Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-08-09

quarters I'm the upper story of Colonel
Livingstune's house.
/ told him that he was right. For, on
presenting the commander-in-chief's
note TO the colonel. the later had
shaken ms cordially by the hand, and
told me that no n could b. more
pleased than he over the result. 1t
turned out that when he read Putnam's
note, while ] was undergoing my first
examination in the guardhouse, he felt
that something was wrong; and, real
izing that Washington often had agents
at work whom no one else knew, he had
called me to him, judged for himself,
II done what he could to help me
along. 1t goes without saying that Ar
nold's treason wars as unknown to him
as to every one else; and, as l learned
now, If / had told him the whole story,
he would not have thought Of believing
il.
Then l had been placed on his staff
as an aide, to dc what might come
within. my power, while l awaited fur
Their orders from General Washington.
And | had looked up the only two men
l had made friends with during my
short %sojourn at the fort. They appeared
in his own way-glad to have
me with them again, the one bolster
Gus and full of regard for a man who,
however unConsCiously, had been the
mems OF saving him from possible
death, the other calm, cool, serious, and
reserved, a gentleman 10 his finger tips.
Curtis, indeed, haunted me a little by II
strange twist which his face had now
and again of looking familiar, as If l
had known him long ago in a past ~
when he wore other garments. Nay, t
was more than the face. The voice, the
little mannerisms hat a man will al
ways carry about him, would all now
and then bring this peculiar prior ex-
istcnCe to my mind.
Yet Ii was all intangible and curious
so strangely so that / almost of neccs-
sity tried to learn something of his life
and anteCedents. Here again | was baf-
fed. No one-not n soul in that regi-
ment-knew aught OF him back a couple
of years, when he had Joined with n
li~eutenant's commission and been
placed under Captain Jacob Barnes,
who commanded a company of Living
stones foot. Distinguished service had
raised him to the Coloners staff.
Acton, whom | Immediately came to
look On as a friend-a friend who has
remained the same through thirty-odd
years-tOld me what little | could learn
of Robert Curtis. He himself was the
con Of an old jamestown colony family.
and had drifted into Livingstone's regl-
NANA e - ~ y = " AANt~
lieutenant he now was. And 1t appeared
that Curtis had little to do with any
one but this one southern officer. Ac-
cOrding to John, Curtis had no lack of
money, but spent little or nothing. The
frank fellow, after their acquaintance
became established, had asked his
friend concerning his own family, and
had been cut short by Curtis gloomy
face and his answer that he had none.
NTatfhI,. ,4n.41l Ia. lAar ~ lvIA-A fhA
young man came from, nor why he was
weighed down so by such sorrow as
prevented him from taking part in any
of the r~cCreations of camp life. He new
er laughed: sometimes he would smile.
He never talked to any great extent;
but on occasion, when some military Or
political subject came up, he could talk
freely ard well, with the knowledge Of
a travelled and studied man. He lived,
in fact, a life apart from the life Of the
camp, camp where / soon found that,
in spite OF the lack Of money, there
was no lack of amusement of every
kind. Yet, withal, Curtis was never
brusk; no one. was too low for his
courtesy; nc officer could browbeat him
with the rights Of discipline when the
higher rights were on his side. He had
fought Captain Barnes and wounded
him, because the latter had ruined n
country wench near by, and her tried
to browbeat Curtis when the latter
criticised him to his face. Several times
he had, ! learned, called q superior to
account, as on the day Of my arrest.
John Acton. or Jack, as |, like all the
world, at one called him, was Of an
other type. Huge in size, he was big in
every way-Open-hearted, op~en-handed,
full Of a great, hearty laugh, careless
of himself and all else, fond Of a jovial
evening, but as big in his sense Of hon
esty II chivalry rs he was In stature.
They made a strange pair, these two.
Yet, perhaps by their very opposites,
they were drawn together. My dropping
in with them was all ActOn's doing.
Curtis / should lever have known OF
herwise; for he did his best to avoid
meeting any one excepting Acton. Twas
the latter who took me to his heart at
once, and so / say Curtis and became
so strangely fascinated by the peculiar
~ familiar look and manner he seemed
TO have that, perforce, he had to toll
crate me; and in a few days / came to
the habit OF being with these two men
whenever W. were off duty.
In such a camp, lifelong friendships
and enemies are quickly made, and the
existence of our American officers of
those days, filled always with work,
was relieved by the social life of little
cliques and groups. Such an one was
l now taken into, and before long we
three had agreed, among ourselves, that
whenever occasion arose for special
duty on the part of any one Of u.s., that
one would If possible secure the other
two to help him carry through the af-
fair.
The especially important case In point
was the capture of a certain man called
Captain Hazletine. l had overheard
something Of him that morning in the
guardhouse, and learned now that the
man had become a sort of mania with
Curtis. TIE latter had distinguished
himself on several occasions in carry
Ing u special work, n a direct or
der had 0 come from the commender-
in-chief for Lieutenant Curtis to watch
and, If possible take his man. L
learned, too, that he was thought to be
q spy of Clinton's-a Tory working with
with the English, in other words; but
that he a passed for a short time as a
private agent of Washington, coming
we'll recommended from two friends in
New York. The commander-in- chief,
however, with his unerring ~sagacity,
had finally come to suspect the man,
and had then lost him of a sudden.
Curtis had seen him now four times,
but never face to face, only in the
darkness. n the way the man had
eluded him had hurt the young lieu
tenants pride, besides giving his
strong, serious nature a difficult task
that fitted into his desire for hard la
Dor of any sort.
I'll come UP with the man, If it takes
the powers Of hell to do it" he declared
one night, after we had spent the even
ing covering a bit of the country to the
eastward of Teller's Point.
'Egad, Rob, l pity him." cried Ac-
ton, for yen come up with him some
day, n then will there be a short but
unpleasant hour for him.
IF ever I meet him." said the other
calmly, 1T will be a short affair, for
{ is between him and me now; and, If
you'll believe it, I'm blessed If l dc not
think he knows IT."