Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-01
FROM THE RANKS.
By CAPTAIN CHARLES KING.
Copyright. 1894. by the J. B. Lippincott Col
CHAPTER V.


 Sloat at the office he had increased the perplexity and distress of that easily muddled soldier by requesting his com pany in a brief visit to the stables and corrals. A square and reliable old veteran was the quartermaster sergeant who had charge of those establishments. Chester had known him for years, and his fidelity and honesty were matters the officers of his former regiment could not too highly commend When Ser geant Parks made an official statement, there was no shaking its solidity. He slept in a little box of a house close by the entrance to the main stable, in which were kept the private horses of several of the officers, and among them MT. Jerrold's, and it was his boast that day or night no horse left that stable without his knowledge. The old man was experimenting the morning labors of the stable hands and looked up in surprise at so early a visit from the of- ficer of the day.
 Were you here all last night, ser geant?" was Chester's abrupt question. Certainly, sir, and up until o'clock or more''
 "Were any horses out during the night-any officers horses, I mean?''
 ''No, sir, not one"
 ''I thought possibly some officers might have driven or ridden to town. |"
 ''No, sir. The only horses that cross ed this threshold going out last night were Mir. Sutton's team from town. They were put up here until near o'clock, and then the doctor sent for T I-oG-r,S1 Sr,l,r of thaT -l can swear nothing else went out. " Chester entered the stable and looked curiously around. Presently his eye was being groomed in Q wide stall near the doorway.
 That's MT. Jerrold's Roderick, isn't it:"
 "Yes, sir. He's fresh as daisy too Hasn't been out for three days, and MT. Jerrold's going to drive the dogcart this morning"
 Chester turned away.
 "Sloat," said he as they left the stable, If Mir. Jerrold was away from the post last night-and you heard me say he was out of his quarters could he have gone any way except afoot after what you heard Park say?" Gone in the Suttons' outfit, SUD- pose, was Sloat's cautious answer. ''In which event he would have been seen by the sentry at the bridge, would he not?''
 ''Ought to have been certainly.'' ''Then we'll go back to the guard house." And wonderingly and uncom- fortably Sloat followed He had long | -S, l., l., l--ll l~sz peace and said nothing about the con- | founded roll call He hated rows of any kind. He didn't like Jerrold, but he would have crawled ventre a terre across the wide parade sooner than see scan- | dal in the regiment he loved, and it was becoming apparent to his sluggish | faculties that it was no mere matter of absence from quarters that was involy- | ing Jerrold. Chester was all ahame over that picture business, he remem- bered, and the whole drift of his present investigation was to prove that Jerrold was not absent from his post, but ab- sent only from his quarters. If so, where had he spent his time until nearly 4: | SlOat's heart was heavy with vague ap- prehension. He knew that Jerrold had borne Alice Renwick away from the party at an unusually early hour for such things to break up. He knew that he and others had prot ested against such desertion, but she declared it could not be helped He remembered another thing-a matter that he thought of at the time, only from another point of view. It now seemed to have signif- canoe bearing on this very matter. for Chester suddenly asked:
 Wasn't it rather odd that Miss Beaubien was not here at the dancei She has never missed one, seems to me, since Jerrold began spooning with her last year.
 Why, she was here"
 ''She was? Are you sure? Rollins never spoke of it, and we had been talk. ing of her. I inferred from what he said that she was not there at all. And I saw her drive homeward with hel mother right after parade, so it didn'i occur to me that she could have come out again all that distance in time fol the dance. Singular Why shouldn't Rollins have told me?''
 Sloat grinned. A dreary sort of smil it was too. You go into society S seldom you don't see these things. I'v more than half suspected Rollins of be ing quite ready to admire Miss Beau bien himself, and since Jerrold droppe' her he has had plenty of opportunity. ''
 "Great gunsl I never thought of it If I'd known she was to be there, T. have gone myself last night. How di she behave to Miss Renwicl:'
 'tWhy, sweet and smiling and chiI per as you please. If anything. thin Miss Renwick was cold and distant t her. I couldn't make 1t out at all "
 And did Jerrold dance with her?'' "Once, think, and they had Q tai , out on the piazza-just a minute. l happened to be at the door and couldn' help seeing it, and what got me wa ! this: Mir Hall came out with Miss Rer wick on his arm They were chattin and laughing as they passed me, br the moment she caught sight of Jerrol and Miss Beaubien she stopped an said: I think I won't stay out her' It's too chilly or something like il and went right in, and then Jerrol dropped Miss Beaubien and went aftt her He just handed the young lad over to me, saying he was engaged fC the next dance, and skipped"
 How did she like that? Wasn't st furious:''
 No. That's another thing that g me. She smiled after him, all swee
 ness, and-well, she did say: I couI
 upon you. You'll be there, and he not
 ded- Oh, she was bright as a butte
 after thatl''
 What did she mean? Be 'where,' you suppose? Sloat, this all means mol ], to me and to us all than can explain.
 "l don't know. can't imagine. "Was it to see her again that nighti