Brother Against Brother; or, The Tompkins Mystery. Read online

  CHAPTER XV.

  MR. DIGGS AGAIN IN TROUBLE.

  McClellan, in the meanwhile, had been sweeping the Western portion ofVirginia. On the 11th of July, he gained a victory over the unorganizedor at most half organized Confederates under Colonel Pegram at RichMountain, which was at no great distance from the Widow Juniper's.

  Colonel Scrabble then endeavored to reinforce General Garnett at LaurelHill, but the latter was on his retreat toward the Shenandoah to joinJohnston's army, when Scrabble and eight hundred men, three hundred ofwhich were cavalry, came up with him.

  The fight at Rich Mountain had taken place just two days after Mrs.Juniper's reception, and it was partly this reception that had delayedScrabble, for, by forced marches, he might have reached Pegram beforehis defeat. While he and his officers were basking in the smiles of theladies of West Virginia, General McClellan, under the excellent guidanceof Uncle Dan, had slipped in between the two forces and defeated thelarger. Having been thus reinforced and, seeing escape almostimpossible, General Garnett resolved to make one more stand against theenemy. At Carrick's Ford, on Cheat river, is a small winding stream,flowing through the central part northward of what is now West Virginia.It has its foundation-head near Rich Mountain, and the towns ofPhilippi, Grafton, and Beverly are on its banks.

  The main army, under General Garnett, took position near the road on abluff eighty feet high, where he planted his cannon. Colonel Scrabble,with his eight hundred troops, was on a bluff covered with thick almostimpenetrable forest trees.

  Oleah Tompkins and many others of the company had on more than oneoccasion shown superior courage, and the raw troops, with very fewexceptions, promised excellent behavior on this occasion.

  Corporal Diggs was there; he had fastened January to a small tree, neara stump that would enable him to mount. Mr. Diggs was very cool on thisoccasion. He sat behind a tree, his gun across his lap, and although hefelt some uneasiness, yet, when he looked about him and saw the manystrong, armed men standing in front of him in double ranks, he feltalmost brave. Occasionally a shudder would pass through his frame,especially when he heard that the Yankees were in sight.

  The roar of cannon shook the air, and a ball, whizzing through thetree-tops, just over the heads of Colonel Scrabble's raw troops,scattering leaves and clipping branches in its course, shivered a treeto splinters in the rear.

  "Steady, boys!" shouted the colonel. "Never mind that. Don't fire tillyou get the word." But a few of the more nervous did fire.

  "Steady!" cried the captains as they heard the shots.

  "Steady!" repeated the file-closers in trembling tones.

  "Stop that firing, you fools! Wait for the word," cried the enragedcolonel, galloping furiously up and down the line.

  "Steady!" said Corporal Diggs, in a hoarse whisper, lying flat on theground behind his tree, the branches of which still trembled from thepassage of the ball.

  Soon a long line of blue coats could be seen on the opposite side of thesmall stream; fire belched from their guns, and a shower of leaden hailfell among the regiment of Colonel Scrabble.

  "Steady!" cried the colonel. "Wait for the word."

  "Steady!" cried the captains and lieutenants.

  "Oh! Lordy, I'll be killed, I know I shall," wailed poor Diggs,crouching close to the ground.

  "Aim! Fire!" was the command given on the Confederate side, and theirguns returned the leaden storm with effect. The whole line was engaged,and peal followed peal, shot followed shot, thunder-clap followedthunder-clap, while the white smoke rose in canopying folds above thewoods. The dead and wounded lay on both sides of the stream. The treeswere shattered by the flying balls. The engagement became general.

  After the first two or three rounds, Corporal Diggs, finding himself asyet unhurt, ventured to peep around the tree. He observed a number ofblue coats on the opposite side of the stream and saw a number lyingmotionless on the ground. Snatching his carbine, he fired, he knew notat whom, because he closed his eyes as his finger pressed the trigger.Then, as if convinced that his shot would turn the tide of battle, hesprang once more behind his tree--to reload.

