CHAPTER XXV.
A TRIAL.--A GRAVE ACCUSATION THAT STILL FURTHER CONFIRMS BUTLER IN HISBELIEF OF A SECRET ENEMY.--A SUDDEN RESPITE.
Butler's baggage, ever since he left Robinson's habitation on theCatawba, had been divided into two parcels, one of which he carried in aportmanteau on his own horse, and the other had been stowed away in apair of black leather saddle-bags that were flung across Captain Peter.These latter sufficed, also, to inclose, in addition to the sergeant'sown wardrobe, sundry stores of provender, which the careful appetite andsoldier-like foresight of the trusty squire had, from time to time,accumulated for their comfort upon the road-side. After the escape ofthe sergeant, this baggage had been kept with more scrupulousness thanmight have been expected from the character of the freebooters intowhose possession it had fallen; and now, when Butler had beensurrendered up to the custody of Colonel Innis, it was restored to theprisoner without the loss of any article of value. On this morning,therefore, Butler had thrown aside the rustic dress in which he hadheretofore travelled, and appeared habited as we have described him whenfirst introduced to the reader.
After a very slight meal, which had been administered with more personalattention and consideration for his rank and condition than he wasprepared to expect, an officer entered his apartment and communicated anorder to him to repair to the yard in front of the quarters. Here hefound a sergeant's guard mustered to receive him, and he was directed tomarch with them to the place that had been selected for his trial. Thespot pitched upon for this purpose, was at the foot of a large mulberrythat stood on the border of the plain, at a short distance from thehouse.
When the guard arrived with the prisoner, Colonel Innis was alreadyseated at the head of a table, around which were placed severalofficers, both of the regular and militia forces. Writing materials werealso arranged upon the board, and at the lower end, a few paces removedfrom it, stood a vacant chair. Behind this was erected a pile of drums,with one or two colours laid transversely across them. Sentinels werestationed at different points near this group, and within their lineswere collected the principal officers of Innis's command. Somewhat moreremote, a number of idle spectators were assembled, amongst whom mighthave been discerned Habershaw, Curry, and many of the heroes who hadfigured at Grindall's ford. Captain St. Jermyn had taken a station alittle to the left of the presiding officer at the table, and in therear of those who appeared to have the management of the approachingprocedure, and now stood, with his hands folded, apparently an anxiousand interested looker-on.
There was a thoughtful and even stern expression upon every face whenButler appeared--and a silence that was scarce broken by the occasionalwhispers in which the several individuals present communicated with eachother. The guard marched the prisoner around the circle, and inductedhim into the vacant chair, where he was received by a quiet and coldinclination of the head from each member of the court.
For a few moments he looked around him with a scornful gaze upon theassemblage that were to sit in judgment upon him, and bit his lip, ashis frame seemed to be agitated with deep emotion: at length, when everylook was bent upon him, and no one breathed a word, he rose upon hisfeet and addressed the company.
"I understand that I am in the presence of a military court, which hasbeen summoned for the purpose of inquiring into certain offences, of thenature of which I have not yet had the good fortune to be informed,except in so far as I am given to infer that they purport of treason. Iask if this be true."
The presiding officer bowed his head in token of assent, and thenpresented a paper, which he described as containing the specification ofcharges.
"As an officer of the American army, and the citizen of an independentrepublic," continued Butler, "I protest against any accountability tothis tribunal; and, with this protest, I publish my wrongs in the faceof these witnesses, and declare them to arise out of facts disgracefulto the character of an honorable nation. I have been drawn by treacheryinto an ambuscade, overpowered by numbers, insulted and abused byruffians. I wish I could say that these outrages were practised at themere motion of the coarse banditti themselves who assailed me; but theirmanifest subserviency to a plan, the object of which was to take mylife, leaves me no room to doubt that they have been in the employ andhave acted under the orders of a more responsible head"--
"Keep your temper," interrupted Innis, calmly. "Something is to beallowed to the excited feelings of one suddenly arrested in the heightof a bold adventure, and the court would, therefore, treat yourexpression of such feelings at this moment with lenity. You will,however, consult your own welfare, by giving your thoughts to thecharges against you, and sparing yourself the labor of this uselessvituperation. Read that paper, and speak to its contents. We will hearyou patiently and impartially."
