Evening journal., 1892-07-28

lnlS ndu ueldyeu nm second or two.
so that Brewster and Randolph, two of
the most active of the Junior officers,
were foremost at his heels as he flew up
the stairs. His first care was for Nita,
but the youngsters had bounded into the
room and out on the gallery, as though
expecting 10 overtake some intruder
there. The side door was wide open, the
shade up, the lace curtains drawn apart.
If any one had been in the room escape
TO the gallery was easy enough but from
there there was practically none except
by leap of fifteen or twenty feet to the
hard ground below. No one had run
out, either front OF back, for Murphyand
the Irish cook were at the rear on the
east side, the rushing swarm Of officers
at the front. If any one had hidden
there escape unobserved was well nigh
impossible. No one was found-no trace
Of any one. Indeed, when Nita was per-
mitted to talk she vowed that no one
had been there. She herself had left
the blinds, door and curtains open as she
came in from the moonlit gallery, had
turned out her lamp and descended the
stairs. The gallery doorway could not
be seen from where she fell, and rs all
was darkness in the room itself, how
could she have seen any one?
Out ON the gallery, of course, any one
would have been revealed, thanks TO the
brilliancy Of the full moon, almost as in
the broad glare of day; but one had 10
be at the hall door or in the square room
itself in order to see the gallery at all, and
Nita declared as before, that she had
not reached the door. What she fancied
was ghost, bathed ina pale, cold light,
was probably the white curtains of the
rear windows. But the ight-whence
came that?
The possibility of any one having been
| i'm the room was not entertained
Prompt and thorough search had been
made in every nook and corner of the
the upper story. The rooms Of the nurse
and children were ON the westward side
of the hall, and the nurse was in one Of
them, putting on her hat, at the very
moment. The front room on the east
was unoccupied. Nita had chosen the
other because of that gallery and its
lovely view Then there was the rear
!
lery. That, thought Holden, might
have offered way of escape, because it
was out Of sight from the parade.
But Brewster and Randolph had both
essayed to reach the caves, and even
when standing on the railing could bare
ly touch them with the tips of their
fingers. Then, again, sentry walked
along the edge of the slope leading to
the river bottom south Of the long row
| of officers quarters and close behind the
rear fence, but he was at the eventful
moment well down the row beyond Haz-
let's house, whereas DR.. Holden's was at
the eastern end of the line The moon
shone full against the back fence, said
the sentry, and he was sure he woBld
have seen anybody who ran out of the
gate Of the doctors yard, and the first
who appeared were the searching Off
GERS, Corporal Murphy with them. Sew
eral men had then come running from
the direction of the laundresses' quar-
ters to the west, and after them Ser
geant Ellis Indeed, it was Ellis who
first suggested search of the roof by
means of a ladder. He was sergeant in
charge of the fire apparatus kept in
that long, low building at the east end,
and had the keys of the door.
1t was BY his aid that some of the
junior officers made a thorough exam
alton of the roof and the front porch.
No more signs there than had hitherto
been found. No, the sentry on the
south post was confident that no man
came out of Hoiden's yard until he got
to the gate, whittier he had run the in
slant he heard the cry. He thought it
might be a lamp explosion or fire, and
he was watching with eager eyes. He
had been ON post nearly two hours when
the alarm came, and, except Corporal
Murphy and the quartermaster's men
who took the trunks, he had not seen or
heard man about the premises. Kath-
leen, the nursemaid, and the children
had been home all the evening, and they
had neither seen nor heard anybody.
Captain Rolfe, unable to sleep, and
making the rounds on his own account
about one o'clock, found the sentry of
the third relief gazing curiously in at
the open back gate, and questioned him
as to what excited his attention.
Nothing, sir" was the prompt reply
Of the trooper, as he threw his carbine
to the position of "arms port. ." II was
simply wondering how any man could
have ventured in there this bright night
and expected to get out unseen, es.
pecially early in the evening, when
men are passing to and fro all the
time"
! What made you think any one had
been there?" asked the captain quietly.
Everybody has heard by this time
that there was a search made, and that
the young lady had seen something tc
frighten her. Besides, Sergeant Ellis
spoke of it to me an hour ago."
"What was the sergeant doing on
your post at midnight?"
"Why, sir, the captain remembers
Sergeant Ellis is in charge Of the fire,
house and sleeps there. He came out a
little before twelve and said he'd lost
his pet pipe while he was hunting
around with Lieutenant Brewster after
he brought the ladder, and l let him
pass in, sir. He said he'd been working
I ,ft Ia . L