THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY THE WILMER COLLECTION OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS PRESENTED BY RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. * /-^ ^'iLMLKCUXfcCi KJtH fe ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS Digitized by the Internet Arcinive in 2010 witii funding from University of Nortii Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/onwingofoccasionharr ^3 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS Being the Authorised Version of Certain Curious Episodes of the Late Civil War^ Including the Hitherto Suppressed Narrative of the Kidnapping of President Lincoln BY JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO. 1900 Copyright, 1899, 1900, by THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. Copyright, 1900, by DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. Norfaooti ^regs J. S. Cushing & Co. Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. CONTENTS Why the Confederacy Failed In the Order of Providence . The Troubles of Martin Coy The Kidnapping of President Lincoln The Whims of Captain McCarthy I 47 79 121 245 602942 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "The driver put the lash to the horses" . Frontispiece FACING PAGE "'I'll not surrender the paper to you'" . . .15 " Nora, whose interest and curiosity impelled her TO listen at the library door" . . . .Ill "'You never seed one made like a rhinossyhoss '" . 186 va WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED When the surrender of Lee's army brought the Southern Confederacy to a sudden end, in 1865, not one Southerner in a hundred had prepared his mind for the event. It came as a stroke of hght- ning out of a clear sky. But there were a few who thought they knew why the surrender came ; who had anticipated it, in a vague way, a year or more before the event ; and of these few there were two men who regarded the outcome as the result of the direct interposition of Providence, although this belief did not cause them to bear with resignation the cruel wounds which the result inflicted on their hopes and their fortunes. They gave good reasons for their foreknowledge of the collapse — reasons which the attentive reader will doubtless be able to discover for himself when the facts are laid before him. When the deadly game of war began in earnest, the Southern leaders found it necessary to depend almost entirely on blockade-running as the means of communicating with their agents abroad. But this method was a "skittish" one at best. Com- paratively few men could be induced to engage in 3 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS it, and those who were willing were just the men whose services could be better employed in other directions. More than that, the blockade was becoming more real and, consequently, more seri- ous every day. No plan to elude the increasing vigilance of the blockaders could be looked upon as certain or definite. It was a game of hazard, thrilling enough to attract the reckless and the adventurous, but dangerous enough to repel all others. One day with another, the advantages all lay with the grim war-vessels that rocked lazily up and down just outside the Southern harbors. Therefore it was necessary to hit upon some plan more definite and systematic to enable the Confederate Government to communicate with its agents in the North, in Canada, and in Europe. Communication with Washington was easy, as John Omahundro (well known after the war as "Texas Jack") and his companion scouts were demonstrating every day ; but it had also been demonstrated that it was a risky business for any scout or spy to walk out of Washington, day or night, with an incriminating map or drawing or document concealed on his person. Many an innocent countryman, going away from Washing- ton after selling his produce, was suddenly seized and stripped naked, being compelled to remain in this plight while the lining was ripped from his 4 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED coat, if he had one, and from his boots. He might protest tearfully, or threaten loudly ; it was all one to those who were submitting him to this rough investigation. Events of this kind necessarily went far to make the traffic in contraband information across the Potomac as dangerous as running the blockade. Omahundro kept it up from pure love of excite- ment and adventure, and played his cards with such apparent boldness and indifference that the cold eye of suspicion never once glanced in his direction. But he and the few others who followed his initiative were not equal to the necessities of the Confederate Government, and so it was decided that the New York Hotel so popular with South- erners before the war, should be the centre to which information should be sent and from which it should be distributed. I saw an announcement the other day to the effect that the old hotel had been closed to the public, and by this time no doubt its place has been taken by one of those unsightly and ridicu- lous structures which stand for pretty much all that is concrete and real in our commercial envi- ronment. In that event the old building has been demolished and carted away as so much rubbish ; but if that rubbish should find a voice, how many strange stories it could tell ! The flat roof covered, 5 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS and the dull, unattractive walls concealed, a thou- sand mysteries. Now, as Mr. Lincoln used to put it, no Gov- ernment could sleep soundly while such a man as Secretary Stanton was stamping about in the cor- ridors, kicking chairs over, and breaking bell-cords. The Government, consequently, was not asleep. The great Secretary had early knowledge that something suspicious was going on in and around the New York Hotel, and the agents of the secret service, as well as the most expert detectives the world could produce, gave it their undivided atten- tion for many weary months. They followed many a promising clew to its unpretentious entrance, only to see it disappear, or entered its plain and silent corridors only to come away baffled and amazed. For while the Government was wide- awake, the hotel seemed to be asleep. Porters, waiters, bell-boys, even the guests moved about with a noiseless poHteness. To enter the dining room of the hotel was to take refuge from the chaotic rumible and rattle of Broadway ; was to go, in fact, many steps toward the subdued literary atmosphere of Washington Square. The hotel itself, in its own proper person, was supposed to have no knowledge of the interest which the Government was taking in the move- ments of its guests. At any rate, it betrayed no 6 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED irritation, and was neither surprised nor alarmed. It went to bed early, arose at dawn, and lay sprawl- ing in sun or rain day after day, to all appearances blissfully ignorant of the secret inquest which the Government was holding over its corpus. As a matter of fact, however, there was not an hour of the twenty-four when the old hotel was not wide- awake, and fairly quivering with eagerness to take advantage of every instant's carelessness on the part of the cordon of gentlemanly spies and de- tectives : fairly quivering and quaking with eager- ness, and yet as silent, as motionless, and as patient as the animals whose instincts and necessi- ties compel them to catch and kill their prey. No writer has ever hit off this animal characteristic in a phrase. To describe it you need a term that is a hundred times more expressive than wariness or cunning, and that gives a new illumination and a deeper meaning to patience. On the day before Christmias, in the year 1S63, about four o'clock in the afternoon, Captain Fon- taine Flournoy (he was made a Colonel later) alighted from a cab and entered the office of the New York Hotel. He paused in front of the clerk's desk and looked about him, as if in doubt or perplexity, or as if seeking for a familiar face. Though dressed in the garb of a civilian, his figure was still military. 