"Has he shown himself here at the camp?"
"No, sir; didn't know he was anywhere around. He and I were never very good friends, sir."
The lieutenant remained silent for several moments, endeavoring to perfect some feasible plan.
"Despatch an orderly to the telegraph-office," he finally commanded, "to inquire if this man Murphy receives any messages there, and if they know where he is stopping. Send an intelligent man, and have him discover all the facts he can. When he returns bring him in to me."
He had enjoyed a bath and a shave, and was yet lingering over his coffee, when the two soldiers entered with their report. The sergeant stepped aside, and the orderly, a tall, boyish-looking fellow with a pugnacious chin, saluted stiffly.
"Well, Bane," and the officer eyed his trim appearance with manifest approval, "what did you succeed in learning?"
"The operator said this yere Murphy hed never bin thar himself, sir, but there wus several messages come fer him. One got here this mornin'."
"What becomes of them?"
"They're called fer by another feller, sir."
"Oh, they are! Who?"