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THE WAR LIBRARY.
17
When I made sure of this I just laid down
on the floor of the loft and rolled about like
a ship at sea that has lost its rudder.
I laughed to myself until [ was almost
siok,
The idea of this lunatic taking in his sign
at nights for fear some one would run off
with it, was so supremely ridiculous that I
can laugh this day at the recollection of it.
There are some placesin India where the
jackals and hyenns invade the villages after
nightfall, and it isa well-known fact that
the inhabitants are compelled to carry
everything indoors that could be made way
with by these hungry prowlers.
Thad even heard of the Dutchman who
lived in one of these towns, carrying his
favorite front door stoop inat nights, but
this really beat all.
But hold!
The more I looked at that swinging sign
the more I became convinced that it was a
work of art, and without adoubt this gem
was the production of mine host himself,
which accounted for his great solicitude.
It would afford me much pleasure to give
afac-simile of that wonderful sigu, but I
fear I would not be equal to portraying
those astonishing letters nod the exceeding
ingenuity it took to arrange them in such a
way that your ignorant college student, not
tothe manner born, at first glance would
take the sign asa Chinese puzzle, gotten up
in the enlightened age of Confucius.
That sign afforded me the most intense
amusement all the morning, and even Pete,
unlearned as he was, saw that there was
something out of gear there.
We still had a few cans of food, and a por-
tion of the ham, so that we fared well, but
it was evident that the stock would be whol-
ly exhausted by nightfall. :
Atintervals during the morning we dozed.
I was so wrought up, however, by our
roximity to the Union lines that I did not
eel the need of sleep one half so much as I
would otherwise have done, and I have no
doubt Pete felt the same way.
Surely he had good reason to.
It was a little after noon, and I chanced to
be looking out of a large crack, when my
attention was directed up the road.
The barn standing upon « little rise, I had
a fine view of the road.
Coming down it were two rebel officers on
horseback, and I believed them to be the
major and colonel, whom I had seen in the
general’s house with Miss Worth.
This was no reason why 1 should take a
ta interest in them than otherwise, but
id.
I pressed up closer to the crack.
It was my intention to take a good look at
he young major as he passed by.
Perhaps it is none of the reader’s business
why I desired to do this, but a story is a
story, aud one must not hold back confes-
sions,
The trnth of the matter was that I had no-
ticed.on the preceding evening how closely
this rebel major seemed to bend over Lottie
Worth, as though she belonged to him, and
more than once since then the thought had
struck me that I was making 2 fool of my-
self, perhaps—falling head over ears in love
with some one’s betrothed.
Hence, it will be seen that I had more than
an ordinary interest in this fellow.
A little to my chagrin, however, the two
officers drew in their steeds at the tavern.
Then ensued some words between them
and the proprietor, after which they moved
on again.
Instead of keeping the road they turned
to the left and made directly toward where
I crouched.
There could be no doubt about the matter
—they were heading for the barn.
Immediately arousing Pete, who was asleep
on the little bundle of hay, I showed him
our danger.
At once we clambered inside the bin we
had marked out, and in which our provis-
ions already lay.
When we shut down the lid not a vestige
of our late presence remained.
Crouching in the bin, I listened.
[heard the horses trampling below, and
the voices of the two men as they secured
them in the stalls.
Presently I knew through certain signs
that one of the men was climbing the rick-
ety ladder that led up to the loft.
learned this from hearing 0 crash as one
of the rotten rounds gave way, and a string
of hearty curses from the man as he recov-
ered his equilibrium after much difficulty
below.
Again he essayed the task.
This time, using more care and being less
t
impetuous after the accident, he managed to
gain the loft.
Iheard him tramping about as he threw
down what hay there was, his saber clank-
ing against his spurs.
Then he approached the bins.
Peteand 1 had a good hold of the tron
rings on the inside of the lid of our bin, and
we held on with a death grip.
It was well we did so.
The Confederate officer peeped into each
of the other bins, and discovering their
scanty contents, tried to open the one we
were in.
Of course we resisted to our utmost, bear-
ing our whole weight upon the Tings.
tow hestormed and cursed at his inabil-
ity to raise the lid.
knew the old curmudgeon of the tav-
ernSbad this bin full of corn or oats, and had
nailed it up on purpose.
There was nothingin the loft which he
could use as a lever, therefore after tugging
away aimlessly for a time the doughty ma-
jor—I knew it must be the subordinate offi-
cer of the two—clambered into the other
two bins, and amid much growling scraped
their contents into the half bushel measure.
en this was done he departed below,
and with his customary clumsiness had to
fall down the old ladder again amid much
confusion.
IT have often pictured to myself the fear-
ful consternation that must have seized
upon the fellow, if, in the midst of his tug-
gings at the hasp of the closed bin, Pete had
suddenly raised the lid, and like a jack in
the box,my humble self had Jeaped up,
thrusting «a cocked revolver under is
nose. ’
jf the other officer had not been below, I
would have been tempted to have done this
very thing.
On the whole, however, the planI adopt-
ed was the best,as it saved us from dis-
covery.
