Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-03-01
COLONEL HARDYMENT'S PERIL.
The Fortunate Find of a Match Box
and the Use to Which it Was Put.

/ of General Wcodhal He followed it,
and l found myself in the presence Of
| a white-whiskered old fire-eater, who
J at once attacked me as though l were
| an enemy's position.
50 Know my friend Hardyment? Col
olOnel of the Harmzadi HOrSe-mOst
distinguished officer
4 confessed that [ had not the honor.
. He's in trouble. They accuse him
of theft. 1t has been put about that
| he stole Il handsome decoration, Il star
set in brilliantS at the levee Yesterday.
by George! it's monstrOus. Don you
think SOP
Z" L should like to know the facts
suggested mildly.
THE long and the short of it was
that Colonel Hdrdyment, in the full
uniform of his corps, had been the day
previous to make his bow to royalty
ON his return after long exile in the
east
He had entered the palace and was
soon mixed up with the thrOng of dig
nitaries, pillars of the state, foreign
diplomatists, officers of both services.
and with all the dexterity of an old
and practiced thief had collared every
thing valuable that came within his
leach.
He was caught in the act. But
wherever re went havoc and depreda-
ton followed his track
" And what might the colonel say
himself? Of course he hes heard about
it from some kind friend
:" Not a word. The fact is-Hardy-
;nent-is not to be found
L" That of itself looks [ did not
dare finish the sentence.
q I'll shoot the man who accuses him!
EverybOdy's wrong or else some one
has persOnated him
" But that would have been difficult.
First Of all the possession of his uni
form. the knowledge how to put 1t on,
and it would have been so easy to re-
cOgniZe him. to detect an impostor.
Such man as Colonel H9rdyment
would be well known
60 Not in this country. He has not
been home for years. and there were
very few Indian officers at the ievees.'
" Were you?
" of course not. Do you suppose
that this would have happened if l had
been there"
81 shook my head gravely. The whole
thing looked fshy IN its most favorable
light-kleptomania at least
You must not Oyerrate my powers.
Let us go at once to Colonel Hardy
ments quarters. Where does he live?
Or rather where did he live?
at was a modest residence. Only
one room, in house all chambers. in
the neighborhOod Of Pail Mall. The
porter. who knew the general, accom-
panied us upstairs, and let us into his
room with his pass key.
''The room was all in disorder: cloth
ing was lying about. uniform just as
it had been taken off thrown on the
he'd, which [ observed had not been
slept in.
! When did you see the colonel last?
I asked the porter. TO speak to, l
mean
" The day before yesterday, sir
/ ' He has no servant of his own?
q" Not nOw,' interposed the general.
I He had a man, engaged him directly
he came home, but turned him off
week or two ago. That was why he
came to live here where he could get
attendance and be vaIeted'
| 81 now made a more searching exam
! ination of th room Tt had evidently
been ranSacked, rumma ged-rif1ed
from end to end. Everything valuable
had disappeared; there was not trace
of a trinket; the jewel-tray Of the
dressing case was empty; the tops (pre-
sumably silver of the bottles had been
removed and some of the best of the
clothes.
! II saw no reason to eXOnerate the col
onel until | saw sight of a bunch of
keys on the floor, and, STOPPING to
pick them up, found also an unmistak-
! able picElock or burglars skeleton
key.
/ ut was the first suspicion of foul
i play. Colonel Hardyment, u1lder the
circumstances, would scarce have left
i his -sys behind him; he might certain
| ly have forgotten them, but even that
would not account for the skeleton
I key.
Tell me more about the colonel's
! late servant, will you, General Wood
! hall? Where did he get hin?'
| Through an agency, [ believe.
Raskelf was his name, a smart soldier
like chap, about Hardyment's own size,
had a look of him, indeed
! But even as I spoke there was a
sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs
and a wild, disheveled figure--dirty. un-
shorn. in ragged clothes, throw him
self all Of a heap in an armchair
1T was Colonel Hardyment himself
! Concern, surprise, indignation were the
feelings expressed on both sides. and
l confess 1 shared them, and was deep
ly affected when 1 heard the colonel'S
story, which, after q good dose of bran
dy, he was strong enough to tell.
He had returned to his chambers
late one night from his club when he
found a message waiting for him An
old soldier friend of his who had just
come home and was staying at the
Royal Hotel, BlackfriarS, had been
taken suddenly dangerously i'll. Would
Colonel Hardyment come at once in
the cab sent?
He jumped in, was driven off rapid
" along the embankment. the long
line Of lights on which We're the last
,J,o 4