"Sir, it can avail me nothing to read it. Let it allege what it may, thetrial, under present circumstances, will be but a mockery. By thechances of war, my life is in your hands; it is an idle ceremony andwaste of time to call in aid the forms of justice, to do that which youhave the power to do, without insulting Heaven by affecting to assumeone of its attributes."
"That we pause to inquire," replied Innis, "is a boon of mercy to you.The offence of rank rebellion which you and all your fellow-madmen haveconfessed, by taking up arms against your king, carries with it the lastdegree of punishment. If, waiving our right to inflict summary pain forthis transgression, we stay to hear what you can say against other andeven weightier charges, you should thank us for our clemency. But thisis misspending time. Read the paper to the prisoner," he added,addressing one of the officers at the table.
The paper was read aloud. It first presented a charge against theprisoner for violating the terms of the parole given at the capitulationof Charleston. The specification to support this charge was that, by theterms of the surrender, General Lincoln had engaged that the wholegarrison should be surrendered as prisoners of war, and that they shouldnot serve again until exchanged. The prisoner was described as anofficer of that garrison, included in the surrender, and lately taken inthe act of making war upon his majesty's subjects.
The second charge was, that the prisoner had insinuated himself, byfalse representations, into the territory conquered by the royal army;and that, in the quality of a spy, he had visited the family of acertain Walter Adair, with a view to obtain a knowledge of the forces,plans, movements, and designs of the various detachments engaged in hismajesty's service in the neighborhood of Broad River.
And, third and last, that he, together with certain confederates, hadcontrived and partially attempted to execute a plan to seize upon andcarry away a subject of his majesty's government, of great considerationand esteem--Mr. Philip Lindsay, namely, of the Dove Cote, in theprovince of Virginia. That the object of this enterprise was to possesshimself of the papers as well as of the person of the said PhilipLindsay, and, by surrendering him up to the leaders of the rebel army,to bring upon him the vengeance of the rebel government, thus exposinghim to confiscation of property, and even to peril of life.
Such was the general import and bearing of the accusations against theprisoner, expressed with the usual abundance of verbiage and minutenessof detail. Butler listened to them, at first, with indifference, andwith a determination to meet them with inflexible silence; but, as theenunciation of them proceeded, and the extraordinary misrepresentationsthey contained were successively disclosed, he found his indignationrising to a height that almost mastered his discretion, and he was onthe point of interrupting the court with the lie direct, and ofinvolving himself in an act of contumacy which would have been instantlydecisive of his fate. His better genius, however, prevailed, and,smothering his anger by a strong effort of self-control, he merelyfolded his arms and abided until the end, with a contemptuous and proudglance at his accusers.
"You have heard the allegations against you, sir," said Colonel Innis;"what say you to them?"
"What should an honorable man," replied Butler, "say to such foulaspersions? The first and second
charges, sir, I pronounce to befrivolous and false. As to the last, sir, there are imputations in itthat mark the agency of a concealed enemy, lost to every impulse ofhonor--a base and wicked liar. Confront me with that man, and let theissue stand on this--if I do not prove him to be, in the judgment ofevery true gentleman of your army, an atrocious and depraved slanderer,who has contrived against my life for selfish purposes, I will submitmyself to whatever penalty the most exasperated of my enemies mayinvent. It was my purpose, sir, to remain silent, and to refuse, by anyact of mine, to acknowledge the violation of the rights of war by whichI have been dragged hither. Nothing could have swayed me from thatdetermination, but the iniquitous falsehood conveyed in the lastaccusation."
"We cannot bandy words with one in your condition," interrupted thepresident of the court. "I must remind you again, that our purpose is togive you a fair trial, not to listen to ebullitions of anger. Your honoris concerned in these charges, and you will best consult your interestby a patient demeanor in your present difficulties."
"I am silent," said Butler, indignantly, taking his seat.
"Let the trial proceed," continued the president. "You will not deny,"he said, after an interval of reflection, "that you are a native ofCarolina?"
"I can scarcely deny that before you," replied Butler, "who, in myabsence, as report says, have been busy in the investigation of myaffairs."
"There are bounds, sir, to the forbearance of a court," said Innis,sternly. "I understand the taunt. Your estates have been the subject ofconsideration before another tribunal; and if my advice were listenedto, the process relating to them would be a short one."
"You are answered," returned Butler.
"Nor can you deny that you were an officer belonging to the army underthe command of General Lincoln."
Butler was silent.
"You were at Charleston during the siege?" inquired one of the court.