  Among the new officers most noted for their daring was Oleah Tompkins,who was everywhere the shots fell thickest, encouraging his men by wordand act. Through the flash of guns and clouds of smoke he occasionallycaught a glimpse of a familiar form in the enemy's lines. It was a Unioncaptain, upon whose coolness and courage seemed to rest the fortunes ofhis entire regiment. There was no mistaking that form, he had known itsince his earliest recollection. That brave young officer, in an enemy'sranks, had been his playmate in childhood, his companion in boyhood,his schoolmate, his college chum, his constant associate in manhood, andwas still his brother. A mist swam before the young Confederate's eyes,as he thought a single chance shot might send that brother intoeternity. Little thought had Oleah for himself. He saw his comrades fallabout him and heard groan and cry ascend from the blood stained grass,the balls of the enemy whistled about, shattering the tender bark of thetrees, but the lieutenant had no thought save of his playmate, companionand brother on the other side of the stream.

  "Lieutenant Tompkins, you expose yourself needlessly," said Harry Smith,touching his officer on the sleeve. "The other officers do not standconstantly in front."

  Oleah lowered the field-glass, through which he had been looking at theyoung captain in blue across the river, and with a sad smile turnedtoward the speaker.

  "Harry," he said, "do you know who we are fighting, who those men areacross the river?"

  "No," said Harry, "only that they are enemies."

  "Once they were neighbors, friends and brothers. That is the companycommanded by my brother Abner and raised in and about our village. Everyshot we fire, whose aim is true, drinks the blood of one who was once afriend."

  "Once friends," said Harry, "but enemies now."

  Harry, who at first could not brook to take up arms against the Starsand Stripes, had joined the Home Guards, under the belief that they wereonly to protect their homes. He found himself in the Confederate army asmany others did, and determined to make the best of it.

  Blood is thicker than water, and--in spite of the fierce hatred OleahTompkins had for the Northern armies--it was with a sinking heart thathe entered into combat with Colonel Holdfast's regiment.

  While McClellan's main body was pressing Garnett's army closely infront, and threatening each moment to cross the ford, a portion of twoIndiana regiments crossed about three miles above the ford and camecrashing down on the Confederate's right wing. In a few minutes theright flank of the rebels was turned and the Union soldiers, with wildcheers, dashed into the stream and pushed across to the opposite side.The whole rebel line began to waver. General Garnett, seeing the dangerhis army was in, rode gallantly forward, and strove to rally hispanic-stricken men. It was in vain, and, in the midst of his uselessefforts to turn the tide of battle, he was struck by a ball and felldead to the earth. His fall completed the panic which had already begun.

  Corporal Diggs, who had displayed a vast amount of coolness, as he laycrouched behind his tree shivering in every limb, was the first in hisregiment to determine how the battle would go. No sooner had the rightflank been struck by the Hoosier troops than, with far-seeing militaryjudgment, he declared the day lost and, bounding to his feet, sprangtoward his horse which was snorting and plunging in its endeavors to getaway.

  "Whoa, January, you old fool!" cried the corporal.

  Whiz zip, went a musket ball past his ear, clipping a twig which fell athis feet, and causing January to prance and rear.

  "Oh Lordy, I'll be killed, I know I shall! Whoa, January!" and histrembling fingers struggled to unloose the knot of his halter.

  Harry Smith, who had fought with desperate bravery, was, with LieutenantTompkins, among the last to leave the field. As he was in the act ofmounting his horse, he cast a glance down toward the ford, where themass of Union troops were forming and beheld the Stars and Stripesstreaming above the long line of b
lue coats. Harry turned pale for thefirst time during the fight. A shock, as of a galvanic battery, seemedto strike his frame.

  "Oh! Heavens!" he thought, "why am I in these ranks, a rebel and atraitor, fighting against the best government this world has everknown?"

  "Mount quickly, Harry, or we shall be taken," cried Oleah, who wasalready in the saddle.

  Harry sprang into the saddle, and they galloped away after their nowflying comrades, the enemy's cavalry pursuing them closely and firing anoccasional shot into the retreating ranks, as they rushed and crowdeddown the road through the lanes and over the hills in the direction ofBeverly.

  Corporal Diggs finally succeeded in untying the halter-knot, that heldJanuary to his post, and after some trouble got into the saddle. Thebullets were whistling around his ears, and January was plunging throughthe underbrush and out into the road, where he struck off in a westerndirection at a rapid rate. The corporal did not try to restrain him, andthey were soon over the hill, three miles away from the battle ground.

