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 Simmons, the Union scout, facing death among the flames at Predericksburs, 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 BATTERY BOB ; 
 
 OR. • 
 
 Crest and Plain at Fredericksburg. 
 
 BY ANTHOSr P. MORRIS. 
 
 ith iu 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 We begin our narratiTe at a time shortly 
 subsequent to the abortive attempt ol the 
 Confederate General Lee to invade the 
 North by way of Harper's Ferry and the 
 Antietam. 
 
 The reader of history will remember how 
 General MeClellan, then the idol of the army 
 whiehhisown hands and gen ins had fash- 
 ioned, while not winning a positive victory 
 over the hostile forces, at least checked the 
 bold advance of the gray-clad host, and. 
 Anally, after one of the most bloody battles 
 destined to figure in the after records of the 
 war, drove hisnntagouist back over the gory 
 ground into the hilly shelters of Virginia. 
 
 Scarcely had the brave commander of the 
 Union troopsaccorapllshed this cheering ob- 
 iect, when the following well-remembered 
 dispatch was bi ought to him by General 
 Buckingham, post haste from Washington, 
 and handed to him at Rectortowu, while in 
 pursuit of the flying enemy : 
 
 By direction of the President c 
 Is urdered that Major-general : 
 
 that Major-general Burnside li 
 
 forth. 
 
 rief ' 
 
 essor to Gen- 
 qualiflcation 
 I suddenly de- 
 areer as such 
 
 the loveliest girls that could be met 
 that section. 
 
 Ethel Cobbs was a tall, dark-eyed, raven- 
 haired beauty of eiirlitepn years— though ap- 
 pearing of ..v.u „unv womanly age-of flue 
 
 "iter taiiic fnr l.'\ < linnss, and as the hostess 
 of the old tavern was second to the notoriety 
 of her father only, and pure as beautiful was 
 she known to be. ^ , , „ . 
 
 But no guests stopped now at Cobbs Rest, 
 nor had they for many a day since the rum- 
 ble of war ruug up its sullen echoes on the 
 soil of Virginia. 
 
 Father and daughter were comparatively 
 alone there, the old man being e.xempt, be- 
 cause of his iuflrmity, from serving iu the 
 army of a cause that was dear to his heart. 
 
 On the morning of the seventeenth of No- 
 vember, 1862, Silas Cobbs was walking un- 
 restedly to and f.o across the ricketty porch 
 of his tavern, his wooden stump thumping 
 rapidly on the planking. 
 
 Anon his watery gray eyes roved afar to 
 the north and along the line of railroad in 
 the way of a man who momentarily expects 
 to make an unpleasant discovfry. 
 
 And anon he nuiti.i. d an almost inco- 
 herent jumble ..t ". iHs iilHMit --iankees. 
 
 In thein'idst otMhW. Iiis d':ni;.-liler appeared 
 in the the broad ,]...„ «ay-;i 
 
 ■ author 
 
 who was a child <i 
 further tliat li. r i 
 ment was like tli 
 being earthly, v.; 
 contours, all radi; 
 bined a natural f. 
 beamed and seeme 
 
 rof quiik r 
 iurpinc, fa 
 
 [idde 
 
 I"-'JP 
 
 trnin that day at K.ctortown until the ac- 
 ceplaiH (■ of liis 1 (-situation by President Lin- 
 ci'lii, spt-aks plainly for itself. 
 
 The ('i.nfedi-iatcleader, Jackson, was in the 
 Shenandoah Valley; Luiigstreet was at Cul- 
 pepper. The forces of Lee, after the havoc 
 and letieat of the Antietam, were sadly di- 
 vided; when suddenly the southern host 
 found themselves '• let alone," as itwere,for 
 the army of Burnside was hardly to be seen, 
 Lee had to turn in surprise and go in search 
 of the foe that had been pursuing him. 
 
 Having abandoned the well-laid plans of 
 the commander who had preceded him, 
 Burnside was then making for Richmond by 
 the line of Fredericksburg. 
 
 In pursuance of the orders from the new 
 commander, Sumner's grand division was 
 now ou the march, his objective point being 
 the town of Falmouth, opposite Fredericks- 
 burg, where a crossing of the Rappahanock 
 was intended to be effected. 
 
 Ascertainingthemovementsof his foe. Gen- 
 eral Lee resolved to plant himself directly 
 in his path and give stern battle; to further 
 which, he soon had both Jackson and Long- 
 street marching swiftly toward the city by 
 the river. 
 
 With these brief explanations in premise 
 of the thrilling events to follow as an ad- 
 junct to the memorable campaign, we now 
 proceed to the drama of persons whose ad- 
 ventures and plots are of a kind to escape 
 the attention of the prosy historian in his 
 search after mere absolute facts. 
 
 Upon a gradual slope, amid the hills at the 
 north of Falmouth, was what had been 
 known, thrnughout a long period before the 
 war, as " Coblis' Rest." 
 
 A very large and roomy building that had 
 held many a Southern planter in previous 
 years as its gue>t, and which had attaineii a 
 popularity as a comfortable abiding place 
 for the weary traveler. 
 
 Old Silas Cobbs had fairly grown up with 
 the trees around the tavern that was now 
 
 They art 
 dogs iu blue 
 
 I be swarmiuf 
 
 II the air with 
 ell forme, my 
 ukees; I hate 
 IS— both smell 
 i ! why didn't 
 ion?" and the 
 er the porch. 
 
 e>. in 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DISGUISED LOVER. 
 
 hial at the well presented a 
 .lipl apjiearance. 
 IV ere of I lie siKibbicst, lU luauy 
 d in ]i;Lleli over patch; his 
 riaiii I uloi- were rammed care- 
 a pair of high boots 
 lit of falling from his 
 
 his. 
 
 ixty 
 
 "No— no, mv child—: 
 even puff the old pipe, 
 ing, and— bah!— I can't 1 
 coming this way, the de^ 
 And thethou^'ht Hiat tli 
 about here seems ahead} 
 a bad smell ; yes a very 1 
 child, for I tell you 1 ha 
 Yankees, and the smell e 
 alike to me. I'luph! Ba 
 they choose some otlu-r 
 wooden stump thumped 
 and his bald pate shook. ,. - , , 
 
 their white, raspy beard surrounding, splut- 
 tered in an ireful manner. 
 
 A minute's silence ensued. 
 
 But in that brief space Ethel ,wa3 think- 
 
 " ile hates Yankees ; and I love them— 
 love one, at least, and to see whom at this 
 moment I would willingly pay any price. 
 Perhaps I shall see him soon, lor I think he 
 is with this army that the riders who passed 
 here yesterday for Fredericksburg said was 
 coining. I have prayed ever since the re- 
 ceipt of that piece of news, that Heaven 
 would be kind enough to let me feel once 
 more the dear, true embrace of Robert 
 Ross " 
 
 Her thoughts were interrupted by the ab- 
 rupt appearance of asmallnegro boy around 
 one corner of the porch. 
 
 His black face was spread in a broad grin 
 that showed nearly every white tooth lu his 
 head, and his eves rolled sound and round 
 
 " Hi ! Massa Cobbs. Oh ! yah— yah !" 
 
 Cobbs wheeled on him. 
 
 " Hello ! what's the matter, you imp ?" 
 
 "Oh! hi-yi! 'and the darky rolled over 
 on the ground, convulsed with laughter. 
 
 Cobbs was in no mood forlnonsense. 
 
 He thumi)ed across the porch, and arriv- 
 in" within striking distance of the black, he 
 reached to smite him with the knotty cane 
 which he invariably carried. 
 
 Agilely the little fellow avoided the stroke, 
 crying: 
 
 " Don't welt me, Massa Cobbs 
 
 "What are you laughing at, you imp, I 
 say?" 
 
 "Why, jes' de funnies' thmgyou ever seen. 
 Oh, hi! Man wiv a hump on hees back- 
 seemed like it growed dar mo' an' mo' tell 
 hit am bigger dan de man hisself— yah, yah! 
 "A man?— where?" . 
 
 "Down dar by de well a helpin' of hisself 
 to a drink." 
 
 Down from the porch strode, or rather 
 I hol.liird, the old man to obtain a view of a 
 I i.er>en wlin could excite so much 
 
 lessly into the tops 
 that seemed on the _ 
 feet ere he could walk another mile; the 
 glazed rim of acap of half army pattern was 
 loose at one side, and hung ludicrously down 
 over one eye that glittered brightly with 
 the other over a pair of very red cheeks; but 
 his coat did not partake so much of the as- 
 pect of poverty which was so striking to the 
 observer. 
 
 Beneath the coat was a monstrous hump, 
 and the back of the coat seemed to have 
 been manufactured in flaps, probably for the 
 greater comfort of the hump, which waa 
 much larger than the humps usually seen m 
 similar deformities. 
 
 When he had satisfied his thirst, the man 
 who had eyed Cobbs over the rim of the 
 bucket, exclaimed : 
 
 "Hullo!" 
 
 Colilis saw in him only some wayfarer who> 
 had not, possibly, a penny in the world. 
 More, he was inclined to believe him to be 
 some vagabond who would not hesitate tO' 
 rob the tavern in some way it permitted to 
 loiter near. . 
 
 "Hullo, yourself!" he returned, raspingly 
 gruff. " \V^ho are you ?" 
 
 "tlh, I'm only a belated traveler." 
 
 " Belated— yes, I reckon so. Well, have 
 you had your drink ?" " 
 
 "Yes. and much obliged, if you're the 
 boss. That's flrst-rate water in the well 
 
 markeil.tohidehismistortunein the wearing 
 of an artificial leg. 
 
 For years he had been known as " one- 
 legged Cobbs." 
 
 And Cobbs had been married in his time 
 the fruits of which could be seen in one of 
 
 danced Coal, still grinnic 
 eek the laughter which had 
 jif down ou his back able 
 
 d I lie corner 
 
 huge balance pole 
 
 f the house, 
 ■lew of the well 
 he paused, him- 
 
 here." 
 
 He advanced toward Cobbs. 
 
 " Then if you've had your drink, be off." 
 
 " Be off?" halt pausing in astonishment. 
 
 "That's what I said." 
 
 " But I want to stop right here." 
 
 "The dogs you do!" 
 
 "This is Cobbs' tavern, isn't it?" 
 
 " Yes ; that's my name. But I don't want 
 anybody sleeping about my stable and barn, 
 and I won't have it. So get along " 
 
 "Stable and barn !" broke in the hump- 
 backed traveler. " Why, what are you talk- 
 ing about. I never thought of sleeping in a • 
 barn in my life." 
 
 " You didn't ? You've been accustomed to 
 the best the hotels can afford, I reckon, 
 haven't you?" half sneered the inn-keeper. 
 
 " Well, yes, when they had it to offer a 
 man. I heard that you kept a good place be- 
 fore the war ; and as you haven't moved 
 since I suppose you've got all the old accom- 
 
 Had his « ateiy eiiis l)eeii i-iipable of a lit- 
 tle keener (iisei'i'un,eiit, he w euld have dis- 
 covered that the redness on the upper por- 
 tion of the man's cheek's was paint, an art- 
 ful make up of a disguise of some sort, in 
 which, perhaps, the very hump upon Ins 
 back was a part. 
 
 "See here, have you got any money ? 
 
 " Money! why, I'm just loaded down with 
 it. Look at that," displaying a bright ten 
 dollar gold-piece. " Did you think I was go- 
 ing to stop at Cobbs' Rest, an' no money to 
 
 ■■If you did, you were mistaken, that's 
 all," was the quick rejoinder, though his 
 tone moderated somewhat as he perceived 
 that this strangely attired personage was 
 prepared to pay for the accommodations or 
 the inn. 
 
 And he added : 
 
 ■■ If j-ou'ie going to make a stop with me, 
 come this way. 1 haven't had much busi- 
 ness since the war, and what's more, I don't 
 care for it." 
 
 Notwithstanding he had seen the ready 
 money for such hospitalities as his hoi 
 could extend, he seemed to dislike to adc 
 the comer therein, and it was not with 
 very good grace that he said to Ethel, as the 
 two came around and ascended the porch 
 where she was still standing. 
 
 ■■ Ethel, see that a room is prepared tor 
 this "—he almost gulped the word, but could 
 not forget his old-time custom of address— 
 "this gentleman. Come into my ofliee, sir, 
 and put your name down." 
 
 The office was a dingy apartment that ivaa 
 more of a bar-room than anything else, 
 and had it not been for Ethel's constant at- 
 tention to the old house, this apartmem 
 
 /^^f 
 
THE WAR IIBHARY. 
 
 Mpeeially would have lapsed iuto a sad ' 
 lition. 
 
 Tlie low windows did uot admit sufiScieut 
 
 ght for a person to writB with any Isiud of 
 itisfaction, and Cobbs pror*eded to light a 
 candle when he had stepped behind the 
 hich he held forward with one 
 land, while he shoved a monstrous book out 
 o the edge where there was a rusty pen and 
 in almost dry inkstand. 
 
 Without a word further, the traveler 
 vrote his name : 
 
 "Sam HoNDiTin (At Large). 
 At Large," read Cobbs aloud, as he 
 Haneed at the seraggly autograpli. " What 
 he dogs do you mean l>y that ' .\t Lnrge?' " 
 
 "Why. I repiesent two or three liwellilliX 
 laees. ami a-; 1 Idvc t-vni y sp(.t nt my diilil- 
 
 OOd, I killil .'1 -dl liT(.<l, SMllic- lllii.' il;.'., 
 .iclsingc.ut wIm,I, .m.. IM lu^ .- \\„- \„~l :,<„] 
 lairafor a lioiii,., ,i,,,rt vmi s.-:' s,. | ju>t 
 utitdowu 'At Luiiie;'- It .i..rsiri in, ike 
 my diffeieuce where 1 came from, aiiyliow, 
 long as I pav my hill iu advaiue. dues it ?" 
 
 " No— all ri;;l>t. In ailvau.-e— yes, I aUvays 
 equire payment in ad vaiiee from strangers." 
 
 And while he was rubbing his Augers over 
 he blotter above the name, he asked : 
 
 " How long will you stay ?" 
 
 "May be a week." 
 
 " Pel visions is scarce jnst about now, with 
 he drain on the country for army supplies , 
 erms tor a week ain't what they used to 
 
 " O^, that's all right. Here's an eagle. 
 Vill that pay for it? Or, if you want more, 
 ay so." 
 
 Jnst then Ethel entered. 
 
 "The gentleman's room is already pre- 
 lared, father." 
 
 The ej es of the solitary guest were fixed 
 Qtently on the girl ; then they suddenly 
 Doked forth through the low window that 
 ommauded the bend in the road that wound 
 lefore the hostlery. 
 
 He saw approaching several horseman who 
 ode at a galloping pace and in disordered 
 rray. 
 
 All wore suits of gray. 
 
 Instantly he said to Ethel : 
 
 " I'll go right up, miss, and much obliged 
 o you," stepping toward her. 
 
 "Hold on," said Cobbs. "Board ain't so 
 anch as all that, in good gold, too. I'm 
 nlyj3hargin' eight dollars " 
 
 "Nevermind; give me the change some 
 ther time. Wdl you show me where my 
 com is, miss?" 
 
 " Follow me, sir." 
 
 She led the way to an apartment in the 
 ipper story where the bed, with its snowy 
 inen, formed an inviting contrast to the 
 
 ble, sir 
 
 Her speech was checked most singularly, 
 ,nd in a way that would have appalled al- 
 uost any young g;rl but this child of the 
 tills. 
 
 Sam Honditch glanced along the semi- 
 lark corridor, to make sure that no others 
 rere present there. 
 
 Then he threw both arms around the girl 
 n a tight embrace. 
 
 For an instant she was astounded to 
 peechlessness. 
 
 In another moment it would have gone 
 mrd with the man, for with a rapid move- 
 uKTit slie arew a revolver from her bosom 
 iiid lia 1 it pressed against his face, the ham- 
 
 H.r dark eyes flashed. 
 
 I'here was that iu the tire of her glance 
 bat tnlil she felt no fear, neither did she 
 
 emn it necessary to call for help. 
 
 ludeed, if Honditch's action had meant 
 larm to her. he was promptly balked, and 
 astead, his life was at her mercy. 
 
 Coolly she said : 
 
 "Remove your arms, sir. Hesitate one 
 lecond, and yon die 
 
 del! 
 
 " Ethel!" he repeated. 
 
 Then the weapon was lowered from his 
 :ace, and she exclaimed, in an incredulous 
 ;one : 
 
 "Robert! can this be you?" 
 
 "I, darling. Ah, you did not forget my 
 foice, though even your dear eyes could uot 
 pierce this disguise. One kiss, love," and 
 ivliile she still stood, gaziug searchingly, 
 Jotibtingly, into the disguised face of the 
 lo^er who had been in her thoughts so short- 
 ly before, he leaned and folded her to him, 
 kissing the red lips that were not averted 
 from him, 
 81 
 
 ask that, when you know I belong 
 to the Yankee army, and am iu the enemy's 
 country? Ay, I am even now pursued. 
 Listen : do you hear those horsehoots sound- 
 ing out in the road ?" 
 
 "The' riders are coming here, I tijink. 
 They are in pursuit of mr. 1 h;iv • 1 r-n into 
 
 meut that may itsult lu your death," she 
 broke in, quickly, as the sound of the ap- 
 proaching riders grew louder without. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOUNDING DOWN A SPY. 
 
 Robert Ross and Ethel Cobbs had met at a 
 time when the former was a guest of the old 
 tavern keeper, and au acquaintance formed 
 then had indnied the young man to tarry 
 there until at last he had honorably won the 
 affection of the girl. 
 
 To have made Silas Cobbs aware of the 
 circumstance of their love, however, wonld 
 have resulted disastrously, perhaps, to their 
 hopes, as Ethel had said he would surely 
 send her away beyond all possibility of the 
 lover finding'her, so averse was he to young 
 people loving, and she was then, in his opin- 
 ion, far too young to entertain any such 
 
 Hence, with mutual vows of fealty, they 
 separated, with the understanding that Rob- 
 ert should return soou again, prepared to 
 take her from her home to one which he 
 would provide iu the North. 
 
 The breaking out of the war had prevented 
 the carrying out of this secret plan ; she had 
 not seen him since that time of his depart- 
 ure, which was shortly previous to the vote 
 of Virginia which placed her with the se- 
 ceeding states. 
 
 He had managed, however, to communi- 
 cate with her occasionally, and by this means 
 she had learned that he was with the army 
 of the North, though he had not stated in 
 what ranlv or capacity. 
 
 It was no wonder, then, that she could not 
 see beneath that strange disguise the form of 
 the man who held the bestct her pure affec- 
 tion and troth. 
 
 The voice, though, she could never forget. 
 
 No time was there for the outburst of mu- 
 tual rapture which would have naturally en- 
 sued under other circumstances than those 
 which now surrounded the pair. 
 
 Robert had said that he was pursued ; 
 even then his pursuers were thundering for- 
 ward along the road toward the tavern, as if 
 they knew their quarry was actually there. 
 
 Her first thought was for his safety. 
 
 With one hand on his arm, and dark eyes 
 turned toward the broad staircase, as if ex- 
 pecting to see the Confederate soldiers as- 
 cending to seize their prey, she half gasped : 
 
 "If you are pursued, Robert, you must 
 flee. Do not stop in this place another in- 
 stant. I have not the time to even surmise 
 the meaning of the words you have uttered, 
 to ask why you are playing a part as a spy, 
 one so brave as yourself and better fitted to 
 lead brave men on a battlefield. You must 
 flee from here without a moment's delay. 
 My father is oue of the hottest Southerners 
 and haters of Yankees in this section, and 
 wonld give you over to them with a positive 
 glee in his heart. Come this way ; there is a 
 rear egress from the inn " 
 
 He interrupted as she made to lead him 
 away along the entry. 
 
 " Wait a minute, Ethel. It is not my in- 
 tention to flee at all. I am as safe here as 
 anywhere. But hark! the men have ar- 
 rived. Go! Do not linger here with me. I 
 can take care of myself. And later I may 
 be able to see and talk further with you. 
 One kiss, darling — there. Now go, and do 
 not have any apprehensions for my safety." 
 
 He imprinted a kiss on the lips of the girl 
 aud then fairly forced her to leave him, while 
 he turned into the room, closing the door 
 after him. 
 
 As the girl deseenOed the stairs there was 
 a great racket before the tavern. 
 
 With sundry sljonts and a jangle of spurs 
 and sabers, the party ot horsemen drew up 
 at the porch, wLeie old Silas stood ready to 
 welcome these soldiers in gray upon whom 
 he looked with pride. 
 
 "Welcome, gentlemen, welcome!" he 
 cried. " Come in, all. I am glad to see you." 
 
 "Hullo, Silas!" saluted the leader of the 
 riders, advancing. 
 
 "Oh, glad to see you, Lieutenant Bolt. 
 Come in." 
 
 " Yes, and my men here, too. We're about 
 starved out just now and want something to 
 eat. And while you are having that made 
 ready step aside with me, Silas, for I've 
 something to say to you." 
 
 " Yes, lieutenant. In a minute." 
 
 Cobbs hobbled away to give the necessary 
 orders for refreshments and returned pres- 
 © itly to the ollii-e bar, where the cavalrymen 
 wt-r.- makiii;z ^n. ,11^:1 n i-i M resemble some 
 
 tirtting li' I'l . I I iji'hn and glass- 
 
 es, ('(djlis Hull '' ,0 the lieutenant, 
 
 and the two i\ iili:ii. >. 1m ili. -entry. 
 
 The detachment was lioru the Fifteenth 
 Virginia cavalry under command ot the 
 Confederate Colonel Ball, then in Fredericks- 
 burg. 
 
 And this lieutenant, Rory Bolt, was some- 
 what <if a curiosity. 
 
 A man of gigantic build, and having a 
 voice that seemed to issue from his Very 
 bowels when he spoke; his keen eyes over- 
 cast by droopingly shabby brows, aud a uose 
 protruding over a wonderfully long, waxed^ 
 mustache in a point that seemed about to 
 poke and pry into everything, at any time,a»j 
 all hazard. 
 
 "A word with you, Silas," he said, in hiS 
 deep tone, and with a mysterious motion (A 
 one of his immense hands. 
 
 "What is it, lieutenant ? Oh, anything to 
 oblige you." 
 
 " We are after a \ ank," continued the gi- 
 ant, keenly eying the oldmau. " "We chased 
 him out of Fredericksburg, where he has 
 been playing the spy a little too successfully 
 I am afraid. Now, then, have you seen any- 
 body who looked suspicious around here, 
 for we tracked him to the very foot of the 
 slope leading up to your tavern." 
 
 Instantly into the mind of Cobbs came the 
 recollection of his strange guest up stairs. 
 
 But before he could say anything in an- 
 swer to the lieutenant's inquiry, the latter 
 added further: 
 
 "A Yankee spy, Aud, look you, a most 
 extraordinary fellow. He first showed him- 
 self at the Antietam. Ho ! showed himself 
 aud, blast him ! mailesomeof ilie boysthiuk 
 
 whip a whole army unaided ! at least so I 
 have heard, for I was not there. Had I been 
 there, I wonld have slain the fellow who can 
 scare a whole company out of their wits aud 
 kill them like a man knocking down ten- 
 pins. Aremarkable Yankee, I say, Silas. A 
 traveling battery ! for he turns into a Gat- 
 ling gun at will, aud, pn£E ! down go all who 
 stand before him. But I shall stand before 
 him, and I shall uot go down, be sure of that. 
 Ho! Rory Bolt does not go down before 
 any one man. But tell me, have you seen 
 anybody " 
 
 "Aha— aha! my dear lieutenant, yes, I 
 have seen somebody. Oh, I think I have 
 seen the very man you want. What does he 
 look like, eh ?" 
 
 "Blow me! I, nor anyone else cannot do 
 that with certainty. But you may have 
 noticed, if it is indeed the man you haT© 
 seen, that he has a hump " 
 
 "A hump? A hump?" eagerly broke ia 
 Cobbs. 
 
 " Yes, a hump. And it is that same hunff), 
 say the boys, which raises all the Cain among 
 those who have attempted his eapture. Bw 
 if I can get at the man, blast his hump attl 
 all! I'll put such a gripe on him that he wil 
 think his ankles are whipped otf to'the bone. 
 Come, where is he, if it is the one you sup- 
 pose we are after." 
 
 "Hush!" admonished the tavern-keeper, 
 glancing around toward the stairs. "Make 
 no noise. This thing must be done quietly, 
 or he may escape you." 
 
 "He is now in the house!" exclaimed the 
 ponderous lieutenant, with almost wolfish 
 eagerness. 
 
 "Yes, but " 
 
 Rory Bolt did not wait to hear more. 
 
 Neither did he regard Cobbs' wise sugges- 
 tion to proceed cautiously. 
 
 Wheeliug, bestrode iuto the room where 
 his noisy men were discussing the demijohn. 
 
 In the same moment Ethel, out of sight at 
 the turn of the stairs on the first landii\g, 
 pressed one hand to her bosom and mur- 
 mured : 
 
 "Ah, if Robert falls into the clutches at 
 this man, Rory Bolt, he must be doomed, no 
 matter how brave he may be. I must warn 
 him again." 
 
 With the thought, she turned to hastan 
 toward the room where she had left har 
 
^ 3 
 
 THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 But a second thought, and an occurrence 
 down stairs at the moment checked her. 
 
 The stentor voice of the lieutenant had an- 
 nounced to his men that the hated Yaultee 
 they sought was then in the house. 
 
 The e£Eect was electrical. 
 
 Following his lead with loud whoops, they 
 came pouring forth into the entry and to- 
 ward the stairs. 
 
 Ethel realized that it she sought the room 
 coutaiuing her lover now, it might hasten 
 his aiscovery by his foes. 
 
 With the hope in her heart that Robert 
 would hear the disturbance and flee from the 
 danger so near at hand, she resolved upon a 
 dangerously brave action. 
 
 Up the stairs came the crowd of cavalry- 
 men, their sabers and spure rattling and 
 jingling, and their rough voices raised in a 
 bowling chorus of vengeance upon the Yan- 
 kee spy. 
 
 At the landing they were brought lo a 
 stop in a heap, some actually sprawliug over 
 those ahead. , . , 
 
 " Halt!" rung a Arm voice in their front. 
 
 Boldly facing them, with revolver leveled 
 point blank, was the beautiful Ethel, and in 
 her features was an expression that plainly 
 indicated her deadly earnestness. 
 
 " Halt ! Not one more step, on your lives ! 
 Do you bear?" 
 
 "Ho! blast it! Out of the way there, 
 Ethel Cobbs!" roared the amazed voice of 
 Bolt, who had been crowded somewhat to 
 the rear by his eager men. 
 
 "Not one step will I move, Rory Bolt! 
 and not one step further do you or your 
 boundish men advance, unless some of you 
 are prepared to die. You know I am no 
 child in the use of this little barker " 
 
 "Look out there, lieutenant!" warned 
 Cobbs. _ ,— , „„.,, , 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MTSTERIOCS BATTEHV BOB. 
 
 Rory Bolt was no coward. But through a 
 long intimacy with the tavern keeper, he 
 knew the disposition of Ethel Cobbs too 
 well to underrate her earnestness when she 
 made that threat. 
 
 He knew, too, that she could handle the 
 revolver with a precision that was astonish- 
 ing for a female. 
 
 It seemed to him that the weapon was 
 pointing more particularly toward him— a 
 fact which caused him to partly shelter him- 
 self behind one of his men, as he cried, bois- 
 terously : 
 
 " Stand aside up there ! We're after a 
 Tank, and what's more, we are bound to 
 have him. Stand aside, I say !" 
 
 " I have already replied to that," said the 
 girl, coolly, while her steadily flashing eyes 
 divided their glance warily between the 
 lieutenant and his men. 
 
 The men, in turn, were throwing back 
 glances at their leader, as if lo get iustruc- 
 tious from him, or to await his action in this 
 remarkably unexpected state of affairs. 
 
 The ease with which she, a girl, had 
 been able to check the advance of the Con- 
 federates, gave Ethel some hope for her 
 lover in case they succeeded in passing her. 
 
 Rory Bolt alone she feared, for she knew 
 him to be a desperate character. 
 
 There was an interruption to the tableau. 
 
 Suddenly from al)Ove sounded a voice — the 
 voice of Robert Ross in defiance. 
 
 "Aside there, Ethel! Let them come!" 
 And he bantered louder to those below: 
 "Yes, lam here— a red-hot Yank, my good 
 boys! Come and take him. Come, now- 
 all!" 
 
 The spell was broken. 
 
 Revolver nor girl could not stay the hot- 
 blooded Southerners now. 
 
 From the bearded lips of all broke an 
 angry howl, and as one man they hurled 
 themselves forward upon the girl. 
 
 A single shot cracked in their midst, a 
 single groan told that the bullet had found 
 its mark. 
 
 In another moment the weapon was 
 
 pressed to the wall by the jamming 
 
 Then they had passed her— were leaping 
 up the stairs like frothing tigers after a prey 
 —and she nearly sunk down overcome by 
 the rough handUng of the man hunters. 
 
 Silas Cobbs hobbled up the stairs attei all 
 and to Ethel's side. 
 
 He was enraged by her behavior: Imt the 
 words of upbraiding that were upon his 
 bristlin" lips were not uttered as lie per- 
 ceived that she had been injured in some 
 
 Pale and weak, she leaned against the wall. 
 
 one hand held to her side and an expression 
 of suffering on her lovely face. 
 
 " Have they hurt you, my child ?" 
 
 .. Yes " and with the hall gasped word, 
 
 a pallor whiter than before overspread her 
 face. 
 
 Cobbs saw that she was about to swoon 
 because of some unendurable pain. 
 
 Solicitously he threw one arm arouud her 
 —and just in time to prevent her falling. 
 
 Bearing her unconscious in his arms— the 
 more diffioull a task because of his wooden 
 stump— he descended the stairs. 
 
 Simultaneously there was a din on the 
 upper floor that savored of combat. 
 
 Glass was crashing, revolvers were crack- 
 ing, and tlie shouts of the Confederates ailed 
 the old house with su«h a noise as it had 
 never known before. 
 
 "Ha!" exclaimed Cobbs. "They have 
 caught him, I think; and good it is if they 
 have. But I am sorry to hear that glass 
 breaking, for I know it means that my win- 
 dows are being shivered by the shots of the 
 boys in gray and the shots of the cunning 
 Yankee in disguise. No matter; if they 
 catch him and string him np to the first tree, 
 I will stand the loss of all my windows. 
 Yes, a thousand windows to see a Yankee 
 hung. Oh, there they go again !" 
 
 More crashing glass and additional shots, 
 mingling in the hoarse oaths of the cavalry- 
 
 Aiid above all, a clear, defiant voice that 
 seemed to goad the Confederates to a very 
 frenzy. . . 
 
 Ethel had swooned and was oblivious to 
 the sound of strife that threatened her lover 
 with death. , , .^ 
 
 Cobbs bore her into a side room and laiq 
 her on a lounge. 
 
 After which he started toward the kitchen 
 to sumraon the gid ne^rress tbete. Coal's 
 mother, to resiiSeittttn his child. 
 
 The proceedings up StHil-8 did D6t appear 
 to upset his equanimity in the least. 
 
 No matter what the conseqUeUcfeft to his 
 premises, so rabid a secessionist was he, as 
 long as the Yankee, whose race he detested, 
 was captured and made an end of. 
 
 Meantime, those who had so boldly sprung 
 forward to capture the defiant spy in the 
 upper story, had found that they had no 
 easy task ahead. 
 
 No sooner had they arrived at the top of 
 the staircase and turned to dash along the 
 corridor, than they were met by a most re- 
 markable f usilade. 
 
 Into their midst poured a volley, it seemed, 
 of slugs, small and whizzing slugs that found 
 a mark here and there, ripping flesh, wound- 
 ine painfully, and the few that did not find 
 
 ridor. 
 
 A remarkable volley, because there was 
 no sound of explosion, only a singularly 
 whirring and rattling noise that was inde- 
 scribable, but which evidently was some 
 force in propulsion of those zipping, tearing, 
 small but deadly slugs. 
 
 The oaths that followed were the cries 
 from wounded men. 
 
 Ill the midst of which the bull-like accents 
 of Rory Bolt stormed in a rage that they had 
 allowed themselves to be checked by a foe 
 that they knew was comprised of but a sin- 
 gle man. 
 
 "Forward, here!" he bellowed. "Draw 
 sabers! Cut him into ten thousand pieces. 
 Blast you all!— forward ! Down with the 
 Yauk!" 
 
 " Lieutenant," demurred one, as he shrunk 
 back with one wounded arm hanging use- 
 lessly at his side, " it's Battery Bob! I saw 
 him with a scouting party at Antietam. 
 He's a devil! We can't capture him, if he's 
 the spy we run out o' Fredericksburg " 
 
 The cavalryman was cut iShort in a violent 
 
 Through the smoke, on went the deter- 
 mined lieutenant. 
 
 " Ho, you blasted Yank! "he shouted, as he 
 rapidly advanced. "I'll have you yet. Rory 
 Bolt is after you now! By lightning! I'll 
 show you that there is one man you cannot 
 kill nor scare with that accursed battery 
 you carry in your hump." 
 
 The tramping cavalrymen and the thump- 
 ing boots of their leader fairly shook the 
 floor of the hall as they hastened forward. 
 
 But when they had reached the other side 
 of the smoke, which appeared to be sudden- 
 ly swept aside by a draught from some 
 point— nothing was to be seen of the bold 
 Unionist. 
 
 An open window at the further end of the 
 corridor, however, revealed the reason of 
 his absence. 
 He had evidently beateu a retreat. 1 
 
 The window opened on a shed; the lower 
 portion of the shed was i^lose enough to the 
 ground to permit of an easy leap. 
 
 Through the window went the gigantii- 
 form of Lieutenant Bolt, and after him still 
 the men, who were encouraged in their pur- 
 suit of the dangerous boy in blue by this 
 sign of his flight. 
 
 As the last man leaped to the ground, au;l 
 while Bolt paused for a moment to cast a 
 searching glance around, there was an omin- 
 ous sound from the direction of the barn. 
 The deep, long bay of a bloodhound. 
 " Ho!" exclaimed the Confederate leader. 
 " I have it. The accursed Yank has succeed- 
 ed in giving us the slip — for he is out ol 
 sight, and we might never learn which way 
 he has gone by the aid of our own eyes ami 
 ears. But, liy ligStning ! there is a way tn 
 Sua him, 'fthil soon at that. Do you hear 
 that noise over there by the barn i' Ihere 
 are eyes and ears, and a nose, too, that cau 
 find Battery Bob, or any other lawa Ot |i 
 Bob. Wait." i 
 
 Then, with the full strength of his power- 
 ful lungs, he shouted for Silas Cobbs, mixing 
 an oath or two to give vehemence to tlm 
 sutntnous. / 
 
 Forth hobbled Silas. ' 
 
 '• What is it, lieutenant? Have you caugll( 
 him f Do you want a rope — a goods ' 
 
 With the flat of his ponderous saber, a 
 weapon nearly double the weight of those 
 carried by his men. Bolt laid the poor fellow 
 prone and bleeding at his feet. 
 
 "Take that!" he snarled. "And hereafter 
 hold your peace. Now, forward— and down 
 with this Yank who can fight liKe a dozeu 
 Yanks. FoUowme! Take him. I say !" 
 
 Here he displayed that bold bravery, a 
 daredevil heedlessness of danger, which had 
 won for him the straps he wore as a lieuten- 
 ant ill Biill's cavalry. 
 
 Around the corner of the corridor he ran 
 with long lumbering strides, while the 
 others, following promptly, delivered a 
 blind volley from their revolvers ahead. 
 
