Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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YORKVI'T EiQUIRER ^ lewis m. grist, froprtetww" (Independent Jamilt; Jteuapaper: ^ the promotion of the folitiqal, social, S^cjriailtural and <fommer,tial Jntereste of the ^ontlt. {terms?$2.00 a year in advance. VOL. 41. ff. YORKYILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1895. ISTO. 6. A SEQUEL TO C BY CAPT. F. A. MIT( Copyrighted, 18W by American Press Asso SYNOPSIS OF CHATTANOOGA. Private Mark Maynard is sentbyGen eral-Thomas from the Union camps in central Tennessee scouting toward Chattanooga and barely escapes capture by Confederates through the cunning of a native girl?Souri Slack. He gets a suit of citizen's clothes at Slack's, and Jakey Slack, a lad of 13, goes with Jiim to help disguise his character. Souri gives Mark a silk handkerchief as a memento. Mark and the boy beg supper and lodg. ing at the house of Mrs. Fain, a Southern woman married to a Northern man, who ..is absent in tho Union lines. Captain Fitz Hugh, C. S. A., a suitor oi Laura f ain s, arops 111 uuu suspects mui iuc strangers may be Union spies; but Laura I wards offinvestigation, and the travelers ?resume their journey undisturbed. Mark reaches Chattanooga, is captured i and condemned as a spy. Jakey sends Souri's silk handkerchief home by friendly Negroes and Souri takes j a hint, hastens to Chattanooga and helps j Mark to escape jail. Mark reaches the Fains' house and is | protected by Laura. Tho remaining chapters show how Laura decides between Captain Fitz Hugh and Murk, compelling tho Confederate I to shield his Yankee rival. Mark travels toward the Union lines with Mrs. Fain and Laura, is recaptured and again spared by Captain Fitz Hugh, marries bis fair protector, reaches the Union camp with valuable information about the enemy and is rewarded for his exploit by appointment as an officer on the staff of General Thomas. CHAPTER L OPENING OF A CAMPAIGN. The Army of the Cumberland is awakening. For months its SO miles of torpid length have been marked by dusters of white tents like the rings of a gigantic anaconda. But now there is an arousing from its long period of lethargy. The tents are being struck, the men are stuffing knapsacks, rolling i blankets or swallowing from tin cups a i last draft of invigorating coffee. Wagons i are being loaded with all kinds of camp j equipage ? tents, camp cots, cooking ; utensils, tho pine tables and army desks of the staff departments. Here orderlies are holding horses, waiting their riders, j ana thero men are strapping blankets or J nnnohoR hehind Raddles or cramming bacon and "hard tack" into haversacks while strikers empty the contents of the demijohn into canteens. Each regiment as soon as formed moves ont into the road, tbe whole taking np the line of march by brigades and divisions. It.is the right or head of the monster that awakens first. The main bo4f of : this wing moves diagonally toward the front and left, while cavalry pushes di- | rectly south to conceal the movement and produce a false impression on the enemy. All day the infantry and artillery work their way over dirt roads,,the men marching at will, smoking, chatting, laughing, the Irish regiments cracking jokes, the Germans singing, all with that bsprit which pervades an army just start* . ing after a long period of idleness on , a new campaign. A lashing of artillery j horses, a cursing of mules, words of oommand, bugle calls, picket firing, the occasional boom of a gun, mingle confusedly and in a country used only to - the peaceful lowing of Atftfe or the ^ song of birds. Throughout its whole length the Army of the Cumberland is in motion, advancing on that campaign which is to maneuver tbe Confederates ont of Tennessee and lead up to tbe battle of Chickamauga. Ou a road running parallel with the i Cumberland mountains, which flank the : Union army on its left, a strange looking vehicle is going at a breakneck pace toward the south. The horse is a raw- | boned animal with long legs and neck, j while the vehicle?a buggy?is so bespattered with mud that what paint re- 1 mains on it is invisible Tbe bottom is i partly gone; the dashboard would let tnrougn a cannon oanwunouc Deing in- | jured; the springs are badly bent; the top, which is let down?there are no props to hold it np?is shriveled and torn, its tatters flying behind in the wind. A woman in a striped calico ( dress, a sun bonnet of the same material, a pair of colored spectacles on her nose, r holds the reins and urges forward the horse. Yet strange looking as is the conveyance and its oocupant, for that -j time and region there is nothing unusual in the appearance of either. The country people inhabiting that portion of Tennessee are not cultured, and uncouthness is rather the rule than the exception. Coming to a place where she can get a full view for some distance ahead, the woman glances over the intervening space between her and the next rise in i the undulating ground. Seeing nothing to deter, she drives her horse on as rapidly as she can force him to go. Her j buggy careens till it is in danger of go- ; ing over; she is bounced from her seat 1 with a prospoet of being sent over the dashboard; the mud flies, the horse wheezes, the buggy groans, but there is no Blackening of pace. i "Go on, Bobby, go on!" Turning, a curve in the road partly hidden by trees, she sees a cavalry oamp ahead. In the road an officer stands talk- > ing to a man in a farm wagon, beside' whom, onra board seat, its two ends j resting on.the wagon's sides, sits a'boy of 14, whflo on a back seat, evjtlently borrowed'from a more pretentious vehicle, isji young girl, perhaps three or four yeas the boy's senior. np to listen i rtfflpora >5 or ginjmr '.C^u't^?"caprV want tor go / iGP?>* ie **nes Power b3^-" ? .* _., * , Oi'm thinkiijrf'megood man," 1 >CpUr fbo officer, wjAh the brogne of an i * irishman, "that^s exactly what old ; ft^^^j Uoey wont? to d? jjnless he prefers to get . ft y' ^djehind 'C^nj'Lwag 'em from the rear." m m/ "oh' mean flgbtinl I wants f JT/ ter go bom peacefuL " BL~. . ,-"Can't pass ye, me good man. Oi've Eg^ , . - jorders not to pass any one south while ? Kjft ft \ 'the army is movin. There's no need to i mm il ?be tellin ye that all day. Once ought to | * V jfVfl. be sufficient." \ M nflr "What's thet?" cried a shrill voX"^ ft A M from the buggy. "You dou't mean fo' ? ; ter tell me I can't go hum?". ; "Oi fear, medearleddy, thatyecan't, I#' ' if yo live beyond our lines." Is "H'm! And so you uns bev kem down ? W hyar ter make war on women." j ? P "Well, now, that depends on the kind of war. Wo've come down vi et armis, ? as my old preceptor at the university ! used to say?God bless 'im! Like enough r the vi is for the men and the armis for ? the women." T 1 "I don't keer," replied tho woman. "Yon uns hain't got no business fo' ter f come down hyar nohow. You're a mis'- r able set o' black abolishioners. I'm a gal 'thout nothin ter fight with, and you "Beauty and the beast," interrupted the officer, bowing. "Now, see hyar, Mr. Yank, I got ter ^ go hum. Pop he's away, and mother she's sick in bed." i . The officer scratched his head and J thought "Well, ino friends," ho said presently, "Oi'm thinkin Oi'll refer tho case of ^ali of yez to brigado* headquarters. 1 Would ye moind sittin where ye are till I get *u answer?" j J V "Reckon not," from tho farmer. "Hurry up," said tho woman in tho ! 