1 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " I was expecting to meet my son," he explained to the smiling clerk. " I think he arrived this morning," said that functionary. " Is that his handwriting ? " He pointed to a signature on the register, " Emory W. Hunt, Montpelier, Vermont." Captain Flournoy gave a grunt of satisfaction, and signed beneath it, "Frederic J. Hunt, U. S. A." A gentlemanly-looking person, promenading about the office, approached the desk and inspected the signature. " Show the gentleman to 322," said the clerk to a porter, and the two went upstairs. The porter, inspecting the tag of the key, saw that it was for room 328. He did not pause to correct the error, but showed the guest to 322, went in, closed the door carefully, and proceeded to usher the Captain through connecting rooms until 328 was reached. In that apartment a half-dozen men were grouped around a table. They appeared to be playing dominoes, and were so intent on the game that only one of them looked up. Meanwhile Captain Flournoy unfastened his valise, took out a bundle of papers, and laid it upon the table. Then he re- arranged the contents of the satchel and was es- corted back to 322, one of the group playfully throwing a kiss after him. In all this he was simply following to the letter WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED the careful instructions that had been given him in Washington with respect to his movements. This was his first experience in work of this kind, and the precautions he saw taken in his behalf, at every turn and crossing, brought home to him in the most vivid way the dangerous character of his mission. If this danger had taken tangible shape, or had assumed actual proportions such as may be seen when a battery of guns spits out shot and shell from its red and smoking mouths, he would have known how to face it ; but to be walking in the dark, to be groping blindly, as it were, with the possibility of a long imprisonment, or even the gal- lows, at the end of the tangle — this was enough to put even his stout nerves to the test. More than this, on his own responsibility he had taken it upon himself to deliver in person to the authorities in Richmond the most important docu- ment he had received at the Federal capital. This document he had detached from the rest, and now had it stored away in the lining of an undergar- ment. It would have been no rehef to Captain Flournoy if he had known that the document had been missed by the War Department not twenty minutes subsequent to its delivery into his hands ; that the worthy official who had it in charge had been promptly clapped into the Old Capital prison; and that he himself had been 9 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS accompanied from Washington by a special detec- tive in whom Secretar)'- Stanton had the utmost confidence. This official had long desired an opportunity to uncover the conspiracy t]iat had its site in the New York Hotel, and he rejoiced now to find that he had run his game to earth in that quarter. His name, which was Alonzo Barnum, will have a familiar sound to those who saw it on the title-page of one of the most interesting volumes published directly after the war. It was entitled, " From Harlem to the Antarctic." Mr. Barnum shook himself as he entered the hotel, and smiled when he contemplated the regis- try-book. "When did Hunt arrive .-' " he asked, as he signed what he called his " travelHng name." " Which one .-' " the clerk asked blandly. "Why, Frederic, of course." " About ten minutes ago. Want a room ? Well, I'm sorry, but we are full to the roof. It often happens close to the holiday season. We may have one vacant before night ; shall I save it for you > " " Certainly," said Mr. Barnum. " Will you send my card up to Hunt .-' " The bland and rosy clerk turned to a tall, digni- fied-looking man who was standing near the coun- lO WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED ter. He was in evening dress, and the garb showed that he was either a gentleman preparing to attend some social function or a dining-room servant. His countenance and his air were those of a man of the world. As a matter of fact, he was the head waiter of the hotel and something more. " McCarthy," said the clerk, " will you shove this into room 322 on your way to the dining room.? The porter will bring an answer." " With pleasure, sir," replied the head waiter. He took the card and marched up the stairway. At room 322 he stopped and knocked, and en- tered without an invitation. "I beg your pardon, sir," he said; "I am the head waiter. A gentleman has sent up his card." "Well, I must shake hands with you, McCarthy. Omahundro has been telling me about you." "What a boy that is!" exclaimed the head waiter. "And so this is Captain Flournoy .-* Upon my word, sir, we are well met. Do you know this man Barnes .'' Amos Barnes, it is. The cabman was telling me that he came on your train from Washington. He ordered his cab to follow yours, and he has no baggage." Captain Flournoy frowned slightly and then smiled. "I'm green in this business," he said; " but my impulse is to take the bull by the horns. ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS I shall invite this man up, and then deal with him as circumstances suggest." " I'll shake your hand once more," exclaimed McCarthy, jubilantly. " Barring Omahundro, you're the only one of the whole crew that didn't want to crawl under the bed on the first trip." He went to the door, called to the porter, who was waiting outside, and said, " Johnny, go down and tell Mr. Barnes that Major Hunt will be glad to see him in 322." When Mr. Barnes entered the room, McCarthy, the head waiter, was standing by the fireplace talking. He was saying, "That boy of yours, Major, has grown since last summer. I saw a good deal of him when I went to Montpelier, and the questions he asked about the city, sir ! 'Twould amaze you. He's uptown at a matin6e. Excuse me, sir" — this to the redoubtable Mr. Barnes, or Barnum. Captain Flournoy was politeness itself. He placed a chair for his visitor and seated himself on the side of the bed in an unceremonious way. The head waiter bowed himself out. There was a moment's hesitation on the part of the detective. He also was to take the bull by the horns. " My friend," he said, squaring himself in his 12 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED chair, " let us deal plainly with each other. Your name is not Hunt, and my name is not Barnes." " In regard to personal matters you will speak only for yourself," said Captain Flournoy with a smile. " Very well. I will speak now of a matter im- personal. During the last few days a document of immense importance has been abstracted from the War Department." " I am well aware of that," remarked Captain Flournoy. " Otherwise I should be elsewhere at this moment." " It contains the outlines of plans that cannot be changed at a moment's notice." "Precisely." " Now that document," said the detective, " is worth to the Government at least five thousand dollars in gold, — much more, perhaps, — certainly not less." Captain Flournoy placed one pillow on another and leaned back in a restful attitude. " If I thought the Government would pay no more than five thousand dollars for the recovery of that doc- ument, I wouldn't move a hand in the matter," he declared. The detective arose from his chair, and Captain Flournoy sat bolt upright on the bed. , 13 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " Now what is the use of beating about the bush ? " asked the detective. " Don't be impertinent, my friend," said the Captain. " You are a Southerner." " Why, so is General Thomas." " I'll bet you ten dollars that the document is in your valise there," declared the detective. " Done ! " said the Captain, reaching out and placing a gold piece on the table. Mr. Barnum did likewise, whereupon Flournoy kicked the valise toward him and pocketed the money. But the detective refused to search the valise. Perhaps he feared some trick. The frankness of his oppo- nent was calculated to baffle him. " I was mistaken," he said, and then hesi- tated. At that moment the door opened and McCarthy stuck his head in. His face was convulsed with laughter. " Excuse me, sir," he said, " but I thought maybe you'd like to see a funny sight. Two Government detectives have cornered a chap in 328, and they're making him unload papers enough to line the hotel pantry. If you want to see 'em, sir, step right this way." He came into the room, unlocked the connecting door, and pointed with his hand. Two rooms away angry voices could be heard in altercation. 