"In part," replied Butler. "I left it in March, the bearer of despatchesto Congress."
"And you were in arms on the night of the thirteenth, at Grindall'sFord?" continued the same questioner.
"I confess it, sir."
"That's enough," interrupted Innis. "In the ninth article of thecapitulation of Charleston we read: 'all civil officers, and thecitizens who have borne arms _during the siege_, must be prisoners onparole.'"
"I should say," interposed St. Jermyn, who now, for the first time,opened his lips, "that the prisoner scarcely falls within thatdescription. The words 'during the siege' would seem to point to aservice which lasted to the end. They are, at least, equivocal; and Idoubt Lord Cornwallis would be loath to sanction a judgment on such aground."
Upon this ensued a consultation amongst the officers at the table,during which Butler was withdrawn to a short distance in the rear of theassemblage. Several of the unoccupied soldiers of the camp, at thisstage of the trial, had crowded into the neighborhood of the court; andthe sentinels, yielding to the eagerness of the common curiosity, hadrelaxed their guard so far as to allow the spectators to encroach beyondthe lines. Among those who had thrust themselves almost up to thetrial-table were a few children, male and female, bearing on their armsbaskets of fruit and vegetables, which had been brought within the campfor sale. A smart-looking girl, somewhat older than the rest, seemed tohave gained more favor from the crowd than her competitors, by thetemptation which she presented of a rich collection of mellow apples;and perhaps her popularity was in some degree increased by the soft andpleasant-toned voice in which she recommended her wares, no less than bythe ruddy, wholesome hue of her cheek, and an agreeable, laughing, blueeye, that shone forth from the shade of a deep and narrow sun-bonnet,the curtain of which fell upon her shoulders and down her back.
"Buy my apples, gentlemen," said the pretty fruit-merchant, coming upfearlessly to Colonel Innis, in the midst of the consultation.
"Three for a penny; they are very ripe and mellow, sir."
The colonel cast his eye upon the treasures of the basket, and began toselect a few of the choicest fruit. Thus encouraged, the girl set herload upon the table, in the midst of the hats and swords with which itwas encumbered, and very soon every other member of the court followedthe example of the presiding officer, and became purchasers of thegreater part of the store before them. When this traffic was concluded,the little huckster took up her burden and retired towards the group ofspectators. Seeing the prisoner in this quarter, she walked up to him,curtsied, and presented him an apple, which was gratefully accepted, andthe proffered return, from him, in money, refused.
When about a quarter of an hour had elapsed, Butler was resummoned tohis seat, and the court again proceeded to business. The inquiry nowrelated to the second charge--that, namely, which imputed to theprisoner the character of a spy in his visit at Adair's. To thisaccusation, Captain Hugh Habershaw and several of his troop were calledas witnesses. The amount of testimony given by them was, that, on theeleventh of the month, they had received information that a Continentalofficer, whose real name and title was Major Butler, but who wastravelling in disguise and under an assumed name, from the Catawbatowards the Broad River, in company with a well known, stark Whig--acertain Horse Shoe Robinson--was expected in a few days to arrive at WatAdair's. That Habershaw, hoping to intercept them, had scoured thecountry between the two rivers; but that the travellers had eluded thesearch, by taking a very circuitous and unfrequented route towards theupper part of Blair's Range and Fishing Creek. That, on the night of thetwelfth, the two men arrived at Adair's, unmolested; and, on the morningof the thirteenth, some of the woodman's family had met Habershaw andapprised him of this fact; adding, further, that the prisoner hadoffered a bribe to Adair, to induce him to give information in regard tothe loyalist troops in the neighborhood, with a view to communicate itto a certain Colonel Clarke, who had appointed to meet Butler and hiscompanion somewhere on the upper border of the province. That, inconsequence of this attempt, Adair had directed the prisoner towardsGrindall's Ford; and, this intelligence being communicated to thewitness, he had conducted his troop to that place, where he succeeded inarresting the prisoner and his comrade, with the loss of two men in thestruggle. The narrative then went on to give the particulars of HorseShoe's escape, and the other facts with which the reader is acquainted.This account was corroborated by several witnesses, and, amongst therest, by Curry.
