A STRANGE WAY OUT
Caton came in once more about the middle of the afternoon, bringing me
some blankets; but he had no news, and his boyish face was a picture of
pathos as he wrung my hand good-bye. Sheridan, he said, had gone down
the lines, and both Brennan and himself were under orders to follow in
another hour. What instructions, if any, had been left regarding my
case he could not say, but he feared the worst from the unusual secrecy.
Sheridan expected to return to his headquarters that same evening, as
the officers of his staff were to give a grand ball.
I felt no inclination to partake of the rude supper left me, and just
before dark I was lying upon the bench idly wondering if that was to
prove the last vestige of daylight I should ever behold in this world,
when, without slightest warning, the heavy iron grating in the wall
directly above me fell suddenly, striking the edge of the bench, and
clattered noisily to the floor. The fall was so unexpected, and my
escape from injury so narrow, that I lay almost stunned, staring up
helplessly at the dark hole thus left bare. As I gazed, a face framed
itself in this narrow opening, and two wary eyes peered cautiously down
at me. There was no mistaking that countenance even in the fast waning
light, and I instantly sat up with an exclamation of surprise, “Jed
Bungay, as I live!”
The puzzled face broke into a grin of delight.
“Holy smoke, Cap,” he ejaculated, with a deep sigh of relief, “'s thet
you, suah? I wus so durned skeered I'd made a mess o' it whin thet thar
iron drapped thet I near died. 'He crossed the threshold--and a clang of
angry steel that instant rang.'”
He peered around cautiously, screwing up his little eyes as though
transforming them into miniature telescopes.
“'If thou wouldst view fair Melrose aright, go visit it by the pale
moonlight.' Be ye all alone, Cap?”
“With the exception of a few rats, yes.”
“Whut be they a goin' ter dew with ye?”
“I have every reason to believe it is their purpose to shoot me at
daybreak to-morrow.”
“Shoot?--Hell!” He stared at me as if he had just heard his own death
sentence pronounced, and his little peaked face looked ghastly in the
dim light. “Shoot ye? Good Lord, Cap, whut fer? Ye ain't done nothin'
as I knows on, 'cept ter scrap a bit with thet blasted Yank, an' sure
thet's no shootin' matter, er else I'd a bin a goner long ago.”
“That 'Yank' has seen fit to charge me with being a spy; and as I
was foolish enough to insult General Sheridan last night, my fate is
probably sealed.”
This somewhat complex statement seemed to be too much for Jed to grasp
promptly.
“Gosh, ye don't say!” he muttered. “Then, durn it, I'm in luck, fer
all they've got agin me is pot-shootin' at a nigger soger up in ther
mountings; en thet ain't much, 'cause I didn't hit ther durned cuss.
Blame sorry tew, fer 'Who spills the foremost foeman's life, his party
conquers in the strife.' Thet's Scott agin, Cap. Dew ye ever read Sir
Walter? I tell ye, he's a poet, suah.”
Without pausing for a reply, or even noting that none had been given,
Jed was carefully covering every inch of exposed wall with his little
shrewd, glinting eyes.
“Ain't much show ter work out o' yere, is thar, Cap?” he asked at last
reflectively; “leastwise I don't see none, 'less them thar dark corners
hes got holes in 'em.”
“The wall is entirely solid.”
“So I sorter reckoned. But if ye'll crawl through yere inter my boodour,
thar's a place whar I reckon ther tew of us tergether mought make a try
fer it. It's too durn high up fer me ter git at alone.”
I rose to my feet slowly, wondering at the strange lassitude which made
me so indifferent to that life I had always before so highly valued.
Bungay noticed my hopelessness.
“Durned if prison life don't take all the sand out o' a feller,” he said
cheerfully. “Blame me, but ye move as if ye wus 'bout half dead. But
I reckon, Cap, if ye cud manage ter git out o' yere ternight, an'
take some news ter Lee thet I've picked up, he'd 'bout make both of us
ginerals. 'Speed, Malise, speed! The dun deer's hide on fleeter foot was
never tied.'”
These words brought back to me in an instantaneous flash the old
dominant military spirit. For Lee! Yes, for Lee I would yet take
chances, undergo fatigue, brave death. If life must be given up, let it
be yielded gallantly in the open, and on behalf of my distant comrades.
“News for Lee?” I exclaimed, staring eagerly at him through the now
darkened room. “Do you mean it? What news?”
“Thought maybe thet wud wake ye up,” he chuckled.
“'Speed on the signal, clansman, speed!' Stan' up on ther bench, Cap,
an' put yer ear up yere an' I'LL tell ye. This yere's gospel
truth: Sheridan hes started his infantry on a half-circle march fer
Minersville. Ther first division left et three o'clock, an' thar won't
be nary Yank loafin' en ther valley by noon termorrow. An' more,”
he added rapidly, his eyes dancing wildly with suppressed
excitement,--“Hancock is a swingin' of his corps west ter meet 'em thar,
an' I reckon, as how thar'll be hell fer sartain up ther Shenandoah in
less ner a week--es Scott ses, 'the wild sounds of border war.'”
