Willmar tribune., 1900-01-10
mIle abs,ye| plunl Iiln,lita

lang the S0ul0erns accent
Margaret had ridden On, / was keep
ing as far from Berante as possible.
Where are you going r. asked the
major, regarding me intently.
What should do? If I spoke he
would recognize my voice. AS before /
remained silent and PUNK broke il to
help me out. =..
There's no use askin' him any ques.
tions," he said. .He'ssdeaf as ferry
boat
Plunlk's odd comparison probably
saved my life. Berante showed. his
pointed teeth in q smile, and rode on,
followed by his escort. I breathed one
long sigh Of relief, and, riding up to
Plunk, threw my arms about him in an
ecstasy. Then we rode on and rejoined
Margaret.
did you recognize friendl" I
asked of Margaret. d 4,+s.s: ~ ss 4
"Hark!" ...;;.> 2,s s.sa
There were sounds of more horses
coming. simultaneously we made for
the cover Of trees beside the road.
Three horsemen trotted towards us
and passed within dozen yards. Two
were confederate cavalrymen, the third
great heavens! the third was Enocb
Mellodew. . s.zs -. -..,:..-
Not word was spoken till the mer
were out of earshot; then I exclaimed:
Margaret, wait here while PUNK and
go after that traitor. We can dash in
on them from the rear, separate them,
and easily capture Mellodew." :.
"You will do no such thing,". said
Margaret. "What Importance is Mel.
lodew compared with the information
we bear?"
THE young lady is right, lieutenant"
said PUNK. ''We can't stop to chase
him now. We need to do the running
ourselves. When the general with
draws .they will remember us. Then
comes this officer who has half sus.
pected us, tells where we are, and they
light out after us. If I can only git
you and the girl across the river, I'll
see what I can do towards callin' on
Enoch and remindin' him which side
he belongs on. Git up, George Henry"
And he dug his spurs into his horses
| hanks.
All realized that we must now place
distance between us and the confed-
crates. 1 spurred on, striking Mar.
garet's horse with the palm of my hand,
sending him with a>junp in advance
| of both PUNK and myself.
Oh, Time, stop your clocks for every
one but us!
We rode three abreast, Margaret in
the center, without word. Trees,
| fences, barns, fields, all sailed by us
as we galloped onward. Looking up
to the sky, there was the same swift
motion, for thin clouds, with here and
there a black one, we're sailing over the
disk of the moon. Our faces were ex-
pressive OF our characters. Mine, am
sure, wore look of exhilaration, for
I felt all the excitement of a race
a race in which life was the prize and
death the forfeit. Plunk's was stolid
as usual. AS for Margaret, I caught
glimPses of her face whenever cloud
left the moon, and marked serenity
and intensity that have never seen
combined before or since. It expressed
a faith, hope, that she would complete
great purpose. Was it carrying the
news of Longstreet's move? Was it
in divulging our intentions to the con.
federates? Had she not already told
all to Col. Archard? Or was it in some
way connected with the events which
had occurred during the first few days
OF our meeting-the face at the win
n
| wonder.
where the devil are we going?"
PUNK suddenly called
Don't know" painted.
II see lght,' said Margaret.
Better ask the way" said PUNK.
iii dismount and try for in torma.
tion.''
"11l do that myself" said.. II want
to have look at my map"
We were moving so fast that we
reached the hght-it was in a log hut
almost before we had finished our
talk. I jumped from my horse and
ran to the door. Once there, waited
moment to catch my breath so as
| not to excite suspicion, then Knocked.
The door was opened by an old woman.
Can you tell me where this road
leads too"
''Whar t leads to?"
Eyes"
''The river.''
Good crossing?"
Good crossin'?''
"Yes; is there bridge or ford?"
S,,vc ~
ANY road north on the other side ?"
"Any road no'th?'' 49,. ..%.....
Eyes. Drop your parrot busines.
and talk quick 49,. e.. .,. -. r.
No road runnin' moth. This road
runs down t Thatcher's. Thurs moth
in but hills goin' no'th.''
I entered the cabin, took out nv
map, and held it to the light. The
woman was right; after crossing tlse
river there was no road leading north.
"How near the ford are we?'' < -.
elbow nigh ?'' $,s: sg&: b. -. :: !
YES, how nigh? You're mighty par.
| ticular about your English .
"Three miles, I'll
l went out, mounted, and we all rode
on while I informed the others Of the
facts I had learned. .s s &
''rhe rebel camp we were in,'' said,
"is near McCormick's mills, and that's
about two miles from the river. We
must be very near the ford. If we can
cross, we can keep .on this road to
/ Thatcher's, and then up Opossum creek
to the main road leading north to the
tn1anf afinn So Ys