Butler heard the testimony with the most painful sensations. There wasjust enough of truth in it to make the tale plausible; and the falsehoodrelated to points which, as they were affirmed upon hearsay, he couldnot repel by proof. There was a common expression of opinion amongst thebystanders--who in general were inclined to take the side of theprisoner in reference to the charge which was supposed to affect hislife--that this accusation of Butler's acting the part of a spy wassustained by the proof. In vain did he protest against the injustice ofbeing condemned on what was alleged to have been said by some of Adair'sfamily; in vain did he deny that he had offered a bribe to Adair forinformation respecting the Tories; and equally in vain did he affirmthat he had asked of Adair nothing more than the common hospitality dueto a traveller, and for which he had made him a moderate requital--theonly money the woodman had received from him. The current was nowsetting violently against him, and it seemed impossible to stem it.
"It is but due," said Captain St. Jermyn, a second time interposing inbehalf of the prisoner, "to the rank and character of Major Butler,since a portion of this testimony is second-hand, to take his ownexamination on these alleged facts. With permission, therefore, I wouldask him a few questions."
"The court will not object," said Innis, who throughout affected the airof an impartial judge.
"It is true, Major Butler, that you were at Adair's on the night of thetwelfth?" said the volunteer advocate of the prisoner.
"I was, sir."
"And you made no concealment of your name or rank?"
"I will not say that," replied Butler.
"You were under a feigned name then, sir?" i
nquired Innis, as St. Jermynseemed a little confounded by the answer he had received.
"I was called Mr. Butler, sir; my rank or station was not communicated."
"Your dress?"
"Was an assumed one, to avoid inquiry."
"This man, Horse Shoe Robinson," said St. Jermyn, "was known to Adair asa whig soldier?"
"Well known," replied Butler; "and I was also represented as belongingto that party. Adair himself led us to believe that he was friendly toour cause."
Here several members of the court smiled.
"Had you met any parties of loyalists," inquired Innis, "in your journeybetween Catawba and Broad?"
"We had--more than one."
"How did you escape them?"
"By assuming feigned characters and names."
"Your purpose was to join Clarke?"
"I am not at liberty to answer that question," replied the prisoner."Suffice it, sir, I was travelling through this region on a mission ofduty. My purpose was to act against the enemy. So far the charge istrue, and only to this extent. I came with no design to pry into thecondition of the royal troops; I sought only a successful passagethrough a contested, though sadly overpowered country."
"You offered no money to Adair," said St. Jermyn again, as if insistingon this point of exculpation, "but what you have already called amoderate requital for his entertainment?"
"None," replied the prisoner--"except," he added, "a guinea, to inducehim to release, from some wicked torture, a wolf he had entrapped."
"It will not do," said Colonel Innis, shaking his head at St. Jermyn;and the same opinion was indicated in the looks of several of the court.
"I was at Walter Adair's that night, and saw the gentleman there, andheard all that was said by him; and I am sure that he offered Watty nomoney," said our little apple-girl, who had been listening withbreathless anxiety to the whole of this examination, and who had nowadvanced to the table as she spoke the words. "And I can tell more aboutit, if I am asked."
"And who are you, my pretty maid?" inquired Colonel Innis, as he liftedthe bonnet from her head and let loose a volume of flaxen curls downupon her neck.
"I am Mary Musgrove, the miller's daughter," said the damsel, with greatearnestness of manner, "and Watty Adair is my uncle, by my mother'sside--he married my aunt Peggy; and I was at his house when Major Butlerand Mr. Horse Shoe Robinson came there."
"And what in the devil brought you here?" said Habershaw gruffly.
"Silence!" cried Innis, impatient at the obtrusive interruption of thegross captain. "What authority have you to ask questions? Begone, sir."
The heavy bulk of Hugh Habershaw, at this order, sneaked back into thecrowd.
"I came only to sell a few apples," said Mary.
"Heaven has sent that girl to the rescue of my life," said Butler, underthe impulse of a feeling which he could not refrain from giving vent toin words. "Pray allow me, sir, to ask her some questions."
"It is your privilege," was the answer from two or three of the court;and the spectators pressed forward to hear the examination.
