“Yes, she ’s concerned in the matter, but there are others also.”

“Why could n’t the girl tell her father?”

“That is where the main trouble lies, Captain.  Major McDonald seems to be completely under the control of Mrs. Dupont.  He is apparently afraid of her for some reason.  That is what Miss Molly spoke to me about.  We were on the side porch at the hotel talking while the dancers were at supper—­it was the only opportunity the girl had to get away—­and Mrs. Dupont and her husband came into the parlor—­”

“Her husband?  Good Lord, I thought her husband was dead.”

“He is n’t.  He ’s a tin-horn gambler, known in the saloons as ‘Reb,’ a big duffer, wearing a black beard.”

“All right, go on; I don’t know him.”

“Well, I stepped into the room to keep the two apart, leaving the girl alone outside.  We had a bit of talk before I got the room cleared, and when I went back to the porch, Miss Molly had gone.”

“Dropped over the railing to the ground.”

“That’s what I thought at the time, sir, but what happened to her after that?  She did n’t return to the hotel; she was not at the dance hall, and has n’t come back to the post.”

“The hell you say!  Are you sure?”

“I am; I searched for her high and low before I left, and she could not get in here without passing the guard-house.”

Kane stared into the Sergeant’s race a moment, and then out across the parade ground.  A yellow light winked in the Colonel’s office, occasionally blotted out by the passing figure of a sentry.  The officer came to a prompt decision.

“The ‘old man’ is over there yet, grubbing at some papers.  Come on over, and tell him what you have told me.  I believe the lass will turn up all right, but it does look rather queer.”

The Colonel and the Post Adjutant were in the little office, busy over a pile of papers.  Both officers glanced up, resenting the interruption, as Kane entered, Hamlin following.  The former explained the situation briefly, while the commandant leaned back in his chair, his keen eyes studying the younger man.

“Very well, Captain Kane,” he said shortly, as the officer’s story ended.  “We shall have to examine into this, of course, but will probably discover the whole affair a false alarm.  There is, at present, no necessity for alarming any others.  Sergeant, kindly explain to me why Miss McDonald should have come to you in her distress?”

Hamlin stepped forward, and told the story again in detail, answering the Colonel’s questions frankly.

“This, then, was the only time you have met since your arrival?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this Mrs. Dupont?  You have had a previous acquaintance with her?”

“Some years ago.”

“You consider her a dangerous woman?”

“I know her to be utterly unscrupulous, sir.  I am prepared to state that she is here under false pretences, claiming to be a niece of Major McDonald’s.  I do not know her real purpose, but am convinced it is an evil one.”