The Prisoner of the Mill; or, Captain Hayward's Body Guard

by Harry Hazelton

  CHAPTER VI.

  _The Gunpowder Plot and the Conspirator._ _The Mystery Unfolding._

  JUST as the fading twilight was yielding to darkness, and beforeLieutenant Wells had been removed from his cell by request of Alibamo, ascene occurred to which we must revert.

  The room in which Wells was placed was in the wing of a log-house, justin the rear of the brick school-house to which we have alluded. Twodoors led from this apartment, one opening into the garden, the otherinto the main building. This latter door had been firmly secured. Nearthat opening into the garden, was a small window, the only one in theapartment. As the guard was stationed at the door, escape from the roomwas impossible. Surrounding this garden were a number of hedges runningin various directions, some of them forming the street fence, whileothers ornamented the winding gravel walks.

  As soon as it was quite dark, a person closely enveloped and disguised,emerged from among the tents, and passed cautiously along in the stillintenser darkness of the hedge shadow. Ever and anon he would pause andlisten. Finally he reached the further hedge, remote from the camp. Hepaused a moment, and then gave a low and peculiar whistle. It wasimmediately answered, and two men joined the first comer.

  “Are you ready?”

  “No!” was the answer.

  “And why not?”

  “Because we have not received our pay.”

  “Is that the _only_ reason?”

  “The only reason after you have given us full instructions.”

  “Where is your powder?”

  “In the upper part of the garden, under the hedge. We have secured eighttwelve pound shells which we took from that battery over yonder. Powderenough to blow a mountain to the devil.”

  “Well, here is a hundred apiece. When the job is done, you will find asmuch more in the hollow log that I pointed out last night. Be carefuland make sure work!”

  “Well, your instructions!”

  “You will follow the outer hedge. Creep along with great caution, andmake no noise. There will be no danger, as the guard are not on thenorth side of the camp. When you reach the log-building in the rear ofthe brick school-house, you will observe a small wing, or addition,extending to the rear. At the back of this wing you will find anexcavation under the house sufficiently large for your shells. Placethem in it, lay your train, and then apply the torch. But you must dothis with great caution, as a guard is stationed upon the oppositeside.”

  “Don’t be alarmed. Any one near that old log-shanty will go to kingdomcome before to-morrow morning.”

  The trio then separated.

  * * * * *

  When Captain Walker was seized and chained by the soldiers, he made adesperate resistance, but in vain. He soon occupied the little roomvacated by Lieutenant Wells. The door closed; he heard the clanking ofthe heavy chains which secured it, and left him in utter darkness. Hestamped, and raved and cursed. Suddenly starting, and wildly clutchinghis throat, as if some terrible thought had crossed his mind, he groanedand sunk upon the floor.

  “Fool! oh! fool that I was! I thought if I _pretended_ friendship, andoffered to assist in his escape, all suspicion of this night’s workwould be diverted from me. But now—oh! my God! What is the hour? Hark! Ihear them working under the building! No! it is not the men yet. It istoo early. I dare not tell the guard, for an acknowledgment of anysuspicion of such a plot would be a confession of _my_ guilt. Let mesearch for some mode of escape!”

  Walker crawled cautiously around the floor, but not a crevice could befound. Finally, exhausted, he sunk down, giving way to his utterdespair. An hour—two hours—dragged slowly by, which appeared an age ofmisery to the wretched man.

  “If I give the alarm, even saying that a peculiar sound attracted myattention, the ruffians who are to do the work, will recognize me, and Ishall, thus implicated, suffer an ignominious death! What is that? GreatGod! they are at work! But they are making so much noise that the guardwill hear them, and I shall yet be saved!”

  “Don’t make quite so much noise in there, if you please!” exclaimed theguard, as he knocked upon the door where he was stationed.

  “It is not me!” yelled the frantic man. “Some one is at the rear of thebuilding, trying to dig through—they want to kill me!”