Butler carefully interrogated the maiden as to all the particulars ofhis visit, and she, with the most scrupulous fidelity, recounted thescenes to which she had been a witness. When she came to detail theconversation which she had overheard between Adair and Lynch, and theevents that followed it, the interest of the bystanders was wound up tothe highest pitch. There was a simplicity in her recital of this strangeand eventful story, that gave it a force to which the most skilfuleloquence might in vain aspire; and when she concluded, the courtitself, prejudiced as the members were against the prisoner, could nothelp manifesting an emotion of satisfaction at the clear and unequivocalrefutation which this plain tale inferred against the testimony ofHabershaw and his confederates. Innis alone affected to treat itlightly, and endeavored in some degree to abate its edge, by suggestingdoubts as to the capacity of a young girl, in circumstance so likely toconfuse her, to give an exact narrative of such a complicated train ofevents. Every cross-examination, however, which was directed to theaccuracy of the maiden's story, only resulted in producing a strongerconviction of its entire truth. This concluded the examination on thesecond charge.
The court now proceeded to the third and last accusation against theprisoner.
To this there was but one witness called--James Curry. In the course ofthe examination this man showed great address and knowledge of theworld. He gave some short account of himself. He had been a man born toa better condition of life than he now enjoyed. His education had beenliberal, and his associations in life extremely various. It was to beinferred from his own relation, that he had fallen into some earlyindiscretion which had thrown him into the lowest stations of society,and that his original delinquency had prevented him from ever risingabove them. He had served for many years in the army, and was present atthe surrender of Charleston, being at that period a confidentialservant, or man of business, to the young Earl of Caithness, theaide-de-camp of Sir Henry Clinton. Upon the departure of that youngnobleman with the rest of Sir Henry's military family, for New York, hehad remained behind, and had taken a similar service to that which hehad left, with another officer of some repute. "There were statereasons," he said, "why this gentleman's name could not now becommunicated to the court." That, in the month of July, he had attendedhis master on a visit to Mr. Philip Lindsay, in Virginia; and whilst inthe immediate vicinity of that gentleman's residence, at a small countrytavern, he had accidentally become privy to the design of the prisoner,and the same Horse Shoe Robinson who had been mentioned before, to seizeupon the person and papers of Mr. Lindsay: that these two persons hadactually arrived at the tavern he spoke of to commence operations. Thathe had overheard them discussing the whole plan; and he had no doubtthey had allies at hand to assist in the scheme, and would haveproceeded that same night to put it in execution, if he had notfrustrated their design at the risk of his life. That, with the view ofinterrupting this enterprise, he had lured Robinson, the companion ofthe prisoner, to walk with him at night to the margin of a small rivernear the tavern, where he accused him of the treacherous design which heand his comrade had in view: that, in consequence of this, Robinson hadendeavored to take his life which was only saved by a severe struggle;and that, being thus discovered in their purpose, this man, Robinson,and the prisoner had made a hasty retreat towards Gates's head-quarters.
Such was in effect the narrative of James Curry, which was solemnlygiven upon oath. Butler was for some moments confounded withastonishment at the audacity of this falsehood. He urged to the courtthe improbability of the whole story. "It would have been easy," hesaid, "if I had been hostile to Mr. Philip Lindsay--which, God knows,there are most cogent reasons to disprove--it would have been easy toprocure his arrest without an attempt at a violent seizure by me. I hadonly to speak, and the whole country around him would have united intreating him as an object of suspicion, on account of his politics." Headmitted that he was at Mrs. Dimock's at the time spoken of--thatRobinson attended him there; but all else that had been said relating tothe visit, he affirmed to be utterly false. He gave the particulars ofthe meeting between Horse Shoe and the witness, as he had it fromRobinson; and spoke also of his knowledge of the visit of Tyrrel at theDove Cote--"which person," he said, "he had reason to believe, cameunder a name not his own."
"How do you happen to be so familiar," inquired Innis, "with the affairsof Mr. Lindsay?"
"That question," replied Butler, "as it refers to matters entirelyprivate and personal, I must decline to answer."
Curry, upon a second examination, re-affirmed all he had said before,and commented with a great deal of dexterity upon Butler's statement,particularly in reference to such parts of it as the prisoner's repeatedrefusal to answer had left in doubt. After a protracted examination uponthis point, the trial was at length closed, and Butler was ordered backto his apartment in the farm-house.
Here he remained for the space of half an hour, an interval that waspas
sed by him in the most distressing doubt and anxiety. The wholeproceeding of the court boded ill to him. The haste of his trial, theextraordinary nature of the charges, and the general unsympathizingdemeanor of the court itself, only spoke to his mind as evidences of aconcealed hostility, which sought to find a plausible pretext for makinghim a sacrifice to some private malevolence. He was therefore preparedto expect the worst when, at the close of the half hour, St. Jermynentered his chamber.
