CHAPTER VI.
Frank turns Detective.
A day or two after the arrival of the fleet at Alexandria, it becameknown that several persons belonging to the rebel secret service werehovering about in the vicinity of the village, with the intention ofdestroying some of the vessels by torpedoes--contrivances made toresemble pieces of coal--which were to be placed in those barges out ofwhich the boats were supplied with fuel. By some means the names ofthese persons became known to the admiral, who issued a general order,calling on all the officers of the squadron to kill or capture themwherever found.
The same day the order was issued Frank obtained shore liberty, andwhile roaming about the town, espied a name on a sign that immediatelyattracted his attention. It was one of the names borne in the generalorder.
"There's one of the rascals, now," soliloquized Frank, "or, rather,where he has been. I wonder where he is. I'll see if I can't find outsomething about him. If he could be caught, he would be put in a placewhere he wouldn't lay any more plans to blow up Union gun-boats."
The sign which had attracted his attention bore the name and occupationof the individual in question--"S. W. ABBOTT, Chemist."
The store had been closed on the approach of the Union forces, and wasnow in the possession of several army surgeons and their assistants, whowere overhauling its contents, and appropriating whatever they thoughtmight be of service to them. A negro was leaning against the counter,and of him Frank inquired--
"Boy, do you belong here?"
"No, sar," he answered, indignantly; "I 'longs nowhar. I'se a free man,I is. I'se a soger."
"Never been in this town before?"
"No, sar."
Frank left the store, and walked slowly up the street toward the hotel,wondering where he could go to make inquiries concerning the man whom hewished to find. It was evident that this was the hardest task he had yetundertaken. He knew the rebel's name, and that was all. He had no ideahow he looked, and, although the admiral's order stated that he wasloitering about the village, he might, at that moment, be fifty milesaway, or Frank might have already passed him on the street.
There were several men dressed in butternut clothes hanging about thehotel, and Frank determined to enter into conversation with one of them,and, if possible, learn something about Abbott. An opportunity was soonoffered, for one of the butternuts approached him, and inquired--
"Got any Northern money--greenbacks?"
"Some," replied Frank.
"Wal," continued the man, "I'll give you five dollars in Confederatemoney fur one dollar in greenbacks. Is it a bargain?"
"Confederate money!" repeated Frank. "Of what use would it be to me? AndI am greatly mistaken if it will be of use to you much longer."
"Wal, I want your money fur a keepsake," replied the man. "I know you-unsdon't like our money, but we-uns hev got to use it or go without any,"
"Well, I'll trade," said Frank. "Your paper will no doubt be a curiosityto the folks at home." As he spoke, he produced the dollar, and thebutternut drew out of his capacious pocket a huge roll of bills--tens,twenties, and fifties, enough to have made him independent if it hadbeen good money--and selecting a five-dollar bill, handed it to Frank,who thrust it carelessly into his pocket.
"I'll allow that you-uns don't seem to be a bad lot of fellers," saidthe butternut; "but I don't see what you-uns want to come down hyar tofight we-uns for. We-uns never done nothing to you-uns."
"Every rebel I meet says the same thing," said Frank. "But who were therichest men in this place before the war broke out?"
The man mentioned several names, among which was that of Abbott, thechemist.
"Abbott, Abbott," repeated Frank, as if trying to recall the man tomind; "I've heard that name before. Is he a Northern man?"
"No; he's allers lived at the South. His house is right back of thehotel, third door from the corner, on the right-hand side as you go upthe street."
Frank had learned something, but he did not think it safe to questionthe man further, for fear of exciting his suspicions; so, after a fewunimportant remarks, he turned on his heel and walked into the hotel,which was used as the army head-quarters. Here he remained for nearlyhalf an hour, to give the man of whom he had received his informationtime to leave the place, and then directed his steps toward Mr. Abbott'sdwelling. He had no difficulty in finding it, for he followed thebutternut's directions, and the rebel's name was borne on thedoor-plate. The house, however, was deserted; the blinds were closed, aswere those of all the neighboring houses. Mr. Abbott, with his family,if he had any, had doubtless removed out of reach of the Union forces.Did he ever visit his home when in town? or did he make hishead-quarters somewhere else? were questions that suggested themselvesto Frank, but which, of course, he could not answer; neither did he dareto question any of the citizens, for they might be Mr. Abbott's friends,who would not fail to inform him that particular inquiries were beingmade, which would lead him to act more cautiously. Frank did not knowwhat plan to adopt, but walked listlessly about the streets until heheard the Michigan's bell strike half-past three o'clock. He must be onboard by four, as the admiral was to be there to inspect the vessel. Hewas reluctant to leave without having accomplished any thing more thanthe discovery of the rebel's dwelling; but there was no help for it, andhe walked slowly toward the landing, where he found a boat waiting forhim.
