Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-12-31
CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VII
Three days after the adjournment of
Nevins' court martial Camp Cooke had
dropped back to the monotone Of its ev
eryday life. Every body 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
feeced 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 bad 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
begged Mr.. Loring to take to his wife
would not ba withdra wn from the quar-
termaster's safe, much less sent forth
upon their perilous way.
Not until after Colonel Turnb bull 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 IN
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 a corner Of the corral. did Camp
Cooke learn that Major Starke had sent
a fly by night courier after Blake. re-
calling his troop; 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 a visit
from Loring, had gone OH 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 focking to the neigh borhood,
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 ruff1ed 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 by
Blake and 40 car bines, 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 Teniente Loring's party when it
came along-there were no valuab les
with it. They had been sent with the
cavalry hours before the dawn.
Yes, even the sealed record of the
court must have 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
dlebags, and the majors striker admit
ted that he had hoisted the lieutenant's
valise to the pommel of a troopers sad
die at o'clock in the morning Various
were the theories and conjectures at
the suffers all the rest of the day as to
the information possessed by Lieuten-
ant Loripg which led to such extreme
preca ution.
The major was close mouthed and
for him rather stern. He held aloof
from his Juniors all day long and seemed
to be keeping an eye and ear attent on
Nevins That officers conduct was a
puzzle. Six months before he was the
personifcation of all that was lavish,
hospitable, good natured, extravagant
Everybody was apparently welcome to
the best he had. Then came the col
lapse, his arrest, his flight his capture