14 I'll not surrender the paper to you.' WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED The three went as rapidly as they could, McCar- thy bringing up the rear. In 328 the gas was turned low. In one corner was a man apparently at bay. He had a pistol in his hand. Over against him were two men who had him covered with Colt's revolvers. " I'll not surrender the paper to you," he was saying. " I'll see you dead and die myself first. You have treated me like a dog." " What is it all about .? " asked Mr. Barnum, advancing into the room. The door behind him closed, and the three men lowered their weapons. The man who had been at bay in the corner lounged up to the detective with a grin, saying, "Well, I'll be switched. Colonel, if you ain't a daisy from the county next adjoinin'." " Come, sir ! " cried the head waiter. His voice was harsh and stern, and his attitude was that of a commanding officer. " Come, sir ! this is no time for buffoonery ! " " All right, Cap ; I only allowed for to kiss him for his ma." The head waiter laid his hand on the shoulder of Mr. Alonzo Barnum. " You have no need to be told what has happened. You were doing your duty as you see it ; we are doing ours. It rests with you whether you leave this house with your life." 15 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS McCarthy paused, passed his hand over his face, and the gesture transformed him into a head waiter again. He turned to Captain Flournoy with a deferential smile. "Will you have dinner now, sir? It is ready." It is not necessary to relate here the experience of Mr. Alonzo Barnum. It is sufficient to say that he awoke one morning and found himself on a vessel that a puffy little tug was towing through the bay. In a little while the tug loosed its grip, and the vessel, a Swedish bark, swung slowly around in the current as the wind filled her sails. Slowly city and harbour faded from view, and Mr. Barnum was at the beginning of the long voyage which he has so graphically described in his book. What a pity he did not take it upon himself to begin it by presenting the details of his experi- ences immediately previous to his voyage. Such an introduction would have given it a human as well as a historical interest. Captain Flournoy followed the head waiter down the stairway to the second storyj and so into the dining room. He observed quite a flutter among the waiters when their chief entered. It was as if a military company had been suddenly given the command, " Attention ! " Captain Flournoy was conducted to the first table to the left of the door as he entered. At this i6 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED table he had no company, but before he had fin- ished the first course a guest had seated himself in the chair opposite. This newcomer had hardly given his order for soup and fish before the head waiter approached Captain Flournoy with the most deprecatory air, remarking : — "I'm very sorry, sir ; but the sauterne is out. Is there nothing else on the card to your taste .'' " He held the card out, and across its face Captain Flournoy saw written, " Watch out ! " "No; I'll have a pony of brandy after dinner, but that I can get at the bar," said the Captain. "I'm sorry enough, sir. You could do better than that in Montpelier ; at your house, I mean, sir — not at the hotel. Oh, no — not at the hotel," the head waiter went on, keeping an eye on the men under him, " And yet," said the Captain with a smile, trans- ferring his thoughts to his own home in the far Southern town, " I used to think that the old hotel was a very fine affair." " Give me your wine card," the guest opposite suddenly demanded. "Certainly, sir," replied the head waiter, pro- ducing it instantly. The guest took it, turned it over, and remarked, "Why, I saw you writing on it a while ago." " What I wrote, sir, is in a very blunt hand. I 17 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS simply marked out the pints of sauterne." He pointed to the erasure with the pencil which he had in readiness for the guest's order. Captain Flournoy leaned back in his chair and wondered in what school of experience this hotel servant had learned his adroitness, his tact, and the composure which marked his acts and his utterances. It was all so admirable and yet so simple ; and there was a certain incongruity about it, too, that caused the Captain to laugh inwardly, though outwardly he was gravity itself. If the whole scene had been especially devised to compel the guest opposite to show his hand, it could not have succeeded better. Before the guest could return the card the head waiter had gone to the door to usher in a number of newcomers. When these had been comfortably seated, he returned, took the card and examined it. " No order, sir ? " "A half pint of claret," said the guest, curtly. Evidently his temper was somewhat ruffled. In fact, he was hot, though the weather outside was cold enough to make a pig squeal. He was rest- less and expectant, too, for he moved nervously in his chair, and drummed on the table, and kept his eyes on the entrance. And his anxiety betrayed itself even when his dinner had been served. Several times the head waiter was called to the i8 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED door and had conferences with persons in the cor- ridor. After one of the interviews, he returned with a sHp of paper in his hand, and went about from guest to guest, showing it and apparently making inquiries. Finally he came to Captain Flournoy, still holding the slip of paper. " Do you happen to know, sir, a gentleman by the name of Barnes — Amos Barnes .-* " His voice was modulated to the pitch of respectful anxiety. "Why, I know him casually," Captain Flournoy responded carelessly. " He called at my room an hour ago." " Do you see him in the dining room, sir ? There is great inquiry for him ; he seems to be wanted at the nearest telegraph office." The Captain turned in his chair, putting on his glasses as he did so, and glanced at the occupants of the various tables. " No," he said presently; " I see no one that resembles him." " May I ask you an impertinent question .■' " re- marked the Captain's vis-a-vis, as the head waiter resumed his place near the entrance. " If it is a necessary one — certainly." " Why did Barnes go to your room } " " May I give you a frank reply ?" "I should appreciate it." " Well," said Captain Flournoy, " he called on me because I was a stranger." 19 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " Did he explain his visit ? " " He did ; he suspected that I was a Confederate spy. He explained that a very important docu- ment had been abstracted from one of the depart- ments at Washington. To take the edge off his duty he wagered that the document was in my valise. He laid the wager and lost." " If you will pardon me, sir, I'll say that you don't look like a person who would permit his valise to be searched in this way." "Well, when Mr. Lincoln permits Stanton to send him word that he's a fool, why should the small fry resent the liberties taken with them by those who are doing their duty ? " Captain Flournoy leaned back in his chair and regarded his opponent with a smile. As he did so, the head waiter came forward with a deferential bow. " Two gentlemen at the farther table, sir, request that you join them before you go out," he said. "They have a bottle between them, sir, and it would be as well for some one to share it with them," A peal of gleeful laughter and the clink- ing of glasses justified the suggestion. " I'll be with them in a moment," Flournoy remarked. "Your venison is famous to-day, McCarthy." " So it is, sir ; so it is," assented the head waiter, as he moved away. In a moment he had returned, 20 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED ushering a new guest to the table at which Captain Flournoy sat. This new guest by preference took the chair next to the gentleman who had engaged Flournoy in conversation. " He can't be found," said the newcomer to his neighbor. " Well, he knows what he is about," remarked the other, and then the two put their heads to- gether and engaged in a confidential talk. Flournoy took advantage of this to accept the invitation extended him by the lively occupants of another table at the farther end of the room. He had never seen either of them before, but under the circumstances this made no difference. They made a very noisy demonstration over his arrival, slapped him on the back, and displayed a familiar- ity which at any other time Captain Flournoy would have resented. They told jokes at his expense. " Did you ever hear what Hunt said to his Brig- adier when the latter reprimanded him for not falling back before the rebels at Stony Creek .