The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1912-06-01

give him flve minutes in which to ex.
plain. and that Is all. Seldom, have
the men go on ahead along the trail"
Eyes, sir, they are of already"
VERY we'll. Have our horses out
side; we can catch up within q mile
or two" He wheeled sharply about,
and looked at me sternly. well, sir,
/ have very little time to waste on
you at present. but I advise truthful
answers. What IL your name?"
"Allen Lawrence"
"You claim to be in the Continental
Dervice-what rank?"
Major in the Maryland Line, Max.
wells Brigade"
Dressed hurriedly. probably, and
forgot your uniform"
Il have lately been serving with the
Jersey militia, sir. as Captain Grant
can testify" answered civilly.
"And Captain Grant is only too
anxtona-" broke In that officer imna.
GENTLY. IF you will listen to me.
colonel. I'll tell you what know in
two minutes or less. It will settle this
fellows status"
Mortimer glanced from my face to
that of the speaker, evidently attract
ed by the vindictiveness of the voice.
"All right, Grant, go on" he said
shortly. "only l shall pass judgment
as soldier, and not because of any
personal quarrel. What Ia it you
know7"
"That this man came into Philadel.
phia three days ago dressed as an of.
ficer of British infantry. He claimed
to be Lieutenant Fortesque of the
Forty-second Foot, with dispatches
from New York. Howe vouched for
him, and furnished him with pass
and orderly. He put In the whole day
studying the positions Of our troops.
and in the evening was guest at the
Mischianza-Andre gave him a card,
l heard-and danced there with your
daughter. l doubted the man from
our first meeting. and later picked up
certain rumors which convinced me
he was spy. Some words passed be.
tween us on tho dancing floor, and an
consequence I asked the man to
meet me below. Some one either told
him he was suspected. or else he had
the heart Of q coward. for he failed
to appear"
did you intend to fight him?"
mo, we planned an arrest. re.
ported to MacHugh what / had heard.
and he had Carter close Mt hand with
squad Of the guard"
"A very pretty trick on mere suspi.
cfon." commented the colonel In some
disgust. but go on with your story"
Grant sucked in his breath quickly,
evidently surprised ut the remark.
"ClaEe was waiting for mo upstairs
In the dining room. but utter Carter
had scattered his men to the outposts.
l took a turn about the grounds in
hope Of thus running across the fellow,
Luck favored me. but, damn him, he
Jumped into me like fighting cock,
struck me in the face. and tainted
me into meeting him there and then"
Good boy! the right stuff, eh Sci.
DOM"
Il supposed 1t all bluff," went on
Grant, paying no heed to the inter
ruption. although his cheeks flushed,
but we went at 1t, behind the pavil.
lon. and had pricked him twice.
when the guard came up and separat.
ed us. At that the fellow took to his
heels. and by Cad! got away-swam
the Delaware, while we were beating
the west shore. The next saw Of him
he was in command OF those ragamuf.
fins who attacked US out yonder Now
he shows up here looting this house
on the trail Of Red Fagin. I'd hang
him offhand II 1t was me-"
Mortimer looked across Mt me ear
nestly, but with an expression of doubt
in his eyes. As for myself 1 hardly
knew what to say or do. Grant had
no corroborative proof of his asser.
tons, unless was returned to Phila.
delphia. could emphatically deny
that was the man, insist nn my right
to fair trial. But how could I &C.
count in any reasonable way for my
presence at Elmhurst, or even success.
fully sustain my claim to being Con.
tinentnl officer. I could not tell
Colonel Mortimer that l had been tax.
en- prisoner by his daughter, masque.
rading as a lieutenant Of dragons
Apparently he knew nothing Of this
escapade. and she would scarcely for
give mo for exposure; besides, for all
l knew to the contrary. the girl might
have thus been attempting to serve
the colonies, and VOID of betrayal
might seriously injure our cause. All
this flashed over me before Mortimer
spoke.
"Have you any proofs, sir, that you
are an officer Of Maxwell's brigade?"
"Not here" and glanced down at
my rough clothing, "yet with little
delay that could be easily ascer
tained.''
ION what service are you in the
Jerseys?"