Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-04-30

/ would plead guilty to desertion, guilty
/ to theft. guilty to assault, guilty to any
thing, if the major would only get him
\ away from the terrible scowls and curses
of his erstwhile companions. Only if
/ the major would but believe him, he
I really had never struck the corporal at
/ all; he had hurled the pepper in his eyes
and run. Brent, blinded and raging,
had rushed in pursuit, and had struck
his head against the sharp edge of the
brick pillar at the south end Of the troop
barracks. Very possibly this was true;
for the cash was deep and jagged.
And Brent was conyalescing rapidly,
but between the ladies Of the Lane, Bro
die, Cross and Graves households stood
in danger of being killed with kindness.
There was just the least little spark of
jealousy among the women of the in
fantry because it was to comparative
stranger that he should have revealed
his identity, and by her be brought to
the front at so supreme moment. But
it was Miss Marshall who had been
greatly interested in his case from the
very night of his mishap, and she and
Mrs. Lane had been most kind and as
siduous in their attentions to him dur
ing his days of suffering.
When he heard of the charges against
Lieut.. Hearn, and of the outrageous fall
siication of the, ,5w, Schonberg, his de-
termination to conc cal his name was at
1 last overcome, and to Miss Marshall and
to DR.. Ingersoll he told his story. His
fathers sudden and lamentable death at
the hands Of the Apaches had left him
no alternative but to make over to his
sister every cent that had been boarded
up and set aside for his education-ev-
cry cent that was his by the old soldiers
willard then, leaving with her the lit
tie box that contained the captains pa
pers and letters. and quitting college he
went to New York and enlisted, choos-
ing the infantry service rather than the
cavalry, because his fathers old friends
and associates were mainly in the latter,
and though he had seen none of them
since his boyhood days, he thought rec
ognition not impossible, and he deter
mined to make his own way and owe
nothing to any man.
'sI'm glad he came to us" said old
Kenyon. I'D do pretty much anything
to see him in any other profession. but
as he is bound to be o soldier I'll do all
l can to place candidate alongside his
name on our muster roll, and then it
would be just my luck to find him com
missioned in the cavalry"
But If there was excitement at Ryan,
just fancy the feelings Of the officers
and men in the Eleventh, now 200 miles
away in the Indian Territory, when the
letters came detailing the events of the
last day Of that court martial-Schon-
bergs exposure, Brent's unveiling,
Welsh's disgrace, Hearn's undoubted
acquittal, Lawler put to confusion and
flight, and Georgia Marshall the heroine
of the whole thing!
".A Daniel come to Judgment; ay, a
Daniel" quoth Martin, as Lane read
aloud Mabers enthusiastic description of
what she termed the ''tria1 scene" 'sThe
whole regiment sends heartfelt congrat-
ulations to Hearn and love to Portia, z
was the telegram that came flashing
back to Mrs. Lane. Morris lost no time
in debating diplomatic message to his
absent subaltern, expressive of his desire
to welcome him back to duty after so
complete avindication. But Morris felt
very i'll at ease, and was not surprised
that no answer was vouchsafed. He re-
tired to his tent, and was not seen for
Eome hours after learning of Brents
identity.
Meantime, just when one would sup
pose that all was plain sailing, balmy
breezes, sun kissed wayelets, ETC., just
when nothing should have stood in the
way of Mr.. Hearn's rejoicing with all his
heart, and just when the course of his
true love ought to have been smooth and
sweet, the very impof perversity seemed
to have suddenly developed in Georgia
Marshall's breast, and she who had done
so much to clear his name of ssthe clouds
that lowered over it, and had for two
weeks been the young soldiers most val
ued friend and ally, now most unaccount-
ably held aloof and fairly Stunned hisso-
ciety. She met him only in a crowd. She
simply would not meet him alone. On one
pretext or another she avoided him, and
poor Hearn. wounded, utterly unable to
account for this sudden change, utterly
incapable Of fathoming a w0man's whim,
was now plunged in the depths of dis
tress exceeding that from which he had
inst emerged. She had rescued him
from the tolls only to plunge him into
worse entanglement.
1t was the fourth day after the adj
journment of the court when Mai. Ken
yon came to Mr. Hearn's rooms with a
telegram just received from division
headquarters, and found that young gen.
tleman dejeetedly reading long letter
in the handwriting of Judge Hearn, his
father. Kenyon had grown to know it
well. Released from arrest, lad That
means you can go and join the regiment
as soon as you like. What does the
judge say now?'
Read that page" was the answer, as
Hearn placed the letter in the majors
hand And with knitted brows Kenyon
read as follows:
''And now again / urge upon you, my
son, the step SO earnestly counseled in
my last. Maj. Kenyons telegram just
received says that your acquittal is as
sured and that your vindication is tri-
umphant. This felt would be the case.
But what reparation have you for the
wrongs and insults heaped upon you by
the northern press? What proportion Of
the people who have had you portrayed
to them as low bully, drunken brute,
and swindler will ever know the con
trary? What paper that has vilified you
will have the decency or the courage,
now that it knows the truth, to make
the faintest amends? Not one.
'''The time has come for you now to
quit at once and for all profession
which the people of the north so little
appreciate and SO persistently decry. |
am aging fast, and shall be glad to have
4 your strong arm to lean upon A year
/ or two in my office will fit you for the
/ bar. Meantime you can have nearly
1 double the income that the government
4 pays you, and when am gone all L have,
! practically, will be yours. Come back
] to us, my boy; come to the mother, the
father, and the people who love you;
come home to us who know and need
\ you; you are not wanted where you are. Z
For some time Maj. Kenyon stood in
silence. At last, seeing that he was ex-
4 pected to express his opinion, he slowly
spoke:
81 feared that that first letter would
come, and might have known that this