Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1864-01-29

pany--a sergeant and two corporals--had
disappeared from the camp, and had not
been heard from afterwards. 1t was
supposed by officers and men that they
had deserted, and information to that et-
feet was sent, at the time, to headquarters.
As soldiers they had ever been prompt
and faithful in the discharge OF their du-
tics but as comrades, they had never
been liked by men, and SO one and all
gave their verdict against them, and no
further thought or attention vas bestowed
upon the runaways.
But now the favorite, the pride of the
little band had likewise disappeared; ; and
not 4 man of that command, had it been
possible for any to have borne cnmlty
against the lieutenant, would have dared
to ut er = thought dcrosatory TO his honor.
As orderly Thompson had said to his
4ptain, every man i'll the company would
have died vindicating the reputation OF
Lieutenant Franklin, had it been assailed
Although the Captain had given little
thought to the mysterious disappearance
of the lieutenant, for the reason which he
gave to his orderly, yet with the men his
absence had been a subject of daily, nay,
hourly discourse since the first day of his
disappearance. The few houses in the
vicinity had been visitel and inquiries
made, unknown to the officers by mem
hers of the company, and dligent search
prosecuted along the banks Of the river
aud at the foot OF the high bluff in the
immediate neighborhood Of the camp. but
without discovering ary trace eli the miss
ing officer.
At first the men tried to conceal their
/ feelings from each other, by joking and
Iagghir: ever the matter, saying I'eut.
j m is all fight lie knows hew 20 take
! care OF himself; gone W to W aSalngton
to get tod rot II littlc woman up to
4 the city," and the like But this forced
leyity soon gave way to anxious faces an =
sober, earnest words, expressing the half
! formed fears growing up in their minds,
and finally rcsutin. in several cndeayors
1 10 learn the fate Of hitf who had 50 fully
won their friendship and sympathy.
/ Bat now all had been done that they
dared to DO without permission from th2lr
captain anil il was decided At gather
/ ns of the men that orlery Thompson
shoail lay the matter before Captain
i Stanwood, and o5tain his order for Il
thorough search throughout the vicinity ;
anal it vas with this purpose in view that
We found the orderly in the captains pres
ence. But it seams that Captain SIAN
wood had had the same matter under con-
.ideration Tor seycrA! hours AMI torestaIl-
Ell the orderly in the introduction Of the
subject, rs We have seen,
When the orlerly hal left the room,
the captain remained for some minutes
5uriel in deep thought, his face wearing
i strangely troubled expression.
=" No, no, he said at length, 81 eanho.
uW not believe that Lieutenant Franklin
is descrter-that he has temporarily
left the camp for any triviai reason, even
without my permission. But he is mss
ing-has been absent nearly week, and
the question arises, where Is he! what
has been his fate / hardly consider it
possible that the guerillas have snapped
him Up, without tire company's even
knowing of their presence in our neigh
| borhood nor do | believe that he has
BEEN drowned. for know his capacity as
swimmer How, then, can | account
for his absence? what course to pursue to
uuravel the mystery j. it not possible
that Cutler, Cook aud Hastings, to whom
we showed SO little charity as they sever
ally disappeared, might have fallen iuto
the same difficulty that has overtakcn
lieutenant Franklin? A.? Well, at all events
should orderly Thompson discover no
trace of him to-day. | will Tomorrow
study some plaa by which this unpleasant
affair may be explained.
"Ah, | had forgotten | have an en-
gsgcmcnt at MADAM Iareaux's this even
ing, at six. She is charming little Wild
ow, anl her generous visits to the camp
seem to flood this old house with some.
thing OF our New England sunshine and
cheerfulness. She is very beautiful and
youug-not past thirty--anl wealthy too
Who knows but that might-oh,pshaw
what do want Of \ lrginia widow, rich
or poor But I'll 60 aud cat some OF
her preserves and fruit, at any rate, IN
return for taking care of her refractory
niggers."
a, the conclusion Of this soliloouy. the
captain rose from his seat and logan pac-
inc the floor of the large old room in
whieh his command was qaartered, had
formerly been the residence OF wealthy
ulanter named Mortimer, one of the "hrst
families" Of the OId Dominion; but when
our army gained possession Of that part
of the territory, the proprietor had claim
ed the protection of the devil, through
his Prime Minister, Jefferson Davis, and
taken up new quarters at Richmond.
Captain Stanwood suddenly stopped in
his walk, his black eyes lighting up with
thought, that, without pre-cousideration
shot like lightning athwart his mind.
by heavcn' it may be-" he cxclalm-
ed, inpulsivcly, "at least, my suspicious
shall be proved. whether true or false.
CHAPTER IL.
The party sent out in search of Frank
lin returned in the earl part OF the al
ternoon. They had carefully scanned the
rivers banks, searched among the rocks
and deJris at the foot of the bluff, exam
ined the clumps of bushes and sgamps IN
| ,Lo ,;,;n;+v aud eynlorel the whole