American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1912-09-26

their Hessian officers so that he might
communicate with Fagin. What q pity
1t was l had failed to kill the fellow.
instead Of leaving him unconscious.
The papers! Perhaps they were In
the coat also. Surely Grant had no
time to change or destroy them, as he
must have ridden directly to Elmhurst.
l searched the pockets Of the garment
hastily, finding a note or two, his
orders to escort Delavan. and a small
packet tied securely by a cord. / felt
no hesiiancy in opening this, and as
pertaining Its contents. The lines I
e hastily seemed to blur before my
eyes; l could barely comprehend their
purport. Little by little l grasped the
meaning OF it all, and then my mind
leaped to recognition OF Grants pur.
pose. They were notes Of instruction.
brief orders, suggestions. memoranda,
such as might be issued to a secret
agent greatly trusted. These we're adj
dressed simply Mortimer" many uu-
signed, others marked by initials, but
l Instantly recognized the handwriting
OF Washington, Hamilton and Lee.
Without question this packet was the
property of Eric Mortimer. but why
had the boy preserved these private
instructions. covering months of op-
%erations, l should Judge, although
scarcely n was dated? And what
caused them 20 be of value to Cap
tain Grant?
The answer cam. in q flash of suspi-
cion-the colonel. He could be threat
ened with them. blackmailed. dis
graced before Sir Henry Clinton, driv-
en- from his command. They were ad-
dressed merely to Mortimer" discov-
cred at ~Elnhurst, ard were sufficient
to convict Of treason. It was a iend-
ish plot, well conceived. and Grant
was fully capable of carrying it out
to the end. / could realize what the
possession of these papers meant to
him-military advancement, a distri-
button of the Mortimer estate In which
he would doubtless share, and q fresh
hold on Claire whereby he could ter.
rify the girl into accepting them.
stood there in uncertainty, turning
these papers over and over in my
hands, striving to determine my duty
Should return to Elmhurst? To do
so would only bring me into renewed
peril, and would apparently benefit nc
me-. Without this packet Grant was
helpless to injure Colonel Mortimer
AS to Claire, Seldom would protect her
for the present, and as soon as the
father returned, he would doubtless
compel her to accompany him back to
Philadelphia. The best service | could
render was to destroy these notes, and
then seek out Eric Mortimer, in Lees
camp, and tell him the whole story.
All that anyone could do now was to
warn the Mortimers against Grant, to
let them know his treachery, and this
could be best accomplished through
Eric. Although in different armies,
striving against each other in tho
field, there must still exist some means
of communication between father and
son, or, If not, then between brother
and sister.
With flint and steel I built a small
nre of leaves in a cleft beside the
road, and fed to the flames one by n
the papers from the packet, glancing
over each n again to make sure of
its contents; all We're addressed alike.
Mortimer" but upon two I
found the word "~Elmhurst." It was
easy to see how the discovery of such
communications would tempt an I'M
.scrupulous scoundrel like Grant to use
them TO injure another, and win his
own end. but why had that young Eric
failed to destroy them as soon as re-
ceived?
When the last paper had been re-
duced to ashes, | stamped out the en-
oers OF fire under my boot heel, and,
lighter heart, rode down the HID
toward the ford.
continued pAYf Wank