ere by no means truthful,--they were even more than customarily
colored and exaggerated,--but there was the foundation of fact in more
than one. Next it began to be noted that Elmendorf, hitherto a
contributor only to papers of the socialistic stamp, was frequently to
be seen hobnobbing with the reporters of the prominent journals. Now,
these gentlemen, as a rule, are shrewd judges of human nature and quick
to determine between the gold and the glitter, between the actual
possessor of important news and the mere pretender; but there was
another period of a month or six weeks in which Elmendorf was sought and
followed almost as eagerly as the adjutant-general himself. Never,
perhaps, in his varied life had the graduate of Jena rolled in sweeter
clover than during the months of the late winter and early spring of
'94. An oracle at the table in a luxurious home, with no one to dispute
his sway and no one actually to disapprove, unless it were his much
disgusted but helpless pupil, with access to public offices and public
libraries, with occasional touch with officials who might and did
dislike but could not actually snub him, with occasional driblets of
information to supply foundation and a vivid imagination to do the rest,
he found himself an object of interest to the men of all others whom he
most desired to influence,--the reporters of the daily press. Elmendorf
was never in higher feather. He was even able to neglect for a time the
clamors of his erstwhile hearers, his suffering brethren among the sons
of toil.

And he had been managing matters at home with rare diplomacy, too. Mrs.
Lawrence was mad to find out just exactly what peccadillo had brought
about Mr. Floyd Forrest's sudden relief from duty at Chicago and orders
to proceed to the frontier; but this was a subject on which the tutor
was now decidedly coy. He had given Mrs. Lawrence to understand that
because of some scandal and to prevent further talk the officer had been
summarily sent away. Finding that none of the officers knew what had
brought about the order, he worked among the clerks,--who knew nothing
at all. One of these latter lived not far from the Lambert Library, was
a tippler at times, and had a grievance. Forrest had twice come upon him
when he was boisterously drunk, and, recognizing him, had given him
warning, Forrest was only a "casual" at head-quarters, said the clerk,
and when a fellow was off duty what he did "was none of Forrest's damned