Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1908-05-13


will. duly signed and attested, nam
Ing you as his sole heir, together with
carefully prepared letter, addressed
to you, giving full account Of the
crime of which he was convicted. as
well as some other matters of a per.
sonal nature That letter you must
read alone as his last message. but
the truth of all he says has since been
proved"
She glanced up at him quickly. by
Murphy?"
Yes, by Murphy. who is now lying
in the hospital at Bethune, slowly re-
covering. his sworn deposition has
been forwarded to the department at
Washington, and will undoubtedly re-
suit in the honorable replacing of
your fathers name on the army list.
l will tell you briefly the mans con-
fessio0, together with the few addi-
t1onal facts necessary to make it
clear
Your father and mine were for
many years friends and army COM
rades. They saw service together DUR
ing the great war, and afterward upon
the plains in Indian campaigning I'm
fortunately a slight misunderstood
ing arose between them. One night
they openly quarreled when heated
by wine, and exchanged blows The
following evening your father chanc-
ing to be officer of the guard and on
duty, my father, whose wife had then
been dead a year, was thoughtless
enough to accompany Mrs Nolan
nome at late hour from a post ball.
1t was merely an act of ordinary cour-
tesy; but gossips magnified the tale,
and bore it to Nolan. Still smarting
from the former quarrel, in which /
fear my father was In the wrong. he
left the guard house with the openly
avowed intention of seeking imme-
date satisfaction. In the meanwhile
Slavin, Murphy, and a trooper named
flynn, who had been to town without
passes, and were half-drunk. stole
through the guard lines and decided
TO make midnight raid on the colo
nels private office. Dodging along
behind the powder house, they ran
suddenly upon my father, then on the
way to his own quarters. Whether
they were recognized by him. or
whether drink made them reckless of
consequences, is unknown, but one of
the men instantly fired. Then they
ran. and succeeded in gaining the bar
racks unsupported"
She sat as if fascinated by his re-
cital.
Your father heard the shot. and
sprang toward the sound. only to fall
headlong across my fathers lifeless
body. AS he came heavily down, his
revolver was Jared out of it's holster
and dropped unnoticed in the grass.
An instant later the guard came run
ming up, and by morning Capt. Nolan
was under arrest charged with MUIR
der. The circumstantial evidence was
strengths quarrel with the muir
dered man, his heated language a
few moments previous, the revolver
lying beside the body, having two
chambers discharged, and his being |
found there alone with the man he had |
gone forth to seek. Slavin and Flynn |
both strengthened the case by posi-. |
tive testimony. AS a result, court
martial dismissed the prisoner in dis
grace from the army, and civil court
sentenced him to ten years impris-
onment"
And my mother?" The question
was trembling whisper from CULVER
ing lips.
Your mother" he said regretfully,
was an exceedingly proud woman, be- |
longing to a family Of social promi- |
nence in the east. She felt deeply |
the causeless gossip connecting her |
name with the case, as well as the |
open disgrace of her husbands con- |
viction. She refused to receive her |
former friends, and even failed in |
loyalty to your father in his time of
trial. 1t is impossible now to fix
the fault clearly. or to account for her
actions. Capt. Nolan turned over all his
property to her, and the moment she
could do so she disappeared from the
fort, taking you with her From that
hour none of her old acquaintance
could learn anything regarding her
her family in the east, nor correspond
with anyone in the army. Probably, ut
terly broken-hearted, she sought Sc
clusion in some city. How ellis OBJ
tanned possession of you remains
rs that all?"
Everything
They kept silent for a long time, the
slow tears dropping from her eyes,
her hands clasped in her lap. His
heart, heavy with sympathy, would
not permit him to break in upon her
deep sorrow with words OF comfort
Nadia" he whispered al last, this
may not be the time for me to speak
such words, but You are all alone
now. Will you go back to Bethune
with me-back to the old regiment
as my wife,"