The National tribune., 1900-03-29

dared exchange looks OF satisfaction with
one another. 1t had come up, as they
had calculated, about % feet from the
stoekade, and near a pile of pine branches
put there to light up on dark night. should
there be any escape of prisoners. They
began picking up some of these, while
studying the ground near.
"Hyah, Yanks. let that thar wood alone"
shouted the guard. leveling his gun.
"Yo'uns mustn't tetch that thar. Hits
fer lights"
Shorty walked up toward him. with
another SO Confed-the last he had. dis
played.
We're only goin' to take few sticks -
he said. There's lots more there than you
need. Wen leave a-.plenty. Take this an
look the other way"
A quick glance around showing no off
GERS near. the guard accepted the bribe.
Il declare. | believe that with a handful of
Confed You could bribe any rebel to pull the
underpinnin' out of the Southern Con-
federacy. l wonder that Lincoln don't
send a market-basketful over to Richmond
to hire Jeff Davis to fly the coop. and stop
all this racket, unused Shorty. as he walked
back. and began picking up load from the
pile, while scanning the ground.
A little beyond the pile deep gulch ran
down to the creek, and it instantly occurred
To all of them that by protracting their
tunnel few feet they could come out in
this, and have the bank and pile of wood to
screen them. They Were careful, there
fore, not to diminish the hight of the pile.
but loaded themselves with wood from
around it, and made their way back, we'll
satisfied with their excursion.
Well dig to that gulch in two nights
more. and break it there" said Graham.
Well work double shifts to do it,"
Though they had worked hard before,
they never had shown such feverish activity
as for the next two nights. The length
of the tunnel now required nearly all of
them in it to work back the dirt which was
dug down. Sandy Baker had made hoes
by fastening pieces of tin from the car roof
on long poles, and these lessened the num-
ber of men required, and the labor. by allow
ing one man to pull the dirt back from some
distance, instead of each man working il
on under his body.
The day was just breaking when they
were called off. Shad Graham was then
digging, and had punched minute hole
ahead. which let i'll the daylight. and as
sured him that they had reached the bank
of the gulch. With an emotion that they
could hardly keep from exhibiting, they.
one after another. filed away from the tent
went up the creek some distance to wash off
the clay. and repaired to their several tents
to be in readiness to answer roll-call.
Graham enjoined them to lie down and
get as much sleep as they possibly could
during the day. IN preparation for the
extraordinary possibilities of the night.
If they had not been terribly tired from
their labors, the fever of anticipation would
have kept them awake. But after roll
call one after another sunk into slumber.
which the intensely hot lay favored, and
did not wake until late in the afternoon.
Graham had ordered that they should
enter the tunnel precisely in the order of
their numbers. He. Ike Decide and No,
had lain in the tent at the mouth of the
tunnel during the afternoon.
As soon as long coming, impatientlV-
awaited dusk began to deepen, the rest.
one by one. slipped by devious paths to the
place. and lay down among the sick on the
ground near the tent.
The guard changed AT .. and will again
at g." whispered Graham. passing around
among them. I'll go in as soon as the
guard calls O'Clock. and be followed BY the
rest of you in regular order. No. 16 will
see that all the numbers ahead of him take
their regular rotation. He'll call out their
numbers in a whisper. aud see that nobody
else gets in. After No. 16 goes i'll No. 20
will do the same with those remaining
Not a word further now. from any one.
except the calling OF the numbers
The darkness came on suddenly just rs
the guard above them sang out.
Post Number 2S--S O'Clock, and a-l-l'S
w-e-l-l.'
They felt. rather than heard, the move
nent by which Graham stopped down and
entered the fatcful hole, followed by Decide
, and by No. ).
ST arose and stood by the entrance of the
tent. and softly whispered NO. T."
He passed in. as did Nos. 5, 6. 4 S, o. and
10, which 81 felt would fill tine tunnel full.
unless Graham had already broken through
and passed out. He paused TO listen for
some noise indicating this, and as he turned
his head slightly, he saw standing near
him. ramrod in hand. Serg't Tibbetts.
1'ihbetts had apparently just sneaked up
and did not comprehend precisely what
was going on. for his head was turned
away from ST.
ST was i'll the mood to think and act
like flash. Instantly he flung his power
ful right arm around Tibbetts's neck.
catching him SO firmly under the jaw that
he was unable to open it to yell. With his
left ST caught him around the body. Tail
and raw-honed as the rebel was. he bent
under the crushing grasp of the stalwart
young Indianian. Monty and Harry
were standing near enough TO dimly see
what 81 was doing. and they sprang to his
side and caught Tibbetts's hands. ST at
once thought of the well where he got the
drink of water for the sick man Of the Third
Corps. He dragged and pushed Tibbetts
along, still holding his throat so that he
could not yell.
The Third Corps boys sprang up as Si
approached the we'll
I'm that Fourteenth Corps sboy-Pap
Thomas's boy, 81 Explained to them.