Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1899 — THE PATRIOTS TALISMAN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE PATRIOTS TALISMAN.

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.

CHAPTER VI. At first the thought had occurred to our | fibero whether a spy had been sent from ; ' *<he camp of his friends to watch his •enovements, and listen to his speech, in •the house of their enemy; but only for a -moment was this thought with him. As--tar what he had voluntarily communicatI -ad to Doctor Witherspoon he knew thiß "Where now?” asked Morris, as Seaton I quietly arose from his chair. “If you will excuse me a moment, genii; fitemen,” returned the captain, with a | polite bow, “I wish to send an orderly to 5* i«y house for my company roll. I will be i. 'hack immediately.” “Certainly,” And the young commander went out. tHe was gone ten minutes, and when he | returned the business was speedily finclabed, the last item being the matter of | the Schuylkill, which it had been | .decided should be done at Germantown, 'Morris promising that he would have >; ?the means in readiness at Van Deering’s “You will understand. Captain,” the Splutter said, with a smile, “that we are i -acting under authority from our Hon••ruble Board of War and Ordnance. As K«ftis is a matter particularly interesting |- us of Philadelphia, and as we propose 'to bear the expense, Mr. Adams and his | -associates have given us power. So you | 'will feel that you are in the strict line of p tyour duty.” At this point the man in the alcove fe'•Arose from the small desk where he had t been writing, and came out into the comI mittee room. He was of middle age; tall f auad strong, with a resolute face, a keen, | .gray eye, and dressed in a sober, conti- | mental garb, somewhat soiled by long ••wear and much travel. Addressing Dr. } Stash, he said: ' “I have written my letter, Doctor, and •may send my man off with it to-morrow. jPWUI you have a line ready for the same “If I do not, I can send by you,” was f •the reply. “We shall not keep you more H than three days, at the farthest.” 'Without further remark the man bowEnld and withdrew. “Who is that man?” asked Seaton, as I moon as the door had closed behind the tiring stranger. “He is a messenger from Gen. WashI dngton,” replied Rush. “A messenger from Washington?” “Yes. Does it surprise you?” ||; “Did he bring dispatches?” “He did; and they are far from pleasI «ant. Our army may have been forced to I leave New York ere this. Its numbers | mre being fearfully reduced by the expiraiptton of terms of service.” I “What is this man’s name?” I “Daniel Sparrow.” “When did he arrive in Philadelphia?” I “Yesterday.” “Direct from New York?” ; “Yes— as directly as he could come.” m- Seaton leaped to his feet. I “By heavens!” he exclaimed, “that man p a spy! He has imposed upon you! He r •‘a not a messenger from Washington!” j|. “But, my dear Captain,” expostulated [ljMorris, “he brought us authentic disI v gjlAye,” added Rush; “and he brought to | me an autograph letter from Washington | himself, who is anxious that further and | better medical provision should be made r f® r his troops. What has possessed you, I; Captain?” am possessed of a knowledge of the truth of what I say,” answered Seaton, *almly and firmly. “The man is a traitor | and a spy. Four days ago I saw the rejection of his face in a mirror at the I bouse of Jacob Eastcourt. He was then Bpicting the spy upon me, and knew not I? that I had detected him. You will admit his face is not easily to be mistaken. Ifpf he has brought to you dispatches from ’ <Sen. Washington, be sure the authorized g| bearer of those dispatches has been wayI daid and captured—be sure the true Dan--iel Sparrow is in the hands of our enei unies. Gentlemen, when I saw that man’s g tfiace, as he turned it toward me in yonder gs/tecess, it startled me. At first I could P’bct make it out, though I knew I had p!*een it befofe; but at second thought it l|~eame to me. It is as I have told you.” 'The committee were, by this time, upon "their feet, filled with consternation. So had the man come to them—so [ 'bravely, and yet so modestly had he told | his trials on the way; so kindly and | -«o politely had he delivered the dis|vpatches; and so self-sacrificingly had he |Soffered to return with their answer he had to swim through Tory p blood, that they had not thought of lyioubting him. But they must now doubt » bim, or doubt their captain of cavalry, f* said Franklin, “we waste -time. The man must lie arrested.” g >‘“lf we can fihd him.” said Dr. Rush. I*. *My soul!” added Robert Morris; "and [•‘ lie has our whole secret of the planned ex[lpadition against the Montgomery Tories!” finished Seaton, with a smile; J- and be sure he would ere this have been gbeyond our reach had he been suffered to iyao Urge. If you would like to see him. pi think I can produce him for you.” “How? Ah, you went out for that purjs®ose, Captain?” Ppf*Yes, and for no other. But, gentlep*nen, before bringing the man back, I Kgptve a suggestion to make, and if you Pjlinten to it you will be granting me a ,§§reat favor. I told you that I saw him •first at the dwelling of Jacob Eastcourt. JUjVben you come to examine him you may Wohod further proof of the banker’s treachI could wish that, for the present, Blb4*Ma»r of Jacob Eastcourt in connecaffair be held secret. BWe know that he is a royalist, and we HKshir that he will give aid and comfort to gpe enemy when he can; but we may HplX him in greater check by keeping him ignorance of our knowledge. If this IpM 'keep kit trrwt also secret.”

