t a brother senator, who had unhappily fallen by the colonel's pistol
in an affair of honor; and either deterred by physical consideration
from rivalry, or wisely concluding that the colonel was professionally
valuable, he withdrew from the field.

The honeymoon was brief, and brought to a close by an untoward incident.
During their bridal trip, Carry had been placed in the charge of
Colonel Starbottle's sister. On their return to the city, immediately on
reaching their lodgings, Mrs. Starbottle announced her intention of at
once proceeding to Mrs. Culpepper's to bring the child home. Colonel
Starbottle, who had been exhibiting for some time a certain uneasiness
which he had endeavored to overcome by repeated stimulation, finally
buttoned his coat tightly across his breast, and after walking
unsteadily once or twice up and down the room, suddenly faced his wife
with his most imposing manner.

"I have deferred," said the colonel with an exaggeration of port that
increased with his inward fear, and a growing thickness of speech--"I
have deferr--I may say poshponed statement o' fack thash my duty ter
dishclose ter ye. I did no wish to mar sushine mushal happ'ness, to
bligh bud o' promise, to darken conjuglar sky by unpleasht revelashun.
Musht be done--by God, m'm, musht do it now. The chile is gone!"

"Gone!" echoed Mrs. Starbottle.

There was something in the tone of her voice, in the sudden
drawing-together of the pupils of her eyes, that for a moment nearly
sobered the colonel, and partly collapsed his chest.

"I'll splain all in a minit," he said with a deprecating wave of the
hand. "Everything shall be splained. The-the-the-melencholly event
wish preshipitate our happ'ness--the myster'us prov'nice wish releash
you--releash chile! hunerstan?--releash chile. The mom't Tretherick
die--all claim you have in chile through him--die too. Thash law. Who's
chile b'long to? Tretherick? Tretherick dead. Chile can't b'long dead
man. Damn nonshense b'long dead man. I'sh your chile? no! whose chile
then? Chile b'long to 'ts mother. Unnerstan?"

"Where is she?" said Mrs. Starbottle, with a very white face and a very
low voice.

"I'll splain all. Chile b'long to 'ts mother. Thash law. I'm lawyer,
leshlator, and American sis'n. Ish my duty as lawyer, as leshlator, and
'merikan sis'n to reshtore chile to suff'rin mother at any coss--any
coss."

"Where is she?" repeated Mrs. Starbottle, with her eyes still fixed on
the colonel