Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-03-30

fellows at the Presidio and Angel is
land, while the islanders of Alcatraz
came bustling to town to learn the facts
as retailed at the Occidental and to
hear something more about that queer,
silent fellow Loring Among the Junior
subalterns in the artillery were one or
two who knew him at the Point and
they secuted the story of his having
ever stolen cents worth, or the idea
OF extracting anything about the mat
ter from his lips. The latest yarn in
circulation was that after the now ia
nous interview Loring had Laid for
Captain Petty, the aid.de-camp re-
ferred to, a young Gothamite of good
family who had got into the regulars
IN the war and out of company duty
from that time to this, and, having met
the aid-de-c camp, Loring had thereupon
calmly pulled the gentleman's aquiline
nose for him.
Petty could not be found He had
gone to Fort Yuma on important bust.
ness for the department. commander.
was the explanation The general prop
erly refused to be interviewd by report
ers OF the papers, and couldn't be APP
preached by anybody else on the sub
ject. Only two things were positively
known. Lieutenant Loring had received
Geographic notification from the chief
of engineers of his relief from duty in
the department and his assignment to
similar work in the department of the
Platte, and it was rumored, though it
could not be confirmed, that the general
had been directed by telegraph to desig-
nate staff officer to receipt to Lieu
tenant Loring at once for the public
property for which he was accountable
in order that the latter officer might
take an early steamer for the isthmus
as his services were urgently needed at
his new station. 1t was an open secret
that the general considered himself ag-
grieved by the action of the authorities
at Washington, and said so. He had
made no charge against Lieutenant
Loring. He had merely called that gen.
tleman's attention to the very serious
allegations laid at his door, and this
was true. On the other hand, people
who had been permitted to know any
thing about the matter, notably certain
senior officers Of the engineer corps not
under the generals orders, and one or
two staff department. officers who, I'M
happily for themselves, were under his
orders and subject to his semioccasional
rebuke, now openly said that not one
ALIENATION
reliable or respectable source and that
it was an outrage to have held him even
to inferential account on the statement
of such cad as Escalante's agent, who
hadn't been near the office since the re-
covery of Captain Moreland, the insinu-
ations of Mr.. Purser Traynor, now to-
tally vanished, and the rumored asper-
sions of fair incognita, known only to
Captain Petty, a man who had few as
sociates in the cline" or outside the
limited circle of the generals personal
staff, and who was not too we'll liked
even there.
And. as the revulsion of feeling set
in, Petty set out for Yuma. "Where
there is SO dashed much smoke" said
he, as it later transpired, "there must
be some fire, aud the general had bid
den him go to Yuma, to ella Bend, to
Guaymas, to the devil, if need be, and
find out all the facts But the linesmen
at Preside and the jovial blades at
Moreland's elbow were loud in their
laughing statement that if Petty were
looking for fire he could have found it
here in abundance Loring could have
given him more than he wanted.
Then came the order in the case of
Captain Nevins, dismissing that worthy
from the service Oh charges of conduct
unbecoming an officer and gentleman,
and awarding years imprisonment at
such penitentiary, etc., as the review
ing authority should direct, and by the
same post the official order transferring
Lieutenant Loring of the engineers to
duty in the department of the Platte,
and then what did the steamship COM
pany do but issue invitations for din
ner to be given in honor of that distin-
guished young officer, and great was the
noise thereof until it was known that
the gentleman had gracefully, but firm
ly, declined.
Then the papers said sit was rumor-
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