command, and if they are living I shall find our spy in their charge.” Thus speaking, our hero withdrew, and when he returned he was followed by his first lieutenant, and by two of his troopers leading the messenger between them. His lieutenant was a man worthy of notice. He was tall and mnscular; thirty years of age, with golden yellow hair, and a blooming complexion; his features homely and intensely good-natured, and yet indicative of more than Roman firmness and courage. We say of more than Roman firmness and courage because he was of the direct blood of those old Scotch Covenanters, in comparison with whom, for moral courage and heroic self-denial, the Romans are hardly to be mentioned. His name was Roderic Douglas. Our accommodating courier-of-war was in a sad plight—not at all like the urbane and well-mannered man who had lately departed with so much suavity. His garments were torn; his face was discolored; one of his eyes was black and swollen; blood was upon his hands: and a stout bit of rope bound his elbows behind him. He looked fierce and defiant, like a captured wolf, and he glared upon the committee revengefully. Robert Morris, as chairman of the committee, arose to his feet. Perhaps he was surprised that he had ever been led to trust such a man. “Sirrah!” he demanded, “who and what are you?” The man looked first at his captors, and then upon the committee. He evidently did not quite understand the weight of evidence against him, so his first essay savored of the virtuous-indignant: “You should know, sir, who I am, since you have my papers. And now, perhaps, you will tell me why I am submitted to this outrageous treatment?” At this point Lieut. Douglas stepped forward, and as the prisoner caught the keen twinkle of the Scotchman’s blue eye his small stock of remaining assurance seemed to fail him. ‘Your honors,” said Douglas, with a proper military salute, “I think I can save you some trouble of questioning, and, at the same time, relieve our unfortunate friend here of the load of a great deal of lying; for I think he takes to lying naturally. You want to know who this man Is. I can tell you. Captain Seaton can inform you that before I accepted the commission which he was good enough to procure for me, I held the office of sheriff in Trenton. I have arrested Bus gentleman for highway robbery, for horse stealing. On trial .for the first offense he managed to slip the halter by an alibi. On the second trial he was convicted, and imprisoned, and a month ago, by aid of Fenton and Fagan, of the Monmouth Pines, he effected his escape. His name is Adam Noonan, under which you have doubtless heard of him before.” The committee were surprised beyond measure. They had heard of the outlaw as a desperate, dangerous villain, and the thought that they had very nearly become his victims was far from pleasant. But, after all, the affair might turn to their advantage if they could induce the prisoner to speak. Adam Noonan did not deny his name, though he plainly indicated to Douglas that he would like to kill him for having disclosed it. But no question would he answer; and when the committee pressed mm, he retorted with blasphemy. I think we have had enough of this, gentlemen, interposed Seaton. “With your permission I will have the prisoner searched. We may find upon his person something of imnnrtance.” The outlaw s bravado disappeared at the fall of this proposition, and abject terror took its place. He paled and quivered, seeming for a moment to collapse as the lieutenant’s hand was laid upon him. Then he grew fierce again and struggled mightily against the troopers, showing, by the strength he put forth, how severe a task he must have given his captors in the first place. But his struggles did not avail him. If the troopers were a. little rough when the Adamic part of their natures had been aroused, the staid and august committeemen did not interfere. Once Franklin’s teeth were heard grinding together like upper and nether millstones; and even Morris was seen to clench his hands as though it would afford him pleasure to take part in the work of subjection. But there was no need. When Master Noonan found himself flat upon his back, with the prospect of the crashing of a steel-mounted pistol butt through his skull if he would not lie still otherwise, he gave up, and allowed his captors to search as they would.

The ex-sheriff was used to such work, and he went at it secundum artem. First he went through the man’s pockets, and then through every nook where a piece of paper could be hidden, ripping open seams and elevating lining, leaving no one piece of cloth stitched upon another. He would have ripped off the soles of the shoes, but as those soles were more than half gone from wear, in places being worn clean through, he did not think it worth while. Really, Adam Noonan had not proved himself a shrewd man—not the man for a safe and successful spy. Of brute courage aud strength, and of dogged will, he had a sufficiency, but he was not intellectually keen. He had evidently depended upon his prowess and his luck to carry him through. He had gained possession of authentic dispatches, and deeming himself unknown in Philadelphia, he had ventured upon this dangerous mission without fully calculating the chances that might arise against him. Had he been an accomplished scout he would not have kept so much paper about him —paper of no earthly use to him after having been once read, but of much mischief to his cause having fallen under the eye of an enemy. > First, the committee overhauled a packet which had been found closely tied up and stowed away in an inner pocket of the outlaw’s shirt. They were dispatches from Gen. Washington which were to have been suppressed, or, vsry likely, to have been transmitted to Sir William Howe. The committee read them carefully, and after a little consnl-