 A bliud volley, because after the first ex- 
 change of fire with the remarkable individu- 
 al known as Battery Bob, the hall was 
 densely clouded with smoke. 
 
 rope that will choke and hang and kill for 
 
 ■ " ■ - ■ lili - 
 
 hang and kill i 
 
 ever the Yankee, as I would like to chokf, 
 
 No, we haten't caught him at all," iii< 
 terrupied the hoarsely deep voice of tlm 
 furious lieutenant. "And that is what J 
 want to see you about. He has given us tlif 
 slip. But do as I say, aftd it won't be loH;» 
 before you shall have the Jileasure of seeii^ 
 him dangling from a tree — yes, that, or IHs 
 body torn into a million fragments, fo^- 
 sooth. Hark!" 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 UNLEASHING 
 
 BLOODHOUND. 
 
 somewhat less than when they had at fin-t, 
 appeared in the office bar. 
 
 He could not know that in that upper 
 story of his inn there were laying at that 
 moment no less than six of the twenty caT- 
 alryinen who had started to ascend for tbo 
 capture of the Unionist, nor did Lieutenail 
 Bolt give him any time to ask for an ei- 
 planation of this. ( 
 
 " Hark ! " he repeated . 
 
 Again came the sonorous bay from tl;e 
 throat of a bloodhound. 
 
 "Yes," said Cobbs. "That's Durga, 
 hound. A terrible brute he is, too. W 
 of him -i"' 
 
 " Everything of him. Ho ! with that sam^ 
 hound we will get on the track of 
 Yank." " 
 
 "I see— I see!" Silas uttered, euthudty- 
 cally. 
 
 " Good, then, if you see. Stir that woodeh 
 stump of yours, now, and let us be <ifl«r 
 Battery Bob, as you call him." ' 
 
 Cobbs hurried in the direction of the bart, 
 from whence just then came a third aUl 
 louder bay from the leashed hound. i '* I 
 
 " Lieutenant, we've lostsix men," rei 
 ed one of the cavalrymen, venturing i 
 dress his officer, who was striding restleskl 
 to and fro. 
 
 "How— aix?" 
 
 " Yes. I counted them myself, as 
 went down before the Gatling gun of 
 tery Bob." 
 
 "Gatling gun! Do you mean to say tl| 
 this blasted Yauk can carry a Gatling i 
 about with him, to mow down the soldif 
 of the South as he wills?" 
 
 "It must be a Gatling gun, lieutenant. ■ 
 saw him at Antietam at the same time Row 
 s«y did, on a scout " I I 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 " Robesey ! Ho, where is Robesey ?" 
 
 Silence fell. 
 
 The men exchanged glances. 
 
 Robesev was the name of the cavalryman 
 who had' been so oiuelly stricken down by 
 the flat of tliis giant lieutenant's saber in the 
 upper corridor of the inn. 
 
 "Where is Robesey?' demanded Bolt 
 again. 
 
 " Back in the tavern, I guess." 
 
 " Was it Robesey who dared to give me, 
 his ofiBcer, a piece of advice ? I didn t notice 
 particularly who it was." 
 
 " Then let him lay there. Good riddance 
 if he never survives the blow I dealt ;him. I 
 am chief, I will have it understood; and it 
 will go hard with those who attempt to for- 
 get it. By lightning! look at that dog." 
 
 Cobbs had emerged from the stable with 
 the hound, which he was restraining with 
 difficulty at the end of a long leash of stout 
 hide. 
 
 At the same time, he was busy enough try- 
 ing to quiet the beast by gentle words ; for 
 Durga had evidently been confined until he 
 was half wild to regain his liberty of exer- 
 cise. 
 
 No one who had ever worked about the 
 tavern had been able to approach Durga; 
 none had even cared to venture close enough 
 to toss to him his daily allowance of food, 
 tor on such occasions the brute would be- 
 come so savage and make such desperate ef- 
 forts to bi-eak his confining leash, that he 
 caused a terror to strike into the heart of 
 the beholder. 
 
 As he approached under the control of the 
 ian-keeper, the only person whose command 
 he would obey since his puppyhood, his 
 massive frame, his sleek hair, his great head 
 with the bulging eyes and jaws that yawned 
 to display the red tongue and horrible white 
 and sharp teeth. Lieutenant Bolt conld not 
 id the exclamation : 
 
 possessed of considerable courage under the 
 usual circumstances of meeting a human foe, 
 all shrunk a little further away from their 
 officer, toward whom Cobbs was directly ap- 
 proaching. 
 
 A formidable and awful antagonist indeed 
 would Durga prove if let loose on the trail of 
 bold Battery Bob. 
 
 " Here he is— here he is !" said Cobbs, with 
 an enthusiasm of pride over the possession 
 of so sublimbly terrible a pet. "And lei 
 me tell you. Lieutenant Bolt, my Durga has 
 already learned to distinguish the smell of 
 a Yankee brogan ; so there will be no diffl- 
 
 lupk," commented Bolt. 
 
 But he added, as Cobbs came nearer : 
 
 " Have a care there, Silas ! Not too close 
 with that beast, 1 say. I have no desire for 
 a nip from those big jaws." 
 
 " Oh, have no fear, have no fear," rasping- 
 ly piped Cobbs, with an accompanying 
 chuckle, as he perceived that even huge and 
 daredevil Lieutenaut Bolt stood in awe of 
 the hound. "Have no fear. He would do 
 no harm while I am present unless I jiosi- 
 tivelv hied him on. There is no rtang<-r " 
 
 " Not so close, I say,' halt shouted Bolt, 
 as Cohlis continued to advance toward liini. 
 
 "But there is no danger,! tell you, man. 
 And besides, to be of service to us, I must 
 let him entirely free, you know." 
 
 " You will swear tliiit there is no danger?" 
 
 "Why, yes. Ha, lia! not the least bit in 
 the world, my ticid lieutenant. Now, then, 
 stand aside It niM tli;it spot under the shed, 
 while I set him on llie seeut. You will find 
 that I am rij;ht;lic> can take up llie trail of a 
 
 ger from the hole of a stocking. All Yankee 
 brogans smell alike, you know, in their 
 army." 
 
 The cavalrymen proceeded to give a wide 
 berth to the spot near the shed and in a line 
 with the window where the Unionist was 
 supposed to have descended. 
 
 There was s.imc> murmuring among them, 
 not loud euoiigli to reach the ears of Lieu- 
 tenant Bolt, however; and all were of the 
 same willing mind to have let (he Unionist 
 go free sooner than talcc themselves the 
 chances of having Durga's great jaws close 
 on their own flesh, as they ai)preheniled 
 might be the case the moment he whs f ree 
 from the detaining hand of his master, the 
 inn-keeper. 
 
 "Keep out of his way," said Cobbs, as he 
 snatched off the padlock at the collar of the 
 beast, and hobbled forward, coa.xin^ his 
 ferocious pet to follow him. 
 
 Under the cave of the shell, Durga was 
 
 nderstand what was expected 
 
 soon mad 
 of him. 
 
 Within a few seconds the dog began cir- 
 cling around and about with his nose alter- 
 nately skimming along the ground and ele- 
 vated sufficiently in the air. 
 
 Then he performed somethmg that sent a 
 cold, almost paralyzing shiver into the souls 
 of the cavalrymen, not excepting Lieutenant 
 Bolt. 
 
 By swift bounds he came toward the men 
 and ran in a line among them, his nose fairly 
 tipping the toes of each. 
 
 Cobbs raised one hand warningly in a way 
 that said : 
 
 "Do not move; make no sound, or you 
 may destroy his method." 
 
 The ordeal was past in a few seconds more, 
 and Durga ran bounding back to the spot 
 near the shed. 
 
 Presently a sharp, cutting j^ell broke from 
 the beast, and so sudden was it that all were 
 startled as much as they would have been 
 had a gun from a Federal battery exploded 
 in their midst. 
 
 Now Cobbs shouted : 
 
 "He has it! He has it, lieutenant. Mount 
 your horses! Mount and follow him. Have 
 no fears. He will find the Yankee, audit 
 you make haste, you may be in time to see 
 him riven into blue shreds. Mount! He 
 has seen you with me, and he has intelli- 
 gence enough to know that you are in pur- 
 suit of the one he is trailing. He will do 
 none of you any harm." 
 
 "Come on," commanded Bolt, hurrying 
 toward the horses that were haltered to the 
 long rail at the front of the tavern. 
 
 The bloodhound could be heard as it sped 
 on the track of the hunted man, np the slope 
 to the crest towering above the little branch 
 making in from the Rappahannock close to 
 Cobbs' Rest. 
 
 But just as the Confederates were mount- 
 ing, and while a savage jubilance was man- 
 ifest in Bolt's face and actions, something 
 transpired to distract the attention of all 
 from the distant baying hound. 
 
 "Lieutenant! Iook a there!" burst from 
 one of the men. 
 
 " Look w here ?— at what ? Come on. After 
 the Yank. I want to be in time to see him 
 riven into sheds, as old Silas says " 
 
 " But look— look ! The Yanks are coming! 
 They are almost on us ! There they are !" 
 
 And now others of the troop took up the 
 cry: 
 
 "Thsro they are!" 
 
 Bolt turned in his saddle, reins in hand, to 
 see what caused the commotion among his 
 followers. 
 
 And not a little surprise held him speech- 
 less for an instant, as he gazed down the 
 road that led up the slope. 
 
 Coming steadily forward were columns of 
 blue soldiery. 
 
 There were no sounds of drums or other 
 timing music to indicate their approach. 
 
 Onward they came, with flying colors that 
 even under the shelter of the hills found 
 enough of draught to unfurl them and re- 
 veal the stars and stripes. 
 
 "By lightning!" blurted from his aston- 
 ished"lips. 
 
 Then one and all— seeming to utterly for- 
 get that they were in pursuit of the Yankee 
 spy or anybody else — gave rein to their 
 horses and dashed off in the direction of Fal- 
 mouth. 
 
 The bloodhound was following the trail 
 alone. Far away now sounded his sonorous 
 baying, warning the fugitive that he must 
 halt and fight for his life. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 A HOT 
 
 It was no small body of men in blue that 
 had thus frightened off the cavalrymen from 
 the inn of old Silas Cobbs. 
 
 The Union army was fast drawing near to 
 Fredericksburg. 
 
 This body of troops, this winding, tramp- 
 ing column of grim soldiery that bore amid 
 the ranks the stars and stripes, was the van 
 of Sumner's grand division then pressing 
 swiftly on to Falmouth. 
 
 By different routes, convergingly, they 
 came, the thousands in winding columns 
 with flaunting standards. 
 
 To the right and to the left of the slope, 
 where other facilities offered for the steady 
 advance, the plains and the crests had sud- 
 lienly seeuied to swarm with figures wear- 
 ing blue uniforms and whose polished mus- 
 kets gleamed from afar like some artificial 
 slant of wavy sunbeams. 
 
 The road to Falmouth was fast flllicg with 
 the oncoming ranks, and the i-oad to Fal- 
 mouth, below the elevated position of Cobbs' 
 
 Rest, was being torn by the galloping hoofs 
 of more than one rider who, from the re- 
 cesses in the hills, was hastening to carry the 
 tidings to the people that the Yankee army 
 was ••lose at hand. 
 
 None swifter of all these riders than the 
 troopers who followed Lieutenant Bolt— fol- 
 lowed him, because, it he was foremost in 
 leading to danger, ho was as well foremost in 
 fleeing from it now. 
 
 " Hurry, there ! Spur and voice ! Come 
 on 1" he vociferated to his men. "The Yanks 
 are truly upon us, and there will be hot 
 work shortly at Fredericksburg, I imagine. 
 Forward !" 
 
 At the same time and at an angle which, 
 while it was toward the advancing lines of 
 the Federals, was also at an acute angle 
 away from them, far away on the top of the 
 hill that towered above the little stream, 
 swiftly sped the disguised Robert Ross. 
 
 Not so far had he gone, though, as to be 
 beyond hearing of that ominous sound in his 
 rear which told that there was a bloodhound 
 on his track. 
 
 He had escaped from the inn in the man- 
 ner suspected by the Confederate cavalry- 
 men, after having so mysteiionsly, without 
 any explosion of a weapon, laid low, in 
 wounds or death, several of his would-be 
 captors. 
 
 For some reason he abandoned his inten- 
 tion of remaining in the tavern despite the 
 danger and odds against him. 
 
 And as he hurried onward, more than once 
 he placed oi;e hand against his breast as it to 
 feel of something there for the safety of 
 which he was anxious. 
 
 " I was foolish," ho muttered, " to think of 
 remaining there, when I have so much here 
 that is important to the Union army. I 
 must make that safe first; afterward, I can 
 see Ethel. See her? Who can tell? For 
 there will be a bloody battle fought here 
 shortly, and 1 am but mortal. I shall be at 
 my post, and only God knows whether I 
 shall live to see Ethel or anyone else of all 
 for whom I entertain affection. Yes, the 
 dispatches first, then Ethel. Ah, hark ! That 
 is the bay of a bloodhound. Is such a beast 
 on my track? I know that Silas Cobbs kept 
 several bloodhounds when I was there in the 
 olden time." 
 
 For a few seconds he paused to listen. 
 
 The increasing volume of the hound's 
 tonguing soon convinced him that he must 
 be the object of the thirsty pursuit. 
 
 This realization, however, did not appear 
 to cause him either surprise or anxiety. 
 
 Instead of increasing his pace, he actually 
 slackened his gait, and with occasional in- 
 quiring glances back over his shoulder, con- 
 tinued in the pathless course he was follow- 
 ing amid the trees. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the sound of the 
 trailing hound. 
 
 " I guess I shall have a sight of him pretty 
 soon, now," he thought, halt pausing beside 
 a fallen piece of timber. "And unless I am 
 greatly mistaken, now that I listen a little 
 closer, that is the note of the same hound, 
 Durga, which old Silas Cobbs showed me at 
 the time when I was a guest at his hotel. I 
 know that Durga— it that is Durga— is a ter- 
 rible antagonist ; but I also know that unless 
 -Durga is bullet proof, I can make it pretty 
 his fangs 
 Robert Ross. Come on, 
 Durga!" 
 
 Nearer the hound. 
 
 Ross performed a rather singular motion. 
 
 Instead of standing to face the monster 
 that was assuredly coming to give him fierce 
 battle, he knelt there by the fallen tree and 
 turned his back toward the source of the 
 warning note. 
 
 Oil came the ferocious Durga. 
 
 The hound could now be seen bounding in 
 gigantic stretches through the leafless tim- 
 ber, his red jaws distended and sending forth 
 a renewed sound of eagerness and triumph 
 as he sighted his quarry kneeling there, ap- 
 parently halted in combined fatigue, despair 
 and terror. 
 
 Another moment, then the beast fairly 
 arose from the earth to hurl itself upon the 
 treed prey. 
 
 But in midair, as it were, Durga met with 
 a reception that was astonishing and ter- 
 rible. 
 
 There was a grinding, whirring sound 
 about the person of the waiting man. 
 
 Without any sound of explosion, out from 
 his back seemed to pour a hail of small clugs 
 that showered straight upon the savage ani- 
 mal. 
 
 Like a deadly blast it was; and Durga 
 changed his note for one of howling that 
 awoke the utmost echoes of the spot. 
 
 Down to the earth he came — down in a 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 heap, rolling over and over, then gaining his 
 limlw and staggering about in a way almost 
 human in its drunken exhibition. 
 
 His fore paws fairly tore and dug at his 
 nozzle, as if to brush away something that 
 caused liim excruciating misery. 
 
 Ross arose and stood calmly watching the 
 brute. 
 
 " I guess that will settle his propensity for 
 following a trail," he thought, though care- 
 ful not to utter ttie thought aloud. 
 
 And while the dog thus lurched around, 
 seeming to have forgotten or lost his intend- 
 ed victim, a form stepped out from bebiiid ;i 
 tree that was in the rear of Ross and iinper- 
 CoJVed by him. 
 
 Atall, slim individual wearing a blu^- lilmi^c 
 that was strapped in tight at the waisi liy a 
 iaat containing a pair of revolvers and a 
 3c0g knife. 
 
 ^de carried a rifle of remarkably long bar- 
 rel, and evidently not of government make; 
 and on the muzzle of this he leaned, con- 
 templating Ross with a pair of keen eyes 
 from beneath the rim of an army hat having 
 a great, flapping brim. 
 
 "That was neatly done, Battery Bob." 
 
 Ross wheeled upon the speaker, and this 
 time his hand sought a revolver that was 
 concealed in his bosom 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "I'm Simmons, the scout. Ever heard of 
 me? Iguc^JsI know vou. though perhaps I 
 wouldn't if 1 hadn t seen thatjlittle perform- 
 aoce of yours. Ittliat's tlie way you treat 
 the relis wlien they get too close, I don't 
 wonder that the men in the army call you 
 Battery Bob. I'd like to have .just a little of 
 such fun myself sometimes. Shake!" 
 
 Ross had immediately advanced. For he 
 recognized at once by the name spoken, one 
 of the most famous scouts that had figured 
 with the army since its march from Freder- 
 ick uuder McClellan. And by the address 
 ofSimmons.it appeared that the singular 
 fame of a man known as Battery Boli was 
 not unknown to him. 
 
 The two shook hands cordially. 
 
 " Where from ?" Simmons asked. 
 
 " Just out of a gantlet at Fredericksburg, 
 where I was sent ahnost on the very day 
 that Burnsiile tn,)k eommand. And I be- 
 lieve that what I liiive learneii is well wortli 
 the peril I encountered to secure it. Have 
 you been constantly with the army since the 
 commencement of the march from Warren- 
 town ?" 
 
 " Off and on, yes." 
 
 " And is Burnside still of the mind that he 
 can take Fredericksburg?" 
 
 "Well, he just is. And what's to hin- 
 der " 
 
 " How far foward have you been ?" 
 
 " Only right here where you see me." 
 
 "And I, as I say, have only been a few 
 hours out of Frederickburg. Burnside ha," 
 made a mistake. He cannot take Freder- 
 
 Sumne 
 
 lat 
 
 " 1 hold a different opmioi 
 this moment almost at Falmouth— that is 
 how I happen to be scouting off here. TUe 
 Rappahannock can be easily crossed at once, 
 and the chances are that even before the rest 
 of the army comes up, Sumner alone will 
 have occupied the city." 
 
 "Simmons, we are brother scouts," said 
 Ross, suddenly. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " If I place in your hands something of the 
 greatest importance for Burnside, will you 
 take it to him immediately?" 
 
 "Yes. But what about yourself ? Where 
 
 'No.' 
 
 I still be of service, it you will 
 Cooperate with me. Will you meet me on 
 Back's Island to-morrow night? I may have 
 more news of note for you to take in." 
 
 "I'Ubethere. Butjou are taking more 
 onances than I would, I can tell you." 
 
 "Never mind. Now hasten in. Here," 
 handing over a small package of papers to 
 the scout in whose integrity he well knew he 
 could rely. 
 
 Scarcely had the transfer been made when 
 there was a startling interruption to this lit- 
 tle meeting in the woody crest. 
 
 igone concmsion. 
 Surrender, you Yanks !" 
 
 And a dozen at once : 
 
 "Surrender, or we'll blow you full of 
 holes!" 
 
 If the Confederates had expected to appall 
 the couple by this sudden attack and the 
 force of such superior numbers, they saw 
 their mistake in less than two seconds from 
 the utterance of their angry shouts. 
 
 Nimble as monkeys, and in opposite direc- 
 tions, Simmons and Ross whisked out of 
 ,si"lit liehind eonvenleut trees, and Justin 
 linie to save their lives, probably, for simul- 
 taueinislv lliereciiuie the bang of muskets 
 and the zipping tear of bullets in the bark 
 
 jdthe 
 
 Like an echo spoke the long rifle of Sim- 
 mons from his shelter, and with so many 
 available and close marks, it was not aston- 
 ishing that upon the crack of his rifle one of 
 the Johnnies threw up his hands with a 
 piercing shriek and another leaped high in 
 the air, falling and rolling on the ground 
 from a wound inflicted by the bullet after it 
 had passed clean through the body of the 
 first man. 
 
 But the Confederates still came on with a 
 
 Battery Bob had not replied to their flre 
 with his revolver. He was busy instantly in 
 another way. 
 
 Reaching behind him, under the artificial 
 hump on his back, he grasped from a bag 
 which he carried there, a handful of revol- 
 ver slugs and buckshot. 
 
 Throwing up the flap before mentioned as 
 a peculiarity of t-he coat he wore, he poured 
 the handful into a funnel-like contrivance 
 which was strapped to his back, then laid 
 hold upon a small crank beneath the funnel. 
 
 But a few feet now intervened between 
 the foe and the shelter of the rinon scouts. 
 
 Ere those few feet were pa^-sed over, the 
 revolvers of Simmons began to bark, and 
 his aim with these was as deadly as with his 
 long rifle, for several of the Confederates 
 pitched headlong forward almost at the feet 
 of the brave fellow who so coolly met them. 
 
 But while he fired, and unable to glance 
 toward Battery Bub to see what was the 
 cause of his inaction, so busy was he with 
 the yelling enemy who seemed destined to 
 triumph 1/ecause of their superior numbers, 
 he thought, in siirjnise: 
 
 "If that man is Battery Bob, as I suppose 
 him to be, what the deuce can be the matter 
 with him? Why doesn't he help me here, 
 with these butternuts? " 
 
 At the very instant when it seemed that 
 the two would surely fall captive to the 
 graycoats, a remarkable scene occurred. 
 
 Out from behind the tree leaped Ross. 
 
 That ominous hump was turned toward 
 the Confederates. 
 
 Then came that whirring, grinding sound, 
 and the assailants found themselves in the 
 midst of a leaden hail that inflicted painful, 
 and in some instances deadly, wounds in 
 bodv and face. 
 
 The foremost hailed in dismay, some clap- 
 ping their hands to their faces, on which 
 werebloody marks, and two or three sink- 
 ing down outright. 
 
 One man in the rear uttered a cry that told 
 how swiftly southward had traveled the 
 fame of this remarkable fighter. 
 
 "Battery Bob ! Look out, or you'll be killed, 
 every mother's son of you. It's Battery 
 Bob!" 
 
 Though this announcement was a mystery 
 to the majority, those who did comprehend 
 it, iiiUueneed by their immediate action, the 
 action of the remainder. 
 
 All turned and fled precipitately, scatter- 
 ing hither and thither, though there was no 
 
 furtlie 
 
 atioi 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF HLO01). 
 
 Out from the trees in front of the two 
 scouts suddenly dashed no less than a score 
 of Confederate infantry, some with muskets 
 lowered to a charge and others pausing, 
 after a few steps, to level their cocked weap- 
 ons upon the pair who were plainly to them 
 kated Yankees. 
 
 Out with a dash and chorusing yell, and 
 
 man with the iiiiin|) aiier- luat iiim luMi.mt. 
 
 "Hoo.av!" shouted Simmons. " liattery 
 Bob, you are a battery, -uie. (Jive me your 
 hand. That machine of yours is just the 
 coiisarndest beauty I ever saw." 
 
 Ross stepped to the Confederates who had 
 fallen under his novel battery and the shots 
 of Simmons. 
 
 All were dead. 
 
 And he knew, when he looked into the 
 faces of several, just how many lives he had 
 stricken out with the discharge of his won- 
 derful machine. 
 
 Some of the dead had both, some one, of 
 their eyes shot out by the tiny slugs that had 
 penetrated to the brain. 
 
 "Now then," he said, returning to Sim- 
 mons, who was reloading his rifle. " Make 
 haste to headquarters, please, with the dis- 
 patches I have given you. Good-by." 
 
 " And good luck to vou," broke in Sim- 
 mons, who had become, in that short ac- 
 
 quaintance, a great admirer- of the man 
 called Battery Bob. 
 
 And he added : 
 
 " I won't forget. You may expect to find 
 me at Beck's Island to-morrow night, if 1 
 am alive." 
 
 The tall scout stalked away through the 
 woods, pausing once for a final wave of his 
 hat. 
 
 Ross stood looking after him until he was 
 lost to view. 
 
 "Now then," he muttered, "back to Fred- 
 ericksburg. I would like to chance another 
 visit to the inn and see Ethel. But if Sum- 
 ner is already near Falmouth, as Simmons 
 says, I might meet someone among the army 
 looking for me, perhaps, with a dispatch 
 assigning me to some other field of scouting. 
 I do not want that to occur just yet. I know 
 I can be of more service in the city, around 
 which Lee is fast massing his troops to meet 
 the tardv Burnside." 
 
 Giving a final glance around him, to be 
 sure that he was unobserved, he advanced to 
 the log where We have seen him kneel to 
 
 He had i)reviously observed that this log, 
 old and decayed, contained quite a large 
 cavity at one end. 
 
 " A very good place, I think," he uttered . 
 aloud, musingly. "I'll venture it, anyhow." 
 
 He removed his outer garments, thrusting 
 them one after another into the log. 
 
 Ne.-ct he removed the singular contrivance 
 which he wore strapped to his back, and 
 placed it with the clothes. 
 
 From a pocket he produced a small vial 
 and a sponge. 
 
 With the contents of the vial, he bathed 
 his face, and the paint which bad given him 
 the artificial ruddiness disappeared. 
 
 From another pocket he drew forth a soft 
 hat. 
 
 By the removal of the garments which he 
 wore when first introduced to the reader, 
 and by the fact of another suit which he 
 wore under the former, Robert Ross pres- 
 ently stood stifHy erect there, a perfect 
 specimen of a elergyman, with clean white 
 and standing collar, with choker, and a 
 glossy suit of plain black. 
 
 A pair of spectacles completed this trans- 
 
 fort 
 
 iitioii 
 
 While the UletalliOl 
 
 upon his deteniiinati^ 
 icksburg, let us glance back at the tavern of 
 Silas Cobbs where, meanwhile, another ami 
 a singular occurrence is worthy of atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Having started the hound upon the trail 
 of the Unionist, Cobbs was somewhat disap- 
 pointed and wroth to discover the coming 
 army of blue over the slopes and ridges, as 
 it so quickly turned aside Lieutenant Bolt 
 and his men from following the hound. 
 
 "May an earthquake swallow up every 
 Yankee in Christendom !" he fumed, stamp- 
 ing his wooden stump on the ground, and 
 afterward on the porch which he hastened 
 to ascend. " But they need not think that I 
 fear them. Oh, no ! If I have but one leg, 
 thev will find that a man with one leg can 
 be as brave as the rest. Yes. I will show 
 them what old Silas Cobbs is made of. 
 Wait." And he called, as he thumped into 
 the broad hall : "Coal— coal! where are you 
 
 ''""lIval-N i"! Massa Silas." 
 
 "Go d.iwn cellar and bring up my flag. 
 Coal. Hurrv theie!" 
 
 While Coal hastened to do as he w.-is bid m 
 reganl to a flag which Cobbs had in his cel- 
 lir the inn-keeper entiled the room where 
 lu^'hadlett KllM 1 v.lien suinuu.ned outside- 
 1,V Lieutenant lir.M .-Im.lly bef.ne. 
 
 'He hail left the iiegitss, ('(lal's mother, 
 with his daughler. who remained uncon- 
 scious up to the time of his going out. 
 
 But neither the negress nor Ethel was in 
 the room now. 
 
 And more, as he crossed the threshold, he 
 halted aghast. . 
 
 What he saw there, instead of his child, 
 was enough to startle any man. 
 
 On the floor beside the lounge on which 
 Ethel had lain was a large red splotch— a 
 SDlotch of blood, unmistakably. 
 
 Leading from the splotch to the window, 
 which was open, was a distinct trail— a trail 
 of blood. , , , 
 
 On the window sill were marks— marks of 
 paws, like the paws of a dog, or two dogs, so 
 mixed were thev, and these two were im- 
 
31 
 
 THE WAK LIBRARY. 
 
 e'apped his hands to his bald temples in a 
 dismayed shudder. 
 
 "Save my soul!" he gasped. "They are 
 loose— the two new hounds 1 purchased from 
 Captain Digby. Loose, and they have been 
 here: thev have first uiurdereil and then 
 carried off my child. For Digby saul tliat 
 they were very cannibals— tbey would eat a 
 human it once Ihey caught the smell of 
 blood about iliat lininan's person! Oh, God! 
 
 %^l 
 
 standi! 
 
 further speech uv a pt- , ,• . 
 
 ingat the possible evidcnceol li^tliel s Mavnjg 
 been killed, earned off and devonreil by two 
 gigantic hounds which he had recently 
 bought of a planter wlio had entered the 
 Southern army and had no further use for 
 the savage beasts. 
 
 Fully capable were they, he knew, of car- 
 rying off a human; and cannibals enough 
 were they, he had been informed, to eat 
 human flesh if that flesh contained the 
 slightest smell of blood about it. 
 
 And Ethel's hand had been bruised to 
 bleeding by the rough jostling she had re- 
 ceived from the troopers in pursuit of the 
 Onionist in the upper story of the inn. 
 
 Then Cobbs cried, frautieaily : 
 
 "Coal! Dinah! Here! Come! Hurry! 
 Flv! Coal, Isay !" 
 
 The negress came running. 
 
 "Where is my child?" he demanded, with 
 dilating eyes. 
 
 " Degood Lawd, Massa Silas " 
 
 " Where is my child ? Do you hear ? What 
 haveyoudone withher? Tell me— quick! 
 or I'll flay you alive!" and he advanced up- 
 on the astounded negress with uplifted cane, 
 us it he would smite her to death. 
 
 " Massa Silas," she cried, " 'deed f doesn't 
 know whar she is, fo' shuah— 'deed I 
 doesn't." 
 
 " But I left you here with her," 
 
 "An' she dope got well agin, Massa Silas, 
 an' tol' me fo' to cl'ar out, 'at she's all right 
 I .swears, Massa Silas. I doesn't know whar 
 
 " She's murdered !" piped the horrified fa- 
 ther, almost in a scream, as he stamped 
 about. " She's murdered by those accursed 
 bloodhounds I was persuaded to buy of Capt- 
 ain Digby " ^. , 
 
 "Degood Lawd!" burst from Dinah, as 
 her glance now fell upon the tell-tale blood 
 
 " Hyar's de flag," said Coal, at this ,iuuc- 
 ture. 
 
 And the boy added : 
 
 " Dey's a comin', Massa Silas— de Yankees 
 isacomiu'. Dey's almos' right hyar. See 
 'em trough de winder " 
 
 "Fly about— fly about !" Cobbs snapped, 
 interruptingly. "Give me the flag; and fly 
 about and close the doors and windows— 
 every door and window. The Yankees can't 
 come into the house of Silas Cobbs. Go!— 
 off with you!" the last pitched in a key so 
 high that his voice cracked and pierced 
 their ears with the sharpness of a scalpel. 
 
 The negress and her boy hastened to obey 
 the command, and there was a sound of 
 banging doors and rattling shutters in a rap- 
 idity that told they had a system between 
 them tor this particular office. 
 
 "I's pow'ful glad Massa Silas isn'tagoiu' 
 fo' to let dem Norf trash inside hyar," said 
 Coal, to his mother, as they hurried to and 
 
 "Hush, chile; you doesn't know what 
 you's talkin' 'bout. Ef dem Norf trash, es 
 you calls 'em, wants fo' to scamper right 
 hiuter Massa Silas' house, you jes bet dey am 
 goin' fo' to do hit, now." 
 
 " Den we's all gwine be 
 
 boy. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CAPTAIN DENVER'S LITTLE STOBY. 
 
 A short distance below Cobos' Rest, the 
 road that led up the slope to the tavern was 
 forked, the left branch of which led into 
 • Falmouth. 
 
 At this fork, at the moment when we see 
 the few occupants of the tavern engaged 
 with closing doors, and windows, were halt- 
 ed the companies of a blue-clad regiment. 
 
 For some reason tliey were detained there 
 while the other regiments continued on in 
 that winding march over the slope and the 
 lower plain, and even they, soldiers them- 
 selves, were engaged, while at rest, in ab- 
 sorbingly watcliing tlie long lines marching 
 past toward the Uuppaliannock. 
 
 The two captains of the leading compan- 
 ies had come together for a brief conversa- 
 tion—both of sucli apparent youth in years, 
 that at first glance one would say they were 
 hardly fitted to command the bearded men 
 around. 
 
 doled the 
 
 But those bearded men loved and had con- 
 fidence ill the seeming vouths who com- 
 manded tliem ; the bloody field of Antietam 
 hud showed them that they possessed cour- 
 afic, skill and coolness. 
 Ohl tiiends were they. 
 '■ Well, Denver," said he of the foremost 
 coinpaiiy, "you are nearing the town at 
 last, where you have said lies the fate of your 
 whole futuie life," 
 
 "Yes, Fivdcricksburg. And do you know, 
 I would almost be willing to sacrifice the 
 fortune that may come to me when 1 see a 
 certain piirtv, if I could honorably avoid a 
 meeting with that party." 
 
 "Nonsense! fortunes must not be lightly 
 thrown away, my dear fellow." 
 
 " Under some conditions, perhaps they 
 would he better so. I have never told you 
 the whole circumstances of the case. Will." 
 "No, and 1 have not asked it; for I sup- 
 posed if it was not a strictly private affair, 
 you would have revealed it to me long ago." 
 " I do not objc'l to lelling you. If I do so, 
 you can the better iiiiderstaud why I say 
 what I do. I do not think we will move on 
 for some time, and as it will not take long to 
 tell it, and if you care to hear, I will relate 
 the circumstances to you briefly." 
 
 "Suit yourself, Denver. I will listen in- 
 terestedly, of course you know that." 
 
 " When my father died two years ago his 
 property, every one thought, would revert 
 direct to me. Well, in a way, it might have 
 done so. But on the night before his death he 
 called ine to his bedside and told me a story 
 of his past life which I hesitate to reveal even 
 to voii. inv old friend. Xo matter. My 
 father, Jolin Denver, was once a very poor 
 man. He hud a warm friend in a man 
 named Arnold DeKay, who lived in Freder- 
 icksburg. This Arnold DeKay advanced my 
 father a large sum of money as a friendly 
 loan. My father speculated and became 
 rich. I was then living. Before the loan De- 
 came due DeKay had a child by his wife — a 
 daughter; and "he conceived the notion of 
 forming a marriage contract between the 
 children, myself and his daughter, to be ful- 
 filled when I should become of age." 
 
 " A romance, truly," interpolated Will 
 Harding, with a smile. 
 
 "Y'es, and like a great many other ro- 
 mances, it has its cloud also, as you will 
 learn. JIv father readily agreed to Ihe prop- 
 r,«iti,,ii iviii.ii ,:iiMH from DeKay, that is as 
 sible for parents 
 children. Af- 
 ter that little arrangement, my father, it 
 seems, gave himself uofnrthertronble about 
 the loan of money received from DeKay. 
 Y'ears passed before DeKay ever meutioued 
 the subject. When he did so, my father 
 evaded him. So long a time had clasped 
 that the claim for the money, if any should 
 have been made, had become outlawed; it 
 was now a mere question of honor. My fa- 
 ther was too occupied with his affairs, which 
 were yielding him a vast income, to care a 
 bosh whether DeKay liked this treatment or 
 not. So the years went by and I grew to 
 manhood. Mildred DeKay, too, was grow- 
 ing. That is the daughter of Arnold DeKay 
 whom it was intended I was to marry. 
 
 "On this night of which I speak, preced- 
 ing the death of my father, ho acquainted 
 me with the facts in the case for the first 
 time. He also showed me a paper which he 
 had received later from DeKay, in which 
 while it upbraided him for his dishonorable 
 conduct, was set forth that if I, the son 
 would fulfill the contract made for the mar- 
 riageof his daughter. Mil bvil, Milh me, tin 
 loan of Ihe past wonhl b.- considered i-an 
 celed. DeKay, by a slranirc coincidence 
 was also dying at the time he sent this com 
 munication to my father, and it tiore in it; 
 contents the stamp of that old friendly af 
 fection which he had entertained for John 
 Denver. 
 
