It was nearly six o'clock when we finally reached the point where I
thought I could safely commence my retrograde movement. As soon as I
would turn to the right, the division of Luce's army I wanted to reach
would lay directly between the place I would be then and the Potomac.
During the last of our ride I had, by a bold move or two, managed to get
very definite knowledge of the disposition of the Rebel troops in the
vicinity, and by a lucky accident, during an enforced separation, Ned
had discovered almost to a certainty that Captain DeLacy was where I had
thought him. We had also in the middle of the afternoon each secured a
fresh horse, and by far greater good fortune than I had dared hope for,
they were fine, un-jaded animals. That we took them without leave or
license troubled us not a bit.
Looking back now, it seems strange that we were able to make our way as
rapidly as we did through that section, filled as it was with troops,
without being taken prisoner, scientifically bushwhacked, or picked off
by a sharpshooter.
A number of times we did barely escape encounters which would have cost
us dear. About the middle of the afternoon we had come near running into
a body of the Rebel troops. We were on a hill not far from a road
running directly northwest, when through an opening in the trees there
became visible a cloud of dust, which meant either sheep or Rebels.
Taking into consideration time, place and circumstances, I knew the
chances were that it meant Rebels. Dismounting I ordered Ned to take the
horses and himself into concealment in an adjacent ravine, and I made my
way to a large tree I had noticed for some time. It had been used by
one side or the other as a signal station, and I thought it possible
that it commanded a good view of the road along which the dust was
advancing. It did, and I soon felt I was up a tree mentally, as well as
physically.
The extent of the knowledge I gained was that a move of some kind was on
foot, which I did not understand. I was near enough to have thrown a
stone down on the moving column, and I could recognize General
Middlesworth riding with his staff. Why he was angling away from the
main part of Luce's army and toward the Potomac puzzled me, and at a
time when I did not care to solve any more enigmas than absolutely
necessary. What General Middlesworth's move meant occupied my thoughts
off and on all afternoon, as none of the intelligence I managed to
gather could be made to explain it, and I determined to find out all
about it when in the Rebel camp if possible.
Before turning back in the direction of the Potomac I gave our horses a
short rest. They had made remarkable good time and though comparatively
fresh, they would, after we got beyond the Rebel lines again, have to be
pushed to the full extent of their endurance.
Besides, I did not care to start back too soon, for I wanted it to be
dark when we would reach the vicinity of T----. I knew the moon would
not rise that night until a little after eight, and between dusk and
that time I had planned to get beyond T----, procure a vehicle of some
kind and assume my disguise. That done, I was ready to encounter the
enemy at any time, although I aimed to run against them later and
further on. Ned made an excursion into a neighboring field and brought
back some feed for the horses. As soon as they finished their meal we
started.
Ned soon suggested that we might find a conveyance that would answer our
purpose at Goodhue's, a place on our left a little ways off. We made
our way there, taking a short cut and a rough road through a lane, which
approached the place from the rear. The house, which faced a road
beyond, looked deserted, but we did not go near enough to be certain.
The stables stood off by themselves and we were well enough satisfied
not to find anyone around them and did not investigate further. The
carriage and horses were gone, but we found a good set of harness and an
old fashioned light buggy, which suited our purpose admirably and were
all we needed. We had left our horses in the woods across the lane. I
went on ahead to reconnoiter. Ned followed, pulling the buggy.
By the time I was arrayed in my disguise Ned had the horses harnessed to
the buggy and my clothes and the saddles and bridles stowed compactly
away under the buggy seat. It was an extra piece of luck finding a
vehicle so near, for I could not assume my disguise until one had been
procured, but now, instead of going around T----, I could pass directly
through the village, which saved considerable time.
I had on starting from S---- forbade Ned to address me except as Miss
Salome, for I was afraid if he did not have some practice he would in
any sudden fright forget and let slip the "Mars," which would be sure to
rouse suspicion. I impressed on him that he must, until we were through
with the rather unpleasant affair before us, act as if I were in reality
his young mistress, whom he was trying to get safely to her home, and
protect to the best of his ability in a dangerous and unsettled country.
It was a decided change in our mode of progression for us to be speeding
along over good roads in a comfortable buggy and not actually shunning
observation, as I had been obliged to do until then. But while it was a
rest, it was the kind of a rest one experiences when awaiting a
surgical operation, which is to commence as soon as the surgeon comes,
the exact moment of his arrival having been left mercilessly indefinite.