The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-12-04
cantonment and whiriing the snow

dribbled away from the agencies and
were next heard of welcomed with ac-
clamations by the savage hosts in the
Businesses of the Bad Lands, and every
hour increased the prospect of sharp
fighting in the near future. But all the
letters to the anxious hearts at home
were full If hope and cheer, full Of
prophecy that everything would soon be
Tettled. The renegade bands were all
located" and Ssing slowly hemmed in.
The Twelfth would eat its Christmas
dinner at Pawnee after all, they hoped.
And in st. Louis Miss Guthrie was ex-
erting herself to see that her charming
guests were having the loveliest kind Of
a time. Dinners, luncheons, cards, thea
ters and dancing parties followed in
quick succession. The new gowns were
being made as fast as famous modistes
could evolve and construct them, and
Winifred was rushed from one scene of
gayety to another.
Nothing could have been more charm
ing than our welcome" wrote Mrs. Ber-
r.en to her beloved Dick, nothing more
delightful than the round of entertain
ments to which we are hidden. One has
hardly time to think. As for writing,
this is the first opportunity have en-
joyed in three days, and we are home
from the theater bat half an hoar. Mrs.
Holden comes over every day, ana we
exchange such news as we have of the
dear old regiment and the dearcr ones
who are our especial property. She is
what call genuine woman, and i Ike
her more and more. ! must tell you
something l learned through her. The
day after our arrival we We're in the
library, and my attention was attracted
by large portrait, apparently crayon
copy of photograph, that hung over
the mantel. Ii was of singularly
handsome young man, and i knew at
once he must be Guthrie. 1t is my
brother said Nita, in such a s,l, con-
strained tone, taken just few weeks
before his death six years ago OF
course could ask no more, but Wini-
fred and | both noted how utterly her
face changed, how unspcakably dis
tressed look came into her eyes. We
could see then why Mrs. Holden should
have said she was haggard and i'll, and
yesterday Mrs. Holden told me some
thing of his story He was barely twen-
ty-two, the idol of the family and i'm
mensely popular in society. He was as
sistant cashier in one Of the big banks
here, and one day the sudden discovery
was made that in some mysterious way
quite large sum was missing, money
for which he was responsible, but he
could not account for it; neither could
ANYBODY else. The matter was investi-
gated thoroughly.
They had detectives everywhere, and
absolutely nothing could be brought up
against young Guthrie. He never gam
bled, never dissipated in any way, was
model son and brother. Mia was wild
with indignation at his having been
even suspected. Mr.. Guthrie offered TO
make good the sum twice over if need
be, and to bind himself for all his
wealth to establish his boys honor, and
for three or four days all was excite
ment, and then, in the midst of it, poor
Jack was found dead in his room, q
half empty bottle of chloral by his bed
side. The world said suicide, guilty con-
science. etcetera, but Nita and others
knew that he had not slept wink since
the discovery of the loss and was crazed
with misery. They have always MAIN
tanned it was an accidental overdose.
But il nearly broke Mr.. Guthrie's heart,
and il was three years before Nita would
go into society in St. Louis again. They
went to Europe and staid there ever so
long.
:.What makes it seem probable that
ne was nnjustly suspected was that the
bank dismissed its cashier, Jacks most
intimate friend, man two or three
years older than himself, and devoted
admirer of Nita's. 1t was even sup
posed that she was engaged to him.
He had no wealthy friends TO stand up
for him, and Jacks death made it ap-
pear as though there had been guilt;
and yet such a sum could not well nave
been made away with except by the
knowledge or collusion of the cashier
himself, and though proofs Were lack
ing, he was discharged the very day
poor Jack was buried. No one knows
whatever became of him afterward. and
people settled down into the belief that
this Mr.. Worden was the real thief, But
now comes the strangest part of it all.
The president of the bank was a widow
or who, for two years, had been a suitor
of Nita's, a persistent suitor. despite her
marked coldness and aversion. Four
months ago rumors began 10 float rs to
the stability of the bank; then came a
run, panic; the bank had TO close its
doors; immediate investigation into its
affairs was made, and then came the
discovery that the president had been Il
heavy speculator and had uIsquestion-
ably used the funds of the bank to cover
his losses. They found his body in
the river four days afterward, floating
down by the old barracks, where yuu
and had such happy winter twenty
years ago. People say now that it was
President Percival himself all the time.
and that he threw suspicion on young
| Guthrie because he knew the father
would eagerly pay any sum to cover the
loss and hide the shame; but Jacks
death balked the scheme.
do you wonder now that Nita is
| sometimes oyerwrOught and nervous:
Poor girl! who knows what she has suf-
fered? Who, to see her in society, would
dream that she had ever suffered at all?
Do you suppose Captain Rolfe did not
| hear all about this when he was here en
recruiting service?
"Now You ask me to tell you every
thing about Winifred. Is she happy? Is
she getting over her disappointment? /
do not know just what TO say She is
always bright and apparently joyous in
society; always grateful for every kind
ness and attention shown her; but she is
rarely alone one minute from morning
until late at night. and cannot be sure
She never speaks of him; and in all the
whirl of social gayety here, and the at
tention she receives on every side,
think, hope, sne may forget her girl
ish sentiment. Time will show"
Time might have shown, but time was
not accorded. Coming home late one
night from delightful dance their car
riage stopped outside the massive porte
cochere of the Guthrie homestead in
stead of driving right in.
"What is il, james, asked Miss Guth-
rie.
Another carriage here, miss. think
its Mrs. Holden just getting ont"
"Jennie here, Why. how odd, She
went home half an hour before we
started"
1t was Jennie, with grave, anxious
face. at sight of which Mrs Berrien
| fairly sprang from the carriage.