 " It would appearthat there, on his dying 
 bed, my father's conscience smote him for 
 his neglect of his old and stanch friend. He 
 exacted a promise from me that I would 
 seek tlie daughter of Arnold DeKay and do 
 one of two things— marry her it I could per- 
 suade her to it, which would thereby secure 
 to me the money, or make entire restitution 
 to her in my dead father's name. After set- 
 tling up the estate and ascertaining e.\actly 
 what was the indebtedness of my father to 
 DeKay, I discovered that, through more re- 
 cent speculations which had turned out 
 badly, there barely remained enough to 
 make the restitution an alternative. Now, 
 I have never yet seen this Mildred DeKay. 
 Possibly, too, she has already given her heart 
 to another; and even if she is heart-free. I 
 would not ask her to become my bride for 
 
 the mere sake of preserving to myself a few 
 thousands of dollars. 
 
 " Hence, I .say to you, old friend, I almost 
 feel as it 1 would prefer to make the relin- 
 quishment of the fortune at once, and be 
 done with it, sooner than the ordeal of even 
 a conversation with the young lady on the 
 subject." 
 
 Will HardiiiL' n-w :, verv practical fellow. 
 
 The moment In- . nninlc in arms ceased 
 hisnarrain d, heartily 
 
 "You will oli,-.h thingif I can 
 
 help It. Yoi! , , . , 1 he s.iuthern beauty 
 and lay till' utciie e i>e i.efore her. Then 
 
 nnl^y't^c 
 
 hctf 
 
 
 for 
 
 11 lance, that you 
 her, then— then, I 
 I do the honorable 
 one which you say 
 
 •ding liroke off short, adding 
 in an undertone 
 
 " Here comes the colonel, and he is in a 
 hurry!" 
 
 The colonel of the halted regiment was 
 riding swiftly toward the head of the ranks, 
 where he presently drew rein with a jerk, 
 saying 
 
 " Captain Denver? " 
 
 Denver saluted. 
 
 "You see that house on the rise ?" point- 
 ing upward toward the tavern, the windows 
 of which were now all tightly closed. 
 
 "Yes, colonel." 
 
 "Look at thereof- the roof, sir. Look at 
 the root!" 
 
 The words were loud. Every man in the 
 company turned his eyes in the direction in- 
 dicated. 
 
 There from the roof of Cobbs' Rest floated 
 
 dejlantly a flag 
 bars 
 
 The flag of the Confederacy— the ! 
 
 sand 
 
 " Go up there and haul down that rag. 
 Captain Denver," ordered the colonel, 
 brusquely. 
 
 Denver at once detached four men from 
 his company, motioning the sergeant to ac- 
 company them. 
 
 With these he started briskly up the slope. 
 
 When they reached the tavern, Cobbs 
 thrust his head forth from an upper window 
 and snarled : 
 
 " What do you want here, you Yankees ? 
 Go 'long about your business " 
 
 "Open this door!" interrupted the de- 
 mand of the young captain, who had tried 
 the front entrance and found it securely 
 fastened by bolt and lock. 
 
 " Clear out, I say, or it'll be the worse for 
 you " 
 
 " Shall we break down the shebang, cap- 
 tain '"asked the sergeant. 
 
 " Down with this door, men," said Den- 
 ver shortly. 
 
 With musket butts the Unionists began 
 such a banging on the door instanter that it 
 was plain every panel in it must soon yield 
 
 ''Begone from there," half howled Cobbs 
 
 Hi 
 
 drew his head from the window as 
 he saw the Federal captain draw his revolver 
 and cast a meaning glance upward. 
 Crash went the door, splintered from its 
 
 In the broad and dingy hallway marched 
 the soldiers and followed their captain up 
 the staircase. 
 
 At the head of the flight they came upon 
 the liodics of the Confederate troopers who 
 reununed laying where they had fallen be- 
 neath the fusilade of Battery Bob. 
 
 With hardly a glance at these, however, 
 and thinking only of tearing down that de- 
 tested flag which flaunted in the very face 
 of this van of the army, Denver turned to 
 ascend the narrower flight leading to the 
 roof. 
 
 Hardly had he reached the second step 
 when the door of a room fronting tlie stairs 
 opened suddenly, and simultaneously there 
 was a loud discharge from a shot-gun. 
 
 Denver threw up his hands, his sword fall- 
 ing from his gi asp, and reeled backward to 
 be caught by the sergeant who was close be- 
 hind him. 
 
 Following the treacherous discharge of the 
 gun, the voice of Cobbs cried : 
 
 " Take that, you interloping Yankee !" 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IMPALED OX FEDERAL BAYONETS. 
 
 It was a dastard shot that checked the ad- 
 vance of the young captain on the stairs lead- 
 ing to the roof. 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 But the deed was the most unfortunate 
 aot of the inn-keeper's lite, as the occurren- 
 ces of the next swift minute proved. 
 
 A cry in concert and horror broke from 
 the lips of the four soldiers who were lol- 
 lowiiig their officer upward. 
 
 Then, with one glance at the bleedmg form 
 heldm the sergeant's timely embrace, they 
 lowered their muskets and charged upon the 
 rabid secessionist. ^ i, , , 
 
 Cobbs clubbed his shot-gun and backed 
 against the wall. 
 
 "Back— back, you houuds of blue!" he 
 snarled, uitliTflH-mence, nud wielding the 
 weapon .-ibove bis Vvm\ iu a menacing sweep, 
 while Ills c-vi's I. lazfdfuiiously. 
 
 But the ^i'oMieIS, with cap-straps crunched 
 between their teeth, and with but one 
 thought of avenging their captain, almost 
 disregarded the sweeping gun butt, pressing 
 in upon the augry wouUl-be assassju until he 
 was fairly tight against the wall; and the 
 gun clashed iu its circling Brst on one bayo- 
 net and then on another, knoekiug them 
 aside in the defense of his life which he was 
 so promptly called upon to make. 
 
 The voice of the sergeant cried : 
 
 "Down with him, lads! Spit the rebel like 
 a frog! No mercy for him! Give it to 
 him!" 
 
 It was a dHM>t-rate resistance which Cobbs 
 xUls liy which he was sur- 
 \- caiiie from every side 
 ts prodding at him, and 
 (iraeut about to break 
 iMf 111 succession of circles 
 ■d around him. 
 
 „ rung through every room 
 
 and corridor of the old inn, such a cry of 
 mortal agony as to freeze the blood of one 
 who might liave heard, without understand- 
 ing, the terrific struggle progressing there in 
 the upper story. . 
 
 Simultaneously four sharp, shining, terri- 
 ble bayonets were lunged forward at the 
 breast of the inn-keeper. 
 
 Every point of steel found its mark. 
 
 With the four weapon points protruding 
 from his back, he was actually pinned to the 
 11 and held there, and the shot-gun drop- 
 
 made 
 
 seeming >- 
 through tl 
 and swei-]) 
 
 ped from his grasp. 
 For an instant there seemed 1 
 
 cipate, considerably, but no danger can 
 come from it." • 
 
 The sergean t just then entered. 
 
 " Here's the Hag, captain." 
 
 " Fold it up and we will take it to tn -■ colo- 
 nel " 
 
 " Let me bandage that tear for you, cap- 
 
 The soldier advanced and began to adjust 
 an improvised bandage about the brow of 
 his wounded officer, almost without waiting 
 for him to give the permission. 
 
 And he proved himself somewhat of an 
 adept. , . , 
 
 By the time the act was completed one of 
 (he privates in the hallway came in, exclaim- 
 
 ing : 
 
 think 
 
 the life of Captain 
 
 For an instant there seemed to struggle in 
 his throat an awful anathema on the 
 heads of his slavers ; his eyes burned with a 
 transient light of horror and hate com- 
 bined. 
 
 Then the head fell forward on the breast 
 and the bayonets let his dead weight fall 
 with a sickening crunch to the boards. 
 
 In the same instant came a loud ejacula- 
 tion from the sergeant. ,,,,,, 
 
 "Hoiiray! H". beys, he isn't dead!— the 
 
 For Denver iKel i>iiened his eyes again just 
 as the l;iiiilli>i<l "eiit dowii— Opened them 
 thou"h in a mist of blood that was gushing 
 over his face f I oui a wound where the shot 
 had torn a portion of the curly chestnut 
 locks from a spot aliove his temple, though 
 fortunately no more than a scalp wound. 
 
 The shock had momentarily deprived him 
 of consciousness. 
 
 Even while the sergeant cried out the tid- 
 ings that he still lived, he found strength 
 sufficient to release himself from the sup- 
 porting arms of his subordinate. 
 
 His mind was still in a dazed condition, as 
 he cried : 
 "The flag, sergeant! Get the flag 
 
 down " 
 
 " Are you badly hurt, captain ?" the soldier 
 liroke in. 
 
 " No matter. The flag. Down with the 
 hated thing; and it makes no difference 
 whether I am badly hurt or not. Hasten!" 
 Harry Denver did not know— could not 
 know then— whether his wound was serious 
 or not. ^ , , 
 
 But he paused not to consider it. He had 
 been ordered to haul down the defiant bunt- 
 ing that flaunted from the root of the iun. 
 and his paramount thought, even in the pain 
 which he was enduring, was to carry out 
 that order. 
 
 The sergeant bonnded up the remainder of 
 the stall s and through the scuttle. 
 
 In a few nioiiieiits hehad whipped the flag 
 from its halvnnl^. and appeared again with 
 
 1I;',> uil" 1 i -i: I at the dead body of the 
 i„i,.i , .,, , , 1 iii'in ..viii;.' the course of the 
 gohli I . .Ill .Ml.- What they did ii 
 gi,.,|,, . .i i.iij ■.ri ..r tile murder of 
 <!ai>taiii, Miii\'i| -!i.j'M(-i.i into a room where 
 
 tered as he'<.viiiiiiiei! his wound by the aid 
 r.f „ 1,'ui . ,n- tliere. ■■ But I think I am worth 
 I will bleed, I an- 
 
 " Something's burning, captain, 
 the house is afire." 
 
 An unmistakable odor of smoke was as- 
 cending to the upper stories of the inn. 
 
 While the scene had progressed above, 
 there was another scene in the lower part of 
 the building, which briefly explained this 
 significant odor. 
 
 Dinah and the boy. Coal 
 madeeverythiiigsecun 
 
 retired to the kitchen in some trepidation 
 for the resull of their master s intended bold 
 defiance of th.' Federal soldiery. 
 
 They listened in positive trembling to the 
 sounds that told of the front door being bat- 
 tered down. 
 
 When the Unionists had forced an entrance 
 and were heard going up the stairs, Dinah, 
 bearing the lamp which she had lighted be- 
 cause of the darkness that prevailed after 
 the closing of all the windows, beckoned to 
 Coal, and stole forward through the lower 
 hall. 
 
 At the moment when .she reached the foot 
 of the stairs, and as she craned her neck, 
 throwing one black ear upward to catch 
 what might be transpiring above, there 
 came the discharge of the shotgi 
 was so near smiting out 
 Harry Denver. 
 
 Its suddenness caused her to start : the lamp 
 slipped from her grasp and fell with a crash co 
 the floor, its oil bursting in a small sheet of 
 flame anil iiearl v inveloping her clothes. 
 
 Then came the additiniial sounds of strug- 
 "le and the snon accompanying shriek of 
 the man impaled on the Federal bayonets." 
 
 "De good Lawd! Hyar, you. Coal, come 
 'long with me. Hi, dar! dey's done killed 
 massa— I knows hit. Come 'long outen 
 hyar!" 
 
 The two ran to the rear of the building 
 and out at the door there, making with all 
 speed toward the woods. _ 
 
 " Come," -said Captain Denver, rejoining 
 his men. 
 
 With sword in hand, and stepping over 
 the dead bodies of the Confederate cavalry- 
 men, in regard to which no remark had yet 
 been made, he led the way down stairs and 
 out at the front of the inn. 
 
 The hauling down of the flag had been 
 witnessed by the advanced companies of the 
 regiment that was halted at the base of the 
 slope. 
 
 When the little squad came forth and took 
 up the return march, another cheer— like 
 the first that had gone up when the flag dis- 
 appeared from sight— greeted them 
 Duly Denver reported "•• *'■■"' 
 the order. , , . 
 
 " You are wounded ?" said the colonel, in- 
 terrogatively, as he came up. 
 
 "A mere scratch, sir," Denver replied. 
 " It will not ini'apacitate me, I assure you." 
 Hardly had Denver returned from the exe- 
 cution of the order to haul down the Con- 
 federate flag that floated from Cobbs' Rest, 
 when the order came to resume march. 
 
 The regiment moved on ; and as it went, 
 there could be seen a cloud of smoke arising 
 from the aucient building on the heights. 
 Cobbs' Rest was soon to be no more. 
 But hark! 
 
 A sound of war suddenly broke upon the 
 ears of the marching regiment. 
 There was a boom of heavy guns ahead. 
 Guns of the light battery posted by the 
 Confederates on the heights above Freder- 
 icksburg. . . . .3 
 Falmouth had been long since deserted, 
 with the knowledge of the advance of the 
 Union army. 
 Again the guns. 
 The van of Sumner' 
 
 the thoughts and 
 
 army gets hold upo 
 spirits of a commander, 
 
 On this occasion it was well known that 
 Sumner was for crossing at once by the 
 easily available fords and occupying the 
 town. 
 
 But orders from Burnside held him back. 
 
 There halted the van of the army, in com- 
 parative iuactivity, while the butternut 
 host was massing, massing, massing, on the 
 opposite shores and crests iu constantly in- 
 creasing formidable front. 
 
 If he' could not cross, the commander of 
 this grand division could at least derive 
 satisfa.itien for the promptness with which 
 the Parrott gnus of I'elitt silenced the bark- 
 
 From Stafford HeiL'hls, Sumner could see 
 the Confederate gunners driven from their 
 posts by the shots of Petitt. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A LOVEU IN GRAY. 
 
 The afternoon was shortening. 
 
 While Falmouth was thus infested by the 
 van of the Uuion army, another little piece 
 of ourdiama was enacting in the town of 
 Fredericksburg that must be here detailed. 
 
 One of the most notable dwellings of the 
 town was that which was known as the De- 
 Kay mansion. 
 
 Arnold DeKay had died some years pre- 
 vious to the date of this narrative, as may be 
 seen by the brief conversation between the 
 two young captains. 
 
 The property, with a considerable inherit- 
 ance, had reverted wholly to Mildred De- 
 Kay, an only child, a very beautiful girl 
 now at the verge of womanhood, an orphan 
 and much sought after at the commence- 
 ment of the war l>v voung Soutberiieis, the 
 sonsof planters, and nearly all worthy of 
 her, had she lieen of a miinl to accept their 
 earnest importunities to well. 
 
 The most persistent of these had been a 
 dashing fellow, by name Vane Artwell, who 
 had early accepted a lieutenancy in thearmy 
 of the South. 
 
 And least of all her admirers was Artwell 
 esteemed by the Southern girl, because of 
 rumors after rumors that had reached her 
 ears of his habits of dissipation, though those 
 habits had been in a measure carefully con- 
 cealed. 
 
 Forsome time she liad been relieved of his 
 presence and his continuous offers of mar- 
 riage, which would not be silenced by her 
 own as regular ret usals; but now, when Lee 
 wni.coneentrati.i- in the vleiuitv of Freder- 
 
 llBllD 
 
 :ades of 
 
 Jth. 
 
 \ dozen dead men yet ; thi 
 
 Th( 
 
 ivision was entering 
 
 the Union batteries 
 Ml those on the opposite heights 
 More oil the blue columns in ma- 
 
 that were to meet the foe again 
 <s of the Rappahannock. 
 
 infrequent that a portion of an 
 
 whom she e.inlil hardly drive peremptorily 
 from her 1„ lause she knew that his profes- 
 sions had till redeem in;.' ciiialilv of being sin- 
 cere, and that he liad wealth ei'inngh to give 
 her the home which he was begging her to 
 accept. . 
 
 Ou this afternoon, apprised of the ap- 
 proach of the Federal army, and listening 
 with not a little uneasiness to the sounds in 
 the street that told of constant arrivals of 
 the Southern forces, she was standing at her 
 bedroom window, looking toward the river, 
 a partial view of which she had, when the 
 old and faithful negro who had served her 
 parents at the time of her birth, tapped on 
 the door. ^ ^ 
 
 When Snow entered, in answer to her rec- 
 ognition of his knock, his teeth were show- 
 
 " He am down dar. Missy Mild'ed." 
 "Who, Snow?" „ „ 
 
 "Doleftenant. He done come ag'in. Shell 
 I tell him wot yoii's too busy fo' to see him. 
 
 " No. I will see him. You may say that I 
 will be down presently " 
 "Allright, Missy Mild'ed." , ,„ ^ 
 
 "I have made up my mind at last, she 
 murmured, when again alone, "that I will 
 be rid of Lieutenant Artwell once for all and 
 finally. It it is necessary, 1 will even do 
 what I have not heretofore considered nec- 
 essary; I will tell him why it is impossible 
 for me even to listen to his suit, that I am 
 the promised of another. And though 1 
 have never seen that other, my mind is made 
 up to fulfill the dying wishes of a father who 
 was ever kind to me and wed the person 
 when he shall present himself tinil his claim. 
 It is not a re.solutiou that gives me any bap- 
 Diness-tlil- deterinlnatmu to many a man 
 1 knew 11. .thin- .if, and it may be that he 
 hnsiiiii- I ! .. \..lto disregard the con- 
 ^^- - ■ by thir 
 
THE WAR IIBRARY. 
 
 wife, and i£ he was a worthy man, I would 
 be his even if I could not feel the love for 
 him tliat a woman should feel for the man 
 she accepts for her husband. Yes, I will 
 keep tlie pledge 1 gave my dyiug father." 
 
 Pausing for a few liasty touclies to her 
 toilet, she descended to the parlor. 
 
 Seated there in waiiiug was a young mau 
 it handsome feature and muscular build. 
 
 An offlcer in the uniform of a Confederate 
 Sen tenant. 
 
 " Miss Mildred," he saluted, bowing. 
 
 "Mr. , or, I should say. Lieutenant 
 
 Artwell," she returned, calmly, and sweep- 
 ing across to a chair. 
 
 " I have made bold to call after an absence 
 that has been a long trial to me," he con- 
 tinued. "1 have, fortunately, once again 
 reached your charming presence. The first 
 opportunity tbiit occuned, 1 have taken to 
 show you that I have still survived the Yan- 
 kee bullets." 
 
 "You are to be congratulated." 
 
 •' Are you uot positively glad ? ' Congratu- 
 late 'is a mild word from you for one who 
 has been so very devoted " 
 
 "liieutenaut Artwell," she interrupted, in 
 away that caused him to pause before her 
 aa he was advunoiiig to take a seat by her 
 side. "I had hesitated to see you at ail to- 
 day. My reason is, that I can foresee what 
 will transpire before you leave me. I have 
 a great amount of patience, because, not- 
 withstanding your annoyance of me in the 
 past, I realize that you are a gentleman, of 
 an honored family, and you are sincere in 
 the motive which attracts you so much to 
 me. But it is as well that we should under- 
 stand one another finally and forever." 
 
 Though this premise might have given 
 him a hint of what was to ensue, he did not 
 relax the smile on the handsome face; and 
 with another bow waited for her to pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 " I have told you that I can never accept 
 your ofi'er of marriage," Mildred pursued. 
 " Please do me the favor to receive that an- 
 nouncement now— though you have uot 
 seemed inclined to do so before— as utterly 
 flual. ' 
 
 " Faint heart never won fair lady, they 
 say," rejoined the Confederate. " I have 
 hopes of one day winning you, Mildred, de- 
 spite this last and most emphatic refusal of 
 all. Indeed, I am here to-day to plead again 
 with you, that you may make me the hap- 
 piest man in the world, and permit me to 
 prove that I can and will make your life all 
 that a woman could desire " 
 
 " It is useless. And to show you how use- 
 less it is, I have decided to tell you some- 
 thing that I had hoped would ' ' 
 
 The smile faded from Vane Artwell's face, 
 and he lookedather first incredulously, theu 
 trowningly. 
 
 " Another ?" he repeated. 
 
 "Yes, another." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " I do not comprehend that it 
 for me to say more than I have.' 
 
 A moment's silence, and then he laughed 
 lowly. 
 
 " I see. You use this declaration as a mere 
 artifice to make me drop the subject. 
 
 I necessary 
 
 " It is no artifice, sir, nor am I in the habit 
 of using such. And now you will please ex- 
 cuse me. I am engaged." 
 
 She arose and would have left the parlor. 
 
 He intercepted her, with one arm out- 
 stretched. 
 
 •' Wait, please." 
 
 "What is it." 
 
 "If it is as you say, tell me who this man 
 .is who has won you from me." 
 
 " I never was yours, though you may have 
 been conceited enough to Imagine so," she 
 broke in , with some spirit. 
 
 "At least, where is he? Of all whom I 
 know to have been racing with me for the 
 favor of your smiles, which one is it that has 
 been so fortunate." 
 
 " I will tell you that the gentleman is one 
 whom you have never seen." 
 
 " I would like to see him," with an accent 
 of latent menace. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because I would soon show him that 
 Mildred DeKay is not to be won from me 
 without a struggle that involves a little 
 bloodshed." 
 
 " I have no doubt you would find him as 
 good a mau as yourself, sir." 
 
 " Then tell me where to seek him.' 
 
 In an impulse for which she could not ao- 
 
 Northern army, for I have understood that 
 
 ■ Ha 
 
 bric 
 
 ■of ( 
 
 ' So look for 1 
 
 then, in the ranks of the 
 
 Id red; I tell you here, on this 
 spot, that I will find the man it you will give 
 mehisuame. Dare you do it?" 
 
 In anollier impulse she answered almost 
 before she knew that the words had left her 
 
 "His name is Harry Denver. Find and 
 meet him if you dare !" 
 
 " I shall, and with this sword !" 
 
 He grasped the sword at his side, and half 
 drew it. 
 
 But the speech of fire that was about to 
 burst from him was interrupted by the ap- 
 pearance of the old negro. Snow, who 
 came in unceremoniously at the door, say- 
 ing: 
 
 " De Revrund Mistah Samuels." 
 
 Close on the announcement entered a cler- 
 ical looking gentleman, who immediately 
 said : 
 
 " Tut, tut, sir ! What are you about to do ? 
 Draw your sword in the presence of a lady ?" 
 
 "Mr. Samuels, I am more glad than I can 
 tell you that vou have come. Pray te at 
 home." 
 
 She went to the clergymau's side and took 
 his hand warmly. 
 
 They were evidently well acquainted. 
 
 Artwell had never seen the man at the 
 mansion on any of his former and frequent 
 
 At this particular instant he looked upon 
 the sudden intrusion with an emotion of an- 
 ger, as he forsaw that his interview with 
 Mildred could no longer be private. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE MUSCLE OF B.tTTERY UOB. 
 
 Mildred may have been correct in her e.v- 
 pression of knowledge that Vane Artwell 
 came of an honored family and was a gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 But perhaps recent and active contact 
 with the army had taken much of the 
 polish from his nature, which would account 
 for the brusque manner of his inquiry : 
 
 " Who are you, sir?" 
 
 " I am named Samuel Samuels. As you 
 may perceive, I am a minister of the gos- 
 pel." 
 
 "Well, this young lady and myself are en- 
 gaged at present in discussing a matter of 
 business, and you will oblige us by with- 
 drawing until it is finished " 
 
 " Lieutenant Artwell !" 
 
 The girl's voice broke in upon him with 
 sharp hauteur. 
 
 And she added : 
 
 " Please understand that I am in my own 
 house; and not unless I make such a request 
 as that of my visitors, are they called upon 
 in the least to regard it." 
 
 "Quite right, my dear young lady," said 
 Samuels, suavely. " I greatly fear 1 was 
 Justin time to prevent a very unpleasant ex- 
 hibition on the part of this youug man. 
 Might I ask what is the matter with him ?" 
 
 "The matter is, " exclaimed Artwell, red- 
 dening under the rebuke from Mildred's 
 lip3, " that I meant just what I said. And if 
 you do not regard it, I shall call in my guard 
 which you may have observed on the out- 
 side as you came in, and have you flung out. 
 These are not times when even a minister's 
 garb will protect the man if he makes him- 
 self obnoxious. I have come here to have a 
 talk with this lady. It is of a private char- 
 acter. I give you just two minutes to make 
 yourself scarce." 
 
 Mildred had listened in blushing amaze- 
 ment to this speech from one whom she 
 thought heretofore to possess a degree of 
 gentlemanly politeness. 
 
 A hot retort was upon her red lips. 
 
 But the Reverend Samuels raised one hand 
 to check her, while he said calmly to the 
 lieutenant : 
 
 " Have you a watch ?" 
 
 " A watch ?" repeated Artwell. 
 
 "Yes— a watch." 
 
 " Why do you ask that ?" 
 
 " Because I want you to count the two 
 
 " What then ?" 
 
 "At the expiration of that time I intend 
 to take you by the neck, sir, and throw you 
 out among your vassals on the pavement," 
 was the cool reply. 
 
 The words were so astonishing that for a 
 
 second they 
 
 the hot young 
 
 Southerner dumb. 
 
 Then he uttered a halt suppressed oath. 
 
 " I shall not even call in my men to drag 
 you out of here!" he cried. "IJut I will my- 
 self teach you a lesson that may go a great 
 
 way with others like you who imagine that 
 because they wear that garb they can say 
 and do as they please." 
 
 He took a h'asiy step townnl the cool-faced 
 
 Mildred uttfi-i'ii a litilc cry. and would 
 have thrown heisclt between 
 
 But again the Reverend Samuels waved 
 her aside. 
 
 Three steps only did the young officer 
 take. 
 
 Then something happened which showed 
 him that there is sometimes a strength in 
 the arms of a clergyman that must be re- 
 garded with circumspection. 
 
 Out and straight from the shoulder shot 
 the fist of the Reverend Samuels. 
 
 Thuck ! sound the knuckles of that fist in 
 the face of Artwell, who suddenly found 
 himtelt spinning helplessly backward until 
 he fell with an awkward sprawl over a 
 chair 
 
 Though severely dealt with and surprised 
 by the adroitiess of the blow, he was uot in 
 the least stunned, and quickly gathered 
 himself up. 
 
 "By my soul!" he snapped, with flaming 
 face. " I will be even with you for that !" 
 
 Forward he came again. 
 
 This time he was wary. 
 
 As Mildred shrank from these combatants 
 m her parlor, she saw the lieutenant, by a 
 clever dodge, gain an entrance within the 
 guard which the clergyman had thrown up 
 to meet him, and there instantly followed a 
 
 fierce wrestling struggle. 
 "I have you now," hi 
 
 you now," hissed Artwell, who 
 had instantly conceived the idea that his 
 antagonist was something more than his 
 garb indicated. 
 
 In pursuance of this suspicion, he devoted 
 one hand to the task of tearing away the 
 stiff collar at the clergyman's throat while 
 he maintained the struggle with the other. 
 
 Presently he uttered another exclamation 
 that showed he was surprised himself by the 
 result of that wresting gripe on Samuels' 
 collar. 
 
 Away came collar and button. The tight 
 fitting coat was torn loose at the front, and 
 lo! underneath was revealed the upper of a 
 blue blouse with its shiny brass buttons 
 having on them the monogramed letters 
 U. S.! 
 
 In the effort for the mastery the specta- 
 cles were also dashed aside; next fell the 
 har, revealing a head of close cropped hair. 
 
 Fiudini; himself thus discovered at least to 
 be a L'niouist the voice of 1 
 cried . 
 
 " Here's at you, bold Johnny '." 
 
 Accompanying the words, he performed a 
 feat that was a marvel of strength and 
 prowess. 
 
 Lieutenant Artwell found himself lifted 
 
 kicking in the air. 
 
 Then he was hurled across the room, in 
 what almost seemed to be the course of an 
 arch, and went crashing through the rear 
 window onto the veranda without. 
 
 While the lieutenant lay there insensible 
 from the shock of his violent fall, Robert 
 Ross stepped quickly to the side of Mildred. 
 
 " Miss DeKay," he said, speaking rapidly. 
 "I have visited you often, and I am sure 
 never suspected the truth until now. 
 spy 
 
 Yes, I am a Yankee— I am 
 here in Fredericksburg. That man w; 
 noying you ; I heard nearly the whole of 
 the dialogue before coming in. I am sorry I 
 had to expose myself to relieve you. But 
 having done so, will you call in the squad 
 which IS on the pavement " 
 
 " Assuredly no," the girl interrupted. " To 
 the contrary, my heart is with you and your 
 army. I thank you for having become my 
 champion." 
 
 "You say your heart is with the army of 
 the North?" 
 
 " It has ever been since the commencement 
 of the war." 
 
 "Then why do you remain in the South, 
 where there are so many perils for one of 
 your sex, and these increasing every day? 
 Why not seek the North, where you will be 
 safe from the annoyance of such men as 
 that?" and he pointed toward the veranda, 
 indicating the prostrate and motionless form 
 of Artwell. 
 
 "I have not much to keep me here — only 
 this old mansion, which I inherit from my 
 father and in which I was born. My father 
 had nearly all of his investments iu the 
 North, and I have bern debarred from any 
 knowledge of them since the war. So, you 
 see, there is really an inducement for me to 
 ;et to the North if 1 can I have been think- 
 ng 8f it more thi.i day than ever before." 
 
'J // 
 
 10 
 
 THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 Battery Bob was silent for a moment, 
 thinking. 
 
 "Suppose you commit yourself to my 
 care," he said. " I will go so far as to place 
 you on your way safely, though I cannot re- 
 main with you." 
 
 " Who are vou ?" the sirl asked. 
 
 " My uame"js Robert Ross. I am known as 
 Battery Bob." 
 
 " Ah ! I have heard that name." 
 
 Even into the little town of Fredericks- 
 burg had wafted the rumor of the strange 
 man who had distinguished himself iu the 
 scoutiug forays before the Iiattle of the An- 
 tietaiu by the singular manner he had of 
 flghtiug with his enemies. 
 
 " If vou will consent to the venture," he 
 pursued, quickly, "let me urge that the 
 sooner the start is made the better. Hark!" 
 
 There was a sound of heavy tramping feet 
 in the hall without, as of several men hav- 
 ing entered, and a rough, bowel-like voice 
 was e.\claimiug: 
 
 "Ho, here! Somebody— where are you? 
 Blast It, there must be somebody at home, 
 judging by the crash I heard. And I am of 
 the opinion lliat something may have hap- 
 pened to the lieutenant." 
 
 The voice of the cavalryman. Lieutenant 
 Rorv Bolt. 
 
 With a dextrous rapidity. Battery Bob re- 
 sumed the neat disguise which had been torn 
 from him in his encounter with Lieutenant 
 Artwell. 
 
 "Not a moment is to be lost. Miss DeKay, 
 if you are going with me. Those men will 
 be"in here in a minute ; the body of the lieu- 
 tenant will be discoTered, and I recognize 
 that to be the voice of another lieutenant, a 
 boon companion of the man I have worsted, 
 who is both bold and devilish, He would 
 like to find me here more than any other 
 man in the world. How long will it take 
 you to prepare, while I secrete myself out 
 therein the garden?" 
 
 Mildred smiled. 
 
 "It will take me no longer than the time 
 necessary to tie mv bonnet strings. I said 
 I had thought seriously to-day of leaving 
 Fredericksburg if I could. You may even 
 perceivethat I am attired in riding habit. I 
 will leave the house with Snow, knowing 
 that it will be safe in his hands it no unusual 
 event transpires. And if ever this cruel 
 war should end, I may return to my old 
 home " 
 
 " Come, then," he urged, before she had 
 finished speaking. 
 
 Already the tramp of the cavalrymen who 
 had ; ccompanied Lieutenant Artwell to the 
 bouse were sounding close to the door. 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 A FLIGHT FBOM HOMB. 
 
 Having resolved to accompany the young 
 Unionist to a place whence she could pass 
 the Federal lines and proceed northward, 
 Mildred showed him the next moment that 
 she was indeed prepared for the journey at 
 short notice. 
 
 " Come," she said, " 1 am ready. My hat 
 is close at hand." 
 
 At the outer side of the veranda hung her 
 hat and a small satchel. 
 
 "You si'e," taking both of these in hand, 
 "I was ahnost on the point of departing 
 alone " 
 
 She stopped phort in her fpeech as a sound 
 from the parlor beyond told that the Cou- 
 feiierates who were led by Rory Bolt had 
 entered there and were looking about for 
 some explanation of the recent crash of glass 
 thevlKidlieanl. 
 
 N.it a iiiiiiiiti' was to be lost. 
 
 Su il i-(.i,iif'l hlie led the way down the 
 out'' ■^tt■|l^^ :uh1 along the garden path to- 
 wan i ;i ^^;ile in tin low stone wall. 
 
 Prc-.-eutly tliey had left the premises and 
 were hastening away iu the direction of the 
 
 The DeKay mansion was situated at or 
 near the northwestern part of the town, and 
 
 t is our safest course," remarked Ross, 
 <'y proceeded rapidly. " We are lucky 
 vo wavs ; the attack on Fredericksburg 
 ;pe 'led more in direct opposite to the 
 1, mid the situation of your house is 
 3 distance from the center of excile- 
 t which is prevailing among the inhab- 
 ts. Hasten." 
 wa-i nearly dusk, 
 u- light battery whieli had oppossd the 
 
 nltory t 
 
 Several companies of the Mississippi infant- 
 ry were being hurried to the water-front of 
 the town, tlieirinarch somewhat em l)arrassed 
 by the half panic-stricken crowd of people 
 wliich, iu pcattering groups, either pursued 
 a similar cmirse or rushed excitedly in a con- 
 trary direction. 
 
 The progress of our couple was not inter- 
 ferred with. 
 
 The clerical garb of our Federal spy, and 
 the fact of his being accompanied by a young 
 and beautiful girl, allayed any suspicion 
 that miglit have arisen regarding them. 
 
 At a point nearly two miles above the 
 town, where but a narrow strip through 
 which ran the canal separated the rising liill 
 from the Rappahannock, Ross suggested 
 that they pause for a rest. 
 
 The vicinity was not yet occupied per- 
 manently by any of the "forces which Lee 
 was so rapiillv concentrating on that side of 
 the river, aii(i Iji' cniisiih red (lie spot pretty 
 safe from clan^-'r of iiHili-talion. 
 
 "Yes, 1 am ^^ tai y, " hli" a.l luitted, as f hey 
 seated tliemsflvi-s (.11 ii Iti^', "and while we 
 are resting, sir, 1 would like to ask a few 
 
 "As yon are a Union soldier, perhaps you 
 can give me the information which I par- 
 ticularly seek. Before asking the question, 
 however, let me explain briefly a little secret 
 of my life " 
 
 " It it is a secret. Miss DeKay, would it not 
 be best for you to preserve it ? ' 
 
 "It is not so wonderfully secret as that. 
 Listen, please. You may be surprised to 
 hear that I am the betrothed of a man whom 
 I liave never seen. We were pledged to one 
 another by our fathers when mere infants. I 
 learned this from my father on his dying 
 bed, which transpired, as j-ou have learned, 
 just at the commencement of the war. The 
 father of this young man, it seems, owed 
 my father a large sum of money. My father 
 agreed that if the young man would carry 
 out the marriage contract (he debt should 
 be considered canceled; otherwise, I waste 
 prosecute the claim at earliest opportuiiity 
 as his heir. This party, my father said, had 
 received a commission iu the Union army, 
 then concentrating at Washington. I desire 
 to find him, it such a thing is possible. If we 
 can find that in each other to make a union 
 desirable, lam ready to carry out the in- 
 struction of my father and wed with him; 
 if not, then my mind is made up to devi- 
 ate from the instruction to the extent of re- 
 linquishing all claim upon him, giving him a 
 receipt for the amount which his father owed 
 my father." 
 
