CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH.
RETURN OF ALFRED WENTWORTH--A STRANGER.
After long weeks of pain and illness Alfred Wentworth became wellenough to return to the Confederacy. He was accordingly sent down bythe first flag of truce that went to Vicksburg after his recovery, andtwo days after the committal of his wife arrived at Jackson, where hewas warmly welcomed by Harry.
"I am delighted to see you, my dear friend," he exclaimed, shaking hishands warmly, "you have no idea the suspense I have been in since myescape, to learn whether you were re-captured. It would havereproached me to the last hour of my life had you been killed by thosecursed Yankees."
"I came pretty near it," replied Alfred, smiling at his friend'searnestness.
"You were not hurt, were you?" enquired his friend.
"The slight matter of a few minie balls, lodged in different parts ofmy body, is all the injury I received," he answered.
"I suppose that occasioned your not coming with the first lot ofprisoners," Harry remarked.
"Yes," he replied, "when the cartel was arranged and orders were givenfor the prisoners to prepare for their departure from Camp Douglas, Iwas still suffering from my wound, and the doctors declared me unableto move for several days. An excited mind soon brought on fever, whichso prostrated me that the days extended to weeks before I was able toleave the hospital."
"I am heartily glad to see you once more safe on Confederate soil, atany rate," observed Harry, and he added, "as I will insist upon yourstaying at my house while you are here, let me know where your baggageis, that I may hate it removed."
"I am staying at the Burman House, but what little baggage I possessis at Vicksburg."
"Then take a walk with me to the residence of Dr. Humphries," saidHarry, "and I will introduce you to my betrothed."
"I thank you," Alfred replied, "but the present state of my wardrobedoes not admit of my appearing before ladies."
"Pshaw," observed Harry, "that is the least part of the question. Letme know what you desire and I will get it for you directly."
"I have about seven hundred dollars in Confederate money with me,"answered Alfred, "if you will show me some store where I can purchasea decent suit of clothes; that will be all I shall trouble you for."
"Take a walk with me to Lemby's clothing store and you will find afine outfit there."
Drawing Alfred's arm in his, Harry conducted him to Lemby's clothingstore, where a suit of clothing was bought. They then proceeded to theBowman House and entered Alfred's room.
"My furlough is only for thirty days," Alfred remarked, while engagedin dressing himself, "and how I am to send in a letter to New Orleansand receive an answer before that time expires I cannot conjecture."
"What do you wish to write to New Orleans for," asked Harry.
"Why, to wife," answered Alfred, "I think it is about time that sheshould hear from me."
"My dear friend," replied Harry, "your wife is not in New Orleans, sheis in the Confederate lines."
"Where is she?" he enquired, eagerly.
"I could not tell you that," Harry answered, "but of one thing you maybe certain, she is not in New Orleans."
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"Dr. Humphries purchased a negro girl the day before I returned; shegave her name as Elsy, and said she was belonging to Mr. AlfredWentworth, of New Orleans. On being questioned why she had left thecity, the girl said that her mistress with your two children had beenforced to leave by Beast Butler, who would not allow her to go also,but that, being determined to follow your wife, she had ran theblockade and came into the Confederate lines.".
"And did my wife sell her to anybody else?" enquired Alfred.
"Wait a moment, my dear friend, and I will tell you," answered Harry."The girl did not see her mistress at all, for she was arrested on herarrival in this city, and having no papers, as well as no owner, shewas sold according to law, and was purchased by Dr. Humphries, atwhose residence she is now. I would have told you this when we firstmet, but it slipped my memory completely."
"But where could my wife have gone to?" remarked Alfred. "I do notknow of any person in the Confederate lines with whom she isacquainted, and where she can get the means to support herself andchildren I have not the least idea."
"That she has been to Jackson I am certain," Harry replied, "for nosooner did I hear what the girl had informed Dr. Humphries, than Iendeavored to find out where she resided. I searched the register ofboth the hotels in this city and found that she had been staying atthis hotel; but the clerk did not recollect anything about her, andcould not tell me where she went to on her departure from this city. Ialso advertised in several newspapers for her, but receiving noinformation, was compelled to give up my search in despair."
"I thank you for your remembrance of me," observed Alfred. "Thisintelligence, however, will compel me to apply for an extension of myfurlough, so that I may be enabled to find out where my wife andchildren are. I am very much alarmed at the news you have given me."