tation laid them all aside save one, and over this one they debated some tlxnd privately, after which it was laid aside by itself, as though for more particular future consideration. Next came papers which had been found secreted away in different parts of the man’s clothing—not sewed up, or tucked under linings, but in pockets which had been fashioned in all sorts of odd and out-of-the-way places. Most of these were wretched scrawls, evidently relating to plans of theft and robbery in Che past, and of no present importance. Three papers, however, were found, upon the discovery and translation of which the committee were greatly rejoiced. The first was a complete roll, or roster, of the company of “Royal Scouts,” under command of Capt. Kirk Fagan, and by which it appeared that Adam Noonan was a lieutenant of the same organization. There were one hundred and six, names on the roll, including officers. The second important paper contained the namea of a score or more of Montgomery and Chester County farmers who were true to the royal cause, and whose estates were not to be ravaged by the “Scouts.” Some of the men therein set down had ben known as Tories, but not all of them. The paper was put carefully aside for future reference. 'The third paper Morris held under his hand while he spoke to the prisoner, who had been helped to his feet. “Adam Noonan, where is the man from whom you took the dispatches?” The man glared sulkily upon the speaker, but did not answer. “Where is Daniel Sparrow?” “I don’t know.” “Where did you see him last?” “In his stockings, for I’d taken hia boots off.” And at this reply the prisoner, assuming his bravado once more, chuckled. “Enough,” said Morris. “If he is alive, we will find him; if he is dead, be sure you will keep him company as far as the grave.” And then the two troopers were directed to remove the prisoner, and keep him close until further ordered. “Now, Captain Seaton,” said the patriot financier, turning to our hero when the door had closed upon the retiring prisoner, “I think I have something here that will particularly interest you and Ileut. Douglas.” He spread out the paper which he had held beneath his hand, and turned it for Seaton to read. It was a leaf torn from an old account book, and written in a very respectable hand was the following: “August 27, 1776. “Lieutenant —Your men have come in with the prisoner, and have given me an account of your great success. You had better bring the papers to camp, and I will send them to Sir William. Keep on the track of Seaton. There is mischief brewing in that quarter. Find out what old Hancock and Jack Adams are going to do with his troop. Eastcourt will help you. Sunday night we start down the Schuylkill, and will make the stiff-necked Whigs howl. From Friday night to Sunday afternoon you will find us in the Giant’s Bite, on Valley creek. Come by way of the Forge, and you will meet some of the pickets. You must be here.” The body of this letter had most likely been written by an authorized clerk; but its signature was by a stronger, though less graceful hand, being a wretchedly executed, scrawling monogram, evidently borrowed, in spirit, from the Indian fashion. It was the letter F, followed by the picture of a drawn dagger, and the same sign-manual had appeared upon the instrument relieving the Tory farmers from molestation by the marauding scouts.

“That signature I have seen before,” said Donglas. “It is the hand of Kirk Fagan.” “And,” add#d Morris, addressing the captain, “it tells you -where, and when, and how to strike. This was written on Tuesday last. To-day is Friday. Fortune favors us.” “Douglas, do you know where the •Giant’s Bite’ is?” Seaton asked his lieutenant. “I know it very well, Captain, having captured a band of sheep stealers and horse thieves there a little over a year ago. It is a rocky gorge, with its trees making almost a cavern, towards the head waters of Valley creek.” Beyond this the business of arranging for the expedition was quickly done, and the captain and his lieutenant went to make preparations. Adam Noonan was kept in the State House until after dark, and then conveyed to prison. With such a man as Robert Morris to engineer the arrangements for transportation there was no hitch or delay in the getting off of the expedition. Seaton was ready with his men on time, and before midnight they were at the mouth of the creek, and at once, under the guidance of Roderic Douglas, started up the valley. When they had reached the base of the mountains, the riflemen, to the number of fifty, dismounted and picketed their horses, and as they advanced on foot they met and secured the Tory outposts without raising an alarm. We have no vivid battle scene to picture at this point. The fortunate securing of the spy—the face seen in the mirror—had yielded the key to the situation. Arrived at the “Bite,” which was a broad, rock-bound, wood-embowered amphitheater, the outlaw band was found holding high saturnalia, and certainly onerhalf the force was helplessly drunk. In their fancied security, with plenty of plundered spirit, and with two whole days on their hands, the exultant Tories had given themselves up to revel, and at this hour — 2 o’clock in the morning—only those with extremely hard heads and impervious tissues had held up. Seaton comprehended the situation at a glance, and in less than half an hour from the giving of the note of onset the whole band was captured, with the need of killing only two of the number. Kirk Fagan, for a wonderwonder to our hero, at least, though perhaps not to the outlaws—was among the dead drunk, and he was given a bed of moss, with his hands bound behind him at the elbows, and vrfth a faithful sentinel to see that no harm came to him. When the prisoners had been put apart into squads of twenty, with suitable bonds upon their arms, and a proper guard set over them, a score of the men were sent to bring up the horses. With so many prisoners on his hands, helpless from drink, Seaton could not think of moving before morning, so, when he had seen all secure, and had given sufficient directions to the officers of the various guards, he and Douglas went and sat down by the side of the supinely uar conscious outlaw chieftain. i (To be continued.) Copyright