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THE WAR LIBRARY.
dark object.
Kingslake.
Ay, it was no more than a body, for, sus-
pecting a trick, Gleason turned him over
and looked well.
The shell had spared the man’s face, which
. bore no sign of pain or fear; but his body
had been so torn that death had been iustan-
taneous.
In that hour his lips had been forever
_ sealed, and thus the ex-actor went off the
stage forever. .
Awed, yet relieved, Gleason hastened back
to Marchford’s house.
All fighting was over there, and such of
the Confederates as were not prisoners were
It was-the body of Roger
ad. wt
Among the latter—harmless at last—was
Edwin Cleveland. .
No more would he wage war on Abram;
no more fight for the Southern flag; but all
that could be said in his favor was that he
had died fighting bravely.
An hour later, firing ceased all along the
Union lines. :
Darkness had come like a friend to the
bruised, broken, and shattered Confederates,
and they gladly withdrew from the scene of
atte.
The battle of Malvern Hill was decisively
won by the Union army.
With the end of that struggle ends, also,
our present journey with the Army of the
Potomac; but a glauce at-what followed
will be valuable from a historical point.
No sooner was the battle over, than Lee
made haste, justly frightened, to retreat to
Richmond; and McClellan made equal haste
to retreat down the Yorktown road, instead
of again assuming the offensive.
Thus ended the fruitless campaign.
e, however, with the boldness of his
nature, rapidly recruited his army and start-
ed on araid North; and when McClellan was
withdrawn from the peninsula, these two
armies again met; but this time in Mary-
land, at the Antietam, as may be found de-
scribed in that book of this series entitled:
* Crossed Swords.”
As for Robert Dare, alias. Gleason, he and
Eunice were married on the field of Malvern
Hill by a chaplain of General Porter's gorps;
and when, on investigation, he found that
no onein Richmond suspected him, he re-
turned to his old work, and remained
through the war. ~
Mr. Marchford lived to see the end of the
war, and then died ata _ good old age; but,
ay, Robert Dare and his wife are living
in Massachusetts, happy and prosperous.
The reader will be interested to know that
the worthy Major Black arose fo a colonel’s
position ultimately, and that, when the war
ended, he accepted the situation gracefully,
and now lives on a Virginia plantation with
his wife and children. :
The friendship between Gleason and him-
self has never been broken.
{THE END.]
> ©
The Perils of a Scout.
Among the scouts sent out during the bat-
tles on the Potomac, was Dick B., of Ohio.
He had seen some perilous and thrilling ad-
ventures among the rebels, which cannot be
better told than in his own words:
I was out scouting, with three or four
others, when we gotseparated, aud on turn-
ing a bend in the road, I suddenly came
upon aparty.of rebel cavalry. They com-
manded me to halt. I replied by firing my
revolver at the foremost, and then putting
spurs to my horse, galloped away; but the
rebels were not disposed, so easily, to lose
their prey, and they followed, all of us going
at a breakneck pace, and they firing upon
Tine as they could get near enough. Presently
1 perceived a pathway in the woods, that
laid off from the main road. Into this path
I turned my horse, as I thought the trees
would afford me a better chance to escape
them and their bullets. My horse was fleet
and used to brush, aud I gained on them a
little. I began to think my chance was
tolerable, when I came to a large tree that
had blown down directly across iny path,
and when I attempted to leap it, my horse
stumbled and fell, throwing me off, and be-
fore I could remount the rebels were upon
me.
‘*Surrender!” shouted © sergeant, ‘‘ Sur-
render, you blue-bellied Yankee, or I'll blow
your heart out!” .
He pointed his revolver at me, which mo-
tion was followed by the rest,of the crowd.
** See here, old covy,” said I, “put up your
pop-gun, and.take me prisoner if you like;
but don’t murder a fellow in that barbarous
manner.”
Of course I was a prisoner, and thought it
was the better part of valor to fall in and
trust to chance and strategy to get me out.