"I hope your wife and children are comfortably situated, wherever theymay be; and could I have discovered their residence, I should havemade it my duty to see that they wanted for nothing."
"I know it, I know it," said Alfred, pressing his friend's hand, andhe continued, "you will favor me on our arriving at Dr. Humphries' byobtaining an interview for me with Elsy; I desire to know the cause ofmy wife's ejectment from New Orleans."
"As soon as you are ready let me know and we will start for theDoctor's," Harry answered, "where you will find the girl. Dr.Humphries told me that he intended returning her to you or your wifeas soon as he discovered either of you. So in the event of yourfinding out where Mrs. Wentworth lives, she will be promptly givenup."
"No, no," Alfred remarked, hurriedly, "the Doctor has purchased herand I do not desire the girl unless I can return the money he paid forher. If you are ready to go," he added, "let us leave at once."
The two friends left the hotel and soon arrived at the residence ofDr. Humphries. The Doctor was not at home, but Emma received them.After introducing Alfred to her, and engaging in a brief conversation,Harry requested her to call Elsy, as he desired her to speak with hisfriend. The fair girl complied with his request by ringing the bellthat lay on the table; her call was answered by the slave in person.
On entering the room Elsy made a low curtsey to the gentlemen, andlooked at Alfred earnestly for a moment, but the soldier had become sosunburnt and altered in features that she failed to recognize him.
"Do you not remember me, Elsy?" enquired Alfred, as soon as heperceived her.
His voice was still the same, and running up to him, the girl seizedhis hand with joy.
"I tought I knowed you, sah," she exclaimed, "but you is so change Ididn't remember you."
"I am indeed changed, Elsy," he replied; "I have been sick for a longtime. And now that I am once more in the Confederacy, it is to find mywife and children driven from their homes, while God only knows ifthey are not wandering all over the South, homeless and friendless.Tell me Elsy," he continued, "tell me what caused my wife to be turnedout of the city?"
In compliance with his request, the girl briefly told him of thevillainy of Awtry, and the infamous manner in which he had actedtowards Mrs. Wentworth. She then went on to relate that, failing toachieve his purpose, Awtry had succeeded in having her expelled fromNew Orleans.
"Did your mistress--I beg pardon--I meant, did my wife tell you whereshe was going to?" enquired Alfred.
"She told me to come to Jackson, after I told her I would be sure toget away from de city," answered the girl; "but de police ketch me upbefore I could look for her; and since I been belonging to Dr.Humphries I has look for her ebery whar, but I can't find out whar sheam gone to."
"That is enough," observed Alfred, "you can go now, Elsy, if I shouldwant to see you again I will send for you."
"I trust you may succeed in finding your wife, sir," Emma said as thegirl left the parlor.
"I sincerely hope so myself, Miss Humphries," he answered, "but Heavenonly knows where I am to look for her. It will take me a much longertime than I can spare to travel over the Confederacy; in fact, I doubtwhether I can get an extension of my furlough, so that I may haveabout three months of time to search for her."
"It is singular that she should have told Elsy to come here to her,and not to be in the city," observed Emily.
"I am afraid that my wife has, through prudence, gone into the countryto live; for, with the means I left her, she could not possibly haveafforded to reside in any part of the Confederacy where prices rule sohigh as they do here. It is this belief that makes my prospect offinding her very dim. Harry says he advertised for her in severalnewspapers, but that he received no information from any sourcerespecting where she lived. I am certain she would have seen theadvertisement had she been residing in any of our cities."
"She may not have noticed the advertising column of the newspaper,"put in Harry, "if ever she did chance to have a copy of one thatcontained my notice to her. Ladies, as a general thing, never interestthemselves with advertisements."
"You are right," Alfred replied, "but it is singular that some personwho knew her did not see it and inform her; she surely must have madesome acquaintances since she arrived in our lines, and I am certainthat there are none who do not sympathize with the unfortunaterefugees who have been driven into exile by our fiendish enemy."
"I am sorry to say that refugees are not as favorably thought of asthey deserve," Emma remarked. "To the shame of the citizens of ourConfederacy, instead of receiving them as sufferers in a common cause,they are looked upon as intruders. There are some exceptions, as inall cases, but I fear they are very few."