  "Oh Lordy, I know they are all killed!" murmured the little corporal,looking back as he galloped down the road. For an hour he rode on, inwhat direction he knew not, but away from both armies. His mind was fullof wild fancies. He saw six men coming like the wind down a cross lane,and, although they were a mile or two in his rear, he knew by their darkclothes and bright flashing guns that they were Union cavalry.

  "Oh Lordy! I shall be killed, I know," he thought, as he used whip andspur, crying: "Get up, January! Oh! for the Lord's sake, run!"

  Corporal Diggs glanced back again, and saw the six dark horsemen in thelane, directly behind him, and coming on as fast as their horses couldcarry them. He thundered down the lane, which was bordered on eitherside by a hedge fence about five feet high. The ground for about onemile was level, and then came some hills, steep and abrupt as onlyVirginia hills are.

  The corporal unbuckled his saber and threw it away, threw away hispistols, and everything that might in the least impede his flight.January flew over the mile stretch and dashed down the hills at abreak-neck speed. Corporal Diggs, who was not an experienced rider,clung to his horse's mane, and several times came very near beingunseated. The soldiers in his rear came nearer, and their shouts couldbe heard by the poor flying wretch, but when he descended the hill theywere out of sight.

  January, coming to a ditch at the side of the road, made a fearful leap,and Corporal Diggs, losing his seat, was plunged head-foremost into ahedge, which closed completely over him.

  "Oh, Lordy, I know I shall be killed!" he groaned, as he lay, bruisedand bleeding, in the midst of the hedge. January never for a momentstopped his flight, and soon the six pursuers swept by. Immediatelyafter this the corporal became unconscious.

  Daylight had passed into night when Corporal Diggs recoveredconsciousness; lying in his thorny bed bleeding, sore at every joint,and with face and hands frightfully lacerated, it was needless to saythat this brave soldier was very uncomfortable. His first thought, onregaining his senses, was to extricate himself from the thorns, and thiswas by no means an easy task. Thorns above, thorns below, thorns on allsides, made moving without additional laceration an impossibility. Withgreat care and many a smothered imprecation, groan and prayer, he atlast emerged on the meadow side of the hedge.

  The sky was clear and dark, and studded with innumerable stars. Eachsilent watcher seemed twinkling with merriment as the tatteredConfederate stood by the hedge, pondering which way to go. On theopposite side lay the broad, dark lane, leading he knew not where, andbefore him stretched the wide meadow. He chose the latter, and was inthe act of starting on his journey, when the tramp of hoofs coming downthe lane struck his ear, and he again crouched down under the shelter.

  It proved to be a small body of Union cavalry, and their arms clankedominously as they rode by. They passed on over the hill, and thecorporal rose once more and scanned the broad, dark green meadow, whosewaving grass was soaked with a heavy dew. But wet grass was nothingcompared with Union cavalry just then, and he pushed boldly across themeadow, regardless of its dampness. The meadow was much wider than hehad supposed; he traveled for a mile or more through the tall, dampgrass before he came to a stone fence, on the opposite side of which hesaw a thick wood.

  After carefully reconnoitering the premises, Corporal Diggs scaled thestone fence and dropped down on the other side. He paused a few minutesto remove the thorns from his arms and legs, wrung some of the water outof his clothes, and then selecting one of many narrow paths, he walkeddown into the forest. He traveled for several hours, avoiding publicroads, and at last came out in the rear of what seemed to be anextensive plantation. He found some stacks of new made hay, whichoffered quite a comfortable sleeping place, and in a few minutes, afterhe had crawled into one, he was asleep, and slept soundly until the sunwas up. Then, stiff and sore and bruised, he crawled from his bed andlooked about him. The place has a familiar look. There was a magnificentstone mansion to his left, and those broad fields and numerousplantation houses he had seen before. _It was the plantation of Mrs.Julia Juniper._

  The corporal knew, that in the widow, he would find a warm andsympathizing friend, and he consequently made his way toward the house.It was certainly with no martial bearing that he presented himself atthe door of the widow's mansion. He asked to see Mrs. Juniper, but wastold by her maid, that it was too early for her mistress to be out ofbed. She brought him to the kitchen fire to dry his stained anddew-soaked clothes.

  The corporal dried his clothes, washed and bound up his wounds with suchlinen as the cook would furnish, and tried to make himself presentable.Seeing Mrs. Juniper's maid he desired her to inform her mistress thatCorporal Diggs wished to see her as early as possible.

