The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1912-03-02


idan expected 20 return 10 his head.
quarters that same evening, as the
officers OF his staff were to give a
grand ball.
] felt no inclination 10 partake OF
the ruds supper left me- and Just be
fore dark I was lying upon The bench
idly wondering II that was 70 prove
the last yestige OF daylight I should
ever behold IN this world. when. with.
out slightest warning, the heavy iron
grating IN the wall directly above me
fell suddenly. striking the edge OF the
bench, and clattered noisily 70 The
floor The fall was so unexpected. and
/ my escape from injury SO narrow. that
] lay almost stunned. staring up help
lessly az the dark hole thus left bare.
As ! 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 *.
clamation OF surprise.
jed Bungay. as ! liyel"
\ The puzzled face broke into ! grin
Of delight
Holy smoke Cap he calculated.
with deep sigh OF relief. 1is tibet YOU.
suah? wus So burned skeercd I'D
made a mess 0 L whin thet thar iron
drappcd thet near died Whut be
they q goin ter dew with ye?
i have every reason TO believe il is
their purpose 70 shoot me Ut day.
break tomorrow
Shoot He'll he stared al me as
II he had inst heard Ills own death
sentence pronounced and IFS little
peaked tare looked CHASTITY In the dim
light shoot seq Good Lord. Cap.
whui ter2 Ne amt done nothin as
j know oD 'cept ter scrap bit with
thet blasted Yank, an sure thets no
shootin' matter er else I'd a bin a
goner long ago"
That fauk has seen tit to charge
me with being q spy and as | was
foolish enough 10 insult General sher-
idau 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 II, I'm IN luck. fer an
they've got agln me is potshootin at
"a niger suger MP in Their mountings
on tibet 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.
we're. is thar. Cap2" he asked at last
reflectivey: "leastwise don't see
none. less them thar dark corners hes
got holes in 'em"
The wall is entirely solid"
so | sorter reckoned. But II yen |
crawl through we're inter my boodour
thar's a place whar reckon ther
tew OF us tergether mought make a
try fer IT, It's too durn high up fer
me ter git az alone reckon. Cap,
II We cud manage ter git out o we're
ternght, an take some news ter Lee
thet I've picked up. he'd bout make
both of us ginerals
News for Lee?" | exclaimed, star
ing eagerly az him through the now
darkened room. DO you mean Il?
What news?"
Thought maybe tibet wud wake sc
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 ther valley by noon
Tomorrow. An more, he added rapid
ly HIS eyes dancing wildly with sup
pressed excitement. --"Hancock Is
syingin OF his corps west ter meet
EN- thar an | reckon. as how thar'll
be hell fer sartin up Their Shenandoah
in less ner a week
but how do you know all this?7
questioned incredulously, as the whole
scene and it's dread possibilities un.
rolled before my mental vision.
Their niger | held up he'd de.
spatch fer Heintzelman over on ther
left, an then Marian she sorter
pumped a young fule staff officer fer
Their rest o. it, he replied promptly.
nc how maybe Lees whole army hangs
on one OF Us gittin' out O. we're 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 II 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 20 which
belonged. blotted out all else. Even
rs this new rush OF determination
swept over me, above ms there
sounded clearly the dashing music OF
a military band in the strains OF a
Strauss waltz, and we could dis
tinguish the muffled shuffllng OF many
~.