  “We will see about that!” replied the guard, as he left his post, andwalked toward the spot indicated.

  Walker fell upon his knees and exclaimed:

  “Oh! I am saved—saved that dreadful death!”

  He bent down, and applying his ear to a small crevice between the logs,where the mud-mortar had fallen out, he listened. He could distinctlyhear the words spoken.

  “Have you silenced that d—d guard?” was asked.

  “Yes, cut his wizzen. No danger. Hurry with the train of powder!”

  “Gentlemen!” yelled Walker, “don’t go any further. I am not the man!”

  “Quick—fire the train!” exclaimed a voice outside.

  A flash was seen, and then another said:

  “Curse it, the train has failed. Throw the torch among the shells, andthen run!”

  Walker waited to hear no more, but throwing himself with all hisviolence against the door, he set up a series of yells, which made thecamp ring. In a moment steps were heard, the door was thrown open, andWalker, livid with fear, and frantic, staggered into the open air,gasping for breath. When he had sufficiently recovered his fright tolisten, the commander of the squad said:

  “The powder-plot has been discovered, sir. There is no further danger onthat head. But you will return to your cell!”

  This order Walker was compelled to obey, and he was again left indarkness, with feelings better imagined than described.

  * * * * *

  The night wore slowly away. Lieutenant Wells had retired to his owntent. His calmness of demeanor certainly did not indicate a guilty mind.Alibamo, too, was wakeful, and strove by every possible kindness tosustain the heart and hopes of her suffering companion. Miss NettieMorton, who had so recently joined their society, was occupying a tentin company with Miss Sally Long, near that of Mrs. Hinton. They also,were watchful—anxious for the morrow. But, perhaps, the most wretchedperson in that camp was Captain Hugh Walker. No officer would have daredto place irons upon him and confine him in a rough cell, upon any slightpretext. Was it not possible that something of a serious character hadbeen discovered against him? This surmise seemed to haunt him, for heacted in a manner to indicate the wildest apprehensions of danger.

  Morning came at last, and slowly the day advanced. A guard broughtWalker his breakfast, but the man refused to answer any question. Duringthe afternoon he heard the beating of the drums, and the bugle-blast,which he well understood was calling the division together for someimportant purpose. He felt satisfied that one object was the reading ofthe finding of the court-martial in the case of Lieutenant Wells. But,what part was _he_ to play in the scene? This was the question whichcaused his heart to beat with violence, as the chains fell from the doorof his prison, and he was called forth.

  He accompanied the guard in silence, and soon entered the hollow squareformed by the three brigades of the division. Walker glanced eagerlyaround, and there, standing beside the commanding General, wasLieutenant Wells, with Miss Hayward leaning upon his arm, and near themwere their female friends. But a few paces distant were the two ruffianswho had been engaged in the powder-plot. All was silent. The Generaladvanced and said:

  “Preliminary to other proceedings, I wish to ask Captain Walker if heever before saw these two men?”

  The ruffians advanced, rattling their chains. But Walker drew back, andwith forced calmness he replied:

  “I never have!” He dropped his head, gazing upon the ground.

  The adjutant who held the sealed orders of the court-martial by whichLieutenant Wells had been tried, then advanced, and was about tocommence reading the
document in his hand, when a series of yells wereheard, and in the distance was seen the grotesque form of Nettleton, ashe came bounding along and bellowing:

  “Stop the shootin’! Stop the shootin’!”

  It was well known throughout the army that Nettleton had remained behindin search of Captain Hayward. As he approached, the most intenseexcitement was manifest. Lieutenant Wells could scarcely control hisfeelings, and would have rushed forward to meet Nettleton, had not Mrs.Hinton gently laid her hand upon his arm, begging him to be calm. MissHayward clung closer to her lover, as she hoped the news about to bebrought by her brother’s friend would relieve her agony of suspense. Ahalf-suppressed cheer broke from the soldiers, as Nettleton burst intothe square.

