The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-10

Under pressure of this awful posi-
olilty, Denis made haste to the war Of
ice for details. Breakfastless he had
unfocdereG, Denis gaIloped to his seat
below the gangway.
The one valuable time-saver he had
unrolled from its mysterious wrapping
OF red tape during the morning was
that, for some state reason or another,
the proper official target for his lring
practice was not the secretary OF war.
as he had supposed. but the Right Hon.
MI. Chamberlain. the secretary of the
colonies And for this gentleman the
honorable member for Rathkesle lay in
ambush
Denis, of course, Sat on the opposite
side OF the house
But hush suddenly fell upon that
quarter and Denis-now transformed
into the honorable member for Rath-
keale-tightened his grip upon bum
die of papers ia his hand as there
came from behind the speakers chair
tail, grave. faultlessly dressed per-
sonase, who ambled as carelessly to his
official seat as IL there were never a
Private Tim O'Callaghan under SEN
tence Of death and his poor old mother
breaking her heart over it,
Almost before the tall parsonage had
time to drop in his place Denis leaped
to his feet
He requested. with great Difference,
MIR. Speaker, TO put 4 question-some-
what. said he, out of order. but of de-
finite and urgent importance--to the
right honorable gentleman whom he
now observed on the treasury front
beEch.
The right honorable gentleman indi-
Gated looked up with a smile.
1 desire, Mr.. Speaker" said he, ito
ask the right honorable gintleman
whether his attention has been called
u the proceedings of the court-martial
held on the 18th instant at the head
quarters of the army now operating
against the rebels in Central Africa.
when private soldier. named Timothy
EOCallaghan of the Seventeenth Wick
low Rangers was tried. and whether
any information has reached the right
honorable gintleman as to the nature
or the charge against Private O'Cal-
laShan and the result of the trial?''
Denis sat down. and the right honor
able gentleman stood up. He read his
answer from an official paper in his
hand, in a cool. matter-of-fact tone:
Private O'Callaghan was tried by
court-martiai, charged with mutiny in
face of the enemy, and sentenced to be
shot"
He sat down and forgot about it all
in an affable conversation with his
left-hand colleague.
Denis rose with fear upon him. His
big voice quavared as he put his first
supplementary"
Has the sentence been carried out ?"
Mr.. Chamberlain whispered to the
colleague on his left who made signs
to an invisible oracle behind the speak
er's chair. The signs were interpreted
and answered-searcely without a
pause: and Mr.. Chamberlain rose.
enc official information has been re-
eeived that the sentence has been car
ried out"
Denis breathed again. and rose with
his second supplementary: Was the
right honorable gentleman aware of
the precise nature of the charge of
mutiny?
Yes. O'Callaghan. while in action,
had disobeyed orders and had induced
other Wicklow Rangers to follow his
bad example.
No; only their ng-leader-O' Gala
CHAN.
How many had mutinied?
Perhaps score.
This gave information to Denis; and
he rose to its value in an utterly unex-
| pected way
A score? Had the right honorable
gentleman been informed whether any
more than this one score OF Wicklow
Rangers were left after the hard fight
ing they had done that day? And was
their hero.sm TO be rewarded by a
court-martial for a mere act of insub-
ordination?
But Mr.. Chamberlain had risen to
| reply.
."O'Callaghan had threatened to shoot
| the officer who had given the order"
Denis instantly rose. The speaker
rose at the same time. pulling his black
robe about him, TO put a stop to these
endless "supplementaries."
But the last reply had given Denis
great opportunity.
rs the right honorable gentleman
aware that the order given by the Of
! ficer-the order which O'Callaghan and
/ his comrades refused to obey-was an
order to retire, and run away from the
/ inirny2
Nothing would have surprised the
honorable member from Rathkeale SO
much as to find there was the slightest
accuracy in this insinuation: but IL was
gcoG-if MISUNDERSTANDING; and it
really upset the stolid attitude of the
secretary for the colonies, who an
swered hesitatingiy that he had mo Of
| fetal Information on the point" But, y
| he graciously added. s'in view OF the
/ brilliant bravery shown by the Seven
teenth Wicklow Rangers throughout
this war, il would not be surprising te
/ find that such was the case"
THAT being So" said Denis, imme-
| diateiy assuming the whole thing
proved. will the right honorable gin
! tleman consider the advisability o,
| taking a humane course In this IN
stance-and cable Instructions fol
O'Callaghan's reprieve7"
The right honorable gentleman shooi
his head. On second thought, he rose
10 say emphaticaIly:
The serious nature of the effenss
would seem 10 put the question of re-
prieve quite beyond consideration
Denis expected that much. But hi
was upon his feet with another phase
81 can assure the right honorable
gintleman that this matter is ons
| where a little deiav and investigation
would be more than justified. / me,
self can throw a new light altogethel
upon the matter. And I would. witt
great respect, urge upon the right hon
orable gintleman the imperative neces
sity of defay-f only for twinty -foul
hours-before carrying out this iniqui
tous sintince on a biameless Irish sol