  Mrs. Juniper, supposing that some important message had been sent byColonel Scrabble, allowed herself to be hastily dressed, and sent totell the corporal she would receive him. Diggs lost no time in obeyingthe summons. At sight of the lacerated and bandaged being who entered,Mrs. Juniper, who had risen to receive her guest, utter a scream, andsank back into her chair.

  "Corporal Diggs," she cried, "what has happened?"

  "We have met the foe," said Diggs, with a tragic tone and manner. "Hem,hem, hem!--yes, Mrs. Juniper, we have met the foe--" He paused, overcomewith emotion.

  "With what result?"

  "I alone am left to tell the tale."

  "Oh, heavens! Corporal Diggs, it can not, it can not be true!"

  "Alas! lady, it is but too true. Our brave army is now no more. I,wounded and hunted like a hare, have come to you for a few hours ofpeace and shelter."

  Diggs endeavored to look the character of a wounded knight from FloddenField.

  "Pray, Corporal Diggs, tell me all; our cause is not, must not be lost.The South--but, pardon me, you are wounded, weak, and faint--"

  Diggs had put one of his arms in a sling and had bound a bandage on hishead.

  "Sarah, bring wine here at once. Ah! you must have been very closelyengaged with the enemy from the number of your wounds."

  The wine was brought, and Diggs, now refreshed, gave eager Mrs. Junipera glowing account of the battle at Carrick's Ford. As the account givenby history does not, in all respects, agree with that of Corporal Diggs,we will give his version of the conflict.

  "Madam," said the little corporal, "yesterday occurred one of the mostbloody battles that the world has ever known. Our regiment joinedGeneral Garnett, and we met the enemy at Carrick's Ford, some sevenhundred thousand strong, headed by old Abe Lincoln himself. They had ahundred to our one, but we fought, oh, my dear Mrs. Juniper, we foughtlike lions, like whirlwinds, like raging hurricanes--hem, hem"--brokeoff Corporal Diggs, trying to think of some stronger term, "yes, my dearMrs. Juniper, like cyclones--hem, hem! We piled the ground around usseveral feet deep with their dead, and Cheat river overflowed its bankswith the blood, but--hem, hem! it was no use. They came on, and theircannon shot, musket shot, and grape shot mowed men down. I--hem, hem--Iwas last to fall, I fought the whole
of them for some time alone, but,surrounded, wounded, faint and bleeding, I fell from my horse and wasleft on the field for dead. When I came to my senses I--hem,hem!--crawled away and came here, believing that, wounded and faint as Iwas, you would not refuse me rest and shelter, and--and--hem, hem--I amvery weak from loss of blood, Mrs. Juniper."

  "Poor fellow, I don't doubt that you are. Sarah, bring water and freshlinen. My own hands shall dress your wounds!"

  "No, no, dear Mrs. Juniper, I would not permit a delicate lady to lookupon the rude gashes of war. If you will permit me, I will retire anddress my wounds." He tried hard to convulse his features with pain.

  "I will not allow that," said the widow. "These wounds were received indefending my country against the cruel Northern invader, and I shalldress them with my own hands."

  "No; oh! no, dear lady, you can not know how a soldier, rough and usedonly to the roar of cannon and clash of steel, must shrink frominflicting on a lady such needless pain."

  "Then I will have a surgeon brought," persisted kind-hearted Mrs.Juniper.

  "Quite unnecessary, my dear lady, as they are only flesh wounds--what wesoldiers call mere scratches."

  Mrs. Juniper had his breakfast brought to the parlor and insisted on hisreclining on the sofa. She asked a thousand questions, which Mr. Diggsanswered in his extravagant manner. The day passed, and rumor afterrumor, almost as wild and extravagant as Corporal Diggs' report, camefrom the battle-field, confirming the defeat, at least, if not the utterannihilation, of the army.

  As bodies of Union men were scouring the country, picking up stragglersfrom the Confederate army, who were fleeing in every direction, Mrs.Juniper suggested that Corporal Diggs had better have a bed prepared andsleep in the cellar, as her house might be entered and searched. TheCorporal although asserting that, if armed, he would not be in the leastafraid of half a hundred of the cowardly Yankees, consented, merely outof regard for the lady's feelings. Such scenes of carnage and bloodshedas must ensue, if an attempt should be made to capture him, would be tooterrible for a delicate lady to witness. The corporal had no arms, allhad been taken from him as he lay unconscious on the field, but Mrs.Juniper sent out among the hands and confiscated three guns, two oldhorse-pistols, and a long trooper's sword, which she had conveyed to the"brave soldier" in her cellar.

