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THE WAR LIBRARY.
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until be came to a place where he might
safely land. .
Letting go his hold on the keel of the skiff,
he swiftly dropped behine.
‘His heart was in his throat for some
seconds. -
The odds were against him.
There were at least ten chances that he
would be discovered, where there was one
that he would escape.
- Fortune befriended him.
Not an eye was turned in the direction of
* the rear at the moment_he chose for desert-
ing his skiff, and as itonly took a few strokes
of the oars to drop him into the impenetra-
ble darkness of distance he was not long
kept in suspense.
“Safe for the present!’ he gasped, as the
boat receded. ‘* 1 did not expect that I could
drop behind without being seen—nor could
Ihave done so had not they been pretty
sure that I had gone overboard.”
- Such was the truth.
Toaman the rebels were impressed with
the belief that, whoever he was, he had met
with a watery grave.
But although he had escaped being seen
by the men in. the guard-boat, the spy was
not safe by any means.
Other dangers lurked in his path, and he
Was unarmed and unprepared to meet them,
As a rule he always carried two revolvers,
buton this occasion he had possessed only
theone thathe had been robbed of in the
singular manner related—the more singular
asit had not injured him in the slightest.
Again the blue lights began to burn.
. The boat containing the dead officer had
Teached shore.
- A couple of minutes more and then the
. Other was at the dock, with the empty skiff
in tow. .
Now went up a red light. .
It was quickly followed by a blue one,
then another that was red.
- “That isa warning, and is intended to put
those on their guard who are below here,”
thought the spy. ‘‘ Well, I only ask about
ten minutes grace and then I want no fur-
ther odds.””
' He was rightin supposing the lights, being
sent up in the order mentioned, were in-
tended as a warning. :
Almost immediately he saw lights dancing
on the water, evidence that the small boats
were out and that they were keeping a sharp
- lookout.
Each of these small boats was provided
With a lantern, and each was in the hands of
2 man who understood their use on the
river.
As light after light put in an appearance
he began to countthem. |
Finally alow whistle escaped his lips, and
he loudly exclaimed:
“Tf I want to save my bacon I’ll have to
get out of this neighborhood in pretty short
order. There are ten of these guard-boats
‘in sight, and after being warned, there is no
earthly chance of my escaping them—of
running the gantlet. [ must claw over to-
ward the other shore.”
* Suiting action to the words, he began to
‘make use of a peculiar method of swimming,
that might be likened toasailing vessel’s
.eating her way into the wind. While goin
,Bhead slowly, he was also moving towar
the shore opposite Vicksburg.
Volney was an excellent swimmer, which
was in his favor; and Heaven knows he
“stood in need of favoring circumstances at
‘this time, for the nearest boat was not more
“than a hundred yards away.
, But for the fact that only his head was
above water he must inevitably have been
,seen. :
: As it was, his head appearing above the
- surface only like a ball, it was not observed
even when an object of slightly larger bulk
could not fail to have been seen.
He had an extremely close shave of it on
one occasion—a boat passing within twenty
> feet of him. . .
. In time he sunk himself until only the tip
. of his nose was above water, and thus he re-
mained untilit had got to a safe distance.
. When it had passed he was really freer
- than hehad yet been, and he was not slow
< in taking advantage of the favoring circum-
stance.
« _ He dug away in the water, clawing, as we
‘ have termed it, toward the opposite shore.
Once more he came near to being run over
by one of the searching boats, but escaped
_ its notice by the same tactics he had before
» employed.
When this boat was lost to sight inthe
darkness he struck out again, feeling now
that his chances of escape were considerably
6
improved over what he had hoped for less
than ten minutes before. LO
If he could reach the shore and makea
landing undiscovered he would feel no
further fear as to the result; and he could
discern no good reason now why he should
not reach the shore opposite Vicksburg, for,
from the position of the lights, the boats
were all of them atsome distance and be-
tween him and the city whose lamps gleam-
ed like so many stars in the darkness, _
The nearer he drew to shore the more hi:
heart began to revive, and already he was
planning what should be his next step,
when he received warning in a most start-
ling way that danger was not yet a thing of
the past.
The warning of danger was in the shape
of a sudden swerving from the course he
was following, the result of an eddying cur-
‘rent—seizing on him.
He was taken unawares and unprepared,
and before he could brace himself—could
muster the strength to battle with the cur-
rent it had carried him under.
Had he been any less of a good swimmer
than he was he would never have appeared
alive on the surface of the water.
As it was, 1t required all the strength and
pluck and nerve he could command to suc-
cessfully combat the giant power of the cur-
rent.
By an exertion partaking of the super-
human he kept his head above the surface,
while at the same time he worked to ex-
tricate himself from the whirl of the
eddy.
He was compelled to do a Trojan’s work
to pecomplish this, but accomplish it he did
at last.
Once outside the influence of the minature
maelstrom he struck out again for the
shore, but struck out far more weakly than
he had done before encountering the swirl-
ing eddy.
fe was completely exhausted, and must
soon have given out had he not reached
the shore atthe precise juncture that he
“Thank God !"’-he fervently exclaimed, as
his feet touched bottom and he began walk-
ing the intervening distance to the shore.
“A couple of minutes more would have
finished me and Admiral Farragut would
never have received these dispatches.” —.
