Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1902-11-19
A SINGULAR
ANNOUNCEMENT
tOriginal.l

raflly lnLO the navy.
One morning the commanding Off
GERS orderly came round among the
officers with an order for them to re-
port in the captains cabin. AS soon
as we arrived we saw that something
of Importance was to be communicated.
Gentlemen" said the captain, when
| came down here at 2 o'clock this
morning from the bridge, before enter
ing my room heard some one within.
The door was slightly ajar, and | saw
a man rifing my desk. | waited till
lie came out. and without making my
presence known to him l entered, to
find package Of papers missing. The
man who committed the theft Is one
of your number"
Four of us looked at one another as
IL a hand grenade had been dropped
on the deck above. The fifth, Ensign
Archie Reeves, daredevil young fell
low whom we all loved, looked at none
of us. Nevertheless his face wore the
same imperturbable expression we had
all seen OH it in action. | followed the
direction of his eyes, expecting to see
him cast a glance upon the captain de-
noting some especial emotion, but he
looked out of n portfolio through which
he could see the flagship.
When the captain had spoken, he dis
missed us. Not word about preferring
charges against the culprit, not word
about a dscontinuance of his duties,
nothing but the bare facts. We were
all sure that Reeves was the man re-
ferred to, yet such was his bearing,
repellent of any mention of the accusa-
ton, that none of us preached the sub
ject to him. When we saw that no ex-
PLANTATION was forthcoming, no move
made toward demanding an inyestiga-
ton, all except myself felt it incum-
bent upon them to cut him.
Ore night when we were lowering
near an undefended part Of the Cuban
coast Reeves came to me and requested
that | should act for him in an affair
of honor. / consented, and he sent me
to Surgeon Irwin, who Informed me
that he represented the captain. |
asked him what the affair was about.
but he did not know. No one knew
except the two principals. The sur
geon handed me paper signed by the
captain. 1t was a waiver of his rank
between the hours of and on the
following morning.
Shortly before dawn principals and
seconds took the captains dingey and
pulled to the shore. Anchoring the
dingey to the beach, we went back OF
the dunes, measured off the ground
and placed our men, and when all was
ready the surgeon gave the word. The
captain received bullet in the arm.
Irwin asked him if he Was satisfied,
and he said he was. | asked Reeves
If he was satisfied. and he also as
scented. | supposed the two would
shake hands, but they did not. The
surgeon bandaged the wound. The
captain wore his coat, as usual, and we
rowed back to the ship without any
one on board knowing the. purpose for
which we had gone. At the Juniors
mess when we assembled for breakfast
the surgeon said:
Gentlemen, | am authorized by the
captain to announce that he and Mr..
Reeves have had meeting ashore this
morning. The captain received a flesh
wound in the arm. He requests that
you keep the matter secret from the
men,"
"WellY" The word was not spoken;
1t was looked by every man present.
81 have nothing more to communi-
cate"
1t was plain that the matter OF the
theft as well as the meeting was of a
personal nature. At any rate, all now
felt that they might recognize Reeves.
Though he had not cleared himself OF
the charge he had resented the accusa-
ton. The affair gave those of us who
were not the principals something to
talk about during the dull hours OF
blockading, and for this we were
thankful, though we itched to know
what it was all about.
After this we watched both the cap
tain and Reeves In their intercourse
with each other to discover their
status. 1t was soon plain that there
was no intercourse at all, except an
official one. The captain was rather
more deferential to Reeves than to
others in giving an order, but while he
would chat Familiarity with us he
would never do so with Reeves. AS
for Archie, we all thought that there
was an undercurrent of contempt for
the captain which he was trying TO
conceal. The result Of many CONFER
ences we had on the subject was thar
the captain had made mistake In ac-
cusing him, as he had virtually done,
of theft and that Reeves had forced
him to give him satisfaction to do what
was possible to right the matter.
When the blockade was raised, we
were ordered north. Reaching port,
Archie and | went ashore together.
AS we neared the pier | noticed a
young and extremely pretty woman
who was evidently awaiting us.
"You will see the explanation OF a
secret" said Reeves. BE sure you
keep IT,"
AS soon as we reached the pier the
lady came forward and greeted Reeves
warmly and somewhat anxiously. he
introduced me. calling her Mrs" In
stead of Miss" which surprised me.
Then, taking package from his pock'
ct. he handed 1t to her.
81 promised you that would secure
your letters. Here they are"
1t was plain that the lady had been
indiscreet and that the captain, who