 " Yon are fully the generous girl which 
 your face speaks you to be," said Ross, ad- 
 Then lie asUed : 
 
 " What is the name of this young gentle- 
 man who may have Iha opportunity of wed- 
 ding with so I'sliinable alady as you are?" 
 
 " Denver— Henry Denver — — " 
 
 ; know him well!" he instantly ex- 
 
 'J:' 
 
 claii 
 
 " Do you?" eagerly. "lam glad of that. 
 Oh, tell me what ho looks like?" she at once 
 demanded, with all a woman's natural curi- 
 
 " I will tell you that lie is a hue peiilleman 
 and a true soldier. He distinguished himself 
 particularly in the Anlietam, and I 
 shouldn't be surpised to liear of his early 
 promotion for bravery and talent." 
 
 The eyes of the lovely girl were sparkling 
 as she listened ; she seemed to be fairly 
 drinking in every word he uttered. 
 
 " And— and " she said, hesitatingly, 
 
 " he is not yet married ?" 
 
 Ro-s looked at her, smiling. 
 
 "No; not married. Yuii appear to be al- 
 ready interested in him. Miss DeKay ?" 
 
 "Ah! that is because I know if he is what 
 you say, ho must also be a worthy man at 
 heart, and |)erhaps— but no matter. You 
 can tell me where to find him?" 
 
 " lie is now in the army marching on 
 Fredericksburg." 
 
 "So close as that?" 
 
 "But see," he said, ri,sing, "it is nearly 
 dark. We had better tie moving. I have an 
 important engagement in thi« vicinity as 
 soon as night has fully set in. I must go back 
 to the city." 
 
 "Then you may be caught " 
 
 "Oh, no; I have no tear of that. I may 
 assume another disguise. Come, we shall 
 oross at a short distance above here. 
 
 A little further up the stream lloss had a 
 boat tied. 
 
 Unmooring the small craft, he placed her 
 comfortably in tlie bow and pushed off for 
 the opposite shore, where the spectral front 
 of the hills rose frnwniimly. 
 
 Indue time they readied the other side, 
 and he led the way along a narrow path that 
 afforded an apology for an ascent of the al- 
 most perpendicular hill. 
 
 " It is very quiet here now," Ross said, as 
 they made their way along somewhat tedi- 
 ously. " But you will find ere long that 
 there will be noise enough amid these hills — 
 noise to tell of the death of brave men;- 
 deaths, too, that I sadly fear are to avail 
 nothing for the Union army." 
 
 "You do not think they will captur* 
 Fredericksburg ?" 
 
 "Hardly. It they do, the cost will b« 
 more than the thing is worth. Hark !" 
 
 He paused suddenly, liolding her back, a« 
 a thrilling sound just then came to their 
 ears from a point above. 
 
 It was the deep, sonorous bay of a blood- 
 hound. 
 
 The note was well known to Mildred, and 
 as she stood she could not repress a slight 
 tremble of apprehension. 
 
 "A hound! " she exclaimed. "A hound 
 loose in this wild place. I know by his ps- 
 culiar note that he is searching for soma 
 one— following a trail." 
 
 "His master, from whom he has becoma 
 lost," suggested Ross, to allay her feari, 
 though he had instantly recognized in th« 
 voice of that hound the voice of thesam* 
 one which he had encountered during the 
 day. 
 
 "No," Mildred disputed. "I know the 
 note. That houud is on a (rail. Suppose h« 
 should come upon us, and in the darknesi 
 mistake us for the party he ia tracking. 
 
 " Be guided by me " 
 
 " It is coming closer I" 
 
 And so it seemed ; the notes that told of a 
 bloodhound on a trail were momentarily 
 drawing nearer. 
 
 Ross acted promptly, and with the only 
 facility at command. 
 
 Directly overhead he perceived an extend- 
 ing tree bough which was, however, several 
 feet above his greatest capacity for a leap. 
 
 But Mildred .saw hbn whip open the front 
 of his clerical coat, and llu'n fiom his waist 
 
 " I carry (his handy f'u- many emergencies, 
 of which "this is one," he said, while taking 
 the rope rapidly from his person and care- 
 fully coiling it at his feet at the same time to 
 avoid a tangle. 
 
 Next he threw the rope dexterously over 
 the limb above, and in another moment wa» 
 drawing himself upward. 
 
 A moment more, and the rope came dang- 
 ling downward at her side, while he called : 
 
 " 1 have made a slip iu the end. Miss De- 
 Kay. Place it beneath your arms and I will 
 draw you np to safety " 
 
 "But why not have gone up the body of 
 the tree," she questioned, with some hesita- 
 tion at the novel proceeding. 
 
 " Because, it our trail ends at the tree, and 
 if there are masters following the hound, it 
 will be discovered at once that we are here. 
 Asit is, the brute will be baffled. Haste! 
 the dog is almost hero!" 
 
 This announcement decided her. 
 
 Obeying his instruction, she placed the 
 slip beneath her arms, and then the strong 
 muscles of the spy raised her clear of th» 
 ground. 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 ETHEL'S THRILLING EXPEKIENCE. 
 
 Hardly had Mildred been placed safely be- 
 side the strong-armed man, when there wu» 
 aiushing sound beneath the tree. 
 
 But it was not such a sound as would b» 
 made by the passage of the beast they were 
 anticipating. 
 
 There was an unmistakable patter of foot- 
 
 steps. 
 They 
 
 " Save roe. Heaven ! for I tear I cannot go 
 much further! Ah, I shall soon fall a vic- 
 tim to that beast who has followed me for 
 long and terrible hours, and I have wonder- 
 ed why he has not ere this fallen upon me 
 
 and devoured me " the rest of (ho panted 
 
 words being lost as the utterer sped past the 
 spot iu a wild and weary flight before the 
 savage pursuer. 
 
 At sound of the voice, Ross had started so 
 greatly as to nearly lose his balance upon the 
 limb. 
 
 " My God!" he burst forth. "Am I sure- 
 ly awake? That is the voice of Ethel! She 
 is pursued by the bloodhound I" 
 
J 
 THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 11 
 
 Before Mildred could ask for an explana- 
 tion of bia words, he added, to her : 
 
 "jReraaiu hero until I return. I must go to 
 theaid of that peraou, who is dearer to me 
 than my own lifel" 
 
 The uext instant he had swung from the 
 bough, dropping to the ground direotly in 
 the path of the (Hicoming liound. 
 
 Here he hesitiil.-d f.ii- just one fpcond na to 
 whether be slidiil.l wail llii> runiin- nf tlu' 
 animal or hiislnn uft.-r i hr i>w^ \v Iumii In- ijuii 
 " recognized as liis liri r.il lit-il, tht- iiin-k.-ciu-r s 
 daughter, thus meiiaceii by alK.iiibl.i peril. 
 
 On the latter course be decided, turiiiufr 
 and plunging down the narrow path, calling 
 as beran : 
 
 "Etiiel! Ethel! Wait, there. It is I, dar- 
 ling— wait lor niel" 
 
 "Robert! Robert!" answered the girl's 
 voice, as if iu the distance. 
 
 But he knew the meaning of the faint 
 tones. 
 
 E-xhausted at hist, after a cbase for hours, 
 she bad faiJHu !irli)!(':-slv and hopelessly at 
 theeide of ihf imili. 
 
 With quick 1 II. I- lir r.-ached lier. 
 
 A cry of glailiicss ( ame frnni Irer dry lips, 
 for she felt tliat she was now saved from the 
 terrible fangs. 
 
 "It is Durga, my father's most savage 
 hound— It 1 except two other hound which 
 he purchased from Captain Digli.y, of Fred- 
 ericksburg. He is a monster— Ah"! I am out 
 of breath!" and having raised her head to 
 grasp these few words, she sunk back upon 
 the ground. 
 
 Again the bay of the advancing hound. 
 
 But now Ross noticed something iu the ac- 
 cent that had not attracted him previously. 
 
 There seemed to him to be a tenor of dis- 
 tress in the sound that issued from the red 
 throat. 
 
 After listening for a few seconds, he be- 
 came convinced that though the animal was 
 following Ethel's trail, he was not coming 
 swiftly, as a hound would if thirsty to secure 
 a prey. 
 
 What could that mean ? 
 
 Yes, slowly the beast was coming, yet fast 
 f nough to have kept him close, as it were, in 
 Ethel's rear. 
 
 Revolver in baud he waited. 
 Through the gloom he presently saw the 
 hound coming. 
 
 It was Durga. 
 
 Surely no beast of his kind ever pursued a 
 human after the singular manner which 
 marked his actions now. 
 
 Even in the uncertain light of that early 
 hour of night and ou the woody hill, Ross 
 perceived that the animal was actually stag- 
 gering in a lilind way while he came for- 
 ward, throwing his nozzle from side to side 
 and anon back to the ground to snuff the 
 trail; and almost constantly came from his 
 bone-paved throat those sounds that were 
 part bark, part l)ay, part yelp. 
 
 While he stood lost in some wonderment, 
 
 he actually permitted the dog to reach him, 
 pass him and approach Ethel. 
 There was no flual note to indicate a sav- 
 
 age glee in at last coming up with his quar- 
 ry, no spring that follows the sighting of 
 one upon whom he would hurl himself fero- 
 ciously. 
 
 Instead, the great brute uttered a whine 
 that contained something like an accent of 
 delight, and began to lick the hand ot the 
 girl who lay nearly motionless in combined 
 exhaustion and fear. 
 
 Durga was making much over the girl, 
 moving about her in a positively caressing 
 manner. 
 
 Curious in his astonishment, Ross lighted a 
 match. 
 
 By its flickering flame the tale was told. 
 
 Durga'9 head was a sight to behold, cov- 
 ered with clots of blood, and a closer glance 
 revealed that both of his eyes had been com- 
 pletely destroyed. 
 
 To Ross the explanation was plain now. 
 
 This was the result of his encounter with 
 Durga in the woods that morning. The 
 brute's eyes had been destroyed by that ter- 
 rible little engine of slugs and buckshot 
 which the spy carried and worked with a 
 orank. 
 
 Tbe dog, realizing his helplessness with al- 
 most human intelligence, and accidentally 
 striking a trail, had followed in the antici- 
 pation that the human, whoever it might 
 fae, would take pity upon and succor him. 
 
 All the fierceness of his nature was appar- 
 ently gone with the knowledge that he was 
 bliud. 
 
 This condition of affairs he hastened to ex- 
 plain to Ethel. 
 
 Leading the dog by the ear, and snppoi't- 
 ing Ethel on his oilier arm, he returned to 
 the tree where he had left Mildred. 
 
 On the way he asked : 
 
 " Why do I find you here, darling? What 
 could have brought you from your father's 
 house into the woods at such a time?" 
 
 "Ah, Robert, I have had such an experi- 
 ence today as T hope never to have again. 
 
 iireu iiiicoiis(ioi;s for awhile, for I was 
 rongbly trealrd, 1 <-nn tell you, by those 
 men wiio were in pursuit of you." 
 
 "The wretches!" 
 
 " When I recovered, I was on a lounge in 
 the sitliug-room below stairs, and I opened 
 my eyes ou a horror. My father had recent- 
 ly purchased two most savage hounds from 
 a man named Digby. These hounds, it was 
 known, would even eat a human, it they 
 could catch the scent of the blood about that 
 human. My hand had been severely 
 ecratched by the troopers on the stairs, and 
 (luring tbe time I lay there, had oozed con- 
 siderably. 
 
 " I opened my eyes to behold one of these 
 hounds at my side, glaring at me with his 
 awful orbs, and on his tongue traces of some 
 of the blood which be had already licked 
 from my hand. I realized that, having tast- 
 ed ot the blood at its source, iiis next more- 
 
 must have temporarily robbed me of my 
 
 I tlien gave myself up for lost, indeed. Bu 
 Heaven was to preserve me in a remarkabl 
 way. This second hound, as it auticipatin; 
 that its companion was about to enjoy a 
 feast too wholly by himself, tlirew itself for- 
 ward with a curdling growl. Instantly it 
 griped the throat of the other in its massive 
 jaws, smothering thereby the answ.ering 
 growl that would have greeted him in the 
 dispute over me. 
 
 "It was my chance. Though I was weak 
 almost to helplessness, I managed to bound 
 toward and out at the low window. Then, 
 in the startled mood that had seized ine, I 
 ran in the direction of the wood. Here, 
 while pausing for a rest, I heara the bay ot 
 this hound, which I recognized as Durga, 
 and was compelled to fly when I was de- 
 tected that he was assuredly following my 
 trail. Ever since, I have been fleeing, pur- 
 sued by the animal and by a terror a thou- 
 sand-fold more horrible. Ah, I am not want- 
 ing in ordinary bravery, Robert " 
 
 "That you are not, darling," he inserted, 
 remembering the heroism with which she 
 had defied and detained the troopers at her 
 father's inn. 
 
 "But to die by the fangs of a dog— oh, it 
 makes me shudder." 
 
 " Well, while it appears now to have beeu 
 a useless fright, no one can blame 3'ou. 
 But the danger is over. And what shall we 
 do with the dog? Shall I put a bullet 
 into " 
 
 " No, no ; I would not treateven this brute 
 so cruelly. ' 
 
 " It would be a mercy." 
 
 "Let bim live. I will take care ot him. 
 See : he looks to us for succor in his helpless- 
 ness." 
 
 And the poor brute, as he permitted him- 
 
 guide him through the darkness that had 
 come upon him. 
 
 "As you will, darling. But stop here. I 
 have a companion." 
 
 They had reached the tree wherein Mil- 
 dred awaited his return. 
 
 "Is that you, Mr. Ross?" called the girl 
 from tbe shadow of the branch above. 
 
 "Who is it?" Ethel asked, as she recog- 
 nized a woman's voice. 
 
 " A young lady I have guided from Fred- 
 ericksburg. She is seeking some one iu tbe 
 Union army. If you feel strong enough, 
 Ethel, I shall leave the remainder of that 
 task to you. You can take her to your 
 father's house, and thence into Falmouth, 
 where the Federal army is now fast arriv- 
 ing." 
 
 " Yes, I will do so. And when am I to see 
 you again, Roliert ?" 
 
 " As soon as possible. I must return to the 
 town." 
 
 Mildred was released from her rather un- 
 pleasant position on the tree bough. 
 
 After making the two girls acquainted, 
 and uigiiig them to hasten into Falmouth, 
 Ross paused long enough to imprint a parting 
 kiss on Ethel's lips, then turned away to- 
 ward the spot where he had tied the little 
 boat after landing with Mildred. 
 
 As I 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A NOVEL MEETING. 
 
 form of her lover vanished Ethel 
 
 " Come, let us be moving. I am strong 
 now, though it was a fearful ordeal through 
 which 1 passed." 
 
 " What ordeal ?" Mildred inquired, as she 
 followed the other's lead over ihe top of the 
 hill toward Falmouth. 
 
 Ethel related her recent thrilling e.xperi- 
 ence. 
 
 " And do you not stand in fear of that 
 great animal ?" was Mild7'.<l'nr|UPstiou, when 
 she bad beard, and rasiinL: a ^laine of doubt 
 at the brute wide b licr c.inipaniDU was lead- 
 ingguidingly liy <in.. of Ins .ais. 
 
 "Oh, no. lb isl.lind. as I told you, and 
 brute tbniiL'li h.' i-, h.- harJ my Bvmpathy. 
 Some one lia^ J lin; ,,;ii lji,,vi-s. I pity bim." 
 
 Ross had nut infni nicd her of thecauseof 
 
 The inu-keeiH-r'sdaiiuhter was thoroughly 
 familiar with the lay of the ground for 
 milts nronnd her father's house. No time 
 was lost by pursuing an unnecessary course 
 to I'each the tavern. 
 
 When thpy reached a part of the timber 
 fringe tlirongh the openings in which it 
 would have been possible to distinguish the 
 large building on the slope below, Ethel 
 paused short with a little cry. 
 
 Instead ol lii-i- licaie, she saw a great heap 
 of black and still smoking ruins where the 
 embfis gleamed and occasionallv sparkled 
 upward lu the now fully settled night, 
 " What house was that?" queried Mildred. 
 "Min^once mine," answered Ethel, 
 tremulously. "I was born there, and 
 now " her voice ended in ii halt sigh. 
 
 " How could it have happened ?" 
 
 " Who can tell. Let us go forward." 
 
 Approaching close to the pile, they halted 
 again to contemplate it. 
 
 Then Ethel suddenly cried : 
 
 " Look— oh— look there!" 
 
 Following the direction ot her leveled fin- 
 ger, Mildred saw within the heap of ruins 
 at one side, illuminated by the glowing coals 
 of the fire, the ghastly remnants of a human 
 skeleton, the flesh having been burned al- 
 most entirely from the bones that were re- 
 vealed in whiteness where they had not yet 
 charred. 
 
 "Merciful Heaven lean it be that my fa- 
 ther has perished thus horribly?" 
 
 " Do you think that your father would 
 have remained within the house to meet such 
 a death ? He was not an invalid confined to 
 bis bed, was he?" 
 
 "No; and from that I shall gather some 
 hope. Perliaps you areright in your thought; 
 be may be at this moment alive and well. If 
 so, he is likely in Falmouth. Come, I must 
 Hnd ray father, for I loved him." 
 
 One more the couple started onward. 
 
 A sbortdistance on they could perceive the 
 camp-tires of the army arrived and arriving 
 from another direction than the road they 
 were following. 
 
 But they had not drawn very near to these 
 beacon-lights ere there came a halting chal- 
 lenge. 
 
 " Who comes?" 
 
 "Friends— women," replied Mildred. 
 
 " Advance!" 
 
 Going forward, . they found themselves 
 confronted by a Union ofBcer. 
 
 " I thought it was one of the pickets," Mil- 
 dred said. 
 
 " And so it is, in a way. Where do you 
 come from ?" 
 
 " Fredericksburg." 
 
 " And what arc you doing here?" 
 
 " I am seeking an ofiicer in your army by 
 the name of Denver, who, 1 have been in- 
 formed, is here. This young lady is, I pre- 
 sume, merely seeking to enter Faimouth for 
 shelter, her home having beeu burned by 
 your men, no doubt, during t his day." 
 
 Tbe offloer to whom Mildred thus address- 
 ed herself was Harry Denver. 
 
 A portiou of bis regiment, including his 
 company, had been detached for picket 
 duly in the rear; be was at that moment 
 making a round of the post, to see after 
 their proper placing and vigilance. 
 
 It would lie difficult to conceive, much less 
 explain, the immense amazement that filled 
 him, as he thus found himself talking to the 
 very young lady, as he suspected, who was 
 romantically connected with his own life. 
 
 And the next answer given to his immedi- 
 ate question confirmed his suspicion. 
 
 "What is vour name?" 
 
 "Mildred DeKay." 
 
 Yes, it was she. 
 
 And instantly he formed a rather sly reso- 
 lution. 
 
12 
 
 THE WA"Fl LIBRARY. 
 
 "You are desirous of enteriup the lines?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Follow me, then, for you maj- have to 
 give some moi'H satisfactory explanation re- 
 garding your i)ii-seiii-.- lifre." 
 
 With whii li lir u h. ,!i-i and led the way in 
 thedireotinu .-I lli.- !;l.-;iiniiif; fires. 
 
 Conducting; tlKiii to liis own tent, he said : 
 
 "I shall ]isk leaving' you here until I con- 
 fer with the colonel. I would advise that 
 you do not attempt to leave until my re- 
 
 " Be assured that we will obey ' 
 
 At that juncture another officer appeared 
 at the ilap of the tent. Ashe looked iu he 
 called out: 
 
 " Denver " pausing as he saw the two 
 
 girls. 
 
 Tlii'ii he withdrew without having said 
 what lie intended. 
 
 And instantly Mildred asked, fixing her 
 lustiuus eyes on the young Unionist : 
 
 " Is your name Denver?" 
 
 " My name is Henry." 
 
 "Henry?" 
 
 " Henry," he repeated. "But you will e.v- 
 cuse me. I am wanted. And while I am 
 gone T will confer with the colonel concern- 
 ing yi '— " 
 
 ' Who have you got in there?" was the im- 
 mediate interrogation of curiosity. 
 
 " A thousand guesses and you wouldn't 
 know." 
 
 " Oh, I give it up ; I am no hand at conun- 
 drums." 
 
 " One of those young ladies is the identical 
 one I was telling you about to-day while our 
 regiment was halted on the slope " 
 
 " But, yes. She has introduced herself to 
 me— Miss Mildred DeKay, of Frederieks- 
 
 " Which one?" 
 
 " The shorter of the two." 
 
 " She knows then that she has stumbled on 
 the man she is to wed by contract." 
 
 " Not a bit of it. I told her my name was 
 Hi 1 -sii. iliMiks it is thelast name. Keep 
 ii ri not ever call out my name 
 
 \^l: • .iiud. I shall have her re- 
 
 lo I oMu-rtent of cource, at once. 
 
 I :i:, ii(iy to introduce myself." 
 
 , light in," advised theim- 
 
 I i made up his mind at the 
 
 Mrsi Ml I I ascertaining the identity of 
 
 the lieaiitiful girl, that he would not reveal 
 himself until he had seen a little more of 
 her. 
 
 He sought his colonel to consult regarding 
 the disposition of the two females thus 
 brought into carap on the eve of meeting the 
 enemy. 
 
 As he expected, that officer, who was a 
 stern disciplinarian, immediately exclaimed: 
 
 "Pass them along, sir, pass them along; 
 send them into Falmouth somewhere. We 
 don't want females among the boys, at this 
 time, to turn their heads." 
 
 "Their character is not of the kind to do 
 that, colonel ; they are undoubtedly ladies." 
 
 " Well, pass them along all the same. Let 
 them find shelter with some of their own Sex 
 in the town." 
 
 Shortly after this Denver returned to the 
 couple in his tent with the announcement: 
 
 "You cannot remain in camp, ladies; you 
 must continue on to Falmouth. Here is a 
 paper which will preserve you from molesta- 
 tion between here and there, and until you 
 can reach some of your friends which you 
 may probalily havi there." 
 
 I'roviding them with a passport, he led 
 them from the tent and toward that portion 
 of the road where the lights of his regiment 
 terminated. 
 
 "Here I must leave you," he said. "I 
 hope you may safely find some of your 
 friends ; and the pass I have given you may 
 prove valuable — for you must recollect that 
 armies are armies the world over, and even 
 among the boys in blue you might meet 
 with a few troublesome rascals." 
 
 " We thank you, sir. But will you tell me 
 before you part from us : do you know any 
 one in the army by the name of Harry Den- 
 ver ?" 
 
 " I must say that I do." 
 
 " Then, if you should ever meet him, will 
 you be kind enough to say to him that Mil- 
 dred DeKay is searching for him ? He will 
 understand the few words." 
 
 " I will do so." 
 
 Then, as the two girls hastened away 
 along the road, he stood looUiug after them 
 with a peculiar smile on his handsome face. 
 
 "By Jove!" he muttered. "If she is as 
 
 CHAPTKR XV. 
 I !:(.~^n.. . inr, i;appahannock. 
 
 On liii- infill, will. Ii found Sumner'sprand 
 division in p.,--, -i.iii of Falmouth, it would 
 have I.. en an ,•a^v matter for the Union 
 l,,i(is lo iio^s ilie Rappahannock and take 
 til., l.iivn ..I l-'Tpdericksburg. 
 
 'ill.. ( .ni!.-.ii rate General, Lee, had not yet 
 niasM'.l anv considerable force to disputethe 
 passage oft lie river; the frowning heights 
 at the rear of the town were almost bare of 
 the enemy after the brief preliminary en- 
 gagement of the artillerists on the afternoon 
 of that day. 
 
 But even with greater strategy was the 
 Confederate ihii'ftam gathering in his hith- 
 erto dividfil arniv for thestrusigle that was 
 the more inevitable because of Buruside's 
 delay. 
 
 Longstreet even then was forcing marches 
 to reach the town. 
 
 Wheu day dawned, it lirought with it the 
 arrival of the grand divisions ot Hooker and 
 FrankliiL to sti.-nL'llion the Federal hues on 
 thenmili of ilir i ivoi-. 
 
 At that Inn., it ^ll..nld not have been a 
 matter of strt-nfithoniiig, as history shows, 
 but of iminfdi..te action. 
 
 For on the morning of the second day fol- 
 lowing this, the heichts behind Fredericks- 
 burg began to bristle formidahly. 
 
 Longstreet had come, his meu eager fur 
 the fray; and the vantage lost by the Fed- 
 eral army was a matter of derision along the 
 gray lines. 
 
 - .■ ■ ^ '• informa- 
 
 3nscouced 
 
 n the midst of his foes, as it were — from 
 Battery Bob, who effected many meetings 
 with Simmons, the scout, and through him 
 conveyed the intelligence of the rapid 
 strengthening of the Confederate position 
 which more and more showed that now the 
 passage of the Rappahannock, or the taking 
 of Fredericksburg, was to be a record of 
 blood. 
 
 The month waned, and tlill the L'nionists 
 were there, irresolute ou the river bank. 
 
 And when at last General Bumside resolved 
 upon a bold attack in front at every hazard, 
 lo! the whole army ot Lee was before him, 
 with armor girded strong and trenchant, 
 with the heights frowning down their artil- 
 lery, with the gleaming bayonets of his men 
 ready to receive the charges ot the foe. 
 
 Longstreet and his host there; Hill at Port 
 Roval; Jackson between and ready to strike 
 where he could do the most good. 
 
 In these few paragraphs the author may 
 have taken a long leap from the tenth of 
 tiic iirevious month to that date which sig- 
 iiale.l the opening ot the carnage. 
 
 Bat little ot moment had passed with our 
 especial characters, and the many maneu- 
 vers oE the two armies are less essential to 
 our narrative than the events which follow- 
 ed upon and subsequent to this night ot De- 
 cember 10. 
 
 The Stafford Heights were crowned by the 
 deadly batteries under Hunt: crowned, and 
 the ominous nozzles directed upon the plain, 
 the town and the heights on the opposite side 
 of the stream, to hurl their missiles of de- 
 struction at a moment's notice. 
 
 In the heavy fog of the night the pontoon 
 trains were sent down. 
 
 The engineers began their work ot con- 
 structing the bridge, believing themselves 
 comparatively unobserved through the fog. 
 
 Among the troops that had accompanied 
 the bridge builders to support them at their 
 work were tiie companies of Captains Den- 
 ver and Harding. 
 
 While the men reposed at rest on their 
 arms, watching the busy figures out at the 
 water's margin, suddenly there broke the 
 sharp crack of a rifle from the shore oppo- 
 site. 
 
 " God save me ! I'm shotT' cried one of the 
 busy workers. 
 
 Not so stealthy had been the movement 
 but that they were seen by the alert foe at 
 the water front of the town. 
 
 "Stick to it, lads," urged the chief of ^u- 
 gineers, with buta quick glance at the fallen 
 man. 
 
 But the words had scarcely left his lips 
 wheu again sounded the appalling crack- 
 the dismal thuck ! that told ot another mor 
 tal slain. 
 
 After these two shots the fire from the 
 Confederate riflemen posted protectingly in 
 the stone houses at that side of the 
 poured upon 'hem with a succession that 
 savored of volleys at times. 
 
 The lead hummed and zipped around 
 them. 
 
 Heroically they worked. 
 
 The bullets came faster, and the disheart- 
 ened engineers listened wearily for the order 
 that would relieve them from a duty where 
 it was only a question of time before the 
 last man of them would go down. 
 
 s a killing shame," said Denver to 
 g, as thevcame together while their 
 ^re replying lo the lire from the im- 
 pregtKible wall ou the opposite side. 
 
 " Killing'?— yes," dryly. "I'm thinking 
 that wo shall'soou be wiped out to a man if 
 we are not pretty soon taken away frotn this 
 place " 
 
 Cutting short his speech he dodged, as he 
 fairly felt the wind ot a passing slug on his 
 cheek. 
 
 " Hark!" exclaimed Denver. 
 
 There sounded at that instant a report of 
 heavy ordnance m the direction of the Con- 
 federate host. 
 
 While its rumble still dwelt in the humid 
 
 air, they ( Id discern that dawn was at 
 
 hand. 
 
 By this hour the shore was almost strewn 
 with the dead who had fallen before the 
 Mississippi maikstuen, whom they could not 
 
 Af last canic the older to cease work. 
 
 Only for awhile, then at it again; at it 
 with the repetition of the deadly record and 
 unavailing effort ot before. 
 
 Forward to work ; then back again to 
 sheller went the heroic engineers; and still 
 came those leaden messengers from thestone 
 amlnislii-s of Fredericksburg which so effect- 
 ually disputed the crossing. 
 
 There followed a period of rest under shel- 
 ter, during which tidings of the unavailing 
 effort to construct the bridge was conveyed 
 to the Union commander. 
 
 After a lapse of hours the order came to 
 retire for the present. 
 
 As the decimated companies of Harding 
 and Denver fell back, the latter found op- 
 portunity to say : 
 
 "I would rather take chances swimming 
 the stream than to try that method any 
 more. 
 
 "Audi— hello! hear that!" 
 
 Abruptly from the heights above them 
 burst the sound of guns, these increasing 
 their volume until it seemed as if the whole 
 power of the batteries stationed there was 
 being discharged. 
 
 And it soon became known that the Are 
 was being directed in a bombardment on 
 the town. 
 
 Through the fog, in the distance, could be 
 seen a sluggish column of smoke that told 
 of conflagration where the shrieking shells 
 had set flame to thedwellings more probably 
 of innocent people than in the midst of the 
 foe that appeared incapable of being dis- 
 lodged. 
 
 Round after round, gun after gun, in that 
 almost incessant roar at the high-reaching 
 crests; and iron hail was falling fast ( 
 
 smoke was— not at a single point, but here 
 and there, giving an appalling suggestion to 
 those tons of iron being showered and ex- 
 ploded in the hitherto quiet streets. 
 
 While the guns boomed on, again was the 
 attempt made to finish the bridge that had 
 already cost so many lives. 
 
 And again the volleys from that terrible 
 ambush at the water front of the town that 
 sent along with every shot the defiaut yell 
 of a Confederate marksman, still safe from 
 shot and shell because the guns above could 
 not be depressed to reach his lurking 
 place. 
 
 It was after the terrible cannonade had 
 lulled somewhat that the uselessness of suoh 
 a course was revealed by the chief of artil- 
 lery. 
 
 Then suddenly there burst into view a long 
 line composed of three regiments; burst 
 forth like a simultaneous wave of bl ue, from 
 which ascended a cheer so long and loud 
 that it penetrated to the heights in the rear 
 of the town, above the crackling volleys 
 which replied to it from the butternut 
 sharpshooters. 
 
 Down the bank, onward they rushed. 
 
 ng pontoons ou the shore 
 
 slayers of the night past. 
 
 Loud cracked the muskets of the brave 
 boys glad of an opportunity to partly 
 avense their fallen comrades. 
 
 And soon another cheer rent the air, aa 
 several pontoons loaded with the daring 
 
THE WAK* LIBRARY. 
 
 Onwarrl, boatafter boat, imtil the stream 
 wasaliviug spectacle of men and batigmg 
 muskets; onward steadily, though ninuy 
 were dropping in the boats, and at last the 
 bluff afforded a protection for the cheering 
 
 Already, as if dismayed, the opposing fire 
 
 t heir coverts were creeping and 
 M ississipplans as they heard and 
 (h.isp rousing clieers,tellingthem 
 •cjuid be no more resistance at 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A SWORDSMAN SPY. 
 
 The streets of Fredericksburg presented an 
 exciting spectacle after thatstroke of genius 
 which enabled the Federal troops to cross 
 the river, despite the galling resistance of 
 the ambushed sharpshooters. 
 
 While the bridge builders now resumed 
 their workrapidly toward completion, there 
 was a scene of skirmishing in the streets and 
 at the corners of the captured town. 
 
 Tlie Confederates, not yet out of the town, 
 though having fled and still fleeing to the 
 upper avenues, were loth to leave without 
 more salutations of lead to those who had 
 driven them from their posts at the water 
 front. 
 
 Many a musket banged out on the air of 
 the afternoon, and the yells of the retreating 
 Johnuies answered back to the triumphant 
 cheers of the boys in blue. 
 
 From the northern bank of the Kappa- 
 hanuock rose in a mighty volume the cheers 
 of a magnificent army in tribute to the gal- 
 lantry of those who had accomplished the 
 feet of heroism. 
 
 At a point where a house had been fairly 
 tumbled down in fragments by the recent 
 cannonading, another scene was progressing 
 
 with a saber wielding and slashing about 
 him iu terrible strokes. 
 
 Before him, half a dozen Confederate 
 cavalrymen, also with sabers, and seeming- 
 ly without other weapons, their revolvers 
 having been discharged back at the oncom- 
 ing Federals iu the retreat from the river 
 front. 
 
 He was one man against half a dozen, and 
 he appeared able to keep them busy with 
 his circling, sweeping, thrusting and skill- 
 fully handled sword. 
 
 The man was Battery Bob. 
 
 His assailants were men of the Virginia 
 cavalry, and foremost among them was the 
 giant lieutenant, Rory Bolt. 
 
 " Come on !" cried the bold Unionist, as he 
 laid about him. "I shall build arampartof 
 
 " Down with him !" bellowed Rory Bolt. 
 "Cut him up! Flay him! Blast it all ! are 
 we to be defied by a single man " 
 
 " But do you know the man ?" shouted 
 one of his men, as he dodged a stroke from 
 the .saber that was near lopping off his 
 head. 
 
 " I don"t know him, and I don't care who 
 he may be. Down with him, I say ! Off 
 with his head — at him!" 
 
 A command that was not easily obeyed, 
 as Bolt found to be the case himself; for 
 notwithstanding his own enormous strength 
 and the combined assistance of his men, he 
 could not break in through those terrible 
 circles and adroit guards which seemed like 
 magic to meet every thrust and lunge he 
 made at the remai-kable mau who could 
 thus hold them all in check. 
 
 "It you don't know who it is. I can tell 
 you," added the cavalryman, making an- 
 other dodge, as the saber this time clashed 
 down upon his weapon and fairly sent it 
 quivering from his grasp. " The man is Bat- 
 tery Bob, of Autietam !" 
 
 And the ofliers took up the name iu a cry ; 
 
 " Battery Boh ! Battery Bob !" 
 
 "Ho!" hluilpd Lieuti-uantBolt. " If that 
 is Battery Bob, tlit-n 1 am the happiest man 
 in IliHaiitjy, for Ishall smile off his head 
 
 Thcf^llll-! 
 
 sameM'r MM 
 trom ai^iini 
 his right av 
 guard to i e._ 
 For fully I 
 
 lembered head went 
 his feet— and in the 
 saved his own head 
 he 6he<"r strength of 
 raised his saber to a 
 ide of Battery Bob. 
 1 had this strange and 
 
 !Of I 
 
 tood the intrep- 
 id spy : and anon hisglauce was diverted for 
 an instant down the street, where sounded 
 the bang of muskets, and where he could see 
 occasionally the uniforms of soldiers in blue 
 advancing into town. 
 
 "If I can hold out a little longer," was his 
 thought, " I will soon have help here, aud 
 the chances are that I may be able to make 
 prisoner this bold giant whom I recognize as 
 the one leading the troopers in the hunt and 
 attack at the inn of old Cobbs. They are an 
 awkward set; and I even hesitate to kill 
 them, as I easily could do because of mv 
 superioi- skill with this fortunate saber. Ah! 
 the iM.ys are coming!" 
 
 There was a shout on thestreet below, then 
 another and another, which indicated that 
 the advancing troops were on the street be- 
 yond the nearest corner and would soon 
 burst upon thissanguinai'y by-scene, driving 
 before them, no doubt, more of the fleeing 
 Confederates. 
 
 Aud the trenchant saber circled on, the 
 steel clashed, and presently Battery Bob 
 found it neces ary to sacrifice another human 
 life, for one of the cavalrymen was near 
 breaking through his ever watchful guard. 
 