1 Vggy. "Mother's waitin fo' me. " { The officer stepped into his tent near j 1 ?and came out with a pencil and tho of an old letter. With these ho * * sif&ir :hattai?ooga, jhel, late rs. a. ? J ciation. proceeded to tale down the information required Approaching the buggy, he ; said: "Will yepfeze favor mo with your j patronymio'W-o0 pauseci wnne no iooked to see if^ho were young or old? "miss?" | "My wbif' "Your pajronymic." "Oil, tniyTennesseol" "Well, tlkin, your cognomen." "Seebyaf. Mr- Officer, ef you want ter git anything outen me, you want to talk ,6quar'." j "Please tell me your name." "Beisy?aggs- And yours?" "Mnjctf Burke, at your scrvico. Aro j ye Unit# or"? "Rebel!" "Wbtf? do ye want to go?" "And that is at"? "Iftgtop." "WJ?y aro y0 bcro?" "I leen ter MacMinnvillo tor see ! motbef's old doctor." "There's a shorter road from Mac- : Minnfille than thia Why didn't ye take itra Tlib girl showed a slight confusion. "Oh, I gvt a friend at Franklin college She uns and I uns alius ben powerifter getting the data as to all the pafjy the major called a mounted man and directed him to tako it to headquarter and ask for instructiona "Do ye know who to take it to?" he arfced of the man as he was about to : ride away. i "It's to the gineral I'm takin it" j J "Tho gineral? Man, would you get | me court martialcd for disregard of the regulations? Tako it to tho chafe of jirtaff, ye lunkhead, and from him yo'll "Scchyar, Mr. Officer." get the answer. It's not tho loikes of you can approach the giueral. Moind ; now, and don't spind the time talkin ; with tho guard." While the messenger was away the party listened to tho voluble tongue of the young Confederate sympathizer in the buggy. She entered into tho causes of tho war, depicted the benefits of negro slavery, especially on the slave, spoke admiringly of all Confederate soldiers and ransacked the dictionary to find words to express her loathing of Yankees. "Come, now, Miss Baggs," said the major good uaturedly. ' 'There's a young fellow in me regiment who'll suit ye ! exactly. He is an Oirishman from the i crown of his head to the sole of his fnt. He only came over a few years ago. He is as smart as a whip. There was but one gurrel in County Cavan who could outtalk 'im. That's the reason he left Oireland." "When I want a man, I reckon I can find one right hyar outen the yarth o' j rennesseo 'thout goin to Oireland tor ; find ona Is ho redheaded?" "Red as the linin of an artillery offi- | cer's cap." "What kind o' eyes?" "Bluo as a robin's egg." "Waal, trot him out I'll take a look it him." "Oi'll call him raeself," and tho major went into one of the tents. There he found Corporal Ratigan, tho man he sought "Corporal Rats," he said?every one sailed tho corporal Rats?"there's a i jurrel out there that wants to go through she lines. Oi've sent to brigado head- J juarters to find out if they'll give her a pasa I want yo to make her acquaintance. " "At your sendee, major,"said the ! sorporal, saluting*. And the two waljpaA ' rat to where thetravelerswjjp^ffung. "Miss Baggs,"sp|?^!uraajor, "allow me to njprfSf Corporal Ratigan, jommonlj^fnied Rats by his comrades, xne ox xno most ganani men m xue rogment." Corporal Ratigan bowed and uncov- j :red a h?*A of hair fully up to the major's ^description of it. It surmounted i )jie*of the most honest of countenances. There was an air of gentility about the nan despite his private'6 uniform, and ho smile with which he greeted the roung woman could not have been more j switching bad ho saluted a marchion:ss. Admiration for the strapping Irish ifankee soldier stood big in Miss Baggs' jyes. "How de?" she said, with something hat was intended for a bow. "Yer a ! mrty likely lookin feller ef you air play n Yank. You'd better 'a' staid in Oireand than come down hyar ter make war ax women." "And have Oi overpainted the beautiul tint of his hair?" asked the major, xuxghiug. "It'd mako good winter-hair; xeedu't hev no firo in the house." Horses' hoofs wero heard down tho oad, and in a few minutes tho messen;er who had been sent to headquarters rode up. "Where's tho answer?" asked the major. "Divil on answer did Oi get, major," >aid the man, saluting awkwardly. "And what d'yu mean by that?" "Well, Oi kem uj^taJwmdquarthers, xnd the gineral wns gettin off of his xarso to go^rn his tint 'Have ye anyhin^fcrtne^ 1110 man?' he asked. 'Niver fTtforrud, gineral,' Oi answered, salutin espectful. 'What's tho paper yo liavo n your belt?' 'It's for tho chafe of staff. Well, givo it to me.' 'Divil a bit, giuiral; it's not for the loikes of me to bo [ivin yez a paper. Oi'm instructed to dvo it to tho cbafo of staff.' 'Givo me ho paper, yo cussed Oirishmau,' ho aid, 'or Oi'll siud yo to tho guard tint' Niver will Oi bo guilty of breakin tho egulatious or the articles of war, giural.' 'Corporal of tho guard]' yelled ho gineral. "Tho corporal kern and saluted tho fineral, him red as Corporal Ratigau's lead. 'Take that paper from that man! le roared. Well, bein surrounded by ;he guard who were at tho corporal's sail, Oi surrendered." "And thin?" gasped tho major, glarng at the stupid messenger. "And thin tho gineral said, 'Go to per camp and tell Major Burke to put re in tho guard tint for 24 hours. And whin ho sinds another orderly to mo not i , So Bind a recruit, or Oi'll put him inar- j rest'" , "By the howly ! Ye infernal, raw ! Did ye get no answer?" " 'Oi'll Bind an answer by a soldier i who has been properly retained,' said ;he gineral. Didn't yo tell mo right, najor?" i "Corporal of tho guard!" cried tbo najor by way of reply. i "Tako that man," ho said when the i sorporal came, "to tho guard tent." I i As tno messeugerwas marched away, protesting against the injustice of his treatment for obeying orders, a staff officer rode up. Taking tho major apart, he instructed him to let the applicants go through, provided they woald take An oath not to give any information concerning the Union troops to tho enemy. With the passes he brought a suggestion from the general to 6ond some person ; with one or the other of the two parties under pretense of an escort, but really with a view to discovering the proximity I of the enemy. Now that the main army I was moving, it might be well to discover | if tho cavalry on its flank had fallen back. The ground was unfavorable for a reconnoissance; hence tho suggestion to get information by strategem. Tho major hunted the camp for a Bible on which to administer tho oath art/3 art 1 la/3 r\rt Pnrnftfol Rafirvnrt frt VUi*VV4 \JLA "v*r him. He explained the general's roqnest and told Ratigan that he wanted him to go with Miss Baggs. Having given the corporal a full understanding of what was required of him,' he went back to tlio party with a Bible, followed by Ratigan. The farmer and his family were first sworn, and then the major offered to j swear Miss Baggs. "I hain't gointerdonoswearin," she j said defiantly. "Oi'm glad to hear that," remarked j Corporal Ratigan. "Whatfo', firotop?" she asked, sur- , prised. "Oi'd be brcakin me heart at partin 1 with ye." "You hain't got no heart nohow, or j you wouldn't bo in the Yankee army." j "Don't ye believe it," exclaimed the major; "his heart's as warrum as the color of his hair. Come, young leddy, take tho oath. Oi'd be sorry to bo partin ye from yer mother and she sufferin." "I won't" "Won't ye take it for moi sake?" que- j ried Ratigan, with a mock appeal. "You'll hev ter git 6omo un uglier'n j you uns ter movo ma I hanker after i ugly men, but you uns ain't quite ugly enough fo' me." jnow ye ro uuxin wun a buuuunvo | tongue," quoth Ratigan. "If tho major | will permit, Oi've a mind to see ye through tho lines meself without tho oath." The corporal looked slyly at the major, and the major returned tho corporal's sly glance. "Very well,".said Burke. "Ye go with her, and moind that she isn't keepin her ois open to see things for Gineral Bragg's benefit. Miss Baggs, if ye'll just keep lookin roit into the corporal's j blue arbs, ye'll got through all right, , and if ye'ro tempted to look aside just I fix 'em on his head, and ye'll bo blind- ' ed." Tho corporal went for his horse, buckled on his revolver, and coming back started out to play diplomat?in other words, to acquire kuowledgo by strategy. CHAPTER EL a war of wits. Corporal Ratigan rode gallantly beside Miss Baggs, the two keeping up a constant picket firing, which occasionally warmed to the dignity of a skirmish. Miss Baggs was in an excellent humor , and the corporal quite delighted at the role he was playing. He pretended to watch her carefully whenever anything belonging to the army was passed on the road, while he was secretly forming his plans for getting far enough on the way to determine the proximity