Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-12-07

not be seen by the enemy, and, If nee
essary, you must die yourselves to In
sure their destruction. Now go.'
There was a little Of the excitement
Of battle as they removed their cloth
ing on the wharf and fastened the wa
terpfoof bags containing the dispatches
more securely about their necks, moth
ing but the solid wall of blackness
around, which was now and then cut
by a lightning's flash, showing glimpses
Of the black bulls Of the silent watch
dogs which invested the city.
The current was in their favor, but
the wind blew against them. However,
it served to deaden the sound Of the
waves against their faces. AS they
neared the line of gunboats they swan
as lightly as possible, keeping all but
their faces under water The darkness
was full Of ears now. One by one they
felt rather than saw the dark hulls
glide by. Frequently they had to sink
under water as a sudden flash showed
sentinel forms within a few yards.
A dozen times they were on the point
Of being discovered, but escaped by a
seeming miracle. Sometimes their
hands would encounter the side of
vessel before they were aware Of its
vicinity Since leaving the wharf nei-
Their had dared to speak Once or twice
Lige fancied from his companions la
bored breathing that he was becoming
exhausted.
Suddenly, as they were moving along
side by side, a great light flashed upon
them from the deck of vessel close
by and a dozen stern faces met their
gaze. They sank instantly, and a
shower of bullets rained upon the
water Second after second passed,
and a glimpse ola white face was seen
several rods down the river and was
met by another patter of bullets. A
little to the right a second white face
showed for an instant and received a
similar welcome Some minutes pass
ed, and a dark spot appeared still low
er down. A perfect storm Of bullets
almost instantly fell about it.
A few more seconds and then some
body said, Il guess they're done for
The lights disappeared, and the vessel
returned to its dark watchfulness.
In his quarters the general paced up
and down uneasily. He had reckoned
much on the success of this enterprise
It meant much to the cause. In spite
Of its apparent impossibility he had
hopes that the young fishermen might
sueceed-had almost brought himself to
believe that they would.
But as the hours went by he ceased
to glance toward Live Oak HILL The
enterprise had failed, and the brave
boys were at the bottom of the river.
Suddenly, as he passed the window,
he uttered an exclamation of surprise.
Surely there was light on Live Oak
hill, lantern swinging to and fro.
Even as it moved brother officer en-
tered the room with beaming face. The
two grasped hands.
Meanwhile Lige, alone, was being
given some hasty attention by tall
man who seemed to have forgotten his
supposed crippled condition as he NOV
ed hurriedly about the cabin. Lige
was covered with bruises and cuts and
blood flowed freely from a dozen or
more wounds. Eventually he crawled
out, with little injury save the scars.
And year afterward Sally, in whose
eyes the one time scorn had long since
turned to love and admiration, declared
those same scars were not scars, but
decorations