Part 40 (1/2)
”It's all right, my boy. I've been young myself. Good luck.”
Stuart's laughter rang clear and hearty.
”Thank you, Colonel. You had me scared.”
He had just turned to leave the room when a messenger handed Sumner a telegram.
Stuart paused to hear the message.
”Bad news, Lieutenant.”
”What, sir?”
”An attack has been made on the Southern settlement on the Pottawattomie.”
”A drunken fight--”
”No. Wilkinson, the member of the Legislature from Miami County, was taken from his house in the night and murdered.”
”The story's a fake,” Stuart ventured.
”The man who sent this message doesn't make such mistakes.”
He paused and studied the telegram.
”No. This means the beginning of a blood feud. The time's ripe for it.”
”We'll have better news to-morrow,” Stuart hoped.
”We'll have worse. I've been looking for something like this since the day I heard old Brown harangue a mob at Lawrence.”
He stopped short.
”You'll have to give me back that order, my boy.”
Stuart's face fell.
”Colonel, I've just got to see that girl, if it's only for a day--”
He slowly handed the order back to the Commandant. Sumner watched the red blood mount to Stuart's face with a look of sympathy.
”Is it as bad as that, boy?”
”It couldn't be worse, sir,” Stuart admitted in low tones. ”I'm a goner.”
”All right. You've no time to lose, I'll give you three days--”
”Thank you!”
”This regiment will be on the march before a week has pa.s.sed or I miss my guess.”
”I'll be here, sir!” was the quick response.