-*" asked one in a loud voice. " No ! no ! " cried the others ; "let's have it." "Why," said the iirst one, drawing himself up, and screwing a good-humoured countenance into an appearance of severity, " he asked this question, * When was a soldier ever censured for standing his ground ? '" 21 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS There were cries of " Good ! " the sound of en- thusiastic thumping on the table, and other symp- toms of unusual hilarity that carry their own explanation with them. But in the midst of it all, one of Flournoy's unknown friends gave him to understand that the officers and detectives of the Secret Service were stationed in the corridors, and that in all proba- bility he would be placed under arrest the moment he left the dining room. "Well, what is to be will be," remarked the Captain. " McCarthy is coming this way," said the other, " and as he's smiling we'll watch his manoeuvres." In fact, the somewhat stern features of the head waiter were beaming. He snapped his fingers, and a waiter stationed himself behind the Captain's chair. The head waiter snapped his fingers again, and from the kitchen entry came swarming a dozen waiters. They moved about from table to table, crossing and recrossing one another, and creating quite a stir, though the tables were now well emptied of guests. From the front of the dining room this movement must have seemed to be very Hke confusion, but to an experienced eye it was the result of much drilling and practice. What it lacked was formality. " There is a towel by your chair, sir," said the 22 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED head waiter to Flournoy. " When you stoop to pick it up, throw it over your left shoulder, turn your back to the front, allow your head and shoulders to droop, and then go out into the kitchen." There was no difficulty in following these in- structions. The scheme was simplicity itself, so transparent, indeed, that even suspicion would pass it by. Before it was carried out the head waiter had returned to the front, where he stood almost immovable until the activity of the waiters had subsided. In a few minutes the hilarious guests who had called Flournoy to their table came out. " Didn't Hunt say he'd wait for us ? " asked one, as they came out. " No, confound him ! " replied another loudly. " He had to go to the telegraph office. He's nothing but business." " Pity, too," exclaimed a third ; " he'sh fine feller." His voice was somewhat thick. On each side of the door two men were stationed. They made no display of their presence, but stood in the attitude of men who had met by chance and who had something interesting to say to one another. But they narrowly eyed each guest as he came out. Presently the last one, a stout, middle-aged gentleman, a well-known habitu^ of 23 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS the hotel, sauntered forth and took from the long rack the last hat left, and walked down the corri- dor to the stairway in the most amiable frame of mind. He had made a big deal at the gold exchange. He had bought the metal for a rise, and greenbacks had dropped several cents on the dollar. As he disappeared, the head waiter came to the entrance and closed one side of the double door. The four men in the corridor regarded one another with looks of mingled surprise and dismay. One of them — the man who had sat opposite to Cap- tain Flournoy at the table — beckoned to the head waiter. " Are you closing the dining room .? " he asked. " Not entirely, sir. We close the doors at four. It is now three-fifty." The questioner went to the door and looked in. The dining room was entirely empty of guests, and some of the waiters had begun to snip at one another with their towels. " What has become of the gentleman who sat at table with me .-" " he asked with some emphasis. " There were two, sir," replied the head waiter, deferentially. " I mean the one who sat opposite." " Major Hunt .'' Why, he joined a party at 24 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED another table, but the bottle was moving too fast to suit his taste, sir. He had been there not more than ten minutes when he excused himself. I think he went out before you did, sir." "That is impossible," exclaimed the man, vigor- ously. " I am simply giving you my impression, sir," rejoined the head waiter, politely. "Why, I'll swear — " the man began excit- edly. Then, as if remembering himself, he paused and stared helplessly. " It seems unnatural, sir, that you shouldn't see him come out if you were standing here." The extreme suavity and simplicity of the head waiter were in perfect keeping with his position. " He left me a message for his son who is here. Says he, 'Mack' — he always calls me Mack, sir — * Mack,' says he, ' when the lad comes in tell him not to be uneasy if I fail to come in to-night. Tell him,' says he, ' that I'm engaged on some important Government business, and tell him to meet me at the custom-house at ten to-morrow morning.' It's a pity you didn't make an engage- ment with him, sir, if you're obliged to see him. He's a fine man, a fine man." With that he turned and went into the dining room. In a few minutes the door was closed and locked, but the four men in the corridor still stared 25 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS at one another. Three of them were amazed, the fourth seemed to be amused. " Well, what did I tell you } " he asked. " I've made up my mind to arrest the head waiter," said the one who had questioned McCarthy. " This isn't Washington," said the amused one. " Arrest him and in ten minutes you'll have an Irish riot on your hands in which nobody woi^ld be hurt but ourselves. Our orders are plain on that score. We can't afford to stir up the popula- tion. I suggest a cocktail all around. It will give us strength to admit that we are mere bunglers by the side of Barnum." " I believe you," acquiesced another. " He has been here, got what he came for, and is by this time on his way to Washington." It was this belief that shed a faint gleam of light over a prospect otherwise gloomy. Meanwhile, when Captain Flournoy went through the swinging doors of the dining room and found himself in the entryway leading to the kitchen, he was in a quandary as to his further movements. But every step he took seemed to have been foreseen and provided for. He knew that he had talked too freely to the guest who sat at his table, but how could this emergency have been forestalled .■' He had left his hat on the rack or shelf in the front of the dining room ; 26 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED a waiter presented it to him the moment he slipped into the entryway. He was in doubt what course to pursue ; an elderly gentleman beckoned to him with a smile. Following this venerable guide, Flournoy went down a short flight of stairs and into an apartment which he recognised as the drying room of the laundry. Thence he went into a narrow corridor, ascended three flights of stairs, and was ushered into the apartment which had served as a trap for Mr. Barnum, or, as he chose to call himself, Mr. Amos Barnes. Some changes had been m.ade. Two hours ago the room was bare but for a few chairs and a table, but now there was a bed in the corner, a lounge, and a comfortable-looking rocker. The table held pens, ink, and writing-paper, and a brisk fire was burning in the grate. Everything had a comfort- able and cosey appearance. After the strain under which he had been, it was not difficult for Captain Flournoy to adapt himself to such circumstances. He drew the rocker before the fire and gave himself up to reflections which, whether pleasing or not, were of a character to engross his mind so completely that he failed to hear the door swing open. Presently a hand was laid on his shoulder and he came back to earth with a start. The head waiter stood over him smiling. 27 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " Have a chair, my friend," said Flournoy. " You have placed me under great obligations." "We have had a very close shave, and that's a fact," remarked McCarthy, "but you are under no obligations to me. It's all in the way of duty." The air, the attitude of an upper servant had vanished completely, and Flournoy was experi- enced enough to know that he was talking to a man of the world capable of commanding men. " I am a head waiter for precisely the same reason that you are a — " " Spy .-* " suggested Flournoy, as the other hesi- tated. " No ; there's a flavour to that word that doesn't suit my taste. Let's call it scout, or inspector, or better still military attach^." " I am simply a messenger," said Flournoy, modestly. " It is your first experience, I imagine," sug- gested McCarthy. " You are a soldier, and you don't relish the undertaking." " That is the truth," Flournoy assented. " Well, I was a Captain in the Navy," explained McCarthy, " and now I am — what you see me." "You are still a Captain of the Navy," said Flournoy ; " the house is your ship, and the dining room is your quarter-deck." McCarthy laughed gleefully. " I have had 28 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED the same conceit — oh, hundreds of times!" he cried. They talked a long time, touching on a great variety of topics, and found themselves in hearty agreement more often than not. Finally they drifted back to the matter in hand, and Flournoy confided to McCarthy that one of the papers with which he had been intrusted was of so much impor- tance that he had decided to deliver it in person. "Should this document reach Richmond by the first of February," he said, "the Federal Army will be captured, Washington will fall, and the war will be over by the first of May." "Are you sure.