  He paused for a moment, his breast heaving, and his eyes glaring wildly.But an instant was sufficient for him to discover that Wells was yetalive, and that the object of his suspicion also lived. He sprungforward, and, without uttering a word, seized Walker by the foot, whichhe at once drew under his arm; then he as suddenly bounded for the spotwhere the commandant was standing, dragging the foot along with him.

  Of course this sudden movement on the part of Nettleton had thrownWalker violently upon his head, and, although he kicked, and squirmedand cursed, he was dragged along as if he had been a child.

  When Nettleton reached the commander, he held the foot of Walker withina few inches of that officer’s face, and yelled:

  “Look! look! General—see them boots!”

  Notwithstanding the intense anxiety felt for the result of Nettleton’ssearch, the ridiculous figure he presented in his eagerness, and that ofWalker who was twisting and struggling to escape, a general laugh ranthrough the division, which was joined in by the commander. Even Wellscould not suppress a smile.

  “And what about those boots?” asked the commander, after silence hadbeen restored.

  “Why, I’ve blacked them!” yelled Nettleton.

  Another laugh was heard along the line.

  “No doubt you have blacked them. But what of this?”

  “Why, General, don’t you see them _two hearts_ made with nails, on thesole of that boot?”

  “Certainly I see them. And what then?”

  Walker was now permitted to resume his upright position, and he stoodtrembling with fear and rage, as Nettleton went on to relate his firstsuspicions of Walker, his search for the body of Captain Hayward, hisfinding the impression of the footprints standing side by side in themud, at the edge of the stream, with the marks of _two hearts_ in thesole of each boot; and then the finding of the handkerchief in thewater, which Nettleton then produced.

  The officer took the white linen witness, examining it closely, and thensaid:

  “Here is the name of ‘Walker,’ in the corner. William, did you find this_near_ the place where the murder was committed?”

  “Right by the spot where them two boots stood!” replied Nettleton,pointing to Walker’s feet.

  “I can explain this,” exclaimed Walker. “I went to the river that day towash, and I stood upon the bank to do so. I presume I left theimpression of my boots there at that time. If I did not, was I not alsopresent in the morning to examine the spot where the murder had beencommitted? And is it a wonder that the impression of my boots should beleft behind?”

  “That is certainly true,” replied the General. “But of thehandkerchief?”

  “It fell from my hands as I was washing, and I did not take the troubleto recover it.”

  “It is very probable!” replied the General.

  “So you perceive,” replied Walker, as he appeared to gain courage, “yourtrumped up evidence has fallen to the ground! I did not expect acombination of both officers and men against me, but I find it so. Andthey wish to see _me_ suffer for the bloody deed done by that coward.The only reason I can assign for this persecution is, that he is infavor with the _ladies_, and you, sycophants that you are, hope, throughhim, to gain favor with his fair companions. No doubt some bargain tothat effect already has been effected!”

  Captain Walker had by this time become eloquent, and defiant. Nettleton,with his too eager perceptions, had failed to foresee the possiblefallacy of his proofs, for hope and prejudice together had prevented anycalm examination of his evidence. With a sorrowful and troubled look, heturned away. This gave Walker greater confidence, and, in a loud buthoarse voice he cried:

  “And now I demand justice!”

  “Which you shall have,” replied the General. “But first answer me; howdid this handkerchief, which bears your name, and which you confess tohaving used in the stream, become _bloody_?”

  That was another point of interest, and Nettleton paused to listenattentively.

  “I had a bleeding at the nose, and the reason I threw the dirty thingaway, was, I did not think it worth washing!”

  “Then some person must have recovered it, washed it very carefully, andthrown it into the stream again, for _there is_ NO _blood upon it_!”