of the pnfimv. ftr fplfc no Rnsnioion as to Miss i Baggs carrying information. Being on I tho flank of the army, sho would not be . likely to have much information to i carry. The country people were con- j stantly passing between the lines, and ! considering their harrowing excuses no j one except with a heart of stone could | well prevent them. "What's in the box ye have with i ye?" asked Ratigan, looking at a square little box on the seat beside her. It had ! been covered with a shawl, which had fallen from over it, exposing it to view. "Thet? Thet's a philosophy machine. You 6ee, my friend, Sal Glassick, she knows a heap o' things. She's tryin ter beat some on 'em inter my poro noddle. Reckon sho won't hov no easy time." "What branch does she teach ye with that?" "Waal, you see, mother, she'ssufferin with palsy, and this hyar box is a?waal, Sal, sho calls it a gal?gal"? "Galvanic battery?" "Thet's it. You hit it right thar. A galvanic battery. Wo uns 're goin ter try't on mother. Lord a-massy, what's thet?" Sho directed his attention from the box to a cloud of smoke hanging over the gaps in the hills far to the west They were crossing n mountain spur and could see it quite plainly. "There's foichtin coin on there." re- ! marked the corporal. "And you uns air gittin licked," ob- j served tho rebellious Miss Baggs. "How d'yo know that?" asked Rati- | gan, surprised that sho 6hould know i anything about it "Oh, I reckon!" "It's a quaro thing?tho reckonin of gurrels." "Waal, you see, women hain't got tho big heads men hcv. They can't reason things out They hev ter jump at 'em mobbe, like ants. Ants is powerful i 6inall, but they're most times right when they reckon." Ratigau made no reply. Ho was thinking that Miss Baggs did not appear to bo so plain a personage as ho at first I thought her. Ho looked at her hands, incased in coarso gloves, and noticed that they wero small for "poor whito trash." Her attire was very cheap, and her cowhide shoes did not betoken refinement, but somehow ho began to gather a notion that Miss Baggs was not so dreadfully common as she appeared. The corporal came of an nrlfy circumstances could detect refflio- | meat He looked for Miss Baggs to uso somo expression beyond tho ken of a 1 "poor white" girl, but sho did not. So ho dismissed the matter from h;j ;nir:l aud began to wonder v.iiat excuso ho , could make * ' go on with her under flag of truce when she should pass the Union , pickets. "Wo uns air goin slow enough ter \ worrit a snail," remarked Miss Baggs. ' 'And why should wo bo goin faster?" j "Whar'd you steal thet critter?" sho j asked, instead of replying, looking 6ide- j wise at tho corporal's mount. "It's likely nuff fo' Tennessee blood." "Oh! That's United States. Don't yo seo tho 'U. S.' branded on him?" "Can he trot?" "Ho can beat anything in tho brigade. " "D'you think ho can trot with this hyar critter o' mine." Ratigau looked at her rawboucd brnto and burst into a laugh. "Waal, now, you needn't tako on so. Reckon I c'd givo you a brush ef you was minded." "All right, me dear. Hero's a straight ! bit of road. " | j "Fo' what stakes?" J | "A $5 greenback." ' , "Agin Confederate money?" "With pleasure. " j : The corporal drew forth a crisp $5 ; bill. And Miss Baggs put the thumb ' and finger of ouo hand in the palm of i tho other under her glovo and drew ' ( out a Confederate shinplaster. i i "Who holds tho stakes?" asked tho corporal gleefully. ! . "You uus." | i "Divil a bit. Tho lady shall hold 'em." | Sho took tho bill ho handed her and j i gave tho lines a jerk with a "Git along i tharl Remember, it's a trottin race. " . Ratigan was at a disadvantage from tho first. Ho did not dare to uso his spurs lest his horse should break from a ] trot. Miss Baggs' animal began to reach his lank legs out, triangulating in a lumbering fashion that put him over the ground at no inconsiderable speed. The corporal did his best and kept pace pretty well. "Reckon my Bob Leo kin knock the stufflu outcn your critter, Mr. Sojer. Git up, Bob." With that Bob increased tfao length of his triangulations, increasing their frequency at the same time. The result . was that ho carried the old buggy with ! Betsy Baggs in it right away from the I corporal. Indeed Ratigan fell behind steadily. If he should break from a trot, ho would loso thorace; if he should keep up his trot, ho would loso Miss Baggs. Suddenly an officer appeared on the road, and regarding him sternly ordered him to halt. "Oi'm followin the young lady, sir. Oi'm on official business for thegineral, commandin the th cavalry brigade. " "Well, my man, you're a well disciplined orderly. You k:eep tho regulation 40 paces to the roar. Give your horso the spur and catch up. " Ratigan, who could not well explain to an officer that he was running a race, and fearing to loso ins charge, gave ms horse the spar and dashed after her at a gallop. Ho reached her in a "blown" condition. "Oi've lost," ho cried out of breath. "Reckon you have," was Mis9 Baggs' solo reply. "Tho money's yours." "Reckon it air," repeated Miss Baggs. "Yor always reckonin. Mobbo ye reckoned about tho end of tho race loiko tho ant yo wero talkiu nbout" At that moment they spied tho outpost ahead. "Waal, hyar wo air," said Miss Baggs. "Don't want ter part from you uns, Mr. Sojer. I'm powerful bad struck hyar. " And sho put her hand on her heart "Liko enough Oi can find some reason to go with yo a bit. Oi'm all broken up meself, suro enough." "I hopes you kin." "Lieutenant," said tho corporal, sa- j luting an officer who camo out from tho picket post. "Major Burko ordered me j to 6co this young lady out of tho lines, j Sho has a pass to Dunlap." Tho lieutenant read tho pa^ and told Miss Baggs she might go through. Ratigan was racking his brains to , know what to da Ho had been instruct- 1 ed to go through with Miss Baggs un- j der somo pretense, but his ingenuity when put to tho test failed him. Miss j Baggs came to his relief. "Mr. Corporal," sho said, "I don't h.rnknr fpr nnrt; *ith thefc bloomin head o* ha'r o' yourn. Would you mind seein j a poro lone woman ter the Confederato i lines?" Tho corporal whispered a few words j in tho lieutenant's ear. Tho result was | that in five minutes four cavalry pri- j vatcs were placed under tho corporal's j orders, who held in his hand a pole cut , from a trco at tho sido of tho road, to j which ho had attached a whito cotton handkerchief. Then tho old buggy, which rattled at every turn of tho wheel and threatened to collapso at every mudhole, proceeded down tho road. Corporal Ratigan cantered alongside, while tho four privates 1 followed directly in rear. But a few miles had been traversed 1 when a horseman?ho proved to be the j enemy's vedette?was seen standing in tho road ahead. As tho party approaohed they saw a dozen inoro advancing to his support. But tho Confederates evidently saw the whito flag, for no other demonstration was made than the riding forward of an officer with half a dozen men to meet those who were advancing. "What do you want?" asked the offi- ! cer gruffly. "Flag to see the lady to your lines. " ; "Under a commissioned officer?" "Only meself, a corporal," said Rat- i igau. "Well, you can turn about pretty j quick and get back to where you came from. Tho next such flag sent out will i be taken in and won't get out again." "Captain, don't y.ou know me?" said , Miss JBaggs, smiling at tho officer. "Well, upon my word. You don't mean"? Miss Baggs put her finger on her lip. | "These men came at my request," j sho continued, "so I hopo you will not ! find any fault." Tho officer raised his hat, but said ; nothing. "Good morning, corporal," she said. "I'm much obliged for your trouble. " " Yon'ro quito welcome, miss. Both parties moved slowly away si- | inultaiieonslv. They had scarcely started j beforo the corporal heard his naruo spo- j ken in a woman's voice, but ono with j which ho was not familiar. "Rats!" Ho turned and saw what must be ! Miss Baggs, for her dress was the same, 1 though her head and neck were changed, standing in the buggy, her back to the ! horse, her