 Swoop! thush! struck the weapon that 
 seemed invincible, and another head rolled 
 off from its trunk, spinning out into the 
 already bloody street. 
 
 " A nillion curses on you for the most 
 blasted Yank of all!" roared Bolt, at sightof 
 this second deed of remarkable prowess 
 which showed that the edge of the saber in 
 the hand of the Unionist was as sharp as a 
 razor. 
 
 " Curses will not drive me from this pile, 
 my bold Johnny,"' answered the defiant 
 
 temples with the exertion of his wonderful 
 battle. 
 
 " But the saber of Rory Bolt will do that 
 thing !" the lieutenant began to bellow. 
 
 When suddenly there rattled a volley of 
 bullets around his ears, which sentseveral of 
 his followers pitching headlong to the pave. 
 
 A company of Federals, in steady rank, 
 had turned the corner, and immediately at 
 sight of the foe engaged there had discharged 
 their muskets at them. 
 
 It was really a miracle that Battery Bob 
 escaped the leaden hail of the volley. 
 
 At his feet struck many of the s'lugs, and 
 around his ears hummed the messengers of 
 death. 
 
 " Ho!" broke the bull-like voice of Bolt, 
 "they are upon us! " 
 
 Imitating the action of bis frightened men 
 he made a lumbering leap backward beyond 
 the circling saber of the Unionist, and start- 
 ed on a full run toward the rear of ihe 
 
 Resting on his saber which had served him 
 so faithfully, Ross waited for the boys in 
 blue to come up. 
 
 He unbuttoned the front of his coat, re- 
 vealing that he wore a Union blouse beneath 
 and showing, too, a peculiar badge pinned 
 thereon, which was to check the inquiry of 
 the captain of the company, who com- 
 menced to say : 
 
 " Well, sir, who are you that I see you 
 fighting in citizen's garb with those infernal 
 
 yet hern 
 
 
 3f Freder- 
 
 " I have heard of you, Battery Bob. We 
 may meet again, I hope. But I have no time 
 now to talk. Take care of yourself, and be 
 assured the boys of thearmy will be glad to 
 know that you are still alive imd " 
 
 "Able to handle a saber." Ross inter- 
 
 'Far 
 
 Pell, 
 
 " And good luck to you, captain." 
 The company inarched away rapidly 
 along the street iu the direction of the fir- 
 Ross tlms left free after one of the closest 
 perils of his life, started down the street to- 
 ward theriver, still carrying his trusty saber 
 in hand for any possible emergency. 
 
 He still wore tlie clerical garb we have no- 
 ticed on his entrance into the DeKay man- 
 
 The 
 tlietr 
 tlie 111 
 neck 1 
 
 whicli had betrayed him to 
 Bolt lis a Fedeial. had been 
 elo^sotasi1.gl.. iMittonatthe 
 
 out his knowl.dg,.; ;,„(1 as tij.' Ueeiijg John- 
 nies ae.'identally came upon him at the pile 
 of ruius they saw gleaming over the top of 
 the collar a brass button that they instantly 
 recognized as a Yankee device. 
 
 Howard's divLsiou was crossing the Rappa- 
 hannock into Fredericksburg as Battery Bob 
 
 reached the i 
 
 ■ front. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 bad] 
 
 And as he spoke. Bolt wa 
 
 was here that his glance fell on the 
 
 " My name is Robert Ross, captain. I am 
 probably better known as Battery Bob." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 Instantly the young officer stepped for- 
 ward after halting his company, and extend- 
 ed his hand. 
 
 This officer was Captain Denver. 
 
 The two shook hands warmly. 
 
 " You have had a warm time here, I judge. 
 Battery Bob," with a glance at the two 
 human heads that lay in all their ghastliness 
 on the pave. 
 
 "RatliHr warm, captain But I guess I 
 c',>uld iMivf iielrl iny.uMi, even if you had not 
 
 ■'n.irk •■■ liossiiiLTfuiited. 
 
 auskets banging, telling of i 
 
 S RETtniN nOHE. 
 
 Night had not yet settled down upon the 
 river, when a small boat might have been 
 observed slowly crossing toward the town 
 shore. 
 
 Pulling somewhat awkwardly at the oars 
 was a negro, well advanced iii years, and 
 seated in the stern were two females. 
 
 The latter were Mildred DeKay and Ethel 
 Cobbs, and the former the old negro. Snow, 
 who was saying, as they reached midstream : 
 
 "I kinder knowed 'at I'd flue you dar, 
 Missy Mild'ed— I kinder knowed it, some- 
 how. ,\ii' Ise been pow'ful skeert 'bout you 
 sence you let' de manshun^ 'ithout a-sayiu' 
 
 " ' " outyou'sgoin'. An' Ise afeard 
 
 ees might a be a-do 
 
 ;deY; 
 
 to de or home o' Massa 
 
 'Kay. 
 
 "Yes, I am coming back. Snow. But, tell 
 me, have you seen anything more of Lieu- 
 tenant Artwell, the man who was thrown 
 through the window onto the veranda? Was 
 he killed? I hope not." 
 
 " No, indeedy, Missy Mildi'ed. De skull ob 
 dat man am astonishin', 'deed it am. W'en' 
 de sogers kem inter de pariah, he was jest 
 a-kemin' to, an' he said some powerful hot 
 words. Missy Mild'ed, 'deed he did." 
 
 " And everything is safe, untouched, you 
 say. Snow ?" 
 
 " E— yes. Missy Mild'ed. De leftenaut was 
 awful put out 'bout you's dis'pearauce; but 
 dey don' left de preiu'sis widout any 'flic- 
 tion o' damage. B-b-but he's done swore 'at 
 he's a-going lo' to fine you, he did." 
 
 " Some enemy of yours?" remarked Ethel, 
 inquiringly. 
 
 '• Not exactly an enemy. But a man who 
 has annoyed me for some time with offers of 
 marriage, and whom I have taken every op- 
 portunity to inform that his hopes are use- 
 less. Let rue fell you of a little incident that 
 happened a short time ago." 
 
 She proceeded to relate the occurrence at 
 the mansion in which Ross figured as her 
 champion. 
 
 At it's conclusion Ethel's 
 ling. 
 
 " That is Robert— every inch of him," she 
 exclaimed. 
 
 "You call him Robert?" 
 
 "And why should I not? 
 frothed." 
 
 "Ah'" 
 
 Mildred looked keenly at the girl 
 
 Theiesult of hei seaichingglance was that 
 she com ludi d the taste of Battery Bob to be 
 of fiueordfr 
 
 For she could not help rtcujtuzm ^ m this 
 childof thehilN a «oiniTi tl tiriieauty 
 and puiity, with m \[ i s n f h in( fer 
 m the lovely f i ii t \ ii t ar- 
 
 rest attention ii 1 I I 1 
 
 r h Mildied ha 1 deserted on the day pre- 
 
 ! eyes were spark- 
 
 ay b<^ 
 
14 
 
 THE WAR- LIBRARY. 
 
 In tbe time that had elasped since the 
 night when Captain Denver had seen the two 
 on their way into Falmouth, Mildred had 
 fnlly acquainted Ethel with the romantic 
 little history of her search for a man whom 
 •he was destiued lo marry if she would, obey 
 the dyiufj reiiuest of her father. 
 
 While iu Falmouth, she had watched with 
 no atlemiit to»couceal her eagerness, for t 
 appearance of the young captain who h„« 
 introduced himself as " Henry," remembei-- 
 ing his promise to communicate (he fact of 
 her search to Captain Denver, and teeUng 
 assured that Denver would seek her out 
 when he knew that she was desirous of the 
 meeting. 
 
 But Denver bad had no opportunity, even 
 if he had wished for it, lo see more of the 
 young girl which fate had seemed to have 
 •elected for him as a wite. 
 
 As they entered the mansion, which seem- 
 ed to have remained in every particular 
 just as it had been left by her in her recent 
 hurried flight, she remarked to Ethel: 
 
 " Perha[)», now that the Union army is In 
 possession of Fredericksburg, the man I wish 
 to see will seek for me at the place he must 
 know to be my home." 
 
 " I trust he may," said Ethel, with a little 
 twinkle in her eyes," for you appear to be 
 thinking of him voiy absorbedly." 
 
 "Isit not natural? You see, I feel as it 
 there was a bondage upon me, and I am de- 
 sirous of having it settled either one way or 
 the other. 1 will confess to you, my new 
 and dearly loved friend"— for the two had 
 grown almost sisterly in the time of their 
 •hort intimacy — "if the man 1 expect to 
 meet, and whom I may marry if we are both 
 •uited, is anything like the young officer 
 whom we met on that night last month, I 
 think I shall not And much difBculty in 
 learning to love him. Do you not think he 
 was noble looking?" 
 
 " Very. More — though I have only sus- 
 pioioned it so slightly as not to make it war- 
 rantable on my part to suggest it— I half be- 
 lieve that the captain you mention is the 
 very man now nnder discussion as possibly 
 your future husband " 
 
 "No! You are not iu earnest !" e.xclaim- 
 ingly interrupted the beauty, turning quick- 
 ly ou her compauion. 
 
 "But I do." 
 
 " What are your grounds ?" 
 
 "Do you not remember that he told you 
 his name was Henry ?" 
 
 "Yes, his last name, of course; and it 
 would have been very indelicate on my part 
 to ask him for his first name." 
 
 "I think differently." 
 
 "That such a question would not have 
 been delicate?" in surprise. 
 
 " Oh, no, I do not mean that. I mean that 
 I have a different opinion regarding the 
 
 "How? I cant understand." 
 
 " You t*aid that the name of the man you 
 had never seen, and yet might possibly mar- 
 ry, was Hairy Denver." 
 
 "That young captain said his name was 
 Henry. Harry is sometimes used for the 
 name of Henry; and his last name maybe 
 Denver. There you have Harry Denver." 
 
 " It never struck me!" exclaimed Mildred, 
 impressed with this random reasoning of 
 her new friend. 
 
 And she added: 
 
 " Then, it he and I ever meet again, I will 
 have the point settled, be assured," aud it 
 was plain that she was half inclined to ac- 
 cept the theory. 
 
 They bad reached Mildred's private rooms 
 by this lime, and were about to arrange 
 their toilet, when there was a sound of hur- 
 ried footsteps in the hallway without. 
 
 Both turned with inquiring looks toward 
 
 Snow burst in without the ceremony of the 
 knock whicii was always his custom, and 
 immediately cried : 
 
 "Oh, Missy Mild'ed!" 
 
 "Whatisil.Suow?" 
 
 " Dar's a man in de cellar !" 
 
 "In the cellar? ' 
 
 "E-yes, indeed. I was a-goiu' fo' to fetch 
 somethin' fo' ymu to drink from ol' massa's 
 wine, w'en, dar— dar was a man wot riz 
 right up from de ca.sks an' sighted outer me 
 like he was a-goin' fo' to eat me right up, I 
 swears it fo' de huiib !" 
 
 'What kind 
 'Dee. I, Miss 
 
 ■ Let 1 
 
 ■ ■(I, I didn't stopfu' to 
 .1, ludecellahfo'surc." 
 is," suggested Ethel. 
 •• \ ery wen, Mildred assented. 
 They descended the stairs to the narrow 
 flight ieauiiig lo toe cellar. 
 The cellars of the DeKav mansion were 
 
 81 
 
 large and filled with casks that indicated a 
 love of comfort on the part of the recently 
 deceased owner. 
 
 Furnished with a light by Snow, who kept 
 in the rear, Ethel claimed the privilege of 
 leaiiing the way. 
 
 Witli her ever present revolverflrmly held 
 for an immediate shot, she proceeded upon 
 an exploration. 
 
 And had scarcely gone a dozen steps 
 along the. tlacged flooring, when a gigantic 
 form arose f'om benind a cask in her liont — 
 a form with a shaggily bearded laee and 
 eyes that were like the orbs of some hideous 
 owl there iu the semi-gloom. 
 
 The face and form of Lieutenant Rory 
 Bolt. 
 
 It chanced that the fray between him, his 
 men and Battery Bob, was in a locality near 
 to the DeKay mansion. As he tle.l wiih the 
 others, he bethought liim of thiM-.\|ie(li.iit i.f 
 
 iteri 
 
 the 
 
 protalily save his life from the Yankee bul- 
 lets which were following thickly alter hiiu. 
 
 Finding the garden gate open, he entered. 
 And finding that the mansion was actually 
 deserted, he proceeded to makebimself com- 
 fortable after a manner. 
 
 Which cousisted of an immediate visit to 
 the cellar, where, he knew, there was apleu- 
 tif ul supply of wine. 
 
 Seating himself among the casks, he turned 
 the spigot of one near him and placed his 
 capacious month to it, taking a longdraught 
 that might have resulted in the death of an 
 ordinary man. 
 
 "This is what I call enjoyment," he mut- 
 tered, smacking bis lips. " And, forsooth, 
 here I mean to remain until the accursed 
 Y'anks are driven out of Fredericksburg, or 
 until these casks are drained out. Here goes- 
 destruction to the Yanks!" and again he 
 drank heavily from the spigot. 
 
 Such potations inevitably resulted in his 
 intoxication. It was not long before he 
 sunk over into a drunken sleep thereupon 
 the hard stone floor. 
 
 From this sleep he had just aroused as 
 Snow descended to procure some refresh- 
 ments for his young mistress. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 A CLOSE CALL FOR BOLT. 
 
 Having frightened off the negro. Bolt 
 chuckled gutturally and turned for the sixth 
 time to the convenient spigot. 
 
 "So they have come home again— the 
 .young girl who is the heir of Arnold De- 
 Kay," bubbled from his lips. " Well, I am a 
 flxlure here for the present, I Imagine. I do 
 not think they will disturb me in this, the 
 oest treat of wine I have ever had in my 
 life." 
 
 And he took a seventh drink from the 
 spigot. 
 
 But Rory Bolt's idea that he might remain 
 there unmolested was exploded a few mo- 
 ments laier, when he saw that some one was 
 descending the narrow way to the cellar. 
 
 Cautiously overthetop of a cask he peered 
 upon the comers w'th a light. 
 
 In an uiiderbreath he muttered : 
 
 "Thunder and Satan, there is the daughter 
 of the inn-keeper, Ethel Cobbs. How came 
 she to be here ? And she is carrying a pistol 
 —a revolver. She is no child with the re- 
 volver. I have seen her shoot a man as well 
 as I could have done myself. But I shall 
 not be fiiL'hlened from this comfortable 
 place by a legiiiieiit of Ethel Cobbs. Hal she 
 
 not frighten them— the lun-keeper's daugh- 
 ter and the girl I see is the owner of this man- 
 sion— iu the same way I did the negro. I 
 will tryl" 
 
 Having thus resolved, he suddenly arose 
 before the explorers of the cellar as shown, 
 at the same time raising one great hand 
 aloft and uttering a dismal sound that was 
 very much like a groan. 
 
 If he hi.d hoped to intimidate Ethel Cobbs 
 either by his noise, his appearance of gigan- 
 tic stature, or his glaring eyes, he was thril- 
 liiigly disappointed. 
 
 Promptly the girl raised her revolver to 
 cover his broad breast, and she cried : 
 
 "Stand!" 
 
 In that instant it flashed upon Rory Bolt 
 that he had never seen a more beautiful pict- 
 ure of woiiiarilincid than Ethel presented to 
 
 l!ii! ' I !:id no lime to reckon. 
 
 'Ill ' i: I . was leveled upon him, 
 aii.llM >i.. •: I 1.- dangerous glance in lur 
 ihu Iv ..I i,.T ihai ..hu uould Are upon him the 
 
 " Hold there, b&st it!" he ejaculated, ex- 
 citedly. " You would not kiU me, would 
 you?" 
 
 "Stand, sir, and give an account of your 
 presence here." 
 
 "Auaccident, I swear," he hastened to say, 
 in his bowel-accented voice. " I stumbled 
 in here before I knew where I was. I have 
 been drunk. Look at my eyes, and you must 
 see that I have been drunk. ],i>wer tbat 
 pistol, Ethel Cobbs, it might gi. efl before 
 you know it." 
 
 " Ah, I recognize von now," said the girl, 
 while the tlnsli ill hei eyes iuteiisibed. "You 
 are ciiiH of those ^^ In. "were in pursuit of a 
 loan kiu.H li ;is natt.ry Bob, at my father's 
 house Inst luoiiUi. Yi s. 1 know you. So you 
 are in a coriK-r uhh , .h ? 1'.. vmi know, I 
 have half a mini! i.. l-i.- -, o.i Cvii ii a bullet 
 for the i>art you iiLi\ i-d m ili:ii ;,fliiir." 
 
 "Half a niiii<l,s;iy v... :• W.-li. let the 
 
 lalf 1 
 
 lUd 
 
 thing. 
 
 Klhel Cobbs. I am harmless a 
 swt-ar to you. Lower the revolver." 
 
 Kill el turned slightly toward Mildred and 
 asUed : 
 
 " Is there any other outlet to this place be- 
 side the way in our rear?" 
 
 "None." 
 
 "Then," said the girl, while her wary eyes 
 were fastened upon Bolt, whom she ad- 
 dressed again, "step aside, while I make 
 this wretch clear himself on}. I have very 
 little feeling for such as you are, sir, and if 
 you excite me in the least, I may even pull 
 on this trigger before I know it " 
 
 "Soul of Satan! don't do that!" blurted 
 brawny fellow, p 
 ger it anything shouli 
 jnessure of her finger on the trigger the least 
 bit harder. 
 
 Just at that moment something trans- 
 pired which brought a rather thrilling 
 change upon the scene. 
 
 The old negro. Snow, in his curiosity to 
 see the man who was being cowed by the 
 brave jrirl, was craning his neck forward 
 from his position ou the joisted stairs. 
 
 Losing his balance before he was aware of 
 it, he slipped, tripped, and came tumbling 
 down with a half yell of dismay. 
 
 In his fall he struck against Ethel. 
 
 Ethel was jarred against Mildred. 
 
 The lamp was knocked from Mildred'^ 
 hand ; simultaneously the revolverexplodcd, 
 and a shout that was a curse broke from th« 
 coarse lips of Lieutenant Bolt, 
 
 "Blast it! lam wounded!" 
 
 And but for the jar tbat diverted her aim, 
 which she kept heretofore steadily upon the 
 ruffian, tbe bullet might have done more 
 than merely wound the Confederate. 
 
 A lucky divertisement for Bolt. 
 
 1 darkness which ensued 
 
 upon 
 
 accident, he saw an advantage for himself. 
 
 Quickly changing his position, be mutter- 
 ed, in au underbreatb : 
 
 "Now, then, if I can but get out of here 
 before tbat spit-tire of a girl takes a notion 
 to bore me with a bullet, as she said she had 
 half a mind to do, I will be fortunate. I 
 think I can see the glimmer of a light back 
 there." 
 
 With a stealth and noiselessness that was 
 remarkable considering the weight of his 
 great cavalry boots, be began making liis 
 way toward a faint glimmer of light which 
 he could see from his position, though the 
 position of the girls was such that it was ob- 
 scured from their vision by an angle in the 
 foundation of tbe building. 
 
 And perhaps the voice of Snow, that was 
 raised in a bewailing tenor immediately and 
 continuously following the mishap to him- 
 self, aided tbe movements of the giant. 
 
 He succeeded in passing by the girls and 
 drawing near to the faint glimmer, which 
 was caused by the light which Snow had 
 made in the parlor when Mildred and Ethel 
 first arrived. 
 
 Faint, but sufficient to bring him to the 
 joisted stairs; and then with sudden and 
 great leaps, be escaped from the cellar, run- 
 ning across the garden. 
 
 At the same time, he heard the sound of 
 shots on the street without, which told that 
 even with the fall of the night's shadows, 
 there was still a desultory strife progressing. 
 
 He was not to escajie so easily. 
 
 Hardly had he reached the gate which had 
 a-fforiled liim an ingress earlier, when he was 
 flie.ked and somewhat startled by a surly 
 
 A deei) and ominous growl, followed by a 
 snap of powerful jaws, and Bolt felt his flesh 
 being torn by sharp teeth. 
 
 A cry that was a roar burst from him. 
 
 "Thunder and Satan! it is the blood- 
 bound that old Cobbs started to run down 
 the Yankee spy !" 
 
 Durga it was. 
 
 The brute's presence tnere was purely and 
 singularly aooidental, Ethel haviug left him 
 
3 9 
 
 THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 15 
 
 in Falmouth when they decided to enter 
 Fredericksburg after its capture by the Fed- 
 
 The blind lieaat had escaped from those 
 with whom she had left it iu chartie, and in 
 its roaraings had cimie into the maiden of 
 the DeKay mansion, after having fallen into 
 the river and swam across, aimlessly. 
 
 Had Durga been the animal that it was 
 before losing its sight, Rory Bolt could not 
 have done what he then did— break loose at 
 a single tenilie w rench from the faugs fast- 
 ened in til" tl.'sli :il)(ivehis boot. 
 
 Hnrliim liini»lt lioe from the dog, he ran 
 
 As he ai.p'iiiiil n|>"n tlie dark street, bul- 
 lets w("',- 11> iii>r ;it iiilervals around, and one 
 oftheljilli^ |,. -lilts of lead pierced his hat, 
 knocking it troiii his shaggv liead. 
 
 "Blast it: It shall be killed yet, I am 
 afraid," he spluttered, as he stretched his 
 long legs in Higlit." 
 
 And not until he was well across the canal 
 did he relax his running gait, or venture 
 time for aglanoe behind to see if he was jjur- 
 8ued. 
 
 A busy night was that with the Union 
 army. 
 
 The pontoons were now nearly all com- 
 pleted witliiiutany further resistance. 
 
 As the night advanced, other corps were 
 crossing the Rappahannock to the southern 
 side, at the city; and, below, the men of 
 Franklin were fast massing for the struggle 
 under cover of another fog that settled 
 down over land and water like a dull gray 
 pall. 
 
 When day came again, it found the Feder- 
 als ready for a battle, all, with the exception 
 of Hooker's grand division, having formed 
 on the south bank of the stream, and show- 
 ing a menacius front to the quiet but grimly 
 wailing foe. 
 
 The scouts were now busy; and spryest 
 among them was Simmons, who seemed 
 gifted with an almost supernatural ability 
 for bringing information regarding the Con- 
 federate position and movements on the dis- 
 tant stretch of heights. 
 
 Simmons now wore a garb of Union blue. 
 
 With the exception of his broad brimmed 
 hat, and the fart that he carried a rifle of 
 monstrous and heavy barrel, he was like the 
 rest of that vast array of boys in blue— a 
 seeming private from the ranks. 
 
 With the men of Franklin, where Sim- 
 mons was busiest at his daring work, there 
 was fast coming a silent feeling of the car- 
 nage that was soon to open ; the eyes be- 
 neath the Union oapa roamed afar and 
 ahead as if to penetrate the fastnesses of the 
 gray clad enemy, and every hour that 
 elapsed was an increase of the suspense, un- 
 til many were heard to murmur : 
 
 " 1 wish the thing would come." 
 
 " And I. I'd rather be in the battle than 
 wait here thinking about it." 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 now THE BOTS WENT "IN." 
 
 Dull With haze was the December day that 
 came til 1 e.i'ive tlie reeord of the opening 
 struggle at Fiederickshurg. 
 
 Througli the foggy air the warriorsin blue 
 were marching and countermarching for po- 
 sition to open the attack which had been 
 ordered by General Biirnside. 
 
 Beyond the clouded sonee of air the cita- 
 dels built by the Confederate army on those 
 piney heights were invisible. The yawning 
 mouths that were ready to receive and de- 
 stroy them were cloaked from view, though 
 there were grim waniors there with Augers 
 on musket locks and gripes on deadly lan- 
 yards, the tightening of which was soon to 
 rouse and rend the atmosphere with roars 
 of thunder. 
 
 "Forward, guide center— inarch !" 
 
 Swiftly here and there the marching lines. 
 
 At every step, at every coramiind risingon 
 that early morning, the teeth of men were 
 olinching together tighter as they telt them- 
 selves coming nearer and nearer to the mo- 
 ment of battle. 
 
 Brave were they, the blue and the gray ; 
 but there is someiliing in the suspensive mo- 
 ments proceeding the outburst of a carnage 
 such as that in store, which may cause even 
 the bravest to experience a strange thri.l not 
 without its dread. 
 
 " Forward, guide center— march I" 
 
 Slowly over the plain that stretched be- 
 low Fredericksburg wheeled, grimly, tbe 
 candidate martyrs. 
 
 Slowly forward through the uncert 
 light the division of gallant Meade, as the 
 fog began to lift, and his gleaming bayonets 
 shone in long lines like waves of steel that 
 
 81 
 
 swayed beneath some stealthily wafting 
 breeze. , ... 
 
 Then at last burst the first sound of the 
 bloody day. 
 
 On (he Union left roared up the thunder 
 from (he waiting horse artillery of Stuart. 
 
 Into the ranks poured the iron from this 
 point on Ihfir hank. 
 
 Mercileasiron— tor the men began to fall, 
 and the Hrst shrieks of agony on that day 
 now ascended to the skies amid the rumble 
 
 " SimiUt'inenusly the Federal batleri. s 
 
 Sliiit and sliell were shrieking overheail .-is 
 well as beluu- in the bine front; the heighls 
 were being stoniifd liy artillerists, and in a 
 wav that c.ui-i il nianv" a graycoat to bite the 
 d^^t lM-li>re il came his tain to Are upon the 
 ailvaiuiiig and hated Yankees. 
 
 Into the ranks of blue went the shots 
 from Stuart. , , ,, 
 
 Into the fastnesses of leafless oak and tall 
 pine-s, the shells that burst and scattered 
 among men and trees, and scattered their 
 still Imniing particles iu the undergrowth. 
 
 And there were cries of agony in the am- 
 bushed ranks ol the Confederates, too, as 
 
 throats came whistling and howling into 
 the midst of them, sowing death in the shel- 
 ter of the woods. 
 
 Boomed the batteries of Stuart — boomed 
 and mowed the boys in blue, until it seemed 
 that they could progress no further without 
 being slain to the last man. 
 
 When suddenly there wheeled aside on the 
 already bloody plain a long front of blue 
 that marched steadily, directly into the can- 
 nons' mouth at first, then with a rousing 
 Union cheer charged upon the foe that had 
 peppered them from the flank with heavy 
 
 Charged, silenced and driven back into in- 
 activity those terrible guns that had met 
 and slain them as they advanced to attack 
 the corps of Hill, ensconced on the grim 
 heights. 
 
 Then back again into the regular aavano- 
 ing lines— on before a foe that waited but 
 had not yet renlied either to the roaring ar- 
 tillery or the flaming muskets of the skir- 
 mishers who were nearing the woods at the 
 ascent in a very multitude. 
 
 Among these skirmishers was the form of 
 Simmons, the scout, in his suit of blue. 
 
 Striving continually to lead, he was some 
 
 disli 
 
 nd- 
 
 iug a bullet -„ 
 
 could see a Confederate liat or limb. 
 
 Well known to the men, and popular on 
 field or in camp, the eyes of many were on 
 him, while their muskets barked loudly, 
 of times at a foe whose position they could 
 not see, but only guessed at. 
 
 "Come ou, boys!" shouted the daring 
 scout. "Come on! Give it to them lively !" 
 
 But though Simmons thus celled cheerily, 
 he was too old » man in battle to misunder- 
 stand that ominous silence which prevailed 
 iu the Confederate fastnesses. 
 
 He well knew that shortly would come the 
 flame, the smoke, the lead and iron that was 
 to engulf the bodies of heroes in a swimming 
 tide of blood. 
 
 But he shrunk not; his voice could be 
 heard ringing out, and at times there was a 
 cheer of encouragement from the following 
 skirmishers, as they caught the spirit of his 
 enthusiasm and pressed on, on, with still 
 banging muskets, still stern bravery, until 
 they were forging up the heights. 
 
 And yet no sound from the half-concealed 
 enemy. 
 
 The fact gave an additioual courage to the 
 men. 
 
 But Simmons was not deceived. 
 
 At his side was a young soldier who had 
 stuck pretty close to him from the first, as 
 
 Jiate 
 
 " Look out, my lad," Simmons said, with a 
 half toss of his head sideways to the young 
 fellow as he drew back the hammer of his 
 rifle for another shot. "Lookout! It seems 
 comparatively quiet now; but keep your 
 eyes skinned for signs. There'll be a wave 
 of flume begin to burst out of the hills pres- 
 ently, unless I'm mightily mistaken, and if 
 you can cadli sight of it in time, go down- 
 go down iiist as flat as you can, or you're a 
 goner. Mindine, lioiv " 
 
 His s|.i'." Il teiniinated with the last word, 
 wliiih was j.-ikeil outshortas he raised his 
 rill.' anil tiivd upon a small gray object that 
 Wat iiinirnding from behind a tree. 
 
 The leg (it u t.'onfederate. 
 
 And immediately upon the shot came a 
 yill of pain which even these two, so far in 
 advaiiee and .so near to the mark, could 
 scarcely hear for the din which was progress- 
 
 ing off in rear and left, where, iu the latter 
 instance, the detachment sent to silence the 
 battery of Stuart was returning to form in 
 with the rest now almost at tho base of tha 
 heights. 
 
 Behind Meade was the support of Gibbon. 
 
 Two great waves of blue humanity ad- 
 vancing across that smoky jilain upon a foe 
 (hat held an eiiignial silence, /et who wai 
 
 Then, as the men of Meade came through 
 a lining of the sinekv cloud, suddenly they 
 IV, -11. apprised of the "fact that the gray host 
 
 r 
 
 "lU th 
 
 lair hi 
 
 'rst 
 
 a shock 
 
 like an earth- 
 
 
 
 
 h 
 
 avy guns 
 
 that hurled 
 
 
 and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ing, u 
 
 angling 
 
 
 Ilia;' g;v 
 
 It and ghast- 
 
 y?. 
 
 ipsm 
 
 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 with the gni 
 
 
 
 
 
 ketrv 
 
 the wh 
 
 ,-11 
 
 ng sluL-s 
 
 aiid now the 
 
 
 kno. 
 
 
 
 
 
 f^eli 
 
 eral h 
 
 roes wi 
 
 h u shrillne 
 
 ss that outdid 
 
 the 
 
 ruml. 
 
 e of tl 
 
 ell 
 
 ittle gro 
 
 wing warmer 
 
 trepid 
 
 iffii 
 
 s, over the dead bodies of 
 comrades, swerved the survivors. 
 
 Aud still ou, on, intrepidly on, into the 
 .ace of the flaming hill marched the boys in 
 blue. 
 
 Again the thunder of death, again th« 
 shrieks that caused the blood in the pulses 
 of the bravest to stand still for an instant— 
 but on, nobly on; while the same cry, this 
 time from other ojficers, for the first had 
 fallen amone their slaughtered men; 
 
 "Close up! close up!" 
 
 And close up it was, and still on. 
 
 Now tin'v i\ 1 re ai llie railroad. 
 
 Into the liatlei il s there, and perhaps ther» 
 was soniillihig like an universal curse upon 
 the lips of these |ioivder-staiiied warriors ai 
 they charged up upon tho gunners who had 
 hailed upon them the devastation of tho 
 merciless cannons' mouths. 
 
 Back went the host of gray before the 
 wrathful avengers— back and up the hill- 
 Still shrieked the shelling batteries in the' 
 Uuion rear, to make more powerful the ad- , 
 vauce of these men who were proving 
 themselves wonderful on that day. 
 
 Still replied in flaming sheets the musketry 
 of the hard jjressed Confederates. 
 
 And ou, on, up the hill toward the plateau 
 beyond, marched the long lines of blue, for- 
 ward to the heights of death, forward to the 
 maelstrom of blood. 
 
 Back in turn went the butternut host of 
 Lane before such men as they who had 
 marched across the plain to strike the grim- 
 
 had penetrated the fastness ; his men, even 
 in the carnage around them, gathered spirit 
 from their sturdy progress, and the Union 
 cheer reached to Jackson's ears in an omin- 
 ous way. 
 
 After Lane, Archer! Flank after flank 
 went back! On, on, the gallant men of 
 Meade ! 
 
 The earth, the air, the trees, even the stray 
 stones that lay upon the wintry carpet of a 
 hitherto Hercynian grove, seemed to be 
 vomiting fire and flashes — fire flashes and 
 death for the blue and gray. 
 
 At close quarters was the fight, where 
 friend and foe were being enveloped in the 
 sulphurous breath of powder. 
 
 The Federal artillery had ceased. The 
 troops were "in," frightfully in; to con- 
 tinue the firing now would be to kill their 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 HOW THE BOYS CAME OUT. 
 
 Another cheer— one of those Union cheers 
 that can by volume make Itself heard even 
 in the after pages of history— presently 
 broke above the battle's din, seeming to be 
 caught in the branches of the trees around 
 and held there with a prolonging tenor. 
 
 Firing torightand left, wedged in between 
 the scattering front of Lane and Archer, the 
 Union boys had so encompassed the Confed- 
 erates that many threw down their arms, 
 and shortly following came the surrender of 
 hundreds of butternut suits and the capture 
 and trampling of Confederate standards. 
 
 Rousing cheers, triumphant cheers after 
 that scene of blood. 
 
 A scene of blood still, for the men of 
 Meade— gallant Meade!— were pressing for- 
 ward through the woody depths, through the 
 hail of lead showered upon them from every 
 covert, on, on to the military road, .. — 
 
le 
 
 THE -WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 Alas, that famous road ! 
 For presently there came in the from of 
 the so far victorious Federals such a Are as 
 no man or body of men could withstand— 
 fire tliat carried with it fresher death, fresher 
 sights of nKiiiKlings and horror. 
 
 The division of Early was there; the sec- 
 ond line of Jackson was there ! 
 
 Grav-clad soldiers, who were fresh and 
 eager for the fray. 
 
 Loiider grew the din ; more withering the 
 fire from this foe that seemed to have always 
 a fresh front for the men in blue who had 
 fought their way so gallantly forward. 
 
 Then back in turn, the men of the North, 
 before a. foe that poured in numbers and vol- 
 leys of bullets upon them. 
 
 Back and into utter riot and destruction it 
 would have been had not new cheers arose 
 to greet them as they fairly fled— the cheers 
 of Gibbon's men, who were fortunately 
 therein time to meet their comrades in re- 
 treat and face the foe, charging now in turn. 
 Next the troops of Gibbon wavered. 
 Wavered and fell back, back, until there 
 came a moment of confusion amid that 
 storm of shot and shout and smoke that ap- 
 peared to speak an annihilation for the he- 
 roes who still survived the spirited advance 
 of Meade. 
 Again a welcome cheer. 
 Birney was there. 
 
 From a front that stood like adamant there 
 broke a long line of flame, backed by instan- 
 taneous bayonets, that sent a check 
 into the exuberant Johnnies, sent a record 
 of death that caused them to strain their 
 eyes through the battle-smoke to discover at 
 times theplaceiu the ranks they had lost by 
 the d'sappearance of charging comrades at 
 their side. 
 
 Thousands lay on that field, on the plain, 
 and in the woods where the still firm Jack- 
 son waited to receive the next advance of 
 the Federal host. 
 Thousands dead and dying. 
 And while tli" shattered troops withdrew 
 to retoi 111 on th.' sanguinary plain, they 
 heard (ith.r ;;iiiis, ctlirr sounds of war and 
 slaughter ulT to the n;;ht, where Couch wa.s 
 assailing Longstreet on his grim heights and 
 behind his almost utterly impregnable in- 
 trenohments. 
 
 The prior shelling uf the woods by the 
 Federal batteries had in many places result- 
 ed in an ignition of the undergrowth. 
 
 From the stubble to the trees had the sly 
 flames licked and iiisinii.ated themselves, 
 crackling here and there amid the screen of 
 smoke from the powdery discharges, until 
 at last there was a consideral)le tire in pro- 
 gress in the vicinity of the railroad. 
 
