Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-11-15


turn the whole thing over to a single
stage manager. Then came Grant and
the beginning of the end. AT this time,
Fred Benton, twice honorably men
toned and recommended for the brevet
of major, found himself again sum-
| moned to Washington, this time wit
ness before a military commission for
the trial of one Peter Jennings, civil
ian, for whose apprehension with a
whole skin the First Virginia cavalry
J stood ready to pay round sum and the
"Stonewall" to supplement it with an
other, each claiming prior right to per-
forate or scar that skin at sight. The
| Virginians swore that he sold informa-
ton to the federals, and had betrayed
Ladue, of the Eleventh Alabama, into
| their hands, even while Stanton and
others at the war department were
ready to swear the tall Virginian's life
away to the charge of giving informa
ton to the rebels.
Among the papers in poor Ladues
! possession was the original draft Of the
| report he had written the command
| ing officer of the Eleventh Alabama
of his flight across the Potomac and
| capture by union cavalry near Matthias
| Point. Not until he reached certain
farmhouse near Port Tobacco did he
know who were the officers escaped
from prison camp near Annapolis, and
his joy was great when Jack Chiffon
10
ton were ferried over on dark, wintry
night, and landed at fisherman's
house three miles below the Point, and
there, to his infinite concern, Paul
found that he had lost his pocket mem
orandum book, we'll nigh filled with
notes concerning the troops, also
sketch maps Of field Notifications, all
of which he felt confident would be of
value to Gen. Lee. Then there were
| private papers in the book of vast i'm
| portance to him if to no one else. A
racking chill had come on as the re-
suit of exposure to the raw night wind,
and Jack and the fisherman secreted
him in barn. Then Chiffon delibe-
rately went back to Maryland in search
OF the missing property. Thereby he
escaped capture by the cavalry piloted
by Jennings. When searched, Ladue
was found to have no discriminating
papers about nina disappointment to
his captors and obviously a puzzle to
bennington Ladue heard him whis-
pering with the officer in command
The last Paul had seen of Chiffon was
that December night, but later he
learned that he had been compelled
to remain in hiding many weeks in
Charles county before the vigilance OF
the Federals was again relaxed and he
could finally effect his escape Then
there was letter, unfinished, for Eli
nor, which Fred had sealed and sent
to her, and it was through her, four
weeks later, that he learned that Paul
| we'll knew he had not long to live, and
had really hoped to meet a soldiers
| death in front of the charging line.
One longing he had. he owned that
would probably never be gratifed-that
| of branding McKinnon as a liar and a
thief for young Larry OToole, he that
used to sweep out and sprinkle the
store and had enlisted as a drummer
in the Montgomerys after Pauls ban
ishment, had strayed in search of for
hidden lux,lries just before Chancellors-
vile, and Stuart's men had nabbed
| him and run him off to Richmond
where Ladue was favored with
! O'Toole's account of McKinnon's brib-
ing him to purloin those st. Louis
| letters. With this confirmation of his
theories burning within him, Paul had
gone to Charlottesville, spending one
day with the Chiltons and hearing
from the doctor a strange story of
McKinnon's generosity to them and
| kindness to the imperiled son. Rosalie
had listened in silent acquiescence I'M
| til Paul burst in with vehement de-
nunciation of the whole story-told
them of McKinnon's treachery to him
and his hatred of the Bentons,-told
them of Fred's devoted friendship, and
then came strange part of the letter.
Elinor copied it verbatim
Miss Chiffon grew more and more
| O-AS1lSu DIS L LclhGu, anu uudlly W11rl6Q
on me with How can you speak of
devoted friendship on the part of a
man who planned to capture you both
and was only baked by-by Jacks
going back for your old note book!'
Then she rushed out of the room, and
l had to go right on to Gordonsville
and could only write to her that, that
too, was probably one of McKinnon's
ISLANDERS, and there wasn't word of
truth in it-that no one was more
amazed than Fred when they brought
me in. I've not yet heard from her,
but shall. and Jack shall know the
moment l can find him.
Was it not strange that that same
old notebook, which she risked so
much to send to me that night Fred
caught her at the stone house, should
later have been the means of saving
Jack? She found it in the breast pock-
| ct of my new uniform coat at Henry's.
and glancing through the pages saw
4 sketches