The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1890-03-20

lanterns from the stables next door; bIl
they had not even heard the trouble"
"Where vas the stable guardr'
"Inside, sir. and he's there now. He
heard the %scuiile. he says, and ran to
give the alarm and 10 protect the EEL.
geant. but the men scattered when he
came, and he saw none Of them"
TEL him 10 come here. Let some Of
these mon go In and quiet the horses
The captain will be here In q minute,
and he will want to see that stableman.
Who Is IL"
Kelly, SIR"
BY this time DR.. QuIn came lumber.
ing heavily up the slope to the stable
door His ann was very quiet and
very grave as he bent owe the injured
mar and carefully studied his face BY
the light Of the ~sergeant's lamp. The
doctor spoke gently;
"You know me, sergeant2-Dr. Quin.
Can you tell me what struck youi Are
you hurt elsewhere than In the head7"
Gwynne made no reply for q moment.
then family answered:
Stunned, mainly, and n or two
kicks after ! was knocked down."
Then came q deeper voice, quiet but
authoritative. and the group that had
begun TO close In again about the doctor
and his patient fell back as Capt. Stryker
strobe into their midst.
"Sergt. Hosmer, send all these men Of
the troop back 10 their quarters Of once,
and permit no more to come out Is he
much hurt, DOCTOR
Somewhat stunned, no says. I've
made no examination yet"
The captain looked about him. Ex.
cept one sergeant holding o lantern, the
other troopers, obedient to his order,
were slowly fading back into the dark.
ness on their way 10 the barracks. Only
the doctor, Mr.. Perry, and the sergeant
remained by the side Of the injured
man. Then came the question:
"Who did this, Gwynne?'
No answer. A deeper shade Of pain
and trouble seemed to pass owe the
~sergeant's face. he made an effort to
speak, hesitated, and at last replied,
II cannot say, SIR"
lou Know 10 you nOIE
Again pained silence and embarrass-
ment. At last the sergeant leaned slow.
iy forward and spoke:
Captain, the men were masked, the
voices disguised I could not see the
dress In the darkness. was struck on
the head almost the instant I got outside
the door, and Il would be impossible for
me TO identify one Of them"
do you think Il was the same gang
you had the trouble with at DunravenY'
"l-could not say, SIR"
DO you suspect any Of our own menY'
"l-would 10 say that, sir"
where Is the stable guardT" asked
Stryker, Send him here"
And presently Trooper Kelly-a wiry
little Irishman, with a twinkling eye and
an expression Of mingled devilment and
imperturbability in bis face-came forth
from the stable door and stood attention.
Where were you when this assault
took place, KellyT"
AT the far end Of tho stables, SIR"
replied Kelly, with prompt and conf.
dent tone.
Then Of curse you saw and know
nothing Of it."
mot q wor-rad, SIR"
why did you let q gang from that
English ranch come here and beat your
sergeant before your very eyes?"
Kelly REDEEMED at the very idea.
"Td ha' died first, siri Sure they'd
niver dared And then Kelly stopped
short His Celtic pride had been touch
ed to the quick, and had Il not proved
too much for even Irish witt
"How did they get the sergeant out Of
the stable at this hour Of the nightY'
Sure they called him out, sir"
And the sergeant happened to be
down there BY the door at the timer"
mo, sir; he was In his room beyant-
up there by the forage"
"That's q long distance from this door,
Kelly; and 10 he could hear It In his
room you could hear It farther away"
II wasn't farther away thin, sir; I was
down here when they axed for him."
"Then why didn't you open the door
and see who was making such q racket,
shouting for Sergt. Gwynne after taps?'
Sure they didn't shout at all at all,
sir; they axed for him quiet and re-
spectacle like, an I whit and told him."
"Ah, yes, ! zee. And then, having
told him, you went away 10 the far end
Of the stable"
"Yis. sir, just 50, sir; an the moment
heard the s~crimmidge. sir. ! ran as
hard asl could"
"of course you considered Il was mona
Of your business what people might want
with the stable sergeant at night"
"No, sir. II he wanted me he had q
right to tell me to come
1--WE differ on that point, Kelly. Re-
lleve him, Sergt Hosmer."
On the following morning Col Brain
ard was surprised to note In Capt. Stry.
ker's column Of remarks explanatory Of
the alterations from tho status Of the
previous day:
"Sergt. Gwynne from daily duty as
stable sergeant TO sick In hospital; Sergt.
Leary from duty to arrest, and Private
Kelly from duty to confinement
aa-@ 1890