Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-15

ludicrous in the scrimmage that had Just
taken place.
You're a soldier. tooT" said Warren,
lowering his spade at last.
Yes, l fought through the war, too;
that is. most Of it. I got knocked out
early in the Wilderness"
f1nish.'
You were! Wonder II twas your shot
that did for me?'
Warren looked a little puzzled:
Il was in the Union army" he said
"and for long time my closest comrade
was Freeman Dutton."
"G-r-e-a-t S c-o-t-t!' exclaimed Golding,
slowly; and he gazed at his adversary with
and it was my bayonet that fixed Free
man."
You were the man, then. that no had
the hand-to-hand tussle with In which he
got the worst of it?"
Il was that same"
There was a moment of silence.
I'VE drove you back after that" said
Warren, presently; land in the lull that
peared to be dying. Before he could be re-
moved you fellows were at US again. and
We left Dutton in your lines that night.
supposed he was dead. He was so re-
ported, and"
What else?" interposed Golding eagerly.
as Warren paused.
II never saw or heard of him again I'M
til last night
said Golding, after another pause; and
" hen we had recovered the ground you
had taken from us. 1 hunted for him."
You wanted to make sure and finish
him, I suppose"
mo. sir! I'm not that kind of soldier.
No; did want to see If had finished him,
and when I found him still alive did
everything that one soldier can do for an
other to help him. I gave him the last
drop from my canteen; got the surgeon.
who was a personal friend of mine, to at
tend to him early. He got just as good
care as any one of our men, and when
taken to the cot next to his in the hospital.
The war was over when we recovered. We
became friends and partners till"
It was Goldlng's turn to pause and War
rens to ask eagerly, What else?'
IT'LL some little time ago in Africa, was
going to say, but he and 1 are partners
still, Mr.. Warren, partners now, and in
tend to keep an eye to his interest and re-
venge his death If he dies here!
Had it not been for circumstances but
partially understood by either of these
men, the deadly feud upon which they had
entered might have come to an end right
there and then in this interchange of ex-
periences. The old-time enmities of war
had nothing whatever to do with their
present feelings; on the contrary, the
memories of former conflicts had tended
promptly to cool their passions and bring
them closely together. The soldier of the
south, partner of the soldier of the north,
might easily have become the friend of this
other northerner, respecting his courage,
admiring his strength, and finding every
thing pleasing In his character, but there
were the diamonds, and there were other
things of mysterious import that kept them
apart.
From the moment when Warren had men,
toned buttons name, Golding had studied
his face, and racked his brain for some
memory that eluded him. He had suspect
ed almost from the time when he discover
ed that Dutton had suffered foul play that
Warren was the guilty man, led thereto In
the first instance by the remark that War
rem had let fall when his wife carried the
III conscious man from the burning cabin
The cloud upon his suspicion had been the
extreme improbability that Warren knew