The Lamar register., 1911-10-25
MY LADY OF THE NORTH


"Ther Niger I held up he'd de-
spatch fer Heintzelman over on Their
left. an then Marian she sorter
pumped q young fule staff officer fer
Their rest O. It," he replied promptly.
"Oh. it's a sure go. Cap. an l reckon
n how maybe Lees whole army hangs
on one of US gittin' out O. yere ter
night"
That he meant every word he spoke
I felt convinced. and his enthusiasm
was contagious. My blood leaped
within me at this call to action: all
lethargy fled. and with 1t every dead
denly woven about me the meshes Of
her power. False or true, maid. wife,
or widow, my duty as soldier to my
commander and the army to which 1
belonged, blotted out all else. Even
as this new rush of determination
swept over me. above us there
sounded clearly tho dashing music Of
a military band In the strains of a
Strauss waltz, and we could dis
tinguish the muffled shuffling of many
feet on the oaken floo: overhead
Cations chance remark about the great
ball to be given that evening by off
GERS of the headquarters staff recur-
red to my memory.
THAT dancing up there will help u.s.
Jed" said quickly. my mind now
active to grasp every detail. You
say there Is q chance for escape from
your cell? Then give me your hand.
and help me to crawl through that
hole"
II was a narrow squeeze for a man
Of my size. yet I crept through with
out great difficulty. and found myself
in the dense darkness of room
which. as l Judged hastily from feel
ing about me. was similar in shape
and extent to the one In which had
been confined. Bungay. however, per
mitted me little time for exploration.
Grasping me firmly by the arm. and
feeling his way along the wall. he
CROPPED across to the other side.
There's q mighty big stone chimbly
comes down yere. Cap" he whispered
An Their openin' ter take out SCOT an
ashes 10 up thar. fist blow Their
nuer. It's . sheet-iron pan. I reckon.
Their way II feels; an 1t must be thar
they put 4 niger in ter clean Their
chimbly whin it gifts stuffed up. I
could git up thar alone. but couldn't
do no work. but tibet thar pan ought
ter cum out all right. Dew ye think
ye cud hor me up. Cap? I'm purity
durn heavy"
smiled In the darkness at the lit
tie fellows egotism. and lifting him as
l might . child. poised him lightly
upon my shoulder. He struggled
moment to steady himself against the
wall, and then could feel him tug
ging eagerly at something which ap-
peared to yield slowly to his efforts
As he worked. q dense shower OF d,,s:
and SCOT caused me to close my eyea.
She's a comm all right" he said.
:heerfully. putting with his exertions.
but | reckon as how this chimbly
amt bin cleaned out since Their war
begun. Hold up yer right han. Cap.
an git q blame good grip on her. fer
she's almighty full, anil wanter go
down sorter easy like"
did as he suggested. bracing my
self to meet his movements. as he
1koOo w my ohooheSaSs anu
In another moment I had succeeded
In lowering the large sheet-iron pan
silently to the floor.
Room 'nough yere fer two men ter
oncet," chuckled my companion. In
rare delight THE chief in silence
strobe before Yere goes"
His weight left my shoulders: there
was . slight scramble. another shower
of dirt. then the sound of his voice
once more.
Lift up yer hans. Cap; dig in yer
toes on Their stones. an well begin
our VICE"
He grasped my wrists with q
strength which I had no conception
the little fellow possessed. There was
q moments breathless struggle. and
l squirmed through the opening. and
lay painting on the flat slabs which
composed the foot Of the great funnel
To afford me more room Bungay had
gone up little. finding foot-lodgment
upon the uneven stones of which the
chimney was constructed. For a mo-
ment we rested thus motionless. both
breathing heavily and listening to the
.h,ffttou ~ faat MON, al of