Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1904 — IN THE DEBATABLES LAND. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

IN THE DEBATABLES LAND.

BY EDWARD S. ELLIS.

BY th£ author

CHAPTER I. BEVKKAL SIGNALS. General Sherman was in the fnll B-vin'; *if liia cuh’s v !il picnic, coljaißtinj, of the promenade •/1 (in, 000 l nion veteran* from Atlanta through the core of the Southern Confederacy, :*«»° eastward to the Atlantic coast, when Lieutenant Gaknian of the Ma -nchusetls cavalry, accompanied by the scout Sam Borland, reined aside and started off on a little cam- | paign of his own. They were far over in eastern Georgia, near the South Carolina line, through which the mighty army was to sweep, facing northward to unite with the legions of Grant, and stamp out the last embers of resistance. And what a wonderful march that was, the vast host advancing in four columns, with a cjond of skirmishers and cavalry in front to veil its route, and foraging on the country through which the army passed! The autumn was drawing to a close, and in the north the frost of the coming winter was in the air, while the soldiers in the Virginia camps drew around their blazing fires at night and, as they talked of the great war and wondered how soon it would end, wrapped their overcoats closer around their shivering forms. Eut nature sways a gentler hand and her breath has a soft fragrance of its own in the states farther south. The mornings were crisp and bracing, hut something of the summer fervor lingered in the sunshine, and the hundreds of campfires that twinkled at night were needed less for warmth than for the cooking of food and the pleasure of comradeship. It was on the afternoon of one of those perfect autumn days that Lieutenant Oakman drew rein at the edge of a piece of wood fronting on the broad, sloping cotton fields, ■which laid yielded up their meager harvest but a brief while before, though here and there tin* snowy Hecks on the stunted brown bushes showed where the deft fingers had failed to garner the aftermath. ‘ The lieutenant and his scout had parted company a couple of lean's previous, a lid the attractive countenance of the young officer betrayed his mental Cpneern. His black, blot«hd mare, that had carried him safely through the flame of more than otto fierce conflict, stood motionless, with the reins lying loose on her neck, while her rider looked and wondered and fretted. The most that she ventured to do was to thrust forward her silken nose and. with the aid of the flexible upper lip with which < her species is provided, draw in some I of the neighboring .twigs andmunch j them despite the interference of the j steel bit. The food was neither tempting nor | nourishing. Perhaps Fanny indulged to this gent le extent the better to pass away the time while her rider mini- i nated, but master and beast had long • been accustomed to ‘‘hard 1 aek. The attention of Lieutenant Oakman 1 was divided between a point on the fringe of the curving wood a fourth of a mile away and the old mansion <>t the plantation, which was less than half the distance named. It was a typical planter's home, low of statute, broae. roomy and whitewashed, sur- j round'd by a wealth of dme.e trees; di- • vided near the middle by a roofed pas- 1 sage, with wide p >reh extending in front, numerous outbuildings and the row of cabin nearby wlnrc the slave were ci,:at",rtably quartered until most of tbeujr wi: ■hi i hed into the current that came vit! 1 h" "day of jubilee and floated them into the proini-. d land of fre, - iota The oil ec t,.rn'ed the smalt spyglass kh.‘*]h 1.- i* •<i . ivi:i iu'-i ij* < \ by a hiring ’ toward tl • «.« ~f wood whn hmf has been sa-ei , : aft- ntion. 1 lie result was - a lory. F.iiu Borland was tla . 111 ,g 1 m side the trunk of a huge cottonwood, his horse so tar in the timi . :• . ■; * ; invisible Evidently lie was < n the alert, for scarcely had Oakman lo: ..!> d turn when lie took off. Iris cap nnd-swur.g it. Tho lieutenant whipjn . .it hi- handkerchief and with a singb ■ :-ve replied. That was snfficient r J it' r.-tood cm u ether, and th- o!'fr turned bis lead j-rt way ro-i:,| . ' at shifting his p< sit ion in the- idVn.i tixi d his gaze upon the niausi a or : 1 1lii r upon eo uineu of it ns tie- a.uiiijg brain In s permitted him to see. The ri suit of this, scrutiny was disappointing. The cavalryman peHiups wa« looking for.s- me pereonjC*' tdgnal,' hot failed to catc h f ile first sign of git 'e y. When he grew Weary of the work, he lowered his binocular. “1 W' odd whether there’s a living creature in that house,” he mutt, r-d. “It 1< i s as if it were an empty shell or huge coffin. This is the first time that red war has crossed the thr -holds of these southern homes. Until now not the boom of a cannon nor the crack of a hostile inusket has startled the women and children, but the terror is upon them at lust. ” A feeling of pity and wonder tame to the gallant officer. His thonghts took the same trend they had taken scores of times before, and not culy with him, but with multitudes of those who wore the blue and the gray. “Why are we fighting each other? Why is the earth wetted with the warm blood of the bravest, the noblest and

