The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1913-04-24
COPYRIGHT AcrpcLURe & co 1911


at daybreak.
1t was a hot. close morning, and the
padded Rangers coat heavy and tight
fitting. took 1t of, finging 1t across
the saddle pommel. As | did so a
folded paper came into view, and l
drew 1t forth, ~curiously. My eye caught
the signature at the bottom of a brief
note. and | stared at it in surprise.
Fagin! How came Fagin to be writing
to Captain Grant? He pretended TO
J be a Tory to be sure, yet both armies
know him as a murderOus outlaw,
plundering loyalists and patriots alike.
There came to me a memory OF Far
rells chance remark that Grant nae
some connection with this fellows ma
rauding. had not seriously consid.
cred it then, but now-why, possibly
II was true. | read the lines almost at
a glance, scarcely comprehending at
first. and then suddenly realized the
base viliainy revealed:
"Have the money and papers, but
the girl got away. VIII wait for you
at Lone Tree tonight. Don't fail, for
the whole country will be after me
as soon IS the news gets out about
Elmhurst. FAGIN."
So that was the reason for this raid
Grants personal affair. He had re-
turned TO Eimhurst, leaving his men
to 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
packet tied securely by a cord. / felt
no hesitancy In opening this, and as
certaining its contents. The lines |
read hastily seemed to blur before my
eyes; l could barely comprehend their
purport. Little by little | grasped the
meaning of 1t all, and then my mind
leaped TO recognition of Grants pur-
pose. They were notes of instruction,
brief orders, suggestions, memoranda,
such as might be issued to a secret
agent greatly trusted. These were adj
dressed simply Mortimer" many un
signed, others marked by initials, but
l 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 flash of suspi-
cion-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. II was a fiend-
ish plot, well conceived, and Grant
was fully capable Of carrying II out
TO the end. i could realize what the
possession OF these papers meant to
him-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.
l stood there In uncertainty, turning
these papers over and owe In my
hands, 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 soo as the
father returned, he would doubtless
compel her to accompany him back to
Philadelphia. The best service l could
render 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
warn the Mortimers against Grant, to
let them know his treachery. and this
could be best accomplished through
Eric. Although in different armies.
striving against each other In the
field, there must still exist some means
OF communication between father and
SON, or. IL not. then between brother
and sister.
With flint and steel l built a small
fire OF leaves In a cleft beside the
road. and fed to the flames one by one
the papers from the packet. glancing
over each one again to make sure of
its contents: all were addressed alike,
simply Mortimer" but upon two I
found the word "Elmhurst." II was
easy to see how the discovery of such
communications would tempt an ai.
scrupulous scoundrel like Grant to use
them to insure another. and win his
own end. but why had that young Eric
failed to destroy them - soon az re-
| ceived?
When the last paper had been re-
duced to ashes. I Stamped out the en-
bers Of IRE under my boot heel. and.
with lighter heart. rode down the hill
toward the ford
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CHAPTER XIII.