face directly toward him. Her glasses were gone, her sunbonnet hung in one hand, whilo sho held reins in tho other. Never had the corporal be- J held so great a ohango in so brief a j spaco of time. The joltiug had disar- ' ranged a mass of dark hair which had partly fallen over her shoulders. Her | eyes were black and lustrous, her com- ' plexion an olivo relieved by a ruddiness on tho cheek. Her superb head was set j on her neck as if it had been placed thero by an artist. Tho face was lighted | by a smilo of triumph?a smilo so bewitching that it haunted tho corporal to his dying day. Ratigan had not recovered from his surpriso beforo sho spoke to him in a j rich contralto voice, as little liko that he had heard from her as a fife is liko tho mellow tones of an organ. "Corporal, please present my compli- i ments to Major Burko and thank him for mo for his kindness, and tell him tha^when ho sends another woman BBfcNSe lines under pretehso of ke^p- 1 ing her eysg shut, when he has an especial purpose 0f iiis 0wn jn view, not to send an 'Cjiishinnn' fur an escort." Tho smilo onjjer lips broadened and showed n*se"ts6?white tenth. "Tho 'Oirish' race j as diplomats arc n^tjjsuaJJjf-'^r^soful. I An revoir, corporal.'' Thero was a grin on tho faces of tho I Confederate lookers on and astonishment on tho honest countenance of Corporal Ratigan. "And, Rats," sho continued, evident- ' ly enjoying bringing out tho word with | her rich voice, as one loves to roll old j wine on tho tongue, "when a woman j desires to race, it is not always for tho , money up. " She tossed tho bill she had won toward him. "And, Rats, don't raco again with ! any ono with a rawboned animal with I long legs. Bobby Leo is from tho bluo grass regions of Kentucky. There's something wrong about his breathing apparatus, but even with that disadvan- j tage he can trot a mile over a good road j in 2:50." Had Miss Baggs appeared less be- ' witching as she stood thcro under the j protection of half a dozen Confederate I troopers, Ratigan would have turned away impatiently. As it was, sho seem- ! od to hold him by a spell. "Ono thing more, my bonny cardinnl Sower. Tell tho major that I liko 'tho j young man from County Cavan' ho has ; recommended to mo very much. " Her i eyes fairly danced "When tho war is ! over, I hope you will look mo up. In tjuiro for Betsy Baggs at tho St. Cloud ! hotel, Nashville." With this sho threw him a kiss from ' tho tips of her fingers, which, now that I her glovo was removed, ho noticed were j white and round. There was really something sympathetic in tho last glanco she gave him. In it was a regret that it ! had been necessary for her to deceivo so i honest and manly a fellow. It was tho I final dart that pierced the Irishman's j heart and completed his inthrallment. Leaving tho corporal and his men gap- I I lng in tno road, tho party moved away. Tho last thing Ratigan heard was a hoarso laugh from one of tho Confedori ates, which was rebuked by Miss Baggs ! and reprimanded by tho officer. | The corporal led his party northward ! in no good humor. At the picket post he loft tho men ho had taken with him 1 and rode 011 alone meditatively. In pass She threw him a. kiss. I ing a part of the road whero there was , no one to hear he reined in his horse J and exclaimed aloud: ! "D?n it! I believe the witch is car- j , rying important information." The thought filled him with horror. ! | Who was she? What was she? What | I was tbo box she called a galvanic bat- I I tery? For more than an hour he had at- I tended a rude country girl, who, when j under the protection of Confederate officers, bloomed into a handsome worn- i an. Ho was as much chagrined at his ' own stupidity as he was bewildered by ! 1 the cunning of Miss JBaggs. Entering the camp, he slunk away to j | his tent and did not report the outcome j ! of his mission to Major Burko till just I ' before "taps." Then he only said, j j "Their pickets are three miles down | i tho road boyond ours. " ' "Are ye shure?" j "Oi am. Oi left tho young lady?Oi | mean the counthry gurrel?among 'em. j And the vixen blow me a kiss ,.t j partin." "Ah, Rats, ye're a sly dog. Oi'm ! shuro vo did vonr work well. " "Major,"repliedthocorporal, "don't j ye believo it. All the divils in hell if : they bo men are no match for a worn- I an." "And if they be women, Rats?" "Then God save 'em both." CHAPTER HL A DEVOTED CONFEDERATE. On tho morning of the general ad- , vauco of tho Army of tho Cumberland j a drizzling rain set in which lasted at ! intervals during tho whole campaign. Day after day the men tramped through tho mire, often to lie down at night with no moans of lifting themselves ont of pools except by cutting tho wot branches from tho trees, and on these making a bed in drenched clothes. Tho artillery soon cut up tho roads so that ! tho guns sank to the hubs of tho wheels. Tho right continued to march toward tho loft and in the direction of tho base of the Cumberland plateau, where Miss Betsy Baggs and the others were passing between the lines. The Unionists were moving upon gaps in tho foothills held by tho Confederates, and neoessary to tho latter to prevent their enemies getting on their right, and thus compelling them to leave their fortifications at Tullahoma and fight on open ground. It was the day that the Union meD j attacked theso gaps that Miss Baggs | passed under Confederate protection, and the farmer and the two young people with him were also pursuing their routo south. Fortunately for him, the \ farmer, being on the flank of the two armies, was not forced to pass over roads cut up by either. After Major Burke had administered the oath not to divulge anything they had seen concerning tho Union forces to the farmer and the young girl in tho wagon with him (ho considered the boy too young to treat in tho samo way), tho party were suffered to depart and proceeded down tho road. "Jako," said tho farmer, slapping the horses' backs with tho reins, "what j hev you l'arued at skule?" "L'arned how ter play 'hop scotch' I and 'shinny.' " "I don't mean thetkind. I mean real l'arnin." "Jakey was at a great disadvantage, j pa," remarked the girl on tho rear seat, ; "because he was obliged to go in classes with littlo bits of boys. You remember he didn't know his letters when ho went to school." "No moro did you, " said tho father. "Oh, yes, I did. I began to study them a month before I went away, and I taught Jokey, so that ho knew something about them, too, when he got there." "Air they doin much talkin 'bout the war up no'th?" "Well, it isn't at all liko it is down hyar" (no southerner will ever chaugo tho pronunciation of this word). "They * :_i.??t Ji. ?11 . til&U iUltJ U1 liiLUiUOU 1U Al>| UUU cui Uianv, but, laws, it's ono thing to get up in tho morning and road tho papers 'bout battles and such things, and anotbor to havo soldiers running all ovoryou, 'specially ! taking tho garden truck and tho horses | outen tho barn?I mean out of tho barn. ! Teacher, sho had tho hardest work to break mo rrom eaying 'outen' for 'out of.' It seems sho hasn't quito done it yet." She spoke tho last words with a sigh. "Lordy, Souri, y' talk like a fine lady j compared 'ith what y' did afore y' went no'th. Jake, would y' like ter drive ' 'em?" "Reckon." Tho father handed tho reins to his son, who, considering that ho had not driven a horse for a year, handled thorn ! with considerable skill. "How did you lcavo ma?" asked the daughter. "Waal, y'rmaw sho war a heap lonosomo 'th""* TwIT? and she's been a ( worritin fo' /^^^y^ git sicic up unar : 'ith no one teftend ter y', but senco the ' time fo' y'r comiu hum hez drawed nigh she's puckered up pretty peart. Tho boom of a gun caniofnyj^ly^FBm" j far down on tho lower levelT and tho . cannonading heard by Corporal Ratigan | and his ohargo began. Taking up tho whip, tho countryman gave his horses a j cut. "I want ter mako hum aforo somep'n j happens. Thar's goin ter bo a big fight | 'bout Tullyhoomy. Thar's forts all > J mIaaa om/1 V?i r? nntia on Dm " j ruuiiu ixjo jjiuuu uuu bu" The horses trotted on briskly for a ; short distance when, looking ahead, tho farmer could seo the picket post. He got his pass ready, and when thoy reached tho post an officer came out to ex- j amino it. t "Is yonr nanio Ezekiel Slack?" ho asked of tho farmer. "Zeko Slack; yaas, thet's my name." i "And yours?" to the girl, raising his forago cap admiringly. "Missouri Slack." "Tho other naino on the pass refers to tho boy, I suppose. You have a name, sonny, haven't you?" he asked absently, while ho was studying tho pass, though '] it is questionable if tho inquiry was no; j intended to show some facetiousness bo fore tho pretty girl. "Hev I got ha'r?" "Oh, Jakey," said his sistor, "dont j fall back into that habit of asking quos j tions instead of answering them. Yoi j know how hard they tried to broak yoi of it at school. And say 'hair,' noc ? 