 In the midst of this was a hiiiuan figure — a 
 man in blue, wlio seemed to be deserted by 
 his comrades, and wounded severely, for he 
 crawled along with almost superhuman ef- 
 fort away from tlie immediate spot of the 
 recent awful picture of sacriHce. 
 Around his head was a bloody bandage. 
 His face was white as death. 
 At times, as he crawled, he would pause 
 and raise one hand gripingly to his breast, as 
 if to tear away something there that caused 
 him an unutterable anguish of body and 
 spirit. 
 
 His lips looked dry, and his eyes had m 
 them an e.xpression not exactly of terror, 
 yet of anxiety to escape from those who 
 were charging his couiraaes in blue down 
 the slope and over the slippery plain. 
 
 The man was the blue-clad scout, Sim- 
 mons. 
 
 Slowly, paintullv he was dragging himself 
 along, his eyes turning to Heaven through 
 the bare tree-tops at times, as hemnrmured; 
 "T'vegotit at last! Oh, God, have mercy 
 on me for what little of wrong I may have 
 done in my past. 1 know I cannot survive 
 this terrible hole in ray breast. The blood is 
 flowing, flowing. Soon old Simmons will be 
 no more. But I've done mv duty as a sol- 
 dier, yes, I know I have. Have merev on my 
 
 soul, oh, 
 
 Grasping tufts and uinleiLrrowlh, tediously 
 hewas making his w;iv. ai;M all tin- time 
 around him was creeiiinL i ! i , i.ri nam- 
 ing pall of Are thai >, , , . , m its 
 crackling, lappiuir sdiii:; . i wash 
 of an ocean's waves el, i -ei.lier 
 in blue was not eMM I 'r-luful 
 wound in his brea^i, I I ' ' _ies ot 
 flamethatwereeirliiM. ; luirer, 
 spreading, liekinu', lap;.: . :_ ei,,ser 
 upon him as he ^tni;:-le,| mm!i In- eying 
 strength to reach a little open, u short dis- 
 tance ahead. 
 
 Ah I such a struggle for a man who, a few 
 brisf hours previous, had been in nil the vig- 
 or of health and strength, the bn:' est of the 
 
 skirmishers who advanced upon the gray 
 host ahead of Meade. 
 
 At every weary foot his strength appeared 
 to lessen. At last he paused at the side of a 
 great log that chanced in his way, and with 
 one hand upon it, half raised himself to 
 glance back over the tortuous route he had 
 come. 
 
 Behind him, a merceless foe, who, in the 
 heat of conflict might not consider that he 
 was already a dying man, and would hasten 
 liis death either with a merciless bullet or 
 the stinging prod of a bayonet. 
 
 For he w.as totally unarmed : his rifle gone, 
 and the pistols, at his belt formerly, now dis- 
 charged to the last chamber. 
 
 The fearful shudder of his frame showed 
 itself iu his pallid face as he cast that hope- 
 less glance ar.Mual him. 
 
 He tiled le d I ag hlmselt closer to the log. 
 
 1 he eliei t was weak, and he sunk down 
 aj;aiii, with eyes flxed upon the creeping 
 Uauu's that were coming nearer and nearer 
 to enguU him— flames iu the trees overhead, 
 flames on the ground, creeping, crawling, 
 relentless flames that must soon reach his 
 clothing, even though he could have con- 
 tinued that slothful flight. 
 
 Upon the little red tongues advancing, 
 upon the boughs overhead that were crisp- 
 ing as the fire drew near, his eyes were turn- 
 ed roamingly, and through his soul thrilled 
 the thought ■ 
 
 " Am I to die thus ? Have I been the scout, 
 the soldier that I have, to die at lasi, not on 
 the field of battle, but by this terrible de- 
 stroyer tliat leaves no trace of the man who 
 deserves a record in the history of fighters. 
 It is too hard. Ha! what's that?" 
 
 An expression came into the agonized 
 face. 
 
 Simmons pricked his ears. 
 
 And well he might ; for it seemed as if the 
 horror of his surroundings was not yet full. 
 
 A new sound broke upon his hearing. 
 
 The retreating Federals were now far back 
 down the siope they had conquered after so 
 much bloodshed ; it would have appeared 
 that this wounded hero might escape the 
 additional torture of meeting with a thirsty 
 and e.xcited foe. 
 
 But that which he heard now brought the 
 blood almost quivering through his veins. 
 
 It was the deep bay ot a bloodhound, that 
 arose in the midst of the flre in his rear, and 
 there were shouts accompanying the well- 
 kiionn note of that scourge of the planta- 
 tion, which increased the whiteness of his 
 features. 
 
 " A bloodhound !" he gasped. " There is a 
 bloodhound on my track and with him some 
 of those Carolinians, no doubt, who would 
 flay even a dying man. Hear their shouts. 
 Oh, God ! give mc strength to at least pet 
 withiu the lines, that I may die a soldier's 
 death!" 
 
 He assayed again to crawl forward 
 
 But the attempt was futile. 
 
 Simmons was done for; not another foot 
 could he go. 
 
 With compressed lips he turned his head 
 in the direction of the approaching sound, 
 which was at a sliglit angle from the slowly 
 emrultiiig liie, and through his teeth he mut- 
 tereil. Milli a li ue seldier's nerve: 
 
 •• Death is death after all ! I have not long 
 tolUe! Let it eeint^the hound, or the bay- 
 onets ot the murderous rebs. Let it come. 
 I am ready. And I shall die as I have 
 lived '• 
 
 Just then he caught sight of the hound 
 whose notes had startled him. 
 
 Bounding forward through the trees was 
 a huge and terrible form, bounding rat her as 
 if maddened than as if in pursuit of a trail. 
 
 Behind the dog were a half dozen forms in 
 gray who were shouting, it seemed to Sim- 
 mons, in a maimer of triumph or posifivee.x- 
 ultation. 
 
 He closed his eyes heavily, having nerved 
 himself for the horrible death that was im- 
 minent. 
 
 But that sort ot death was not iu store for 
 the brave scout. 
 
 The dog was the blind and wandering 
 Durga. 
 
 He was pursued himself by a crowd of 
 hooting Confederates who had strayed from 
 the ranks. 
 
 And as the dog and the Johnnies came in 
 sight of the wounded scout, simultaneously 
 there was a new aspect to the scene which 
 gave Simmons a thrill of unspeakable hope. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE WOODS OX FIRE. 
 
 At an angle from one side approached the 
 Confederates. 
 
 At an opposite angle was coming the figure 
 o! a man on a full run. 
 
 Midway between the two angles thus 
 formed, and not yet within the radius of the 
 burning woods, was the huge dog, Burga. 
 
 Simmons was unaware of the fact of the 
 animal's having lost itssight ; he only recog- 
 nized in the strong monster an enemy far 
 worse than even the r^ 'lent less foes in gray. 
 
 His eyes were rivet, d upon the single man 
 who was eommg on at a run, and who seem- 
 ed to be making for the spot where he lay. 
 
 This man he presently saw was Robert 
 Ross. 
 
 At about the same time he discerned the 
 brother Unionist drawing near, the Confed- 
 erates espied him also, and their gaze half 
 searching ahead of the racing course being 
 pursued by their enemy, they next saw the 
 wounded and apparently helpless soldier by 
 the log. 
 
 A shout went up from them that was one 
 of savage elation. 
 
 In the same moment, Simmons, who re- 
 alized that they were now making surely to- 
 ward him, raised his voice in a cry for suc- 
 
 " Battery Bob !" he called, with all the re- 
 maining strength he possessed. 
 And the answer came back, while yet the 
 
 " Haste, Battery Bob, or I may be tortured 
 by both dogs and men. Haste!" 
 
 " Oh, I'm coming right along." 
 
 While the words were yet on his lips, he 
 sprung into the little circle that was purliai- 
 ly clear around the log and halted, breath- 
 ing hard, at Simmons' side. 
 
 "Thank God!" the dying scout aspirated, 
 with emotion. " I will at least die a soldier's 
 death after all." 
 
 '•You're not dying,! hope," Ross inter- 
 rupted. 
 
 But a glance down at the blood wet blouse 
 of the other as he put the question, showed 
 him that Simmons was indeed near to his 
 last moment on earth. 
 
 "Only keep them off until I am dead," 
 Simmons pleaded, as if he fully believed in 
 the ability of Battery Bob to do that thing 
 with the scattered and small squad of Con- 
 federates who bad quickened their pace as 
 they saw a prospect of capturing one of the 
 Yankees, if not both. 
 
 For from that distance they could not dis- 
 tinguish that one of the blue clad pair was 
 wounded fatally. 
 
 " The dog ! the dog !" Simmons warned, as 
 the note of the staggering bloodhound rose 
 again and louder, close at hand. 
 
 " Have no fear of him," assured Rose. 
 "That is the beast you saw me meet in the 
 woods last month. My little machine shot 
 out his eyes. He is as harmless as a kitten. ' 
 
 " And have you the machine with you ?" 
 
 " Why, do you not observe this precious 
 little hump?" turning round that the other 
 might see he wore again that hump, which, 
 on a former occasion, had converted itself 
 into a most formidable battery. 
 
 " I am glad of that," said the scout, wear- 
 ily and half closing his eyes in weakness. 
 
 "Have courage," said Ross. "The John- 
 nies are almost on us. But there are not 
 many of them ; and I think I can surprise 
 them a little." 
 
 With a coolness that was at first astonish- 
 ing to the rapidly advancing graycoats. Bat- 
 tery Bob awaited them. 
 
 'Then they shouted loudly again, as they 
 thought, from his action that he meant 
 peaceably to surrender. 
 
 The next instant they were undeceived. 
 
 "Come on. Johnnies!" hallooed the spy. 
 " I am waiting to give you a little dose that 
 is more lively than pills. I think I can whip 
 about a score like you. Iliirry up there,and 
 let the ball open. ()h, I'm justdyiugtomake 
 your acquaiiitaiiie. " 
 
 The blimi Me.idhound, hearing voices 
 ahead, ha. 1 lurned aside in his flight, for it 
 had t)een a tiii,'lit liein the goadings of the 
 Confederate when they ascertained that he 
 
 ■The men in butternut suits slackened their 
 gait, though still advancing. 
 
 The words ot the bold Union boy had 
 struck them strangely ; perhaps he was not 
 alone there. Others of his comrades might 
 be in the undergrowth beyond, separated, 
 as he appeared to be. from the retreating 
 Union lines. 
 
 But they still came on. 
 
 And one cried : 
 
 " You'll know us soon enough, you cussed 
 Yank ! We're just looking for you and a few 
 more like you." 
 
 ■'And I am right here ready for a grand 
 levee. Come on." 
 
 They were now not more than thirty feet 
 from Ross. 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 Heachiug the little clearing several of 
 them paused outright. 
 
 "Come on, here," urged the others, still 
 pressing forward and not understanding this 
 move of hesitation. 
 
 A murmur went up from those who had 
 stopped. 
 
 Mingled in the murmur was the cry: 
 
 " It's Battery Bob, of Antietam." 
 
 " Well, we'll Battery Bob him an' bobtail 
 him, too. Forward!" 
 
 " Not me, for one." 
 
 " Nor me," another began to say ; then he 
 cut short thespeeeh and blurted forth: "Loot 
 out! Ifs Battery Bob, I tell you, an' if you 
 ain'tspry you'll be peppered to death with 
 bis|iuternal miichine, " and the man who ut- 
 tered the warning tool£ to the shelter of a 
 tree as fast as his legs could carry him. 
 
 The warning was unheeded by the few 
 who as yet knew nothing of Battery Bob or 
 
 Ou they came with renewed leaps— now 
 not twenty feet separated them from the 
 man tlit-y weiL' coiiHdent of capturing. 
 
 But a siKbU'u cluiiigo came over the scene. 
 
 Tliiit terrible liuinp on the back of the spy 
 was turned toward them ; up went the flap 
 of the double- backed coat an 
 
 Whirr! twirr— whirr-r-r ! 
 
 The rattling, grinding sound began as we 
 have seen it begin before when Ross was in 
 danger. 
 
 The result was as formerly. 
 
 A thick shower of small slugs hurled with 
 a marvelous force, met the Confederates 
 fully in the face. 
 
 Instantly the woods were filled with howls 
 
 Some threw up their arms, turned and fled 
 in an aimless way that indicated they might 
 now be, like Uurga, robbed suddenly, aw- 
 fully an forever of their sight. 
 
 Some sunk to the earth; and these last 
 Ross knew must have received a portion of 
 his wonderful discharge fairly in their star- 
 tled brains. 
 
 Again had Simmons, the scout, an oppor- 
 tunitv to witness the iugenious contrivance 
 of Battery Bob's hump at its formidable 
 wock. Even in his rapidly falling moment, 
 he found strength to exclaim : 
 
 "Good— good! Give it to them. Ah, it I 
 but hud the strength to load and Are my 
 dear old rlHe, I would help you ;ln that piece 
 of amusement, Battery Bob!" 
 
 At this point, those who had wisely taken 
 to cover, instantly upon perceiving who ii 
 was they were about to encounter, broke 
 forth and took to their heels in a lively 
 flight. 
 
 For there came a brief lull in that whir- 
 ring, rattling, slug-slinging machine, during 
 which there was au opportunity to escape. 
 
 Several of the Confederates were on the 
 ground. The others, appalled by this unex- 
 pected style of warfare, fled precipitately 
 after the rest, with scared glances over their 
 shoulders at the single man who could thus 
 so easily meet the assault of nearly a score. 
 
 Ross indulged in a low laugh as he watched 
 the routed men in gray. 
 
 "I guess they wont tiy that on again, 
 Siirimons; do you thiuk they will?" 
 
 There was no respoiise. 
 
 He glanced quiokly down at the now pros- 
 trate form of the scout and repeated the 
 question. 
 
 As no reply came to the second remark, he 
 stooped, with a feeling within him of what 
 he was about to d iscover-. 
 
 A closer look at the white and drawn face 
 told the tale. 
 
 Simmons had passed from earth and the 
 sound of war. 
 
 Sounds of war that was then breaking 
 afresh in the vicinity of Marye's Heights, 
 where the Confederate guns were sweeping 
 the plain lidow, s>vee|iiiit; t Im ranks of brave 
 French v.iii> m as :iil v:inciuj; into the bloody 
 maelstriMii, 1 .lariii^' luuiUr and louder each 
 moment iiimi ( he iiiiiU'-^iiatile crests. 
 
 through tl]i- iiiarryred liattiilions there— yet 
 on, ■' cl'isiiig up," tliey went, into the can- 
 non's njontli, into t!ie laws (if ii very hell of 
 fire tliat seemed ciessed within itself, its 
 missiles 9o dense that they were themselves 
 turned aside by contact in midair. 
 
 Behind French, the brigades of Hancock, 
 fllliug up the gaps in the r.mksgoni' before- 
 great gaps that oeciirreil i;uii(lly witli every 
 passing moment, until the seeni' looked more 
 likea pool of whelesali^ slau-liter than the 
 shock of an army with the ;_n amy foe. 
 
 Still on, while these minutes of death 
 seemed like torturous hours to the wavering 
 bovs in blue who found themselves fighting 
 a foe who gave them no opportunity to 
 strike back. 
 
 Ah ! the shrieks, the hoarse din of the ter- 
 rific guns, the ghastly and appalling picture 
 of these thousands perishing in rivers of 
 blood before the heiglits of Fredericksburg! 
 
 Noble Second corps! men who could go no 
 further in the face of the showers and waves 
 of iron mowing them down, yet who would 
 not retreat, but stood there as it planted in 
 the gory spot— spectacle of heroic manhood 
 defying, as it were, the scythe of the horrible 
 
 Next the division of Howard. Next the 
 divisions of Sturgis and Getty, all "in," all 
 adding fresh victims to the hail of destruc- 
 tion booming, tearing, plowing down from 
 the heights or belching in lines of flame from 
 the rifle trenches and the memorable stone 
 wall. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOB. 
 
 From the quivering earth to the weeping 
 sky the air seemed to hold with an awful 
 hollowness the pervading roar of battle. 
 
 Far over the hills and the adjacent river 
 rumbled the loud booming guns and the vol- 
 leying musketry. 
 
 Dead anddyinground— overthem at times, 
 as if they were mere nothings in the track of 
 the wheels, the batteries flew hither and 
 thither along the Union front, searching for 
 a position whence they might hurl back 
 some of that frightful destruction upon the 
 grey host now proving itself so terrible in 
 its reception of the Federal army. 
 
 Volcanic heights- terrific plains— shudder- 
 ful sounds at Fredericksburg. 
 
 Then more, still more, into that yawning 
 doom of death. 
 
 Forthemen of Humphreys were seen ad- 
 vancing through the smcky flashes, advanc- 
 ing steadily and with white faces over the 
 moaning masses on the plains— forward into 
 the breach left by the dead and dying bat- 
 talions of Hancock. . 
 
 Forward bravely, then impetuously, with 
 charging bayonets and a ringing cheer that 
 was taken up along the whole liue. 
 
 Many fell with that last forlorn cheer on 
 their lips, to rise no more, or lay writhing 
 with torn and bleeding bodies amid the pro- 
 gressing havoc. 
 
 And painful as the grim death into which 
 they were fast sinking, was the sound, the 
 sight, presently, that told them they were 
 perishing without recompense, dying as had 
 the thousands before them by the stone wall 
 and the ditches, where the enemy had so 
 often during the day, and now again, driven 
 the boys in blue back from the base of the 
 heights, where the corps of Longstreet, yet 
 fresh, yet hardly used in the slaughter of the 
 hours past, looked down on the work of the 
 gunners and the advance line with a savage 
 triumph. 
 
 Back, back, the men of Humphrey— back 
 in a disorder that was nearly a panic. 
 
 And well might it have been a panic, where 
 they could accomplish nothing, but saw 
 themselves going down in bleeding heaps 
 under the cloud of smoke, under those vom- 
 iting mouths of flame and iron and roarings. 
 
 It was a welcome thing that night at last 
 drew down upon the heated and blood 
 slimed earth. 
 
 And with its darkness. General Burnsidc 
 still panted, while in consultation with his 
 officer, for the hours to pass by and bring 
 another day, that he could again order the 
 hopeless attack, again send into the whirl, 
 the dissonance and carnage of the plain, (he 
 brave men who survived by a miracle the 
 horrifying work of the guns on the day just 
 
 Night over plain and crest, night over the 
 little town that was now of histrionic and 
 bloody fame. 
 
 The two captains, Hariv Denver and Will 
 HaiilHiL', had (i-urrd e(iiispiciiously amid 
 thesanguiu.Misehisli , if aims. 
 
 Hauling s v, Imle edmiiaiiy had been swept 
 away; of the veterans who had followed 
 and survived with Denver at the Antietam, 
 not more than a dozen of his company re- 
 mained. 
 
 A sad night for those who could mourn 
 the loss of brave comrades, while they paid 
 silent trilinte to their fateful heroism. 
 
 While the battle waged the DeKay man- 
 sion was tightly closed, and to all appear- 
 
 bh.ish 
 
 them tlic devastation that ivasgomg on hour 
 after hour with no apparent result but the 
 slaughter of the disheartened soldiery. 
 
 " Is it not awful ?" exclaimed Mildred, 
 without removing her eye from the spy- 
 glass. 
 
 "Awful, indeed. And I know Robert must 
 be there in the midst of it all." 
 
 " How do you know?" 
 
 " Because he is as brave a soldier as any 
 there." 
 
 "But you said he was more particularly 
 engaged as a spy. And he must be a very 
 successful one ; he was for some time a vis- 
 itor at this house in the guise of a reverend 
 gentleman uiuler the name of Samuels. So 
 clever was thedisguise, that I am surel never 
 should have penetrated it but for the ad- 
 venture which caused him to reveal himself 
 to me." 
 
 "And have you heard nothing of that cap- 
 tain, or lieutenant, of whom you spoke as a 
 disagreeable admirer ?" 
 
 " Fortunately, no ; and I do not want ever 
 to see him. After that little episode I think 
 the mask is fallen from him; he may come 
 of a proud and gentlemanly stock, but he 
 certainly is not perpetuating the latter at- 
 tribute. Oh, look at the frightful battle." 
 
 " May Ileaveu preserve my Robert it he is 
 there— and Ifeel sure that he is," breathed 
 Ethel, earnestly, as she continued, like her 
 companion, to watch the distant scene of 
 smoke from which constantly burst and 
 reverberated the explosion of guns and mus- 
 
 In the mind of Mildred DeKay there was 
 an almost similar prayer passing. 
 
 " I trust Heaven may guard the man whom 
 I now suspect, as does Ethel, to be the man 
 my father destined me to marry. I already 
 admire the young and handsome officer. ' 
 
 May Heaven preserve Captain Denver!" 
 
 When twilight drew down the two girls re- 
 tired from the cupola to the lower portion 
 of the house. 
 
 As they entered Mildred's dressing-room 
 the faithful old negro appeared to say : 
 
 " I'se done fix up something fo' you's sup- 
 per. Missy Mild'ed." 
 
 "Thank you. Snow. We will be down in 
 a few moments." 
 
 Old Snow was the only sei v ■ 'v -he 
 
 mansion ; he was a fortnnal it 
 
 darky who can turn a liainl i.,- 
 
 thing, and took upon himself . . -ill 
 
 the meals for his beloved yeniif; misir-ess. 
 
 Pausing to give a few touches to their toi- 
 let, the girls descended the staircase to par- 
 take of the refreshmentsispread in the dining- 
 
 As they passed the parlor door Mildred ob- 
 served that the room was in darkness. 
 
 "Wait," she said. " I might as well make 
 a light now, and when we a: e through tea we 
 can come in here." 
 
 Ethel paused on the threshold while Mil- 
 dred entered. 
 
 The young girl struck a match and light- 
 ed a large and magnificent lamp that was 
 upon the center-table. 
 
 The next instant a startled cry broke from 
 her lips. 
 
 Both saw the form of a man at that mo- 
 ment in the act of entering the parlor from 
 the garden bv the veranda, the slight fasten- 
 ings of the hitter having apparently been 
 
 Tills man ivas Lieutenant Vane Artwell. 
 
 lint he iliil not now wear liis officer's uni- 
 form. 
 
 His garb was that of a citizen. 
 
 Immediately upon finding himself discov- 
 ered, and perceiving who by, he smiled until 
 his teeth showed in a way that gave his 
 countenance the expression of a grin. 
 
 " Good evening," he saluted, coolly, ad- 
 vancing across the room toward her as he 
 spoke. . . 
 
 " Vane Artwell, what means this intru- 
 sion ?" 
 
 " You call it an intrusion ? Why, you once 
 received me as one of your most honored 
 visitors." 
 
 " That time is past, sir. Such can never be 
 the case again." 
 
 " Rather a stern edict," he said, with some 
 sarcasm. 
 
 " Unalterable, at least," she retorted 
 
 And she added : 
 
 " I would he obliged to you if you wiU 
 leave the house." 
 
 He raised his brows. 
 
 "What, you order me out?'' 
 
 "I do." 
 
 Ethel here came forward. She wished tO' 
 have a good look at this man, of whom Mil- 
 dred had told her, as a suitor, and a very im- 
 polite one at that. 
 
 Artwell gave the girl no more than a swift, 
 momentary glance. 
 
18 
 
 THE WAU LIBRARY. 
 
 " Listen to uie for a tew seoouds. Mil- 
 dred " ^ , 
 
 •• Tliat style of address is distasteful to me, 
 sir," she iuterrupted, sharply. 
 
 "Well. Miss DeKay, then. Listen to me. 
 I have \iM louie liere lo resume reference to 
 asulijeet -niiiili vnii have so emphatically 
 o-iveumetc) understaud was an annoyance 
 to you. Will vi.u Ut me speak ?" 
 
 "Wlieiitlu- Yankees entered Fredericks- 
 
 itate a rt- treat nt tlje Mississipiii emupanies, 1 
 found uivsel) .lit off from Ihein. I have 
 since reinaiued in hiding. To-night, while 
 the mind and eves of every accursed YanKee 
 in the town is 'lixed upon the plain below 
 the heights, 1 ventured to steal forth in this 
 citizens ararb, and sought this house, which 
 brings me that much nearer to my own men 
 ■when opportunitv shall occur to permit ot 
 my making the effcu t to reach them. I had 
 not intended to let you so much as know 
 that I was on the premises. But since you 
 have surprised me at my eutenng, I will say 
 
 hat on 
 1 could have subsisted 
 .Iiivf-n back across the 
 1, V assuredly will be. 
 _ _ _ 1 he presence of a Con- 
 
 fedeVate offic i ,n;i,-,aled. at this time, in 
 the cellars or the DeKay mansion. I shall 
 alter my intention slightly, now, I think, 
 and beg permission of you to remain in the 
 house, only until a titling chance presents 
 itself for my getting to my regiment. And I 
 ■ • you that I will not refer to the mat- 
 
 eh has been the cause ot uupleasant- 
 
 i between us. Will you grant me what 1 
 
 the wine in the cell 
 until the Y'aiikc.^ ; 
 Rappahanuo. k. :i^ 
 
 proini: 
 
 • CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE DUEL. 
 
 Mildred looked him steadily in the face 
 while he was speaking. 
 
 She saw that he was in earnest ; she saw 
 that he made the promise with the intention 
 of adliering to it. 
 
 Still she wavered between the propriety of 
 permitting him to remain secreted under 
 herioof and the uncharitableness of send- 
 ing hint forth to be captured, beyond a 
 doubt, by«.'S enemies. 
 
 " Would it not be rather unkind to deny a 
 soldier shelter from his foes, no matter what 
 his cause?" queried Ethel, geutly, as she ob- 
 served the h. sitation of her companion. 
 
 " Perhaps you are right," Mildred admit- 
 ted, while she still held the lieutenant under 
 her searching gaze. 
 
 Then, after another moment : 
 
 '• Lieutenant Artwell, I will grant your re- 
 <(uest; but do not be deceived into imagin- 
 ing that it is because I entertain the least 
 friendliness for you, personally. I recognize 
 only the charitable plea which this young 
 laav suggests. Y^ou may remain within the 
 house ifutil vou have a chance to rejoin your 
 regiment. 1 would accord the same privi- 
 lege, reniemlier, to the lowest private iu the 
 rauks. I will see Snow and have him pre- 
 pare a room for you. Please be seated, and 
 1 will send him to you with his instruc- 
 tions." 
 
 "1 thank you," he said, with a bow. "I 
 am sure that I shall be quite safe here " 
 
 "Not as safe, sir, as you may imagine." 
 
 All started as the unexpected voice filled 
 
 Artwell wheeled and saw standing at the 
 open window of the veraiida a young and 
 handsome Fcdeial officer; presently, in the 
 
 baekiii.iun.l. iiiM.iher cf similar rank. 
 Thetwosliri-l:; I it-'ll t Iv over the Sill. 
 The f.iivi]M-t wns Captain Denver, and his 
 .>( ;ii.tain Harding. 
 
 of entering," lie said, removing his hat and 
 addressing Mildred. 
 
 Adding: 
 
 " I and my Inotlier ofBcer here were com- 
 
 perliaps tlu-rc iiii^iht lie snmc s.-ci.-t.-il in ilic 
 garden. Entering, we were attracted by 
 just two words, Ihatseemed to float outfroin 
 the open window: 'Accursed Yankees!' 
 That at once aroused us. We came to the 
 window in time to hear enough to convince 
 us that this party is a Confederate soldier in 
 disguise. More, I have heard Iroiii a man 
 known as Battery Bob about a person named 
 Vane Artwell who has caused you a great 
 deal of annnvance. I am glad that I find 
 the oppoi lunity to attend to Vane Artwell," 
 and his glance rested peculiarly on the dis- 
 guised lieutenant. 
 
 Suddenly he said to that individual : 
 
 " Y''ou are armed, sir, I presume?" 
 
 "What of that?" demanded Artwell, 
 firily. 
 
 " So much, that if you are, and it you know 
 how to use the revolver, you will have the 
 kindness to step into the garden with me for 
 a few moments " 
 
 "To be shot down like a dog by you or 
 your Yankee friend there, I suppose," with 
 a rude sneer. 
 
 Denver reddened under the vile insinua- 
 tion. 
 
 But he said, calmly: 
 
 " We are nut assassins, sir. But you will 
 And me a -- ii , icwian. wli,,, if notraisedin 
 
 cried the licuicnant, witli kimlliug eyes. 
 A little crv came from Mildred. 
 "It is he"!— it is he!" passed in her mind 
 like a pleasant flash. "Ethel was right; 
 this man whom I already admire is Henry 
 Denver." 
 
 " Let us not waste words, sir. Will you 
 come into the garden with me ? Or are you 
 afraid to stand up and exchange shots?" 
 
 As the plain words were spoken, Mildred 
 started forward and laid one hand on Den- 
 ver's arm. 
 
 " Oh, do not! Y'ou must not fight!" she 
 pleaded. 
 
 " Miss DeKay, I will no longer conceal 
 from you the fact that I am the man for 
 whom you have been searching— the man 
 your dying father wished you to marry. I 
 will be honorable enough lo suppose that 
 such an union, forced upon a young lady, 
 who, perhaps, has other views for her fut- 
 ure, had best be averted. I must fight this 
 man, however, because he has, in my opin- 
 ion, according to the story of Battery Boli, 
 insulted you; and there could be no fitter 
 person than myself, under the peculiar cir- 
 cumstances of our two lives, to avenge that 
 insult." 
 
 " But I have forgotten it. Y'ou must not 
 fight him." 
 
 " In addition. Miss DeKay, if I fall, you 
 will find upon my person papers relinquish- 
 ing to you the wealth which my father 
 wrongfully witheld from yours. On the 
 whole, if I fall, as I say, it seems to me to be 
 the easiest way out ot a dilemma that is, 
 doubtless, a matter heretofore darkening 
 other prospects in your life." 
 
 " Xo, no, no. You must not fight. I want 
 you to live," she cried. 
 
 Andastlie infleition ot her earnest voice 
 seemed to strike liini. and he gazed fixedly 
 inquiringly into her beautiful face, he: 
 cheeks flamed witLi mantling blushes, for 
 there could be no doubting the fact tha 
 Mildred more than admired the handsome 
 young ofBcer— she loved him ! 
 
 This little dialogue and Mildred's action 
 inflamed the heart and liraiu of the Confed- 
 eiate lieiitciiaiii, M iic saw here before him 
 the man whc v. ;is the successful rival for 
 possession cl tlic l'i\ .-ly heiress. 
 
 But the young officer liad i;oue too far to 
 retreat, even at the persuasion of the pure 
 and ravishiugly beautiful girl who clung to 
 him. 
 
 Ethel laid her hand on Mildred's arm, say- 
 ing: 
 
 " If you will allow me, dear Mildred, I 
 would say that Captain Denver cannot now 
 recede from the challenge he has uttered. 1 
 abor the duello as much as you or anj- one 
 .•Ise docs; l>nt I do not f.c hnu- he can avoid 
 Mccfnc-' witii this ii!;ii:-'-\vitli a si-onifiil 
 
 the i.-.i>oii h,-.lcl Hot cs, ape \VM\\ the town 
 wlieulns cumpanv ivti-caicd I.etore the en- 
 tering Y'ankees, was hciausc he was helpless, 
 unconscious from llic cllc. t of drink." 
 
 Judging by the Inrions L'lance which Art- 
 well bestowed upon the speaker, her shot 
 must have struck home. 
 
 With a sigh, Mildred permitted herself to 
 be led away from the side of the handsome 
 
 captain whom she felt she could love with 
 all her pure devotion. 
 " Come !" urged Artwell again. 
 " I am ready, sir." 
 
 Briskly they started toward the veranda, 
 and passed out. 
 
 Mildi-ed turned her head to look palely 
 after them. 
 
 " Oh, Ethel, -what it he should be killed !" 
 
 "Which one?" 
 
 "Denver— Captain Denver. I tell you,' 
 Ethel, I love him, yes, I love him. Oh, if 
 harm should come to him!" 
 
 "Let us hope not. I think the captain can 
 take care of himself. And he acted iu ac- 
 cordance with my idea of right when he 
 challenged ths lieutenant to mortal com- 
 bat." 
 
 "lean never accustom myself to such a 
 bloody code," declared Mildred, half start- 
 ing toward the veranda to look out upon the 
 eombattants. 
 
 But she halted, saying, iu a half moan : 
 
 "No, no, no, I cannot witness it. Let us 
 seek a place where our ears may not catch 
 thesDund of the weapons." 
 
 " Y''ou are timid " 
 
 "In such a case, yes; for the sound may 
 mean that Harry Denver is no more." 
 
 "Then he will have the other ofBcer to 
 fight," said Ethel, with firm lips, recollect- 
 ing the words of Harding. 
 
 "They must not, shall not fight. I say 
 they shall not !" cried Mildred with a sudden 
 vehemence. 
 
 Before Ethel could divine her companion's 
 intention, the latter had broken away from 
 the lightly resting hand on her arm and was 
 speeding in the direction of the egress to the 
 garden. 
 
 "Mildred — Miss DeKay— come back! Do 
 not interfere!" called Ethel, in pursuit. 
 
 But the vice was uiilieeded. 
 
 Ouswiftly went Mildred. 
 
 She disai)peared amid the dense shadows 
 of tlie garden. 
 
 Reacliiiig tlie graveled walk, Ethel paused 
 and glanced about her for some sign of the 
 other. 
 
 And while she thus stood, there came to 
 her ears the sound of a double report, as of 
 two revolvers fired simultaneously. 
 
 Mingling iu the explosion was a sharp 
 scream from a woman's startled lips. 
 
 Lieutenant Vane Artwell led the way with 
 long and angry strides along the garden path 
 he had so often trod before his annoyances 
 had resulted in the loss of the beautiful Mil- 
 dred's friendship. 
 
 Eager enough was he for the battle with 
 this Y'aiikee rival to whom the girl had 
 clung in a way that unmistakably showed 
 her love. 
 
 " I shall kill him !" he ground, inaudibly, 
 between his gnashins teeth, and with one 
 fisttiu'lit ~hut asiflicfelt himself throttling 
 the man he hatcil witli all the intense fire of 
 
 As I hey pioL'icsscd toward a suitable spot 
 for tlie encounter, Will Harding said : 
 
 " How will you arrange, gentlemen ? Shall 
 you make jour own signs and words, or shall 
 I take that office?" 
 
 Now, tiiniiL'h Artwell cherished such hate 
 and ili-pi-. 11!. Ill lor anyliody or anything 
 we:,iiic: ;;,. i liliic, he had seen suf- 
 
 ficici:' - .1 these twoyoungoffi- 
 
 cers to -i! -■ V i,ic! ihat they were"honorable 
 men. 
 
 Til.- keen eye of the duelist could not m 
 astray in tiiat little piece of perception. * 
 
 His voice was gruff but candid, as he re- 
 plied : 
 
 " I am willing to leave the word with you, 
 sir— Ihat is, it you know aiiythingaboutsuch 
 aflaire. And I warn you," to Denver. " that 
 it is not the first or the second time I have 
 faced powder for honor's sake; I shall as- 
 suredly wing you." 
 
 " Perhaps," Denvc- returned, compos- 
 edly. 
 
 He was not to be ruffled by any such bra- 
 vado. 
 
 He -well knew the extreme importance of 
 retaining his mental equipoise on an occa- 
 sion ot this serious character. 
 
 And be inquired : 
 
 "You aie ainie'd, I presume ? You failed 
 to answer that question iu the parlor." 
 
 "I :ini aimed v.itli a revolver that has 
 emptied its Imllets into the breasts of Yan- 
 kees lief ore this night, and can do it again, 
 as you will find." 
 
 "If you are as good a shot as you are val- 
 iant with the mouth, probably it may be 
 
THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 remark of 
 
 so, was the sharo, thou 
 Captain Deuver. 
 
