Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-02-05
ast before the fatal whisky-lopginr Of

..',st before the fatal whisliy-logging OF
his moral sense, had now stolen off in
the darkness to rob the very household
for whose sake, or that of the bribing
liquor, he had braved punishment.
Riggs had gone back for that wine.
The Irish soldier had his faults, God
knows, but desertion of his fellow, even
in face Of torture, is not one of them.
Murphy stole away, hoping it was not
too late to ,ccapture Riggs, and came
upon him, just as he feared, Juggling ut
something at the foot of those dark
and slippery steps. Then came a strug-
gle that, after ut last he had borne his
fiercely battling comrade up into the
night, left Murphy brcathless md en-
lausted. And then came the rain of
blows that toppled him, crashing, into
the ruin of the hot-bed.
"She came upon me that sudden and
furious-like, sorr, couldn't explain;
an it was tryin' to pacificate her was,
backin' off, an niver see the hot-bed be-
hind me for the hot batin' was get
tin afront. An thin whin she had me
down on the fat of me back, an grasp
in ut thin glass works, poor Riggs,
niver KNOWN what he was dom, sorr,
only to help me, grappled with the ould
lady for the purpose of eNpostulatin' !,
an thin that raygur wench run screech-
in into the house, an the young lady
came shrielin' to the windy, an the
stranger-the gentlenan-lept to the
side door, an I a-callin' to him to come
an square me an Riggs. whom he got
into the scrape, an there was more
screamin', an, he niver SO much as aXed
to shpake, but run fur his life when the
lieutenant jumped in an batthcred
Riggs, who was only askin' a chance to
explain"
"Do you expect ME to believe that any
gentleman stood there and saw Riggs
grapple that poor old lady and never
raised hand to stop it?" asked Lam
bert, almost angrily.
Its Gods thruth, sorr. lie was
maxim motions, crazy-like, but he niver
came outside that doorway until he
saw the lieutenant, an then the lamp
whit out, wild him a-runnin'."
The lieutenant pondered a moment.
Had Sergt. Burns ventured on an eX-
preston of doubt. the interview would
have come to an end at once, with Muir
ply in disgrace; but Burns looked full
of honest perplexity, and yet belief.
"You ought to have had sense enough
to know should be glad to send to town
for anything Mrs. Walton needed" said
Lambert. "Why didn't Riggs ask per-
mission?-or why didn't your"
Murphy was certainly frank. "Sure
we both knew 1t would be anybody but
Riggs the lieutenant would send. We
were guilty enough of going to town
without permission, an drinllin'; but
it was charity, not thavin', sorr, that
we entered the garden for"
"You may send Murphy back, ser.
geant. Well have to hold him until
Riggs can tell his story. OF course
said Lambert, as the Irishman was
led away, "if there's anything in this
story about the stranger, it helps their
case materially. There was certainly
something queer about the agitated
words Mrs. Walton used just before we
| came away-words about their testi
1nony and preventing court-martial
You heard, did you not?"
"Yes, SRA little, anyway"
"Can you imagine who the man is
or account for his strange BEHAVIOR
II can't sir. 1t might have been one
of those three or four that Mr.. Par1nelee
hauled in-one of the Potts crowd; but
the idea of his standing back and letting
the old lady have TINT tussle all to her
self! That couldn't happen, sir, nortl
or south, unless" And Burns stopped
short.
UNLESS what?"
"Well, sir, unless there were reason:
lie daren't let her know he was there.
ITO be continued