-'" McCarthy inquired. " Quite sure," the other assented. At this McCarthy ceased to ask questions or to make comments, but sat for a long time gazing in the fire. Flournoy forbore to interrupt his reflec- tions, and the most absolute silence reigned in the room. Presently McCarthy straightened himself in his chair. "The documents you left with the com- mittee this afternoon will reach Richmond in five days," he remarked somewhat dryly. "They start at midnight." This seemed to be so much in the nature of a suggestion that Flournoy was moved to ask his advice. 29 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " Shall I include this document with the other papers ? " he inquired earnestly. McCarthy shook his head slowly and indeci- sively. "It's a serious question," he said. "Ten minutes ago, on an impulse, I should have said send it with the rest by all means — by all means ; but now — Do you know," he went on, with great earnestness, " I am getting to be superstitious about this war. Look at it for yourself." He waved his hand as if calling attention to a pano- rama spread out on the walls of the room. " First, there is Mr. Lincoln. He went to Washington a country boor. What is he now ? Why, he manages the politicians, the officials, — the whole lot, — precisely as a chess-player manages his pieces, and he never makes a mistake. Doesn't that seem queer ? " Captain Flournoy, gazing in the glowing grate, nodded his head. Some such idea had already crossed his mind. "Then there's the first Manassas — Bull Run," McCarthy went on. " Does it seem natural that a victorious army which had utterly routed its enemy would fail to pursue the advantage? Is it according to human nature ? " Again Flournoy nodded. " Finally, take into consideration the case of the Merrtmac," continued McCarthy. " She had 30 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED barely begun to perform the work she was cut out to do when around th^ corner came the Monitor, a match and more than a match for her. Does that look like an accident, or even a coinci- dence ? " At this Captain Flournoy turned in his chair and regarded his companion with a very grave countenance. "Do you know," remarked McCarthy, "that I had everything arranged to take charge of the Merrimac ? It was a very great disappointment to me when it was found that she couldn't be manoeuvred to advantage." "You think, then, that Providence — " Flour- noy hesitated to speak the words in his mind. "Judge for yourself. You have the facts. I could mention other circumstances, but these three stand out. As an old friend of mine used to say, they toot out like pot-legs." " But if you think Providence has a hand in the matter, why call yourself superstitious ^ " Flournoy inquired. " 'Twas a convenient way of introducing what I had to say," replied McCarthy. ^ Silence fell on the two for a time. Finally McCarthy resumed the subject. " You say this document will enable the Confederates to win the day and put an end to the war .'' " 31 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS " I do," Flournoy insisted ; " I believe so sin- cerely. It embodies plans that cannot possibly be altered because the success of the Federals depends upon them, and it will enable General Lee and the Confederate authorities to checkmate every move made by our enemies on land from now on. Do you know that in the early spring Grant is to be given command of all the Federal forces ? That is the least important information the document contains."* " A truly comprehensive paper," remarked McCarthy gravely. " It falls directly in the category of Lincoln, Manassas, and the Merri- niac, and we shall see what we shall see." "You are certain the rest of the papers will reach Richmond safely .-' " Flournoy asked. " Those you turned over to the committee } As certain as that I am sitting here." " Then let us place this other document with them," suggested Flournoy. " If you think it best, certainly," said McCarthy with alacrity. Flournoy reflected a moment. " No ; I'll carry out my first impulse," he declared. He rose and paced across the room once or twice. Then he turned suddenly to McCarthy. " Shall we toss a penny ? " he asked. " No ! no ! " cried the other, with a protesting 32 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED gesture. " It is folly to match chance against Providence." "Then the matter is settled," said Flournoy, decisively. " It was settled long ago," McCarthy remarked solemnly. The Southern soldier looked hard at his com- panion, trying to find in his countenance an inter- pretation of his remark. But McCarthy's face was almost grim in its impassiveness. He arose as Flournoy resumed his seat. "You will have your supper here, and your breakfast also. To-morrow morning you may be able to start on your journey. Do you go west or north ? Ah, west ; but it is a long way round. Did you ever try the Cumberland route } Omahundro would know which is the easiest." " He advised the western route because I am familiar with it," explained Flournoy. McCarthy bowed, and in doing so became the head waiter again. The deferential smile flickered about his stern mouth, and then flared up, as it were, changing all the lines of the face; and the straight and stalwart shoulders stooped forward a little so that humility might seat itself in the saddle. " I must be going about my duties, sir," he said. " I may call to bid you good night. If I should 33 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS not, may your dreams be pleasant." He bowed himself out, and Flournoy sat wondering at the fortunes of war and the curious demands of duty which had made a spy of him and a head waiter of Lawrence McCarthy. He mused over the matter until he fell asleep in his chair, where he nodded comfortably until a waiter touched him on the arm and informed him his supper was served. " Did you think I had company ? " Flournoy asked. "You've brought enough for Company B of the Third Georgia." " 'Tis a sayin', sir, that travel sharpens the appetite," said the waiter, smiling brightly. Then, "The Third Georgia is Colonel Nisbet's ridgment; 'tis in Ranse Wright's brigade. To be sure, I know 'em well, sir. Should ye be goin' to Augusty, an' chance to see James Nagle, kindly tell 'im ye've seen Terence an' he's doin' well. He's me father, sir, an' he thinks I'm in Elmiry prison." " How did you get out ? Did you take the oath ? " " Bless ye, sir, 'twas too strong for me stomach. I'll never tell ye, sir, whether I escaped by acci- dent or design. 'Twas this way, sir. I was in the hospital, sir, an' whin I got stronger. Father Rafferty, seein' my need of trousers, brought me a pair of blue ones. The next day he comes in a 34 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED barouche along with an officer. He says to me, ' Terence, here's a coat to go with the trousers,' says he. ' Ye see the man drivin' the barouche ? ' says he. 'Well,' says he, 'whin I go inside, he'll fall down an' have a fit,' says he, * an' do ye be ready,' he says, ' to hold the horses whiles I sind out the doctor,' he says. Well, sir, 'twas like a theatre advertisement. Down comes the man with a fit, an' if he had one spasm, he had forty. The horses were for edging away, sir, but I caught 'em an' helt 'em. 'Take 'im inside,' says the officer, * an' 'tend to 'im,' he says, ' an' do ye, me man,' he says to me, 'get up there an' drive me back to quarters,' he says. ' How about Father Rafferty i" I says. ' Oh, as f er that,' he says, ' he'll be took with a fever if son Terence turns out to be a driv- elin' idjut,' he says. I looked at 'im hard, sir, an' he looked at me. Says he, ' D ye, will ye drive on ? ' It was Captain McCarthy, sir." Flournoy laughed, though he would have found it difficult to explain why. The reason doubtless was that such boldness and simplicity seemed so foreign to our complex civilization that they struck the note of incongruity. "He is a queer man," he remarked. "Queer, sir.?" said the waiter. "Oh, no, sir; not queer. He's simple as a little child. He's a grand man, sir — nothin' less than that." There 35 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS was no doubt of Terence Nagle's enthusiastic loyalty to his employer. Supper was duly despatched, the waiter enliven- ing the meal with many anecdotes of his own expe- rience in the Confederate Army and in prison. Flournoy found that they had many acquaintances in common, and more than once when Terence was for returning to the dining room, the guest found various excuses for detaining him. But he went at last, after replenishing the fire, and Captain Flournoy sat long before it, wonder- ing over the chain of circumstances by which he had been dragged, rather than led, into his present position. He took no thought of time, and was surprised when he heard a clock in a distant room strike eleven. By the time the sound had died away a gentle tap at the door attracted his atten- tion, and, following his invitation, Terence Nagle came in, bearing a waiter on which was a bowl, a silver ladle, and three glasses. In another moment the head waiter came in. He had doffed his even- ing dress, the badge of his position, and with it dropped the air and manner he assumed in the dining room. He was now himself, the educated Irishman, a fine specimen of a class that can be matched in few of the nations of the earth. " Do you know the day } " he asked when, obey- ing Flournoy's gesture, he seated himself. 