But Miller was in sore trouble, and he could not stand alone.
"Hatton!" he muttered, impulsively, "is the nurse there? Can you come out with me? I--I have heard something that gives me a world of concern, something I must ask you about. I can"t talk of it here. Sick men"s ears are sometimes far more acute than those of their sound and healthy brothers. Can you come now?"
"I am alone with Mac just now, sir. I sent the attendant down to the post-office and the store. He had been cooped up all day, and was grateful for a little fresh air. When he returns----" and Hatton stopped vaguely. He knew it might be an hour before the man got back.
That would give him time to think.
"Well. That will have to do. Come to my quarters then, and, if a lot of women are there, you--you say you want to see me about something,--anything,--and I"ll come out. I don"t want them to dream I"m investigating anything." And here the major stopped uneasily and glanced up-stairs; then looked inquiringly at Hatton.
"Who"s up there?" he asked.
"No one, sir, to my knowledge. Blunt"s door is closed and he is sleeping. Weeks was there not ten minutes since, and stopped to see me on the way down. Why do you ask?"
"Why, I thought I heard something,--a woman"s dress and light footfall.
I even thought I saw a shadow at the head of the stairs."
Hatton"s heart gave a great thump, and he felt his face glowing under his commander"s gaze, but he answered steadily.
"It is possible, sir. Mrs. Post and Miss Forrest both have been coming along the upper gallery frequently, bringing things to both Blunt and McLean. Mrs. Post comes over to inquire every hour or so, and they tiptoe in and out as light as a kitten. Shall I run up and see?"
"Oh, no,--no! If that"s the explanation, it is simple enough. No, I"m all upset. I--I fancied there was some one listening. Come to me as soon as you can, Hatton. By the way, have you heard from Mr. Holmes?"
"No, sir. He was called suddenly to the ranch, and I presume he is there."
"I know, I know. But did he see McLean before he left?"
"See him! Yes, sir; but that"s about all he could do. McLean was in no condition to receive visitors, and Weeks hustled him out somewhat unceremoniously."
"Well. That"s all, just now. I"ll expect you soon after tattoo."
"Very good, sir."
And then the major went away, closing the hall-door after him. Hatton stood there a moment as though rooted to the spot, his brow moistening with beads of sweat that seemed starting from every pore. Despite his secrecy, then, despite McLean"s destruction of the evidence of her visit the night of the disappearance of their property, despite their determination to shield the sister of an absent comrade from suspicion, or disgrace, in some way the story must have gotten around. Possibly there were other thefts of which he knew nothing, in which suspicion had pointed to her. Possibly the vague confessions, implicating no one, which he had made to Mrs. Miller, taken in connection with events of which he had no knowledge, had proved sufficient to weave a chain of circ.u.mstantial evidence about her; and now the commanding officer was aroused, and was coming down on him, and poor Mac yonder, for full details of their losses and their knowledge of the affair. He would give anything to secure the postponement of that dreaded interview until he could talk over matters with his comrade, but when would that be a possibility? Just as soon as the attendant returned, he must go to his commander, and either make a clean breast of it or refuse to utter a word. What course would he ask or expect of a comrade if it were his, Hatton"s, sister, who was here alone and defenceless? By heaven, McLean was right! They must shield her, so far as shield of theirs could serve, until Forrest himself could come to be her adviser and protector.
Then he, too, stopped, listened, and looked up the stairs. Then he, too, started, but with a start to which the major"s sudden turn was a mere languid gesture. Hardly could he believe his eyes; hardly could he trust his reeling senses, but it was she,--f.a.n.n.y Forrest,--not standing at the head of the stairs, but coming swiftly down upon him, her finger at her lips, her other hand gathering her skirts so that they should make as little rustle as possible as she swooped quickly down the stairs. Another instant, and she was at his side, her eyes gleaming like fiery coals, her face burning, her lips firm, set, and determined.
He was too much startled to speak. It was she who broke the silence, in words clear-cut and distinct yet soft and low.
"Mr. Hatton, I saw your major coming here. I have heard within two days more than you know. I know why he wishes to see you to-night, and--yes, I listened. There is more at stake than you dream of. Now, I hasten to you; there is no time to explain,--no time to answer questions. If you would save a friend from wrong or ruin, don"t go near Major Miller to-night. I adjure you, find some excuse. I"ll find one for you, if it is only to delay that attendant; but mark what I say, don"t go near Major Miller to-night, or tell him what you know until Mr. Holmes returns. I--I"ve sent for him. Will you promise?"
"Promise!" he utters, slowly, a dazed look in his eyes. "Good G.o.d, Miss Forrest! I would do anything in my power for Captain Forrest"s sister, and for him; but if--if this thing is known, what can my silence avail?"
