The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-04-20

ton; he was white and rigid as the colo
mel told him Clancy had made full con-
fession; but the expression ON his face
when informed that the man had admit
ted that he and Sergt. Cover were the
only ones guilty of the crime-that Clancy
and Cover divided the guilt as they had
the money-was puzzle to the colonel.
Capt Rayner seemed daft; it was a look
of wild relief, half unbelief, half delight.
that shot across his Ragged features. 1t
was evident that he had not heard at all
what he expected. This was what puzzled
the colonel. He had been bordering over
it ever since the captains hurried de-
parture ''to tell his wife,
'We-we had expected-made all
preparations to take this afternoons train
for the east" he stammered. eve are
all torn up, all ready to start, and the
ladies ought to go; but I cannot feel like
going in the face of this
''There is no reason why YOU should
not go, captain. / am told Mrs. Rayner
should leave at once. If need be, you can
return from Chicago. Everything will
be attended to properly. Of course you
will know what TO do towards Mr.. Hayne.
Indeed, think it might be best for you
to CO."
But Rayner seemed hardly listening;
and the colonel was not a man to throw
his words away.
"You might see Mrs. Rayner at once,
and return by and by" he said; and Ray
ner gladly escaped, and went home with
the wonderful news he had to tell his
wife.
And now second time he was back,
and was urging upon the commanding
officer the necessity of telegraphing and
capturing Mrs. Clancy. In plain words
he told the colonel he believed that she
had escaped with the greater part of the
money. The colonel smiled:
''That was attended to early this morn
ing, captain. Hayne and the major
asked that she be secured, and the mo-
ment we found her fled it confirmed
their suspicious, and Billings sent dis
patches in every direction. She can't
get away She was his temptress, and
mean to make her share all the punish
ment."
Colonel" exclaimed Rayner, while
beads of sweat stood out on his forehead,
"she is worse-a thousand times worse!
The woman is a fiend. She is the devil
in petticoats-a ingenuity. Ny God!
sir, have been in torment for weeks
past-my poor wife and I. have been
criminally cowardly weak; but I did not
know what to do-where to turn-how to
take lt-how to meet it. Let me tell
you" And now great tears were stand
ing in his eyes and beginning to trickle
down his cheeks. He dashed them away.
His lips were quivering, and he strobe
nervously up and down the matted floor.
"When you refused to let Clancy re-en-
list in the til, two years after Battle
Butte, he came to meand told me a story.
He, too, had declared, as 1 did, that he
4 had seen the money packages in Haynes
hands, and he said the real reason he was
kicked out of the -th was because the
officers and men took sides with Hayne
and thought he had sworn his reputation
away. He begged me not to go back on
him as his own regiment had, and I
thought he was being prosecuted because
he told the truth. God knows fully be-
lieved Hayne guilty for more than three
years-it is only within the last year or
so began to have doubts; and so l took
Clancy into B company and soon made
Mrs. Clancy a 1aundress. But she made
trouble for us all, and there was some
thing uncanny about them. She kept
throwing out mysterious hints | could
not understand when rumors of them
reached me; and at last came the fire
that burned them out, and then the
stories of what Clancy had said in his
delirium;. and then she came to my wife
and told her a yarn that-she swore to
its truth, and nearly drove Mrs. Rayner
wild with anxiety. She swore that when
! Clancy got to drinking he imagined he
! had seen me take that money from Capt.
Huli's saddle bags and replace the sealed
package; she said he was ready to swear
that he and Gower-the deserter-and
two of our men, honorably discharged
now and living on ranches down in
Nebraska, could all swear-would all
swear-to the same thing-that | was
the thief. Sure you know it couldn't
be SO, ma'am; and yet he wants to 20
and tell Mr.. Hayne,' she would saw:
there's the four of 'em would swear to
| it, though Covers evidence would be no
good; but the two men could hurt the
captain Her ingenuity was devilish.
for one of the men l had severely pun
ished once in the Black Hills, and both
hated me and had sworn they would get
even with me yet. God help me, col
onel, seeing every day the growing
conviction that Hayne was limo
cent, that somebody else must
be guilty, I thought, what if this
man should, in drunken gratitude to
Hayne for saving his life, go to him and
tell him this story, then back it up be-
fore the officials and call in these two
others? was weak, BIZ. it appalled, me-
l determined to get him out of the way
of such possibility. got his discharge,
and meantime strove to prevent his
drinking or going near Hayne. She
knew the real story he would tell. This
washer devilish plan to keep me on watch
against him. never dreamed the real
truth. She swore to me that $500 was
all the money they had. l believed that
when he confessed it would be what she
declared. l never dreamed that Clancy
and his confederate were the thieves; I
never believed the money was taken
until after Hayne received it. I saw how
Haynes guilt was believed in even in
fo< .Nf<, 1
the court. What would be the tendency