Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-08-07

LIN ltiSSto ones mouse.
told him that he was right. For..on
presenting. the coinnlander-in-ch
note to the colonel, the later had
shaken me cordially by the hand, and
told me that no one could he more
pleased than he over the result. 1t
turned out that when he read Putnaln's
note. while l was undergoing my first
examination il, tire guardhouse he felt
that something was wrong; and real
izing that Washington often had agent,
at work whom no one else knew. he hal
Iscalled he to him. judged for himself.
and done what he could to help me
along. Ii goes without saying that Ar
| nolds treason was as unknown to him
as to every one else; and, as ] learned
nov, il had told him tie whole story,
he would not nave thought of believing
it.
Then ] had been placed on his staff
as AN aide to do what might come
4 Within my power While l awaited fur
Tier orders from General Washingt1li.
And had looked UP the only two men
! had made friends With during my
short sciourn q the fort. They appeared
each in his own way--glad to have
ne With them again. the one bolster
ous aud full of regard for a man who,
4 however unconsCiously, had been the
| means uf saving him from possible
4 death, the other calm, cool, serious, and
/ reserved a gentleman to his finger tips.
4 Curtis. indeed. haunted ME a little by II
! strange twist which his face bad now
/ and again of looking familiar, as IL |
had known him long ago in a past asss.
when he Wore other garments Nay, t
was more than the face. The voice, the
1 little mannelisns that q man will al
ways carry about him. would all NOM
1 and then bring this peculiar prior eN-
istence to nly mind.
Yet it Was all Intangible and curious
| SO strangely so that almost of ncces-
4 sity tried to learn something OF his life
| and antecedcnts Here again | was, bitf-
| fed. No 0nc-not soul in that regi-
nent knew aught of him back a coupa
of years, when he lad joined With a
/ lieutenant's commission and been
placed under Captain Jacob Barnes
Nho commanded q company of Living
stones foot. Distinguished service had
! raised him to the colonels staff
Acton Whom | Immediately came to
4 look on rs Il fricnd-a friend who has
| RENAL ncd the same through thirty odd
years told mo what little I could learn
I of Robert Curtis. He himself was the
con Of ftn old jamestown colony family,
and had driflcd into Livingstone's re@i-
rlcnt through a Captain Henry, whose
| lieutenant he ROW was. And ii appeared
| that CARTS had little to do With any
/ one but THIS one southern officer. Ac-
cordimg To John. Curtis had no lack of
money, but spen, 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 noila.
Neither could he learn where the
young man came from, nor why he was
weighed down so by such SORROW as
prevented him from taking part in amy
/ of the recrcaticns of camp life. He ncv-
4 err laughed; sometimes he would smile.
He never talked to any great extent;
| but on occasion, when some military or
4 political subject came up, he could talk
freely ard Well with the knowledge of
/ II travelled and studied man. He lived
in fact, a life apart from the life of the
camp. camp Where | soon found thar
in spite of the Lack of money. there
was no lack OF amusement of every
kind. Yet, Withal. Curtis was never
BRUSH, 10 one sgas too low for his
courtesy; no officer could browbeat hita
i With the rights of discipline when the
higher rights We're on bis side. He bad
fought Captain Barnes and wounded
4 him, because the latter bad ruined Il
country wench near by. and then tried
to browleat Curtis when the latter
criticised him to his face. Several times
he had, | learned. called u superior to
account, as on the day of my arrest
John Acton. or .Iack, as j, like all the
world at once called him. was of an
Other type. Huge in size. he was big i'm
every way-open- hearted open ha nded.
full OF 81 great. hearty laugh. careless
of himself and all else, fond of Z, .ioyiaI
evening but as big In his sense of hon
esty and chiNalry as he Was I'm stature
They made Il strange pair, these two
Yet perhaps by their Very opposite.s,
they were drawn together My dropping
in With them was all Acton's doing
curtis should never have. known ot :
ilerNise: for he did his best to avoid
mcctngany one excepting Acton. 'TM'as,
the latter who took me to his heart ct
once. and 50 ! saw Curtis and became
50 strangely fascinated by the peculiar
" familiar look and manner he seemed
to have that perforce, he had To toll
i crate me; and In few days ! came 10
the habit Of being With these two men
, whenever we were off duty.
IN such Il camp, lifelong friendships
and enemies are quickly made, and the
existence of our American officers OF
4 those days, flied always with wofK
/ Was leleyed l)y the social life of littie
cliGucs and groups. Such an one Wita
. noN' taken into. and before long We
three had agreed, among ourselves, that
whenever occasion arose for special
duty Ola he part OF any one of us, tina,
; one would ii possible secure the Other
{ two to help him carry through the az
fair
The especially Important case In pol.l
waS the capture OF a certain man called
2 Captain Hazlctine. had overheard
something of him that morning in the
4 fsuardhouse, and learned now that the
man had become n sort of mania Will
Curtis Ike latter had distinguished
9 himself on several occasions in carry
4 ing out special work. and direct or
der had nov come from the comnlender-
: ill-chief for Lieutenant Curtis to watcl
t ard, il possible take this man.
learned, 100 that he was thought to bt
: a spy of C'linton's-a Tory working witt
; with the English, in other words; but
o that he had passed for a short time as
: private agent of Washington, coming
: New York. The n-chief
/, however, with his unerring sagacity
u had finally come to suspect the man
. and had then lost him of sudden.
:, Curtis had seen him now four times
: but never face to face, only in tn
:, darkness. And the way the man ha,
Guided him had hurt the young lieu
j, tenants pride, besides giving hi
y strong, serious nature 81 difficult tasl
{ that fitted into his desire for hard la
Dor Of any sort.
IN come up with the man, If it take
!. the powers of hell to do it," he declare,
: one night, after we had spent the even
: ing covering a bit of the country to Thu
:, = eastward of Teller's Point.
'Egad, Rob. l pity him." cried Ac
= ton, for yell come up with him som
= day, and then Will there be short blu
- unpleasant hour for him.
Z IF ever ] meet him." said the othe
:, calmly, IT will be Il short affair, 70
= t is between him and me now; and