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"Then the wonderful
10
Grant’s whole army was about to: tear
through and come down upon us from the
north. . .
The cavalry spy laughed. :
‘That was my little band. Wegave them
@ touch of Sherman’s tactics.” ~ :
The other was not yet fully satisfied, but
what could he do under the circumstances ?
_A few minutes’ talk with the cavalry cap-
tain swept away his last doubt, and he
shook hands with him cordially.
He was on the track of other business, but
learning in thesame way Benson had of the
contemplated meeting, he had resolved to
be present.
As his other business would occupy his
_ time fully, he was glad of this meeting.
. Bob could take the news to Grant.
If he arrived safely he was to let the other
know in a certain way.
This was arranged so that if the young
spy suffered capture or death, the other, not
receiving the signal agreed upon, would
make for Grant’s camp himself.
They left the house by means of the tunnel,
fis this was deemed the safer way.
Payne Bailey had not known of this be-
Tore, he having entered the house at dusk,
, When the man in charge was lighting it up
Tor the conference.
He was greatly taken with the thing, and
- declared it was the neatest dodge he -had
seen for many a weary day.
Outside he accompanied Bob to the house
gt Loyal, whom he had casually met be-
ore.
The young cavalry spy had now accom-
lished the errand that had taken him into
etersburg, and he was ready to leave at
once.
Perhaps he would not be so fortunate in
this respect as in entering the city.-
There were dangers to be passed.
The guards had strict orders with regard
to deserters, who were to be summarily
dealt with, and aspy would be apt to fare
still worse if caught.
He parted from his friends at midnight,
and began his perilous undertaking.
_One thing cheered him.
The thunder tones of that great hammer
8 it beat unceasingly proclaimed that Grant
‘was knocking still at the door of Petersburg
‘and waiting for the opportunity to force his
way in. - .
Only a few days more.
operations before
Petersburg would culminatein the roar of
battle that must be the beginning of the
.
CHAPTER-XIII.
The Union spy was in no haste.
-He had five hours to make use of.
Solong has he was safely out of Peters-
\
burg by daylight all would be well.
He did not mean to loiter now that he had
begun his journey ‘for the Federal camp,
and at the same time it was not his inten-
tion to make any mistake through undue
haste. - ‘
The night was dark, very much as the
former had been when he entered Peters-
urg.
He knew of no reason why he should not
£o out in the same way he had entered, and
an hour later found him near the inner line
of works.
“It will be remembered that he came into
these lines ina novel way, by assisting to
drag a gun that was being moved.
That was pure luck.
Wo such good fortune awaited him now.
ie might wait the balance of the night
¥
without getting such a chance
This part of the line seemed unusually
well guarded.
Sentries paced to and fro in profusion.
To pass them successfully a man would
have to assume the proportions of a rattle-
snake, and even then he might get prodded
with a bayonet. /
-Fires flashed here and there.
Occasionally a bomb would burst in mid-
air and spread a deathly white glare about
for the instant, so well remembered by those
who have seen such a spectacle on a dark
night. ‘
“he men in the works around Petersburg
had seen more than they wanted of this sort
of thing.
In fact, they were tired of it, and ready to
Welcome a change one way or the other.
It had lost all its pyrotechnical beauty for
em. :
When Captain Bob had scouted along the
line and found no show of getting through
at the old point, he was ‘reluctantly com-
“THE WAR LIBRARY.
pelled to abandon his intention in that place.
He moved off to the left. .
There was no particular object in this ac-
tion, only; he knew thatif he kept on far
enough it would bring him to the Appomat-
tox River. : .
Had he not been desirous of speedily gain-
ing the Union camp he might have left the
city more easily from the western side.
As the country to the east and south was
in the hands of the Federal troops, the rebels
manned the works in those quarters most
thickly.
On the west they were on the watch, but
looked for no foe, as the region was unfa-
vorable to the advance of any army.
It was Captain Bob’s intention to keep on
moving to the northeast until he found the
chance for which he was on the watch.
He wasvery careful.
Discovery would be signally unpleasant.
He had retained his Confederate eaptain’s
uniform which had been made use of in the
earlier part of the night.
This might help him in an emergency.
Again, under certain conditions it would
be the very worst thing in the world for
im. .
Making his way along he finally cametoa
railroad running almost due east.
Bob knew what this was.
It was the City Point road, unused, of
course, except by the Federals to carry men
and provisions from the landing at City
Point on the James part of the way to
Petersburg.
The rebels also used the line inside their
works.
Bob knew the river was near at hand, and
he was at first inclined to continue on, but
upon second thought determined to try the
railroad first.
If it did not pan out well, he could turn to
the water.
He began to walk along the railroad.
Before he had gone twenty paces he heard
the clank of arms and’ the steady step of
marching soldiers ahead.
The sounds drew nearer.
Realizing that the men were approaching,
he looked about him as well as the durkness
would permit to discover some place where
he could hide until they had passed by.
His eye fell upon the deserted house of a
switch-tender close by.
It was merely a box six by six, but good
enough for his purpose.
Men in a desperate strait are not apt to be
very particular about such things.
