Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-12-23
TEN YEARS TRIAL
The Story Of a Soldiers Struggle
BY Brigadier General Charles King
Copyright, 1901. by Charles King.
CHAPTER XVII.

. IL,
attorneys and counselors at law, to
use the diction of the dramatic papers,
Opened to good business in Brent
wood. and its fame spread beyond the
Rec Water valley. One thing about it
was Objectionable to the Junior men,
Der from the start. The Seattle had by
this time Subsidized" Cresswell and
limited the sphere of usefulness of the
concern. Langdon had no reason to
love the management Of either road,
but that of the Seattle was especially
obnoxious. Men with just claims
against that company could not lock
to him for legal aid, and he would
have been less than human had he not
cared in such cases to appear rather
for the plaintiff than the defendant.
The road had It's regular staff, Of
course. and kept it busy day and night.
a railroad lawyer may be paid salary
no superintendent can aspire to, but
be earns it and must see to 1t that
local talent along the line Is not TOO
often arrayed against him. You're
too quixotic, Langdon." said even his
big hearted. big framed, big voiced
Kentucky friend. You're too much
given to Kicking against the pricks.
That's no way to get ahead in lifer'
Lapsao.i Was roring over some pa
pcrs III the moment and turned in his
revelring clair and looked up withsa
qni1ait;il s!.tilc Gray hairs were sprout-
trs q iiis temples. and two or three
appeared in the thick growth of his
n,.stachc: tines end crows feet were
digging nA.p.i,cath his fne, clear eyes,
but he WAS looking the world in the
face now. i.e Lad Ills start and sought
no favCrs "iou are thinking of which
case DOM l:a ;,s.;ed. and there were
two OF i.augdon's eccentricities the
senior never ceased to twit him about.
One was the celebrated trial of the
United states versus Santley, when
that distinguished officer was brought
to boc!; lly an irate colonel of cavalry
because Of sensational stories growing
out of the ravine episode: the other
was the arraignmcnt of former as
Sistapt in the NJ. Y. Office at Brentwood
as accessory in the safe robbery that
had resulted in Langdon's discharge.
Sankey's trial came off long months
after the occurrence that led to it, for
that story al the time was known to
but enc woman and half dozen men,
but with host Of vivid embellish-
merits was spread broadcast during the
winter when one OF the "toughs," whose
life had been made almost burden to
him when the story gradually made its
way about the battery, concluded that
desertfon was better than persecution
and turned up in Chicago with q pitt
full tale Of wrong and oppression, abuse
and tyranny in the regular army.
There was something at bottom as
the fellow told it, for investigation de-
veloped that they had assaulted Lang
don. that they had provoked his wrath
and that they had insisted that they
were obeying Santley's orders. They
swore to it, in fact, and it might have
gone hard with Santley, all things con-
sidered, had not Langdon himself jour-
neyed to Pawnee, testified to the exact
manner and language of the pair and
then so aided Santley in his defense
that the slanderers We're confounded in
Santley had merely cautioned the men,
bers of the battery that they were to
pay no more attention to Mr.. Langdon
than to any other civilian, and his ac-
cusers broke down when cross exam
ined as to the time. place and clrcum-
stances under which lie had given
them further and specific Instructions
1t spoiled a newspaper sensation and
saved a commission. But Santley was
sore hurt. Everybody knew he was
deeply smitten With Ethel Grahame
and lad not prospered in his suit.
Many knew that there was only one
man who could set him right before the
court, and that was the last man he
could ask to do so, and few had any
mixing of the plan of the defense when
as a guest of Major Melville Mr.. Lang
don appeared at Pawnec little more
than two years after his expulsion
therefrom, looking very well groomed
and fed for a man picked up out of
the Chicago street." as the Nathans had
said, two winters before. very calm
and dignified in manner, very glad to
see Rodney May and Woodrow, very
cordial to Claiming and his cavalry
chums, very courteous to Santley and
most civil to Colonel and Mrs. Cat.
Nathan and Torrance he never seemed
to see, and during his 4S hours So
journ at the post both those warriors
were much occupied with home duties.
All Pawnee, however, was aware of
the fact that Miss Grahame and Law
yer Langdon had gone out riding to-
gether the afternoon of the second day,
and Miss Grahame's eyes and color
were something beautiful to see as she
slid from Saddle with just touch of
her slender, shapely hand on Lang
don's shoulder as he assisted her to
dismount Everybody else at Melviles
was out of sight at the moment, but
there were spectators galore up and
down the row and on other piazzas, de-
spite the chill air of the close of win
ter's day. 1t was perhaps the con-
seriousness of this display Of garrison
interest that prompted that very indie
nandpnt yOJ1pp Woman RI turn of tho