Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-11-01
The Argus Daily Story
She Turned Traiter-By Gertrude S. Varney.
r,o..-.=A.sa 1s,, hx associated IAtsrarx Rrrean

tdtion-or, rather, 1arm, as IL Woulu
be called in the north-in Georgia and
the only girl In family of seven. l
was so bitter rebel that Bob, the
youngest, said I'd better organize a
corps Of amazons to help repel the in
vaders.
Father said that II a Yankee soldier
smiled on me I'D drop.
do you mean to say, pop, that l
would ever love man who had come
down here to deprive us of our liber-
ties and take away our property"
"I wouldn't trust you. Kit, If he had
sense enough to hatter you. and more
especially If he should enlist your SYM
pathies."
was so mad at this that went out
to the barn, fearing that might say
something disrespectful.
The invaders kept coming nearer and
| nearer till at last we had them all
about us like pestiferous animals, or,
rather like q fight of locusts or grass
| hoppers eating up our diminished sup
plies and burning our ferces for their
| campfires. II l hated them before l
now both hated and dreaded them. II
WISH" l said, they had one neck and
1 could chop their heads of with an
ak as l would kill a chicken" Pop
only laughed at this.
One morning I was on my way to
| Aunt Mary's when. crossing stile. 1
looked right down into the face Of a
Yankee asleep. He was very pale, and
1 noticed that he was handsome.
There's something defenseless in one
asleep that takes away luminosity. l
was about to say poor fellow when
1 thought of what pop had said about
woman's weakness through her SYM
pathies. and l made up my mind l
would show the family that was of
some use in the struggle even II was
only q girl So ran back to the house
and. taking pops rifle that stood in a
corner behind a door, without saying
| anything to any one l went back and.
aiming the gun at the sleeper, called
out:
Wake upr'
He opened his eyes. but he must have
been very much exhausted, for, seeing
a girl confronting him. he was going
wake up, you horrid Yankeer
called. You contemplate, blood
thirsty
He opened his eyes once more and
moved slightly. An awfully panied ex-
preston came over his face, and he
put his hand to his side. l noticed
blood on his clothes and knew b was
wounded. The words Poor fenowr'
came up again, but checked them on
the tip Of my tongue and said fierce
ly-at least l tried to say 1t fiercely
Get up. You are my prisoner"
!, He now began to realize that there
was something serious for him in the
situation. | was pointing the rifle
straight at him. 1t was cooked and my
r finger was on the trigger. He raised
himself in sitting posture. supported
! by one hand on the ground-though |
saw it hurt him dreadfully-and. look
ing me in the eye, said:
1T would be better for me to be
killed than captured / haven't a
load in my revolver, and If l had
j wouldn't shoot a girl. Firer'
1 heard some one behind me and
l turned. and there was pop He
( had seen me go out with his rifle
! and had followed me. He took the
e weapon from my hands and. seeing
that our prisoner was wounded. sent
me back for a couple of the neigh
bors to come and carry him to the
- house. When we got him there the
men searched him and found papers
d on his person giving the location and
strength OF the Confederate forces In
the neighborhood. He had been chas
r ed and shot by our men. Having dis
tanced them. he had tainted where
had found him. Later he had sunk
into a slumber.
heard the men speaking of him
as a spy and debating whether they
had better hang him to tree or mott
fy the Confederate general command
ing the forces in that region of his
capture. Finally one of the men
mounted a horse and rode away.
was told he had a long ride before
him and wouldn't be back before
evening or perhaps by noon the next
day. The Yankee was put in a room
upstairs at the rear of the house. A
man was put on guard at the front
door and another one In the rear. un,
der the prisoners window.
OF course we weren't so inhuman
as to leave the mans wound unat
tended to, and | rode over to a doc
tor, who came and dressed II. Mother
gave me some corn pOne to take up to
the man for his dinner. and when
she went out about something during
the afternoon i killed a chicken and
made him some broth. He was very
grateful to me and said II was the
only thing he could have eaten. | was
mighty careful to get rid Of the re
mains of the chicken and washed the
dishes carefully. fearing that mother
would find out what I'd done and
would tell father. wouldn't have
him. know that had weakened to
= ward a hated Yankee for anything
After l had got rid OF the evidence
" that sympathy father had said Womb
unfit women for soldiers / went bacl
TO my prisoner and asked II there wa,
anything else he needed. He said Their,
was. He undoubtedly would be hang