 •• You shall soon hare the proof," 
 
 "Here, I think, is a good place for your 
 amusement, gentlemen."' Harding said, paus- 
 ing at the edge of a eopse-like shrubbery, 
 where a faint light entered over the stone 
 wall. 
 
 " Yes. this suits me. It does not require 
 much light to wing a Yankee." boasted Art- 
 well. 
 
 " How are you to fight ? Let me hear your 
 propositions." 
 
 "Heave it with this party," said Denver, 
 with a wave of his hand toward the lieuten- 
 ant. 
 
 " You will find me as fair as I am danger- 
 ous," Artwell rejoined, now becoming im- 
 pressed with the coolness of his prospective 
 antagonist. 
 
 After a moment's silence, he added : 
 
 "I propose that we be placed thirty paces 
 apart, with backs turued, revolver at our 
 sides and cocked. This gentleman will count 
 off the words one-two— three-j-flre! Be- 
 tween the words three and fire, we will turn 
 and commence lining, advancing as we flre, 
 uniil one or the other is down." 
 
 "How many chambers has your revol- 
 ver?" was Denver's quioK question. 
 
 "Six." 
 
 "Good! So has mine. The terms are agree- 
 able. Proceed." 
 
 Harding slowly and precisely measured 
 off the distance and placed the duelists. 
 
 Then taking a position midway and suffi- 
 ciently aside to be out of range, he asked : 
 
 With a marked resularity Harding then 
 began his count. 
 
 " Oue— two— three— fi " 
 
 The word Are was dr.iwned upon his lips. 
 As it on aspriii-y pivot D.-nrer turned, 
 
 of those snap sl]ot/ihi(i iu altpr 'y,-ars were 
 to make Iihidps umcuig the Western knights 
 of the pistol. 
 
 Almost blending in the whip-like report, 
 Artwell uttered a cry and jjitched forward, 
 though his own weapon had sounded so 
 promptly as to seem the instantaneous echo 
 of the other. 
 
 On the wintered sward lay the Confeder- 
 ate lieutenant. 
 
 Harding advanced toward him. 
 
 As he took the step, a woman's scream 
 rung up in the garden near, and Mildred 
 came running forward. 
 
 "He is killed! Oh, he is killed!" she 
 moaned. 
 
 "Yes, miss, he is killed— not the one you 
 imagine, however. 
 
 Lieutenant Artwell lay prone and still. 
 
 It had been a wonderful shot, considering 
 the quickness with which it was delivered. 
 
 The bullet had crashed fairly through his 
 brain. 
 
 Though scarcely two seconds passed be- 
 fore Harding was kneeling at the wounded 
 man's side, life was e.xtinct. 
 
 Mildred would know no more of those 
 past annoyances from the fiery and ardent 
 lieutenant. 
 
 Denver advanced, with the calm query : 
 
 " How is it with him ?" 
 
 "Dead." 
 
 At sound of Denver's voice, Mildred hur- 
 ried to his side and grasped him by the arm. 
 
 " You are safe. You are not wounded?" 
 
 "Not a scratch— thanks to a kind Prov- 
 idence." 
 
 " Oh, come away from here." 
 
 Harding stepped to Den ver's side and whis- 
 pered souii'tliiiig, in reply to which the lat- 
 ler meielv iio,!(]i(i. 
 
 Then a- ilaidiiur made off rapidly toward 
 thegai(bii uat.-, JJtiiver said : 
 
 "Come. Miss 1).-Kay, ray friend will attend 
 to the body of tliis man, audi will accom- 
 pany you ; for I have something important 
 to say to you. I assure you." 
 
 He was very quiet, cool as if nothing had 
 happened to disturl) him iu tlie least. 
 
 And they moved away in the direction of 
 the hou3e,'while that stVi'titied and motion- 
 less form lay on the sward, fast growing 
 -igid iu the clammy coldness of death. 
 
 Half way to the house they encountered 
 
 ed!" 
 
 " I had no fears for the safety o£, Captain 
 Deuver," Ethel said, as she joined tfcem. 
 
 Returning to the parlor, they fouhd Snow 
 standing in the doorway with white eyeballs 
 rolling. 
 
 "Missy Mild'ed ! Dey's been fightm' of 
 some kin' in deguyarden." 
 
 "It is all right. Snow. No matter. And 
 Snow, we will not partake of tea yet ; ii 
 be in a little while." 
 
 With a sidelong glance at the captain, the 
 negro withdrew. 
 
 Having met and known Mildred and Ethel 
 previously, Denver did not feel himself 
 position where too much formality 
 
 requ 
 view. 
 
 " We are private here," she said, smiling. 
 " Ethel is the same to me as a sister We 
 have become that much attached since th. 
 night when her fathers inn was burned 
 down on the slope beyond Falmouth— thi 
 night when we first met with you, you may 
 remember." 
 
 Glancing at Ethel, he said, half inquir- 
 ingly : 
 
 " Ah, the daughter of the man who was 
 such a determined rebel?" 
 
 " Mv lather's heart was always, and 
 strongly, with the South." 
 
 "Then I offer vou my sympathy and con- 
 dolences. Miss Cobbs. For of course you 
 know that your father is dead?" 
 
 "Dead ! " 
 
 White as the pallor of death grew her face. 
 She had all this interval hoped against hope 
 that her father still lived. 
 
 The sudden announcement from the Union 
 
 cap 
 
 1- ,.nif 
 
 " Vt>, thf inn i.uriif-il down, I believe, 
 whili- iiiv ii-i-'iiueiit was halted near, and 
 viHir faHier-, il i- pn-dv whII known, perish- 
 ed 111 tii.-llaiiiH,-^. 
 
 Elliel ariise. White and weak, she said : 
 
 They looked after the grieving girl in 
 silent'sympathy. 
 
 When" alone, Denver began the task that 
 was the object of this stolen visit to the De- 
 Kav mansion. 
 
 ""Miss DeKay " 
 
 " Will you not call me Mildred ?" 
 
 " Certainly, it more agreeable to you." 
 
 The dark and lustrous eyes were fixed 
 upon him, and Denver thought, at the mo- 
 ment, that he had never beheld one so posi- 
 tively beautiful. 
 
 He returned her earnest gaze for a second, 
 while the blood seemed warming within 
 him. 
 
 But he remembered the task— perhaps to 
 prove a very unpleasant one— and controlled 
 the passionate emotions that were creeping 
 upon him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " Will you do me the kindness, Mildred, to 
 fully consider how delicate is the task I have 
 before me as an honorable man and forgive 
 some speeches that may, perhaps, under 
 other circumstances appear rude?" 
 
 " Of course 1 will. For I am half prepared 
 for what is to come. Proceed, please. And 
 do not lorget that I am fully aware of the 
 peculiar relations we bear one another 
 through a fancy of our fathers. So, be per- 
 fectly free." 
 "With that kind assurance, I will." 
 After a slight pause, he continued : 
 "You cannot conceive, Mildred, what a 
 shock it was to me, to learn of my father's 
 action iu the matter of his indebtedness to 
 your father. Instantly upon gaiiiiiiir that 
 knowledsre, I exclaimed to liiin, on his death 
 bed, that I would hasten to make full resti- 
 tution. This proceeding he e.x.iteiliv oli- 
 jected to. Hesliowed iiic a coiumuuiratiuii 
 from Arnold l)eKay, in which that gentle- 
 man oflVred to consider the indebtedness 
 cancelled if I, the child, would fulfill the 
 contract of marriage entered into between 
 him and John Denvei for the children— 
 yourself and me. The opening of the war 
 prevented my seeking vou as eaiiv as I 
 promised my dying father 1 would, and you 
 
 efore t 
 
 would be cheerfully paid on yo'ur demand. 
 For naturally I supposed that a young lady 
 would scarcely arrive at the age you had, 
 without forming some serious heart attach- 
 
 ment; and this supposition strengthened 
 my resolution to restore to you, the child of 
 Arnold DeKay, the sum which was right- 
 fully yours as his heir. 
 
 " After the meeting of last month, I ascer- 
 tained that Miss DeKay of Fredericksburg 
 was heart free. It was quite an accident, 
 and of a nature that makes it hardly worth 
 while to recount here. This being the case, 
 however, I formed another determination 
 
 '■ Taidon il!i' jiil.i 1 uplion. But won't you 
 pleu^o 1(11 no- lnl^v \ ,,11 a.-certained the fact 
 that 1 was loail fi..- A girl's heart is a 
 
 owner cai,ii,.l'un,l'i,sra!HUt. How could an 
 outsider lualo s,, b,,ld an assertion then, that 
 Mildred D.-Kay was lit-art tree?" 
 
 "I will ifll vou. Mv informant was Bat- 
 tery Bob. I'crhaiis you will recall that on 
 one occasion, wliile knowing him only in his 
 disguise as a cleinvinan, you confided to him 
 the secret of vour life " 
 
 "Never!" she burst forth, in halt sup- 
 pressed astonishment. 
 
 " Ah, but you are mistaken." 
 
 "I have not the slightest recollection of 
 it." 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 "It occurred on that day when Battery 
 Bob so opportunely arrived here at your 
 house, to save you from possible insult from 
 the Confederate, Lieutenant Artwell. He 
 overheard you tell .-irtwell the name of the 
 man ti, whom you wcie betrothed and 
 whom y,,ii had iicv.-i- .seen, also where that 
 mail o,,iil,i lie loiind in Ilie ranks of the boys 
 in blue. .\iid lie judged by your words that 
 you considered yourself bound by the con- 
 tract which made you the promised bride of 
 Henry Denver— at least until Henry Denver 
 should release you." 
 
 " I remember now," she murmured, lowly, 
 while her gaze fell. 
 
 Deuver lesumed : 
 
 "I say I formed another determination 
 after entering the town. That resolution 
 brings me here to-night. I shall obey the 
 request of my father so far as to say: Mil- 
 dred DeKay, I offer you my hand and heart 
 iu marriage. Will you accept it? If not, 
 then you must accept the restoration of the 
 money, which I shall always feel is rightful- 
 ly youis." 
 
 As he spoke, he arose from his seat beside 
 her and stood with right hand outstretched, 
 gazing at her with perhaps something of sus- 
 pense in his face. 
 
 As he uttered the words, "hand and heart," 
 Mildred's glorious eyes raised quickly and 
 met his. 
 
 " You say you offer hand and heart. Cap- 
 tain Denver?" 
 
 •' I do, earnestly." 
 "Then I will givey 
 
 you as much as you of- 
 fer me," she said, rising also and placing one 
 of her warm, dainty hands in his own, while 
 the lustrous orbs sparkled even brighter. 
 "I accept your offer of marriage, provided 
 you believe sincerely that you can love me 
 without the consideration of the contract 
 which has thus brought us strangely to- 
 gether." 
 
 "Mildred, I do love on!" 
 
 "And I have loved you, Harry, since the 
 first night we met." 
 
 Denver's arm was around the b?auteous 
 form ; he pressed her closely to his breast 
 and imprinted on her lips the seal of their 
 mutual admission. 
 
 For a brief space silence reigned in the 
 parlor. 
 
 To be broken in a manner that happens 
 frequently for such little scenes of bliss. 
 
 " Oh, I beg pardon!" 
 
 Will Harding had stepped in from the ver- 
 anda, pausing and bowing with the apology, 
 though his face wore a pleased look at the 
 juvtiy picture of love upon which he had 
 iiuite unintentionally intruded. 
 
 " ( aiitaiu Harding," said Denver, pleas- 
 antlv. "allow me to introduce to you my 
 futii'iv wif.^, Miss DeKay." 
 
 ■■ Miss l),'Kay, I am honored in the privi- 
 legf ,.f this aii|iiaintauce," Harding said, 
 ait\ aiiiiiig and taking the hand promptly 
 
 ""'Millli-e'd's'fa'o,. «-as radiant. 
 
 Kthi 1 was still pale, but she had i 
 ei emotions for the time at least, and had 
 esolved to be with her friend. 
 Fresh introductions followed. 
 Then, at Mildred's invitation,all proceeded 
 
20 
 
 THE WAR LIBRARY. 
 
 to the diuing-hall. where, to tell the truth, 
 Snow hail proved hiinselt a host. 
 
 For, aiitieipatiu;; that now his young mis- 
 tress would invite the Uuion otfloersiutoa 
 repast, he had added to the bountiful spread 
 found there until the most fastidious palate 
 would have been tempted and delighted. 
 
 With his white apron switching as he flew 
 around as fast as big age would permit, he 
 seated the guests and showed them that, if 
 he was old, there was life in the limbs, and a 
 memory of olden days of happy slavery still 
 in his woolly head. 
 
 At the conclusion of the refreshment, Mil- 
 dred would have urged that her visitors re- 
 main later. , . ,^ ^ 
 
 But Harding took it upon himself to say : 
 
 " Really, Miss DeKay, I fear it would be 
 very wrong for the captain to linger here. 
 The broken companies are being reorganized 
 in view of resuming the attack upon the 
 Confederate stronghold to-morrow, and I 
 have been assigned, even in the brief space 
 of my absence from the garden, to another 
 company. Hardly a score of the brave fel- 
 lows who followed Captain Denver into bat- 
 tle remain alive— indeed, it is a miracle that 
 either one of us is here alive to-night— and 
 they will probably be absorbed by some 
 other one of the decimated companies of the 
 shattered regiment." „ ,. . . , ^ 
 
 "My friend. Captain Harding, is right, 
 Mildred. Much as I would wish to remain 
 with you, I cannot be absent from the rem- 
 nant of my comoauy." 
 
 " But you will return to me at earliest op- 
 portunity, Harry f" ^ ^ 
 
 " Of that you may be sure. But remem- 
 ber, a soldier cannot govern his time or 
 place in the slightest manner when in the 
 face of the enemy. If I live 1 shall see you 
 soon again, I fondly hope." 
 
 "If you live! Oh, do not talk in that 
 
 " Let us not anticipate trouble, Mildred. 
 Farewell, and may Heaven guard you." 
 
 "He;iviMi watcli over you, dear Harry," 
 shebr,-aili.-,l,.-,un.'stly. 
 
 And wliile Hanliiig judiciously turned his 
 back, Icudini? F.ihrl aside by some common- 
 place ruiuurk, these singularly destined 
 lovers erahiaced fervently, aud there was 
 just the slightest perceptible sound of a 
 quiet kiss in the air of the illuminated 
 parlor. , !,_ . J 
 
 Then the two ofBcers took their departure. 
 They went by way of the garden, and 
 though there would now have seemed to be 
 uo danger in opening the house, Mildred 
 deemed it wiser to have it retain its appear- 
 ance of being unoccupied until there was a 
 more decisive knowledge of the result of the 
 bloody battle. ,, ,, j 
 
 The dead body of Lieutenant Artwell had 
 been removed, and was being buried with 
 the many who were being hastily thrown 
 into rude graves on that night, his citizen's 
 garb preserving him from recognition as a 
 Confederate. , , ^ 
 
 "I love him! I love him!" burst from 
 Mildred, when alone with Ethel in the pri 
 vacv of her boudoir. 
 
 " I can liardly wonder at it. Captain Den- 
 ver is a brave and noble mau, Mildred." 
 
 "It seemed to me that all was over in too 
 short a time." 
 
 " What was over?" 
 "His wooing." 
 
 " He came then as a ardent wooer 'i 
 " In a measure, yes. I saw — or believe I 
 saw— that he loved me; and I— my whole 
 heart has been going out to him, Ethel, the 
 more I have thought about him, sin<'e your 
 hint that the yoimg Union officer we met 
 that night might be the very man I was 
 searching for. Yes, I love Harry Denver. 
 Perhaps I was too precipitate- too quick in 
 accepting the heart and hand he offered me. 
 But I love him, I love him !" 
 
 On the face of the beautiful heiress there 
 was a look that told well the abundance of 
 iov that had come into her heart since the 
 moment when handsome Harry Denver 
 asked her to be his bride. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE DAY AFTER THE SLAUGHTER. 
 
 On their way toward camp Denver aud 
 Harding were met by a man gliding swiftly 
 througli the gloom, who hailed : 
 
 "Hello, captains, two! Whither away ?" 
 
 " Battery Bob, is that you ?" 
 
 " What's left of me, after this little affair 
 
 Between Denver and the famous spy there 
 had grown up quite an intimacy since the 
 night when Ethel and Mildred had reached 
 the Union lines. 
 
 "I have just come from the DeKay man- 
 sion," Denver said. 
 
 "So? Why lam bound for there now. 
 
 "And perhaps you will And one there you 
 are seeking, unless I am greatly mistaken." 
 
 " Ethel Cobbs— is she there?" 
 
 The inquiry came eagerly from the lips of 
 
 He had not seen Ethel since the hour when 
 he left her and Mildred together on the 
 heights to the north of the Rappahannock. 
 
 "Yes, she is there." 
 
 " I am glad of that " 
 
 "But excuse us, dear fellow ; we are has- 
 tening to our regiment— what is left of it, 
 
 With' which they separated— Battery Bob 
 to seek his betrothed at the DeKay mansion 
 where he suspected her to be. 
 
 A murmur was partly audible within that 
 vast concourse of soldiery that now held the 
 town of Fredericksburg after the carnage of 
 the day. 
 
 General Burnside had comedown from his 
 headquarters as be learned in quick succes- 
 sion of the defeats and the slaughter into 
 which his strange but brilliant plans had 
 cast the army; around him were assembled 
 the ofhceis, who, like the weary men, were 
 losing conlidence in their leader. ^. , ^ ^ 
 
 It was an e.xcited council, in which heads 
 more evenly balanced than that of the so far 
 whippeu general, urged the recrossing of the 
 river before more thousands of the brave 
 boys in blue should full a sacrifice in a u.seless 
 attempt to dislodge the enemy from those 
 impregnable crests that stretched their can- 
 non-yawning line for miles. 
 
 Little sleep came that night for leaders or 
 
 The morning drew on apace, while the 
 soldiery waited on arms in an almost breath- 
 less anticipation of a renewal of the terrible 
 scenes through which they had passed by a 
 miracle while their comrades lay piled 
 around in ghastly heaps. 
 
 Hours passed slowly and fraught with an 
 ordeal of suspense that only the soldier on 
 the bloody battlefleld* can comprehend, es- 
 pecially as they may be, some of those shat- 
 tered regiments within sound of the soul 
 shuddering shrieks that rise from the distant 
 field, or from the improvised hospital where 
 the merciless knives of the surgeons are at 
 the after work of severing mangled limbs or 
 sewing up great gashes in the bodies of the 
 cannons' victims. 
 
 A wonderful change had come over the 
 little town in that short time. 
 
 People were shrinking in their cellars; the 
 streel-i vave for the presence of the Federal 
 -oMifi'v, UH.viiiL' h'lr and there in weary 
 iiitiul ' wti I- ih -1-1 Ifl : and at various points 
 ifiicil' ihi'iuiiix 'it ih.' buildings that had 
 lailcii ill It-.ceailv ln.inbardment from Staf- 
 ford Hights. ' ^ ^, 
 
 When morning came, it found the two 
 leaders, chiefs of two brave hosts facing one 
 another from across the bloody field- one 
 hesitating to advance upon the heights that 
 could vomit such tiiry and death, the other, 
 unaware of the actual losses of the Union- 
 i^ti priterriiig to remain in that position 
 which the direful panorama of the previous 
 day had shown him to be a very Gibraliar, 
 far safer than would be the plau of a retali- 
 ative charge down upon the gory plain be- 
 low. 
 The day grew. 
 
 The hours passed, and still there came not 
 the expected orders that would once more 
 hurl the bleeding regiments into the vortex 
 of detitiuctiou. . 
 
 Tlieii, toward noon, a murmur gained 
 bivatii alou"- the lines for miles, a murmur 
 that M-nt ii|i at times the name of General 
 Suimier, M 111 It up with a cheer at some 
 points, where even the commanders were 
 slow in catching its meaning. 
 
 News flies faster among the regiments on 
 the battle plain than one might suppose. 
 
 On this day the boys learned that to brave 
 Suiun.-r Ibey owed that surprising delay in 
 thr cxiLM tei'l eriler which could have only 
 iiH'iKi ilic 1 1-11.1. riiif.' up uselessly of more 
 li\ .-; 111.' i-ti..l.liiig nt more precious blood. 
 
 N.I i-.iwai'.ls were they, these tired and dis- 
 heartened troops. 
 
 But the simplest private may see, after 
 such an experience as the army of the Poto- 
 mac had had then and on other fields, that 
 they are yielding up themselves to slaughter 
 with no outcome but defeat, no comforting 
 assurance in their last moments that their 
 lives have not been given in vain. . 
 
 To the voice of Sumner, raised nobly m 
 protest against a further sacrifice, they 
 owed the respite which came and lasted 
 through the hours of that day aud into the 
 night again, thqugh they still rested on their 
 
 arms, not knowing how soon the bugles 
 might sound them " in " or their equally dis- 
 heartened ofBcers command and lead them 
 up to the mark of doom. 
 
 Some of the citizens, emboldened by ru- 
 mors that the Yankee army had been so 
 badly whipped they would not remain long 
 on that side of the Rappahannock, came 
 forth, and others opened their houses as if 
 in no dread of this l)liie-clad foe whom they 
 hated as intensely as those marshaled forces 
 did who waited on the distant crests. 
 
 Undersuch circumstances it was not to be 
 wondered at that there were occasional 
 scenes of violence committed by the boys in 
 blue, hated as they were by the recent strife 
 and galled by the semblance of defeat. 
 
 And one of these scenes happened ai the 
 mansion of Mildred DeKay, where the young 
 heiress had thrown open her house, declin- 
 ing to accept the the., ly that the Federal 
 troops must .KISS hack over the river, and 
 astonishing her neighbors by placing over 
 the doorway a pair of small lla;;s ol silken 
 stars and stripes. 
 
 " I fear you have acted a little unwisely, 
 Mildred," was Ethel's opinion, in reference 
 to this display. 
 
 " And why. pray? Are not the troops of 
 the North in full possession of Fredericks- 
 burg?" 
 
 " True, for the present " 
 
 " And I am sure they will not retreat from 
 it," the Southern girl broke in, impulsively. 
 
 " Be not too sure. The losses of thousands, 
 sustained by the men of the North, may 
 mean a retreat." 
 
 " I will not believe it. ' 
 
 Ethel regarded her companion iiiquisi- 
 
 " You are a strange girl, Mildred." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 "That you, who were born on the sacred 
 soil of Virginia, should throw all your sym- 
 pathies in the direction of those who come 
 from a clime hated by your relatives and 
 
 friends. 
 
 ;h from an- 
 ' added, ad- 
 o whom the 
 
 And in that, do I di 
 other whom I love deai 
 vancing and embraciiii: 
 closing remark was applied. 
 
 " But I am the child of the hills ; my whole 
 spirit might naturally follow where my 
 heart is captive. In loving Battery Bob I 
 
 placed in him my very altar " 
 
 " And I," for a second time interrupted 
 Mildred, " have done the same with Captain 
 Denver. He seems to lie ;is gentle as a child, 
 honorable, no woman can doubt, brave, as 
 witness his coolness in calling to account the 
 man who was growing to be the bane of my 
 life." 
 Mildred half paused in her speech. 
 For at that instant, upon the) air of the 
 night rose a strange sound of men's voices. 
 
 Mildred stepped to the window-curtains 
 and peered forth. 
 "Oh, Elhel!" 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " There's a crowd of men on the pavement 
 right before the house; they appear to be 
 Federals." 
 Ethel reached the other's side. 
 As the curtains were drawn a little further 
 apart, the two girls were partly revealed to 
 those below, who seemed to be wrangling 
 about something concerning the mansion. 
 
 One of the men raised and sh3ok his list at 
 the window and those behind the panes, 
 while his voice arose above those of his com- 
 panions, saying: , 
 
 " Ya-as, you rebs in thar, you think you 
 kin hoodwinkusby that pair of fiags a hang- 
 in' over yer door. But if you're the true 
 blue you make out to be, we'll soon know. 
 Come on, boys, inter the shebang, an' lets 
 
 see it they'll treat 1 *-..— v.* *« 
 
 be treated." 
 To this there was evi 
 And the cause of the wraii::lnis was that 
 some were for enteri-ii; ami , mill in.ii the man- 
 sion on the theory that tl).' •jispliiy of the 
 flags was but a sham, whil.. .itlurs. more 
 level headed, argued against such a proceed- 
 ing on the foreseeing that they might be call- 
 ed to stern account by their officers. 
 
 The riotous element prevailed, however, 
 and presently the watching ciiis saw a halt 
 dozen of them ascend the steps and begin a 
 hammering on the great door. 
 
 At the same instant Snow came with a 
 rap at the door of the chamber. 
 
 His eyeballs were rolling m considerable 
 fright as he announced the disturbance be- 
 
 Mildred could not conceal that she was 
 
 But tlie child of the hills, brave and lovely 
 Ethel, took it upon herself to say : 
 "Let them in, Snow— every one. 
 
 1 as we fellers ought 
 iectiou. 
 
 Hasten 
 
THE WAR IIBRARY. 
 
 21 
 
 before they batter down and ruin the door.' 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ETHEL AT BAY AGAIN. 
 
 Wo have seen the extraordinary courage 
 possessed by Etliel Cobbs when she met and 
 hailed the troopers on, the stairway of her 
 father's inu. 
 
 Anotheropportunity seemed to be at hand, 
 in whioh she might again give an exhibition 
 of nerve. 
 
 She observed the half startled hesitation 
 of her companion, and uttered calmly those 
 words, which caused the negro's eyes to roll 
 still wider, aud Mildred to exclaim : 
 
 " Ethel !— no, you surely would not advise 
 admitting those brawlers below f" 
 
 " Tou will fled that you cannot keep them 
 out. Let them in, say I, and 1 will attend 
 to them." 
 "You?" 
 
 " Why, yes. Do you suppose I fear a few 
 halt drunken wretches such as they are? 
 And if they press me too hard, I will show 
 them how a Virginia girl can use the pis- 
 tol." 
 And again to Suow she said : 
 " Hurry down and admit them. 1 will at- 
 tend to the rest. Do not be alarmed. I have 
 dealt with headstrong men liefore." 
 
 Mildred made no further objection. 
 1 There was something in the calm demean- 
 or, the starry eyes of the child of the hills 
 that inspired a quick confidence. 
 
 With a wave of her hand, she siguifled to 
 Suow that Ethel's order should be obeyed. 
 
 •' What do j'ou intend to do when they 
 have entered ?" she asked. 
 
 " Meet them face to face," was the firm 
 response. " Come, if you wish to see my ac- 
 tion." 
 
 In silence and wonderment, Mildred fol- 
 iowed the erect aud coiittdeut girl from the 
 room, and they descended the stairs a little 
 way in the rear of Snow. 
 
 I. " ! warned you that you wereaoting rather 
 UUH'.ifiely ill plaeiiig those flags at the front 
 door. 2"1J'>:l' n"?" believe it to be iv sham ; 
 ana wer? they Confeder.^fes, you would 
 have eveu iilOJ« trouble than is now brew- 
 
 The clamor at the tJoof gfffw Jouder. 
 
 The suspicious solditti* found the great 
 panels not so easily battered down as they 
 had expected. 
 
 Some had brought heavy stones from the 
 street and were banging furiously at the 
 stout oak, while the shouts of all, in mingled 
 ourses, was sufhcient to have startled the 
 nerves of a person less brave than Ethel 
 Cobbs. 
 
 "Open the door,' she commanded, to 
 .as the negro, with hands on the huge 
 
 theoucside. , , , ^ ^ 
 
 Suow gave the bolt a wrench and then fled 
 from the vicinity of the door as it swung 
 open and the soldiers came pitching inward, 
 • arith a shout of triumph. 
 
 "You can't fool us with no such shenani- 
 •.gan as them flags!" cried the foremost, as he 
 made toward the stairs. 
 
 vAnd the rough voice of another : 
 
 'J I'll bet it's a nest of secessionists, an' the 
 - soQUer we clean it out the better." 
 
 •,'Ealt!" rung a sharp command. 
 
 )Oa}y a girl's voice was that, but its accent 
 checked the jostling crowd of men suddenly, 
 and they stared at her as it astounded by her 
 temerity. 
 
 Then: 
 
 • VWal, now, look there. Wot a beauty she 
 is, boys; an' the leefle gal says as how we 
 rausi halt," and the rufUan ended his speech 
 in a coarse guffaw. 
 • " Wl)9t do you want?" demanded Ethel. 
 
 " Wal, we wants for to see just wot kind of 
 a shebang this here is. 'Cause we don't lake 
 no stock in them flags wot you've got a 
 hangin' out there ; it's humbug, an' we know 
 it " 
 
 "Leave this house!" 
 
 '■'Wot!" 
 
 The leader, threw back his head and gaped 
 at her, as if he was not sure of having heard 
 aright. 
 
 " Leave this bouse, instantly, or I warn 
 you, you will wish you had never entered 
 
 "Look here, gal," at the same time ad- 
 vancing upbn tljie fair girl who stood a few 
 steps up on the, staircase. 
 
 into her hand, ready cocked aud leveled 
 
 steadily at the. breast of the man. 
 "Say, wot do you mean, anyhow?" 
 "I, me^H that.I shall give you and your 
 
 crew just one minute to get out of this 
 house. At the expiration of that time I shall 
 commence firing. I aui a pretty good shot, 
 as you will flnil; and even if I was not I 
 guess my six bullets will find some mark in 
 a crowd of men jammed as closely as you 
 are." 
 
 There were a few who held the same opin- 
 ion, and evinced it by promptly skulking to- 
 ward the door. 
 
 In reality they feared the girl more than 
 they would a man, because they realized 
 that she felt herself outraged by such an in- 
 trusion, and would most assuredly empty 
 her revolver into their midst 
 
 "I ain't takiu' no gal's pills in mine just 
 about now," uttered one, as he drew away 
 toward the door. 
 
 "Nor me, neither," chimed another wary 
 fellow, with a sidelong glance at the gleam- 
 ing tube that was pointed so directly at 
 them. 
 But the leader did not flinch. 
 He was one of these bulldog fellows some- 
 times found in armies, who may have a 
 record for bravery which is in realily no 
 more than an ignorant disregard for danger. 
 "Hanged if I'll be stopped by a gal ; you 
 hear me?" 
 "Back, sir! Not one step more, on your 
 
 life " 
 
 "Bah!" 
 
 He made toward her briskly, with one 
 baud halt raised, as if he would boldly snatch 
 the weapon from the girl's grasp. 
 
 As he placed one boot on the lower step 
 there was a flash of Are, a sharp report, and 
 — thuck! 
 
 The bully thiew his arms into the air and 
 reeled backward. 
 
 "Come on, scoundrels! " defied Ethel, as 
 the man fell. "I promised you that you 
 would find me a good and a prompt shot. 
 Who is next?" 
 
 A growl of rage went up as they saw their 
 oomrade fall, evidently dead, before the 
 brave girl. 
 
 But the hot reception showed them that 
 she would prove a Tartar to deal with : some 
 bnd already left the house and sought a safe 
 place of observation around the massive 
 jamb; and the rest, with a final glance at 
 the dead body of their leader, hastened out. 
 To expedite their departure, Ethel fired 
 again, but the barrel of her weapon was 
 raised in the air intentionally. 
 
 Believing that she was about to keep up a 
 regular fusilade, their pace quickened to a 
 scrambling run, and before the minute had 
 fully expired the last man of the cowardly 
 gang was outside. 
 
 Here, however, they met with another re- 
 ception that was unexpected and summary. 
 A patrol had halted on the pavement. 
 A commanding voice said : 
 " Secure those men !" 
 The voice of Captain Denver. 
 Mildred recognized it at once and ran past 
 Ethel toward the door, just as the captain 
 entered, with the inquiry : 
 
 "What is going on here? Mildred, what 
 has happened ?" 
 A few words told all. 
 
 Immediately turning to the patrol, he or- 
 dered : 
 
 "Keep those fellows fast; I want to have 
 them dealt with." 
 
 While he was exchanging a few more words 
 with Mildred, one of his men came to the 
 door, saying: 
 " Captain, this house is afire." 
 And their attention thus called to it, all 
 then detected a smell of smoke ascending 
 from some unknown source. 
 
 A hurried investigation revealed that it 
 came from the veranda at the rear. 
 
 Someone of the rowdy gang that had 
 clamored for admittance shortly before, had 
 gone around to the rear. Effecting an en- 
 trance, he had witnessed the checking of his 
 comrades by the brave Ethel, and in chagrin 
 and maliciousness, had, with the aid of a 
 few cartridges and a match, ignited the frail 
 frame-work of the veranda, which hart 
 burned up to too great headway to be extin- 
 guished when discovered at last. 
 
 " Nothing can save the house," Denver 
 said. "If you have anything to save, Mil- 
 dred, you had best hurry about it and get 
 away from the premises." 
 
 Calling in three of his men, while the rest 
 remained guarding the arrested depredators, 
 all went to work wiih a will to rescue from 
 the fast creeping flames whatever Mildred 
 indicated as worthy of preservation. 
 
 By the time the lew goods were removed 
 to a safe spot, the tongues of fire had com- 
 municated to the main portion of the liuild- 
 ing, and the thick smoke began to roll out 
 
 from the upper windows in suffocating bil. 
 
 At this juncture there was a new-comer ou 
 the scene. 
 
 A Union officer, with the straps ou his 
 shoulder to indiiate him to be a lieutenant of 
 artillery. 
 
 Battery Bob. 
 
 He joined the girls, and was at first unob- 
 served by Denver, who was busy giving in- 
 structions to the sergeant of the patrol. 
 
 The sergeant started away with his prison- 
 ers, and Denver turned, to be surprised by 
 seeing the spy in this new guise in oonversa^ 
 tion with the two. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 PEACE AT LAST. 
 
 "Hello, Battery Bob! what's this?" with 
 a smiling glance at the uniformed spy. " An- 
 other of your disguises ?" 
 
 " Oh, no, captain, it isn't a disguise at all. 
 I have held my commission in the artillery 
 all along; but my work has been of the 
 character you know of, for there I could do 
 even more good. But since my mission as a 
 spy only extended from the Autietam to 
 Fredericksburg, a locality I knew like a 
 book, I have returned to my post among the 
 
 Denver grasped his hand warmly. 
 The burning house did not attract much 
 attention. 
 
 The citizens of the town had seen too 
 much of flames among their dwellings since 
 the Union army appeared on the banks of 
 the Rappahannock to be excited over this 
 small conflagration, and the Federal soldiery 
 was held closely to their camps on this night, 
 when it was common rumor that Burnside 
 had lesolved to cross back over the river, 
 where he could plant his guns and still men- 
 ace the town and adjacent plains. 
 
 The next question was what to do with the 
 girls? 
 
 Battery Bob solved this by the suggestion 
 that they proceed at once toward the north, 
 accompanied by Suow ; and when the plan 
 was fully discussed, Ross, who had leave for 
 a short time, started to conduct them to the 
 river, where they were soon being ferried 
 
 Clouds were gathering fast in the heavens. 
 Ross urged that they lose no time in gaiuiiig 
 a safe shelter ere the coming storm broke 
 upon them. 
 
 On the north bank of the stream he pro- 
 cured horses for the two girls and the faith- 
 ful negro, and after an afl'ectiouate parting 
 with Ethel and a godspeed for Mildred, he 
 stood for a long time watching their reced- 
 ing forms on the road leading to Falmou" 
 
 "I cannot go on without first pausing to 
 take a look at the ruins at my old home '" 
 Ethel said, as they drew near the slope upon 
 which she had played in childhood. 
 
 " But it can ouly result in increasing your 
 sadness," Mildred demurred. "And see — 
 the storm will soon come, and we have 
 to ride before we can shelter ourselves and 
 our horses." 
 
 But Ethel was firm. 
 