When he got so near to the shore that the
moter was only waist deep he paused to
isten. :
He had before thought there was reason
to fear that detection might follow on the
heels of his landing, and he did not forget it
now.
But no sound was to be heard to indicate
that any person was near, and with a sigh of
relief he dragged himself wearily over the
short remaining distance, and had just step-
pea foot on dry land when came the start-
ing hail:
‘Who goes there?”
CHAPTER III.
PLUCK AND BRAINS.
Taken completely by surprise, Volney
made no reply, and the demand was re-
peated: - .
“Who goes there?”’
Gathering himself for the ordeal before
him, Volne now answered :
“A fri >
rien
_ Advance, friend, and give the counter-
sign.”
He had, however, only advanced a few
feet before he was ordered to halt.
Of course, in_his present defenceless con-
dition, he could do nothing save obey, and
he came toa halt at once.
“*What’s the matter?” he inquired.
“Matter enough. They've been having a
picnic of some kind out there on the river,
and 1 don’t know what it means.”
“Tecan tell you,’ promptly said the spy
“Can? Well, suppose you do.”
“There's a Yankee spy who tried to run
past and got caught.”
‘*May be you are the Yankee spy.”
“It is possible. But, if I was, would I be
likely to give myself away 2”?
“No. But how does it come that you
wereinthe river? You are dripping wet—
I can hear the water dropping out of your
clothes.”
‘How did Icome to be in the water? I
say, have you found out yet that the Yan-
kees can fight like the old boy himself? If
you haven’t, just you get in a guard-boat
and be on hand when a Yankee tries to run
the gantlet. If you don’t get warmed up
then I miss my 3,” :
As he said this Volney was bending for-
ward while he endeavored. to pierce the
darkness with his eyes and discover the
exact location of the rebel .who had hailed
im. ’
The latter, however, could not be seen. as
he was in the concealmens afforded by a
small clump of bushes, Seana
This was unfortunate for the spy and in
favor of the rebel.
he was to escape he must manage some-
how to get near the rebel, take him off his -
guard and finish or silence him in some
way.
He began to move slowly forward, but
once again was brought toa halt by a gruff
command to that effect.
was clear that the rebel was aware of
the advantage he possessed, and that he did
not intend to lose it. .
As matters stood he had the other at his
mercy, and at the first. sign of danger could
put a bullet through his head. woe t
Had he known that the man before him
was unarmed he would not have been’so
fearful of the result, even were he thespy
over whose discovery so much fuss had been
ade. ,
“T say,’ he remarked, presently, ‘‘ you
can call out the countersignfrom where you
are. -
“T won’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“ Because it is against all military rules as
well as against orders, and if I did it, and
you sanctioned the thing, it would be apt to
get us bothinto trouble.”
‘* But nobody else will know it.”
“That makes no ‘difference, I will not
give the countersign in the way you want
i
. * How will you give it?”
“In the proper manner alone.”
“Suppose I shoot you?”
‘Very well; just as you say. Tamnota
coward noram 1 afraid of death, although
I can’t say I hanker after it. But if you try
shooting me, I think you will have cause to
rue the thing.”
‘Why so?”
**T am an officer.” ,
“ Great Jupiter!” gasped the sentry.
He felt that he had got himself intoa
pretty. scrape.
If this was an officer then‘he had made a
fearful mistake in requesting him to.call out
the Sountersign. “
‘Volney understood what was passing in
the mind of the rebel.
In fact this was just what he had been aim-
ng at.
If he could make him believe that he was
an officer the chances of his escape were
much improved, .
Waiting a minute to give his communica-
tion time to work its full effect, he then
said:
si on well, are you ready for the counter-
ig) :
“ Ye-e-e-s,"’ faltered the sentry. .
_ “‘Am I to advance to you, or are you com-
ing out here to me?” a
e rebel’s caution did not entirely desert
him even though he thought he had'made a
great blunder, for which a sharp reprimand
might be visited upon his head, and he said:
‘** Advance and give the countersign.”
With easy, contident, steady step, and not
at all as though his life depended on the
next minute, the spy advanced toward the
cover where the rebel awaited his coming. -
Volney’s hands were clinched tightly.
Action, prompt action, would probably be
necessary, and it would be to his discredit if
he did not avail himself of any chance, how-
ever slight, that might fall in his way.
Whether the sentry was overmuch of a
coward, or only greatly suspicious, Vqiney
could not determine; but certain it is that
before Volney reached the bushes hi was
once again ordered to halt, .
In an angry tone he demanded:
‘* What is the matter now?” . .
“Nothing, only [intend to be on tha safe
side,’ was the rejoinder. “If you ar) an
officer I’m in for it anyhow, and I migut as
well be hung for an old sheep as a lamb.
J ust Fou raise your hands over your head
now!”
Volney lau shed sarcastically.
“Coward!” he exclaimed.
“T don’t deny it; I never did claim ¢o be
brave, andifl hadmy way I wouldr.’t be
here.”
. Volney put his hands over his head with a
smile to himself. The last words of the man
had given an insight into his characte, ‘that
made him hopeful. : ‘
Advancing slowly he was soon at tho edge
of the bushes and then gota glimpse )f the
sentry’s eyes through the gloom,
j—