'ha'r.'" "I got a name,"said Jake. "D';' j reckon a boy 14's goin ter git on 'ithoit >: a name?" .{ "Well, what is it?" asked tho offimr, ) smiling. "Jake." "Jako what?" "Slack," answered tho farnor. "Theso two uns is my children. ?hey been ter skulo up in Ohio. They got lots j o* l'arniu. Rookon they'll down tht old j man." | "Union or Confederate sympathies?" I "Union." j "All right. Go ahead. " i Leaving tiio picket, they camo to an i opening in tho country which enabled them to get a view of tho region lying , to the west. Tho farmer, though de! sirous of getting on, could not resist a | temptation to rein in his horses and I watch tho fighting, or tho distant evi- ' I donees of it, that morning going on at j I Hoover's Gap. Volleys of musketry | were mingled with tho deeper tones of ! cannon. Then tho firing ceased for I awhile, when tho booms began again, i continuod and rapid. A whito smoko rose above a ridgo on which Confederate ! cannons wero shelling tho advancing | Union troops on tho ground below. Souri Slack thought of the lives that were passing from under that smoke and covered her face with her hands. When the .sounds ceased, Farmor Slack drove on and soon reached the j Confederate picket Tho party wore sent in charge of a trooper to the headquar- j ters of an officer commanding a body of cavalry on tho Confederate extreme left His headquarters wore in a house besido tho road. It had onco beon in tho cen ter of a neat country placo. The fences, j the outhouses, the walks, had all been in excellent condition prior to tho first passage of troops. Now of the fences j there was an occasional upright post left; tho walks were overgrown with weeds and grass; the outhouses had I nearly all been torn down. The placo 1 was a picture of desolation. Nevertheless the general who temporarily resided there was making himsolf very comfortable. Tho wagon drow up before the house, 1 and tho conducting trooper sent in word to tho general that a party, who had come in from the Union lines, were waiting outside, desiring permission to go on south. An order came to send tho party all inside. Tho three travelers entered the house I to find a tall man with an iron gray beard reclining in a rocking chair with as much apparent unconcern as if war I were simply a pastime. "You have just como from tho enemy's linos, I hear," he said to the | farmer. "Yaas, air." "What force did you see in the region through which you passed?" Tho farmer explained that he could not answer the question, inasmuch as ho had boon permitted to pass after taking an oath not to give any information. "H'in. You are quite right not to answer under tho circumstances," ob- ; served tho genoral. "Did your daughter take tho same oath?" "Yaas, goneral," said Souri. "Surely they didn't admiuister an oath to a hoy of your age?" he said, turning to Jakoy. "Reckon th' thought I war too little : toswar,"said Jakey. Ho thrust his hands in his pockets, a sure sign that he , was steadying himself for a conflict of wits and words. But tho general was not acquainted with the peculiar char- i acteristics of Jakey Slack and prepared I to question him as unconcernedly as ho would pump water from a well. "What route did you come?" ho ask- ; ed of the farmer. j "I met the children at Qalletin," replied Slack. "I driv' 'em from thar through Lebanon and Liberty." "Sonny," said the general, turning j |to Jakey, "did yon pass any troops on ! the way?" "Lots." "Infantry?" "What's thet?" "Soldiers who walk and carry guns." j "Didn't seo nono o' tlicm kind." "Did you see nuy artillery?" "Don't know what them uns air." "Men with great big guns?cannon." "No, sir. Didn't see no 'tillery." "Then what you saw must have been cavalry." "Didu't soo nono o' them u:is nuth- ' er." Tho general looked surprised. "Then what did you seo? That's all i tho arms of the service I over heard of, ? j r ? -u ?> ana i uiu uu uiu builuci. "Critter companies." "Oh, I see!" exclaimed the general, | remembering the mountain Tennessee- . ans' name for cavalry. "How many soldiers belonging to the 'critter compa- ! nies,' as yon call them, did yon see?" "Waal, I oountod 20, 'n thet's's fur as I got at countin in skule." Souri was about to remind her brother that ho had proved himself one of I the best boys in the school at mental I arithmetic, but desisted. "H'rn!" The general thought a mo- j ment and beat a reveille with his fin- I gers on tho arm of his chair. "What were they doing within the t Federal lines just before you left tho I outposts?" "Waal, I only noticed ono man, 'nhe-; war doin somep'n very partickelor." "What was it?" "Ho war lookiu at tho sky through a fiat round thing what looked liko a big squashed apple.'' "Not a fieldglass, was it?" "No, sir. Reckon 'twasn't thet." "Was tho man of high rank?" "Reckon ho war. Ho had stripes on ' his arm." "Tut, tut, ho wore chevrons. Ho was only a noncommissioned officer. Can't } you describe moro ncurly the object ! through which ho was looking?" "Waal, I think I hcarn somo'un call ' it a can?can"? "Not a canteen?" "Yes, thet's it." Tho general looked sharply at the boy, who looked stolidly stupid. Ho determined to try another route through which to lead jakeys lniamue mina. "Were tho troops you saw iu camp, or on tho march, or in bivouac?" "Don't know what thet ar' last air, but tho trees 'n brnsh war so thick I couldn' 660 plain." "Can't you tell mo if yon saw any j infantry. Soldiers who \?alk nnd r.irrv > "gulhl, yuu Inurr^-1- * > : "I never looks at them kind o' sojers." replied .lakey contemptuously. j ,*0T enly notices 'em when th'ro on critters' backs." "That will do," said tho goucral. ; Then, turning to a staff officer near him, ; be said: "Captain, you may pass these people south," and added in an undertono: "Rido over to division headquarters and say that nothing has yet been obtained of tho enomy's movements inthisvicin- 1 ity by questioning citizens. Only one party has como through?a farmer, ; with his son and daughter. Tho farmer j and his daughter took an oath not to J givo any information concerning the j dispositions of tho enemy, and tho boy ; is profoundly stupid." Thoro was a sound of hoofs without, j mingled with tho rattlo of wheels. Looking through an open window, an j officer was seen to dismount and hand j a woman from a mud covered, paint ' rubbed buggy. All recognized MissElizabeth Baggs. The general aroso from his chair and went out to meet her at tho front door. From thero he conducted her into a room whero they j oould confer together alone. "What luck?" "I struck their wires within their i lines midway between Murfrcesboro and : MacMinnvillo at midnight, and no one was near. I threw my wiro over tho j line and made my connections with my I instrument. I waited till nearly day- | light beforo anv messages of impor- ! tanco camo along, though dispatches ! wero passing all tlio while. At last ono ! , camo in cipher. I took it down, but as ; wo haven't the I key fear it will avail j us nothing." j "Let mo seo it," said tho gonoral. Miss Baggs handed him a pieco of j paper on which was written: , MiTUFUKEsnono, Toxin., June 28, 1863. Volunteers Qurficld with circling between you possession turn an be cob Buniblo at to get that possible by move Benjamin pony chief rapidity uround that put of the hours ready uhlnglo to nonce enemy's Tullanoma your point tho by of polliwog of plateau Niggard if defliro and hopo forward to haha more we right I command and mountain order staff. Tho geueral read the dispatch over carefully, and then, looking up at Miss Baggs, remarked: "Balked I" "Can't it be interpreted, general?" "I fear not without the key. It ia doubtless an important dispatch, and I shall send it at once to general headquarters. If they can decipher it, they aro welcome to do so. I don't care to try it." Calling an aid-de-camp, the general bade him carry the messago to the army telegraph station, a short distance to tho rear, and repeat it to Geueral Bragg. 