who said he had once served at the same post
with them, though not in the cavalry, and knew they bore bad characters
and would bear watching. Then he was sent for, and then it transpired
that No. 3 of the suspected trio had gone with the guard to the agency,
and he, said Hess, had been the worst of the lot. His name to-day was
Skelton, but in those days they knew him as Scully. Had it not been that
a dozen other men were out the night of that assault, this might have
clinched the case against them. It was enough, at least, to keep them
under surveillance.

But other stories, readily confirmed by Felicie, were to the effect that
Dwight had accused his wife of deliberate falsehood in denying that she
had met Mr. Ray at Naples; of deliberate intent to make him believe
Jimmy a liar when adhering to his story that Mr. Ray had come and spoken
to her (a dream! a vision! declared Felicie); of deliberately accusing
him of rudeness, insolence, affront to Captain Foster and herself in
refusing to deny he had seen them together in the parlor during church
time ("a mere incident of the most innocent," said Felicie, "of which
this infant terrible would have made a mountain"). Moreover, the monster
had "accused Madame of all manner of misdoings with this most amiable
the Captain Fawstair," and Felicie's humid eyes went heavenward at the
retrospect; "and of lying to him, her husband, about, _ah, ciel_, that
man!" And then to think that he should demand of Madame in her condition
that she confess the truth about that midnight affair when her scream
aroused the household! It was she, Felicie, who screamed. Madame could
not sleep. She needed a composing draught. She, Felicie, had gone down
to prepare it, had unbolted the back door, and was passing to and fro
between the kitchen and the refrigerator in the addition without, and
she could not find the cork-screw, and could not open the--Apollinaris,
and Madame had become impatient, nervous, and had herself wandered down;
and just as Felicie was returning they encountered at the doorway and,
to her shame be it said, she screamed, so was she startled, "and Madame
uttered too a cry, because I cry, but it was nothing, nothing!"

Nevertheless, Minneconjou was hearing of a slender form seen skulking
along the back fence, hurrying away from Dwight's, and of items picked
up at dawn near Dwight's back steps, and of a notebook sent to
Lieutenant Ray, who had himself been out searching very early and