THE COUNCIL OF OFFICERS.
SOMERS heard all that was said in the front room, and judged from that,
and the sounds which reached him, what was taking place there. The two
men who were stunned came to their senses, after a while, and they were
sent off with the dead and the wounded ones; for it appeared that the
general wanted the apartment for a consultation with his officers. It
was expected that Major Riggleston would be present at this place with
fresh information from the Yankee lines; and the listener congratulated
himself that he had been able to disappoint them in this respect.
The major had chosen the ravine for his passage through the pickets, and
it was now evident that he intended to resume his work as soon as he had
disposed of his prisoner. The fellow was armed with a pass, and, Somers
well knew, was regarded in the loyal lines as a major of the —nd
Maryland Home Brigade, and could therefore go where he pleased, even
into the very councils of the general commanding the army of the
Potomac.
Somers believed he had made a great discovery. The rebels always knew
precisely when and where the army of the Potomac were going to move.
When McClellan had actually made up his mind to attack the forces
fortified at Manassas, they suddenly decamped. All his movements for
months were mysteriously communicated to the enemy, even before the
general officers of the loyal army were informed in regard to them.
People wondered, the press commented severely, and the government was
perplexed.
Captain Somers thought he understood all about it now, and believed that
he had laid out the man who had done all this mischief. Much as we
admire the captain, our hero, we are compelled to say that he was
mistaken. He had really made no such discovery, and had achieved no such
tremendous result as the killing of the one who had done this immense
injury to the loyal cause, as future pages in our history will show. But
he believed Major Riggleston, whom he had seen in the staff of the
general commanding, was the man who had conveyed all this information;
he believed he had made this great discovery, accomplished this big
thing; and he took courage accordingly.
Major Riggleston was not there to speak of what the Yankees had done,
and what they intended to do; but for all this, the consultation of
officers proceeded. Somers heard them discuss their own position and
that of the enemy; he heard them suggest all manner of possibilities and
probabilities, and how to meet them; but they did not speak so
definitely as he wished they would. They alluded to a line of
field-works, which the listener was unable to locate.
Somers was coiled up behind a chest of drawers, and did not concern
himself at all about his personal safety. He was too deeply interested
in the labors of the council to think of himself. He had a tolerably
good idea of the rebel plans, and wondered whether the man who was
called “general” was really Stonewall Jackson. He could not reach a
satisfactory conclusion on this point, but he was strongly in favor of
the supposition.
“It is one o’clock, and we must get a little sleep,” said the mysterious
general, as Somers heard the rattling of chairs when they rose from the
table.
“Some of us will probably make a long sleep of it to-morrow,” added one
of the officers.
“Don’t trifle with a matter so serious,” continued the general,
solemnly. “Ah, here is the colonel,” he added, as the door opened, and
two or three persons entered the house. “What news do you bring? Have
you captured those Yankees?”
“I have neither captured them nor heard a word of them. Not a soul
within our lines knows anything about them,” replied the colonel, in
tones of disgust and mortification.
“That’s singular. Our sentinels are sleepy; they must be stirred up. The
miscreants had not been gone from this house more than twenty minutes
when we arrived, according to the statement of the lady.”
“Nothing was ever more thoroughly done than the search we made; but I am
positive they have got through.”
“Perhaps not,” suggested the general.
“I have searched every house, grove, and clump of trees; every hole,
ditch, and cornfield within two miles of this spot. I am satisfied, but
I believe there are traitors within our camp. They could not have got
through without help from our side of the line.”
“We will look into that matter at the first opportunity,” replied the
general, with a long gape.
They left the house in a body, and all was silent within, except the
step of Maud Hasbrouk, as she attended to the wants of the sufferers in
her care. Somers had done all he could do in this place, and he was
satisfied that the search for himself and Captain Barkwood had been
abandoned. He crawled out of the corner in which he had been coiled away
for over two hours, intent upon the great duty which was still in a
measure unperformed. He had some doubts whether his friend in the closet
had been patient under the long delay; and he was in haste to relieve
him from the suspense and discomfort of his situation.
There was no one in the house but Maud and her three patients. There
was, therefore, nothing to fear, and he crept towards the door leading
from the entry into the kitchen. He softly opened it, and was stealthily
making his way towards the shed, when the door of the front room was
thrown wide open, and Maud, apparently in a great hurry, stepped into
the kitchen. She had a bowl in her hand, and was intent upon the object
which had brought her there, so that she did not at first see Somers,
who stood in the middle of the floor.
When she discovered him she screamed, and started back in astonishment
and terror, dropping the dish; but she still held the light which she
had brought from the sick room. Somers regarded the meeting as a very
unfortunate occurrence, and wished he had been prudent enough to go out
at the front door; but it was too late to indulge in vain regrets, and
the situation was sufficiently perilous to induce him to resort at once
to decisive measures, for the tongue of the woman was hardly less
dangerous than a squad of rebel cavalry.
“Who are you?” asked the lady, when she had recovered herself
sufficiently to speak.
“It matters not who I am,” replied Somers, disguising his voice as much
as he could.
“Captain Somers!” exclaimed she, shrinking back still farther.