"I come, sir," said the officer, "to perform a melancholy duty. Thecourt have just concluded their deliberations."
"And I am to be a sacrifice to their vengeance. Well, so be it! Therewas little need of deliberation in my case, and they have soondespatched it," said Butler, with a bitter spirit, as he paced up anddown his narrow chamber. "What favor have these, my impartial judges,vouchsafed to me in my last moment? Shall I die as a common felon, on agibbet, or am I to meet a soldier's doom?"
"That has been thought of," said St. Jermyn. "The commanding officer hasno disposition to add unnecessary severity to your unhappy fate."
"Thank God for that! and that the files detailed for this service are tobe drawn from the ranks of my enemies! I will face them as proudly as Ihave ever done on the field of battle. Leave me, sir; I have matters inmy thought that require I should be alone."
"Your time, I fear, is brief," said St. Jermyn. "The guard is already athand to conduct you to the court, who only stay to pass sentence. I camebefore to break the unhappy news to you."
"It is no news to me," interrupted Butler. "I could expect no otherissue to the wicked designs by which I have been seized. This solemnshow of a trial was only got up to give color to a murderous act whichhas been long predetermined."
At this moment, the heavy and regular tap of the drum, struck at equalintervals, and a mournful note from a fife, reached the prisoner's ear.
"I come!" exclaimed Butler. "These fellows are practising their manualfor an occasion in which they appear impatient to act. One would think,Captain St. Jermyn," he added, with a smile of scorn, "that they neededbut little practice to accomplish them for a ceremony which has of late,since his majesty has extended his merciful arm over this province,grown to be a familiar piece of military punctilio."
St. Jermyn hastily fled from the room, and rushing out upon thegrass-plot where the guard was collected, cried out:
"Silence, you base and worthless knaves! Is it thus you would insult thesufferings of an unfortunate enemy, by drumming, under his very ear,your cursed death-notes? Strike but one note upon that drum again, and Iwill have you up to the halberds."
"The music did but try a flourish of the dead march," replied thesergeant of the guard; "they are a little rusty, and seeing that theWhig officer"--
"Another word, sir, and you shall be sent to the provost-marshal. Attendthe prisoner."
"I am here," said Butler, who had overheard this conversation, and hadalready descended to the door.
With a mournful and heavy heart, though with a countenance thatconcealed his emotions under an air of proud defiance, he took his placein the ranks, and marched to the spot where the court were yetassembled.
"A chair for the prisoner," said some of the individuals present, withan officious alacrity to serve him.
"I would rather stand," replied Butler. "It is my pleasure to hear thebehests of my enemies in the attitude a soldier would choose to meet hisfoe in the field."
"Mine is a painful duty, Major Butler," said Innis, rising, as headdressed the prisoner. "It is to announce to you that, after a full andmost impartial trial, in which you have had the advantage of the freestexamination of witnesses, and every favor accorded to you which theusages and customs of war allow, you have been found guilty of two ofthe charges imputed to you in the list with which you were furnishedthis morning. Notwithstanding the satisfactory testimony which was givenin your behalf by the girl Mary Musgrove, in relation to your conduct atthe house of Adair, and however disposed the court were to abandon anaccusation which thus seemed to be refuted, it has occurred to them,upon subsequent reflection, that, by your own confession--given, sir,permit me to say, with the frankness of a soldier--you came into thisdistrict in disguise and under false names, and thus enabled yourself tocollect information relative to the condition of the royal forces, whichit was doubtless your purpose to use to our detriment. The court, for amoment, might have led you to entertain hope that they were satisfiedthat in this charge you had been wronged. The simple, affecting, and,no doubt, true narrative made by the miller's daughter produced amomentary sensation that was too powerful to be combated. Thatnarrative, however, does not relieve you from the effect of your ownconfessions, since both may be true, and the charge still remainunimpaired against you.
"The offence of breaking your parole and infringing the terms of thecapitulation of Charleston, is open to a legal doubt, and, therefore, intenderness to you, has not been pressed; although the court think, thatthe very circumstance of its doubtful character should have inculcatedupon you the necessity of the most scrupulous avoidance of service inthe conquered province.
