Evening star., 1900-12-22

personal condition, the doctor sought fur-
ther and found it-in the fair grl seated
by her brothers bedside across the hah
Then an officer from the staff of the COM
manding general dropped in-an officer
who had been on duty at West Point when
Norman was cadet sergeant of Co. u.
The recognition was instant on part OF the
young soldier. but he gave no sign. Ihe
visitor was shocked and panied to see now
the lad must have suffered. Norman's con.
nection with the raid to Belleview was OF
course known to him-the name was a
household word in the army, and the story
by this time had gone from mouth to
neutrality-suspicious. being sadly ana rear
fully divided about 1t. And now captain
Enyart had been sent to see If Norman had
nothing to say for himself The report OF
his conduct when he could have escaped
had found it's way to headquarters ana
staggered those who believed in his guilt
And so there came day not soon TO De
forgotten, and a scene long remembered In
the general hospital. scene that When de-
scribed to Mr.. Burnett Malioy, less IMAM
a week later sent him nearly wild with
apprehension and jealous misery And wei
# might Matters were lively at the front,
and he couldn't get away. The army OF the
Ohio was concentrating at NASHVILLE. II
was his own captain who was the narrator,
and little doubt was there that the o!d
man enjoyed the privilege and MADE the
most of it. Gaffney had learned to love
and lean on Norman. He felt that the lau
had been undermined by TINS smootn' Wen.
both hated and feared-hated for MS su-
perior airs and education, but feared Tor
his undoubted influence and power. oppose
him openly or incur his enmity he dare not.
Captain Gaffney had not lived long IN irish
American political life without learning
from bitter experience the depth OF lts IN
trigue But in common with almost every
officer of the regiment, he knew by inns
time Malloy's aspirations regarding Daisy
Lane thought he knew that norman 1ois
had been a dangerous rival ana look al
an Irishmans delight In twlttlng an ahA-
ious swain.
A long letter had come to him from LOU
isyille. semi-official in character. written
by Captain Enyart himself, an ofncer OF lne
department commanders stan, written ~
him as captain Of Norman Holts COMPANY.
that he might have the latest ana 1ullest
and most authentic account OF tnat young
and sorely tried soldiers fortunes. IT was
in answer to one the 1alth1ul oio Sel. .ao a
sent because he could no longer pear the
slurs and innuendoes SO frequently uttered
at Norman's expense by Mailoy, ana En-
yart had written from the fullness o. MS
heart and subject. The hrst pages tne fre-
tain kept to himself. The last, with ire .
ouent interiections of Hibernian comment
he read aloud to his senior lieutenant.
HEADQUARTERS Army of the Ohio,
Once of the Assistant Inspector General
JANUARY 80. 1862.
NV Dear Capt Gaffney: l have received
your anxious letter and am gao 70 ,.,,,irv We u
sent you on the Goth. when we were sun
full CT Gen. Thomas brilliant Victory IN
front of Mill Springs. should nave gone
more into detail, but this cannot De sald
of your capital answer. You have covered
the whole subject and your testimony TO
the faithful and excellent service rendered
by young Holt will be OF the utmost value i.I
should the case ever be brought 10 TRIAL.
which now seems doubtful
To begin with 1t must be remembered
that all the outcry against MIN was mace
by lot Of badly beaten troopers VINO 1elt
they had to account In some way Tor the
failure Of the expeu...on. Then he himself
broke down, had no one to speak 1or MIN,
was too i'll to speak at all. Then followed
the weeks in hospital and hnaily, as the
charges were formulated and laid before
our level-headed general-you may not ap-
preciate him now, my friend. but with all
his apparent coldness and severity the re-
suits will show he was the man or all otn-
ers to make soldiers of this army-he sent
for Lieut. Tanning and others. and asked
how they knew Holt had communicated
with the enemy's videttes, how they knew
he had purposely delayed the march. and
whether they knew any better road to
Belleview than the one he took, except the
pike through Asholt. which. Of course. would
have run them slap into hornets nest.
He found they didn't know anything, and
that the only officers and men likely to
know anything were Capt. Wing. First
Sergeant Hunter and Trooper Fuller. all
wounded or prisoners in the hands of the
enemy. That spoiled the case for the
prosecution for awhile anyhow. Then who
should turn up but Fuller. found among the
wounded at Bowling Green and sent back
to the general hospital at Louisville. Mean
| time Holt had had opportunity to escape
from hospital and not only wouldn't take
advantage of it. as he probably would If
conscious Of guilt, but he kept others in
check. and this too. came to the generals
ears, and he ordered me to go into the case.
had known the young man when he was q
cadet at the Point, and he was square as a
man could be-a Kentucky gentleman, in
him in his extremely painful and trying
situation forced upon him Dy the war. He
was still SO deeply grieved that he could