So I was soon in line, and toted up to the
rebel camp, and brought before the victori-
ous Stonewall. ‘
The general eyed me about one minute,
and then said: \
“e Well, sir, they tell me you area Yankee
Vhew! thought I; this is more than I
bargained for; but I was determined to put
a jolly face on the matter, and I said:
“*Yes, general, that’s what they say; but
you rebels are such blamed liars, there’s no
nowing when to believe what they say. I
thought the Yankees could outlie any other
nation, but hang me if you fellows can’t|beat
“Ah,” said the general, ‘you don’t seem
to have a very exalted opinion of your
brethren.”
“Why shouldI have?” said I. “I’ve lost
and suffered a good deal in that same Yan-
kee nation.’”’
“That’s strange,” said the general. ‘‘Don’t
the Union officers treat their soldiers well?”
“They’re like all other officers,” said I,
“good and bad among them; but that’s not
where the shoe pinches. To make a long
story short, although I live in Virginia, Iwas
favorably disposed to the Union cause, but
the beggarly Lincolnites wouldn’t believe it;
so they fed their troops on my granary and
cupboard tillI was about ruined, and when
I wanted pay they toldjme I was a fool, and
said if] was a good Union man, I ought to
be glad to aid the government. One day one
of the officers told me if I would enlist they
would think better of me, and instead of dé-
stroying my property, they would protect
it. So the upshot of it was, as.my loyalty
was doubted, I was compelled to enlist to
save my property.”
““That’s a plausible story,” said the gen-
eral, “but not a very probable one. Why
didn't you come into our lines at once if you
wanted protection?” .
“That's just what I was coming at,” said
I, ‘I wassent out with a scouting party,
and soI kept on scouting till I got within
your lines ind wastaken by your cavalry.”
“Take care, young man!’ said the gener-
al, sternly; ‘ Tunderstand you attempted to
escape.”
This wasa poser; butas I had got under
way, I thought I must try and make the
ripple. I felt tolerable streaked about the
result, too, but I said, earnestly: ~-
“Of course I did. Who wouldn't, with
half a dozen horses and bullets after him ? 1
hadn’t time to say surrender, and beside the
officer cursed me. I don’t like to be cursed
—it’s against my principles; and then I was
so mighty mad to’ see such beastly cowards,
that Lhalf made up my mind to get away
from both sides, and go to Canada.”
The general looked at me and then at his
staff, and they all smiled, while I looked as
soberusadeacon. I had heard that the gen-
eral was a pious old fellow, and I thought
this would tickle him.
“Are you willing,” said he, ‘to take the
oath of allegiance to the Southern Confed-
eracy and fight in our cause?”
“To be sure,” said I‘ ‘I told you before
that I had been trying to getinto your lines,
But I don’t want to fight for you if lam not
protected in my rights. I want my prop-
erty respected.’
‘Where do you live?” asked he.
“At Philippi,” said I,“and I’ve a nice prop-
erty up, there, and I want it to be taken
6 of.
“Well,” said the general, ‘‘ we're going u
that way shortly, and, whether yougo with
us or not, we will protect your property. In
the meantime I will think of your offer, but
for the present as the evidence is against you
ou will be placed under guard, for you
ankees are too slippery to be trusted with
too much liberty. Events show that you
don’t know how to use it.”
After this [ was kept under guard, and
was ireated, perhaps, a3 well as they were,
and nothing to brag of at that. The next
day there was a great battle. There was
much commotion in the rebel camp; and
for fear that I should be recaptured, a guard
or two was detailed to take ine far back to
the rear,
We could distinctly hear the thundering
of the cannon, and we knew that a great
battle was commenced. I overheard the
guard chuckling at the idea that they were
exempt. This put a fleain my ear. I knew
they were cowards, and I determined to
manage them accordingly.