 Mildred could not continue her objections, 
 and the trio presently emerged upon the ' " 
 fork of the road and ascended to the ruins of 
 Cobbs' Rest. 
 
 Black aud foreboding were those ruin 
 now ; and the tears involuntarily came int 
 Ethel's eyes as she thought of the charred 
 remains ol one who hart always been a kind 
 father to her, now lying unrecognizable 
 amid the debris. 
 
 As they were about to move away at last, 
 thev were arrested by a wbiuiug sound near 
 
 by- 
 
 " Ah, a dog," Mildred exclaimed, with a 
 shudder. 
 
 " And I think I know that whine," said 
 Ethel. 
 
 Then she called, coaxiugly ; 
 
 "Durga! Durga!" 
 
 Out from the gloom toward them slowly 
 came the blind hound. 
 
 Slie leaned down from her saddleand gently 
 stroked the baik of the beast with the handle 
 of her riding whip; and Durga seemed to be 
 overjoyed, as he recognized the voice of the 
 one who had first been his benefactor after 
 the encounter which resulted in the loss o£ 
 his eyes. 
 
 "Hark! Some one is coming !" 
 
 Hoofstrokes sounded on the road a short 
 distance below. 
 
 A rider was approaching the spot of the 
 
 " Let us fly," Mildred urged. 
 " No, I wish to see who it may 
 They wheeled their horses t 
 
52 
 
 THE WAE, LIBRARY. 
 
 Durga uttered a low growl and 
 the ael of the girls, while his grea 
 
 ilt ! Who are you ? 
 
 " Is that you, charmiug Miss Ethel ?" 
 
 " Yes, it is I, Rory Bolt. What brings you 
 
 " To see your father, lair Miss Ethel, and a 
 close time I hare had of it coming around 
 the Yauisee pickets." 
 
 ■'You will not see my father, Rory Bolt." 
 
 *' But it is important." 
 
 "Looli!" 
 
 She pointed toward the ruins. 
 
 " Ell ! Wby, blast it. the old thing's burnt 
 down, isn't it '! But I must see j-our fatber, 
 all tlH-suni.., Miss Kthel." 
 
 " M\ faihi-r lu>. ilead and charred, in the 
 raiilst'.ii iiM.-r ruins, sir. And as it is impos- 
 silplel..]- viiii Ti) si-e him, you may as well 
 tuiu about and make your way back to the 
 Confederate lines, if you are smart enough." 
 
 "Oh, your father is dead, you say ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And vou are now without a protector," 
 coutinut-il tliH bUT ly lieutenant, in a changed 
 
 lady, Mi>s Ktlnl, ami il i- n laivijity that you 
 
 out an aiichoiuij; jilai 1-, willmut a husband 
 to look after you, now that your old father 
 is dead " 
 
 "Sir!" 
 
 ■' Yes, you hear me, I guess, Miss Ethel. I 
 am very uuich in earnest. I am in love with 
 you : have admired you ever since you were 
 hardly bi;;frer than a kitti-n. But, blast it! 
 luever ihirtil to say so bi-fore, because that 
 father of youis was'w iirsr than a mad blood- 
 hound wThu he got oM a rampage, and he 
 would have f anged me smartly if I had hint- 
 ed at the affection which I now swear! en- 
 tertain for you. Don't you think I will 
 make a very good protector, charming Miss 
 Ethel." 
 
 " I think that if you continue this insult a 
 moment longer, I shall bore your ugly car- 
 cass with a bullet," cried Ethel, sharply, 
 and drawing her revolver, unseen, as she be- 
 gan to anticipate trouble -with the monstrous 
 rufBan. 
 
 Bolt gave his horse a touch, and drew 
 nearer. 
 
 " Keep back there," warned the girl. 
 
 "But I want to talk with you, my dear 
 Miss Ethel. I want to teil to you, to swear 
 to vuu, that 1 love you more than any 
 other ■' 
 
 "Back, sir!" 
 
 " Blast it, you are too full of airs, I think." 
 
 " As surely as you advance another yard, 
 as surely will you die!" came again from the 
 comiiressfd lips of the girl, as she cocked the 
 weapon in lit-r band. 
 
 But tlo-pa.->ion I hat Rory Bolt had so long 
 heU-i in olio, k tliLnmh fear of Ethel's father, 
 and wliiih heuow boldly avowed, consumed 
 him bi'vond all contiol. 
 
 He i\wx tho >\niv into his horse and made a 
 dash i,.uar.l li-r. 
 
 Ju the same instant that the horRe ]>ranced 
 forward, a lai^c. dark and heavy lindy shot 
 through theair in the roui so of an arc and 
 straight toward the ininintod in;ni. 
 
 The hound had closol^ l..,,;i.a ilio rider. 
 
 Ere Bolt could realizo jnsl what it was 
 that came toward hun through the air, he 
 was struck by a powerful body, and a set of 
 terribly sharp teeth fastened fairly on his 
 throat. 
 
 The cry of dismay, positive terror, that 
 rose to his lips, was choked back by the 
 powerful gripe of those relentless jaws. 
 
 The blood spurted from the lacerated flesh 
 in a stream. 
 
 He snatched one of his revolvers from bis 
 belt and fired iuto the beast's Ijody, with tho 
 muzzle pressing the hairy side. 
 
 It was a home shot, thai teai in- Imllet lliat 
 enteivd the vitals of the dng ; but Iho terii- 
 ble fangs did not relax. 
 
 Dmga h.'ld fast while he died there, and 
 the woiL'hl of th.- animal dragged Bolt from 
 his sadillo ill a heap on thegrouiid. 
 
 The dead ilog was still at his throat. 
 
 Strive as he might and did with all his gi- 
 gantic strength he could not cast off that 
 death grip. 
 
 Aud even if he could have succeeded it was 
 
 too late to save himself— the great artery of 
 his neck was completely torn asunder, and 
 he reeled over in his gushing blood that dyed 
 the road. 
 
 Nor couhl the doomed man utter a souud 
 even to toll of tin- a^oiiv and droad that 
 there and then oaim-inlo bodvand >,hiI, 
 
 Hiseyes.^h.zod, il,o ni^-ln borano- darkor 
 before his vision a> llio i vd lido tioivoil. 
 
 The girls watched the huniblo slrnggle of 
 man and beast with an involuntary shrink- 
 ing. 
 
 And when at last Bolt ceased his vain 
 struggle and lay in a quivering heap, Ethel, 
 the more nervy of the two, dismounted and 
 went to his side. 
 
 "He is dead, and so is Durga," she said, 
 presently. 
 
 Theu she continued, returning back to her 
 
 ■■(ome, Mildred— on! On to the clirae of 
 the North!" 
 
 They wheeled and dashed away from the 
 spot, turning the heads of their horses again 
 northward along the road and soon leaving 
 Falmouth far in their rear. 
 
 Another dav came and found the armies of 
 
 the North anil the South still occupying their 
 lespooiivo positions on the plains and crests 
 
 The storm of that winter's day broke upon 
 them in its violence, to make even more 
 drear a contemplation of the ghastly sur- 
 rounding. 
 
 It WHS now the turn of the elements; aud 
 they waged fiercely through the somber 
 skies. 
 
 When nightfall drew down again, the 
 mo.yement of retreat began along the Feder- 
 
 Ba 
 
 I of war that still 
 
 dani-'oiand oarn:i;:o ; ;;nd frequently to them 
 caino some soant intoliigence of the daring 
 young aMillor_\' lieiitenau6 and the brave 
 
 Through' the many 'bal(le> that foil,, wed 
 before these two ea'llant 1,,\ , i s , ,,ii|,l >,-,k 
 their sweethearts at the N,,r; h ;il in,, i.\i,ii- 
 arion of their term of sei \ i, ,-, the nanus,, 1 
 Ross and Denver earned iiioi e than one men- 
 tion of commendation from their superior 
 officers. 
 
 Letters to the girls came as it in answer to 
 their constant praver.s lor their lovers' safe- 
 ty ; and, flually, came theapprisal of their 
 being on their way to the Federal capital^ to 
 make good their vows, their allegiance to 
 another cause than that of Uncle Sam— the 
 cause of love. 
 
 In those busy war times at the city of 
 Washington there was a brilliant double 
 weflding, and the (;areer of Battery Bob. as 
 such, ended wiien he led fair Ethel to the 
 rosy altar of Hymen. 
 
 The four, Denver and his bride, Mildred, 
 and Ross, with his bride, Ethel, entered upon 
 a mutually happy life from that date; and 
 whenever the tv>'o heroes talked of the 
 dreadful slaiight.r that oame in the battles 
 of 111,, lalo uui, Ih.-v 1,-rvontly thank.-,! 
 H,-av,-n l,,rits kin,ln,>s in ],!vsorving tli,'m 
 
 ird for jiast deeds 
 
 THROUGH DEATH TO LIBERTY. 
 
 The morning of October 12 I was taken — 
 together with several others who had repre- 
 sented themselves as enlisted men, we learn- 
 ing that there was no exchange of officers 
 
 :,ffic 
 
 ted 1 
 
 same as olbor oomuiissioued oftioeis- to 
 1','mberlnn Prison, a five-story double brick 
 biiihlingoue block below Libby aud across 
 the street from it, where we were consigned 
 to the fifth story, f think there were sixteen 
 of us. 
 
 There we al' did duty as prisoners. The 
 bn-iin.'ss of t|,. f. ,i..n,",n aud afternoon being 
 ■■ >..n II i-liiiii^ 1, L I ;t> iKO'ks," the cracks in 
 111 I work above and in 
 
 l:o I ■ ' I , ! . i; - alive with them. 
 
 (I, t, ,1m I ■■•a , all \> :;- made for ■polunteers to 
 
 go to do duty in some of the prison hos- 
 pitals. 
 
 I volunteered to go, aud was sent to Hos- 
 pital No. 19, which was the headquarters of 
 the Mo,IicalDiie<tor of Hospitals, and where 
 tlo' I'll, ,!,.!■ ii:u,- ;i stayed at nights. The 
 s,-,,,i.ii ii :.,i„'r 23, a soldier was 
 
 broiiui I ' I : 1,1 been wounded in the 
 
 Au,pui,iii.,ii lian been recently performed, 
 but OH ing to waut of proper care the parts 
 were sloughing, gangrene was threatened, 
 the bone was protruding, and the sight was . 
 sickening. 
 
 The chief warden, Martin H. Howard, 
 called me aud begged me to go and see what 
 could be done. I dressed and went and 
 made an examination, and concluded there 
 was some tissue left, healthy enough to risk 
 another flap, and that what was done must 
 be done quickly. 
 .1 weut to Surgeon Wilkin's quarters, called 
 
 an amputalin-c ,"->■, ,.|o'.' lb- .luostinned me 
 
 asto 11, yiii, 'til, -.x. 1,0,1 f;av,, m,, an order on 
 
 out off t hob,'.,!' "J 'o'l' o,v„I,",'''|s"li 1,TX'*' 
 tic. I'm-d,' 11"..','.; '■'^^'M','-IaM'e''lo'okin'g flapl 
 and 1,11, ,!_,, II iii,,;irnl the fourth day 1 
 hail 111, I '■ ;:.ii ,,i v,,ing the man re- 
 
 COViT I ■ ' ,111,1. ,-t,'. 
 
 (><-l"i • I .! .-Ill:;,, ,11 Wilkins sent for me 
 and leiiiiesied me logo to Hospital No. 21, 
 and lake general charge. 
 
 There were three rebel doctors assigned to 
 this hospital, who came, or were to come, 
 every morning, go through the different 
 wards and prescribe for the patients. 
 
 Prescriptions were written in a book, with 
 the number of bed, section and ward, and 
 these books I would take in a pillowslip, as 
 soon 03 ready, go to No. 10, alwavs aciompa- 
 nied by an escort, hand 1li,ni tot ho steward, 
 and then sit down or g'l al„,ut tlio hospital 
 until the medicines win- ninlv. 1 then 
 would place all in the jiillow, a'se and go 
 back; sometimes the escort would stop to 
 gossip with his comrades, but I would keep 
 on alone. 
 
 Adjoining the yard in which was the hos- 
 
 When going to my hospital with the inedi- 
 
 I was an iinotoiate smoker in those days, 
 and always had my pipe in my mouth when 
 going to and from the dispensary. 
 
 On the afternoon of December 7, at two 
 
 thauked her for. 
 
 When I arrived at my room I took it from 
 the pillowcase and found it to be a handsome 
 silk tobacco pouch, cord and tassels, and 
 filled with cut smoking tobacco. I also 
 found a piece of paper in it— a note, saying : 
 
 "Soldier of the United States .irmT. meet me in this 
 baoli yard at elRht o'clock to-night, and I will conduct 
 
 
 As I raised my eyes from my billet deux I 
 saw Iho niirsi-s carrvinc: a (le'ail .-oldier past 
 my door to the dead-bonso, and tho thought 
 struck me, there, that iiiok has not been 
 tried on theiu and I will make a trial of it. I 
 summoned the chief waidmaster, H. How- 
 ard, and fold him to bring three others, re- 
 liable men : that I wanted them to carry me 
 to the dead-house, "toes up." 
 
 Within ton minutes I was in the coffin, in 
 the dea.d-honse, whioh was outside the hos- 
 pital yard and in a lumber yard, and the 
 cover placed over the coffin. 
 
 There I lay, afraid to stir, fearing that if a 
 squad of men came with another corpse, 
 they not knowing of my ruse, might give an 
 alarm, hence the necessity of remaining in 
 my voluntary prison. 
 
 Occasionally I would raise the lid and 
 place it on one side for ventilation, but re- 
 place it as soon as footsteps were heard. 
 
 Imagine my suspense; there were twenty- 
 three corpses brought out and placed in 
 their boxes up to s.-vcn o'clock. 
 
 Asl heard tho , iiv , i,,, 1; .-tiik,' ibehour 
 of half-past sivi n. 1 ,|ui,|ly iiii>.|,,-,l aside 
 the lid, and a> ,pii,ilv rai.-oil mysirlf up, a 
 difficult thing to do in view of haviugbeen 
 confined four and three-quarter hours, and 
 being more dead than when placed there; 
 but liberty was my stimulus, and I got up, 
 stretched my weary limbs, flexed and con- 
 
THE WAB LIBRARY. 
 
 tractedniy nnisdes, stepped to the 'loorto 
 recounoii.i', f.nind only a boiircl placed 
 
 II- «[>, 
 
 gently pii 
 of board. 
 
 the lower end of his 
 
 etout 
 
 boldotthepieee 
 side, and peered 
 
 )ward the hospital yard 
 
 The guard had gone *- 
 
 T stepped out, closed the door, placed its 
 prop asaiust it, and stealthily went down 
 into the corner of this lumber-yard to where 
 there was a brick negro liut, whioli belonged 
 to and was in the hospital yard, but the side 
 of which looked out into this lumber-yard. 
 There weretwo wiudowslookingout toward 
 me from this hut, and as I wished to get a 
 suitof gray, which I had had made by the 
 Degress in the hut out of a pair of fine gray 
 army blankets for emergency, and when the 
 guard had again passed down his beat, I tap- 
 ped on the window, and immediately the 
 sash went up and a man's head popped out. 
 My heart went down into the toes of my 
 array shoes. 
 
 I thought it was the ofBcer of the guard 
 who had been watching my movements, and 
 also thouiTht the negroes had betrayed me, 
 but my heart soon jumped up again to its 
 normal sphere when a voice from the head 
 said : 
 
 "Is that you, Doc?" 
 
 " Yes. Who are you ?" says I, in reply. 
 
 " It's Harry," my reliable chief wardmas- 
 ter, a uoble fellow, six feet in his stockings 
 and a heart in proportion. 
 
 He passed out my clothes and I doffed the 
 old and put on the new, and passed the old 
 ones in for the negress to dispose of. 
 
 Harry then came out and we stole to the 
 rear of the lumber-yard, which looked out 
 upon an alley. 
 
 This was the only way 
 unobserved. 
 
 We scaled the fence, went to the front 
 street, and came to the little alley leading to 
 the back yard of the cottage. 
 
 The moon was shining brightly and we 
 found no place of hiding in the yard, and 
 took refuge in the outhouse. 
 
 While there the little lady came out and 
 looked around, but it was not eight o'clock 
 yet, and we remained in hiding. 
 
 She went back into the house, and soon 
 the city clock struck eight, and guards hol- 
 
 ■' Eight o'clock, post Xo. 9, and all's well," 
 Soon the door opeucil, and dut came our 
 little angel. I steppt-d forward toward 
 her, when she sprung and thrt-w lier>flt in 
 mv arms. I told lier of my companion, and 
 she said, "All right. I wish there were 
 more." She then stated she did not live 
 there ; was only visiting there each day ; the 
 geutlenian washer uncle, and as she had not 
 told any of them of what she had done, she 
 would ill IpmiI; and prepare to go home. Her 
 uncle would aicomi>aiiv lier; she would go 
 out of tin- front gale, iuid when we heard 
 her sav, •■ (iood-niglit," we should come out 
 in the'street and follow them. She would 
 have a white handkerchief in her hand, and 
 this we were to follow until she gave the 
 command to halt. We were toted to the 
 other side of the city, and when they came 
 to a halt, we, being about fifty feel in the 
 rear, also halted. We had many zig-zags. 
 because the gentleman knew where guard 
 were placed, and crossed a 
 streets many times to relieve us from 
 barrassments, we not having the con 
 sign. 
 
 
 ossed 
 
 le, whii'.h we have in the city and 
 i"liout ilio ^ioiiili, and a place can be 
 iri ,1 l.ir vou, I think you will be safe 
 
 th.'ii went into the house, partook of a 
 supper, and were assigned to a bed— 
 iich a heaven, such a reaction from 
 what had been. .^ 
 
 About nine o'clock the next morning, De- 
 cember S, the gentlemau came and brought 
 a copy ot lite Kioliinond S''itUnel, which con- 
 tain'i'l -111 Miiouut ol' our escape, particularly 
 mine, headed : "A Yankee Trick," with a 
 
 "Tlic-'inidei taker had gone to the hospital 
 at twooCloel; in Ihe morniugtoget thedead 
 bodies lepoited liv the officer of the guard. 
 He sent a uiessiiiie to Captain Turner, the 
 provo^t-niarslial, who went there with his 
 clerk and Ihev [iroceeded to call the roll. 
 
 The sergeant-maii>r of the Seventy-eighth 
 Pennsylvania infaiitiy, who was jealous for 
 the position of thief ward master, gave the 
 wliole thing away to Captain Turner. 
 
 The night of neceinber 9, 18B3, we were es- 
 corted by the gentleman who occupied the 
 cottage beside the hospital to a farmhouse 
 three miles out into the country north, 
 where we were given quarters in the loft of 
 a carriage-bouse. , , ■ ^ ^ 
 
 This carriage-house was filled with straw 
 in its lower story, but the loft being floored, 
 we had ample opporlunity to tramp and 
 
 There was a^ window from this loft, both 
 front and l)ark. protected by shutters in- 
 side, so tliat we could look out over the 
 count ly and see up and down the road, and 
 could see auv troopers coming. We werefed 
 three times a day by the proprietor of the 
 farm, he bringing our meals in a basket. 
 The weather was extremely cold, but we 
 had burrowed a hole for ourselves in the 
 straw below, and during the nights we man- 
 aged to keep warm. 
 
 We always took reliefs of sleeping, one re- 
 raaiuing awake to guard against alarm or 
 surprise from the enemy. 
 
 Through the gentleman I opened corres- 
 pondence with the Hon. John Miner Botts, 
 with a view of obtaining a pass from the 
 Confederate Secretarv of War. Secretary 
 Seddons. December 1.'. I placed in the liands 
 of this gentleman some gieeiiliacl<s fertile 
 purpose above stated, and lieceinlier 1(. lie 
 brought me a pass for myself and my cniii- 
 rade. I also had him en-age a hack tor 5>oO, 
 I 'onfederate money, ti> convey us to the ferry 
 at the Uaiipahannock, called Sandy, and 
 
 iifte 
 
 beard full. I shaved off my mustache and 
 beard, leaving only side whiskers, and at six 
 o'clock the hack drove up to the door. We 
 bade a hearty good-by to our benefactors 
 and started, oh ! with what feelings, w e had 
 many dangers to encounter, Init we were re- 
 solved to obtain our liberty. We arrived at 
 a country tavern about ten o'ctlod;, where 
 the driver proposed to stay till iiKii-ning. N\ e 
 got supper, and had just steppeil out>i(lethe 
 house when another hack drove up, contaiu- 
 ntleman dressed in the uniform of a 
 ■states officer, with a captain's shoul- 
 lis, accompanied by two ladies— one 
 - and the other a nurse— and two 
 
 illage or 
 
 tol to his ear and a 
 is hand prevailed, 
 lie morning ot De- 
 ,i„at the door of 
 man Sandy. His 
 
 When' lie lanie in I gave him several hot 
 I>unches, and got him to get the ferry ready, 
 
 The water was liigh and the current swift, 
 and much ice made it hard work, but at day- 
 light we lauded on the opposite shore, and on 
 
 We learned from the darky that his master 
 had only one team for the purpose of con- 
 vevin-- passengers from the Rappahannock 
 to "the Potomac, and we engaged it then and 
 
 As%oon as we landed he hitched up the 
 mules, and we started. When about four 
 miles on our route, just at a - ''- 
 
 where there was a sort of a v 
 business jtlace belnn-iiiL' to ap 
 sisting of a store, blacksniitli >ho 
 we were oveiiakeii \)y a man on 
 
 hotel and ferry, the 
 
 C. S. detective. , , , . ^^ 
 
 He stopped our team, told us that there 
 were five other passengers who wished to go 
 to the Potomac, and as he had only the one 
 team and wagon we woulii have to tlismount 
 and wait till the driver went l.ink for them. 
 As there was no other altcTiiative without 
 trouble, we got out and went up to where 
 an old darky had a fire built and was boiling 
 tar, where we warmed ourselves and got 
 what information we could from the nig as 
 to shortest routes to where certain darkeys- 
 Just then a gentleman in full Confederate 
 uniform came riding down the cross roads, 
 who the darky informed us was his in aster 
 and that 1 e was the provost-marshal of that 
 district, but that he had no soldiers under 
 
 In a short time my comrade and I filledi 
 and lighted our pipes and started to wall 
 on, when this officer rode up ' -"i.....-i 
 
 saluted, 
 me his 
 
 cesstnl 
 and he 
 pulsivi 
 
 'I 
 
 IS taken 
 ^en suc- 
 . herself 
 
 make no preparations to-night for 
 fe hiding. You will of necessity haye 
 
 o go into ner father's house, and 
 to-night, and perhaps longer, till I can, aft 
 consulting with the officers of the Unit 
 
 : a gt 
 
 The captain and I saluted each other, en- 
 gaged in a brief conversation, and I learned 
 he^was not a United States soldier. 
 
 This was only a disguise. He was running 
 the blockade to Baltimore: was intending to 
 place his family there for safe keeping till 
 the close of the war, and from my driver I 
 learned his name was Captain Moffet, and 
 that he was an officer on General Winder's 
 staff Winder being the commandant of the 
 Post'ot Richmond. 
 
 I called up mv comrade, and we went to 
 the stables and f (uind our driver and ordered 
 him to drive us at once to the Rappahan- 
 nock. 
 
 had left to halt us, and as he joined him he 
 said : 
 " They are all right, and their passes are 
 
 ^So then we walked on, passed the mill, and; 
 were soon hidden from their view. We met 
 a darkv, who seemed intelligent, and he 
 gave ns" a great deal ot infoiination, which 
 enabled us to stiorten onr distance to the 
 point at the Potomac where we wished to 
 
 ^ We arrived at the house of the first block- 
 ade runners, whose name was given us, but 
 he was out; had gone across the river four 
 days before, and his wife feared for hi.s. 
 
 ^"we secured lodging; with her for the night, 
 and the next morning she directed us to a 
 colored man, who was home, and who was a 
 successful blockade runner, and said we 
 might engage him, using her name. 
 
 We sought him and seiaired him for the 
 sum of fifty dollars in greenbacks. 
 
 Head winds were against any attempt to 
 cross, but the night of December 'iO we start- 
 ed and at midnight lauded safely on the 
 Maryland shore at a point near Leonard- 
 town, and were rowed by another party to 
 the town, where we took a government boat 
 to Washington, arriving there the morning 
 of Christmas Day, reported In person to 
 Secretary Stanton, who called in General 
 Haileck and General Thomas, got a letter to 
 pass the guard, admitting me into the pres- 
 ence of President Lincoln and his amiable, 
 motherly wife, and then I realized I was. 
 again free." 
 
24 
 
 THE WAB LIBRARY. 
 
 TIE WAR LIBRARY 
 
 Contains Historic Tales of the War for the Union, 
 ures, love, intrigue and patriotism- 
 
 Original, full of life, daring advent- 
 
 The Unwritten History of the War. 
 
 Historically true, as to dates and occurrences; graphically true as regards possibilities, these tales wUl interest as well 
 as entertain the reader. To the veteran, who will fight his battles over between the lines, as well as the rising generation 
 ever eager to read of deeds of patriotism and heroism, this Library will be a welcome visitor. 
 
 The War Library is issued weekly, complete in each number. Fresh and original, it occupies a new field, and is 
 free from ultra partisanship. Price ten cents a copy. 
 
 0-A.T-A.X-OOXJE3 oi^ THE! -s7^.A.n. i:.i:on..A.n.-y^. 
 
 eg-PIONEER PETE; or. Always at 
 
 the Front. A Story of the Wilderness 
 Campaigrn. By Morris Redwing. 
 70-UNI0N JACK; or, Heroes in Blue. 
 
 A Story of the Great Railroad Chase. By 
 Ward Edwards, High Private, V. S. V. 
 
 I -MAJOR HOTSPUR. Vy Marline Manly 
 2-BLUE ORCRAY. By Ward Edwards. 
 3-CAVALRY SAM. ByCapt. M.Wilton. 
 4-ON TO RICHMOND. By Maj. Grant- 
 5-VICKSBURC. By Corporal M. Hoyne. 
 6-SHILOH. By Wiinl Edwards, tl. S. V. 
 7-BULLET AND BAYONET. Wilton. 
 
 8 SHARPSHOOTER DICK. Grant. 
 
 9 PRISON PEN. Hy Marline Manly. 
 ID BIVOUAC AND BATTLE. Hoyne. 
 
 I I BEFORE DONELSON. E.L.Vincent. 
 12 SOLD FOR A SOLDIER. Edwards. 
 13'TRUE BLUE. By -M"Jor A. F. Grant. 
 14 CROSSED SWORDS. Morris Hoyne. 
 15- FIGHTING PAT. By Bernard Wayde. 
 
 16 UNDER TWO FLAGS. Redwing. 
 
 17 STARS AND STRIPES. Warren. 
 
 18 BATTLE ECHOES;. Brisbane. 
 
 19 ~ • •■"■'^•"".ER BOB. Maj. A. F. Grant. 
 
 20 JEN. By .Morris Redwing. 
 2! R-STRAPS. Wilmot. 
 
 22 , NES. iiy Warren Walters. 
 
 23 ■-./-- ND SPUR. ByMonMyrtle. 
 
 24 FIGHTING FOR FAME. Redwing. 
 
 25 DASHING O'DONOHOE. Carlton. 
 
 26 IRON ANDSTEEL. .Major A . F. Grant. 
 
 27 THE FATAL CARBINE. Wilmot. 
 
 28 MALVERN HILL. .Morris Hoyne. 
 
 29 GUNBOAT DAVE. Redwing. 
 
 30 RIVAL CAPTAINS. Oram Ellor. 
 
 31 HARD-TACK. Major WaltPF Brisbane. 
 32-YANKEE STEVE. -M-ni.-. K.^wingr. 
 33-FARRAGUT'S SPY. A 1 Ciant. 
 34-MISSION RIDGE. By Maj.. r wilmot. 
 35-CHAIN-SHOT. By Colonel oram Eflor. 
 36 FIVE FORKS. By Corporal M. Hoyne. 
 37-CAPTAlN I RON WRIST. By Major 
 
 Walt.r WiiiiKit, 
 38-THE LOST CAUSE. By M. Redwing. 
 39-CAMP FIRES. By Wurr.-n Walters. 
 40 MORGAN'S ROUGH-RIDERS. Iiy 
 
 41-BETWEEN THE LINES. By Munis 
 
 42 THE CAVALRY GUIDE; or. In the 
 
 Saddle and Bivouac A Thrilling 
 Homance of the Great South-side liaid. By 
 .John W. Southard. 
 43-HARPER'S FERRY; or. From the 
 Chevron to Shoulder-straps. By 
 
 Major Walter Wilmot. 
 
 44 SHERIDAN'S RIDE ; or, The Bat- 
 tlefield of Cedar Creek. A Thrilling 
 
 Narrative of the Shenandoah Valley. By 
 
 CLEAR GRIT; or, A Soldier in 
 
 Blue. Bv Maii'iif Maiilv. 
 
 THE RIVAL COURIERS; or, CBr- 
 
 rying Grant's Dispatches, a story 
 
 of the War in the Old Dominion. By Harry 
 St. George. 
 
 BEFORE PETERSBURG ; or. The 
 Yankee Cannoneer. A Story of 
 
 U>i' s Uist 1 aiiipais-'n. By Majoi .\. F. Grant. 
 
 DOWN IN DIXIE; or. Perilous 
 Adventures of a War Correspon- 
 dent. A Story of Stoneman's Raid and 
 Gettysburg. By Hugh Allen, of the New 
 York press. 
 
 49~LIBBY PRISON; or. In theShades 
 
 of Death. A Thrilling Story of Raid. 
 Prison and Swam]>. Iiy Colonel Oram Eflor 
 
 50-WAR'S ALARM; or, Adventures 
 of a Young Lieutenant, .^ Rattling 
 
 .story of the Aiivanee on Viiksburg. By 
 
 Moi 
 
 Redv 
 
 UNDER FIRE; 
 
 and Cray. -\ T 
 
 tie of Rich Mounts 
 ris. 
 
 or. Rivals in Blue 
 
 Hilling Story of the Bat 
 n. By Anthony P. Mor 
 
 52-MARCHINC ON ; or. From the 
 Rapidan to Cold Harbor. A story 
 
 of the Terrible Battles of the Wildernes.s. 
 By Marline Manlv 
 53-SWORD AND SASH; or, Through 
 Flame to Fame. A Story of Freder- 
 icksburg and Chan.cllorsville. By Mon Myr- 
 
 54 BORDER GUERRILLAS ; or. The 
 
 Rivals of Pea Ridge. -^ Tale of the 
 War in Arkaiisius. llv C.rporal M. Hoyne. 
 
 55 MOSBY'S TRAIL; or, Cuerrillas 
 of the Potomac. By .Morris Redwing. 
 
 56 BLACK CUDJO ; or, The Contra- 
 band Spy. A Thrilling Stnry of the Fort 
 Pillow Ma.ssa.n-. Bv I.ieut. Keene, U. S. A. 
 
 57-BRAVE COLONEL KELLY; or. 
 The Horrors of War. By Bernard 
 Wayde. 
 
 58 ISLAND NUMBER TEN; or. The 
 Trail of War. By S. M. Fra/.ier. 
 
 59 WINNING HIS SPURS; or, Old 
 Pap Thomas' Trust, a story of 
 
 Nashville. Bv Morris Redwing. 
 60-A YANKEE MIDDY; or. Hero of 
 
 the Blockade. By Ward Edwards 
 
 " High Private," r.S.V. 
 6 1 -COLD HARBOR; or. The Blaze 
 
 of Battle. A Thrilliii- Sf.ry of the 
 
 Chickaliominy. By K.iland Dare. 
 
 62 FIGHTING JOE HOOKER;or, The 
 Battle Above the Clouds. A Thril- 
 ling story of Lookout Mountain. By Mar- 
 line Manly. 
 
 63 BOMB PROOF; or. Dying in the 
 Last Ditch, a Tale of Petersburg. By 
 Anthonv P. Morris. 
 
 64~A SOLDIER OF FATE; or, Phil 
 Kearny's Last Charge. An E.\citing 
 
 Tale of the Second Bull Run Battle. By 
 
 65 CUSTER AND HIS MEN ; or. The 
 Bold Riders of Virginia. By Marline 
 
 Manly. 
 
 66 THE ARMY DETECTIVE; or, 
 
 Following a War Mystery. A story 
 of Secret Service Life during the Rebellion. 
 Bt Colonel Oram Eti„r. 
 
 67-IN FOR THE WAR ; or, The Forts 
 
 of the Mississippi. A Romance of 
 Thrilling Adventure Afloat and .\,shore. By 
 Ward Edwards, " High Private," T', S. V. 
 
 68~OLD POTOMAC; or, The Retreat 
 from Richmond. A Rattling Tale of 
 the Seven Days' Battles. By Colonel Law- 
 rence Leslie, Staff Officer. 
 
 7 1-OUT WITH KILPATRICK; or. 
 The Dashing Yankee Raiders. 
 
 A Rattling Record of Adventure in the Cav- 
 alry Ser^■icc. By Lieutenant Keene, U. S. A. 
 72 ROUGH AND READY; or. Into 
 the Cannon's Mouth. A story of 
 
 the Carnage at Gettysburg. By A. 1'. Morris. 
 
 73-THE SKY SCOUTS; or, Balloon- 
 
 ingforthe Union. A Lively Tale of 
 Adventure during the Late War. By Colo- 
 nel Oram Eflor. 
 
 74 -DARING MICKEY LOFTUS; or, A 
 Blundering Irish Soldier. A Hu- 
 morous and Thrilling story of the War in 
 the West. By Sergeant Miles McCann. 
 
 75--SKIRMISHER SAM ; or. Fighting 
 with Sherman. A Rousing story of 
 the March from Chattanooga to Atlanta. By 
 .\leck Forbes, " War f^orrespondent." 
 
 76-FORT SUMTER ; or. The Open- 
 ing Guns of War. By Major A. F. 
 Grant. 
 
 77FACING THE FOE; or, The Hun- 
 ted Spy. .-i story of Battle and Advent- 
 ure in Virginia. By Ward Edwards. 
 
 78 VETERAN DAN; or. The Old Hero 
 of Sharpsburg. .\ story of Lee's Inva- 
 3i.>u of Maryland. By Morris Redwing. 
 
 79 WILSON'S CREEK; or, "l Fights 
 
 mit Sigel." By Duke Duncan, of the 
 Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 
 BOUNDER GUARD; or, Raid and 
 Battle in Kentucky. By Corporal 
 
 Hoy 
 
 81 BATTERY BOB; or, Crest and 
 
 Plain at Fredericksburg. By An- 
 thony P. Morris. 
 82-SICNAL SERVICE SAM ; or. The 
 Siege of Knoxville. By Ward Edwards, 
 •' High Private," U. S. V. 
 
 Catalogue Pocket Edition War Library. 
 
 I -THE WAR DETECTIVE. By Major 
 
 A. F. Grant. 
 2-BATTLE SMOKE. By Hugh Allen. 
 3-UNDER THE STARS AND BARS. 
 
 By Mon Myrtle. 
 
 4-OLD FUSEE. By Anthony P. Morris. 
 
 5-LOYAL NED. By Maj. A. F.Grant. 
 
 6 FREDERICKSBURG. By A. Forbes. 
 
 7-BURNT POWDER. By A. P. Morris. 
 
 8-A NIGHT IN DIXIE. By J. M. Merrill. 
 
 9-PITTSBURG LANDING. Duncan. 
 lO-FORT FISHER. By Major A. F. Grant. 
 II-THE SHENANDOAH RIDER. Br 
 
 Anthony P. Morris. 
 12-THE COLOR-BEARER. By Forbes. 
 
 For sale by all Newsdealers in the United States. Subscription price, $5.00 a 
 year; single copy, by mail, ten cents. Address, 
 
 NOVELIST PUBLISHING CO., 
 
 No. 20 Rose Street, New York.