing such matter from |
the commanding officer?
he cot-1 30 oil
a woman to be suspected when she had |
no man in the garrison-husband, brother
or father-to take her part. -
ga woman! What? some servant?p
t'Worse than that, major-ATiss For
rest. -
Bangl dropped the heavy boot the major
had just pulled from his foot, and one
boot off, and the other boot on, he started
up and stood staring at his wife in blank
amaze.
"Llsten, dear, - she said, ''Heavea
knows it is no pleasure TO tell il. She
vas seen, so my letter said, in the quar-
.ers of the officer who was robbed at Red
Cloud, the night he was officer of the
lay. They lived, you know, in the same
The night Mr.. Hatton IS
runk was opened she came very late to
he Gordons. Very probably it was she
Win WnOm MT. Mclean c0illdeQ out
IN the parade, though / hushed you
iummarily when you began TO joke about
t, and Mr.. Hatton hints that Mclean
,ould tell more il he would, bat he has
irmly set his lips against saying word.
However, that was before tonight Now
or something even worse because it has
TO guest within our gates.
dr. Holmes portemonnaie with over one
hundred dollars was taken from his over
'Oat pocket as it hung in the hall to-
light, and saw her go out there while
-ou were having your after dinner smoke.
saw her 20 out there and stand by the
lat rack and pretend 10 be admiPing aud
'atting that beautiful. fur. My back. was
urned, but the mirror over the mantel /
bowed it. -
How do you know he lost it?''
He told me confidentially that he was
ure it was taken from the pocket, but he
trying to make the doctor believe he
)st il through his own carelessneSs.
'Seems to me you have confidential |
Citations all around, Eliza. What more ! /
as been impaired to you as secret?n
Nothing, answered Mrs Miller, :