Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-02-16
CHAPTER VII.

Three days after the adjournment of
Nevins' court martial Camp Cooke had
dropped back to the monotone of its ev-
eryday life. Everybody was gone except
the now sullen, complaining prisoner and
the little garrison Of two companies of
infantry. Vanished even were all but
two or three of the colony of gamblers
and alleged prospectors, who occupied,
to the annoyance Of the commanding
officer and the scandal of the sutler,
little ranch just outside the reservation
lines, whittier venturesome spirits
from the command were oft enticed and
fieeced of their money that the author
lied purveyor of high priced luxuries
considered his legitimate plumber.
BY this time Camp Cooke walked up
to the fact that it had been doing.
While its own little force of cavalry
was scouting the valleys Of the Verde
and the Salado to the east and Blake's
troop had been rushed up the Hassayam-
pa to the north and there was no one
apparently to do escort duty through the
deserts along the ella, Camp Cooke and
the outlying providers believed that
those costly trinkets which Nevins had
begged Mr.. Loring to take to his wife
would not To withdrawn from the quar-
termaster's safe, much less sent forth
upon their perilous way
Not until after Colonel Turnbull and
the engineer had ridden off southwark,
escorted by sergeant with six tough
looking troopers, not until after Lor.
ing's announcement that the jewels
themselves had been sent ahead, not un
til after Mr.. Gleason had been remand.
ed to his quarters to "sober up, and
the adjutant dispatched to Captain
Nevins with the intimation that if his
too audible imprecations were not stop
ped he and his tent would be transfer
red to corner Of the corral, did Camp
Cooke learn that Major Starke had sent
fly by night courier after Blake, re-
calling his 'oop; that it had halted on
the stream ten miles above the post,
resting all afternoon and evening, had
ridden silently in toward camp an hour
after midnight and, after receiving GER
tain instructions from Starke and visit
from Loring had gone on southwark,
silently as it came, accompanied by the
presiding officer of the court, who hated
day marches and the sun scorched des-
ert, and leaving escort for those who
were still to follow
There was mild surprise in camp, but
untold wrath and vituperation along
the line to Sancho's, for from far and
near the choicest renegades of Arizona
had been tlooking to the neig hhorhood.
only to find themselves outwitted By
the engineer Not half an hour after
the burst of blasphemy from Nevins
tent informed the camp that something
more had happened to agitate anew his
sorely rutfled temper, and the story flew
from lip to lip that it was because the
precious jewels were already on their
way to Frisco, guarded presumably hy
Blake and 40 carbines, a swarthy half
breed courier spurred madly southwark
from the outlying roost on the borders of
the reservation, with the warning that
it would be useless risk to meddle with
the Tehiente loring's party when it
came along-there We're no valuables
with it. They had been sent with the
cavalry liOuIS UelOr6 Cn6 GAVIN.
Yes, even the sealed record of the
court must nave been sent at that time,
too for at 10 o'clock in the morning,
when Colonel Turnbull and Mr. Loring
mounted and gravely saluted the cap
raising group of officers as they rode
away from the majors quarters, it was
observed that Loring had not even sad
nd fI,n 10,
ted that he had hoisted the leutenant's
Vallse to the pommel of q trooper S sad
die at O'Clock in the morning. Various
were the theories and conjeotures at
the suffers all the rest of the day as to
the information possessed by Lieuten.
ant Loring which led to such extreme
preca ution.
The major was close mouthed and
for him rather stern. He held aloof