Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-13
CHAPTER XIII.
A Strange Wav Out.

blankets; but he had no news, and his boy
ish face was a picture of pathos as he
wrung my hand goodbye. Sheridan, he
said, had gone down the lines, and both
Brennan and himself were under orders to
follow in another hour. What instructions,
If any, had been left regarding my case he
could not say, but he feared the worst
from the unusual secrecy. Sheridan ex-
pected to return to his headquarters that
same evening, as the officers of his staff
were to give a grand ball
l felt no inclination to partake Of the rude
supper left me, and just before dark / was
lying upon the bench, idly wondering If
that was to prove the last vestige of day
light 1 should ever behold in this world,
when. without slightest warning. the heavy
iron grating in the wall directly above me
fell suddenly, striking the edge of the
bench and gathering noisily to the floor.
The fall was so unexpected, and my escape
from injury so narrow, that 1 lay almost
stunned staring up helplessly at the dark
hole thus left bare. AS l gazed a face
framed itself in this narrow opening, and
two wary eyes peered cautiously down at
me. There was no mistaking that counte-
nance even in the fast waning light, and 1
instantly sat up with an exclamation Of
surprise.
Jed Bungay, as livev'
The puzzled face broke into grin of de-
light.
Holy smoke, Cap" he calculated. with
deep sigh of relief, lis tibet you, suah?
wus so burned skeered I'd made mess O.
1t whin tibet thar iron drapped tibet I near
died. He crossed the threshold-and a
clang of angry steel that instant rang
He peered around cautiously, screwing up
his little eyes as though Transforming them
Into miniature telescopes
" If thou wouldSt view fair MelrOse
Alright, go visit it by the pale moonlight
Be ye all alone, Cap?"
With the exception Of a few rats, yes"
.Whut be they goin' ter dew with yer"
purpose to shoot me at daybreak tomor-
row.
"Shoot?-Hell!" He stared at me a II he
had just heard his own death sentence pro-
hounced and his little peaked face looked
CHASTITY in the dim light. Shoot We? Good
Lord. Cap, whut fer? Ye amt done nothin'
as | knows on. 'cept ter scrap bit with
met blasted Yank, an sure thet's no
shootln matter, er else I'd bin a goner
long ago.
That 'Yank' has seen fit to charge me
win pelng spy; and as l was foolish
enough to insult General Sheridan last
night, my fate Is probably sealed"
This somewhat complex statement seemed
to be too much for Jed to grasp promptly.
Gosh, We don't say!'' he muttered .srhen.
ourn IT, L m in luck, fer all they've got agin
Iher m9untings: en- tibet amt much, cause
didn't hit Their burned cuss. Blame
sorry tew, fer Who spills the fore
in o the ios strifa Ths. his party conquers
Dew We ever read Sir Walter? I tell We.
he's a poet, suah" ~
Without pausing for a reply. or even
noting that none had been given, Jed was
cdIeiuuy covering every inch of exposed
wall with his little shrewd, glinting ewes
Amt much show ter work out o. we're
Is Is; thar Cap?" he asked at last refiectively:
leastWise l don't see none. less them thar
cynt h11a
Ihe wall Is entirely solid"
80 sorter reckoned. But If yell crawl
through we're inter my boodour. tbar's a
place whar | reckon Their tew of us ter
gether mought make a try fer it. It's too
durn high up fer me ter git at alone
rose to my feet slowly, wondering at the
strange lassitude which made me so In
olHerent to that life 1 had always before
leSsneSs. T~
burned II prison life don't take all the
sand out O Teller" he said cheerfuIIv.
~. biame me- but We move as if We wus bout
halI dead. But l reckon, Cap, IL We cud
manage ter git out O. we're ternight, an
take some news ter Lee tibet I've picked nm.
he'd bout make both of us ginerals. Speed,
Malise, speed The dun deer's hide on fleet
er foot was never tied"
These words brought back to me in an
instantaneous flash the old dominant mill
tary spirit. For Lee! Yes. for Lee l would
yet take chances, undergo fatigue, brave
death. II life must be given up, let 1t be
yielded CALAMITY in the open, and on behalf
Of my distant comrades.
News for Lee?" / exclaimed. staring
eagerly at him through the now darkened
room. DO you mean 1t? What news?'
Thought maybe tibet wud wake We up.''
ne chuckled Speed on the signal clans
man. speed" Stan up on Their bench. Can.
an put yer ear up yere an I'll tell ye This
yeres gospel truth: Sheridan hes started
his infantry on a half-circle march fer
Mlnersville. Their first division left ct three
O'Clock, an thar won't be nary Yank loafin'
en- ther valley by noon Tomorrow An
more, he added rapidly, his eyes dancing
wildly with suppressed eXcitement-"Han-
cock is a-swingin' of his corps west ter
meet EN- thar, an l reckon as how thar'u
be hell fer sartain up Their Shenandoah in
sounds of border war"
But how do you know all this?' 1 cues
toned incredulously, as the whole scene
and It's dread possibilities unrolled before
my mental vision.
Their niger held up he'd a dispatch fer
Heintzelman over on Their left, an then
Marian she sorter pumped a young fule
staff officer fer Their rest o. it, he replied
promptly. oh, it's sure go, Cap, an 1
reckon as how maybe Lees whole army
hangs on one of us gittin' out O. yere ter
night.
Where. where was Rodericls then?
One blast upon his bugle horn
- ~ Were worth thousand men,"
That he meant every word he spoke felt
convinced, and his enthusiasm was con-
tagious. My blood leaped within me at this
call to action; all lethargy fled, and with
1t every deadening thought of her who had
SO suddenly woven about me the meshes of
her power. False or true. maid, wife or
widow, my duty as a soldier to my COM
mander and the army to which / belonged
blotted out all else. Even as this new rush
of determination swept over me, above us
there sounded clearly the dashng music
of military band in the strains of a
Strauss waltz and we could distinguish
the muffled shutting of many feet on the
oaken floor overhead. Caton's chance re-
mark about the great ball to be given that
evening by officers of the headquarters
staff required to my memory.
That dancing up there will help US,
Jed l said quickly, my mind now active
to grasp every detail. You say there is
a chance for escape from your cell? Then
give me your hand, and help me to crawl
through that hole"
1t was narrow squeeze for man OF
my size, yet l crept through without great
difficulty, and found myself in the dense
darkness of room which, as l judged
hastily from feeling about me- was similar
in shape and extent to the one In which
l had been confined.
Bungay, however. permitted me little time
for exploration. Grasping me firmly by
enc arm. and feeling his way along the
wall. he CROPPED across to the other side
.Srhera'g a mi sto obi III