"The last charge against you is fully proved. Not a word of counterevidence has been offered. Strictly speaking, by the usages of war, thiswould not be an offence for the notice of a military tribunal. Theperpetrators of it would be liable to such vindictive measures as thepolicy of the conqueror might choose to adopt. That we have given you,therefore, the benefit of an inquiry, you must regard as an act ofgrace, springing out of our sincere desire to do you ample justice. Thenature of the offence imputed and proved is such as, at this moment,every consideration of expediency demands should be visited withexemplary punishment. The friends of the royal cause, wherever they mayreside, shall be protected from the wrath of the rebel government; andwe have, therefore, no scruple in saying, that the attempt upon theperson of Mr. Philip Lindsay requires a signal retribution. But for thislast act, the court might have been induced to overlook all your othertrespasses. Upon this, however, there is no hesitation.
"Such being the state of the facts ascertained by this tribunal, itsfunction ceases with its certificate of the truth of what has beenproved before it. The rest remains to me. Without the form of aninvestigation, I might, as the commanding officer of a corps on detachedservice, and by virtue of special power conferred upon me, have made upa private judgment in the case. I have forborne to do that, until, bythe sanction of a verdict of my comrades, I might assure myself that Iacted on the clearest proofs. These have been rendered.
"My order, therefore, is, in accordance with the clear decision of thecourt,--and, speaking to a soldier, I use no unnecessary phrase ofcondolence,--that you be shot to death. Time presses on us and forbidsdelay. You will be conducted to immediate execution. Major Frazer," hesaid, turning to one of his officers, "to your discretion I commit thisunpleasant duty." Then, in a tone of private direction, he added, "Letit be done without delay; pomp and ceremony are out of place in such amatter. I wish to have it despatched at once."
"I would speak," said Butler, repressing the agitation of his feelings,and addressing Innis with a stern solemnity, "not to implore your mercy,nor to deprecate your sentence: even if I could stoop to such an act ofsubmission, I know my appeal would reach your ears like the idle wind:but I have private affairs to speak of."
"They were better untold, sir," interrupted Innis with an affected airof indifference. "I can listen to nothing now. We have other business tothink of. These last requests and settlements of private affairs arealways troublesome," he muttered in a tone just audible to the officersstanding near him; "they conjure up useless sympathies."
"I pray you, sir," interposed St. Jermyn.
"It is in vain, I cannot hear it," exclaimed the commander, evidentlystruggling to shake from his mind an uncomfortable weight. "These arewoman's requests! God's mercy! How does this differ from death upon thefield of battle? a soldier is always ready. Ha! What have we here?" heexclaimed, as a trooper rode up to the group. "Where are you from? Whatnews?
"
"A vidette from Rocky Mount," answered the horseman. "I am sent toinform you that, yesterday, Sumpter defeated three hundred of our peopleon the Catawba, and has made all that were alive, prisoners, besidescapturing fifty or sixty wagons of stores which the detachment had underconvoy for Camden."
The first inquiries that followed this communication related toSumpter's position, and especially whether he was advancing towards thiscamp.
"He is still upon Catawba, tending northwards," replied the vidette.
"Then we are free from danger," interrupted Innis. "I am stripping thefeathers from a bird to-day that is worth half of Sumpter's prize," headded, with a revengeful smile, to an officer who stood by him.
During this interval, in which the commander of the post was engagedwith the vidette, the guard had conducted the prisoner back to thehouse, and Innis, freed from the restraint of Butler's presence, nowgave way to the expression of a savage exultation at the power which theevents of the morning had given him, to inflict punishment upon one thathe termed an audacious rebel. "The chances jump well with us," he said,"when they enable us to season the joy of these ragged traitors, by sonotable a deed as the execution of one of their shrewdest emissaries.This fellow Butler has consideration amongst them, and fortune too: atleast he had it, but that has gone into better hands; and, to say truth,he has a bold and mischievous spirit. The devil has instigated him tocross our path; he shall have the devil's comfort for it. The wholeparty taken did you say?"--
"Every man, sir," replied the vidette.
"How many men had this skulking fellow, Sumpter, at his back?"
"They say about seven hundred."
"And did the cowards strike to seven hundred rebels?"
"They were tangled with the wagons," said the soldier, "and were set onunawares, on the bank of the river, at the lower ferry."
"Aye, that's the way! An ambuscade, no doubt,--a piece of cowardlybush-fighting. Fresh men against poor devils worn down by long marching!Well, well, I have a good requital for the rascally trick. MajorButler's blood will weigh heavy in the scale, or I am mistaken! Come,gentlemen, let us to quarters--we must hold a council."
