Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1913 — MOLLY MCDONALD A TALE OF THE FRONTIER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MOLLY MCDONALD A TALE OF THE FRONTIER

By RANDALL PARRISH

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u BYNOPSIS. Major McDonald, commanding an army post near Fort Dodge, seeks a man to Intercept his daughter, Molly, .who la headed for the post. An Indian outbreak Is threatened. “Brick” Hamlin, sergeant who has Just arrived with messages to McDonald, volunteers for the mission. Molly arrives at Fort Ripley two days ahead of schedule. She decides to push on to Fort Dodge by stage in company with "Sutler Bill” Moylan. Gonxales, a gambler, is also a passenger. Hamlin meets the stage with stories of depredations committed by the Indians. The driver deserts the stage when Indians appear. The Indians are repulsed In attacks on the stage. Moylan and Oonsales are killed. Hamlin and Molly plan to escape In the darkness by way of a gully. Molly •Is wounded and Hamlin carries her. They cross a river and go into hiding. The Indians discover their escape and Start pursuit, but go in the wrong direction. Hamlin is much excited at finding a haversack marked C. S. A. He explains to Molly that he was in the Confederate service and dismissed in disgrace under charges of cowardice. At the close of the war he enlisted in the regular service. He says the haversack was the property of one Capt. LeFevre, who he suspects of being responsible for his disgrace and for whom he has been hunting ever since. Troops appear on the scene. Under escort of Lieut. Gaskins Molly starts to Join her father. Hamlin leaves to rejoin his regiment. Hamlin returns to Fort Dodge after a summer of fighting Indians, and finds Molly there. Shots are heard in the night accompanied by the call of the sentry. Hamlin rushes out, sees what he believes is the figure of Molly hiding In the darkness and falls over the body of lieutenant Gaskins, who has been wounded. The officer accuses Hamlin of shooting him and the sergeant is arrested.

CHAPTER XlV.—Continued. Voices reached him from outside, echoing In through the high, ironbarred window, but they were distant, the words indistinguishable. As his brain cleared he gave no further thought to his own predicament, only considering how he could best divert suspicion from her. It was all a confused mass, into the mystery of which he was unable to penetrate. That it was Molly McDonald shrinking there In the dark corner of the barracks wall he had no doubt. She might not have recognised him, or imagined that he saw her, but that Bpear of light had certainly revealed a face not to be mistaken. White as it was, haggard with terror, half concealed by straggling hair, the identification was nevertheless complete. The very piteousness of expression appealed to him. She was not a girl easily frightened; no mere promiscuous shooting, however startling, would have brought that look to her face. He had seen her in danger before, had tested her coolness under fire. This meant something altogether different. What? Could it be that Gaskinß had wronged the girl, had inßulted her, and that she, in response, had shot him down? In the darkness of conjecture there seemed no other adequate explanation. The two were intimate; the rumor of an engagement was already circulating about the garrison. And the stricken man had endeavored to shift the blame on him. Hamlin could not believe this was done through any desire to injure; the Lieutenant had no .cause for personal dislike which would account for such an accusation. They had only met once, and then briefly. There was no rivalry between them, no animosity. To be sure, Gaskins had been domineering, threatening to report a small breach of discipline, but in this his words and actions had been no more offensive than was common among young officers of his quality. The Sergeant had passed all memory of that long ago. It never occurred to him now as of the slightest importance. Far more probable did It appear that Gaskins’ only motive was to shield the girl from possible suspicion. When he had realized that Hamlin was a prisoner, that for some reason he had been seized for the crime, he had grasped the opportunity to point him out as the assassin, and thus delay pursuit. The chances were the wounded man did not even recognize who the victim was—he had blindly grasped at the first straw. But suppose he had been mistaken? Suppose that woman hiding there was some one else? Suppose he had imagined a resemblance in that Budden flash of revealment? What then? Would she care enough to come to him when she learned of the arrest? He laughed at the thought, yet it was a bitter laugh, for it brought back a new realization of the chasm between them. Major McDonald’s daughter interesting herself in a guard-house prisoner! More than likely she would promptly forget that she had ever before heard his name. He got up and pabed the cell, noting as he did so how closely he was watched by the guard.

“Have you heard how badly the Lieutenant was hurt?” he asked, approaching the door. The sentry glanced down the corridor. “He’ll pull out, all right,” he re-' plied confidentially, his lips close to the door. “Nothin’ vital punctured. You better go to bod, an’ forget it till mornin’.” „ i “All right, pardner,” and Hamlin returned to the cot. “Turn the light down a little, will you? There, that’s better. My conscience won’t trouble me, but that glare did.” With his face to the stone wall he fell asleep.

