Page:The woman in battle .djvu/417

Rh as he put in a word now and then which had the effect of establishing me on a satisfactory footing with the provost marshal. That official, when he had heard my story, said, "Madam, I am sorry, but the general is very much indisposed, and cannot see you. I will be glad to receive anything you may have for him, and to give him any message from you."

"O, sir, I must see him. It is impossible for me to communicate what I have to say to any one else."

"Did the person who confided the paper to you give you any private instructions?"

"Yes, sir, and he was very particular in telling me to communicate with the general in person, and with no one else."

"Well, madam, I am sorry for you; but, as I said before, the general is unable to see you, and you will either have to leave the paper and your message with me, or else call again."

This struck me as being a decidedly odd way of doing business. Here I was professing to be a despatch-bearer, with a confidential message from a spy within the enemy's lines, and the probabilities all in favor of my business being of extreme importance; and yet, the officer who assumed to represent the general placidly requesting me to call again, just as if I was some one who had stepped in to ask a favor of him. I concluded that if matters were managed in this kind of style at headquarters, Memphis would not be a very difficult place for me to operate in, or for the Confederates to operate against, if they thought it worth their while. I knit my brows, looked vexed and perplexed, tapped the ground with my foot, and pretended to be thinking deeply about what course I had better pursue. After a few moments' consideration, I concluded that the best thing I could do was to get the bogus despatch off my hands, and thus be free to attend to other business of more importance; so I said, "That is too bad, for I promised to see the general himself, as the man was so particular that I should ; but if he won't see me, I suppose I will have to write to him."

The provost marshal accordingly furnished me with a sheet of paper, and I sat down at his desk and scribbled off a brief note to the general, telling him enough about the source from which I had obtained the despatch to induce him to believe in its genuineness, and intimated that if he wanted to know more he could send for me. This note and the despatch I enclosed in the same envelope, and handed it to the provost marshal, with a request that it might be given to the general immedi-