The National tribune., 1900-03-01

He stopped. but not before Shorty had
gotten sufficient hint as to the location of
any tunnels that he might take an interest
III.
anything" continued I'ibbetts. The
fellcrs what's diggin' haint strength
enough Ter dig rod underground. ii they
was left ter go ahead with their work.
And if they got out they'uns couldn't go a
quarter of Il mile"
then?" asked Shorty. III they can't do no
harm, why not let 'em alone?"
Huh. wha! dyo' s'pose I'm in hyah fer?
The more o thcY'unS kin find out and git
punished the better II be my chances ter
git on the Searchin squad, and kin then
pay YOU that 81 greenbacks promised yo'." !"
"Aint YOU the ornerieSt Whelp that God
ever put breath into?" Shorty thought
"A bob-tailcd hyena is a gentleman along
side of YOU. ] wish ! had YOU on the Mis-
sisSppi, where | could feed YOU to an old he
alligator, with mouth as long as fence
rail, and teeth like a rip-saw. He'd lay
YOU up under Il root somewhere 10 spile and
git game before he'd eat YOU"
Say. I've got ter skeet out now. | want
ter ketch the ole Dutch Captain. and report
| ter him. I'll have quite Il story ter tell him.
Mebbe he'll appnt me ter search right
away. Anyhow. I'll go out and try that
conjue yo' done tole me about and be in
bS1 stDput tlHit- NnttllN
| yo' take lectle jant ter-night over ter the
| North Side. about whar the new stockade
| begins. and keep yer eye peeled fer what yO'
! kin see. Yo' kin track 'em easy ter their
| holes by watchin' fer fellers totin' away dirt.
| IIe' me know when / come i'm what yo' find
out. Yo help me, and I'll helpyo' Under
stand?"
Yes. | understand" answered Shorty.
| 1t would not have needed mind-reader to
| look at him as Tibbetts turned away. to
know that his understanding" was not at
all in harmony with that in the rebel Ser
geants mind.
How did you keep from weltin' his
dumbed head often him. Shorty?" asked 81
when his partner had detailed to him the
substance Of the conversation with Tib-
belts. I've got heap better temper n You
have, but | couldn't stand havin' a rebel
blatherskite proposin' to me to betray my
own comrades"
Hell keep" answered Shorty. with a
sinister shrug. IT'S all only laid up for
another day. But. really. | sometimes
think that there's no more sense i'm gittin'
mad at such cattle as he is than there
would be in gittin' wrathy at a fool steer or
a wild animal You git your mad up at a
knows when he's mean and vicious, but
these OATS have no more gumption of right
| and decency than baboons. I'm goin' TO
use him in my business"
| "Well, you kin have him for all of me-
don't want nothin' to do with him, except to
| kill him. and d want to do that at tolerably
good range"
| 81 don't believe in this tunnel business,
nohow," said Shorty. abruptly; for his
mind had been turned in the direction OF
that means of escape by Hbbetta's talk.
| There must be some better way o gittin'
out o here than by burrowing in the ground
| like woodchuck. Seems stupid to me-"
$50 it does to me" returned 81. There
must be hundred better ways. I'd rather
| take my chances climbin over the stock
ads. We might wait till some dark night
and knock one or two o them guards out o
| their pcrches with clubs. set a pole agin the
stockade, shin up it and skip"
Pm goin' to try them writs agin as soon
as the sign seems right" said Shorty, "and
we'll all naturally walk out o the gate.
cool as cucumbers, toddle over to the woods
and then break for Sherman"
The newer prisoners all had this aversion
TO tunnelng as means of escape. For u
| certain time after a man entered the prison
his mind ran on getting out by overpower-
| ing the guards in some way. Next he
dwelt on some trick or strategem to get
past them. AS he became weaker. day by
day, he abandoned the thought of u physi-
cal contest with the SentinelS, and the ill
success of numerous cunning strategems
discouraged him. Then he began to think
of tunnels. and as long as he had ambition
and strength was incessantly planning and
digging burrows in the ground. The diff
culties of these were very great The
stockads was set firmly in the ground to the
distance of four or five feet, the dead-line
compelled beginning at least 20 feet from
the timbers, and the tunnel would have to
be continued for some distance beyond the
stockade, to avoid coming up directly under
the eyes of the guards. The rebels were
constantly OH the watch for tunnels; the
guards were ordered to fire upon any one
seen carrying dirt or digging at night. or
any digging in the daytime that looked lIk e
tunneling. Spies were kept constantly
inside the stockade on the lookout, and
when anyone was caught tunneling he was
severely punished by the stocks, the chain
gang. or otherwise.
"Pm little curious about these tunnels,
all the same" said Shorty. Let's take u
little walk around this evenin', and look
'em over-at least see what We kin find"
After dark the partners made their way
across the creek, and up through the
crowded slope OF the North Side to the
place where Tbbetts had indicated.
They were not long i'll coming upon un-
mistakable signs Of tunneling. Even
through the darkness they could detect