36 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED " Yes," replied the Southerner, "it is Christmas Eve." "And hard upon Christmas," said McCarthy. "I hope that our Lord who is risen will have mercy upon us all, and help us to carry out all our plans that are not contrary to His own." " Amen ! " responded Flournoy. It was like grace before meat, only simpler and less formal. " Remembering the day, and the custom we have at the South," McCarthy explained, " I have taken the liberty of brewing you a bowl of nog. 'Twill be a reminder of old times, if nothing else." Flournoy's face brightened. " My friend, you seem to think of everything," he declared. " The very flavour of it will carry me straight home." " 'Twas no thought of mine. I have a little lass who comes to fetch me my toggery in the after- noons. I was telling her of the Southern gentle- man so far from home, and her eyes filled with tears, and says she, ' Dada, darling, why not make the gentleman a bowl of nog for his Christmas gift } ' It is wonderful how thoughtful the women- folk are, and how tender-hearted. I'll fill your glass, sir." "And yours," insisted, Flournoy. "To be sure," cried McCarthy, "and one for my lieutenant, Terence Nagle. See the lad blush! You'd think he was a girl by the way he reddens. 37 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS Yet with half a dozen men like him I could meet a company of regulars." " He's overdoin' it, sir ! " Terence protested ; " he's overdoin' it." The lad was so overcome he dropped a glass on the floor, but the carpet saved it. " Were you ever drunk ? " McCarthy asked, after they had made away with the nog. The inquiry was bluntly put, and Flournoy looked hard at his companion. "Yes; once when I was a youngster of fourteen. It was at a corn-shucking," he replied. " Well, recall your feelings and actions if you can. To-morrow morning you must not only be drunk — you must be very drunk." " I don't understand," said Flournoy. " To-morrow morning a cabman will be waiting for a fare on the other side of the street, opposite this window. The blinds must be opened early, but some one will attend to that. If the sun is shining, the cabman will take out his watch. The hour will be anywhere from nine to ten. The sun will shine on the face of his watch, and the reflec- tion will be thrown on the wall of your room. If the sun is obscured, you will hear a policeman's rattle. Then your spree must begin. And make it a jolly one. Here is a small pistol loaded with blank cartridges. Use it at your discretion. At 38 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED the head of the stairs you will fall into the arms of a big policeman, who will be joined by another. Take no offence if they hustle you. A bruise or two won't hurt you. It is all for the good of the cause." "But—" " It's our only chance. I can see that you have a temper ; don't lose it with our friends, the police- men. They will have a very critical crowd to play to, and must play as if they meant business. I must bid you good night." " One moment," said Flournoy. He drew from his pocket a five-dollar gold piece and laid it on the table. McCarthy drew back, his face flushing. " What is that for .-' " he asked sternly. " It is a Christmas gift for your daughter." " For Nora! " cried the other ; " why, she'll be the happiest lass in the town ! " His eyes sparkled and his whole manner changed. " This must be my real good night," he went on. " I have work to do and you will need rest." He went out, fol- lowed by Terence. Captain Flournoy was up betimes, his plantation habits following him wherever he went. But he was not a man on whose hands time hung heavily. Just now one of his windows commanded a view of about twenty feet of Broadway, and he watched, 39 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS with more interest than usual, the fluctuating stream of humanity that flowed through it. When he grew tired of that panorama, he had his own thoughts for company, and the thoughts that are bred by a cheerful disposition are the best of companions. And then he had in his pocket a copy of Virgil. Under such circumstances only a man with a bad conscience could be either lonely or gloomy. Presently his breakfast came, and by the time Terence had cleared away the fragments nine o'clock had struck, and the sky, which had been overcast in the early morning hours, was clear. At nine, too, a closed cab came leisurely from the direction of Washington Square and took up its position in the side street opposite the ladies' entrance of the hotel. From behind the curtains Flournoy watched the driver closely, and never once did the man give so much as a side glance at the upper windows of the hotel. His curiosity seemed to be dead. For a while he read a news- paper, nor did he cease from reading when a man, passing quickly by, pitched a small valise into the cab. But presently the paper palled on him, and he folded it neatly and tucked it away under the cushion. Then he looked at the sun, and, as if to verify the time of day, pulled out his watch and sprung the case open. The reflection from the crystal, or from the burnished case, flashed through 40 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED Flournoy's window, and danced upon the wall, once, twice, thrice. Now was the time to act, and act promptly, but Flournoy paused and drew a long breath. The whole business seemed to be child's play. He seized his overcoat by one sleeve, slung it over his shoulder, threw open the door, gave a fox-hunter's view-halloo, — the same that is called the "rebel yell," — fired two blank cartridges, and went stag- gering blindly along the corridor, crying, " There 'e goes ! there 'e goes ! I'll shoot 'im. Out o' the way an' lemme shoot 'im ! " At the head of the stairs a policeman loomed up as big as a giant. " Come out o' this, ye maun- derin' divil! " he cried. " They tell me ye've been kapin' the house awake the livelong night. Be aisy, or I'll twist yure dommed neck, ye dribblin' idjit ! " " Fling 'im down to me, Tim, while I whale the jimmies out av 'im. 'Tis the second time the howlin' divil has broke loose the fortnight." This from the policeman at the foot of the stairs. Now, while these policemen were talking, they were also acting. They cuffed Flournoy about between them, and knocked and dragged and bun- dled him along with a zeal that was almost unbear- able. By the time they reached the sidewalk he was limp and exhausted, but he did not fail to 41 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS notice that Terence Nagle was prominent in the considerable crowd collected there. " Take 'im to the hospital, Tim ; 'tis the only way to clear the jimmies from his head." " The hospital ! " cried Terence Nagle ; " an' if he was a poor man, he'd be hauled to the station an' be left there ! " " Ain't it the truth ! " exclaimed a keen-faced, shabby-looking man. " Cheese it ! " cried the policeman who had been left behind ; " cheese it an' move on, ivery livin' sowl av ye ! " By this time the cab was rattling away up Fifth Avenue. "You fellows have heavy hands," said Flournoy to his companion when he had pulled himself together. " Faith, we had to limber ye up. Cap. Why, ye don't know the A B C av a jag. Whin ye landed me one in the jaw, I says to meself, ' Bedad, av he goes down hittin' straight an' hard like this, he'll be nabbed be thim keenies at the dure,' says I, an' I tipped the wink to Moike an' we doubled ye up same ez jinin' the Improved Order av Red Min, sorr. All we needed to give the job reg'larity, sorr, was the pile-driver." At Fortieth Street the cab halted, the