“But how do you know all this?” I questioned incredulously, as the whole
scene and its dread possibilities unrolled before my mental vision.
“Ther nigger I held up hed a despatch fer Heintzelman over on ther left,
an' then Mariar she sorter pumped a young fule staff officer fer ther
rest o' it,” he replied promptly. “Oh, it's a sure go, Cap, an' I reckon
as how maybe Lee's whole army hangs on one of us gittin' out o' yere
ternight.
“'Where, where was Roderick then?
One blast upon his bugle horn
Were worth a thousand men.'”
That he meant every word he spoke I felt convinced, and his enthusiasm
was contagious. My blood leaped within me at this call to action; all
lethargy fled, and with it every deadening thought of her who had so
suddenly woven about me the meshes of her power. False or true, maid,
wife, or widow, my duty as a soldier to my commander and the army
to which I belonged, blotted out all else. Even as this new rush of
determination swept over me, above us there sounded clearly the dashing
music of a military band in the strains of a Strauss's waltz, and we
could distinguish the muffled shuffling of many feet on the oaken floor
overhead. Caton's chance remark about the great ball to be given that
evening by officers of the headquarters staff recurred to my memory.
“That dancing up there will help us, Jed,” I said quickly, my mind now
active to grasp every detail. “You say there is a chance for escape from
your cell? Then give me your hand, and help me to crawl through that
hole.”
It was a narrow squeeze for a man of my size, yet I crept through
without great difficulty, and found myself in the dense darkness of a
room which, as I judged hastily from feeling about me, was similar in
shape and extent to the one in which I had been confined.
Bungay, however, permitted me little time for exploration. Grasping me
firmly by one arm, and feeling his way along the wall, he groped across
to the other side.
“There's a mighty big stone chimbly comes down yere, Cap,” he whispered,
his lips close to my ears, although the noise above made conversation in
an ordinary tone perfectly safe. “An' ther openin' ter take out soot
an' ashes is up thar, jist b'low ther fluer. It's a sheet-iron pan, I
reckon, ther way it feels; an' it must be thar they put a nigger in ter
clean ther chimbly whin it gits stuffed up. I could git up thar alone,
but I couldn't do no work, but thet thar pan ought ter cum out all
right. Dew ye think ye cud hoi' me up, Cap? I'm purty durn heavy.”
I smiled in the darkness at the little fellow's egotism, and lifting him
as I might a child, poised him lightly upon my shoulder. He struggled
a moment to steady himself against the wall, and then I could feel
him tugging eagerly at something which appeared to yield slowly to his
efforts. As he worked, a dense shower of dust and soot caused me to
close my eyes.
“She's a comin' all right,” he said cheerfully, puffing with his
exertions, “but I reckon as how this chimbly ain't bin cleaned out since
ther war begun. Hold up yer right han', Cap, an' git a blame good grip
on her, fer she's almighty full, an'll wanter go down sorter easy like.”
I did as he suggested, bracing myself to meet his movements, as he stood
straining on my shoulders, and in another moment I had succeeded in
lowering the large sheet-iron pan silently to the floor.
“Room 'nough yere fer two men ter oncet,” chuckled my companion, in rare
delight. “'The chief in silence strode before.' Yere goes.”
His weight left my shoulders; there was a slight scramble, another
shower of dirt, then the sound of his voice once more.
“Lift up yer han's, Cap; dig in yer toes on ther stones, an' we'll begin
our vi'ge.”
He grasped my wrists with a strength which I had no conception the
little fellow possessed. There was a moment's breathless struggle, and
I squirmed through the opening, and lay panting on the flat slabs which
composed the foot of the great funnel. To afford me more room Bungay had
gone up a little, finding foot-lodgment upon the uneven stones of which
the chimney was constructed. For a moment we rested thus motionless,
both breathing heavily and listening to the music and shuffling of feet
now almost upon a level with our heads.
The noise, which was strong and continuous, rendered discovery from any
misstep highly improbable, and as delay was dangerous neither of us was
disposed to linger long.
“Be ye all ready, Cap?” questioned Bungay, bending his head down. “Fer
if ye be, I'm a goin' up.”
“All right,” I answered, struggling to my knees in the narrow space;
“only take it slow, Jed. I 'm a trifle bigger man than you, and this is
rather close quarters.”
“Wal, yes, maybe a matter of a poun' er two,” he retorted, and the next
moment I could hear him scraping his way upward, feeling for foothold
upon the irregular layers of stone. I followed, pressing my knees firmly
against the rough wall, and trusting more to my hands than feet for
security against falling. There was evidently a fireplace of some kind
on the first floor, with a considerable opening leading from it into the
chimney we were scaling, for as Jed slowly passed, I could perceive a
sudden gleam of light streaming across his face from the glare of the
lamps within. He glanced anxiously that way, but did not pause in his
steady climb upward.
A moment later I came opposite that same beam of radiance, and
cautiously peered down the sloped opening that led to the disused
fireplace. All I could perceive was a pair of legs, evidently those of
a cavalry officer, judging from the broad yellow stripe down the seam of
the light-blue trousers, and the high boots ornamented with rowel spurs.