"Never mind Captain Forrest or Captain Forrest"s sister! This is vital!
Do you promise? It is only for a day. Mr. Holmes will be here in twenty-four hours."
"What can his coming or going--pardon me! but I"m at a loss to see how he is in any way concerned."
A manly step was heard on the porch without. She turned a glance of terror at the hall-door and flew to spring the latch, but the step went on toward the south hall.
"It is the doctor," she said, falteringly. "He is going to our quarters, and I must hurry back the way I came. Mr. Hatton, tell no one I came to you here; and, as for the rest, I implore you to be guided by what I say. One thing more,"--she whipped from her pocket a white silk handkerchief. "Put this back among his,--not on top, but anywhere among them otherwise."
And, thrusting the soft fabric into his hand, without another word she flew up the old wooden stairs, her skirts rushing and "swishing" over the floor, her slippered feet twinkling over the rickety flight, light as kittens, swift as terriers; and in an instant she was through the upper hall, out on the gallery, and beyond sight and hearing. A few moments, dazed and confounded, Hatton stood there gazing vacantly after her. Then he thought he heard McLean"s voice, and entering found him propped on his elbow, a queer look on his face.
"Hat, there are spooks in this old rookery. I could have sworn I heard a woman"s dress and a woman"s footfalls on those creaking stairs just now. Has any one been in here?"
"N--no one, Mac."
"Gad! I"m not dreaming. It sounded just as it did the night--the night that thing happened. You know, Hat."
XII.
Just at tattoo that evening Mrs. Miller was smitten with a sudden desire to go over and see Nellie Bayard. The child hadn"t been out of the house, she explained, since "the Grays" started for the fray down the Platte, taking Randall McLean with them. She longed to see her and learn from her lips how matters were going at home. She wondered if Nellie knew how her father was devoting himself to the Forrests; she wondered if the gentle and obedient daughter would not rebel at the idea of such a possibility as his becoming seriously attached to Miss Forrest. She had indulged the major in one very plain and startling dissertation on the subject of that young woman, from the effects of which he was still suffering; but, worst of all, her motherly heart longed to acquire, through Nellie"s words, looks, or actions, some idea as to whether she really cared for her pet among all the lieutenants.
Of course Nellie liked--but did she love him? Of McLean"s deep-rooted regard for the shy and sensitive little maiden, Mrs. Miller had not the shadow of a doubt. Nellie had no one, she argued, to be a mother to her in this troublesome time, and yet she was beginning to feel a species of jealousy in the knowledge that the Bruces and the Gordons and other good garrison people--maid and matron--had been seen going continually to and from the doctor"s quarters. Mrs. Miller thought she had a prior claim on the confidences of the doctor"s pretty daughter, and did not relish it that others should possibly be before her. Oddly enough there was no one calling on this night of nights; the major had been out, ostensibly to attend to business at the office, but something told her he was seeking information as to the array of circ.u.mstances pointing to the fact that there was further evidence against Miss Forrest.
The bugles were sounding the call through the stillness of the early summer night, though at Laramie summer seemed yet far away, when she heard him coming heavily up the steps to the piazza. Well the good lady knew by the very cadence of his footfalls just what mood possessed him.
It was slow, draggy, spiritless to-night; and, though he had almost angrily and contemptuously checked her when she began the story of these later revelations, her heart yearned over him now. She went down to him, as he sat there looking drearily out at the twinkling lights across the parade.
"Come, major," she said, addressing him, as was a fancy of hers at times, by the formal army t.i.tle instead of the Christian name. "Come; I"m going over to the doctor"s to see how Nellie is to-night; and, not that I need an escort, I want your company. A gla.s.s of his old Madeira will do you good, and he is always so glad to offer it. You are blue to-night, and so am I. Come."
He resisted faintly. Hatton might be along any moment, and he had an appointment with him, he said; but she speedily settled that by calling the orderly, and telling him, should Mr. Hatton call, to come over at once to Dr. Bayard"s and let the major know. Then her obedient lord had no further objections to urge, and he, too, had bethought him of the doctor"s Madeira and those incomparable Regalia Britannicas. Nowhere in Wyoming were there cigars to match Bayard"s, and it was easy to persuade himself that he could so much better deliberate on the matter in hand over the fragrance of the soothing Havana. Robert threw open the door in hospitable Virginian style at sight of the commandant and his wife, ushered them into the parlor, sent the maid up-stairs to inquire if Miss Elinor could see Mrs. Miller; and then, true to his Southern training, reappeared in the parlor with a decanter of wine and some flaky "Angels" food" upon a silver salver. The doctor had gone to the hospital, he explained, but would soon return. Then he vanished.
Miller smacked his lips over the Madeira, and smilingly admitted to his better half that he believed there were some things on which "her head was leveller than his."
