Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-30
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Ecopyrishtsd, 1900 by J. B Lipplncott Col
CHAPTER XVII,


 the case that made it still more per- plexing, even mysterious.
 Mai Farquhar, who must have seen young Foster frequently at Fort Averil1, had been sent to survey the harbor of Iloilo and could not be reached in time, but pr. Frank, called in course of the day to identify tine remains, long and carefully studied the calm, waxen features of the dead soldier, and said with earnest con viction:
 "This is undoubtedly the young man who appeared at Col. Brent's and whom I sought to question, but who seemed to take alarm at once backed away. He was dressed very neatly in the best white drilling sack coat and trousers as made in Manila, with fine straw hat and white shoes and gloves, but he had a fuzzy beard all over his face then, and his man ner was nervous and excitable. His eyes alone showed that he was un- strung, bodily and mentally. I set him down for a crank or some one just picking. up from serious illness. The city is full of newcomers, and as yet no one knows how many stran- gers have recently come to town. saw him only that once in a dim light, but am positive in this -identi- fcation."
 Twoor three non-commissioned off, ,cers of Benton's regiment were ex- amined. Their stories were concise
 
 had come with the recruits from San Francisco along late in August He was quiet, well-mannered, attended strictly to his own business, and was eager to learn everything about his duties. They "sized him up'' as a young man of education and good family who hadn't influence enough ito get a commission and so had en- listed to win it. He had money, but no bad habits. He helped in the office with the regimental papers, and could have been excused from ell duty and made clerk, but wouldn't be. He said he'd help whenever they wanted him, but he didn't wish to be excused from guard or drills or pa- Itrol or pieket-said he wanted to learn all there was in it. Even the rough fellows in the ranks couldn't help liking him. He had a pleasant word for everybody that didn't bother him with questions. He made one for two acquaintances, but kept most fly to himself; never got any letters from America, but there were two from Hong-Kong, perhaps more. If he wrote letters himself, he posted them in town. They never went with the company mail from the cuarteL Everybody seemed to know that that was nothing. The main thing queer about him was that he got pass whenever he could and went by himself, most generally out to Paco, where the cavalry were, yet he said he didn't know anybody there. It was out Paco way on the Calzada Herran, close to the corner of the Singalon road, the patrol picked him up with his head laid open, and he'd been fighty pretty much ever since and troubled about being robbed. Seemed all right again, however, when reporting for duty, and per- fectly sane and straight then.
 Two very bright young soldiers, Clarke and Hunter, were called in for their statements. They, too, had en- listed in spirit of patriotism and desire for adventure; never knew Benton till the voyage was nearly over, then they seemed to drift to. lgether, as it were, and kept up their Friendship after reaching Manila. Benton was not his real name, and he was not graduate of any Amer lican college. He had been educated abroad and spoke French and Ger man. No, they did not know what university he attended. He was frank and pleasant so longsas nobody tried to probe into his past; never heard him mention Lieut.. Stuyvesant. All three of them, Benton, Clarke and Hunter, had observed that young off. cer during the month as he drove by barracks, sometimes with the gen. eral, sometimes alone, but they did not know his name, and nothing in. dicated that Benton had any feeling against him or that he had seen him. They admitted having conveyed the idea to comrades that they knew more aDOuC bSnLOn than they WOulO tell, but it was bluff Everybody was full of speculation and curiosity, and-well, just for the fun of the thing, they ''let on," as they said, that they were in his confidence, but they weren't, 1eastwise to any extent. They knew he had money, knew he went off by himself, and warned him to keep a lookout or he'd be held up and robbed some night.
 The only thing of any importance they had to tell was that one day, just before his misfortune, Benton was on guard and posted as sentry over the big Krupps in the Spanish battery at the west end of the Calle San Luis. Clarke and Hunter had kodak between them and a consum- ing desire to photograph those guns. The sentries previously posted there refused to let them come upon the parapet-said it was against orr ders." Benton said that unless posi- tive orders were given to him to that effect, he would not interfere. So they got pass on the same day and Benton easily got that post-men didn't usually want it, it was such a bother-but, unluckily with the