The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1898-04-13

so l was, here he pulled on the cigar
for few seconds to get it we'll lighted
ga scout"
81 understand" and the colonel
nodded again.
''The American army took up quar-
ters at Jalapa, where 1 left them and
made detour towards the south, to
discover a suitable route by which our
forces could approach the City of
Mexico, and avoid the Notifications
and ambuscades which General Santa
Anna had provided for their reception.
1 had been most successful, and had
reached Molino del Rey, small town
almost in the shadow of the walls OF
Mexico City, when 1 was captured by
the Mexicans and thrown into the jail
to await trial as a spy. Imagine my
despair. 1 had every inch Of the
ground from Jalapa carefully photo
graphed in my brain. Could furnish
Scott with information of the greatest
Importance, and here l was jugged in
that little, miserable Mexican Jail with
every prospect of being condemned to
death, and no possible way of getting
any part of my valuable information
to the ears of the general.
''You will, of course, surmise that
the first thing l had done on being
left alone in my cell was to examine
every avenue of possible escape. My
room was ten by twelve. There was
in it table, one chair and pallet of
straw. One small iron barred win
dow, looking out on the prison yard
beneath, furnished what light there
was. The bars were half an inch in
diameter, and firmly set in the
masonry. Using all my strength 1
could not bulge them. 1 was not,
however, kept long in suspense. On
the afternoon of the second day 1 was
taken out, tried, found guilty, and
condemned to be shot at sunrise on
the day following-that is, within fif-
teen hours.
"On my return to the hot, badly
aired cell with the stunning effect of
my sentence benumbing my brain,
sat listlessly down by the table and
allowed my head to rest in the hollow
of my hands. My attitude of dejec-
ton appealed to the sergeant who
brought me in, for placing his hand on
my shoulder he asked if there was
nothing he could do for me. 1 shook
my head. There are some very nice
grapes in the market place outside,
he said persuasively. The sound of the
word grapes recalled to my mind how
parched the roof of my mouth was, so 1
thanked him, and said 1 should enjoy
few. / handed him a half eagle,
which my captors had overlooked
when they took everything else of
value from me. In less than five
minutes he was back with q basket of
misunderstanding fruit, which he
placed on the table at my elbow, and
offered me the change. motioned
him to keep it, saying that he could
spend it to better advantage than l.
He pocketed it with an expression on
his countenance intending to denote
commiseration, but he was such a
happy, smiling-faced fellow that the
effect was rather comical. AS he was
putting the change in his pocket one
of the larger coins slipped through
his fingers and striking the floor on its
edge it circled about the room and
ended by nesting on the straw at my
feet. Actuated by feeling of deli
cacy the sergeant withdrew without
STOPPING to pick it up, and hardly
noticing the occurrence l remained
seated ut the table. After a short
time 1 pulled myself together enough
to eat some grapes, and then COM
menced to write a few lines to my
friends at home in the hopes that
through the kindness of my jailer,
who had also furnished me with paper
and pencil, they would some day reach
the hands for whom they were in
tended. AS / finished writing my
eye caught the glitter of the coin at my
feet. 1 picked it up and tossed it onto
the table before me. On looking at it
closer | noticed that it was French
coin, with the head of Louis XVI.
stamped upon it. This sent me off
into another train of thought, and as
l mused tapped mechanically ON the
coin with the point of my pencil,
thus" and the major illustrated the
action with the fruit knife. 'I must
have struck sharp, quick blow right
over the letter o, for all of sudden
the face of the coin few open and out
popped little object that fell on the
table with tinkling sound. 1 took it
between my thumb and finger, and
going to the light could hardly believe
my eyes when / saw that held tiny
file about an inch and a half in length,
with delicate sawteeth, which were al
most invisible to the naked eye. The
next moment 1 was standing on my
stool at the window, experimenting on
the iron bar. The little instrument
was made of the hardest steel, and its
tiny teeth made some impression on
the iron. For half an hour / worked
away persistently, and by that time
l had cut into the bar little Not
much, to be sure, but still enough TO
raise my hopes. 1t was only ques-
ton of time and not being interrupted,
and 1 should be through that window.
L worked away like beaver. Twelve
hours to saw through two half-inch
bars. had read of men who, with
files made with wstch-springs, had cut
their way to liberty through iron bolts
and bars, or with no other tool than
the blade of of penknife had dug
through a dozen feet of stone and
mortar to the daylight beyond: but |