He made for it in a hurry, and yet he was
careful not to disclose his presence by any
racket.
Once safely within the little house hestood
and listened to hear the troops go by.
There seemed to be about a score of them
as near as he could judge.
To his surprise, when they were about op-
posite the switch-tender’s. shanty there
came a command:
“Halt!” .
Had they seen him after all?
He contemplated dashing out of the
shanty and making off, trusting to his good
luck and the darkness to avoid a volley of
bullets.
Better that than trust to his chances if he
once fell into their hands.
Further words fell upon his ear and re-
strained him from this rash move.
“Carling, you and Peters stop here with
Sergeant Doon. Keepa bright lookout. It
is expected that the rascal will come this
way.”’
é
Hal they were looking for some one
then?
An extra force was being thrown upon
the picket line not to prevent the Yankees
from coming in but some one from going
out.
Perhaps that some one was himself!
What more likely?
Intently he listened, holding his very
breath with eagerness.
“Captain, any particular orders?” asked
the sergeant.
“Nothing more than what I told you.
The fellow is keen as a steel trap., It is be-
lieved he is dressed in a Confederate cap-
tain’s uniform, and any person who can’t
give a good account of themselves, arrest
them on the spot.””
*“*That’s mel’? muttered Captain Bob.
The main body marched on, leaving the
three men on the railroad near the little
shauty where crouched the object of their
solicitude. -
Bob began to creep out of the door.
At that moment he heard the sergeant
propose that they get out of the keen wind
Ox.
As they started toward it with that in-
tention the Yankee dropped to the earth
and lay up so close to the base of the shanty
that it would have-taken the eyes of a cat
to have discovered him. +
The three rebel soldiers passed within two
feet of him as he lay there.
Once inside they proceeded to light their
pipes and enjoy a good time, as there was no
one to see.
At the same time they could keep watch
and ward upon the railroad track.
The Federal spy was about to leave the
vicinity, as he did not believe it was con-
ducive to his health, when words struck his
ear that riveted his attention.
Once more he crouched and listened to
what the three fellows inside were talking
about, which was news to him of course, as
jt concerned his own actions.
CHAPTER XIV. :
The three pickets were enjoying them-
selves as best they could. . 4
It was not often that soldiers of the Con:
federacy could enjoy themselves of late.
Grant had given them a rough turn.
They had been compelled to fight day by
day and keep watch at night. : _
Ali this much of the time on an empty
stomach was enough to dishearten them.
That winter was what tried these men’s
souls, and it is to the credit of Robert E.
Lee, more than the cause they served, that
so many thousands were at the front this
night in spring.
In.war times these three fellows might
have been disciplined for technically dis-
obeying orders, but the erying evil of the’
Confederate camps at the time was certain-
ly anything but discipline. : =
“Peters,” said the sergeant, ‘‘sit whar ye
can see the tracks, for if it should fall our
lot to capture this feller, I reckon as how
we could ask for anything we wanted.”
“Dye done that more’n once,” growled
‘eters.
‘“What’s more, we'd get it,’’ pursued the
sergeant, between the puffs at his pipe. ,
“That'd suit me. I'm near desperation,”
putin the third man. . .
“Tsay, sergeant, who is it we're after?”
“A deserter, L reckon,” said Carling
“Then he must bea general, to go to all
this hyar trouble. Why, the whole cam p’s
bubbling.” .
The sergeant was chuckling.
“ All wrong, boys.” ~
“Then you know about it?”
* Sartin I do,” -
“Tell us.”
He cleared his throat. /
*“Ye see what it is to be an officer, even a
non-commissioned one.’ Thar’s many a lit-'
tle thing I’ve picked up that don’t get into
the rank and file.’’ = .
“Sergeant Doon, we're particular friends
of yours, and as we're all here on this duty
should give us the truth, the hull truth——_”
“And nothin’ but the truth, by thunder!”
The sergeant chuckled again. :
This was-a sort of insinuation with re.
gard to his general veracity. ©
However, he did not seem to mind it.
“This is how it is, boys. Never mind how
Ilearned about it. .
“Tt seems that an hour before midnight a
man rushed into the headquarters of our
general, Bob Lee, and upon seein’ the gen-
eral, cried out: .
“ Have you had the conference, general?’
“«* Yes,’ replied General Bob. ‘ :
“«- Then I’m too late.’
“*«Too late! : What do you mean, sir?’
“ Don’t you recognize me, general? I’m
Prince Force, the spy of the James,.’”
The two auditors uttered low words that
told of their enchained attention.
Even the man outside puckered up his lips
and listened more eagerly than before. '
The name was well known.
Prince Force was a Virginian, who had
done much remarkable work for the Con-
federates during the war in the guise of a
spy. :
Te had never been caught, yet it was
known more than once that he had carried
news of astartling nature to Lee,
{any a time some shrewd move on the
art of the Federal commanders was balked
ecause Lee was warned of it beforehand.
It was pretty senerally known by this
time that at Fredericksburg General Burn-
side’s plan of action, one of the finest mili-
gary ans ever invented, would have re-
sulted in giving the victory to the Federal
by utilizing the little shanty as a guard-
/
together it’s only fair and square that ye,