Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1912 — My Lady of the North [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

My Lady of the North

IWIOVE STORY OF A GRAY JACKET

by RANDALL PARRISH

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SYNOPSIS. • L—The story opens In % tsnt of the Confederate army at a critical fiSEL of * th t Civil War. Gen. Lee * to r Captain Wayne a secret message to Longstreet, upon the delivery So-Sr*!? d ®P end rreat issues. AccomSergeant Craig, an old army starts out on his dangerous __CH A PT ER n.—The two messengers make a wild ride, dodging squads of solJUers, almost lose their bearings and flnaljy ®- r9 within the lines of the enemy, having penetrated the cordon of pickets unmolested. a small party of soldiers in the darkness. Wayne is taken for a federal officer who cams jo keep an appointment, is accepted as and ®- young lady on horseback is given in his charge. CHAPTER IV.—The female companion e l wo s 9 uthe rn scouts Is a northern #?*!• who - when she becomes aware of v\® lr 3'‘P ly affiliations, slashes Wayne with but CHAPTER V.—One of the horses glvou*- Wayne orders Craig to get through with the dispatches to Longs^ e9t - H ® and My Lady of the North •re lert alone near a rocky gorge. •nd the Union girl thread the mazes of the woods. He discovers a lonely hut, fie? ,« In the dark a huge mas--a.tta?iks “ lm - The tirl shoots the brute Just in time. CHAPTER VlL—The owner of the hut, TOe Jed Bungay, appears and he and his wife give the captain a welcome. Suddenly a party of horsemen are observed coming down the road. CHAPTER Vm.—They are led by a man claiming to be Red Lowrle, who orders Mrs. Bungay to give them food, and her husband to act as a guide. The woman discovers the man to be a dlsguißed impostor, attacks the intruder and there is a general melee. CHAPTER IX.—The disguised leader proves to be Major Brennan, a Federal officer whom the Union girl recognizes, fi? orders the arrest of Wayne as a spy. The girl protests and says she will appeal to General Sheridan. \ CHAPTER X.—Wayne held prisoner In • copse, sees files of Confederates pass the road at a distance and knows that Lraig has delivered the message. X l ;— The captive is brought «^°hf,^ G * enera , Sherl<J an who refuses* to set him free unless he reveals the Becret message. „ • C® APTER Xll.—Captain Wayne Is led f° SS?,t rs^ nd the woman he admires ts Edith Brennan, wife of the Federal ofwh° hates him. He Is given the ch<Mce of revealing the Lee message or of being shot as a spy. CHAPTER Xlll.—Wayne Is rescued from his prison by Jed Bungay. One of them must get a quick report through the lines to General Lee and Jed Btarts on the mission. CHAPTER XlV.—Finding the garb of an absent officer of the Union artillery, *• syne penetrates to the ballroom, where • social army function is In progress, and pretends to be Col. Curran of Ohio. CHAPTER XV.—The disguised scout is Introduced to a Miss Miner. She knows the Curran family and Wayne barely escapes being unmasked. Edith Brennan appears on the scene. CHAPTER XVl.—Mrs. Brennan recognizes Wayne. She having been led to beliewe that he had been sent away, learns of the treachery of Maj., Brennan and says she will save him. CHAPTER XVII.—Mrs. Brennan secures a pass through the inner lines and goes part way with Wayne when they are suddenly confronted by Brennan. CHAPTER XVlll.—Brennan attempts to shoot Wayne, but the latter throws his enemy to the ground senseless. CHAPTER XlX.—Bidding My Lady of the North adieu, Wayne starts alone on • Wild dash for liberty. Encountering a ■nan In a lieutenant's uniform, he compels him to accompany him. CHAPTER XX.—His companion turns out to be Jed Bungay In disguise. They, clear the Union lines and face towards the Confederate camp. CHAPTER XXl.—Captain Wayne and the faithful Jed reach the Lee camp In safety and are sent away to accompany reinforcements to General Early.CHAPTER XXll.—Wayne and his regiment are sent to save the Confederate finhy In the battle of Shenandoah. Here a solid wall of blue overwhelms them and the regiment is lost. CHAPTER XXlll.—Wayne is wounded and taken to the field hospital, where he i visited by Edith Brennan, who is kind and gracious. .

CHAPTER XXIV. A Night Ride of the Wounded. It was a wild, rude scene without, yet in its way typical of a little-un-derstood chapter of Civil War. Moreover it was one with which I was not entirely unacquainted. Years of cav- , airy scouting, bearing me beyond the patrol lines of the two great armies, had frequently brought me into contact with those various independent, irregular forces which, co-operating with us; often rendered most efficient service by preying on the scattered Federal camps and piercing their lines of communication. Seldom risking an engagement in the open, their policy was rather to down upon some outpost or poorly guarded wagon train, and retreat with a rapidity rendering pursuit hopeless. It was partisan warfare, and appealed to many ill-adapted to abide the stricter discipline of regular service. These border rangers would rendezvous under some chosen leader, strike an unexpected blow where weakness had been discovered, then disappear as quickly as they came, oftentimes scattering widely until the call went forth for some fresh assault. It was service not dissimilar to that performed during the Revolutionary struggle by Sumter and Marion in the Carolinas, and added in the aggregate many a day to the contest of the Confederacy. Among these wild, rough riders between the lines no leader was more