My canteen had not been taken from me,
and, as luck would have it, was half full of
tolerable ‘‘rot-gut.” also had in my
pocket a large powder of morphine, which
the surgeon had given me a few days be-
fore, to take occasionally ; this 1 slipped into
the canteen. After this was accomplished,
Lappeared to take long swigs at the can-
teen. Atlast the bait took; the boys got a
smell at the whisky, and one of them, turn-
ing to me, said:
**Look here, Yankee, that whisky smells
mighty good. Let ushelp you drink it, or
you'll be so drunk soon that we shall have
to carry you.”’
“All right, boys,’ said I, “*help your-
selves.”
They did help themselves. The beggarly
rebels soon finished the whisky, morphine
and all.
“Tt tastes
“What's in it?
“Quinine,” saidI. ‘I always put quinine
in my whisky this time o’ year.”
_ This satisfied them, and [ soon had the sat-
isfaction of seeing my guard _tolerably
drunk—too drunk to walk, and so they
tumbled down, and they did not get up again
soon. Finding they were. getting pretty
stupid and sleepy, I shook them and said:
“See here, guard, this isashame. How do
you expect to guard me, drunk as you are?"
“Yes, guard,” muttered one. ‘* Your—
turn now—you guard us. Don’t leave—or—
['llshoot you when—wake up.”
“But hold on,” said I, ‘show do you ex-
pect meto guard you when I don’t know
the password?” .
“By vigorous strokes and punches, I so
far routed him that he muttered: ‘* Rattle-
snake!”’
Ihad no doubt but this was the magical
“open sesame’’ that was to give me my
liberty. In five minutes the men were fast
asleep. The place where we were was &
deep gully in the woods, and about.a mile
distant was the rebel camp. My purpose
was soon fixed. Iswapped clothes with one,
which was considerable trouble, as he was
as flimsy asa rag; but I succeeded at Jast in
making the exchange, and had the satisfac-
tion of seeing the drunken rebel nicely but-
toned up_in Yankee regimentals. Taking
his armsI hurried. away. WhenI got out
through the woods I came intoa road, and
had no sooner done so, than I saw a squad of
rebel soldiers.
“Falt!” was the word, which I responded
to with soldierly precision.
““Whatare you doing here?” said the Heu-
tenant commanding. .
Utold him that two of us were guarding a
prisoner, and that my comrade and the
prisoner were both so dead drunk I coulddo
nothing with them.
_That’sa deuce of a story,” replied the
lieutenant, “I believe you’re some Yankee
spy-. ’ven mind toclip your head off, on
suspicion.”
He raised his sword.
“Let him prove what he says by showing
us the men,” snggested one of the squad.
At this they all laughed, snpposing 1 was
bluffed, But when [ readily assented to
this, they followed me, cautiously, however,
as I suppose they feared I was leading them
into ambush. When the lieutenant saw the
men—onein butternut and one in Yankee
blue—as I had represented, he gave each'a
hearty kick and said:
““Well this isa mess, What are you going
mighty bitter,’ said one.
to do about i
“Going to hunt a wagon and have them
carried on,’’ said TI.
This was satisfactory and we parted.
Finding it would not do to take the road I
skulked around in the woodsallday. When
night came I took as Isupposed, a route that
would lead me to the Unioncamp. AH night.
I climbed about over the hills; twice 1 was
hailed by rebel pickets, but ‘‘ Rattlesnake”
carried me safely by. Just at daylight I dis-
covereducamp. I couldsee the tents twink-
ling through the strip of woods before me,
and I felt certain that it was the. Federal
camp.
When Thad got about half way through
the piece of woods, I saw something that
completely took all the exultation of my de-
livery out of me, Well, I’ve been in many &
petilous position, I have had bayonets,
vuilets and bowies rummaging round in the
region of my loyal bosom; but never. in all
my life, was I so astonished and chagrined—
so utterly taken down. There, inthe bottom
of a broad, deep ravine, not ten steps from
me, lay the two drunken guards! Lord!
this was a pretty fix, to be’sure. I had ac-
complished a feat equal to the hero of Mother
Goose, who went,
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