The Rich Hill tribune., 1908-04-09

cludlng the mine IN the Biach Range.
viii. duly signed and affected, nam
Ing You as hle solo heir. together with
a carefully prepared lcttor. addressed
20 YOU, rlviug a fuil account OF the
crime Of which ne was convicted, ea
well as some othor matters Of a per.
sonal nature. That letter you must
read alone hs his last message. bat
the trtth Of al; he says has since been
proved
She glanced up at him quickly. "By
Murphyg"
yes, by Murphy, who Is now lyine
Ia the hospital at Bethune, slowly re.
covering his sworn deposition has
been forwarded to the department AZ
Washington, and win undoubtedly re.
suit in the honorable replacing OF
your fathers name on the army list
viii tell you briefly the mans con.
fession. together with the few add
tlonal facts necessary TO make It
clear.
Your father and mine we're for
many years friends and army com
rades. They saw service together dur
ing the great war and aftervard upor
the plains In Indian campaigning. On
fortunately a slight misunderstood
ing arose between them. One might
they openly Quarreled when heated
by wine. and exchanged blows The
following evening your father chanc
ing to be officer OF the guard and OF
duty. my father. whose wife had theI
been dead a year. was thoughtlesl
enough to accompany Mrs Nolar
home at a late hour from a post bali
Il was merely an act OF ordinary cour
tesy; but gossips magnifed the tale
and bore It 20 Nolan Stll smartini
from the former quarrel, IN which
fear my father vas in the wrong. he
left the guard house with the openly
avOwed intention OF seeking imme
diate satisfaction. In the meanwhile
Slayin, Murphy. and a trooper namet
Flynn, who had been TO town withou
passes, and were halfdrunk. stole
through the guard lines and decided
20 make a 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 unsuspected."
She sat as il fascinated by his re-
cital
Your father heard the shot. aud
sprang toward the sound. only 10 fall
headlong across my fathers ufeless
body As he came heavily down. hts
revolver was Jared out OF It's holster
and dropped unnouced 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 circumstautial evidence was
strong-his quarrel with the mur-
dered man. his heated language
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. a court
martial dismissed the prisoner IN dis
grace from the army. and a civil court
sentenced him 20 ten years impris-
unment"
And my mother" The question
was trembling whisper from CULVER.
Eng Hips
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 20 receive her
former friends and even failed In
loyalty to your father In his time Of
trial Il Is impossible now 20 tx
the fault clearly. or 10 account for her
actions Capt Nolan turned over all his
property 20 her and the moment she
could do 50 she disappeared from the
fort, taking YOU with her From that
hour none Of her old acqualntances
could learn anything regarding her
whereabouts She did not return to
her family ia the east. nor correspond
with anyone ia the army Probably. ut
terly broken n-hearted. ahe sought so
clusion IN some city. How Glllls oh
tanned possession OF sou Rename a
mystery"
"Is that alI7"
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