The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-11-01

cred 1t then. but now-why. poss;bl,
II was true. | read the lines almost a,
a glance, scarcely eomprehending a,
nrst and then suddenly realized the
base Villainy revealed:
the money and papers, but
the girl got away. viii wait for vol
at Lone Tree tonight. Don't fail. fol
the whole country viii be after me
as soon as the news gets out about
Eimhurst FAGIN."
So that was the reason for this raid
-Grant's personal affair. He had re,
turned to Elmhurst, leaving his men
10 trudge on into Philadelphia under
their Hessian officers so that he might
communicate with Fagin. What a pity
1t was | 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.
searched the pockets of the garment
hastily, finding a note or two, his
orders to escort DelaVan, and q small
packet tied securely by a cord. / felt
no hesitancy in opening this, and as
Containing its contents. The lines |
read hastily seemed to blur before my
eyes; | could barely comprehend their
purport. Little by little l grasped the
meaning OF 1t all, and then my mind
leaped to recognition OF Grants our
pose. They were notes of instruction,
BRIEF orders, suggestions, memoranda,
such as might be issued to a secret
agent greatly trusted. These were ad-
dressed simply Mortimer" many un-
signed, others marked by initials, but
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, | should Judge. although
scarcely one was dated? And what
caused them to be of value to Cap
tain Grant?
The answer came in a fash Of suspi.
cfon--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 Elmhurst, and were sufficient
TO convict Of treason. 1t was a tiend-
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
hfm-military advancement, a distri.
button of the Mortimer estate In which
he would doubtless share, and a 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
striving to determine my duty.
Should | return to Elmhurst? To do
so would only bring me into renewed
peril. and would apparently benefit no
one. 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
returned, he would doubtless
her to accompany him back to
Philadelphia. The best service ! could
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
the Mortimers against Grant, to
let them know his treachery. and this
could be best accomplished through
Eric. Although in different armies,
against each other in the
ield, there must still exist some means
If communication between father and
son, or, II not, then between brother
and sister.
With flint and steel / built a small
ire Of leaves In a cleft beside the
Dad, and fed to the flames one by one
he papers from the packet. glaneing
,yer each one again to make sure Of
is contents; all we're addressed alike,
Mortimer" but upon two !
ound the word "Elmhurst." II was
,asy to see how the discovery Of such
communications would tempt an un-
scoundrel like Grant to use
hem to inture another, and win his
'wn end, but why had that young Eric
to destroy them as soon as re-
When the last paper had been re-
Iuced to ashes, / stamped out the en-
lers of fire under my boot heel, and.
With lighter heart. rode down the hill
oward the ford.