The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-06-16


like the click u. = telegraph instrument
and it seemed to come from beneath his
feet. Greatly perplexed he called the
sergeant of the guard. They listened
carefully and were presently joined by
the gallant lover of Sallie Gray. Con-
viction of treachery smote his heart and
with the sergeant he unceremoniously
entered the Gray dwelling. Sallie and
her mother, despite the late hour, were
busily sewing by table in tho sitting
room. The ladies rose in apparent sur
prise and Indignation at the intrusion.
"Step aside, if you please" said the
sergeant.
'What does this meanP" asked Mrs.
Gray sharply.
Frank, appeal to you for protec-
tion," cried the young lady to the lieu
tenant That officer could only shake
his head and sternly wave her aside.
''You are false. You have deceived me-"
he said hoarsely, as the girl who had
promised to be his bride sank sobbing
upon sofa.
The soldiers could hear the ticking
more plainly now. They moved the
table, lifted the carpet, and discovered
trap leading to cellar of whose OK
istence they had no suspicion. A light
below was instantly quenched, but they
fearlessly descended and discovered q
telegraph instrument with an insulated
wire running through the cellar wall,
and evidently passing beneath the river
to the enemy on the other side. Crouch
ing in corner was the operator, q
young and handsome man, who had
never before been seen about the house,
having lived for days in the cellar.
"You are my prisoner" from the SER
geant brought the distressed wall from
poor Sallie of my husband, oh, my,
husband" The heart of the Union
lieutenant went back once more to the
girl he left behind him.
But, notwithstanding the detection of
this line of communication, the enc
my seemed to know Of every move
ment of the Union troops. 1t was
a mystery to the officers how they
gained their knowledge. There were
no more telegraph wires, and there
was no passing across the river. At
last the mystery was solved. Within
the Union lines. but in sight of the enc
my, there stood low franc house oc-
cupicd by negro who did washing for
the soldiers. He hung his clothes to
dry in the front yard; but it was MOTTO
ed that in the porch there always hung
three flannel shirts one red, one white
and one blue. The negro said they
were his Union colors. But the shirts
were not always in the same position,
and suspicious sergeant finally became
convinced that the negro used them to
signal across the Rappahannock. The
arrest of the negro and the effectual use
of the shirts to deceive instead of to in
form the enemy followed.
At another time the Army of the Po-
tomac was nearing Berlin, Va. To re-
ceive orders in the rear, the troops had
laid ten miles of insulated wire, run
ming through the woods, now beneath
the leaves and again carried among the
tree-tops. 1t was impossible to picket
the entire line, and large part of it
effectually concealed. A scout one day
lying in ambush heard q sound like the
ticking of a clock. Creeping forward.
he was astonished to see o Johnny in
his gray uniform sitting on the ground
chuckling to himself, and busily writ
ing. The scout sprang to his feet, and
leveling his revolver, said to the laugh
ing rebel: "What are you doing herep"
II surrender" was the chagrined reply,
the smile suddenly disappearing. The
scout discovered that the rebel had cut
the wire and had connected the ends
with loop running into a clock, the
electricity securing the escapement so
that the messages licked themselves
plainly into the rebels ear. Tho ingen-
ious machine was captured with the reb-
-PhiLddeLDhin Press.