There was one man in garrison whom Hayne cut entirely, and for whom no one felt the faintest sympathy; and that, of course, was Buxton.  With Rayner gone, he hardly had an associate, though the esprit de corps of the ——­th prompted the cavalry officers to be civil to him when he appeared at the billiard-room.  As Mr. Hurley was fond of the game, an element of awkwardness was manifest the first time the young officers appeared with their engineer friend.  Hayne had not set foot in such a place for five years, and quietly declined all invitations to take a cue again.  It was remembered of him that he played the prettiest game of French caroms of all the officers at the station when he joined the Riflers as a boy.  Hurley could only stay a very short time, and the subalterns were doing their best to make it lively for him.  Some, indeed, showed strong inclination to devote themselves to Mrs. Hurley; but she was too busy with her brother’s household affairs to detect their projects.  Hurley had turned very red and glared at Buxton the first time the two met at the club-room, but the bulky captain speedily found cover under which to retire, and never again showed himself in general society until the engineer with the scientific attainments as a boxer as well as road-builder was safely out of the post.

And yet there came a day very soon when Mr. Hayne wished that he could go to Buxton’s quarters.  He had in no wise changed his opinion of the man himself, but the Rayners had not been gone a fortnight before Mrs. Buxton began to tell the ladies of the charming letters she was receiving from Mrs. Rayner,—­all about their travels.  There were many things he longed to know, yet could not ask.

There came to him a long and sorrowful letter from the captain himself, but, beyond a few matters relating to the company and the transfer of its property, it was all given up to a recapitulation of the troubles of the past few years and to renewed expressions of his deep regret.  Of the ladies he made but casual mention.  They were journeying down the Mississippi on one of its big steamers when he wrote, and Mrs. Rayner was able to enjoy the novelties of the trip, and was getting better, but still required careful nursing.  Miss Travers was devoted to her.  They would go to New Orleans, then possibly by sea around to New York, arriving there about the 5th of June:  that, however, was undecided.  He closed by asking Hayne to remind Major Waldron that his copy of Clancy’s confession had not yet reached him, and he was anxious to see it in full.

“The one thing lacking to complete the chain is Gower,” said the major, as he looked up over his spectacles.  “It would be difficult to tell what became of him.  We get tidings of most of the deserters who were as prominent among the men as he appears to have been; but I have made inquiry, and so has the colonel, and not a word has ever been heard of him since the night he appeared before Mrs. Clancy and handed over the money to her.  He was a strange character, from all accounts, and must have had some conscience, after all.  Do you remember him at all, Hayne?”