  A horse had that morning been found with saddle and bridle on, lookinghungrily at the barn and trying to make the acquaintance of the sleek,well-fed equines, who answered his neighs from its windows. The negro,who found the horse, had put him in the barn and given him all the oatsand corn he desired, which was a considerable amount. The corporal,hearing of the horse, went to see him, and at once recognized in thattall, raw-boned creature his noble January. The meeting of knight andsteed was of course very touching, as the wealthy, handsome widow waspresent to witness it.

  As he walked back to the mansion he related many of the noble qualitiesof his horse, how he had fought over his master long after he layinsensible upon the battle-field. There was one little matter the "bravesoldier" failed to explain, and that was, how, while insensible, themaster knew what the horse was doing.

  "What a brave man he must be," thought the widow as she sat in herboudoir after the corporal had retired to the cellar, where he put theguns and pistols at the extreme corner of the room, least they shouldaccidentally go off and kill him. "What a brave man he is, who hasfought so many men! On him alone now depends the success of our cause.He is the Alfred the Great, the Charles the Second, who must gather anarmy and strike when our foe least expects it. Brave, brave man!" Andthe widow dreamed that night that she saw Corporal Diggs lead a vastarmy against the enemy, and that victory crowned his attempts. She sawthe glorious South an independent nation and honors heaped upon the manshe had succored. He was seated on the throne of the new kingdom andbecame a wise and good ruler.

  Waking, the widow actually wept with joy, for she would not believe thather vision was anything else than a direct revelation, and was sure thatthe fate of her beloved South hung upon the sword-point of the braveman, who was then sleeping in her cellar. True, he was small of stature,and, when mounted on January, did, as Seth Williams had said, look muchlike a bug on a log, but then he was brave, and many of the greatmilitary men were small.

  The corporal spent three or four days in concealment at the widow's,and, although his thorn scratches were entirely healed, he still keptthe bandage on his head and carried his arm in a sling. He haddiscovered that, wounded and suffering, he elicited more sympathy fromthe beautiful widow. They usually walked out at twilight, and spent anhour in the spacious ground.

  Upon one occasion the widow told her dreams, and asked the brave man byher side what he thought of it.

  "Think of it? Hem, hem! Why, my dear Mrs. Juniper--hem, hem, hem!--why,it will be fulfilled to the very letter. Yes, my dear lady--hem,hem!"--and Diggs turned his face aside in a reflective manner, and hislittle eyes glowed with meaning, "it is my design to gather another armyand hurl back the tide of adversity. My dear Mrs. Juniper, the world yetknows not Corporal Diggs, but it shall, it shall," and he struck the endof a stout stick which he carried in his hand into the pebble-coveredearth. "Oh, if these scratches would but heal, so that I once more couldtake the field and lead an army on to victory; then they shouldknow--hem, hem, hem!--they would learn that the Caesars are not dead."

  "Oh! what a loss it would have been to our beloved South if you had beenslain!" said the enraptured widow.

  "Fear not--hem, hem, hem--my dear madam, I shall not be slain. I have mydestiny to fulfill. And now--hem, hem!--my dear madam, my dear Mrs.Juniper, my dear Julia, let me call you by that sweet name, I havesomething of great importance to speak of."

  An ambuscade could not have startled the widow more than this braveman's manner. She elevated her eyebrows, and her large dark eyes grewround with wonder as she said:

  "Why--why, Corporal Diggs, what can it be! What can you mean?"

  "Do you not comprehend me? Say, has love no sharper eyes? Oh, my dear,dear--Julia--" here Corporal Diggs' manner became demonstrative; heseemed to forget the severe wounds, and, starting from the garden seat,down he went on one knee, and drawing from the sling the arm that hadbeen shattered by grapeshot, he clasped his hands as if in prayer. "Oh,my dear--hem, hem, hem!--my darling Julia, I love you! I have loved youever since I first saw you, and I ask you--hem, hem!--to become mine.Accept this heart, which you have captured, and give me yours inreturn."

