Evening star., 1928-11-04

the street. sfenced as much by the pic
ture he made as by the pistol at his
head.
n low chirrup and the whole band,
Rangers and prisoners. made for the
open country. Well provided with in
formation, MoSby again avoided sentry
posts.
What he could not avoid was Center
vile, the heavily armed Union post, past
which he would have to take his band.
now encumbered with Union officers
and stolen horses.
Then if he passed that he would have
to negotiate Cub Run, whose fury he
could hear long before he came near it.
AS the cavalcade neared Centerville
the Rangers pressed close to their pris-
oners and brought their pistols still
closer Not threat was uttered, but
none was necessary
One Union officer, however, knew ex-
actly the point at which a shout and
dash for liberty would make the most
interesting gamble He was Capt. Bar
ker, and suddenly he dug his heels into
his horses f1anks, jerked 1t half turn
and let out yell as he sped OF through
the night.
A pistol shot echoed along with his
shout and Capt. Barkers horse plunged
forward on his head, pitching him of.
A horseman thundered up to him,
yanked him to his feet and rushed him
back to Mosbys cavalcade.
But from the barracks at Center
vile came shouts, shots, bugles and
| pursuit.
Mosby had counted on attempting to
ford Cub Run, several miles farther I'D,
where it was comparatively safe Ger
| tainly an informed leader would not
have attempted to send men and horses
across the main stream at that point.
| But Centerville was pouring out its
troops in every direction except one.
| and Cub Run would take care of that
one.
I'M" cried Mosby.
To every ones surprise he spurred
his horse into the stream. Those who
peersd down saw the river wlisk horse
and man away as If they we're Autumn
leaves. But there was no time to de-
term111e what became of them. It was
either follow the leader or surrender to
the enemy.
Mosby owed his leadership to wis
dom as much as to rashness. It was
a blend of oppoSites that gave him such
a percentage of good fortune that his
followers would have followed him into
fire as we'll as water.
So after him they plunged and saw
to 1t that their captives did not stay
behind. The river thumped the horses
ribs and sent them rapidly down stream.
Perhaps no exploit contributed 20
Mosby'S fame so substantially as the
fact that his apparently rash plunge
into the river brought him and his
cavalcade to safety within the Con-
federate lines without the loss Of sin
gle man or horse.
And, of course, TO bring a kidnapped
Union general. snatched from a Union
stronghold, with the aid of only a
handful of men, was something TO 60
down in history.
He brought the half-clad, dripping
Gen Stoughton up to Gen. Fitzhugh
Lee. and the last touch of humiliation
was added to Gen. Stoughton's plight
when he recognized classmate of
West Point days in the Confederate
commander
1t was Mosby's most celebrated ex-
plot, and once the thing was done and
its effect on the morale of both sides
registered, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee let his
classmate go free
But Abraham Lincoln made a caustic
comment on Mosbys theft Of his gen.
eral and horses.
I'm sorry. I can made other brig
adler generals, but can't replace the
horses"
THE END. :
(Copyright. 1921