We heard the two men talking and moy-
ing about below for some little time,
Undoubtedly they were not used_toat-
tending to the wants of their steeds, and
the curmudgeon at the tavern was too high-
toned to do so, probably knowing well
enough he was to be paid in depreciated
Confederate currency.
At last they went out.
I could hear their voices in the direction
of the little tavern perched upon the bank
at the roadside, aud knew they expected to
dine there.
As the bins were on that side of the barn
furtherest from the house, I could not see
them, though the cracks were plenty
enough. |
While we remained there quietly, to
make assurance doubly sure, I thought of
the horses.
What was to prevent us from using
hem
“Open, Pete!” I said, hastily.
Lheard him strain, but the lid moved not.
Again he tried, and I with him.
Vhat did it mean?
One thing was certain—we were in a
trap.
CHAPTER XIX.
A GANTLET OF LEAD.
After several vain attemps to raise the
lid of the bin, I sat down and reasoned it
out.
When the rebel major had quit his futile
efforts to raise the lid of the bin, he had
either purposely or unconsciously allowed
the hasp to fall over the staple, thus effectu-
ally fastening the lid from without.
As there was no pin passed through the
staple afterward to hold the hasp in place,
I believed it possible by persistent sudden
little jerks to unfasten it.
Numberless trials we made, but to no ef-
fect.
I got out my knife and passed the blade
through the little crack between the lid and
the surface of the bin, but the blade could
only slip through when the lid was pressed
to its utmost, and at such times the hasp was
firm.
There was nothing for it but to carve
away that portion of the bin, bit. by bit,
nearest the fastening, and_ this would take
such a length of time that in all probablity
the horses would be gone before we could
issue forth from our place of conceal-
ment.
Seeing nothing else that offered any ad-
vantage, I was about to start at the labor
when Pete arrested my attention.
“Look hyar, Mars Richards, it seems to
me dat dis air a fine mefod ob ’scape foh us,
Dese boards only goso fur, an’ dis un am
loose,”
I grasped the idea at once.
The barn was built in two sections, and
the boards of the upper, reached only from
the eves to the floor of the loft.
They were warped, rotten and loose.
The bins had been built ngainst the side of
the barn and the cracks covered with lathes,
but these had long since fallen off, as the
place had never been repaired.
As Pete said, one of the boards in the back
of the bin was rotten, and the lower part of
it so loose that even when he attempted to
explain his idea to me, and to illustrate it,
put his hand against this particular board,
ts lower end broke lose.
It now hung from its hold above, that
portion of the board under the eaves, having
een sheltered more from the elements was
of a more substantial nature than the lower
extremity.
By catching hold of it I could swing the
board asI pleased, after the manner of a
clock pendulum.
I looked below.
The door of the stable was almost beneath
me.
Directly below was a pile of dirt that of-
fered 2 good landing spot.
I held the board aside and after a survey
to see that the coat was clear, directed Pete
to ope.
This he did, landing in safety.
Then I crawled outside, first passing down
to him what few provisions we had left, a
ean of grapes and one of corn, together
with the knuckle of ham, all of which Pete
disposed of somewhere about his person.
Clinging to the face of the barn I got m
bearings and then leaped backward, thus ale
lowing the board toswing back to its proper
position.
T half feared lest the sudden strain might
wrench it from its hold above and send it
crashing down upon me,
To avoid this, as soon as I landed I hurled
myself forward, being caught in Pet’s open
arms, but I might have saved myself the
trouble as the board held firm and resumed.
its proper place.
The only satisfaction I had was in the fact
that it is always best to be on the safe side.
At last we were safely out of the trap
which an outrageous fortune had thrown us
oO.
We entered the stable.
The officers’ horses were in their stalls,
and having finished the scanty supply of
corn and oats were smelling suspiciously of
the musty hay before them.
Evidently they were well kept steeds,
judging from the looks of them, and not.
used to feeding on any handy material.
The rebel officers had not deemed it worth
their while to remove the saddles, so that
all we would have to do would be to replace
the bridles, lead the animals out, and then
cut for it.
I wished now that I had not thrown away
my gray suit.,
Vith it on I might delude the two officers,
riding past the tavern with Pete following
behind as my servant, and they would,
doubtless, take me for some officer of rank,
riding incognito.
Under these circumstances I believed they
would not be apt to recognize their horses,
us I was sure they would when they saw an
apparent tramp and runaway slave dashing
like mad along the road.
There was nothing else we could do, un-
less we rode back quite a number of miles,
and even that might be a fatal move on our
part.
' On the whole I saw that it was better we
should run the gantlet of their fire.
Their large revolvers were in the holsters
attached to their saddles, so that they could
only have their small arms with them.
Ldid not believe we would incur much
peril in thus passing the tavern.
At any rate it was our only chance, and we:
could not refuse it.
After a close examination I found that the
horses were both in good condition, and fully
equal to the task to which we intended put-
ting them.
If our safety depended wholly on them, I
was sure we would reach the Union camp
all right, but I knew full well there were
other conditions, such as rebel balls, which
we must also escape.
Before we started
tions.
At the time we were seated upon the
spirited animals just outside the barn door,
Ihad hardly finished what U had to say,
when I heard a loud exclamation.
>
I gave Pete full direo-