CHAPTER XV. An Old Acquaintance. It was late In the forenoon when the heavily armed guard marched Hamlin across to the commandant's office. He had been surprised at the delay, but had enjoyed ample opportunity to plan a course of action, and decide how best to meet the questions which would be asked. He could clear himself without involving her, without even a mention, of her presence, and this knowledge left him confident and at ease. There were half a dozen officers gathered in the small room, the graybearded Colonel In command, sitting behind a table, with Major McDonald at Ills right, and the others wherever they could find standing room. “Sergeant,” the Colonel said rather brusquely, “you came in last night with ‘M’ troop, did you not?” “Yes, sir." “Had you ever met Lieutenant Gaskins before?” « “Once; he pulled me out of a bad scrape with a bunch of Indians out on the trail a few months ago.” “The same affair I spoke to you about.” commented McDonald quietly. “The attack on the stage." The Colonel nodded, without removing his eyes from the Sergeant’s face. “Yes, I know about that," he said. “And that was the only occasion of your meeting?" "Yes, sir.” f "Well, Serfceant Hamlin, I purpose being perfectly frank with you. There are two or three matters not easily explained about this affair. I am satisfied of your innocence; that* you were not directly concerned in the shooting of Lieutenant Gaskinß. Men of your troop state that you were in barracks when the shots were fired, and the wound was not made by & service revolver, but by a much smaller weapon. Yet there are circumstances which puzzle us, but which, no doubt, you can explain. Two shots had been fired from your revolver,”

and he pushed the weapon across the table! “I rode ahead of the troop In march yesterday," Hamlin explained, "and fired twice at a jack-rabbit. I must have neglected to replace the cartridges. Private Stone was with me.” “Why did you submit to arrest so easily, without any attempt to clear yourself?” The Sergeant’s gray eyes smiled, but his response was quietly respectful. “I was condemned before I really knew what had occurred, sir. The sentry, the Sergeant of the guard, and the Lieutenant all insisted that I

was guilty. They permitted me no opportunity to explain. I thought it just as well to remain quiet, and let' the affair straighten itself out.” “Yet your action threw us completely off the trail,” broke in McDonald impatiently. ‘4t permitted the really guilty parties to escape. Did yon see any one?” “Black smudgfes merely, Major, apparently running toward the ravine. My eyes were blinded, leaping from a lighted room" ~ McDonald leaned forward eagerly, one hand tapping the table. “Was one of them a woman?” he questioned sharply. Hamlin’s h£art leaped into his throat, “but he held himself motionless. “They were indistinguishable, sir; mere shadows. Have you reason to suspect there may have been a woman involved?” The Major leaned back in his chair, but the commandant, after a glance at his officer, answered: “The pistol used was a small one, such as a woman might carry, and there are marks of a woman’s shoe plainly visible at the edge of the ravine. Lieutenant Gaskins was alone when he left the officers’ club five minutes before the firing began. You are sure you have never had controversy with this officer?” “Perfectly sure, sir. We have never met except on the one occasion already referred to, and then scarcely a dozen words were exchanged.” “How then, Sergeant,” and the Colonel spoke very soberly, “do you account for his denouncing you as his assassin ?” “I presumed was influenced by my arrest, sir; that the shock had affected his brain.” “That supposition will hardly answer. The Lieutenant ls not severely wounded, and this morning appears to be perfectly rational. Yet he insists you committed the assault; even refers to yon by name.” The accused man pressed one hand to his forehead in bewilderment. “He still Insists I shot him?” “Yes; to be frank, he’s rather bitter about it, and no facts we have brought to bear have any apparent weight. He swpars he recognized your faee in the flare of the first discharge.” The Sergeant stood silent, motionless, his gaze on the Colonel’s face. “I do not know what to say, sir,” he answered finally. “I was not there, and you all know it from the men of my troop. There has been no trouble between Lieutenant Gaskinß and my-i self, and I can conceive of no reason why he should desire to involve me in this affair —unless,” he paused doubtfully; “unless, sir, he really knows who shot him, and is anxious to shift the blame elsewhere to divert suspicion.” “You mean he may be seeking to shield the real culprit?” - “That is the only explanation that occurs to me, sir.” J

