The Winslow mail., 1913-10-04
CHAPTER xxi.
A DEEPENING Mystery.

A Deepening Mystery.
Startled and bewildered as Hamlin
was by this sudden revealment, he at
| once comprehended the embarrass-
ment Of his own position. He could
not confess all he knew, certainly not
the fact that the girl had met him Sc
cretly and had vanished while he was
endeavoring to turn aside Mrs. Du-
pont. He must protect her at all haz-
ards. To gain time, and self-control,
he replied with a question:
did not Connors drive them down,
sir?"
eyes, the four Of them
"And Major Mcdonald knew then
that he was ordered East?"
mo, the order came by telegram
later. An orderly was sent down about
ten O'Clock. But, see here, Sergeant, l
am no Bureau of Information. II you
have anything to report, make it
brief"
Hamlin glanced at the face of the
other He knew little about him, ex-
cept that he had the reputation of be-
ing a capable officer.
Il will, sir" he responded quickly;
you may never have heard of the af-
fair, but l was with Miss Mcdonald
during little Indian trouble out on
the trail few months ago."
The officer nodded.
Il heard about that; Gaskins brought
her in"
We'll, ever since she has seemed
grateful and friendly. You know how
some women are; well, she is that
kind. Tonight she came to me, be-
cause she didn't seem to know whom
else to go to, and told me of some trou-
BILE she was having. ] realize, Captain
Kane, that it may seem bit strange
to you that a young lady like Miss Nc
Donald, an officers daughter would
turn for help to an enlisted man, but
| am telling you only the TRUTH sir.
| You see, she got 1t into her head
somehow that was square, and-and,
well, that cared enough to help her"
wait minute, Sergeant" broke in
Kane, kindly, realizing the others en-
barrassment, and resting one hand on
his sleeve. "You do not need to apollo
gize for Miss Mcdonald. I know some
thing of what is going on at this post,
although, damn me if I've ever got on
to the straight facts. You mean that
Dupont woman"
| "Yes, she's concerned in the matter,
but there are others also"
"Why couldn't the girl tell her IA
ther?"
THAT is where the main trouble lies,
Captain. Major Mcdonald seems to
be completely under the control of
| Mrs. Dupont. He is apparently afraid
of her for some reason. That is what
Miss Molly spoke to me about. We
were on the side porch at the hotel
talking while the dancers were at sup
pert was the only opportunity the
girl had to get away-and Mrs. Dupont
and her husband came into the par
i lor-"
"Her husband? Good Lord, thought
her husband was dead"
"He isn't. He's tin-horn gambler,
known in the saloons as 'Reb,' a big
duffer, wearing black beard"
"All right, go on; don't know him -
well, l stepped into the room to
keep the two apart, leaving the girl
alone outside. We had bit of talk
before 1 got the room cleared, and
when l went back to the porch, Miss
Molly had gone"
Dropped over the railing to the
ground"
That's what l thought at the time,
sir, but what happened to her after
that? She didn't return to the hotel;
she was not at the dance hall, and
hasn't come back to the post"
"The hell you say! Are you sure?"
II am; l searched for her high and
low before l left, and she could not get
in here without passing the guard
house"
Kane stared into the Sergeant's face
a moment, and then out across the pa
rade ground. A yellow light winked
in the Colonels office, occasionally
blotted out by the passing figure of a
sentry The officer came to a prompt
decision.
"The old man is over there yet,
grubbing at some papers. Come on
over, and tell him what you have told
me. | believe the lass will turn up all
right, but it does look rather queer"