“I am sorry, for your sake, that you have recognized me,” replied he,
dropping the collar of his coat, which he had drawn up over his face.
“Miss Hasbrouk, your discovery endangers my life; I am compelled either
to shoot you, or—”
“To shoot me!” exclaimed she, with horror.
“What is the matter, Maud?” said a voice from the front room, which was
followed by the appearance of Major Riggleston, whose head was tied up
with bandages, as the surgeon had dressed it.
“It is Captain Somers,” said she, in trembling tones.
“It seems that I did not fully do my work,” added Somers, taking a
pistol from his belt.
“Don’t fire, Somers, don’t,” said the major, in tones so feeble and
piteous that Somers could not help being moved by them. “You have nearly
killed me now, and you ought to be satisfied.”
“It is your life or mine, Major Riggleston, and I have no time to argue
the matter. In five minutes more you will have the whole Confederate
army at my heels. I run no risks with a villain like you,” replied
Somers.
“Don’t fire!” begged Maud; “I will do anything you desire, if you will
spare me.”
It was something to see a brawling rebel woman, the most pestilent and
inveterate enemy the government had in the contest, in a pleading
posture. It was something to expose the ridiculous pretensions of one of
that army of female rebels, fiercer and more vindictive than the men,
and to demonstrate that she had none of the courage of which she had
boasted. Maud regretted that her sex compelled her to be a
non-combatant; it was doubtful whether she would ever again regret it.
“I wish not to take the life of either of you; but my own safety compels
me to use strong measures,” said Somers, as he cocked his pistol.
“For mercy’s sake, don’t fire!” gasped Maud.
“Don’t kill me, Somers; I will pledge you my word and honor not to
expose you,” added the major.
“What are your word and honor good for, after what has happened this
night?” sneered Somers.
“I will give you all the information you require, if you will spare my
life.”
“That would not save my life.”
“I will give you the countersign.”
“That’s something towards it.”
The wretch gave him the word, and while he received it, he despised the
major more than ever before. He was now a traitor to both sides; but all
this, and more, would _he_ give in exchange for his life. Somers then
questioned him in regard to the position of various bodies of rebel
troops, and the miscreant answered him promptly, and, as it was
afterwards shown, correctly.
“You know me now, Major Riggleston and Miss Hasbrouk; and you must
understand that I go about with my life in my hand. I am not to be
trifled with. I will not take your life yet.”
“I will swear never to reveal your presence to a living soul,” exclaimed
the major.
“You need not; you have given me better security than your oath that you
will not expose me. If I am taken, I shall be taken with the countersign
in my keeping. I had it from you. If you have given me the wrong word, I
shall be turned back.”
“I have given you the right word,” interposed the major.
“If I am turned back, I shall come here first, and complete my work,”
added Somers, sternly.
“You shall have my pass.”
“I have it already. I have not yet exhausted all my resources,” said the
scout, producing the two passes, which he had neglected to return in the
ravine.
He opened them; but though the wounded major was surprised, he was too
weak and broken in spirits to ask any questions, or even to care where
his late companion had procured them.
“All I ask of you, Major Riggleston, and of you, Miss Hasbrouk, is to
keep still,” continued Somers.
“I will,” replied Maud, eagerly.
“And I will, Captain Somers. What I have done here to save my life has
ruined me. I shall never be seen in the service again.”
“I think you are coming to your senses, major.”
“May I ask you to keep quiet in regard to what I have done? for you know
the penalty of that which I could not have done if I had not stood on
the brink of the open grave.”
“That will depend on your own conduct. Return to your bed; and if you
are treacherous, you will suffer for it.”
“I may die,” groaned the major, who had sunk into a chair, for he
believed his wound was much worse than it really was.
Perhaps some twinges of remorse had induced him to aid Somers in his
mission more than he otherwise would; he was not a man of nerve, or a
man of much nobility of purpose, and his severe wound had worked a great
change in his moral and mental organization. The fear of death had
deprived him of what little manliness he possessed, and under the
pressure of that terror, he had sunk lower down in the scale of humanity
than it would have been possible for him under any other circumstances.
He had absolutely betrayed the cause for which he professed so earnest
and sincere a devotion. His boasted honor was a delusion. He was an
exception, even in the ranks of southern heroes.
Somers was satisfied with what was promised, and with what had already
been performed. He restored his pistol to his belt, and hastened to the
back room, where Captain Barkwood was no doubt anxiously waiting to hear
from him.
“Come out, captain,” said he, as he threw open the door.
“Is that you, Somers?” replied the regular, as he stepped from his
narrow quarters. “I had given you up for lost, and was just thinking of
engaging in a little enterprise of my own. Where have you been?”
Somers, as briefly as possible, explained the events that had transpired
during his absence, to which the regular listened with wonder and
admiration. It was now two o’clock in the morning, and there was much
still to be done before they could return to the camp. Somers, still
wearing the coat and feathered hat of Major Riggleston, left the back
room, followed by Barkwood, and for three hours wandered about the camps
of the rebels. They were often challenged; but Somers gave his name as
Major Riggleston, and produced the pass when called upon, or gave the
countersign. The day was breaking in the east when they finished the
examination.
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