1 >t * w ~ uouuriij, sazu i)iiss Jtsaggs in on undertone, "if you will let me have the original or a copy, I will try to decipher it. I may find a clow that will aid me hereafter, though I foar it will be too late to take advantago of information contained in this one." "Certainly. Lieutenant, return the dispatch I have given you to this lady after it has been repeated." The officer departed. The general turned again to Miss Baggs with a serious look. "Do yon know that you aro .engaged in a very hazardous service?" "Perfectly." "And do you understand tho penalty if caught?" "Death, I suppose." "There's no telling whether it would be death or a long imprisonment in the case of a woman. A man would hang." Miss Baggs' countenance changed from an expression of indifference to ono of those flashes of tho superhuman attributes that lurk within the human soul. "Am I to make anything of my life when thousands of the south's defenders are giving theirs every day? Have I not seen our homes laid desolate? Have I not seen my brothers, my friends, those I have loved, those I have played with as children, cut down by either bullet or disease? For months I have devoted myself to the caro of tho sick in tho hospitals. There I learned to dread a long continuance of this struggle. There I conceived the idea of doing something to win success for our armies by giving them an advantage not possessed by the enemy. I consulted one high in rank. 'How can I give my life to tho best advantage?' I asked. 'In the secret service.' 'Point the way.' 'Do you know anything of telegraphy?' 'No, but I can leant' 'Go and study a uonth and then cpme to mo.' For a month I studied night and day. I learned to read words from the clicking of tho keys as readily as I can read letters. I returned to my adviser. You know tho rest." Tho general paced the floor with n clouded brow. "I dread a catastrophe," ho said, "in the caso of one inspired by.such noble sentimonts. I dread to see a woman exposed to ignominy, perhaps death." "If that time comes, general, God will give mo strength to bear it." Tho general was silent a moment and then asked abruptly: "Is yohr brother aware of what you are doing?" "He is." "And ho consents?" "Ho does not We are individuals. Ho is ono of tho noblest of tho south's legitimate defenders, but he is not responsible for my acts, one of its illegitimate machines." "Tho pitcher that goes often to the well.is at last broken." "T1 Illl i\ to carry on the work." "laou grant tnat tne aay may uu im distant?that it may never come. I can hardly approve of it, thongh you are working in my cause." "General," said tho woman, her face again lighting as if inspired by some absorbing thought, "eaoh side has an organized secret service. What general would daro report to his government that ho had acquired information which would cuablo him to destroy his enemy, but it had been obtained by illegitimate means, and he would not take advantage of it? Yet what general would caro to be called a spy himself? We aro engaged in a terrible struggle. Before its close any and all means will bo used to conquer. Cities will be burned, vast districts will be laid waste. Must 1 ceaso to employ the most effective method of all because I am doing illegitimate work? Is my work more illegitimate than trying to conquer a peoplo fighting for their independence?" The general made no reply for a time. "Yours is a singular family," he said presently. "You aro all alike, and yet you differ." "Wo aro united in the cause; we differ as to tho means." Tho interview was interrupted by the ringing of a dinner bell in the hall. Tho general called a negro and bade him show Miss Baggs to a room np stairs, to which sho retired for a few minutes. The servant brought in her belongings from the bnggy, together with tho little box. When she came down stairs, the party were waiting for her before going in to dinner. Souri, who had seen her covered by the sunbonnet and her eyes screened with glasses, was astonished. She saw a woman threo or four years older than herself, the beauty of her head and neck; contrasting witn tne oomenness 01 her costume. Miss Baggs noticed Souri's surprise, and going up to her took both her hands and kissed her cheek. "You sweet child," she said feelingly, "you can't get over my appearance when you met me on the road this morning, can you? What a fright must I have seemed to you! I don't care for thoso Yankee officers, but bless your innocent heart I can't bear to have shocked you." Souri did not reply in wordy but phe looked at Miss Baggs ^dmiijrtjMHHI ? ''Dou'luthink.ha^aglhw^^^nt^r went on, drawing t^HV^anft motioniug thu rest to ^^^Hnto fEe dining room. "I do only whaw\ believe to be a duty, for you mustsufltebt that I keep a secret You could not pl?y a paTt beneath yon, child. You aro too loving, too innocent, and you wonder how any other woman can." "I did once." "When?" "Before I went to school." "For your country?" "No." Miss Baggs looked into Souri's deep eyes and asked softly: "For love?" Souri dropped her eyes to the floor, but her questioner, who by this time had put an arm aronnd her, received no reply. "Come," she said, "let us not torture each other. I sco wo both have our secrets. " Sho led the way to the dinner room, where the general and his staff wero standing waiting for tho two women. The party were joined by Farmer Slack and Jakey, and all sat down at a signal from tho general. Originally there were no rats nor mice in the coldstorage warehouses of Pittsburg, the low temperature repelling the pests. At length, however, rats began to be found in rooms where the temperature was constantly kept below the freezing point; but they were rats with long, thick fur, which showed that the creatures had gradually become adapted to the new conditions. 8^" Give a child the habit of sacredly regarding the truth, of carefully respecting the property of others, of scrupously abstaining from all the acts of improvidence which can involve him in distress and he will just as likely think of rushing into an clement in which he cannot breathe, as of lying, or cheating, or stealing. i I MONTEZUMA'S DAUGHTER. By Rider Haggard. Copyright, ISM, by the Author. CHAPTER XXXVI. THOMAS COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD. Now, on the morrow of my visit to Marina the Captain Diaz camo to see mo and told me that a friend of his was in zommand of a carak, which was duo to Bail from the port of Vera Cruz for Cadiz within 10 days, and that his friend was willing to give mo a passage if I wished to leave Mexico. I thought for awhile and said that I would go, and that very | night, having bid farewell to the Captain ; Diaz, whom may God prosper, for ho was I a good man among many bad ones, I set ! out from the city for the last time in tho [ company of somo merchants. A week's \ journey took us safely down the mountains to Vern Cruz, a hot, unhealthy town, with an indifferent anchorage, much exposal to the fierce northerly winds. ! Hero I prcscntal my letters of recommendation to the commander of the carak, who gave mo passage without question, I laying in a scock or loou ior tne journey. At length oui voyage camo to an end, j and on a certain 12th of June I found my| self In tho mighty city of London. In London I bought a good horso, through the kind oflices of the host of my Inn, and on the morrow at daybreak I set out upon tho Ipswich