Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-08-13

ahS 'ne Snd he had made, some,bino ro,,,
az hoie, ma that must be kept a strict se a".u-
ue s1ia' and Wanted how he would $3.50 ~.
t,n;t tauAees II he ever had another onnor.
sonn1Tcyy 70 ty conclusions with them eeN
hlack suspected that this end, roeouua
onfrnpp aEeis' and he managed to elicit a
%,unnrmation of this idea by a few deft,r
After the spy had been over m ho,, j.,
hnell company the officer prcnose5 to
ho,aaan Inc most sober Il Of the party left the
mouse, the other two retired nm stars sha
nma11sheeper md Black assisting them.
ne saw the Captain ushered into n room
az o ,ene front OF the building; the windo4;
openeu u upon the veranda, and BLACK
eea1eu Tue Opportunity that offered ia make
connections. "nu ls
1T was nearly bare of furn;tura , noo.
bed. a table, and a couple of chairs beina
all it contained. ~ ooAne
There was no place to conceal the M
pers, had the Captain been in condition to
think OF preserving them.
"nen BLACK returned to the bar-room
WIN the lnnkeeper, the latter yawned and
we'll to leave. "ou'u oo
This suited the spy very we'll, and after
finding that he could not be kent in the
house he went out, and the door was fast
ened behind him. $50
He did not go far from the house. how
ever, but waiting about until the light was
move and the innkeeper retired. he an
preached the veranda.
Moving silently to the window of the
Captains room, he listened. All was still.
Black tried to raise the window; but it was
fastened.
Drawing a knife from his pocket, he be-
gun to cut the sash from about the pane
nearest the catch.
HE soon broke out the light, and with
considerable difficulty found and threw
back the catch.
"Then he paused and looked about him,
Nothing was stirring, the night was dark
and the sentinels seemed to be sleeping.
Slowly and cautiously Black raised the
window and slipped into the room. He
could hear the labored breathing of the
Captain, and moved toward the bed with
the stiffness of a cat.
He searched around in the dark for sew
eral moments, trying in vain to find the
clothing the Captain had thrown off.
II was forced to light a match at last,
and by its light searched the pockets of the
clothes, which were thrown over the head
of the bed.
But his search met with no reward.
What had become of the papers? As a last
resort Black felt under the pillow. His
hand touched some articles; he was certain
the papers were within his grasp, although
he coulu not see.
but the spy was not to accomplish his
hazardous work without trouble. The
sleeping officer had been aroused by the
presence near his bed. Several times he
had changed positions uneasily, and as
Black drew out the papers, he gave a gurg-
ling cry and STATED up in bed.
BLACK darted toward the window, at the
instant the Captain leaped from the bed.
"Springing out upon the veranda, with
the spoils clasped close to his heart. the
spy ran down the street, followed by a bull
let from the Captains pistol, which cut
wonderfully close to his head.
Every n was awake in o moment and
a search was instituted for the spy, who
now lay close concealed in the stable at the
back Of the hotel.
"The search was given up before morn
ing and much TO the disgust of the Cap
tain. He was a few days later informed of
the spy's identity and in what manner he
escaped.
when Black reached the camp, which
he did during the following day, having
escaped past the pickets, he handed me the
lost diary.
ut had been with the papers which he
had lost, and the spy had brought away all.
"This Black was a strange man. Inever
learned where he was from or anything
personally relating to him.
"He lost his life soon after the adventure
I have been relating, but the story is too
long to tell tonight"