The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-11-04
sTRATIoNS BY
ARTHUR B WILLIAMSON
Copyright by A. I McClurg d Co
RnteFed u Statiooe1's Hall London,

Rntered u statioocss Hail Loadoo.
AS I gazed, 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 instantly sat up with an sx-
clamation Of surprise.
lied Bungay. as uve!"
The puzzled face broke into q grin
Of delight.
"Holy smoke, Cap" he calculated,
with deep sigh Of relief, lis thet you,
suah3 wus so burned skeered I'd
made mess O. 1t whin tibet thar iron
drapped thet near died. Whut be
they a goin' ter dew with ye?"
Il have every reason to believe it is
their purpose to shoot me at day.
break tomorrow"
"shoot?-Hell!" He stared at me as
II he had Just heard his own death
sentence pronounced, and his little
peaked face looked CHASTITY in the dim
light. ""Shoot ye? Good Lord, Cap,
whut fer! Ye amt done nothin' as
I knows on, 'cept ter scrap bit with
thet blasted Yank, an sure thet's no
shootin' matter. er else I'd bin a
goner long ago."
THAT 'Yank' has seen fit to charge
me with being a spy; and as was
foolish enough to insult General sher-
idan last night, my fate is probably
sealed"
This somewhat complex statement
seemed to be too much for JED to
grasp promptly.
Gosh, ye don't sayl" he muttered.
"Then. durn it, I'm in luck, fer all
they've got agin me is pot-shootin' at
a niger soger up in Their mountings;
en- thet amt much, cause didn't hit
Their burned cuss."
Jed was carefully covering every
inch Of exposed wall with his little
shrewd. glinting eyes.
"Ain't much show ter work out O.
yere. is thar, Cap?" he asked at last
reflectively; "leastwise don't see
none, less them thar dark corners hes
got holes in EN-"
1.-THE wall is entirely solid"
$50 sorter reckoned. But If yen
crawl through yere inter my boodour,
thar's a place whar I reckon Their
tew Of US tergether mought make a
try fer 1t. It's too durn high up fer
me ter git at alone. I reckon, Cap.
If ye cud manage ter git out O. yere
ternight. an take some news ter Lee
thet I've picked. up, he'd bout make
both Of US ginerals."
"News for Lee?" I exclaimed, star.
ing eagerly at him through the now
darkened room. do you mean it,
What news?"
Thought maybe tibet wud wake ye
up" he chuckled. "This yere's gospel
truth: Sheridan hes started his in
fantry on half circle march fer Min.
ersville. Their first division left ct
three o'clock, an thar won't be nary
Yank loafin' on Their valley by noon
Tomorrow. An more" he added rapid
", his eyes dancing wildly with sup
pressed Hancock Ia q
svingin' of his corps west ter meet
'em thar, an reckon, as how thar'll
be hell fer sartin up Their Shenandoah
in less ner week"
"But how do you know all this?"
questioned incredulous1y, as the whole
scene and it's dread possibilities un-
rolled before my mental vision.
ether niger I held up he'd a de.
sratch 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 a sure go, Cap, an reckon
az how maybe Lees whole army hangs
on one Of US gittin' out O. yere ter
night"
That he meant every word he spoke
felt convinced. and his enthusiasm
was contagious. My blood leaped
within me at this call to action; all
lethargy fled, and with it every dead.
ening thought Of her who had SO sud
denly woven about me the meshes Of
her power. False or true, maid. wife
or widow, my duty as a soldier to my
commander 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 dashing music Of
a military band in the strains Of a
strauss's waltz, and we could dis.
tinguish the muffled shuffling of many
feet on the oaken floo: overhead.
Caton's chance remark about the great
ball to be given that evening by Off
GERS of the headquarters staff recur>
red to my memory.
"That dandng up there will help US,
Jed" I said quickly, my mind now
active to grasp every detail. you
say there is chance for escape from
your cell? Then give me your hand
and help me to crawl through that
hole"
It was a narrow squeeze for man
of my size, yet crept through with
out great difficulty, and found myself
in the dense darkness Of a room
which, as judged hastily from feel
&c. 1fv, IN