dage wet with arnica and water. He had been
solacing himself with a pipe and a whiskey toddy, and was in a not
unnaturally ugly mood.

"You may consider yourself excused from duty until your face is well
again, by which time this matter will be decided. I admonish you to
remain here and not leave the post until it is."

"You can prefer charges and see what you'll make of it," was the
vehement reply. "Devil a bit will I help you out of the thing, after
this night's work."

XIV.

Tuesday, and the day of the long-projected german had come; and if ever
a lot of garrison-people were wishing themselves well out of a flurry it
was the social circle at Sibley. Invitations had been sent to all the
prominent people in town who had shown any interest in the garrison
since the regiment's arrival; beautiful favors had been procured; an
elaborate supper had been prepared,--the ladies contributing their
efforts to the salads and other solids, the officers wisely confining
their donations to the wines. It was rumored that new and original
figures were to be danced, and much had been said about this feature in
town, and much speculation had been indulged in; but the Beaubien
residence had been closed until the previous day, Nina was away with her
mother and beyond reach of question, and Mr. Jerrold had not shown his
face in town since her departure. Nor was he accessible when visitors
inquired at the fort. They had never known such mysterious army people
in their lives. What on earth could induce them to be so close-mouthed
about a mere german? one might suppose they had something worth
concealing; and presently it became noised abroad that there was genuine
cause for perplexity, and possibly worse.

To begin with, every one at Sibley now knew something of the night
adventure at the colonel's, and, as no one could give the true statement
of the case, the stories in circulation were gorgeous embellishments of
the actual facts. It would be useless, even if advisable, to attempt to
reproduce these wild theories, but never was army garrison so
tumultuously stirred by the whirlwind of rumor. It was no longer denied
for an instant that the absence of the colonel and his household was the
direct result of that night's discoveries; and when, to Mrs. Hoyt's
inexpressible relief, there came a prettily-worded note from Alice on
Monday evening informing her that neither the colonel nor her mother
felt well enough to return to Sibley f