Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1909-03-04
CHApTER NIL

Nho had been staring open mouthed ant
RShast from her to his prisoner leape,
10 his feet, ran to Captain Haywood, an,
took the girl from his arms Assisted
by one of the seamcn. he carried hel
into the nearest stateroom of the ship
leaving with Haywood the prisoner. VIII,
han sung down on a transom, for he wa,
as yet scarcely able to command himself
Captain Smiths life had been preserv
ed in miraculous manner. Leaping over
the rail of the Ellen at the head of his
men. it should have been impossible 70,
him to have escaped. lIaywood'S piSto
had sent a bullet across his right temple
making Il naSty-looking cut and knocking
him senSeleSS. but doing no permanent
harm. As he fell. one of the soldiers
on the Ellen hit him on the head with the
barrel of his gun. The blow had been Il
glancing one, otherwise his skull would
have been fractured. Its effect, however.
was TO increase his stupor. He was faint
and sick from loss of blood and from
shock, but the physical pain he felt was
ms nothing to the anguish in his soul at
the thought that the woman he loved and
had trusted had betrayed him.
The sense of failure the consciousness
Of defeat, the pain of wounds, the loss of
his en-everythng- swept away in
the bitterness of betrayed trust. With
the shattering of his faith in Ellen went
his confidence in humanity for to him she
stood for all that was noble and true.
If she were false, then there was no
honesty or virtue extant. That was the
overwhelming thought at the moment.
Presently there would come other
thoughts. The brave men who had been
shot down under his leadership the total
failure of his enterprise, the ruin of his
present prospects, He had tried to do
something and had failed. He had loved
and he had lost. He had trusted and he
had been betrayed. The situation was I'M
bearable.
He knew that he coVd never explain it
to the satisfaction Of his superiors He
realized that his professional future was
ruined Probably he would be cashiered
He could not think how she had reached
there with the news but it was evident
that she had. His thoughts were broken
In upon by Haywood.
There was something between the pris
oner and the woman Haywood loved Of |
that the Confederate Captain was quite
convinced. During his mad galop from
the mouth of the inlet to the wharf he
had racked his brains to solve the prob
lem of Ellen's silence. He was sure the
Greyhound had been captured. If So
there would be a Federal officer on board |
her. He remembered having heard that |
a Federal officer had been madly in love |
with her some years since. As he had |
made no progress in his own suit, he nat
urally jumped to the conclusion that the
reason for his nOn-succpss lay in her |
attachment to this officer. What was
more natural than that he should be in
command of the Greyhound and that she !
should be keeping silent for love?
Hayw0od's jealousy made him wrong
the girl he loved Whatever her feelings |
might have been towards Smith. she
would certainly have felt it her duty to |
have apprised her father of the attempt /
on the priyateer. and she would have done |
1t if her honor had not been pledged She |
had given that pledge freely enough. For |
one reason, because she had not the re-
motest idea that there was any posi- |
bility of getting to the wharf the night |
she landed. Her pledge was only for that
night. She knew nothing about the new
road.
Haywood's suspicious were confirmed |
by the dramatic scene between the two |
which he had witnessed in the Ellen's |
cabin. Her refusal to tell him anything |
the desperate energy with which she had |
followed him. he knew not how, but to the |
fact that she had exerted herself to the |
top of her strength her appearance bore |
ample testimony; the pallor and anxiety |
of her face her cry when she saw Captain !
Smith was a prisoner and wounded. his |
terrible accusation of her and her recep- |
ton Of the charge made it all as clear as |
day.
Having attended TO some necessary du-
ties and given some required orders Cap /
tain Haywood turned 10 interrogate his t
prisoner Smith still remained on the |
transom. The doctor had been summoned |
but he had been busy. first of all, in the |
inner cabin with Ellen. Thereafter he .
had specifically examined the prisoner
and had pronounced his wounds not seri-
Gus. Barring a bad headache, Smith |
would soon be all right
Are you able sir" asked Captain Hay
wood courteously, in spite of his jealous
anger ito answer my questions now. or
would you prefer to be interrogated to-
morrow
Now" answered Captain Smith, whose
head had been bound up and who had
been strengthened by a liberal glass of
whisky and water.
What is your name sirf'
Smith"
"Is that your real name. or do you
simply desire to conceal your identity"
THAT is my name sir. All that |
have"
Il take it that you are an officer of
the Federal navy"
Il am Lieutenant Smith. Of the St
Lawrence. Commodore Paulding."
Are you f. Beekman Smith"
Il am"
81 heard of you at the Academy. was
of the Glass of 80. I'm glad to meet
you. Captain Smith"
"But you haven't told me your name"
Haywood"
Il am glad to meet you. Captain Hay
wood. although the circumstances are not
what ! would wish
Il fear. sir, that they are much more
serious than you imagine"
'If you knew how serious they were,
you would not say that"
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