For a reply she pointed to the hall-way.
"Come here just one moment. I want you to see where I stood, and how I could view what was going on at the hat-rack out there."
Silently he stood by her side, glanced at the mirror, and noted the reflection therein.
"It was just there his beautiful fur coat was hanging,--and the money in its pocket," she said.
Then came the message from aloft, that, if Mrs. Miller would step up-stairs, Miss Bayard would be glad to see her,--Miss Bruce was already there; and so the major was left alone. He sat some five minutes looking over an alb.u.m or two, poured out and drank another gla.s.s of wine, and bethought him that Bayard had told him if ever he felt like smoking to go right into his study and help himself. Now was the very time. A dozen strides brought him to the broad-topped library-table littered with books, pamphlets, papers of all kinds, and among them the inviting-looking brown box. Another moment, and, ensconced in the big easy-chair, with a fragrant Regalia between his lips and a late New York paper in his hand, the major was forgetting the perplexities of the day. The reading-lamp he found lighted threw a bright glow upon the paper in his hand, but left the apartment in darkness. Out in the kitchen he could faintly hear the voices of the domestics and the sound of crockery and gla.s.s in process of cleaning, above-stairs the murmur of softer tongues. All in the front part of the house on the first floor was silent. Presently, out on the parade the bugler began to sound the signal, "taps," to extinguish lights, and at the same moment Miller heard the click of the latch at the front door.
There had been no footsteps that he could hear, and he thought he might be mistaken. He listened intently, and presently click, click, it went again. Odd, thought Miller. That is not the way a man enters his own house, nor does it sound like the way an honest man enters any one else"s. Click, click, again, louder and more forcibly now. Some one was plainly trying to open that door without attracting the attention of the occupants. What if now he should be able to surprise the prowler?
What if this should, indeed, prove to be some one bent on larceny or worse? Now was an excellent time. The doctor was known to be away,--over at the hospital. Miss Bayard was known to be up-stairs, confined to her room. Very probably the thief had watched the movements of the post surgeon, knew he would be detained some time, and--there were all those pretty nicknacks in the parlor. There was that handsome silver in the dining-room (it was always in the doctor"s strong box under the bed at night). What more likely than that now was the time selected by some sharp sneak-thief in the garrison to slink through the shadows of the night to the doctor"s quarters, slip in the front way while the servants were all chattering and laughing in the kitchen in the rear, and make off with his plunder? It was an inspiration.
Miller"s heart fairly bounded at the thought. If the thief could enter now, he could have entered before,--the night of the dinner. By Jove!
Did he not recall that sudden gust of cold air that swept from the hall in the midst of the doctor"s story? Click, click, snap! At it again, and no mistake this time. Quickly and on tiptoe the major stole toward the hall where he could see the front door. It was his hope, his belief now, that the thief would speedily effect an entrance; and from the darkness of his lair the major could see and identify him, let him in, follow him on tiptoe to the dining-room, there seize and confound him in the very act, and so, fastening the crime on some one guilty man, dispel at once and for all the cloud of suspicion that hovered over a woman"s fair fame. Click, click, again. What was the matter? Would the stubborn lock not yield? or was this a "prentice hand, and his tools unsuited to the job? In his wild impatience he could have rushed to the door and hurled it open, but that would have only spoiled the game. He could have caught his prowler, but proved nothing. No, patience!
patience! A burst of jolly Ethiopian laughter from the distant kitchen drowned for a moment other sounds and possibly unnerved the operator at the door. Did he hear quick, light footsteps hurrying away? There was a broad "stoop" there, quite a wide veranda in fact, since the unsightly wooden storm-door had been removed. For an instant he certainly thought he heard scurrying footfalls. Not the steps themselves, but the creak of the dry woodwork underneath them. He listened intently another moment, but the attempt had apparently been abandoned.
Then--there it was again. Surely he heard a light footfall on the steps,--on the piazza itself. He could bear the suspense no longer, and, springing into the hall where the hanging lamp shed its broad glare over every object, hurled open the door,--and recoiled in mingling agony and horror. G.o.d of heaven! There stood f.a.n.n.y Forrest!
"Major Miller!" she gasped, affrighted at his vehemence and the ghastly look with which he greeted her. "How--how you startled me! Why, what has happened? where were you going in such--why, major--what is the matter?" and now there was something imperious in the demand.
For all answer he could only pa.s.s his hand over his quivering face in a dazed, dumb sort of way a moment. Then, rallying suddenly, he stepped forward, giving his head a shake and striving to be cool and calm.
"You are more startled than I, Miss Forrest. I never thought to find you at that door."
"And why not me? I have not seen Nellie since her illness, and came over at taps to inquire if she would not receive me a moment."