ittle boy.
Some questions were asked him about Lawrence. Broussard replied briefly
that he found the man in San Francisco trying to get back to Fort
Blizzard; he wanted to give himself up at the scene of his crime and
Broussard had paid for his railway ticket.

"And brought him with you to keep him from getting away," said Conway,
"very judicious thing to do with men like Lawrence."

"I think he would have given himself up anyway," Broussard replied
quietly.

Military justice is short and simple and severe. Within forty-eight
hours the court-martial sat. As Lawrence marched into the courtroom
between two soldiers, guarding him, his wife, dressed in black, as
always, and with Mrs. McGillicuddy sitting near her, rose from her seat
and took another one as close to her husband as she could get and smiled
encouragement at him. Lawrence, watching her tender gaze, burst into
tears.

It was all done very quickly. Sergeant McGillicuddy was one of the two
witnesses, Broussard being the other. The Sergeant testified as if he
were the criminal and not Lawrence. Broussard was the second witness and
merely told of Lawrence coming to him in San Francisco, saying he wished
to get to Fort Blizzard and give himself up. He could have done so at
San Francisco but he wanted to see his wife and child and believed he
would get more mercy at Fort Blizzard than any where else.

Then the prisoner was called to tell his story. He did it quietly and in
a few words. He had no thought of deserting until he struck the
Sergeant. Then he was frightened and ran away and, making the railway
station, hid in a freight car and got away. He worked his way East, and
found employment as a miner and was earning good wages, but his
conscience troubled him, especially after he received a letter from his
wife. He had got as far as San Francisco, which took all his savings,
when he saw Mr. Broussard's name in the newspapers and went to see him.
He asked the mercy of the court.

The court was merciful, and gave him the shortest possible prison
sentence, to be served out at the military prison of Fort Blizzard. All
the officers kept their eyes turned from the pale woman in black, sitting
close to the prisoner. They wished to do justice and not to be turned
from it by a woman's pleading eyes.

CHAPTER VIII

LOVE, THE CONQUEROR

Broussard meant to spend his three months' leave in the pursuit of
happiness at Fort Blizzard, where he could