The Oklahoma miner. [volume] (Krebs, Okla.) 1912-192?, 1913-06-05

hamlnb nChTL aEefufu ~ tt"g t''.' ]
his throat and choke him, for an in- /
slant he felt faint. dazed. staring down I
into the stnl face ghaauy under tn9
rays OF the lantern. Gaakina. Then I
she was concerned IN the affair; hs
really had seen her hiding there
against the wall And the mans eyea
we're open, were staring IN bewilder.
ment at the faces. The Sergeant o.
the Guard thrust the lantern closer
Lift his head, some O yer, the
mans alive. Copley, get some water
an two Of yer run fer the stretchsr
leg Il now. Wen have yer out o
here IN a minute, Lieutenant what
happened, SIR Who shot yer7"
Caskins' dulled eyes strayed from
the speakers face until he saw Ham
lin, still firmly gripped BY the sentry
HIS lips drew back revealing bis teeth
his eyes narrowing.
That's the one" he said faintly.
You've got him!"
One hand went to his side IN
spasm Of pain, and he tainted. The
Sergeant laid him back limp on tho
grass. and stood up.
Where is your gun. Hamlinr
i dropped it when 1 fell over the
Lsutenant's body. It must be back OF
you"
Some one picked the weapon up,
and held It to the light. turning the
chambers.
Two shots gone, Sergeant"
We heard three; likely the Lieu
tenant got in one Of them. Sentry,
what do you know about this?"
Mapes scratched his head, the I'm
gers Of his other hand gripping the
prisoners shoulder.
Not so awful much" be replied,
haltingly now | come ter think bout
it. T was a mighty dark night, an
never saw, ner heard, nuthin' till the
shootin begun. / wus back o. officers
row, an them pistols popped up yere,
BY the corner O. the barracks.
jumped an yelled; thought l heerd
somebody runnin' an let drive. Then
Just as I got up yere, this feller come
Learin' long, an 1 naturally grabbed
him. That's the whole Of It."
What have you got to say. Ham
Hn?"
Nothing"
We'll, yer better. Yer in a mighty
bad box, let me tell yer" angered by
the others Indifference. What was
the row about?"
The cavalryman stood straight, his
face showing white In the glow Of the
lantern.
Il told you before had nothing to
say. / will talk tomorrow" he re-
turned quietly q submit to arrest"
I reckon yer will talk tomorrow,
and be damn glad O. the chance. Cor
poral, take this fellow to the guard
house. an stay there with him. Here
comes the stretcher, an the doctor"
Hamlin marched of silently through
the black night, surrounded by de-
tail Of the guard. It had all occurred
so suddenly that he was bewildered
yet, merely retaining sufficient con
scfOusness Of the cirCums tances to
keep still If they were assured he
was g1ilty then no effort would be
made 70 trace any others connected
with the affair. Why Gaskins should
have Identified him as the assassin
vas a mysteTy-probably it was mere
IL the delirium OF a sorely wounded
man. although the fellow may have
disliked him sufficiently for that kind
Of revenge, or have mistaken him for
another IN the poor light. At any rate
the unexpected Identification helped
him 10 play his part, and, If the Lieu
tenant lived, he would later acknowl-
edge his mistake. There was no occa-
sion 10 worry; he could clear himself
OF the charge whenever the time
came; half his company would know
he was In barracks when the firing be-
gan. There were women out on the
walk, their skirts futtering as they
waited anxiously to learn the news,
but he could not detC -w # she was
among them. Voices asked questions.
but the corporal hurried him along,
without making any reply. Then he
was thrust roughly into a stone-lined
cell. and left alone. Outside in the
corridor two guards were stationed,
Hamlin sat down on the iron bed,
dazed BY the silence, endeavoring to
collect his thoughts. The nearest
guard, leaning on his gun. watched
carefully