Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-15

II
morsel under my tongue" saw that Cap
tain Fordyce held the trowel in his hand
and Captain Ashton had just laid down the
pick-axe.
! Campbell! You, Campbell! 1t can't be
spossible2'' exclaimed Ashton, in amazed
crescendo. "Who would have thought or
believed it! l should sooner have named
any other man in the garrison had been
asked to pick out the-the delinquent"
1.-The delinquent'' repeated haughSily.
GLOW dare you use the word to me2
have been discovering bold and daring at
tempt to rob the fort-an attempt that has
come dangerously near t % success, too! An
other nights work would have finished
the"
What did 1 tell you, Fordyce"' inter
rupted Ashton, shaking his head. ~ told
you when we discovered the tunnel yes
terday and resolved to watch it, that the
the eXcavators would be sure to wear bold
front and proclaim themselves explorers
only!''
Il will not submit to this ~ cried with
intense anger. l never was patient man,
and Ashton's half-compassionate, half-con-
temptuous tone drove me wild. "You ex-
coed your authority, Ashton! AS for Peter
sen, he was obeying orders. l am going
now straight to Col. Pryor. to lay the
whole infamous business before him. 1
think you will scarcely dare to say that that
is the course of action guilty man would
followr'
turned sharply around to do as said.
| when the men, coming upon me like an av-
alanche, seized and overpowered me in
moment, and with either arm in powerful
| grip realized with speeches. anger that
quietness would serve my turn best, at least
| for the present. Both Ashton and F'ordyce
were my superiors in rank. was compar-
atively newcomer, while they We're veter-
| ans in the service. Even if proved mis-
| take, their mistaken zeal would do them
| less harm than good in the coloneFS eyes IN
| so serious an affair as this.
| Escort Mr.. Campbell to his quarters,
men, said Ashton's quiet voice. petersen
| can be taken to the guardhouse for the pres
| emit Fordyce, we had better go at once to
| Col. Pryor"
was escorted" to my quarters by the
| obedient automatons on either side of me.
Once fairly into my rooms, the first use
made of my privacy was to lock away KAN
| lseiIor's diamond in secret drawer OF my
| desk: and then, though chatting like an in
| prisoned eaglet, l forced myself into quiet
| ness in order to think out, as best could,
what relation Rankeilor bore to this strange
| discovery of the secret tunnel
| had abundance of time to pursue my re-
| Elections, for, with the solitary exception of
| the orderly who brought my luncheon, no
| one came near me for several hours. Over
and over, round and round again, spun and
whirled in my brain the events of the day
! and my strange discovery. The conclusion
| l came to was startling; and the instant
| found myself being driven toward it, like
| horse swerving from desperate leap,
| turned away and began my summary all
over again. One or two thing was quite
| sure of: Rankeilor's diamond had sparkled
and scintillated on his finger last evening at
the late mess dinner Ashton and Fordyce
| had both declared that they had watched
the tunnel since yesterday afternoon"
| Rankeilor must therefore have lost the
| jewel in the tunnel while it was being
watched, and at night, or very early in the
4 morning. What could that possibly mean
| except always stopped there, and
| began all over again. l remember, with
| strange feeling of disloyalty to one who had
| been the kindest of friends to me that Ran
| lieilor had two or three times told me that
| he would have ''plenty of money" within
| day or two at the furthest, and would even
| be able to help me out of my tight places.
| One thing was clearly decided upon, in the
slow crystallization of repulsive ideas form
| ing in my brain against my will-that was
that SO far as l was concerned in the mat
| ter would shield my friends name. l
| would preserve utter silence on the subject
of his lost diamond, for the present at
least, no matter what the penalty might be.
| A quick footstep in the corridor caught
my ear; my door was thrown open, and
| Rankeilor walked in, his face sufused
with fiery glow of indignation. ''What
| laundering shame, Campbell !" was his i'm
| pulsive salutation, holding out both hands
to me- s'If Ashton and Fordyce knew you
as l do, they would laugh at the thought OF
| bringing such charge against you!'
| s.As you do,'' | said, forcing smile. 81
mean-as you laugh at it!''
| He looked at me attentively, as if some
thing in my manner had struck him as IN
natural.
Tell me all about it, Campbell he
said, speaking with authority and kind
ness both, LET me hear your version of the
| affair."
| Mine is very simple. was at my rope
| drill, as the men can testify. I had dis
missed the men, all but Peterson, whose
| duty it was to see to the ropes, when l saw
| him fling his cap at a rabbit just darling
| into its hole. as we thought. Cap and rab-
| bit both disappeared, and Petersen crawled
in after, and found-what made him forget
the rabbit. We had just finished exploring
| the tunnel: in fact, l have not yet had
Petersen's oreport. Ashton and Fordyce,
| with one or two men, seized and arrested
US and scoffed at my explanations.
| Rankeilor looked grave.
May hear their account of it," asked
| after pause.
| Yes, it seems that they discovered this
| tunnel yesterday, and without exploring it
very thoroughly, suspected it might lead to
| the fort, and watched 1t from that time and
| all night, by turns. No one approached it
| until the lunch hour to-day, when they
both-Aston and Fordyce-saw you and
| your man near the entrance Then, as they
| supposed, with view to discovering how
| far the tunnel had yet to penetrate before
| reaching the fort the man crept inside and
| you walked toward the fort until within a
| few yards Then they called up their men
and arrested you both on the spot. Is that
correct, Campbella''
Before couId reply. knock at the door
| was followed by the entrance of an orderly,
| who informed me that Col. Pryor desired
| my presence in the anteroom. / went at
once, followed by Rankeilor. There were
| only two men-my accusers-present in the
| anteroom with Col. Pryor when ] entered.
| Ii was quite an informal inquiry; but saw
| that the old chief noted keenly my every
| word and look. l told the plain, unvarnished
| tale, with simple directness, to Col. Pryor,
| and he listened with courtesy. When
| had ended, he looked toward Afhton and
| Fordyce.
"You found this tunnel yesterday after
noon, you say, gentlemen2''
| I'VE did, sir, and we watched all night
and all day: to-day one or the other of US
| kept near it"
| The chief unused for amoment. his stern
old face masked and inscrutable as that of
| the Sphinx. did you leave anyone on
| guard at the tunnel when you came to me
| first to report2 Who is there nowa''
| The two officers looked little foolish.
1--WE did not post sentry there after dis
| covering the-tunnellers, said Ashton,
| somewhat lamely SIT will be time enough