Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-12
The Daily Story
How the Message Was carried-By Eunice Blake.
convY,eh,ed 1914 by Associated Literary

forces in New Jersey and New Yorx
IL did not take him very long 10 sn-.
| mise that there was possibility OF r.
young mans carrying a message from
the one to the other. He knew Of tba
/ affair between Abner and Deborah bn.
/ considered his duty to his king nara.
Z mount to that to HIS daughter. he
concealed his intentions til he eovld
get Abner in his power He Invita-
him to supper. meanwhile sending
negro messenger to his nearest Tor
neighbor with q message saying fha,
he thought he had a rebel SPY In bis
house and asking for help to make him
prisoner
IAN hour after Abner's arrival q,
the Goodwin house it was surrounded
by several Tories, and Abner was
made q prisoner. He was searched.
but no message was found on him
since he had transferred it to Deborah
Then he was locked in a room on the
top floor of the house while consults.
ton was held by his captors as 70
what should be done with him. While
they were still suspicious of him, his
appearing in farm clothes at the house
led them to believe that be had left
camp without permission in order TO
visit his sweetheart. They decided 10
take no further action regarding him
than to keep him locked up for few
days, then let him 60
$50 my grandfather-I mean Abner
Jones-was taken to a room in the roof
of the house-the roofs We're enormous
in those days, with big dormer win
dows-and locked up. No young fellow
with plenty of ingenuity was liable to
remain there very long, especially with
a sweetheart in the house TO help him
out But it was a long distance from
the window to the ground. and Deb
orah could'not get the key of the door.
for her father had hidden It
"Abner looked out of his window
upon an enormous elm tree growing
near, but not near enough for him to
reach However, he began at once to
lay plans to escape by means Of the
s. tree. He made a rope of the bed
clothes, then looked about for some
thing he could tie to one end of 1t that
he could throw to catch in a crotch
formed by two limbs of the tree about
ten feet from and above his window.
The only thing he could find was
long iron poker belonging to a set Of
fireplace implements among other rub
bish in the room.
Tying the poker at its middle to his
fmprovised rope, he waited till the
house should be quiet before proceed
ing any further About 10 o'clock he
heard scratching at his door, which
at first he thought to come from
mouse. but it was repeated. and be
went to the door and listened. The
scratching seemed to come from the
to the floor and heard his name whis-
pered. The voice was Deborah's.
''She told him that she would like to
free him, but could see no way of do
ing so. He told her Of the plan he
proposed to try. but if he succeeded IN
throwing the poker so as to catch in
the crotch he must swing himself of
some fifty feet from the ground with
a possibility Of falling and being killed.
Deborah begged him not to try it
promising to take the message to Gen
eral Lee. 1t was finally agreed be
tween them that If he failed to escape
she would do so, but in any event she
was to steal out of the house that she
might meet him under the tree in case
his feat should be successful.
1T was about midnight that Deborah.
standing under the elm tree. heard
beat against the branches
above. She listened and the sound
was repeated. Abner threw his poker
more than a dozen times before II
caught, each time having great diff
,ulty in keeping It from striking the
house on its return. At last ii caught
and firmly. Abner, clinging TO tbs
'ope he had made. swung himself OF
Ind for some time vibrated in the air
ike q pendulum. When he settled.
citing himself down to a branch be-
heath him, he descended from it 70 the
round. There he found Deborah.
Who was so moved by the danger he
lad passed that she sank limp into his
rms.
'Lover-like, Abner fingered with bis
weetheart for half an hour. She told
lin where he could get a boat. and
vhen he left her he was not long In
nding it. He pulled across the river
delivered his message and the next
vening was back in camp.
Unfortunately General Lee was
British adventurer and had no sym
athy with the cause OF the colonies.
lie disobeyed the order and caused
ieneral Washington great deal OF
'ouble, coming near depriving us TO-
ny of celebrating the Fourth Of July
lie was finally dismissed from the
rmy. which was a blessing TO the side
n which he pretended 10 fight"
'But. grandpa. why don't we reac
our school histories all about thisr
well. my dears." said the old man
esitating. "Abner never said any.
ling about his having been stopped
4 the way. No one knew it except
mself. and he only told when he got
be a very old man.