Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-05-18
CHAPTER XIII.

wished to worship him, but it's hero
proved as intractable as he was reticent.
For three days after the capture of New
ms the community was agog with ru-
NOR and excitement. To begin with, the
captive chad the cheek of brass mon
key, said the sheriff, and swore stout.
~ that he was wronged and injured
man. So far from being prisoner he
should be on pinnacle, rewarded by
generous and grateful government for
important services rendered Who but
he had followed and found the renegade
major and wrested from him full con-
fession and the key of the safe? The lat.
ter in turn had been forcibly wrested
from him through the malevolent jeal-
ousy OF that upstart engineer, but new
er, said Nevins, would he now betray
Burleigh's hiding place or impart his
confession until full reparatou was
made for the wrongs and indignities
heaped upon him. The sheriff was fair
ly dazed.
Who were all the fellows you had
with you, he demanded. eff they
weren't some OF Hank Birdsall's crowd,
come there to raid the quartermaster' 5
depot?"
Nevins' indignation was fine to see
He denied all knowledge of the presence
of any such. He demanded an inter.
view with Folsom. He utterly refused
at first to accord one to his wife, as
Naomi Fletcher, Folsom's housekeeper,
was now understood to be. That wom-
an was in league with his enemies, he
ewore. That woman wrote and babe
him come and then had Folsom and
Loring and other armed men there 20
pounce upon him. Folsom came and
had few words with him, but told
him bluntly that he wouldn't believe
his preposterous story and would have
nothing to do with him until he with
drew the outrageous accusations against
both his wife and Loring.
"That woman's million times too
good for you" said Folsom
Then Nevins concluded he must have
talk with Loring, and on his message
being conveyed that officer, the bearer,
was hidden to say that Mr.. Loring re-
fused to have anything whatever to do
with him, whereat the captive ex-cap-
tain ground his teeth with rage and
made the jailyard ring with maledic-
tion.
Events succeeded each other with
marvellous rapidity. Folsom's visit was
early the morning after the capture, and
by noon no was bowling along on 70
mile ride to the ranch in the Laramie
valley, hurried thither by the news that
Birdsall's gang had run Off many of his
sons best horses and that Hal Folsom
himself was missing.
Loring galloped by the side of the
ambulance several miles, comforting
with the old frontiersman all the way,
then turned back to resume his work at
the depot Eagerly he wired dispatches
to the general, which were forwarded
from Cheyenne to the Platte, telling of
his important capture, smiling quietly
as he wrote.
Had he not promised to produce the
mysterious Newhall himself? Admira-
BILE service, indeed, had the young en-
gineer rendered. The testimony of Fol
som, Loring, Jimmy Peters and one or
two wakeful citizens all proved that
there must have been a dozen of Bird
sails gang in town that night.
There could be only one explanation,
for price was on the head of every
man. They had come with "Newhall"
and the key straight from some distant
lair in the Black Hills of Wyoming, the
big shouldered range that stretches from
the Laramie near its junction with the
Platte southwark to Colorado. They
were bent Oh a sudden rush upon the
corral in the dead of night, the forcing
of the gate and the Office door, then
with "Newball" to unlock the safe they
would be up and away like the wind,
with money enough to keep them all in
cover-and whisky-until the last dol
lar was gambled or guzzled.
Loring's suspicious had proved exact
ly correct. Loring's precautions in hav-
ing the office brightly lighted and a
show of armed men about had held the
would be robbers at bay during the
early hours of the night, and then his
prompt action in hurting himself on the
mysterious stranger who came stealthily
in at Folsom's back gate had finally and
totally blocked the game.
But, just in proportion as Loring
turned out to be right, old Peoksniff
turned out to be wrong, for he had re-
fused guard for the depot, and there.
fore was it now Pecksnitf's bounden
duty to himself to poohpooh the precau-
tions of the engineer and bolittle the
danger. Not for moment would he
admit that armed desperadoes had come
at Nevins' back. AS for the key in his
possession, with all respect to the state
ments Of Mr.. Loring, the story of the
unfortunate captain was just as plausi
BILE, and that key should have been de-
liyered to him, the commander at Fort
Emory, instead of being taken posses
sion of by the engineer.
True, Nevins had been dismissed in
disgrace, and in question of veracity
between the two men there was little
doubt that Loring' would prevail. But
very peppery, fidgety, unhappy old
man was Colonel Stevens for many
days, prating about this independence
of action of STRIPPING officers right un.
der his nose.