policeman shook hands with Flournoy and got out, and in a very short time thereafter the latter found himself 42 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED at the passenger station of the New York Central. He descended from the cab, and was about to pay the fare when the cabman lifted his hat with " Good luck to you, sir," toucned up his horse and went whirling away. Two weeks afterward, Captain Flournoy, with a companion, a scout who knew the country well, was feeling his way southward through West Vir- ginia. They had good horses, but travelled mainly at night. As they drew near the Virginia line, Flournoy's uneasiness became perceptible. The important document he carried became a burden almost intolerable to him, whereas the scout, one James Kirkpatrick, grew gayer and gayer with each passing hour. While Flournoy was riding gloomily along, Kirkpatrick was whistling or sing- ing softly all the lilting tunes he knew. One night, in a heavily wooded valley, the wayfarers scented danger. They heard a horse whinnying, the clinking of spurs, and the rattling of sabres or carbines. " It's the Yanks," said Kirkpatrick. " You know this country, you say ? " queried Flournoy. " Like a book," replied the other. " Well, here is a paper as important to the Con- federacy as Lee's army. Stow it in an inner pocket, and if anything should happen to me, do 43 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS you ride right on to Richmond. You have the fate of your country in your hands." " Phew ! " whistled Kirkpatrick softly. In- stantly a voice cried " Halt ! " " Do you save yourself," said Flournoy, and spurred forward, while Kirkpatrick turned to the left, struck a footpath, and went clattering away in the gloom. Captain Flournoy spurred for- ward and found himself in the arms of the Confederate videttes. In a moment he heard shots as of skirmishers firing and falling back. In the distance they heard the drums beating to arms. "Your friend has stampeded a whole Yankee brigade," remarked one of the videttes. But this was a mistake. Kirkpatrick was lying dead not a mile away, killed by a stray bullet. It was his horse running wild that disturbed the Fed- eral camp. Next morning the Federals advanced, feeling their way cautiously. One of their skirmishers, a German, found Kirkpatrick stark and stiff. He appropriated the dead man's overcoat, searched his pockets for valuables, and found the document that was to decide the fate of the Confederacy. He looked at it critically, crumpled it in his hand, and made as if to throw it away. A second thought caused him to cram it in one of his 44 WHY THE CONFEDERACY FAILED pockets, where it remained until he needed some- thing with which to light his pipe. On the fourth of the following March Grant was made General-in-Chief of the land forces of the United States, and the programme set forth in the paper — Grant's move on Virginia and Sherman's march to the sea — was promptly begun and car- ried out. 45 IN THE ORDER OF PROVI- DENCE IN THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE It is impossible for the present generation to realise the nature and extent of the wound in- flicted on the Southern people of that day by the surrender of Lee's army in 1865 ; and assuredly it is beyond description. No historian will ever be able to explain it or make its characteristics manifest to the modern mind. It is fortunate, perhaps, that this is so. A population can go through such an experience but once in its his- tory. No disaster that might overtake us now could match that which marked the defeat and dissolution of the Confederate Army. And the reason lies on the surface : it is an experience that makes provision against itself. On the tender hand unused to labour a blister is succeeded by a callous, and so it is with the heart. Sensibilities wounded and torn can never again respond as sharply and as keenly to the pangs of misfortune and disappointment. One journey through the furnace of despair gives a long vacation to those quaHties that are as rare and as fine as the rain- bow sheen on a piece of silk — as restless and as vivid. And there is something grievous and un- 49 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS comfortable in the consolation that time offers, for qualities thus consumed will hardly be missed save by those who have been witnesses to the beauty and perfection of their play, and who knew their import. The miracle of dissolution happened. The earthquake arose, shook itself, yawned and fell back into its abyss, carrying with it the whole structure and fabric of a newly formed govern- ment and the dearest hopes of those who had con- tributed to its upbuilding. Hundreds of men and women never recovered from the shock. .Some of them pined away and died ; others lived on, as it were, in a dream ; while still others, cast in an adventurous mould, betook themselves into self- imposed exile. Among these exiles was Colonel Fontaine Flour- noy, who had risked his life on many fields and in divers ways in behalf of the Confederacy. Some of the undertakings in which he engaged were such as most men shrank from, but he, as his name implied, came from a family given over to valorous deeds and romantic adventures ; for this name comes down from the days of chivalry, when the Knight of the Black Flower {Fletir Noire) made his 7iom de guerre so famous that it usurped the place of the family surname. Taking all these things into consideration, it is so IN THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE small wonder that Colonel Flournoy considered himself an exile and a wanderer — a man without a country — from the moment that Lee surren- dered his army. He was an officer in the Confed- erate Army on detached service. Two weeks before the surrender he was in New York City ; a week afterward he was piloting the remnants of the Confederate Government southward, and lend- ing active assistance in guarding the treasure which was carried along with it. At Washington, in Wilkes County, Georgia, this treasure was divided, and an amount sufficiently large fell to Colonel Flournoy's share to enable him to carry out his purposes. He pushed on to Middle Georgia, where his home was ; made provi- sion for the wants of his wife and son, a lad of six- teen ; bade them good-by, and, with General Toombs for a companion, made his way to the Florida coast. Here the two Confederates parted company. Toombs went to Europe, while Flournoy went to Cuba, and from that island found his way to South America. His adventures in those queer republics, seeth- ing with revolutions, rebellions, and riots, were numerous enough to fill a book of romance ; but it is sufficient to say that in the course of five years he returned home with a fortune consider- ably larger than the one which war had taken 51 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS from him. He returned, bent on enjoying a life of elegant ease after his turbulent career. But the best part of his vigour was spent. To sustain himself in the Civil War and in the South Ameri- can troubles, where he had seated and unseated more than one government, he had been com- pelled to employ the store of energy that should have been reserved for old age to draw upon. He had enjoyed the companionship of his family and his friends not more than a year when he fell a victim to a disease, the seeds of which he had brought with him from the tropical swamps and jungles where his later campaigns had carried him. It need not be said that the death of Colonel Flournoy occasioned deep grief to all who knew him. Where his personal friendship had not an opportunity to go his gentle courtesy went, and even those who had been made the object of one of his casual salutations regarded him thereafter as something more than an acquaintance. His obsequies were very imposing by reason of the multitude that gathered together to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of the most nota- ble private citizen of Middle Georgia. So far as Colonel Flournoy's immediate neigh- bours were concerned, there was one disclosure fol- lowing hard upon the heels of the funeral discourse 52 IN THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE (delivered with such genuine feehng and simple eloquence by Rev. Sampson White) that for a time stopped the mouth of friendly reminiscence and put curiosity on tiptoe. It had been the Colonel's wish that, after all had been said over his remains that grief could suggest or friendship devise, his last will and testament should be opened and read in the presence of his neighbours before they had dispersed. It was a whim, perhaps, but it was of a piece with the openness and candour of the man. The duty