Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-07-29
tcontinued From Yesterday,

He let the question go by UNDECIDED
and, for q long time, gazed silently out
over the land. Il suppose" he said
at last, that a coincidence hike this,
any coincidence. If only It be strange
enough, will bring a touch Of super
stittous fear to anybody, I never had
even q touch of It before in all my life,
and I always had a little feeling Of
contempt for the men who showed It.
Bur now-well, well, l wish poor old
Hunter hadn't strayed away last night.
I wasn't alarmed about him before. ana
I've no rational ground for alarm about
him now. Only
He did not go on until she prompted
him with q question. "And has the
skyman. Philip cayiey, anything to do
with the coincidence? ?"
Still II was a little while before he
spoke. Il suppose I'd better tell you
the story-a part of it, at least: !
couldn't tell it all to you" He turned
to his father: You, l think. already
know It," Then, with evident re-
luctance, he began telling the story to
Jeanne.
There vas a man named Philip Cay
ley he said, I'm Hunters class at the
Point, three classes ahead of me, that
was. He and Hunter were chums, the
David and Jonathan you know, of
their class. 1 remember what a stroke
| OF luck for them everybody thought 1t
was when they were assigned to serv-
ice in the same regiment 1t seems to
me, as I think back to our days at the
Point-of course, my memory may he
playing me a trick-but 1t seems to me
that even then Cayiey was interested
In the navigation of the air. Some
body kept a scrap-book of all that the
newspapers and magazines reported on
the subject. anyway; I remember see
ing it. l think 1t vas Cayley.
II lost sight of him and Hunter when
they went to the Philippines. 1t is
only justice to Hunter to say that 1
never heard a word of the thing that
happened out there from him. He
never seemed to want to talk to me
about 1t, and. of course, I never forced
him. Well, 1 can make a short story
Of it. anyway. though 1t has to be a
nasty one.
"A man came into the post one day.
the head man of one OF the neighbor-
ing villages out there. a man with
white blood On him-Spanish blood.
They carried him in, for he couldn't
walk. He was in horrible condition.
He had been ~tortured-I won't go into
the retails Of that-and ftogged nearly
to death. He said that Cayley had
lone it. He had demonstrated with
Cayley, he said, because he feared for
his daughters safety-she vas a pretty
girl, winter than her ~father-and it
seems that the mani fears had some
justification. 1t appears that Cayley
had come out there bind drunk with
a couple of troopers. who deserted that
same night, and manhandled the old
man. The girl Joined in her fathers
accusation, at least she didn't deny
anything.
"Cayley was away IN scout duty at the
time when the man came in-the thing
had happened some days prior, just be-
fore he started out. It came like a thun-
derbolt out of a clear sky, for every
body liked Cayley and thought him an
exceptionally decent, clean sort of chap,
though he and Hunter both were drink
ing a good deal just then. Poor Hunter
was all broken up about it. Everybody
believed that he really knew some IN
eliminating facts against Cayley. but
he never would speak.
"As for Cayley himself, he made nc
defense whatever. He denied he did
it, and that was all. There wasn't any
real corroborative evidence agains;
him, so the court-martial dismissed the
case as not proved. but he wouldn't
testify himself, nor have a single wit
ness called in his behalf. and he re-
signed from the service then and there,
and disappeared, so far as l know, from
the world. ! heard he had a ranch
down somewhere In New Mexico, near
Sandoval. / think the place was
His father saw a quick tightening in
the girls horror-stricken eyes at the
sound of the name, which evidently, in
seine way, helped ~corroborate the story
to her, but he did not question her
about 1t.
well, that's all I know said Tom
In conclusion. 1.-THE thing about broke
Perry Hunters heart. and he quit the
service himself shortly after. It had
this efIect on him. though. He told nae