The Southern herald., 1913-04-25

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when he left the officers club five min.
utes before the firing began. You are
sure you have never had any contro.
yersy with this officer?"
Perfectly sure, sir. We have never
met except on the one occasion al.
ready referred to, and then scarcely
dozen words we're exchanged"
How then, Sergeant" and the Col.
onel spoke very soberly, do you ac.
count for his denouncing you as his
assassin"
! presumed he was influenced by
my arrest, sir; that the shock had af.
fected his brain"
That supposition will hardly an.
swer. The Lieutenant is not severely
wounded, and this morning appears to
be perfectly rational. Yet he insists
you committed the assault; even re.
fers to you by name"
The accused man pressed one hand
to his forehead in bewilderment.
He still insists | shot him?"
Yes; to be frank, he's rather bitter
about 1t, and no facts we have brought
to bear have any apparent weight. He
swears he recognized your face in the
flare Of the first discharge"
The Sergeant stood silent, motion
less, his gaze on the Colonel's face.
i do not know what to say, SIR" he
answered finally. 81 was not there,
and you all know it from the men Of
my troop. There has been no trouble
between Lieutenant Gaskins and my
self, and | can conceive of no reason
why he should desire to involve me in
this affair-unless," he paused doubt
fully; unless, sir, he really knows
who shot him, and is anxious to shift
the blame elsewhere to divert sus-
picion."
You mean he may be seeking to
shield the real culprit?"
That is the only explanation that
occurs to me, sir"
The Colonel stroked his beard nerv-
ously, his glance wandering to the
faces Of the other officers.
That might be possible" he ac.
knowledged regretfully, although |
should dislike to believe any officer
of my command would be deliberately
guilty Of so despicable an act. How.
ever, all we can do now is endeavor
to uncover the truth. You are dis
charged from arrest, Sergeant Ham.
lin, and will return to your troop"
Hamlin passed out the door into
the sunshine, dimly conscious that his
guarded answers had not been entire
ly satisfactory to those left behind.
Yet he had said all he could say, all
he dared say. More and more firmly
there has been implanted in his mind
belief that Molly Mcdonald was
somehow involved in this unfortunate
affair, and that her name must be
protected at all hazard. This theory
alone would seem to account for Gas.
kins' efforts to turn suspicion, and
when this was connected with the al
ready known presence of a woman on
the scene, and the smallness of the
weapon used, the evidence seemed
conclusive.
AS far as his own duty was con.
cerned, the Sergeant felt no doubt.
Whatever might be the cause. there
was no question in his mind but that
she was fully justified in her action
Disliking the Lieutenant from the
first, and as strongly attracted by the
girl, his sympathies we're now entire
ly with her. If she had shot him.
then 1t was for some insult, some out.
rage, and he was ready to protect her
with his life. He stopped, glancing
back at the closed door, tempted to
return and ask permission to inter.
view Gaskins personally. Then the
uselessness Of such procedure re.
Cured to him; the fact that nothing
could result from their meeting but
disappointment and recrimination. The
man evidently disliked him, and would
resent any interference; he had some.
thing to conceal, something at stake
for which he would battle strenuous.
ly. 1t would be better to let him
alone at present, and try to uncover a
clue elsewhere. Later, with more facts
in his possession, he could face the
Lieutenant and compel his acknowl-
edgment. These considerations caused
him to turn sharply and walk straight
toward the ravine. Yet his investiga-
tions there brought few results. On
the upper bank were the marks Of a
woman's shoe, a slender footprint