Page:The woman in battle .djvu/407

Rh certain things that the man had told me; I had some friends in Ohio, to whom I was anxious to go, and I hoped that General Washburn, after I had given the despatch to him, would pay me the hundred dollars, and furnish me with a pass to go North.

The colonel tried to make me vary this story, and he several times pretended that I had contradicted myself. He was tolerably smart at a cross-examination, but not by any means smart enough for the subject he had to deal with on this occasion. I had the most innocent air in the world about me, and pretended, half the time, that I was so stupid that I could not understand what his interrogatories meant, and, instead of answering them, would go off into a long story about my troubles, and the hardships I had suffered, and the bad treatment I had received. The colonel then tried to induce me to give him the despatch, saying that he would pay me the hundred dollars, and would forward it to General Washburn. This I refused to do, as I had promised not to let anybody but the general have it, if I could help it. Neither would I tell who it was that had intrusted me with the despatch, or give any clew to the message for the general he had intrusted me to deliver by word of mouth.

In fine, the colonel was practically no wiser when he had finished than when he commenced, and so, finding that no information worth talking about was to be obtained from me, he said, "Where will you go, if I give you a pass?" at the same time winking at the lieutenant.

"I want to go to Memphis, sir, to give this paper to General Washburn, and I hope that the general will be kind enough to send me on to Ohio."

"Have you any money?"

"Yes, sir; I have about one hundred and fifty dollars."

"Confederate money, isn't it?"

"No, sir ; it's greenbacks. I wouldn't have that rebel trash; it isn't worth anything."

"Well, madam," then said the colonel, "you will remain here until the train is ready to start, and I will see, in the mean time, what I can do for you."

The colonel then went out ; but the lieutenant remained, and engaged in a general sort of a conversation with me for some time. About noon, he suggested that perhaps I was hungry, and went and procured me something to eat. The train came in at one o'clock, and I proceeded to the depot