Chapter XXII: The Round-Up

Meanwhile at Camp Sterling, Saturday and Sunday passed uneventfully for Jimmy's bunkies. Following Retreat on Monday afternoon Bob was called to the company post-office to sign for and receive a special delivery letter. He rushed back to barracks in a state of jubilant excitement. Calling Iggy and Roger to him, he read it to them just above a whisper. It was from his newspaper friend in Chicago. He had gone out to look up Eldridge on the same day he had received the letter. It had been no trouble to gather information concerning the man. He had gone straight to the given address, and inquired for Eldridge, pretending to be an old acquaintance who had lost track of him. He had been received by the man's sister and by adroit questioning he had learned much. Eldridge, it seemed, had been a prescription clerk in a drug store until shortly before his enlistment.

Obtaining the name of the druggist from the sister, he had later that day visited the store and learned that Eldridge had been discharged by his employer for reasons which the druggist declined to state. He characterized Eldridge as a sneak and unreliable. The writer of the letter ended by saying that he hoped the data would be of use to Bob in helping to clear Schnitzel.

"I've found out now the thing I wanted to know most. It's a safe bet that Eldridge furnished the poison list. A prescription clerk would of course understand a lot about poisons and their effects. He'd be pretty sure to know typing, too. Most medicine labels are typed."

"What shall you do about it?" asked Roger. "Put it up to Eldridge he'll just deny it."

"I shan't stop at him. I'm going to the K. O. after mess to-night. What I've discovered isn't much but it may help some. _He'll_ send for Eldridge and maybe get out of him what I couldn't. I'm going out now to get a paper before every last one of 'em is gobbled up."

So saying, Bob tucked his letter into his pocket, grabbed his hat and hurried off to the canteen. Stopping to glance at the newspaper he had just purchased, he vented a wild whoop, waved it over his head and raced for barracks.

"Oh, Glory! Blazes has done it!" he caroled, regardless of the noise he was making. "Just listen to this: 'Corporal Blaise Leaps Off a Moving Train after Deserter.' _What_ do you think of that? Oh, you Blazes!" Bob pranced about, flapping the paper.

"What's the latest?" called a man from across the squad room. "Has Bill committed suicide?"

"Not yet. Come over and bring your friends. This is too good to keep."

Two minutes afterward, surrounded by curious soldiers, Bob read to them the story of Bixton's attempt to desert, and of the star part Jimmy had played in his capture. What elicited a fresh volley of astonished ejaculations from the listeners, however, was: "Bixton has also confessed to the placing of a bottle of powdered glass in the suitcase of Private Franz Schnitzel, the Camp Sterling alleged poisoner, who is now awaiting trial for the murder of two of his comrades. Schnitzel was on kitchen detail when the tragedy occurred. The bottle of powdered glass and a list of poisons found in his suitcase linked him so suspiciously with the poisoning as to cause his arrest. Bixton confessed to having done this to be revenged on Schnitzel for past wrongs at the hands of the latter. He denied, however, all knowledge of the list of poisons."

Call to mess cut the rest of the reading short.

Leaving his precious paper and mess kit with Roger, Bob set sail for headquarters the moment he had finished eating. There he was obliged to wait some time as Major Stearns, being only human, was at dinner, a fact which Bob had not stopped to consider. Eventually he was ushered into the presence of the K. O. and proceeded to regale the major with a story that continually brought the K. O.'s favorite "Humph!" to his lips. When he had finished he went back to barracks well pleased, leaving the letter from his Chicago friend in the major's possession.

Surprise, however, had not run the gamut for that night. Shortly before Tattoo a guard detail marched into Company E squad room and arrested Eldridge. The latter was undoubtedly more surprised than anyone else. In reading the account of his bunkie's downfall he had been signally relieved to find that he had not been implicated in the suitcase tangle. He was confident that Bixton would never betray him and thus believed himself quite safe.

What greatly interested the three Khaki Boys was how soon Schnitzel would be freed. They were fairly sure that Eldridge would not stand out long against the grilling he was due to receive. Add his confession to Bixton's and it left no more evidence against Schnitzel than there had been against the rest of the kitchen detail held at the time of the poisoning and afterward exonerated of all suspicion. It was, as Bob joyfully declared, "a safe bet" that "Schnitz" would soon be back in barracks with "a smiling face and a clean record."