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HER WAR LIBRARY.
“ obtain another with much, trouble, the
.chances were against it.
So, bracing himself, he prepared for the
meeting,
Adopting the. boldest course, he opened
his. mouth, and in a_ stentorian voice
shouted:
. ** Boat ahoy, there!”
' Back came a hail:
“« Ahoy yourself !””
_In. a calm and steady tone,,.the spy con-
tinued:
“Who are you?”
» ‘The guard-boat!”’
-.“ Any signs of Yankees around?”
“Not yet. Now, then, who are you?”
- “A messenger, from. General Pemberton,
- crossing the river with despatches.”
“Can you prove this?’”
.“T can.’
“Then pull this way, and show us your
authority for being on the river. Our
orders are to arrest everybody found on the
waters.”
“You are stronger manned than I am,
suppose you pullin my direction.”
“Tn fact, they were even then doing this,
and Volney knew that the request for him
to pull was shrewdly intended to so fill
his hands that he would not be able to use
weapons in case he was a Yankee.
If they were shrewd, he was more so.
He had his revolver in his hand, but held
it down so that it could not readily be seen,
and yet would be ready for instantaneous
use.”
The guard-boat approached.
Listening intently, Volney gathered that
there wassome trouble about a dark lan-
ytern, when hearing of the possession of
“which his lips had set themselves tightly to-
ether. :
The light of so much as a match would be
fatal to ‘him, for he was clad in the blue of
the Union...
. nar aiinute the suard- boat was alongside
thes
“T Say, have you zot® a match ?”? were the
first words addressed to him
“ ’
: ee you hain’t? Lookin your pockets
anu a.
~ “No use, friend, I never carry matches; ;
not being a smoker, I have no need of ’em
except at home.”
Quick as a flash he understood the nature
of the trouble in regard to the dark lantern.
They had no matches with which to light it.
It was to be hoped that none would
‘found among them. Certainly they would
not be supplied with matches by him
‘““Can’t a match be found on board of us?”
. inquired the officer in command of the
guard-boat.
The universal reply given was that no-
body had so much as a solitary match.
Yolmey now pu
~ “Officer, I don’t want to hurry you, but I
should be obliged if you would make such
examination as s youl intend without too great
a waste of tim
“ ‘Are you int a hurry?”
™m.”
“ Phat looks suspicious.”
“Does it
“It does for a fact. No matter how great
your hw hurry may be you’ve got to go ashore
wit
“yr am “afraid that you are
for some trouble for yourse
pointedly.
-** How so?”
““By detaining a messenger of General
_Peruberton.”
“That is according to orders,”’
“True, but only ina measure. Your or-
‘ders are to stop and examineanybody found
on the river, it being supposed that you will
be in a position to do so. youcan examine
~my credentials here all right and good, that
will be proper, but I tell you candidly that
the general will not excuse the carelessness
_ that made it necessary to detain his messen-
_ ger so long a jime as will be taken in going
, ashore.
This was a view of the matter that the
others had not grasped until it was drawn
“to their attention
It certainly would not look well for them
to detain a‘ messenger of the general’s be-
. cause they were so neglectful as not to have
“a mateh at hand to relight their dark-lan-
tern when it accidentally 7 went out.
After waiting afew seconds, Volney said: :
: “Well, have you decided what to do?’
“Tsay, are you dealing square with us?”
paving the way
> said Volney,
+ # “h Certainly. ’ What reason would I have to
“deal otherwise with you?”
“7 don’t know, unless you was oneof
hem hoody Yanks.’ Suppose v we let you go
on about your business without examining
you, are you going to mention it to our dis-
advantage?’
“Certainly not. I can easily see that you
are alive to your duty, and only prevented
from performing it by an accident that is
reasonable evough, although it would not
be excused in the eyes of the general.”
‘““That’s fair talk,” said one of the men in
the small boat. “TY move that we let him go
on his way.”’
“So do 1.”
“And I.”
* And I,” ’
The last man had spoken.
Finding himself so thoroughly backed by
his men, the officer concluded to do this,
and he said:
“Allright, it’sago. I won’t detain you,
and you are hot to mention the circumstance
to the general.”
“That is the understanding,” returned
Volney, hardly able to keep out of his tone
the joy he felt at so easily extricating him-
self from what he had feared would prove a
disasterous dilemma.
e was about to take up his oars, when
suddenly one of the men said:
thunder! after all our stew, hereisa
match now. I didn’t dream I had one about
me.”’
** Hand it over,” ordered the officer.
With the oars in his hands Volney paused.
In a twinkling his exultation was changed
to dismay.
It would never do to bend to his oars and
make his escape a question of speed. Yet to
remain was to court discovery that he was
‘*an all-fired Yank.”
Summoning all his calmness to his assist-
ance, he said:
‘Got a match there, have you?”
“Yes. Just wait a minute until we get
the dark-lantern lighted, so that we can
have a look at you and be. sure that every-
thing is all right.”
“ Just as you say,” Volney returned, his
heart sinking within him.
His only chance lay in. the possibility of
the match going out before they could light
the wic
In this fate was agaiust him.
