Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1913-04-04

a Creek. You gaze the name
of Lieutenant Bedloe, butt
"Ah, yes. He died before | reached
him. but my prayers went up for him
then. as they do now
Here Is his notebook. with his last
message to me-" continued Edith. bit
Ing her lips TO keep from crying He
says: Tell our little son how his father
died. not how he lived And tell her
who filed my mothers place so Low
ngly'
Here she broke down Mrs. Haverili
had turned away. sobbing
go on. my child" urged General
Haverill
"'My ia ster's portrait of her. which
Ihe gave % me in Charleston. helped
me to be u better man. 1t was taken
away from me while was prisoner
n Richmond by Captain Edward Thorn
bon. Confederate secret service'"-
lone moment. pleased" cried General
Haverill. reaching for the notebook.
LET me think Thornton was taken a
srtsoner-and searrhed-by Kerchival
West. and then he broke away and
wounded Colonel West. and he had In
lis pocket oh. Constance. my wife!
IN the presence of all. let me humbly
peg your forgiveness for my unreason-
lbleness and misunderstanding. these
hong months past"
Can 1t be that you did not re-
eeive -mother's-letter aft
r Franks death?" ventured Edith.
General Haverill only shook his head.
bowed In penitence. Mrs. Harerill went
up and kissed him and he clasped her
In his arms.
"Well. that's settled" growled a
voice as from the battlefield. Now
let's have x-ahemI-l mean some re-
treshments. Barket. tell old Margery to
serve the tea and things In here and
bring up Heartsease. and then We'll
swap stories about how some parts OF
the war might have been fought out,
but weren't"
Jenny Buckthorn had to draw Hearts
case out concerning his adventures
after being wounded and captured In
the raid on the signal station before
the battle Of Cedar Creek.
Didn't you long to see your friends,
and so forth. at home when you were
In that prisonr' she asked.
Internationally. However. there were
quite jolly lot Of chaps there, and we
had our own fun We got up regular
orchestra and gave concerts. don't you
know | had banjo with one string,
and / played one tune on it-Turkey
In de Straw II remember rightly. It
went like this"
Here the captain stopped to drum IL
out on the piano with one finger.
"Oh. bother that" Jenny exclaimed
Tell them about the awful dangers
you went through when you escaped
from prison. I'll bet you were badly
scared more than once?'
"No-only once. and that was all the
time. One night came face to face
with a Confederate officer. 1t was Cap
tain Thornton"
"Oh! What did you dor everybody
exclaimed. breathlessly.
az killed him." answered Heartsease,
with sudden intensity. looking up from
the piano an instant, then dropping
back mechanically to his one fingered
turkey In de Straw"
That was all he ever said on the sub
feet, and 1t was not until long after
ward through other sources that the
detailed story came OFT OF how no
had encountered the Yindictive Thorn
ton and after desperate hand to hand
combat had slain him with his own
weapons.
"And twas afther Colonel West he
was a-lookin'. too, I'll go ball." put In
Barket, who was waiting upon Gen.
eral Buckthorn at the moment THAT
Thornton was a pizen divil."
"Mention of the military prisons re-
minds me-" said General Haverill.
"that have q letter written shortly
after Cedar Creek by Captain Cox
Of a Kentucky regiment Captain Cox
was in Libby with-with Lieutenant
Bedoe. He himself escaped from
there some time later with the consid-
cradle number Of Union officers who
crawed out through Captain Roses
tunnel from the cellar. He mentions
another comrade-Captain Hunt. as l
remember-who was finally exchanged
when dying Of consumption and lived
Just long enough to reach home"
The conversation now turned to ker-