"Here is a letter," said one of the officers of the court, "which I havethis moment found on the table, under my sword belt; it seems, from itsaddress, to contain matter of moment. How it came here does not appear."
"'To Colonel Innis, or any other officer commanding a corps in hismajesty's service,'" said Innis, reading the superscription, "besides,here is something significant, '_for life or death, with speed_.' Whatcan this mean?" he added, as he broke open the paper and ran his eyeshastily over the contents. St. George! here is something strange,gentlemen. Listen!--
"'By ill luck I have fallen into the possession of the Whigs. They have received intelligence of the capture of Major Butler, and, apprehending that some mischief might befal him, have constrained me to inform you that my life will be made answerable for any harsh treatment that he may receive at the hands of our friends. They are resolute men, and will certainly make me the victim of their retaliation.
EDGAR ST. JERMYN,
Ensign of the 71st Reg't.
P. S. For God's sake respect this paper, and be lenient to the prisoner.'"
"Treason and forgery, paltry forgery!" exclaimed Innis, with a smile ofderision, as he finished reading the letter. "What ho! tell Frazer tolead out the prisoner, and despatch him without a moment's delay. Somuch for this shallow artifice!"
"A base forgery," said one of the officers in attendance, "and doubtlessthe work of the rebel major himself. He will die with this silly lieupon his conscience. St. Jermyn, here!" cried out the same officer tothe captain, who was now at some distance, "here is an attempt to put atrick upon us by a counterfeit of your brother's hand, telling a mostdoleful and improbable falsehood. Look at it."
St. Jermyn read the letter, and suddenly turning pale, exclaimed: "Sir,this is no trick. It is my brother's own writing. He is in the custodyof the Whigs! How came this here? Who brought it? When was it written?Can nobody tell me?"
"Tut, St. Jermyn!" interrupted the officer, smiling, "you surely cannotbe imposed upon by such a device. Look at the scrawl again. In truth,are you sure of it, man?" he inquired with great surprise, as heperceived the increasing paleness of St. Jermyn's brow.
"My brother's life is in imminent danger," replied St. Jermyn, withintense earnestness. "Colonel Innis, as you value my happiness, Ientreat you, countermand the order for the prisoner's execution. Iimplore you, respect this letter; it is genuine, and I dread theconsequences. My poor brother, the youngest of my family and thespecial darling of his parents! For heaven's sake, good colonel, pauseuntil we learn something more of this mysterious business."
"For your sake, my friend, and until we can investigate this matter,"said Innis, "let the execution be suspended."
St. Jermyn instantly hurried to the guard, to communicate the new order.
"Whence comes this missive?" demanded Innis. "It has neither date norplace described. Who brought it? Did any one see the bearer?" he askedaloud of the bystanders.
No one answered except the officer who had first discovered the paper."I know nothing more than what you see. It was here upon the table. Howlong it had been there I cannot tell."
"It is strange," continued Innis. "Can this young St. Jermyn have fallenin with Sumpter? Or, after all, is it not an ingenious forgery which hasdeceived our friend the captain? Still, who could have brought it here?"
The letter was again examined by every individual present.
"It must be genuine," said one of the officers, shaking his head."Captain St. Jermyn was very much in earnest, and it is not likely hecould be deceived. It has been mysteriously deposited here by some agentof the Whigs. The person should be found, and compelled to give us morespecific information. This matter must be looked to; the ensign, I doubtnot, is in perilous circumstances."
"Let the prisoner be strictly guarded, and held to wait our futurepleasure," said Innis. "I would not put in jeopardy the young ensign'slife. A reward of twenty guineas shall be given to any one who brings methe bearer of this letter. And you, Lieutenant Connelly, take thirtytroopers, and scour the country round to gain intelligence of thiscapture of Edgar St. Jermyn. Be careful to examine every man you meet,as to the presence of Whig parties in this district. Away instantly, anddo not return without tidings of this singular event."
The camp, by these occurrences, was thrown into great bustle. Theprisoner was securely lodged in his former quarters, and placed under adouble guard; consultations were held amongst the officers; and Butlerhimself was strictly interrogated in regard to the appearance of thismysterious letter, of the contents of which he was yet ignorant. Theexamination threw no light on the affair; and, very soon afterwards, atroop of horse were seen sallying beyond the limits of the camp, underLieutenant Connelly, to seek information of the fate of Ensign St.Jermyn.
Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency Page 27