arance of proper witnesses, the
prosecution was dismissed--to the great rejoicing of the friends of
Burr, who were at that time so under the spell of his fascinating
personality that even had the court found a true bill against him, they
would still have believed him innocent. To show their admiration and
sympathy, these friends and admirers gave a grand public ball at
Frankfort the next evening to celebrate "Aaron Burr's triumph over his
enemies." This ball was followed by another equally brilliant given by
the friends of Daviess, to show their admiration of him and their
belief in the justice of his suit against Burr.

Logan and his three companions returned from Frankfort late Thursday
afternoon. On Saturday, as Logan was leaving the house after an early
breakfast, he was astonished to see Hiram Gilcrest on horseback at the
front gate. Abner hastened down the walk to meet him; but, instead of
accepting the invitation to alight and enter the house, Major Gilcrest
with stern dignity replied that he preferred to remain where he was,
having called that morning, not to pay a visit, but to atone for an
injustice of which he had for a number of years been guilty.

Logan, thinking that the "injustice" had reference to Gilcrest's
opposition to his daughter's marriage, replied that no explanation or
apology was necessary, as the very fact that Major Gilcrest was there
at Crestlands was apology enough. He again invited the Major to come
in, urging the pleasure it would be to Betsy to welcome her father in
her own house, and to have him see her little son William, now a fine
little fellow two years old, and the tiny baby daughter. Hiram,
however, again refused the invitation.

"Mr. Logan," he said, "I have for some years back been greatly in error
with regard to you, as the result of the base representations and lying
statements of James Anson Drane, in whose character I have been most
woefully deceived." Handing Logan the anonymous note that Drane had
dropped in the hall, the letter from "B. S." to "A. D.," and the two
torn parts of the letter to Charles Brady, he then entered into a full
explanation of all the circumstances which had influenced him to think
Logan a political traitor.

When Gilcrest had finished his explanation, Logan replied that he was
fully satisfied, and that he could not wonder that, under the
circumstances, Major Gilcrest had been deceived. "But now," he went on,
smiling cordially and extending his ha