Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-06-20

will go with you now" What could it
mean? At last, as she was returning to
her sisters room after a moments alb
sence, she heard question at which
her heart stood still. 1t was Mrs. Ray
ner who asked:
"But the creature was there, was she
not?'
The answer sounded more like moan
of anguish;
"The creature was his sister. 1t was
her husband who
But, as Capt. Rayner buried his bat
tered face in his hands at this iuncture,
the rest of the sentence was inaudible.
Miss Travcrs had heard quite enough,
however. She stood there one moment,
appalled,, dropped upon the floor the
bandago she had been making, turned
and sought her room, and was seen no
more that night
Over the day or two that followed this
affair the veil of silence may best DO
drawn, in order to give time for the sedi-
ment of truth to settle through the
whirlpool of stories in violent circulation.
The colonel came back on the first train
after the adjournment of the court, and
could hardly wait for that formality.
Contrary to his custom of sleeping on"
question, he was in his office within
half an hour after his return to the post,
and from that time until near tattoo was
busily occupied taking the statements of
the active participants in the affair." This
was three days after its occurrence; and
Capt. Rayncr, though up and able to be
about, had not left his quarters. Mrs.
Rayncr had abandoned her trip to the
east, for the present at least.
Mr. Iayne still lay weak and PROSTATE
in his darkcned room, attended hourly
by DR.. Pcasc, who feared brain fever,
and nursed assduously by Mrs. Hurley,
for whom Mrs Waldron, Mrs. Stannard,
and many other ladies' in the garrison
could not do enough to content them
selves. Mr.. 1iurieys wrist was badly
sprained and in a sling; but the colonel
went purposely TO call upon him and to
shake his other hand, and he begged to
be permitted TO see Mrs. Hurley, who
came i'll pale and soft eyed and with
gentle demeanOr that touched the colonel
moro than he could tell. Her check
flushed for moment as he bent low
over her hand, and told her how bitterly
he regretted that his absence from the
post had resulted in so grievous an ex-
periencc it was not the welcome he and
his regiment would have given her had
they known of her intended visit. To
Mr.. Hurley he briefly said that he need
not fear but that full justice would be
meted out to the instigator or iustigators
OF the assault; but, as a something to
make partial amends for their suffering.
he said that nothing now could check
the turn of the tide in their brothers
favor. All the cavalry officers except
Buxton, all the infantry officers except
Rayncr, had already been to call upon
HIM since the night of the occurrence. and
had striven to show how distressed they |
were over the outrageous blundcrs OF
their temporary commander.
Buxton had written a note EXPRESSIVE |
OF desire to see him and ''cxplain," but |
was informed that explanations from |
him simply aggravated the injury; and |
Rayner, crushed and Inundated was
fairly in hiding III his room. too sick at
heart to want to see anybody. and wait |
ing for the action of the authorities in |
The confident expectation that nothing
less than court martial and disgrace
would be his share of the outcome. lie |
would gladly have resigned and gone at
once, but that would have been resigninr
under virtual charges; he had to stay,
and his wife had to stay with him. and |
Nellie with her. BY this time Nellie |
Travers did not want to go. She had but |
one thought now-to make amends to |
Mr. IToy-na ha |, Al.
had done him. 1t was time for Mr.. Van |
Antwerp to come to the wide west and |
look after his interests, but MIS-. Ravner
had ceased to urge, while he continued |
TO 1mplore her to bring Nellie east at
once. Almost any man as rich and in
dependent as Steven Van Antwerp would |
have gone to the scene and settled mat
tiers for himself. Singularly enough. this
one solution Of the problem seemed never
TO occur to him rs feasible.
Meantime the colonel had patiently I'M
ravcled the threads and had brought to
light the whole truth and nothing but
the truth. 1t made singularlv simple
story, after all; but that was SO much the
worse for Buxton. The only near rcla-
ton Mr.. Huyne had in the world was
tniS 'Hc younger Sister, VINO SIX years
before had married manly, energetic
fellow, Il civil engineer in the employ of
an eastern railway. During HAYNES |
''mountain station exile Hurley had
brought his wife to Denver, where far
better prospects awaited him. He won
promotion in his profession, and was
now one of the principal engineers en-
bowed by a road runnin. new lines
through the Colorado Rockies. Journey
ing 10 Salt Lake, he came around by way
OF Warrener, 50 that his wife and he
might have look at the brother she had
not seen in years. Their train was due
there early in the afternoon, but was
blocked by drifts and did not reach the
station until late at night, There they
found a note from him begging them to
take a carriage they would find waiting
for them and como right out and spend
the night at his quarters; he would send