The match was an excellent one, and be-
ing handled with care did not go out. Al-
most the instant it touched the wick the lat-
ter ignited.
he ofticer now raised the match so that its
rays would fall on the manin the skiff, and
the second following he exclaimed:
“Hurrah for the match! Boys, that man
is no more a messenger of General Pember-
ton than Iam. It'sa Yankee spy trying to
get down the river.”
“So it is!’ hissed Volney.
going to do about it?”
‘““ Why, take you in, of course.”
“Are,eh? Not if I know it! Hands off
your weapons, vy butternut darlings, or
bore some of you clear through! I’ve got a
dead sure thing of itona couple of you, and
if you say so we'll fight it out
Te was trying to play a game of bluff.
It would not work, however. The rebels
were too well posted in the game themselves,
and the next instant he saw a wicked look-
ing revolver in the hands of the officer.
Swift as a flash the officer took aim at Vol-
ney, but before he could fire another report
rung out
Crack!"
boa
Following it quickly came the words:
“T told you Imeant todoit! Who is the
next candidate for mortuary honors?”
The men all shrunk awa
They were cowed by the determined bear-
ing of this man; three to one though they
were they appeared to lack the pluck to face
“What are you
The officer fell heavily in the
‘But it was seeming on the part of at least
one of their number, us became apparent
presently.
“Now, then, let mesee how fast you can
row,” satirically said the spy. ‘Be quick
aboutitat that, or I may take it into my
mind to fire again. ”
- Hardly had the words escaped his lips
than thesharp report of a revolver broke
the silence that brooded over the river,
‘rac
It was a splendid aim, and had not the
‘othersin the boat rendered it a trifie un-
steady, Volney must have gonedown. As it
was the bullet took his own revolver out of
his hand and left him defenseless.
Did the rebels only know it the game was
now in their hands.
Fortunately for Vi olney the rebels did not
guess the situation. Only one of them ap-
peared to have pluck enough to contest the
matter, and he was overruled by the other
tw
Finding they ‘1 were pulling away for all
they were worth, Volney at once took u
bis oars and bent to them witha right good
wi
CHAPTER UII. |
ADVENTURES ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
The situation was not a pleasant one by.
any means.
There was only about one chance in a
thousand that, after so much of a hubbub,
he could succeed i in escapin
He was not the kind of a Fellow, however,
to give up until there was nothing else left
to do, and keeping eyes and ears open he
pulled down the river.
Swiftly he drew near to the batteries.
Could he pass them safely b:
This important question wae not settled
whenhe found that he was at least to re-.
ceive theircompliments, ‘
fhe darkness was suddenly riven by .the
glare of a blue light, which spread so far.
that his position was revealed.
he next instant there was a heavy boom,
and acannon-ball went whizzing past over-
his head.
Again a blue light’s glare rent the pall of
darkness. It revealed him still alive and
safe. .
Boom ! :
Once more a cannon thundered; once
more 2 ball went hissing above his head. .
“They are not ranged low enough to hit .
me,”’ muttered the spy. ‘For that much
let me be thankiul. But what will be the
outcome of this? I can see but one thing—
that I must submit to capture, or else leave:
the skiff to drift whither it will while I take,
to the water.”’
The reasoning was sound.
Moreover, it ‘should haye tobe promptly
acted upon, for only ashort distance below.
where he now was, a second guard-boat was
silently flitting to and fro.
The inmates of this boat saw the blue
lights and began to Jook about them.
‘It did not take them Jong .to discover the
dark object ou the water.
The prow of their boat was brougrt about
and headed in the direction of the skiff,
They were not very far away when Vol-
ney first became aware of their presence.
Already he had delayed too long for his
own safety.
Keeping his body close down to. the gun-
wale, so that he ran less risk of being seen,
he slid over the stern into the water, into
which he noiselessly sunk.
“If they did not see me go over the stern,
Ican count that I have the ghost of ashow,”
muttered the spy, as he clung to the keel of
the sk
They had not seen him, and when the next
blue light was burned, and they saw’ that
theskiff wasempty, there was more than one
exclamation of surprise.
“Could it be possible | that he was hit by
the cannon-ball?” said o
‘* More likely it is ouly § some Yankee trick.
Keep your eyes wide open, or he’ll give us
theslip, and then go around bragging how
he got the best of 2 lot of Southerners.’ :
Acouple of minutes followed that were
filled withanxiety to the spy, and then he
drew a deep breath of relief.
The rebels not merely had not discovered
him, but were of the opinion that he had
either gone overboard and been drowned,
or had been hit by the cannon-ball, and
summarily disposed of.
*“*T wonder who he was?” said one of the
men in the boat.
‘Some Yankee spy, I take it,” returned
another, “I am solid in believing that was
the ease, forifit was not there w rould have
been none of the shots we heard.’
**Guess you’re right.”
“+ Yes, and the cuss is done for.”
“What will we do w ith the skiff?”
“Tow it ashore. ye are even now being
signaled to come in, They want a report
of what we have discovered or know about
this matter.”
The skiff was taken in tow, and Volney,
hanging fast to the keel, was conveyed to-
ward the shore, much against his will, were
the truth known.
Under some circumstances he might have
been glad to thus easily get a tow “into the
very lines of the enemy, but not now while
he had in his possession orders of the utmost
Importance to the Union cause,
The shore was not more than a quarter of
nmileaway when he reached a conclusion,
It was to take the risk of dropping behind,
and if not discovered swim dawn the river