Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1895-11-28

in his hands. Her question seemed TO
increase his confusion, and he had to
clear his throat several times before he
could find his voice.
"It is all an unfortunate blunder," he
this was your home. i CHANGED to be
passing, and l thought-well, l was
hungry, and mo. | will not sit down"
rs she waved her hand toward a chair.
"If you will be good enough to let me
go now l will be careful not to intrude
upon you again."
You mistake my meaning" said Miss
Kingsley, with a look of distress. 81
am not asking why you are here. God
knows l am glad to see you. What /
want to know is what has brought you
to his-this-condition? l cannot be-
ieve that you have voluntarily adopted
the life of "a"
"Of tramp?" he said, finishing her
sentence with n bitter smile.
pardon me-" she added, hastily; 81
have no right to question you. Pray,
don't misjudge my motive. know that
you are not to blame for the change in
your fortunes; know that you are in
capable of wrong act"
He gave her a sharp look, as II he
would read her thoughts.
THAT is a remarkable statement" he
said, slowly. Can it be that you have
foroo+tan xvhr- I RON o,rou from, boroa
five years ago."
~ have not forgotten the miserable
story that was told at that time," she re-
piled, firmly; but have heard differ
ent story since. Mr.. Cranky. my unhap-
py brother has told ME everything"
The man started,
"He has told me-" continued the wom-
an, her face white with suppressed ex-
citement, '.that it was he and not you
who forged the check for sl5.0OO!"
"He told you that? Good heavens!
does your father know?'
"My father and mother have both
gone to another world, Mr.. CRANKY.
Robert and | have been orphans for
three years. 1t was not until after their
death that he made his confession to
me. He told me of his youthful in
fatuation for gambling and horse races;
how he became so deeply involved that
In moment of desperation, to avert
the disgrace he saw staring him in the
face, he forged the signature of de-
-positor in fathers ba1Ai-r-hopi-e-'aus Al tn
retrieve his losses and replace the money
before its withdrawal was discovered
You, as teller of the bank, cashed the
check without suspicion. Afterward,
when the money was squandered, and
Robert realized that he could not hope
to conceal his crime, he confided in you
and begged you to help him out of his
trouble. He said that his exposure
would kill his mother, bring disgrace
upon his family, and cause his father
to forever disown him. Then it was
that you sacrificed yourself to save
him and his family. You told him you
would divert suspicion from him if he
would keep his own counsel and promise
on his oath 10 never gamble again. You
kept your word by suddenly disap-
pearing, thus bringing suspicion upon
yourself, so that when the forgery was
discovered nobody could doubt that you
were the criminal, and that you had
fed to escape the consequences of your
crime. Oh, IL was noble thing to do
Not one man in a million could have
made such a sacrificed" Miss Kings
ley's voice betrayed her agitation now,
and there were tears in her eyes. "But
you do not know what a shock it was
to-to-father and the rest of us to be
forced to believe you guilty. We had
such faith in YOU. Thank heaven, the
story never got into the papers. Robert
and ! have tried hard for two years to
find some trace of you, that we might
make such reparation as lay in our
power. And Robert says that in some
mysterious way the bank has recov-
cred the amount that was lost on the
forged check, including the interest"
Maurice Cranky, by this time, was
smiling with the air of man who has
had great burden lifted from his mind.
81 am glad you know the TRUTH" he
salu, WITH an ca DTcsSlOu Ol pTOIOulluI IT,
lief. "When / left New York I went
west and enlisted in the regular army
under an assumed name, served five
years. But | was in communication
with an intimate friend-a young law
yer-and when my aunt in Vermont
died last spring, making me her sole
heir. 1 had my friend convert the prop
erty into cash and turn 1t over to the
bank. There was just enough. with
what had been able to save from my
pay as n soldier, to replace the $4,000
with the accrued interest. 1 had as
sumed the debt, you know, and thought
ought to pay it. On leaving the army
l started back to New York, where ]
still have a few friends. I had not
money enough TO take me clear through.
SO concluded that tramp of a hun
dred miles or so would do me no harm.
/ am accustomed to marching"
"You have outdone Don Quixote him
self" exclaimed Miss Kingsley. "Of
course, every dollar of that money will