Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-08-17

| S. and the two others in the large
kitchen of the mansion and there we
stood and listened and awaited devel-
opments. All was then quiet. Ny
comrade asked her whether she were
sure that men were around. She re.
piled that if we had been there just
a little while before and seen her sor
holding down one window and she
the other, to prevent them being
raised we could have had no doubt
about it. | sat down quietly and gol
my boots on. My comrades boots
were SO frozen, and no fire to thaw
them out, that he could not get them
on.
After sitting some ten minutes
shivering with cold, but hearing moth
ing, said that as my comrade could
not get his boots on. if he would give
ME his pistol and Mrs. S. would quick
ly unbolt and throw open the door !
would spring out and open fire on
on anyone who might be in sight
Mrs. S. said that perhaps that was
the best thing to do. NY comrade
gave me his pistol l cooked it and
put my finger on the trigger. Mrs. S.
unbolted and threw open the door,
and jumped out. I-darted a quick
look in all directions, near by and far
out into the fields, white in the frozen
snow and brilliant in the moonlight
but saw nothing to cause alarm. l
noticed tracks of men in the snow
close to the house, evidence that they
had been there sure enough. l told
Mrs. S. to remain at the door with her
hand on the bolt and | would walk
clear around the house and see what
would tnrn JPN Keeping the pistol
ready for immediate use began my
circuit. When | had about half com :
pleted it, noticed the spring house
at the bottom of hill with the door
open. thought nothing, however,
of the open door, as I supposed it was
not in use in winter time. When
came to the portico on the side of the
house facing the road, my nerves were
tried and | came near firing Two
hogs jumped out from under this
portico with ''booh! boohl" and ran
down the path and out of the gate
into the road l walked to the gate
and shut it and continued on around
the house and arrived back at the
kitchen door, which Mrs. S. opened
for me and let me in. 1t puzzled her
that saw no one, and the idea SEEM
ed to embarrass her that we might
think she imagined there were
marauders about. l said | had not
the slightest doubt about it, as the
tracks in the snow abundantly proved
it. She supposed them to be "ro5-
bers," as she called them, deserters
from both armies, who infested the
nelghboring mountains and lived by
plundering the citizens of the region.
She had suffered from them before,
but this was the first time they had
tried to enter the house, and she
thought they must by some means
have discovered that men were about
and made off on that account. We
all returned to be- and there was no
further alarm during the night.
arose early and went down stairs
ahead of my comrade. found Mrs
S. in the kitchen busy preparing
broadcast. She met me with tri-
umphaut air and said, "Well, guess
you will believe there were robbers
around last night l intended to
give you some nice pudding meat for
breakfast. but when l went down to
my spring house l found it broken
open, and the last two crooks of pud-
ding meat had were gone. l told
her that when | walked around the
house l saw the spring-house door
open. hut did not think it worth men,
tioning as supposed she did not use
it in the winter. l then took a walk
to the spring house to try to find out
from the tracks in the snow how
many men had been there. l found
where they had crossed the fence into
a billy field, and that the trail led up
the hillside. Judged from the tracks
there were three or four men. |
traced them to the top of the hill, and
some distance down on the other side
| spied two dark looking objects on
the top of the snow. Going to the
spot l found them to be the crooks of
pudding meat, entirely undisturbed,
not even the tallow over the tops
broken. Why they had been dropped
it is hard to say, unless seeing me
come out OF the house and being over
burdened they got rid of them. l
picked them up and marched back to
the house with a crock under each
arm, and entering the kitchen l ex-
claimed: Mrs. S., please fry some
pudding meat for breakfast, will
your" ''Where in the name of Won
der did you get the crocks'" she ask
ed. l told her, and she said she was
so glad l got them that she would fry
it all for us if we would eat it. So we
had pudding meat for breakfast after
all
When our time had expired we.
took leave of her and returned to
camp. | never saw Mrs. S. again.
She has been dead many years-dying
not long after the war closed. have
no doubt the trials she underwent
during the war shortend her life by
years. She was a most lovely woman
both in personal appearance and
character, and will always recollect
her with affection
A