  Walker attempted a reply, but his utterance failed. The General enjoinedsilence, and then stepping forward he said, in a voice sufficiently loudto be heard by all present:

  “Captain Walker, I must sum up, before you, the evidence of crimes youhave committed, which have no parallel in the history of the army, or ofcrimes which have ever been, or attempted to be committed in anycivilized country. I would give you the benefit of a court-martial, werethere any doubt of your guilt, and even _now_ may _order_ a trial, butit will only be a formal one. You had better confess your guilt, here,before all—ask their pardon—make reparation to those you have mostinjured, and die repentant!”

  “I have nothing to confess!” responded Walker, bitterly.

  “Have you no fear of the revelations of these two soldiers?” asked theGeneral, pointing to the chained ruffians.

  “I have no fear! No doubt they have been bribed to conspire with you!But, vent your spite! Go on!”

  “Then, Captain Walker, I will briefly enumerate the circumstances whichhave been developed, as well as the _facts_. The morning we left GrandPrairie you were in command of the squad which escorted the prisoner,Lieutenant Edward Wells. You had not proceeded far when you wereovertaken by two men. It was a very easy matter to secure an audiencewith you as you were in the rear of the division. They suggested thatyou should deliver Lieutenant Wells to them, as their commander had anespecial spite against him, and wished to secure his person. You askedthese men (I refer to the two ruffians now in chains and standing byyour side,) how they dared to approach you on such a subject, and theyreplied that they had _witnessed your act_ the evening previous, andthat you need not put on airs with them! You then requested thesefellows to meet you the next evening at the upper hedge. You instructedthem to secure a number of pounds of powder for some purpose, which youwould then explain. You met them the next evening. You gave theminstructions. They were about to act upon them, when your outcries fromthe cell in which _you_ had been placed, and which Lieutenant Wells hadleft only a short time previously, attracted the attention of the guard,and you were rescued. Prior to this you had offered to assist LieutenantWells to escape, but you wished him to return to his cell and remainuntil two or three o’clock. The fiendish act was to be committed betweentwelve and one. You _pretended_ friendship, that all suspicion of theact might be diverted from you. Have I spoken correctly, sir?”

  “No doubt you have spoken according to the story of those ruffians!”replied Walker. “You can not bring against me any _respectable_ proof. Ilook to a court for the justice which I have no reason to expect here.”

  “Look!”

  Walker, who had been shaking like a guilty wretch during the speech ofthe commander, turned in the direction indicated. The rough garb hadfallen from the ruffians; their chains were thrown aside, and, to hisastonishment and horror, there stood two of the regimental Unionofficers, ADJUTANT HINTON, the husband of Alibamo, and his friend,CAPTAIN CLARK!

  Walker, who now saw how he had been entrapped, and detected in hisinfamy, for a
moment was utterly unmanned. But, his resolute nature soontriumphed over his fear. Well realizing that penitence could not savehim, he sprung to his feet and said:

  “This is all a miserable, contemptible conspiracy—an effort to make outa case against me to shield that woman’s pet from the consequences ofhis clearly proven crime. Hayward is dead, and can not be made toanswer, else—”

  “You lie, you dirty, nasty, murderin’ skunk!”

  “What!” exclaimed a dozen voices.

  “He lies! the coward that stabs a man in the dark! Hayward is not dead,but lives, and will soon by his evidence send this murderer to kingdomcome!”

  With a shriek Miss Hayward bounded forward, and fell at the feet ofNettleton, grasping his hands. Wells, who had borne bravely up untilthis moment, covered his face, and wept tears of joy and of relief fromthe imputation of crime. Sally Long sprung to the side of Nettleton,and, throwing her arms around his neck she gave him a hearty kiss, whichcaused him to roll up his green eyes, and appear in almost as much agonyas if he had been struck in the stomach with a cannon-ball. The word wassoon passed, and the soldiers, catching the fire, made the very welkinring with their shouts, while the band chimed in with the stirringstrain: “Hail to the Chief!”