That night, although he retired early, he slept but little, but tossedrestlessly about in his bunk, endeavoring to conjure up some plan bywhich he might capture the rebel; and when he fell asleep, he dreamedabout the subject uppermost in his mind. He thought that, after severaldays' patient watching, he finally discovered his man; but all attemptsto capture him were unavailing. When he pursued, the rebel woulddisappear in a magical way, that was perfectly bewildering. Finally, hedreamed that the rebel assumed the offensive, and one day he met him inthe street, carrying in his hand something that looked like a lump ofcoal, which he threw at Frank. It proved, however, to be a torpedo, forit exploded with a loud report, and as Frank sprang over a fence thatran close by the sidewalk, to escape, he came violently in contact withthe walls of a house. At this stage of his dream he was suddenlyawakened. To his no small amazement, he found himself stretched on thefloor of his room, his head jammed against the door, through which oneof the wardroom boys, a very small specimen of a contraband, wasendeavoring to escape, while the look of terror depicted on his face,and the energy with which he strove to open the door, showed that he hadsustained something of a fright. On the opposite side of the room stoodthe doctor, who gazed at Frank for a moment with open mouth and eyes,and then threw himself on the bed, convulsed with laughter.
Frank rose slowly to his feet, and commenced drawing on his clothes,while the little negro disappeared through the door like a flash.
"Mr. Nelson," said the doctor, as soon as he could speak, "you can'tmake that jump again, sir. I came in to awaken you," he continued, "andwas just going to put my hand on you, when you sprang out of your bunkupon your trunk, and then back again; and just as the darkey was comingin, you made another jump, and landed against the door, frightening himso that I actually believe he turned pale. Were you dreaming?"
"Yes," answered Frank, with a laugh; "I was getting out of the way of atorpedo."
"Well, you certainly jumped far enough to get out of the way of almostany thing," replied the doctor, after he had indulged in another heartyfit of laughter. "Hurry up; breakfast is nearly ready."
Frank felt the effects of his agility in the shape of a severe pain overhis left eye, which had been occasioned by his head coming in contactwith the door-knob, and his "big jump" was the source of a good deal ofmerriment at the breakfast-table.
Frank went ashore in the ten-o'clock boat, and, after strolling aboutwith his companions for a short time, invented a satisfactory excuse forhis absence, and started toward Mr. Abbott's house, which, to his joy,he found open, with a negro engaged in sweeping the steps.
"Boy, who lives here?" he in
quired.
The negro gave the desired information, adding: "He ain't hyar though,but missus will be home dis arternoon."
"Where's your master?"
"Oh, he done gone off somewhar. I 'spects he don't like for to see youYankee sogers hyar."
As the negro ceased speaking, having finished his work, he turned andwent into the house, while Frank was about to move away, wondering whatwas the next thing to be done, when a boy approached and opened thegate.
"What do you want?" asked Frank.
The boy held up a letter which he carried in his hand, and Frank, seeingthat it was addressed to Mrs. Abbott, at once concluded that itcontained information which might be of the greatest value to him.
"It is all right," said he; "I'll attend to it;" at the same time takingthe note and handing some money to the boy, who departed well satisfied.Frank then walked down the street, and, as soon as he was out of sightof the house, opened the letter and read as follows:
HEYWARD'S PLANTATION, _March_ 20, 1864.
"Will be at home at eight o'clock this evening. Have my baggage ready tostart for Shreveport early in the morning."
No name was signed to the note, but Frank was certain that he now hadthe matter in his own hands, and that any preparations Mrs. Abbott mightmake for her husband's journey to Shreveport would only be thrown away.He at once directed his steps toward the landing, hailed his vessel fora boat, and when he had arrived on board and reported to the captain,showed that gentleman the note, at the same time requesting permissionto remain on shore after dark, in order to capture the rebel.
"I should be only too happy to allow you to do so, Mr. Nelson," said thecaptain, "for you seem to be particularly fortunate in every thing ofthis description you undertake. But, as it is the admiral's order thatall officers repair on board their vessels at sundown, he must beconsulted in regard to the matter. Orderly, tell the officer of the deckto have the gig called away. We will go up to the flag-ship," hecontinued, "and talk to the admiral."
The gig was soon manned, and after Frank had buckled on his sword (forall officers visiting the flag-ship were required to wear theirside-arms), he stepped into the boat with the captain, and in a shorttime they were in the presence of the admiral. The captain, in a fewwords, explained the nature of the visit, showed him the note Frank hadintercepted, and ended by repeating the young officer's request that hemight be allowed to remain on shore after dark.
