Page:The woman in battle .djvu/466

416 "She is very handsome," I replied. "Is she your wife?" looking him straight in the eyes as I said this.

"Wife! no," said he, apparently disgusted at the suggestion that he was in pursuit of a faithless spouse. "She is a rebel spy, and I am trying to catch her."

"Why, what has she been doing? She looks like a very nice lady, and I hardly could think she would do anything wrong."

"Well, she has been doing a good deal that our government would like to pay her off for. She is one of the smartest of the whole gang." This I thought was rather complimentary than otherwise. "I am on her track now, however, sure,"

"Yes, the back track," I thought "and I am bound to catch her."

"Well, if she has been doing anything against the law, I suppose she ought to be punished; but I hope you won't treat her unkindly if you do succeed in catching her."

"She will have to look out for that. It don't do to show any mercy to these she devils; they give us more trouble than all the men together."

"But perhaps this lady is not a spy, after all. She looks too pretty and nice for anything of that kind. How do you know about her?"

"O, some of our force have been on the track of her for a long time. She has been working for these Copperheads and rebel agents here at the North, and has been running through the lines with despatches and goods. She came through from Richmond only a short time ago, and she is now on her way to Canada, with a lot of despatches and a big sum of money, which I would like to capture."

"Doubtless you would," I thought; and then said aloud, "I wonder how you can find out so much, when there must be a great many people coming and going all the time. Supposing that this lady is a spy, as you say, how do you know that she has not already reached Canada?"

"Maybe she has," he replied, "but I don't think so. I have got her down pretty fine, and feel tolerably certain of taking her before she gets over the line."

This was a highly edifying and entertaining conversation to me, and I would willingly have prolonged it indefinitely, for the purpose of trying to get some points from my companion which might prove useful. As he, however, seemed inclined to change the subject, I was afraid to seem too inquisitive, and we conse-