The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-09-19

his throat and choke him; for an In
slant he felt faint, dazed, staring down
into the still face CHASTITY under the
rays of the lantern. Gaskins! Then
she was concerned in the affair; he
really had seen her hiding there
against the wall. And the mans eyes
were open, we're staring In bewilder-
ment at the faces. The Sergeant Of
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 stretcher
leg it now Well have yer out O.
here in q minute, Lieutenant. What
happened, sir? Who shot yer7"
Gaskins' dulled eyes strayed from
the speakers face until he saw Ham
lin, still firmly gripped by the sentry.
His lips drew back revealing his teeth.
his eyes narrowing.
That's the one he said family.
You've got him!"
One hand wen to his side In .
spasm Of pain. and he tainted. The
Sergeant laid him back limp on the
grass, and stood up.
Where Is your gun, Hamlin1 r
I dropped it when l fell over the
Leutenant's body. 1t must be back Of
YOU"
Some n picked the weapon up,
and held 1t to the light. turning tho
chambers.
Two shots gone, Sergeant"
ovVn 1s0nAA $h~n0. ltLr1xy 49, A~~
tenant got in m OF them. Sentry.
what do you know about thisr"
Mapea scratched his head, the I'm
gers Of hrs other hand gripping the
prisoners shoulder.
Not 30 awful much" he replied.
haltingly, nov l come ter think bout
1t. T was a mighty dark night, an l
never saw, ner heard, nuthin' till the
shootin' begun. l wus back o. officers
row. an them pistols popped up yere.
by the corner o. the barracks. l
jumped an yelled; thought l heerd
somebody runnin' an let drive. Then
just as ! got up yere, this Teller come
tearin' long. an l naturally grabbed
him. That's the whole Of it."
What have you got to say, Ham
lin?"
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 c~avalryman stood straight. his
face showing white In the glow OF the
Il told you before l had nothing to
say. l will talk tomorrow" he re-
quietly. II submit to arrest"
Il 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 a de-
tail of the guard. It had all occurred
30 suddenly that he was bewildered
yet. merely retaining sufficient con-
OF the circumstances to
keep still. II they were assured he
was guilty, then no effort would be
made to trace any others connected
with the affair. Why Gaskins should
have identified him as the assassin
was a mystery-probably 1t was mere
" the delirium Of q sorely wounded
man, although the fellow may have
iisliked him sufficiently for that kind
If revenge, or have mistaken him for
another in the poor light. At any rate
he unexpected Identification helped
him to play his part, and, II the Lieu
.enant lived, he would later acknowl-
edge his mistake. There wal no occa-
zion to worry: he could clear himself
il the charge whenever the time
came; half his company would know
1e wal in barracks when the firing be-
ran. There were women out on the
walk, their skirts fluttering as they
anxiously to learn the news,
tut he could not determine II she was
lmong them. Voices asked questions,
tut the corporal hurried him along.
without making any reply. Then he
vas thrust roughly into a stone-lined
ell, and left alone. Outside in the
two guards were stationed.
sat down on the iron bed,
lased by the silence, e~ndeavoring to
his thoughts. The nearest
guard. leaning on his gun. watched
;arefully.
CT0 DE CONTINUITY
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