The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-03-21
A COLONEL'S PERIL.

was brought In to me bearing the name
Of General Woodhall. He followed it,
and I found myself in the presence Of q
white whiskered old fire eater, who at
once attacked me as though I were an
enemy's position.
"'Know my friend Hardyment1 Colo
mel Of the Haramzadi Horse-most dis
tinguished officer
81 confessed that / had NOT the honor.
"sHe's i'm trouble. They accuse him
of theft. 1t has been put about that he
stole o handsome decoration. d star set
in brilliants, at the levee yesterday, By
George, it's monstrousl Don't yon think
SOP 4.
- should like to know the facts !
suggested mildly.
1.-THE long and the short Of it was that
Colonel Hardyment, in the full uniform
Of his corps, had been the day previous
to make his bow to royalty on his return
after Q long exile in the east.
'.He had entered the palace and was
mixed up with the throng of dignitaries
pillars of the state, foreign diploma
fists, officers Of both services.
''There he made the most of his time,
and with all the dexterity of an old and
practiced thief had collared everything
valuable that came within his reach.
HE was mot caught in the act. But
wherever he went havoc and depreda-
ton followed In his track.
"tAnd what might the colonel say
himself? OF course he has heard about
IL from some kind friend I
"sNot o word. The fact is-Hardy-
ment-is not to be found
"'That OF itself looks ] did not dare
finish the sentence.
"sI1l shoot the man who accuses himl
Everybody's wrong, or else some onehas
personated him.
"tBut that would have been very diff
cult. First Of all, the possession Of his
uniform, the knowledge how 70 put 1t on,
and it would have been 30 easy % Tecog-
nize him, to detect an impostor. Sucha
man 40 Colonel Hardyment would be well
known
"sNot In this country. He has NOT
been home for years, and there were very
few Indian officers at the leyees.' ID
Were you?
"tOf course not. Do you supposethat
this would have happened IL ! had been
there?
81 shook my head gravely. The whole
thing looked fshy In its most favorable
light-kleptomanis at least.
"'You must not overrate my powers.
Let ms goa oncet to Colonel Hardyment's
quarters. Where does he live, or, rath-
er, where did he liver
cit was o modest residence-only one
room, in o house all chambers, in the
neighborhood Of Pail Mall The porter,
who knew the general, accompanied us
mp stairs and let us into his room with
his pass key. -asneas
s'The room was all In disorder, cloth
ing lying about, uniform just as ithad
been taken Off thrown onto the bed,
which / observed had not been slept III.
"fWhen did You see the colonel lastF:
I asked the porter. TO speak to. !
mean
"sThe day before yesterday, sir,
1lG En2 AO 0(E FdkAb 0A "a 0WAS asH&HH
Not now ~interposed the general.
He had o man-engaged him directly be
came home-but turned him of q week
or two ago. That was why he came to
live here, where he could get attendance
and be valeted.,
II now made o more searching exaIni-
nation Of the room. It had evidently
been ransacked. rummaged, riied from
end to end. Everything valuable had
disappeared; there was not d trace OF d
trinket; the jewel tray Of the dressing
case was empty; the tops presumably
silyerl of the bottles had been removed
and some OF the best of the clothes.
81 saw no reason TO exonerate thecolo-
mel until I caught sight Of 9 bunch d
keys on the foor, and STOPPING to pick
them MP found also an unmistakable
picklock or burglars skeleton hey.
at was thefrst suspicion of foul play.
Colonel Hardyment, under the circum.
stances, would scarcely have left hii
keys behind him. He might certainly
have forgotten them, but even thai
would not account for the skeleton key.
"sTelI me more about the colonel's late
servant, viii you, General Woodhalr
Where did he get himr
Through an agency, Ibelieve. Ras
kelf was bis name-a smart, soldierliks
chap-about Hardyment's own sire. had
rather . look Of him, indeed
ssBut even as j spoke there was aeonni
Of hurried footsteps on the stairs, and
come one broke Suddenly into the room
wild, disheveled~ fgure-dirty, unshorn
in ragged clothes-who threw himseIl
al OF Q heap In an armchair.
ut was Colonel Hardymept himself
Concern, surprise, indignation, were thu
feelingsexpressed on both sides, and con
fess 1 shared them and was deeply lie
fected when 7 heard the colonel's story
which, after D good dose OF brandy, Al,
| was strong enough 10 tell
..He had returned to his chambers lat
one night from his club when he found /
message waiting for him. An old sol
der friend of Ids. who had just com,
home and was staying ut the Royal ho
tel. Blackfriars. bad be- taken suddenl.