Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-12-15

wrongfully accused. 1t may have been
a providence that she had borne nc
child, to whom this dreadful heritage
could be transmitted.
There was something OF this strange
n fateful resignation in his face, a
few hours later. when he vas able to
be helped again into the saddle. But
he could see in the eyes OF the few
comrades who commiseratingly took
leave OF him a vague, h-alf1repressed
" OF some indefinite weakness In the
man that mingled with their heartfelt
devotion to a gallant soldier. Yet ven
this touched him no longer. He cast
a glance at the house and at the room
where'hc had parted from her, at the
slope fro mwhich she had passed, and
rode away.
And then, as his figure disappeared
down the road, the restrained common
tary OF wonder, surmise and criticism
broke out:
1T must have been something
mighty bad, for the old man, h
swears by him, looked rather troubled.
And it was deuced queer, you know,
this changing clothes with somebody
just before the surprise!"
Nonsense! It's something away
back OF that! Didn't you hear the old
man say hat the orders for him to re-
port himself came from washington
last night? No." the speaker lowered
his voice, "Strangeways says that he
had regularly sold himself out to one
of them id secesh woman spies. It's
the old Mare Antony business over
again."
Nov l think of it, said the young
er subaltsrn, "he did seem nightly
taken with one Of those quadroons or
mulattoes be issued orders against-I
suppose that was a blind FOR us! / re-
member the FIST day he saw her; he
was regularly keen to know all about
her"
Major Curtis gave a short laugh.
THAT mulatto, Martin, a q white
woman, b~urnt-corked! She was try
ing to g2t through the lines last night
and fell off q wall, or got a knock on
the head from a sentry's carbine.
When she was brought in DR.. Sim
mons set to washing the BLOOD off her
face the cork came off, and the whole
thing came out. Brant hushed it up
and the woman, too-in his own quar-
ters! It's supposed now that n got
away somehow in the rush."
1T goes back further than that, gen.
tlemen," said the adiutant, authori-
tatively. They say his wife vas a
bowling s~eCessionigt o years ago in
California, was mixed up in a conspir-
aCy, and he had TO leave on account
of il. Look how thick he and h a Miss
Faulkner became before he helped her
Off"
That's your jealousy, Tommy; she
knew he was, by all odds, the biggest
man here, and u good deal more, too
and you had no show
In the laugh that followed 1t would
seem that Brant's eulogy had been
spoken and forgotten. But as Lieu
tenant Martin was turning away a lin
gering corporal touche dhis cap.
You were speaking of those prowl-
ing mulattoes. sir. You know the gen.
eral passed one out this morning"
$50 | have heard"
Il reckon she didn't get very ar. II
was Just at the time that we were
driven in by tkeir first fire, and i think
she got her share of ii, too. Do you
mind walking this way, sir?"
The lieutenant did not mind, al
though he rather languidly followed,
When they had reached the top of the
gully the corporal pointed to what
seemed to be a bit of striped calico
hanging on a thorn bush in the raVine
That's her" said the corporal. u
know the dress. / was on guard when
she was passed. The s~earchers, who
were picking up III men, haven't got
TO her yet-but she amt moved OF
4 stirred these two hours. Would you
like to go down and see herr"
Continued Next Week.)