The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-06-22
...b1 HAMBLEN SEARS

l tNtH SnOutu prove 10 De a spy.
 Again he sat for some moments pom derins. Then. rising, he rang a bell. and, bidding an orderly call a Captain Bur ton. he gave that officer orders to have me taken to Gen. Arnold.
 Gen. Arnoldr cried I voluntarily.
 And why not sir?' demanded he sharply. turning suddenly upon me and | hxing his clear eyes on my face.
 Why not, indeed, except that it viii, cause unnecessary delay"
 That is for me to decide" he answer cd haughtily. and turned away without more ado.
 'Ah, friend Balfour, I am glad to see you again" cried Acton. as I left the house of the sergeant some moments lat CT. But could say little to the two who stood waiting for me, and within a short l time I was riding north between two 1 other horsemen-a sergeant and troop er-having silently shaken these two new | friends by the hand and nodded my fare well to them.
 Arnolds headquarters I knew to be in the house once the property of a Tory named Robinson, situated just across the Hudson from West Point. Fishkill lay beyond. l knew not how far. At this point l got my head to thinking how I might rid myself of this escort and ride,
 
 commander-in-chief. It was now come to In the afternoon of the 22d. The attack was for the ?sth. Here lay six days. It must be done. Aye, and done quickly! And then my thoughts turned to the two escorting me. Neither had any brilliancy sitting upon his brow. !, The sergeant, on my right, carried the | two papers. Even now I could sec them, with Livingstones dispatches, bulging | from his pocket. The men mad pistols in saddle e-holsters. and I had none. Then of a sudden came to me an Idea. | and I have to this day never discovered how 1t turned out so well; for. to tell | honest fact t was as wild scheme as ever entered my poor head, It was just after this that by compan- l ions began to discover that their prls- oner was, of a surety, no horseman. He l often grasped the saddle roughly; when the beast trotted a bit, the pumping of the captive was disgraceful; in point of fact, 1t appeared that this prisoner could not have ridden horse six times in his life.
 It tickled the soul of the Cavalry Ser geant beyond measure. The tedious ride contained possibilities of amusement. 'Ye aint't got none too much of the horseman In yer bones, have yer" laugh ed he presently. There ye go again ho! ho!" as the prisoners horse shied l and bumped his own good steed. "Ye must hold firmer by the knees So! Sit sol straighter!' and he leaned over and put his hand on the others shoulder. l will not deny that certain gleam appeared In the prisoners eye.
 ''1 seel 'Tis simple, too said the lat ter But the beast sidled up to the third horseman of the party and pushed him on to the side of the road. Have care. here, my sportsman" 1 A,,vx1
 Now, by chance, the road became hilly, and curved through the trees and open | fields; when. without warning the fool 1 ish prisoner let go of the reins and grabed his saddle with both hands, and the disgusted animal under his went here and there, amidst the laughter of the | Sergeant, who broke into a brisk trot. thus adding to the amusement of him self and his friend. He drew a few yards ahead of the other two. Another turn of the road was In sight, when the prisoners horse gave prodigious leap towards the trooper near by, and there | was grab at his saddle pistols. re- port rang out before he or his Sergeant could stop laughing. The troopers horse | turned a somersault and rolled over in | the mud with its rider. | As the Sergeant turned in his saddle | l had him covered with the other pistol. | He saw the muzzle of the gun not four feet behind him.
 Ride on man! Put in the spur! Lively lively! Or you'll ride to Kingdom comel'
 'Twould be untrue to say that the hu- morous Sergeant was not in an embarras- sing position. If he turned, he caught the glint of the gun, if he rode on he must have felt 1t pointed at the small of his back. He had not only humor; he had wisdom. He obeyed in silence and rode on.
 After the pace had been maintained three or four minutes, bade him pull up and came along by his side. Hold your hands above our head! Now dismount-aha, Keep thy hands up. ! man, Jump 1own,'
 This he did his eye never leaving the opening of the barrel Give me those letters and your pistol and sword
 How can l then, without moving my | hands7"
 Move ors"
 This was dcne
 Now, sergeant, take off your clothes. ."
 For an instant the poor fellow showed llght. but was useless. and, with a choking gToan, he took off his uniform, and we charged clothes then and there by the country roadside A few moments later serEt Ralfort your humble servant, who shows his cheap conceit in telling this tale of his own great prowess. was riding hard northward towards Arnolds house. which was on the way to Fishkill, be it uhderstooo-and countryman in a suit or clothes was sorry to lose was stand ing In the shade scatching his head, while a good horse was running well down tho road towards Verplancks fTo Be Continued