The news., 1882-09-07
WAR TELEGRAPHrNG.

The Union army in 1862 lay camped
on the north bank of the Rapahan-
mock, opposite what was to be the dis
astrOus field of Fredericksburg. On
the bank Of the river, in the extreme
front of the Union line, stood the
house of Mrs. Gray, a long, rambling
stone building, whose front Of three
stories faced the river. The roof
sloped steeply to the rear, while the
stone side was but one story high
Mrs. Gray herself, an elderly widow,
received the Union advance with every
demonstration Of welcome, and in the
course of time it became favorite
RENDEZVOUS Of young officers. A prime
cause Of this, aside from Mrs. Gray's
cheerful hearth and good fare, was
the beauty of her daughter Sallie, a
brunette of perhaps twenty years. A
young lieutenant was badly wounded
BY those batteries, and spent all his
spare time by the fair Southernor, who
protested such great sympathy with
the Union cause.
Late one rainy night sentinel pac-
ing back and forth before the stone
front Of the Gray house heard faint
but sharp noise cutting the air. 1t
sounded like telegraph instrument,
and it seemed to come from be-
meath his feet. Greatly preplexed he
called the sergeant of the guard
They listened carefully and were pres
emily Joined by the gallant lover of
Sallie Gray. Conviction of treachery
smote his heart and with the sergeant
he uncermoniously entered the Gray
dwelling. Sallie and her mother, de-
spite the late hour, were busily sew
ing by the table in the sitting-room.
The ladies rose in apparent surprise
and indignation at the intrusion.
"Step aside if you please" said the
sergeant.
"What does this mean," asked Mrs.
Gray sharply.
"Frank, I appeal to you for protec-
tion," cried the young lady to the
lieutenant, That officer could only
shake his head and wave her aside.
"You are false. You have deceived
me-" he said hoarsly, as the girl who
had promised to be his bride sank
sobbing upon sofa.
The soldiers could hear the ticking
more plainly now. They move the
table lift the carpet, and discover a
trap-door leading to cellar of whose
existence they had no suspicion. A
light below was instantly quenched,
but they fearlessly descended and dis
covered a telegraph instrument with
an insulated wire running through
the cellar wall, and evidently passing
under the river to the enemy on the
opposite side. Crouching in corner
was the operator, young and hand
some man, who had never been seen
about the house, having lived for days
in the cellar. 'You are my prisoner"
from the sergeant brought the dis
tressed wall from poor Sallie of "My
husband, eh, my husband" The
heart of the Union lieutenant went
back once more to the girl he had
left behind him.
But Notwithstanding the detection
Of this line Of communication, the
enemy seemed to know every move
ment of the Union troops. 1t was
mystery to the officers how they gained
their knowledge. There we're no tel
egraph wires, and there was no pass
ing across the river. At last the
mystery was solved. Within the
Union lines, but in sight of the enemy,
there stood a low frame house occu-
pied by negro who did washing for
the soldiers. He hung his clothes to
dry in the front yard; but it was no
ticed that in the porch there hung
three flannel shirts, one red, and one
white and one blue. The negro said
they were his Union colors. But the
shirts were not always in the same
position, and a suspicious sergeant
finally became convinced that the ne
gro used them to signal across the
Rappshanneck. The arrest of the