favorably- known of our army, nor more dreaded by the enemy, than Mosby. Daring to the point of recklessness, yet wary as a fox, counting opposing numbers nothing when weighed against the advantage of surprise, tireless in saddle, audacious in resource, quick to plan and equally quick to execute, he was always where least expected, and it was seldom he failed to win reward for those who rode at his back. Possessing regular rank in the Confederate Army, making report of his operations to the commander-in-chief, his peculiar talent as a partisan leader had won him what was practically an independent command. Knowing him as I did, I was not surprised that he should now have swept suddenly out of the black night upon the very verge of the battle to drive his irritating sting into the hard-earned Federal victory. An empty army wagon, the “U. S. A.” yet conspicuous upon its canvas cover, had been overturned and fired in front of the hospital tent to give light to the raiders. Grouped about beneath Ihe trees, and within the glow of the flames, was a picturesque squad of horsemen, hardy, tough-looking fellows the most of them, their clothing an odd mixture of uniforms, but every man heavily armed and admirably equipped for service. Some remained mounted, lounging carelessly in their saddles, but far the larger number were on fcot, their bridle-reins wound about their wrists. All alike appeared alert and ready for any emergency. How many composed the party I was unable to judge with accuracy, as they constantly came and went from out the shadows beyond the circumference of the fire. As all sounds of firing had ceased, I concluded that the work Planned had been already accomplished. Undoubtedly, surprised as ’ they were, the small Federal force left to guard this point had been quickly overwhelmed and scattered. The excitement attendant upon my release had left me for the time being utterly forgetful as to the pain or my wounds, so that weakness alone held me to the blanket upon which I had been left. The night was aecldely chilly, yet I had scarcely begun to feel its discomfort, when a man strode forward from out of the nearer group and stood looking down upon me. He was a young fellow, wearing a gray artillery jacket, with high cavalry boots coming above the knees. I noticed his firmly set jaw, and a pearlhandled revolver stuck carelessly in his belt, but observed no symbol of rank about him. “Is this Captain Wayne?” he asked, not unpleasantly. I answered by an inclination of the head, and he turned at once toward the others. “Cass, bring three men over here, aud carry this officer to the same wagon you did the others,” he commanded briefly. “Fix him comfortably, but be in a hurry about it.” They lifted me in the blanket, one holding tightly at either corner, and bore me tenderly out into the night. Once one of them tripped over a projecting root, and the sudden jar of his stumble shot a spasm of pain through me, which caused me to cry out even through my clinched teeth. “Pardon me, lads,” I panted, ashamed of the weakness, “but It slipped out before I could help it.” “Don’t be after a mentionin’ av it, yer honor,” returned a rich brbgue. “Sure an me feet got so mixed oup that I wondher I didn’t drap ye entoirely.” “If ye had, Clency,” said the man named Cass, grimly, “I reckon as how the Colonel wduld have drapped you.” At the foot of a narrow ravine, leading forth into the broader valley,'we came to a covered army wagon, to which four mules had been already attached,, The canvas was drawn aside, and I was lifted up and carefully deposited in the hay that thickly covered the bottom. It was so intensely dark within I could see nothing of my Immediate surroundings, but a low moan told me there must be at least one other wounded man present. Outside I heard the tread of horses’ hoofs, and then the sound of Mosby’s voice. “Jake,” he said, “drive rapidly, but with as much care as possible. Take the lower road after you cross the bridge, and you will meet with no patrols. We will ride beside you for a couple of miles.” Then a hand thrust aside the canvas, and a face peered in. I caught a faint glimmer of ’ stars, but could distinguish little else. “Boys,” said the leader, kindly, “I wish I might give you better transportation, but this is the only form of vehicle we can find. I reckon you’ll get pretty badly bumped over the road you are going, but I’m furnishing you all the chance to get away in my power. We shall guard you as long as necessary, and then must leave you to the kindly ministrations of the driver.” He reached in, leaning down from his saddle to do so. drew the blanket

somewhat closer about me, and wan gone. I caught the words of a sharp, short order, and the heavy wagon lurched forward, its wheels bumping over the irregularities in the road, each jolt sending a fresh spasm, of pain through my tortured body. May the merciful God ever protect me from such a ride again! It seemed interminable, while each long mile we traveled bssught with it new and greater agony of mind and body. The hours that followed were all but endless. I knew we had reached the lower valley, for the road became more level, yet the slightest Jolting now was sufficient to render me crazed with pain, and I had lost all power of restraint. My tortured nerves throbbed; the fever gripped me, and my mind began to wander. Visions of delirium came, and I dreamed dreams too terrible for record: demons danced on the drifting clouds before me, while whirling savages chanting in horrid discord stuck my frenzied body full of blazing brands. At times I was awake, calling in vain for water to quench a thirst which grew maddening, then I lapsed into a semi-consciousness that drove me wild with its delirious fancies. I knew vaguely that the Major had crept back through the darkness and passed his strong arm gently beneath my head. I heard him shouting in his deep voice to the driver' for something to drink, but was unaware of any response. All became blurred, confused, bewilderirlg. I thought it was my mother comforting me. The faint gray daylight stole in at last through the cracks pf the wagon cover; I could dimly distinguish a dark face bending over me, framed by a heavy gray beard, and then, merciful unconsciousness came, and I rested as one dead. (To be continued)