He stood leaning carelessly against the mantel, talking with some one
just beyond the range of my vision.
At that moment the music ceased suddenly, and afraid to proceed until it
should strike up again, I braced myself securely on a projecting stone
and bent my head over the orifice until I could catch a portion of the
conversation being carried on by my unconscious neighbors.
“No,” said the cavalryman, gruffly, and apparently in reply to some
previous question, “the fellow was most devilish obstinate; wouldn't
tell the first thing; even a threat of treating him as a spy and hanging
him outright proved of no avail. But Sheridan's theory is that Lee has
ordered Longstreet to hit our rear, while he makes a direct attack in
front. That's why the 'old man' proposes to get in his work first, and
we march at daylight to form connection with Hancock. By Jove, Chesley,
but that woman in black over there with Follansbee is the handsomest
picture I've seen south of the line. Mark how her eyes sparkle, and
how prettily the light gleams in her hair. Who is she, do you chance to
know?”
“Yes,” lisped the other, languidly, “met her at breakfast, headquarters,
this morning. Deuced pretty and all that, mighty good style, too, but
taken, old man. She's Brennan's.”
“What! not Major Brennan?” in surprise. “Why, he's always posed as a
bachelor among our fellows.”
“Don't know anything about that, dear boy,” indifferently, “but the lady
came in with him yesterday, was introduced to the crowd of us as Mrs.
Brennan, and he called her Edith. Deuced nice name, Edith. As Brennan
has shown such poor taste as to be absent to-night, I'm inclined to give
a little of my time to his lady. Far and away the prettiest thing here.”
Just at this moment I heard Bungay speaking to me agonizingly down the
chimney:
“Durn it all, Cap, I've--I've got ter sneeze.”
There was a smothered struggle in the darkness above me, then a muffled
explosion that showered me with soot, and sounded to my startled nerves
like the report of a gun. I drew up my legs hastily, and had barely
done so when a heavily whiskered face peered up at me through the open
fireplace. It appeared so close I had no doubt he saw me, but his eyes
were unable to penetrate the darkness.
“Sounded devilishly like a sneeze,” he said suspiciously, as he
straightened up again. “Must have been wind in the chimney.”
“More likely bats,” returned the other. “Well, so long, Somers; see you
in the morning. I'm going to give the fair Edith a whirl.”
The cavalry legs shifted their position; the band resumed its functions,
and in the renewed activity and noise I began again the toilsome climb,
my mind now a bewildered chaos between my plain duty to Lee and my
nearly uncontrollable desire to meet once more the woman who was dancing
in the room below.
The little mountaineer, as active as a cat, and not especially hampered
by lack of room in which to work, was well above me by this time. The
chimney, acting as a tube, brought down to me from time to time the
slight noise of his climbing, varied by an occasional exclamation or
comment, but I could perceive no other evidence of his presence. Above,
all was as black as the grave.
“Holy smoke!” he ejaculated, probably unaware that he was giving
utterance to his thoughts. “That was a sharp rock! Durn if thar's a
inch o' skin left on my knee. Whut is it Scott ses? 'An' broken arms and
disarray marked the fell havoc of the day.' Gee! if Mariar cud only see
me now, maybe she wouldn't be proud--
“'Sweet _Maria_, dear my life must be
Since it is worthy care from thee;
Yet life I hold but idle breath,
When love or honor's weighed with death!'
“Ough! stop thet! who's got hold o' my fut?”
“Hush your racket, you little fool,” I said angrily. “Do you want
the whole Yankee army to trap us here like rats? I cannot get up this
chimney any farther; it is growing too small to permit my body to pass.”
“Is thet so, Cap?” he asked anxiously. “Whut be ye goin' ter dew 'bout
it?”
I made no answer for a moment; I was groping about in the darkness of
our narrow quarters to see if I could determine exactly where we were.
“How high is this house, Jed, do you know?”
“Three stories an' attic.”
“How far up are we?”
“'Bout halfway 'long ther third story, I reckon; must be jist b'low
whar ye are thet I stuck my fut down an openin'. Reckon 't was 'nother
fireplace, like thet one on ther first flure.”
I lowered myself silently, and felt along the stones until I located the
opening, and roughly measured its dimensions.
“I shall have to risk crawling out here, Jed,” I said finally, “for I
shall surely stick fast if I go up another ten feet. Do you suppose you
can squeeze through to the top?”
“I reckon I kin,” he returned calmly. “'Just as the minstrel's sounds
were stayed, a stranger climbed the steepy glade.' But hadn't we better
stick tergether, Cap?” “No,” I answered firmly. “You go on, and one of
us must get through to Lee. Don't mind me at all; get down from the roof
as best you can. If I am caught it will be all the more important that
you should succeed.”
“'Tis done--'I thank thee, Roderick, for the word; it nerves my heart,
it steels my sword.'”
Even as he spoke I could hear him creeping steadily upward. It soon
became evident that his progress was growing slower, more difficult.
Then all sounds above me ceased, and I knew he must have attained the
roof in safety.