road. I rode hard nil that day and the next, and my horso being stout and swift by ; 7:30 o'clock of the evening I pulled up upj on tho little hill whence I had looked for my last on Bungay ( when I rode thenco from Yarmouth with my father. Below mo lay the red roofs of the town. Thero , to tho right were the oaks of Ditchingham j and tho beautiful tower of St. Mary's church. Yonder the stream of Wavcney | wandered, and before mo stretched tho ! meadow lands, purple and golden, with i marsh weeds in bloom. All was as it had been. I could sco 110 change at all. Tho only change was in myself. I dismount1 ed, and going to a pool of water near tho ; roadway I looked at the reflection of my own face. I was changed indeed. Scarcely should I havo known it for that of the lad | who had ridden up this hill 20 years ago. Mounting my horse, I pushed 011 ngain at a canter, taking tho road past Waingj ford Mills, through the fords and Pirnhow I town, leaving Bungay upon my left. In 10 minutes I was at the gate of the bridle path that runs from the Norwich road for half a milo or more beneath the steep and wooded bank under the shelter of which stands the lodge of Ditchingham. Now tho lodge was before me. It had j changed no whit, except that tho ivy and 1 creepers on its front had grown higher? ! to tho roof Indeed?and I could see that 1 pcoplo lived in the house, for it was well L-rmfc nrwl sinnkn Imnir nhnvo tho chilli i ncys. The gato was locked, and thero J were no serving men about, for night fell ' fast, and all had ceased from their labor. Leaving the house on the right, I passed | round to the stables that are at the back, j near tho hillside garden, but here the gate was locked nlso, and I dismounted, not knowing what to do. Indeed I was so j unmanned with fear and doubt that for I awhile I seemed bewildered, and leaving ! tho horse to crop the grnss where he stood J I wandered to the foot of the church path ! and gnzed up the hill as though I waited j for the coming of one whom I should ; meet. Then suddenly thero rose up in my mind I a vision of the splendid chamber in Montezuma's palace in Tenoctitlan and of myself sleeping on a golden bed and dreaming on thut bed?I knew it now. I wns j tho god Tezcat, and on tho morrow I must be sacrificed, and I slept in misery, and as | I slept I dreumed. I dreamed that I stood j where I stood this night, that tho scent of tho English flowers was in my nostrils as it was this night, and that the sweet song of tho nightingales rang in my ears as at this present hour. I dreamed that as I mused and listened the moon came up over the green ash and oaks, and, lo! thero she shone. I dreamed that I heard a sound of singing on the hill. But now I awoko from this vision of the past and of a long lost dream, for as I stood the sweet volco of a woman began to sing yonder on the brow of the hill. I was not mad; I heard it clearly, and tho sound grew even nearer as tho singer drew down the hillside. It was so near now that I could catch the very words of that sad song, which to this day I remember. Now I could sec a woman's shape in tho | moonlight. It wns tall and stately and j clad In a white robe. 1'resentiy sno niceu her head to watch the flitter of a bat, and j tho moonlignc lit up her face. It was tho faco of Lily Bozart, my lost love, beautiful ! as of yore, though grown older and stonip| cd with tho seal of somo great sorrow. I ! saw, and so deeply was I stirred at tho I sight that had it not liccn for the long paling to which I clung I must have fallen to tho earth, and a deep groan broko from my lips. Sho heard the groan and ceased her song. Then, catching the sight of tho figure of a man, she stopped and turned as though to fly. I stood quite still, and wonder overcamo her fear. Sho drew j nearer and spoko in tho sweet, low voico | that I remembered well, saying: "Who j wanders here so late? Is it you, John?" Now when I heard her speak thus a new ! fear took me. Doubtless she was married, j and "John" was her husband. I had i found her, but to lose her moro completc! ly. Of a sudden it came into my mind ! that I would not discover myself till I j knew the truth. I advanced a pace, but not so far as to pass from tho shadow of ! the shrubs which grew here, and taking j my stand In such a fashion that tho moon Vght did not striko upon my face I bowed low in the courtly Spanish fashion, and disguising my voice spoke as a Spaniard might in broken English, which I spare to write down: 'Madam," I said, ''have I the honor to speak to ono who In bygono years was | named the Senora Lily Bozard?" I "That was my name," she answered. 'What is your errand with me, sir?" Now I trembled afresh, but spoke on ! boldly. I "Before I answer, madam, forgive me J if I ask unothcr question. Is this still ! your name?" "It is still my name. I am no married j woman," she answered, and for a moment ! the sky seemed to reel above me and the i ground to heave beneath my feet like tho | lava crust of Xacn. But as yet I did not ! reveal myself, for I wished to learn if she still loved my memory. "Senora," Isaid, 'lama Spaniard who i served in iho Indian wars of Cortes, of . which perhaps you have heard." She bowed her head, and I went on: "In i those wars I met a man who was named pgHfltaM^vho had another name in for^n^WPJ^^^j^^ohi me on his deathbed 1 Btnnc two "WNat flame?" she asked in a low voice. ( "Thbmas Wlngfleld." NottfLBy moaned aloud and in her turn1' caught at tho pales to savo herself from I falling. "I deemed him dead these 18 years," sho ! gnsped, "drowned in tho Indian seas, | where his vessel foundered." I "I have heard say that ho was shipj wrecked in those seas, senora, but he esi capetl death und fell among the Indians, | who made a god of him and gave him the I daughter of their king in marriage." And | I paused. She shivered, then 6aid in a hard voice: "Continue, sir. I listen to you." "My friend Tculo took the part of the ! Indians in the wars, as being tho husband ! of one of their princesses ho must do in | honor, and fought bravely for them for many years. At length tho town that ho J defended was captured, his one remaining child was murdered, and his wire, mo princess, slew herself for sorrow, and ho iiimself was taken into captivity, whero ho languished and died." ' A sad tale, sir," she said, with a little laugh?a mournful laugh that was half choked with tears. ' A very sad tale, senora, but ono that is not finished. While ho lay dying my j friend told me that in his early life ho had | plighted troth with a certain English maid ; named" I "I know the name. Continue." lie told mo that though he had been wedded and loved his wife, the princess, who was a very royal woman, that many ! times had risked her life for his?aye, even j to lying at his upon the stone of saci riflee, and of her own free will?yet the memory of this maiden to whom lie was once betrothed had companioned him 1 through life and was strong upon him now at its close. Therefore lie prayed 1110 for our friendship's sake to seek her out when I returned to Europe, should she still live, and to give her message from him and to j make a prayer to her on his behalf." i "What message and what prayer?" Lily whispered. "This: That he loved her at the end of [ his life as he had loved her at its beginj nlng; that he humbly prayed her forgiveI ness because lie had broken the troth j which they two had sworn beneath tho. beech at Ditehingham.J' i d. | "Mr, she cried, what tu? you Know i of that?" ''Only what my friend told me, sonora." ' "Your friendship must have been close, | and your memory must lie good," she j murmured. "Which he had done," I went on, "under strange circumstances?so strange indeed that lie dared to hope that his broken troth might be renewed in some better world than this. His lust prayer was that she should say to me, his messenger, that she forgave him and still loved him, as to his death lie loved her." "And how can such forgiveness or such an avowal advantage a dead man?" Lily asked, watching me keenly through the shndows. "Have the dead then eyes to 6cc and ears