The Colonel stroked his beard nervously, his glance wandering to the faces of the other officers. “That might be possible,” he acknowledged regretfully, “although I should dislike to believe any officer of my command would be deliberately guilty of so despicable an act. However, all we Can do now 1b endeavor to uncover the truth. You are discharged from arrest, Sergeant Hamlin, and will return to your troop.” Hamlin passed out the door into the sunshine, dimly conscious that his guarded answers had not been entirely 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 a belief that Molly McDonald was somehow involved in this unfortunate affair, and that her name must be prorected n.t all Bazafdr This theory alone would seem to account for Gaskins’ efforts to turn suspicion, and when this was connected with the already 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 concerned, 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 were now entirely with her. If she had shot him, then it was for some insult, some outrage, .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 interview Gaskins personally. Then the uselessness of such procedure recurred 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 something to conceal, something at stake for which he would battle strenuously. It 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 bis acknowledgment. These considerations caused him to turn sharply and walk straight toward the ravine. Yet his investigations there brought few results. On the upper bank were the marks of a woman’s shoe, a slender footprint

clearly defined, but the tower portion of the ravine was rocky, and the trail Boon k>Bt. He passed down beyond the stables, realizing how easily the fugitives, under cover of darkness, could have escaped. The stable guard could have seen nothing from his station, and just below was the hardpacked road leading to the river and the straggling town. There was nothing to trace, and Hamlin climbed back up the bluff completely baffled but desperately resolved to unlock the mystery. The harder the solution appeared, the more determined he became to solve it. As he came out, opposite the barrack entrance, a carriage drove in past the guard-house, the guard presenting arms, and circled the parade In the direction of officers’ row. It contained a soldier driver and two ladles, and the Sergeant’s face blushed under its tan as he recognized Miss McDonald. Would she notice him—speak to him? The man could not forbear lifting his eyes to her face as the carriage swept by He saw her glance toward him, smile, with a little gesture of recognition, and stood there bareheaded, his heart throbbing wildly. With that look, that smile, he instantly realized two facts of importance—she was willing to meet him on terms of friendship, and she had not recognized him the evening previous as he ran past her in the dark. Hamlin, his thoughts entirely centered upon Mis.s McDonald, had scarce

ly noted her companion, yet as he lingered while the carriage drew up before the Major’s quarters, he seemed to remember vaguely that she was a strikingly beautiful blonde, with face shadowed by a broad hat. Although larger, and with light fluffy hair and blue eyes, the lady’s features were strangely like those of . her slightly younger companion. The memory of these grew clearer before the Sergeant—the whiteness of the face, the sudden lowering of the head; then he knew her; across the chasm of years her identity smote him as a blow; his breath came quickly and his fingers clenched.

“My God!" he muttered, unconsciously. "That was Vera| She has changed, wonderfully changed, but—but she knew me. What, in Heaven’s name, can she be doing here, and—with Molly?” With straining eyes he stared after them until they both disappeared together within the house. Miss McDonald glanced back toward him once almost shyly, but the other never turned her head. The carriage drove away toward the stables. Feeling as though* he had looked upon a ghost, Hamlin turned to enter the barracks. An Infantry soldier leaned negligently in the doorway smoking. “You’re the sergeant who saved that girl down the trail, ain’t yer?” he asked indolently. “Thought so; I was one o’ Gaskins’ men.” Hamlin accepted the hand thrust forth, but with mind elßewhere. “Do you happen to know who that was with Miss McDonald?” he asked. “Didn’t see ’em, only their backs as they went in—nice lookin’ blonde?” “Yes; rather tall, with very light hair.” “Oh, that’s Mrs. Dupont.” “Mrs. Dupont?” the name evidently a surprise; “wife of one of the officers?” “No, she’s no army dame. Husband’s a cattleman. Got a range on the Cowskin, south o’ here, but I reckon the mißsus don’t like that sorter thing much. Lives in St. Louis mostly, but has been stoppin’ with the McDonalds fer a month er two now. Heerd she was a niece o’ the Major’s, an’ reckon she must be, er thar'd been a flare up long ago. She’s a high flyer, she is, an’ she’s got the Leftenant goin’ all right.” “Gaskins?” “Sure; he’s a lady-killer, but thet’s ’bout all the kind o’ killer he is, fer as I ever noticed —one o’ yer he-fllrts. Thar ain’t hardly an officer in this garrison thet ain’t just achin’ fer ter kick that squirt, but ther women—oh, Lord; they think he’s a little tin god on wheels. Beats hell, don’t it, what money will do fer a damn fool?" (TO BE CONTINUED.)

“You Better Go to Bed an’ Forget It Till Mornin’."

“I Do Not Know What to Say, Sirr,” he Answered Finally.