the most gifted of men? In the years to come, when the Union is restored in all its strength and grandenr and the veterans of bot h sides sit down to talk over old times, their wonderment will be why they tried with such unsurpassable bravery to take each other’s lives. It passes my comprehension.” He was silent a moment, and then added in an awed undertone, “It is the hand of God, and his ways are past finding out. ” But it is a perilous thing for a soldier to indulge in reverie when on duty or in the enemy’s country. Recalling his straying thoughts. Lieutenant Oakman once more leveled his glass at the old mansion, but with no more result than before. “1 must be expected.” he said. “This is the day that was set, and it was understood that I was not to appear on the edge of the* wood until the afternoon. I don’t understand it. Perhaps the news of the approach of onr army has frightened the family into flight, but that isn’t like the southern people. Though none of them is left except the women and servants, they will stand their ground in the face of all danger, calm, dignified, fearless, worthy types of the noblest of their sex. It can’t be that I’ve made a mistake 1” he added, startled by a sudden fear. It was evident from the mu sings of the Hew England officer, who until this hour had never set foot in that part of Georgia, that he was acting upon the knowledge imparted by some one who knew every rod of the soil. “At Kinmore I was to take the road to the right and ride for four miles, when I would reach a point where a fork turned into the woods on the left. 1 did as directed and found the forest highway at the exact point expected. I was to follow that for 200 yards, when, if I looked sharp, I would observe a bridle path. Well, 1 looked sharp and observed it. Riding along the same, I was told it soon emerged from the trees and skirted these cotton fields. At the point where the path debouches from the \vood I was to halt my horse and wait for the signal. “Which the same is what I’ve been doing for the last hour,” added the lieutenant impatiently. “Night isn’t far off, and there is no time to lose, I promised the general to be with him by tomorrow night, but my trip will be bootless if the mansion yonder refuses soon to give a sign The instrument was lifted to his.eyes again, and on tiie instant confirmed ilie belief that had suddenly thrilled him. From the upper window, on the right, he saw a hand waved. Just above and somewhat to one side be could catch the partial contour of a person’s:face, manifestly watching him with as close 'interest as he was studying the action of the party tor whom he had waited so long.

The window was raised from the first, ] and the impatience felt by the officer at the delay in the communication vanished the moment he knew that it had been opened. Holding the glass in place, •lie wav' d the other gauntleted hand in salutation, slightly annoyed that his friend failed to show himself more fully and display a signal of a different nature. f;m not only did the stranger decline to do that, but unexpectedly and exas’ierai in;■ 5y he sn.dd' lily disappeared. The perils of , ampaigning had taught Lieutenant ' iaktiian to think quickly. “Thai ali.-u; i Withdrawal means that something Ihr a!- nitig has taken place in the holts' ( .' pear me. ” Since one com urgency was as probable a.-,'the - tin : tie officer gb.tired rapidly at his -air<bindings, and as lm did s,■ . >!, , and ■ :r revealed the alarming fact iii * a p. n was ending 20 1 ■ i uv .... intent!;, watching him. CHAPTER 11..\N IVTJ aU i TION. The tir-t male that reached Lieutenant (); all w.-.s tiie sound of a h.ugh. Ordinarily th-- emotion of mirth is contagion-:. im; :i tills in-lane -it -■ . • a shiver down . .- pine; for its me.;: mg wa eoitodi iv ■• ,i anything at m.T.u meat. 1 ■ 1,. 1 ; 'n < . v>-r- vi engaged in am- dt.uatc cad d:..’.g(-r----ons bo .iii**-:. The of. 1 ' • turned Ids head ,; k ' ..!!:: ! and saw standing on the . <>: the wo . 1 behind hi: i a negro boy not more than 12 years old. a: foot, with trousers held in place ly .- V Mispei.der 'and a rickety I t wit bout- a crown, i The ebony face w: bis. , ibv a grin 'which dis.;-!: ; ■ . a set ot t< th that a qprinc.-s niu.ii v - eiiv: d, while in j hia ri :ht bain :Id a >’•• > ,-fi which he had pr..imbly ’ •xeiS from a tree that j he might carry it for his ewu amuse-. | inent. When he observed the angry connte- ! nance of the horseman turned toward j him. the urchin remarked'• j “l seed what yo’ war doin.” ■ “What was I doing, young man?” i demanded the lieutenant severely. "Tryin to flirt wid Miss Adeleg I had I my eye on yo'. ” ; “Whom do you mean by Miss Adele?” Instead of making direct reply the negro lad threw back his head and broke into uproarious mirth. The question struck him as the funniest thing he had ever heard, and he belonged to a race that laughs upon the slightest provocation. The officer grew angry. He saw a peril that must be nipped in the bud,