to hear?" "How can I know, senora? I do but execute my mission." "And bow can I know that you are a i true messenger? It chanced that I had sure tidings of the drowning of Thomas j Wingiield many years ago, lynl this talo ! of Indians and princesses is wondrous strange?more like those that linppen in romances than in tiiis plain world. Have you no token of your good faith, sir?" "I have such token, senora, but tlio light is too faint for you to see it." "Then follow mo to the house. There we will get light. Stay." And, onco more going to the stable gate, she called i John. An old man answered her, and I knew j the voice for that of one of my father's ' serving men. To him she spoko in low tones, then led the way by the garden path j to the front door of the house, which she opened with a key from her girdle, moJ tinning to me to pass in before her. I did ! so, and thinking little of such matters at ' the moment turned by habit into the j doorway of the sitting room, which I knew ! so well, lifting my feet to avoid stumbling I on its step, and passing into thu room I found my way through the gloom to the wide fireplace, where I took my stand. ! Lily watched me enter; then, following me, she lit a taper at the fire which smoldered J on the licartR and placed it upon tho table in the window in such fashion tliat, thougli ; I was now obliged to take oil my hat, my i face was still in shadow. I "Now, sir, your token, if it pleases J you." I Then I drew the posy ring from my llnI ger and gave it to her, and she sat down ! by the table and examined it in the light i of the eandle, and as she sat thus I saw 1 how beautiful she was still and how littlo time had touched her except for tho sad; ness in her face, though now she had seen : eight and thirty winters. I saw ulso that I though sho kept control of her features as ! she looked upon the ring her breast heaved j quickly and her hand shook. ' The token is a true one," she said at i length. "I know the ring, though it is j somewhat worn since bust I saw it. It wus I my mother's, and many years ago I gave | it as a love gage to a youth to whom I i promised myself in marriage. Doubtless | all your tale is true, also, sir, and I thank you for your courtesy in bringing it so fur. It is a sad tale, a very sad tale. And now, sir, as I may not ask you to stay in this house, where I live alone, and thcro is no inn near, I propose to send serving men to conduct you to my brother's dwelling, that is something more than a mile away, if, indeed," she added slowly, "you do not already know tho path. There you will | find entertainment, and there tho sister of j your dead companion, Mary Bozard, will j be glad to learn the story of his strango ndventures from your lips." I bowed my head and answered: "Firjt, senora, I would pray your answer to my iriend's dying prayer and message." "It is childish to send answers to tho dead." "Still I pray for them, as I was charged to do." "How reads tho writing within this ring, sir?" "Heart to heart, Tlioutrli far anart." I said glibly, and next instant 1 could have bitten out my tongue. "All, you know that also, but doubtless you have carried the ring for many months and learned the writing! Well, sir, though wo were far apart, and though perchance I cherished the memory of him who wore WiMS'tii'Xt M? l-.ig?to the breast indeed of some safago woman whom lie married and who boro him children. That being so, my answer to tho prayer of your dead friend is that I forgive him indeed, but I must needs take back the vows which I swore to him for | tins 1110 ana lorever, since no nns uiumjh them, and as best I may strive to cast out the love I bore him, sineo ho rejected and I dishonored it." And, standing up, Lily j made as though she tore at her breast and threw something from her, and at the ! same time she let fall the ring upon the I floor. I heard, and my heart stood still. So j this was the end of it. Well, she had the I right of me, though now I liegan to wish that I had been less honest, for sometimes women can forgive a lie sooner than such frankness. I said nothing. My tongue was tied, but a great misery and weariness entered into me. Stooping down, I found the ring, and replacing it on my linger I turned to seek the door with a last glance ! at the woman who refused me. Half way | thither I paused for one second, wondering | if I should do well to declare myself, then bethought me that if she would not abate j lier anger towurd me dead her pity for me | living would be small. Nay, I was dead to her, and dead I would remain. Now I was at the door, and my foot was 1 on its step, when suddenly a voice?Lily's | voice?sounded in my cars, and it was | sweet and kind. "Thomas, "said the voice, "Thomas, bej foro you go will you not take count of tho i gold and goods and land that you placed ; in my keeping!"" Now I turned amazed, and, lo, Lily came : toward me slowly and with outstretched i arms! j "Oh, foolish man," sho whispered low, | "did you think to deceive a woman's heart i thus clumsily?you who tulkcd of the I beech in tho Hail garden, you who found | your way so well to this dark chamber I and spoke the writing in tho ring with the very voico or one wiio nas neon ueuu su long! Listen. I forgive that friend of yours | his broken troth, for ho was honest in the telling of his fault, and it is hard for man to live alone so many years, and in strange countries come strange adventures. More! over, I will say it, I still love him as it ! seems that he loves me, though in truth I grow somewhat old for love, who have lingered long waiting to find it beyond my I grave." Thus Lily spoke, sobbing as she spoke, then my arms closed uround her, and sho said no more. And yet as our lips met I thought of Otomie, remembering her words, and remembering also that she had died on this very day a year ago. Let us pray that the dead have no vision i of tho living!. ? .... ! Ancl now there is utile left lor mo to tell, J The tidings of my QiUirn and of my ? . J strang^u|Mj^uws*'uiiiong the nations of abroad far and wide, and pcoj^WI^M from miles round, aye, even from Norwich and Yarmouth, to see l me, nnil I was pressed to tell my tale till 1 I grew weary of it; also a servico of I thanksgiving for my safe delircrancce ! from many dangers by land and sea was | held in the Church of St. Mary's here in Ditchinglmm. When that ceremony was over and all j pcoplo had gone to tlu-ir homes, I came j back again to the empty church from the I hall, where I abode awhile as the guest of ' my sister and her husband, till Lily and I | were wed. And there in the quiet light of the June | evening I knelt in the chancel upon tho j rushes that strewed the grave of my father J and my mother and sent my spirit up toI ward them in the place of their eternal j rest and to the God who guards them. A j great calm came upon me as I knelt thus. I and I felt how mad had boon that oath of I mine that as a lad 1 had sworn to lie j avenged upon He Garcia, and I saw how as a tree from a seed all my sorrows had | grown from it. Rut oven then I could not I do other than hate Do Garcia?no, nor can ; I to this hour?and after all it was natural i T /Inclntvonmmnpnan flio mnr 1 LlJUi J. nnvy i? a\* uv???v | derer.of my mother, though tlie wreaking I of it had best been left in another hand. , Without the little chancel door I met Lily, who was lingering there, knowing | me tq be within, and we spoke together. "Lily," I said, "I would ask you somc| thing. After all that has been, will you still take mo for your husband, unworthy as I am?" "I promised so to do many a year ago, Thomas," she answered, speaking very low and blushing like the wild rose that I bloomed upon a grave beside her, "and I j have never changed my mind* Indeed fot j many years I have looked upon you as my | husband, though I thought you dead." "Perhaps it is more than I deserve," 1 said, "but if it is to be say when it shall be, for youth has left us, and we have little j time to lose." "When you will, Thomas," she answered, placing her hand in mine. Within a wevk evening we I were wed. t flSB