of reading the will devolved on Judge Vardeman, a close friend of the family, and his sonorous voice rang out even more effectively than had the soft and persuasive tones of Rev. Sampson White, so much so that Mrs. Betsey Nicklin con- tended as long as she lived that it would have been better and more helpful in every way if the Judge had preached the sermon, leaving the preacher to read the legal document. Colonel Flournoy was very rich, and it was known beforehand that he intended to add to the endowments of various insti- tutions, and to leave legacies to a number of his friends, but the bequest which gave a fillip to curi- osity and left a large field in which gossip and inquisitiveness might play was as follows : — " And remembering with constant and increas- ing affection the services rendered to me person- ally and to the sacred cause in which the Southern 53 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS people had embarked by my dear friend, Lawrence McCarthy, who, from May i, 1862, to April 30, 1865, acted as head waiter of the New York Hotel in New York City, I do hereby will, devise, and bequeath to him, his heirs and assigns forever, the house and lot known as the Pearson Place and the plantation lying contiguous thereto, the said lot and contiguous plantation being fully described in the deeds marked F and G ; and in addition to this bequest and devisement I do hereby make it the duty of my executors hereinafter named to pay into the hands of the aforesaid Lawrence McCar- thy, or his surviving heirs if he have any, the sum of ten thousand ($10,000) dollars in cash, the same to be paid on the eve of the Christmas next ensu- ing after my death. And I hereby make it the duty of my son, Francis Flournoy, to seek out the aforesaid Lawrence McCarthy, or his heirs if he be dead, and I lay it upon him as a solemn charge to be diligent and zealous in all ways in carrying out the terms of this clause of my last will and testa- ment ; all incurred expenses to be paid equally out of each share of my estate save that which is herein set apart for the benefit and behoof of the said Law- rence McCarthy, his heirs and assigns." Now, assuredly, here was matter for gossip to busy itself about, for the Pearson Place was marked by one of the most elaborate and best- 54 IN THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE preserved specimens of colonial architecture to be found " south of the Jeems River," as the saying is. The site was commanding, and, rising two and a half stories, the old structure seemed to take a certain grandeur from its surroundings. The plantation attached to it and made part of the bequest comprised not less than four hundred acres of the richest land in a county noted for the fertility of its soil. And this historic old house and this splendid plantation were to fall into the hands of a total stranger — a man whom Rockville had never heard of, and a Yankee at that ; not only a Yankee, but a hotel waiter ! Mrs. Betsey Nickhn, who was the mouthpiece of a great many people less outspoken than she, could make neither head nor tail to this devise- ment. She said as much to her husband when the two had returned home from the funeral. " I've been knowin' Fountain Flournoy more'n forty year," she said, "and if anybody had 'a' up and told me that he'd wind up his business wi' sech doin's as that I'd 'a' felt like knockin' 'em down. But I'm not a bit surprised — not a bit. There never was a better man, I'll say that much ; but Fountain was a man, and there never was a man that didn't have a screw loose some'rs. Some are too lazy to show it, and some die before they 55 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS git a chance; but if they ain't shiftless and live long enough, they'll show a weak spot." " Some on 'em show it when they git married," said Mr. Nicklin. "You'd 'a' show'd it if I'd 'a' let you," responded Mrs. Betsey. " You know as well as I do, Wesley, that if it hadn't 'a' been for me you'd 'a' married old Moll Coy, and what would you 'a' looked like now ? " " Well, I ain't so mighty certain, Betsey, that I look one whit better than Martin Coy. I met 'im t'other night roamin' about in the moonlight, and whilst he wouldn't speak when spoken to, I don't know but what he looked every bit and grain as good as arry other man in the county. He had on his Sunday duds, for one thing." "You didn't tell me about it, Wesley," Mrs. Nicklin declared with some asperity. "You didn't ax me to," her spouse responded. She gave him what she called a " look " ; it was one of her methods of crushing her opponents. Mr. Nicklin didn't wither as he might have been expected to do. One reason was that he was a man past middle age ; another reason was that he was at that moment engaged in grinding some dry tobacco cuttings between the hard palms of his strong hands to fit them for service in his pipe. " Where did you see him, Wesley .'' " Mrs. Nick- lin inquired. Her tone was imperative, as it S6 IN THE ORDER Of^ PROVIDENCE always was when she desired to attract her hus- band's undivided attention. " See who, Betsey ? Oh — Martin Coy ; why, I seed 'im comin' out'n Colonel Flournoy's front gate. 'Twas the night the Colonel died." " You reckon he killed him .? He's none too good to do it," declared Mrs. Nicklin. Her husband turned upon her with amazement in his face. "Why, Betsey!" he declared, "you'll let your tongue run on till you have a He-bill took out agin' you ; and when that's done, don't you run to me for to bail you out. No; I'll let the law take its course." " Tipsy, topsy, toddle ; dolly broke its noddle ! " cried Mrs. NickHn, sarcastically. "When did I ever run to you to get me out of trouble ? " " Why, when you sent me word that you had set your cap for me," replied Mr. Nicklin, promptly. Whereupon his wife indulged in a fit of hearty laughter, remarking, " If there ever was a goose in this world, I got him when I got you." " You've tried hard to be the gander, Betsey," said Mr. Nicklin, as he lit his pipe and began to smoke with an air of supreme contentment. This couple seemed to be engaged in a chronic quarrel from year's end to year's end, and yet they 57 ON THE WING OF OCCASIONS had never had a serious misunderstanding, and were happy in each other's company. "Well," said Mrs. Nicklin,. trying hard to snap thumb and finger, " I wouldn't give that for old Martin Coy and all the lie-bills he could fetch in again' me betwixt Christmas and Christmas ; but I'd give a purty to know how come Fountain Flournoy to have sech a mortal weakness for a Yankee, and a hotel waiter at that. That's what pesters me." To tell the truth, it pestered a good many people in Middle Georgia when they heard of it ; but when young Francis Flournoy, carrying out the duty laid upon him by his father's will, had found Lawrence McCarthy in Brooklyn, where he was living with his daughter Nora in very modest circumstances, and had installed this interesting family in their new home, the public mind of the neighbourhood was no longer pestered about it. The first to call was Judge Vardeman. The Judge's driver said afterward that " Marse Walton seed de yuther man walkin' 'bout un' de trees an' he went whar he wuz, an' den he fotch a yell, an' dey bofe grab one anudder 'roun' de neck, an' dar dey had it. Right at fust I 'low'd dey wuz fightin', an' I come mighty nigh hollerin' fer some- body ter run an' part um ; but I soon seed dey was howdyin'. An' sech howdyin' ! Man, suh ! S8 IN THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE ' 'twuz ez de meetin' er two sisters arter so long a time." And, in fact, the two men had been comrades and messmates in the earliest campaigns in the West. In following Forrest out of Fort Donelson on the night of February 15, 1862, they became separated, and never met again until Judge Varde- man, moved more by curiosity than by neighbourly feelings, called to pay his respects to the new owner of the Pearson Place. "Why, Larry ! " he cried, still keeping his hand on his old comrade's shoulder, " it's all over the county that you're a hotel waiter, and I came over to see how a waiter would look as a landed pro- prietor. My dear friend, if you only knew how glad I am to see you after all these years ! " " There's no need to say it, Walton ; I judge your feelings by my own. For my part, I can truly say that God is merciful as well as bountiful. Yonder is Nora, my little girl ; she'll be glad to see her father's old friend." He called, and Nora came running ; and, whether he was influenced by his surroundings or whether his eyes told him the simple truth. Judge Varde- man thought he never had seen as charming a girl as Nora McCarthy. Her hair was glossy black, her eyes were