Page:The woman in battle .djvu/292

260 and he certainly looked the tyrant that he was. It was a favorite amusement with him to browbeat people who were brought before him, and he was remarkably skilful in terrifying those who were weak enough to submit to being bullied by him into making just the admission he wanted them to make. I had heard a good deal about his peculiar methods of dealing with those who had incurred his displeasure in any way, and particularly with those who were suspected of furnishing the Confederates with information concerning the situation within the Federal lines, and I was therefore prepared, in a measure, for the ordeal which I was now compelled to undergo.

I was determined to admit nothing that could not be distinctly proved against me, to sustain to the last the character I had assumed, and to fall back upon the protection which I felt sure my British papers would afford me as a last resort. I promised myself that, so far as any attempt to bully me, or to overcome me with threats were concerned, the general would find me more than a match for him ; and the only trepidation I suffered in going before him grew out of my uncertainty with regard to the extent of his information about my proceedings. I felt, however, that it would be a safe course to admit nothing, and to compel Butler to produce his proof, if he had any, before making any acknowledgment whatever. Sure enough, when I was brought into his presence, he proceeded on the theory that I was the person he wanted, and that I was guilty of the charge made against me. He evidently thought the case was a perfectly plain one, and that I would not attempt a denial. I, however, kept cool, and refused to look at the matter from his point of view; and, as none of the witnesses who appeared were able to swear positively to my identity as the woman who had acted as the bearer of the despatch found on the Confederate officer, I began to think that I was going to get clear without a great deal of trouble.

Butler, however, was not one from whom it was easy to get away when his suspicions were once aroused, and I saw plainly that he was convinced of the fact that he had captured the right person this time, and that his prisoner was a spy who had been giving him serious annoyance. He was, therefore, resolved not to let me slip through his fingers if he could help it; and finding that he could not absolutely prove anything