San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-28

stopped short and dropped it, for she had
turned white as death and was stretching
out her hands. Where did you find that?'
she whispered at last. Between the
leaves of this old album 1 said. 1T was
lying there loosely i had not seen it
for six years. thought | had burned it
with
"And then she broke off suddenly and
shuddered, but seized it and took it
away. If she would only talk to me of
Jack; but she will not, even though l
know that ever since the suicide of Mr..
Percival last August Mr.. Guthrie has
been working day and night reopening
the old matter. All the friends of the
Guthries are 10Y more than ever conf
dent that Jack was absolutely innocent
that Mr.. Percival as president of the
bank had made away with those missing
funds and securities and charged it to
Jack and to his friend Harold Worden.
An effort has been made to get at Mr..
Percival's papers, all of them, but his
widow is still so broken that she cannot
be seen by any one. say her physicians.
1t is believed she knows something of
the inner history of the whole case, and
that she is striving to hide what she
knows for her children's sake. Of
course people say she has behaved very
ill-that she ought to sell and restore to
the bank real estate and property that
from time to time Mr.. Percival had set
tied upon her. But she only goes into
Mysteries when lawyers are mentioned.
"Mr. Guthrie is now in a highly nerv-
Gus and excitable state, which natural
ly reacts upon Mia. | wish we could
get her away from here. He went west,
you remember. when he left her with
us at Pawnee. . He went in the hopes of
finding some trace of Mr.. Worden, so |
learn now, and to urge the immediate
return to st. Louis of Jacks old and in
innate friend to demand justice at the
hands of the Percivals, for he was
ruined irretrievably by Percival's accu-
sation when dismissed from the bank.
But he has vanished utterly, and | know
that they have about given him up for
dead. A detective agency has been at
work for months, and twice of late men
have come to the house asking if it were
not possible to find somewhere a picture
of Mr.. WOrden; but Nita says none ex-
ist that she knows of. | believe that
she burned all that she had.
"Why will she not trust me and tell
me about it-she who used to have no
secret from me? We know that he was
deeply in love with her and that she was
believed to care for him, but there was
a fearful scene between him and Mr..
Guthrie over poor Jacks body. The
old gentleman was wild with grief, and
in his misery he upbraided Worden as
the cause of it all-accused him of be-
ing the thief and cursed him for con-
cealing the crime at the expense of
Jacks life and honor. Possibly he did
believe it then, but since Percival's
death everything is changed. | believe
he would give all he owns to make
amends to WOrden now, and sometimes
] think that that is what is killing Mia"
"'That that is what is killing Nita,'"
read Holden again, this time half aloud,
as he pondered over the word. Then a
sOullu dJ lHc uOOI dlJIdClGu Hill. he
glanced up quickly.
"Oh, come in, sergeant. | did not
hear you knock"
81 beg your pardon, sir" was the an
swer, in Ellis deep voice, a faint flush
rising to his pale, black bearded face.
Il knocked twice at the outer door, and
then, knowing the doctor to be here,
ryo,+,,r,l toto A., ln11 A., =. ...1-
sir?"
"You are just in time. Come in. Shut
that door and sit down. How's the arm
to day, Ellis?"
Obediently the tall trooper had stepped
within and closed the door, but he still
remained erect, a shade of hesitation il
his manner The arm seems doing
well, sir"
"And yet you yourself do not pick VI
as | could wish. Take that chair, Ellis
we shall not be interrupted, and | wan
to talk with You about your case. You
have won honor and troops of friends il
this campaign. and when the regimen
gets back and they find you pale ant
languid, so utterly unlike yourself ant
unfit to take your duties as first sergeant
they will say | was at fault. Can't stant
that, you know, so | have spoken +
Major Kenyon about the matter, and h
has directed that yon move out of tn
hospital forthwith and under my roof
No; keep your seat. You are to repor
to me for special duty in making up tn
field papers and reports, and | shall nee,
you right here where | tan supervise i
all and look after you"
For a moment the two men sat gain
straight into each others eyes, The
again, trembling slightly, Ellis strove t
rise.