Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1915-11-04

himself spy, and court-martial will
probe into this matter. We must re-
member the young lady is the daugh-
ter of Major HARDWOOD"
"And as Major Harwood's daugh-
ter" she said gravely, standing be-
fore me, Il desire to be heard, and to
answer this gentleman's question. l
sought to save Sergeant Wyatt be-
cause of the special service he has
rendered me during the past night. 1
know nothing of his purpose here,
but-but l hold him friend whatever
may be his uniform"
The lieutenant bowed, hat in hand
Il intended no criticism of your mo-
tives, but soldier must perform his
duty. Under whose orders are you
here, Wyatt?"
II refuse to answer"
mo? Well, Ramsay will get re-
ply out of you!"
81 hardly think so, sir. You hang
spies, but do not torture them"
'True enough" and Whitlock stepped
! to the door. Sergeant, bring file of
men, and take charge of this prisoner.
There is nothing to detain us longer.
We have extra horses, Captain Fox,
and you will ride with us as far as
Lewisburg; Miss HARDWOOD, l presume
you have no desire to remain here
alone-indeed, I could not permit it.
Better bind the fellows hands, Har-
per; search him first for weapons, and
whatever papers he may carry. Mount
him on that old artillery horse, and
wait for u.s."
Raymond watched the proceedings
carefully, taking my credentials as a
Federal recruiting officer from the
hands of the sergeant, and reading
them over with a grim smile. l gave
small heed to the glance of satisfac-
ton with which he regarded me, and
only ventured to look once toward the
girl, as the soldiers roughly bound my
hands. She had turned away, and was
staring out of the open window. I
marched out into the hall closely sur
rounded by the guard, my thought less
concerned with my own fate than with
her feeling toward me- Suddenly the
truth revealed itself to my mind that
l loved the woman I had so strangely
married
It is indeed odd how the human
mind works, and now this new discov-
cry completely eclipsed every other
IF
escape, of any means of Defense never
occurred to me. All my memory re-
tanned was that last glimpse of her
slender figure at the window and the
silhouette of her averted face. What
was her thought of me? In the mo-
ment of her first surprise she had
sprung to my defense, but as soon as
she could consider the conditions, her
whole nature would turn against me-
even now the feeling Of disgust had
come. She had turned coldly away,
hating the very sight of me-staring
out of the window until l should dis
appear, dreading lest l prove cur
enough to boast of our relationship.
Well, the lady need not fear that. My
fate would be swiftly and surely
Lewisburg, verdict of guilty, and
firing squad at dawn. No one need
ever know, for the preachers lips
could be easily closed. And perhaps
Lieutenant Raymond-Bah! my teeth
clenched angrily at thought of him,
and tramped on down the stairs to
the gruff order of the sergeant
There were three other prisoners,
sallow-faced, roughly dressed noun
taineers, one wounded in the arm, but
I was kept separated from them with
a special guard Within ten minutes
the entire command was in saddle and
moving slowly northward The lieu
tenant rode in my rear for the first
mile, watchful and suspicious Noreen
was riding in advance of the column
between the two captains. A gray,
circular cape concealed her slender
form, but I could observe the frequent
turning of her head as she appar-
emily conversed vivaciously with her
attentive escorts. Her show of utter,
heartless Indifference hurt and blinded
me. I actually believed the girl was
glad of my capture; that she rejoiced
at the knowledge that within a few
hours she would be freed from all
the consequences of our rash act 1t
was the reaction which had given her
such high spirits, the exhilarating
sense of escape, relief so profound
as to cause her to even forget her
fathers death. This was the concep-
ton which took possession of me, OBJ
literating every other possibility.
At first the thought served to numb
my faculties, and | rode forward with
lowered head all interest in life dead
within me. Then pride came to the
rescue, and l Strengthened up in the
saddle. She was my wife-that slen-
der, laughing girl! Of course l would
never claim her; no word would ever
pass my lips to bring her pain and
humiliation. No one would ever know