and, wheeling his mare around, be pricked her satin flank with hia spur. She responded with a switch of the tail and a leap that almost brought her down U|Kin the urchin, but the latter was frisky and whisked behind the nearest tree trunk, from which his big eyes peeped with the dilapidated hat above them. “I ain’t afeard ob yo’. I bet yo’ can’t coteh me.” Seeing that other means must lie tried, the lieutenant changed his tone. “What is your name, sonny?” “Rastus. ” “What iH your father’s name?” “Pete, an mammy’s name is Aunt Marcie. We lib in de cabin down yender, a little way back ob de house.” “What are you doing here?” “Standin ahind dis tree so yo’ can’t run ober me. ’ ’ “Do you belong to General Eldridge, who lives in the house yonder?” “Yaas, sir. an am yo’ one ob Marse Linkum’s sojers?” “Yes; we have a big army a little way off, and I rode over here to take a look at the country. Who lives in the house now?” “All de darkies hah gwine away but us dat I tole yo’ ’bout, an dare’s nobody at home but de wimmin folks.” “Where are the men?” asked the lieutenant, whose question was wholly

superfluous, since lie knew that all the white men in the state were in either the Confederate or Union army. “De gin’ral am killin Yanks. Dat’s what he’s been doin fur de last 400 years. ” “Do you know how many he has killed?”* “Ain’t sartin, but heerd it was Teben hundred million.”, ”1 am afraid. Rastus. that your informant has slightly exaggerated matters; hut will you tell me what ladies are at the house?” “No, sail,” resjionded the boy, with admirable pluck. “Why not?” “ ’Cause yo’ wants to cut dere heads off.” The earnestness of the urchin made the officer smile in turn, “Yon are mistaken, my hoy. I wouldn't harm one of them for the world.' ’ “Am dat so? Will yo’ take yo’ oath?” s. .’ '■“■Yes,: I will take mv ouch that I will not injure a hair of their heads.” “Criis.s vii heart. The officer gravely drew his ganntleted hand down and across his breast. That removed all difficulty and won the confidence of Rastus. “De wimmin folks am Miss Adele an Mrs. Eldridge. ” “Miss Adele, I suppose, is the daughter of Mrs. Eldridge?” • “Ain’t sartin ’bout dat, but I know de missis am de moder ob Miss Adele. ” “Admitting vour premises, the conclusion 1 adduced is inevitable.” . Erastns opened his month and stared. Not the faintest glimmering of the meaning of these words penetrated his brain, but he Sodded his head. “ You are sure that only the mother and daughter are living in tie house ?” The question struck the lad as uncalled for.. lint he inclined his head several times with much vigor. L,ke most youngsters, he was gift: d with a well developed bump of curiosity. “What's vo’r name?” “Lieutenant Cakiaau of the’j——th Massachusetts cavalry. Are you acquainted with any of our on n or officers ?' ’ “Guess not. Hab'yo’ eber been hyah afore?” “Never until today. J; am a stranger in this part of Georgia. ” “le n what yo’ tryin to flirt wid Miss Adele fur? Yo’ oughter be ’shamed ob yo’self. ” “How could I flirt with her when I never set eyes on the young lady?” “Den it war de missis herself. Yah, yah, yah!” Lieutenant Oakman did not know whether to laugh'or be angry over the bright stupidity of the young African. “Rastus,” he said, with all the severity he could assume, “1 tell yon again that never before have I been in this part of the world, nor have I ever spoken to your missis or her daughters, so let’s hear no more of that.” He was anxious to ask the lad several L questions, but hesitated. The fellow was too observant and suspicions. Lieutenant Oakman had others to think of besides himself, and valuable as would have been certain information he was sure this youngster could give there was peril in the inquiries necessary to i extract snch knowledge. Rastus had seen the signaling of the officer, and perhaps it was better the 1 lad should rest under the belief that he ! was seeking to attract the attention of the daughter of General Eldridge. While Lieutenant Oakman was {tendering over the best method of solving a problem whose greatest difficulty lay in its simplicity the lad infused a startling diversion into the situation by remarking in a lower tone than he had been using:

“Lhftent Oakum, yo’d better git out ob dis kentry. ” “Why?” “Dere’s some folks dat am lookin for yo\”\ “ThJtek you, Rastus, but I have no fear. ” \ “Yo* oUghter hab, ’cause dey hab found yo’.N^ “What do you mean?” asked the Union officer, with a sndden, vague fear. Another individual answered the question with the sharp command: “Surrender, Yank, and be mighty quick about it!” “Not much!” was the reply of Lieutenant Oakman, who had descried his danger at the same instant he heard the crisp summons. To be continued.

The officer turned his head like a flash.