The National tribune., 1900-12-06
SPY OF THE REBELLION.
lOontinued from first pagel

l.
ders, and faithfully discharge all duties
assigned to me, no matter of what nature
or character they may be; and that life or
death will be held subordinate to the sue
cess and advancement of the cause of the
Confederacy and the defeat of the bloody
tyrants who are striving to rule by oppres-
sion and terrorism. Should | fail in the
proper performance of any task imposed
upon me, or should | prove unfaithful TO
the obligations | nave here assumed may
| suffer the severest penalty for treason
and cowardice, as well as the odium and
contempt of my brother Knights
The swords clanked again as they were
returned to their scabbards, and the newly
made member. having taken the oath, was
and the bandage was removed from his
eyes.
At first the light of the room almost
blinded him, but his eyes soon became ac-
customed to the change, and he looked
about him with some curiosity. He found
that he was in the presence of seven stall
wart men, besides Sloan, all of whom wore
swords at their SIDES, dark cloaks droop-
ing from their shoulders, and black masks
upon their faces. The masks, however,
were now removed, and Webster discover
ed, to his relief, that they were all familiar
to him.
Mr. Webster" said the Chief, dropping
his tragic tone of voice, without further
ceremony, | pronounce you q Knight of
Liberty. | greet you heartily" and then,
extending his hand Come with me.
As they emerged into the main council
chamber, Webster quietly examined his
surroundings. 1t was a spacious apart
ment, very plain in its appointments, with
a low ceiling and bare walls, and furnished
with chairs arranged in rows around the
ROOM At the head of the hall was Il low
tNln IN yNbi tn chairs
Behind these, on the wall, were suspended
two Confederate flags, artisticaly draped,
above which were the initials *. of Il. :"
Some 40 men We're already assembled, and
others were quietly dropping in at inter
walls. Webster noticed that all these men
were from the better class of Secessionists,
and that the low, rowdy element was not
represented. They were mostly men who
had not thus far been suspected of disloy-
atty to the Union cause.
The Grand Chief and other officers now
TOOK their positions on the platform, and
Webster was assigned to seat where he
could observe all that was said or done.
Presently a clock in the room struck Il.
Instantly all the doors opening into the
chamber were securely locked, and the Sc
cret conclave was in session. The Grand
Chief rose and opened the meeting in reg
ular form; and again, after the Secretary
had read the journal, made an address OF
some length At the conclusion of his re-
marks, some one arose and said:
Most Worthy Chief, | believe we can
now claim Mr.. Webster as member of
this body. ! understand that he has just
returned from an interesting and some
what dangerous mission, and | now move
that he be invited to address this meeting
relative to his experiences during the jour
ney he has just completed"
Webster, taken by surprise, undertook
to combat the proposition, but the motion
was unanimously cOncurred in, and no ex-
cuses were accepted. He therefore yield
ed good-naturedly, and mounting the plat
form, he proceeded to relate some of the
particulars of his "trip to the Potomac. lie
made the recital as entertaining and
agreeable as possible, and although his
statements did not always possess the
merit of being strictly true, they were such
as could not fail to meet the approval of
his hearers, and were therefore received
with great favor. Concluding with we'll
timed panegyric on the faithful of Bal
timore, he resumed his seat amid the con
gratulations of his many admiring friends.
After this. the regular business of the
meeting was taken up, in which Webster
took no other part than that of a close
listener and observer. Motions were made,
resolutions were adopted, and various du-
ties assigned to volunteer committees. The
-
ing to the detective rs they progressed,
and it was not long before ne Uegan to feel
considerable surprise, if not alarm, at the
unexpected revelations which were made.
1t became evident to him that these con
spiratOrs had by some means succeeded IN
placing themselves in direct communica-
ton with the Confederate leaders, and
that a gigantic plot was now in prepare
ton to make Il united and irresistible
movement against Washington. Nearly
10000 BaltimOreans, it was alleged, were
prepared to rise in arms at moment 5
notice, and join the rebel army, whenever
such a movement might seem feasible.
The extent of the conspiracy rather
startled Webster, although some of the
projects sounded rather visionary, and he
made up his mind to consult with me at
once. Accordingly, the very next day, he
proceeded to Washington, and was closet
ed with me for several hours. As soon as
he had explained the situation, | devised
a plan of procedure, and gave full instruc-
tons as to the manner i'll which he should
proceed. The great object, of course. was
to break up the organization, and defeat
the conspiracy in manner that would not
compromise Webster; but it was not deem
ed prudent to go about this with any inor-
dinate haste.
| advised Webster to continue attending
the meetings, in the character of an active
conspirator; to learn all he could, and re-
port to me as often as possible. In the
meantime, | would send him two other
operatives, and he was to secure their adj
mission into the secret society, as mem
beers thereof In week or two the tinal
act in the little drama would be intro
duced by first making a c0niidant of MIR
McPhail, the Deputy PrOyost-Marshal OF
Baltimore, and then confronting the con
spirators with company of armed sol
diers.
Webster returned to Baltimore with a
clear understanding of the course he was
to pursue and he followed that course
with the untiring zeal with which he per
formed every duty assigned to him. He
attended the midnight meetings regularly
and gained much information concerning
the plans and movements of the Southern
commanders, which proved of incalculable
value To the Government. The two Oper-
atiyes soon contrived to join the society
not through Wcbster's recommendation
as that was to be avoided, if possible, but
by making the acquaintance of men
whom he pointed out to them, and repre-
senting themselves as SecesSionists who
were capable of keeping their own counsel
MIDNIGHT RAID BY MILITARY.
This done, the rest was comparatively
easy. BY the rules of the society, no one
could enter the secret chamber of the con
spirators without passing two guards, and
giving sundry passwords. These guards
were appointed by the Chief from those
who volunteered for the positions. AT
stated periods, new passwords We're ar
ranged by which every man was required
| to answer the questions of the guards, and
| oh foil IN thngn