San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-08-13
lents ana tossed them TO the WIND.

Lane S-WaS then looking over AFFAIRS
for himself. at the reservation. Lane OBJ
tanned a few moments conversation with
him, briefly stated his needs q I'd showed
him Mr.. Vincent's letter. 1ne instant
the general saw the signature he looked
up, startled, and then arose from his
seat, put his hand on the captains
shoulder, and drew him to one side.
MY dear boy" he said, there is
later news than this. 1t is dated Sept.
IA, You see. Have you heard nothing
more"
Nothing, general What las hap
peEeG: ..1isi crel Lane, his Voice trem-
bling and his bronzed face rapidly paling.
Am lam | too latey"
Il fear so, Lane Had Mr.. Vincent a
partner named Clark
Yes sir; his junior partner"
Clark defaulted, embezzled, hypothe-
Gated securities and heaven knows what
all, blew out his brains in his private
Office and Mr.. Vincent stumbled oven
the body an hour afterwards, was pros
trated by the shock, and died of heart
failore three days later. The papers
were full of the tragedy for nearly
week; but there are none to be had here,
I'm afraid. Now you will want to start
at once Never mind your troop. Just
tell your lieutenant to report here to
Capt Bright for orders, and I'll have
them sent back to Graham by easy
marches"
Late at night Lane reached the rail-
way, only to find his train five hours be-
hind. He telegraphed to Mabel that he
would come to her as fast as train could
bring him-that the sad news had only
just reached him He strobe for hours
up and down the little platform under
the glittering stars, yearning to reach
her, to comfort and console her in this
bitter sorrow.
Time and again he turned over in
mind the few particulars which he had
obtained from the department COM
mander They were all too brief, but
pointed conclusively to one fact-that
Clark had been encouraged by the sue
cess of June to plunge still more deeply,
in the hope of retrieving the losses of the
past two years. Luckily for Vincent, he
had used his June winnings in lifting
the mortgage from his homestead and in
taking up any of his outstanding paper,
and so had little wherewith to supply his
confident partner; but Lane wondered if
the kindly old man had any idea that up
to the end of August, at least, Clark had
not sent to him, as directed, "the draft
for the entire amount" to which referred
the first letter Mr.. Vincent had ever
written to him.
1t was daybreak when the train came.
1t was noon when he sprang from the
cars at Graham station and into the am
bulance sent to meet him in response to
his Geographic request. Were there any
letters? he eagerly asked. None now.
A small package had been forwarded to
the reservation last night, and must
have passed him on the way. Others
had been waiting for him at the noun
tain station until he was reported by
wire as arriving with his prisoners at the
agency. Everything then had been sent
thither, and there would be no getting
them before starting. At Graham the
telegraph operator showed him the du-
plicateS of the kilograms that had come
for him in his absence-only two. One
announced Mr. Clark's suicide and w
cents prostration and danger; the other,
two days later, briefly read, "Mr. Vim
cent died this morning. Mrs. Vincent
and Mabel fairly we'll"
Both were signed Gordon Noel" and
a jealous pang shot through the poor
fellows heart as he realized that in all
their bereavement and grief it was
Noel's privilege to be with them and to
be of use to them, while he, her af-
fianced husband, was far beyond hail. He
was ashamed of his own thoughts an in
slant after, and bitterly upbraided him
self that he was not thankful that they
could have had so attentive and thought
full an aid as Noel well knew how to be.
Yet-why was not Reginald sufficient?
He had torn into fragments the an
onymous sheet that had met him at the
reservation, and yet its words were
gnawing at his heartstrings now, and he
could not crush them down:
"Why was your engagement denied?
Because she still cared for Will Rossiter
and hoped he might come back to her
after all
why did Gordon Noel stay at the
other hotel the second and third times
he spent Sunday at Deer Park? Be-
cause she wished to hide from her
mother, as she did from you, that he
came at all