  His speech delivered, the little corporal remained on his knee, with hiseyes closed and his lips pursed, in his endeavor to appear absorbed andearnest.

  "Mr. Diggs, your behavior is very unbecoming the brave soldier I tookyou to be," said the lady, after a moment's hesitation. "This is no timeto talk of love."

  At this rebuke Mr. Diggs rose from his knees, abashed and confused, andresumed his seat.

  "We have enough, Corporal Diggs, to engage our minds for the present.While our beloved country is in peril we must forget all personalfeelings. Let its dangers and its salvation be paramount."

  "But when this cruel war is over, and peace returns once more, will youthen consent to become my wife?" persisted the corporal. "I--I--loveyou, and I--I--I can't help it. Say you will be my wife!"

  "It is growing rather late, Mr. Diggs, and the air is chilly. We willreturn to the house."

  They accordingly rose, and Diggs, walking in sullen, abashed silence bythe widow's side, entered the great stone mansion. Mrs. Juniper retiredto her own room, and Corporal Diggs to the cellar.

  Mrs. Julia Juniper had a tall, lantern-jawed, ill-disposed, and enviousneighbor, who was a Union man for no other earthly reason than that allhis neighbors were Confederates. He lived in a wretched little hovel,had a sickly wife, and eight children. He might have made a living onhis little farm, but was too lazy to work, and continually engaged inpetty lawsuits with his neighbors. Josiah Scraggs was a communist atheart, and he felt sure that, as he was such an excellent Union man andMrs. Julia Juniper so
decidedly "secesh" in principles, that eventuallyher magnificent mansion and large plantation would be taken from thewidow and given to him. He had confided his hopes to his sickly wife anddirty children, and all were anxious for the happy change. JosiahScraggs was constantly reporting the conduct of his neighbors,especially of the widow Juniper, to any Union soldiers who might be inthe neighborhood. He had been watching the mansion since the battle ofCarrick's Ford, for he suspected that she was "harboring seceshsoldiers." Sure enough, one evening he saw the widow and Corporal Diggswalking together in the garden, and away he went to the headquarters ofColonel Holdfast, who was about ten miles away, to give information thatsecesh soldiers were concealed in the widow's mansion.

  He rode the old gray mare into the camp, and called for the colonel.Being shown to his tent, he quickly made the object of his visit known,magnifying many fold what he had seen, and leaving the colonel to inferthat many more might be in the house.

  Scraggs, having made his report, was dismissed by the colonel. Heloitered outside the tent, waiting hungrily for the colonel to executeto him and his heirs and assign forever a title in fee simple to thevast plantation and magnificent stone mansion of Mrs. Julia Juniper.Instead, the colonel sent for Captain Abner Tompkins, and ordered him totake his company, with as many more men as he needed, and proceed atonce to Mrs. Juniper's to take prisoners the rebel soldiers lyingconcealed there.

  "My own company will be sufficient, I think, colonel," said Abner.

  "All right, then," replied the former, and turned to his papers withouthaving issued the deed to Scraggs.

  As Abner was mustering his men, Scraggs re-entered the colonel's tent,and, reaching out a long, bony, finger, touched the officer on theshoulder. Colonel Holdfast looked up from his papers with a "Well, whatnow?"

  "What do I get for reportin' on this ere secesh woman?"

  "The consciousness, sir, of having done your duty," replied the colonel.

  "Well, but don't I git no pay?" asked Scraggs, his face darkening withdisappointment, the house and plantation of Mrs. Juniper vanishing frombefore his mental vision.

  "None, sir; so good a Union man as you are surely would ask nocompensation for doing his duty."

  "Well, but ain't you a goin' to give me her farm and house?" askedScraggs, the disappointment on his face deepening into agony.

  "My dear sir," said the colonel, "I have no authority to give you anyone's property. If you want a plantation you must purchase it of theowner."

  "Well, but she harbors secesh."

  "If her house becomes a nuisance in that way we shall be justified inburning it, but we can not take it from her and give it to any oneelse."

  The colonel again turned to his papers, and Scraggs, his long-cherishedhopes blasted, left the tent, mounted his old gray mare, and rode home.

  Scraggs was only one of the many, on both sides, who reported theirneighbors' deeds and misdeeds to reap reward therefrom.