"Certainly," replied the admiral, "certainly. If you succeed, young man,we shall have one less of these secret-service fellows to fear." Then,turning to one of his clerks, he gave him an order which Frank did nothear, after which he asked:
"How did you discover the whereabouts of this man Abbott, Mr. Nelson?"
Frank then proceeded to give the admiral an account of all he had done,how he had seen the rebel's name on the sign, learned his residence, andsecured the note. To all of which the latter listened with attention.
"I hope you will succeed in capturing him," said he. "If you do, bringhim here; I want a look at him. Here," he continued, as his clerk handedhim a letter, "is a request that the provost-marshal will furnish youwith a pass. Good luck to you, young man."
Their business being finished, Frank followed the captain out of thecabin, and returned on board the Michigan.
All that afternoon Frank was in a fever of excitement. He was impatientfor the night to come, that he might know whether or not his attempt wasto be crowned with success. A hundred things might happen to prevent it.The rebel might not come home, or the note might have been written withthe intention of having it intercepted, in order to throw the one intowhose hands it might fall on the wrong scent; or it might be written incipher, and mean directly opposite to what Frank had supposed. But heconsoled himself with the thought that he had done, and would stillcontinue to do, all in his power to obey the admiral's general order,and if he failed, the blame would not rest with him.
When the sundown boat was called away, Frank, after exchanging hisuniform for a citizen's dress, and his cap for a tattered slouch-hat,thrust a revolver into his pocket, stepped into the cutter, and was soonset on shore. He walked directly to the office of the provost-marshal,which was in the hotel, and finding that officer at his desk, handed himthe admiral's note, which ran as follows:
"U. S. FLAG-SHIP BLACKHAWK, "OFF ALEXANDRIA, LA., March 20, 1864.
"SIR:--Please furnish the bearer, Acting Ensign Frank Nelson, with apass. He has important business to perform, which may detain him onshore most of the night, and it is absolutely necessary, for thesuccessful accomplishment of his mission, that he should not beinterfered with. Very respectfully, your obd't serv't.,
DAVID D. PORTER, _Rear Admiral_, Com'd'g Miss. Squadron. U. S. Provost Marshal, Alexandria, La.
"Your business must be important indeed, judging by the language of thisnote," said the marshal. "You shall not be troubled."
While he was speaking he had been writing an order commanding "allguards and patrols to allow the bearer the freedom of the city, as hewas under special orders from the admiral, and must not be detained."
"There," said he, after he had finished the pass and handed it to Frank."That will take you through all right. You have my best wishes for yoursuccess."
Frank thanked him, and putting the pass carefully away in his pocket,walked out of the hotel fully satisfied on one point, and that was, ifhis success depended upon the good wishes of his friends, failure wasimpossible. He walked slowly down the street toward the place where thesoldiers were encamped; for as it lacked fully an hour and a half of theappointed time, he did not wish to be seen loitering about the house, asit might excite the suspicions of its inmates, who would not fail tosend word to Mr. Abbott that the house was being watched. Time movedaltogether too slowly for the impatient young officer, but at length heheard the flag-ship's bell strike half-past seven, and as it had begunto grow dark, he walked toward the house, and took his station in theshadow of some trees on the opposite side of the street. At the end ofan hour his patience was rewarded, for he heard the sound of approachingfootsteps, and a man passed by the house. Frank knew, from thesuspicious manner in which he gazed about, that if it was not the manfor whom he was waiting, it was some other guilty fellow who ought to besecured. Presently he returned, and after again looking cautiously abouthim, ascended the steps and knocked lightly at the door, which wasalmost instantly opened, and a voice exclaimed:
"Massa Abbott, I'se glad to"--
The rest of the sentence Frank did not hear, for the moment the manentered the hall, the door was closed again. Now was the time for Frank,who hastily crossed the street, and noiselessly ascended the steps. Herehe paused for a moment to draw his revolver, and then suddenly openedthe door and sprang into the hall. He was met by the negro, the same, nodoubt, whom he had heard welcoming his master, who, not liking the looksof the huge six-shooter which the officer flourished before his eyes,beat a hasty retreat. Frank kept on and entered the parlor, where hefound his man standing in the middle of the floor, pale and breathless.No one else was in the room.
"Mr. Abbott," said Frank, "you're my prisoner!"
The man, who was so terrified that he seemed to have lost even the powerof speech, surrendered his weapons and submitted to his captor, who ledhim out of the house and toward the flag-ship, which they reached insafety. The admiral received Frank with great cordiality, and afterlistening to his account of the manner in which the capture of theprisoner had been effected, he ordered the cutter called away, and theyoung officer, rejoicing over his success, was sent on board his vessel.