The Washington times., 1916-06-08
Stories of Stories
Plots of Fiction
Masterpieces
By ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE.

received a set OF cipher dispatches from
the Confederate Navy Department To
be taken by him secretly and at once to
Washington. These ciphers contained
directions for the safe shipping of 49,
muskets from a Belgian firm to an un-
arrival would have meant new hone Of
victory to the ill-armed Confederate
forces.
Fate In Form Of Hoop.
The dispatches In hia pocket. the sub
chief entered a clothes closet in his
own house in search of a coat to wear
on the journey. His feet became en-
tangled in n mesh Of wire on the closet
floor. and he fell. breaking his left leg.
he had stepped on one of the hoor,-
skirts. When he was able 70 think OF
business again he remembered the dis
patches. But then 1t was too late to
deliver them. Thus. because OF a hoop
sklrt. the Confederate lost s3,2ll precious
muskets.
The sub-chief's wife, In remorse at the
damage done by her luckless bit Of An
cry threw the offending SHELTON into
the James River. A few days after
ward detachment OF the Confederate
navy caught a group OF Federal gum
boats on guard further down the river
and made a sudden attack on them, an
attack which by rights should have
eiSered the river OF the sunboats and
etc, could have been brought into the
besieged city. But, as the assault was
about to begin. the Confederate tagship
All at once became unmanageable and
then helpless. Not only did the daring
plan fail. but the Southern hotilIn barely
made its way back TO Richmond in
safety.
Investigation showed that the flag
q n
become entangled In the meshes OF a
! submerged hoopskirt.
Another hoopskirt went by mistake To
the tunkman and thence into a pile of
In making Confederate money. The
bills. ~
Again the Hoop Appears.
The general commanding In Richmond
learned through spies that a supply train
was about 10 reach General Buffers
army, just outside the city. The Con-
federates planned to make a night sor-
tie, strike Buffers unprepared forces
rout them and seize the supplies. Lieu
tenant Schefr was sent from head.
| quarters with the order for the sortie
AS he galloped across a field, his horse
| stepped into snarl OF wire springs-the
discarded remains Of one OF hoopskirts-
and fell, Scheff was picked UP senseless
For more than a day he was delirous
When he regained consciousneps the
supply train had arrived and Butler {
| lines had been reinforced.
Richmond fell early In April. Presl.
| dent jefferson Davis escaped from the
city. The sub-chief prepared for him a
package OF maps to guide his flight
| around the watchful Union armies and
to some Florida port where he could
| take ship for another country. Too late
1t was learn that laundering mes.
| senger had left the maps on a table
and had carried to Davis package con.
tanning one Of the hoopskirts, A few
days afterward the newspapers told how
| the lack Of guiding maps and the al.
legged use OF that hoopskirt had aided ir
the fugitive presidents capture. Re.
| viewing the havoc wrought by his
skeletons" the sub-chief unused sadly
THAT fatal present OF mine was the
| ruin OF the Confederate navy and army
and treasury. Audit led to the can.
ture OF our moor president. too!'
| Copyright 1916.