  As Mrs. Juniper sat in her room that evening, the tramp of hoofs came toher ears. She extinguished her light and, going to the window, lookedout into the night. The pale rays of the moon fell upon a large body ofcavalry dismounting at her gate, and, oh horrors! surrounding her house.Swift as the wind the widow flew down two flights of stairs to thecellar, where she acquainted the "brave soldier" of the fact, andimplored him to be merciful, should they discover him, and not kill anymore than was necessary in self-defense. Poor little Diggs sat cuddledup in one corner, his round face pale as death, looking anything in theworld but dangerous.

  Then came loud knocking at the front door.

  "There," said the widow, "they are at the front door. I will try to sendthem away; but you are armed, and you are a brave man and there are notmore than fifty; so, of course, you will not fear them."

  The widow turned and left, while poor Diggs sat cowering and mentallyejaculating:

  "Oh! Lordy, I'll be killed, I know I shall!"

  Mrs. Juniper went herself to the door and opened it.

  Captain Abner Tompkins stood there, sword in hand. Behind him weretwenty or more of his men, all armed, while the others were scattered indifferent portions of the yard.

  "What will you have, gentlemen?" asked the widow, holding the lamp aboveher head and looking fearlessly down into their faces.

  "Pardon me, madam," said the young captain, bowing, "but we have beeninformed that some rebels are quartering here, and have come for them."

  "Your informant was both meddlesome and ignorant. There are no rebel_soldiers_ in the house," was the widow's reply.

  "I beg your pardon, madam," said Abner, entering unbidden, and followedby several of his men. "I have no cause to doubt, yet my orders areimperative, and I must search your house."

  The widow had the tact to yield without more argument, and the searchcommenced. From her bedroom to the kitchen, all the house was thoroughlysearched. The Captain laid his hand on the cellar door.

  "Hold!" said the widow, laying her hand on his arm. "I told you therewere no rebel soldiers here, and I told you the truth. There is,however, one of them in the cellar, but for humanity's sake I warn younot to encounter him. He is a host in himself, a perfect tornado, whenroused. You will be all killed if you venture, for he is well armed."

  The young captain smiled.

  "You say he is a tornado; we are each a cyclone, and together we mayraise a hurricane. But do not fear, madam, for, I assure you, we shalltake him without the firing of a shot."

  Opening the door, Captain Tompkins boldly walked down the flight ofstairs, leading to the cellar, a light in one hand and a drawn sword inthe other--a number of his men following him. A sight met their view atthe foot of the stairs, calculated rather to excite laughter than tostrike terror to their hearts. A small man in gray uniform, rushingaimlessly about trying to scale the cellar wall, to hide beneath theboxes, to find some way--any way--of escape. His actions were more likethat of a rat in a trap than a brave soldier.

  Mrs. Juniper, left in the room above, faint with terror, sank upon thenearest chair and clasped her hands to her ears to shut out the soundsof conflict that must inevitably follow.

  "Halloa, Diggs! what are you doing here?" cried Captain Tompkins, whocould not restrain his laughter. Mr. Diggs had been performing leapafter leap, in his vain endeavors to get away, ejaculating all thewhile:

  "Oh, Lordy, Lordy! I know I shall be killed, I know I shall be killed!"

  At the sound of a familiar voice, he looked around, and, discovering whohis captors were, he sprang forward and threw his arms around the neckof the captain, crying:

  "Oh! Abner, Abner, Abner, my dearest friend Abner, you will not let mebe killed! Oh! say you will not let me be killed! Although I waspersuaded into the rebel army, I am not a Confederate. I have alwaysthought that it was wrong to fight under any but the flag of Washingtonand Marion. Oh! don't let them kill me! Oh, Abner, Abner, for Heaven'ssake, say you will protect me. I have suffered death a thousand timessince I entered this unholy cause."

  Abner, still laughing, assured him that he should not be injured, thathe should be treated as a prisoner of war.

  Corporal Diggs, assuring men and officers that there was no strongerUnion man living than he, that he was ready to enlist and fight until hedied for the Union, followed the troops out of the house. The widowfixed a gaze of astonishment on the "brave soldier," upon "whom the fateof the South rested," and when she heard his imploring tones and hisavowed determination to fight for the Union till he died, her proud lipscurled with scorn, and, without a word, she passed from the room.

  The corporal mounted January, and rode away in good spirits toward theUnion camp.