The Princeton union., 1900-10-25

They got him away somehow, glad to
60, possibly, with his unexpected
wealth, and Burleigh had explained
that that poor devil, when he could be
persuaded to swear off, was one of
the bravest and most efficient officers
in the service, that he was well to do,
only his money, too, was tied up in
mines; but what was of more account
than anything else, he had devotedly
and at risk of his own life from in
fection nursed his brother officer Bur
leigh through the awful epidemic of
yellow fever in New Orleans in 81. He
had saved Burleigh's life, $50 how can
60 back on him now," said he.
All this was the old trader revolv-
ing in mind as he hastened to the de-
pot, all this and more. For two days
Marshall Dean and c troop had stood
ready Tor special service. Rumor had
it that the old general himself had
determined to take the field and was
on his way to Gate City. 1t was pos
sibly to escort him and his staff the
troop was ordered kept prepared to
move at a moments, notice. On Bur-
leigh's desk was a batch of telegrams
from department headquarters. Two
came in during their long conference
in the afternoon, and the quartermas-
ter had lowered his hand long enough
from that lurid welt on his sallow
cheek to hurriedly write two or three
in reply. One Folsom felt sure was
sent in cipher. Two days before. Bur-
leigh had urged him to protest as We
hemently as he could against the send
ing of any money or any small detach-
ment up to the Big Horn, and protested
he had strenuously. Two days before,
Burleigh said it was as bad as murder
to order paymaster or disbursing of
ficer to the Hills with anything less
than battalion to escort him, and vet
within four hours after he was put
in possession of nearly all the paper
currency in the local bank a secret
order was issued sending Lieut.. Dean
with ten picked men to slip through
the passes to the Platte, away from
the beaten road, and up to ten D. m.
Dean himself was kept in ignorance
of his further destination or the pur-
pose of his is"going. Not until half-past
ten was sealed package placed in his
hands by the post quartermaster, who
had himself received it from Maj. Bur
leigh, and then and there the young
officer was bidden by Col. Stevens, as
the medium of the department COM
mander, to ride with all haste COM
mensurate with caution, to ford the
sweetwater above its junction with
the Platte, to travel by night if need
be and hide by day if he could, to let
no man or woman know the purpose
of his going or the destination of his
Journey, but to land that package safe
at Warrior Gap before the moon should
wane. ".c
And all this Burleigh must have
known when ne, John Folsom. shook
his hand at parting after tea that
evening, and had then gone hopefully
to drive his girls to Emory to see
his soldier boy, and found him busy
with the sudden orders, received not
ten minutes before their coming.
Something in Burleigh's almost trem-
ulous anxiety to get that money in
the morning, his ill-disguised chagrin
at Folsom's refusal, something in the
eagerness with which, despite the fu-
rious denunciation of the moment be-
fore, he jumped at Folsom's offer to
put up the needed money if he would
withhold the threatened charges-all
came back to the veteran now and
had continued to keep him thinking
during the night. Could it be that
Burleigh stood in need Of all this
money to cover other sums that he
had misapplied? Could it be that he
| had planned this sudden sending of
I young Dean on q desperate mission in
q revenge that he could not take Off
cially There were troops. at Frayne
4 going forward in strong force with
4 In the week. There were other Off
q GERS within call, dozen Of them,