"Your statement will only increase my anxiety to find my wife,"answered Alfred; "for if the people act as unpatriotically as yourepresent, there is no telling if my unfortunate family are notreduced to dire necessity, although it is with surprise that I hearyour remarks on the conduct of our people. I had thought that theywould lose no opportunity to manifest their sympathy with those whoare now exiles from their homes, and that idea had made me feelsatisfied in my mind that my wife and children would, at least, beable to find shelter."
"I do not think anyone would refuse to aid your family, my dearfriend," Harry observed, "although I agree with Miss Emma, that ourpeople do not pay as much attention to refugees as they should; butthe unfortunate exile will always find a sympathizing heart among ourpeople. You may rest assured that, wherever your wife may be, she hasa home which, if not as comfortable as the one she was driven from, isat least home enough to keep herself and her children from want."
Harry Shackleford judged others by the promptings of his own heart,and as he uttered these words of comfort to his friend, he littledreamed that Mrs. Wentworth was then the inmate of a prison, awaitingher trial for robbery, and that the crime had her committed throughthe very necessity he had so confidently asserted could never exist inthe country.
"Will you take a walk to the hotel," enquired Alfred, after a fewminutes of silence, "I desire to settle my bill with the clerk."
"Certainly," he replied, rising from his chair, "I desire to conductyou to my home."
"Good evening to you Miss Humphries," said Alfred, as he walked to thedoor with his friend.
She extended her hand to him as she replied, "Good evening, sir--allowme to repeat my wishes for your success in finding your wife andchildren."
Bowing to her in reply, he left the room, accompanied by Harry.
"Do you know, Harry," he observed, as they walked towards the BowmanHouse, "I have a strange presentiment that all is not well with myfamily."
"Pshaw," replied his friend, "you are as superstitious as any oldwoman of eighty. Why in the name of wonder will you continue to lookupon the dark side of the picture? It is more likely that your familyare now comfortably, if not happily situated. Depend upon it, my dearfriend, the world is not so cold and uncharitable as to refuse ashelter, or a meal to the unfortunate."
Alfred made no reply, and they walked on in silence until the hotelwas reached. On entering the sitting room of the Bowman House, the twogentlemen were attracted by the loud talking of a group of menstanding in the centre of the room.
"There stands an Englishman who lately run the blockade on a visit tothe Confederacy," observed Harry as they approached the group; "let meintroduce him to you."
Walking up to where the Englishman was, Harry touched him lightly onthe shoulder.
"How are you Lieutenant Shackleford," he said, as he turned andrecognized Harry.
"Very well, Mr. Ellington," answered Harry, and then added, "allow meto introduce my friend Mr. Wentworth to you--Mr. Wentworth, Mr.Ellington."
As the name of Wentworth escaped Harry's lips the Englishman startedand changed color, but quickly resuming his composure, he extended hishand to Alfred.
"I am happy to make your acquaintance, sir," he observed, and thencontinued, "your features resemble those of a gentleman I have notseen for years--so much, indeed, that I could not repress a start asmy eyes fell upon your countenance."
"I was rather surprised at seeing you start," observed Harry, "for Iknew that you were not acquainted with my friend Mr. Wentworth. He wasa prisoner at Camp Douglas--the prison you have read so muchabout--when you arrived in this country, and has only returned to theConfederacy within the last few days."
"A mere resemblance to one whose intercourse with me was not fraughtwith many pleasant recollections," remarked Mr. Ellington. "Indeedyour friend is so much like him, both in form and features, that Ireally imagined that he was my old enemy standing before me!"
"A singular resemblance," said Alfred, "and one which I am rejoiced toknow only exists in form and features. And now," he continued, "allowme to ask you a question."
Mr. Ellington bowed an assent.
"Were you ever in this country before?" asked Alfred.
"Yes," replied Mr. Ellington, "I visited America a few years ago, butwhy do you ask?"
"Because your features are familiar to me," he answered, and thenenquired, "Were you ever in New Orleans."
"No, sir--no," replied Mr. Ellington, coloring as he spoke, "I wasalways afraid of the climate."
"The reason of my asking you," observed Alfred, "is because youresemble a gentleman with whom I was only very slightly acquainted,but who, like the party you mistook me for, has done me an injurywhich neither time nor explanation can repair, but," he added, "now Irecollect you cannot be the party to whom I refer, for he was aNorthern man, while you are an Englishman."
Before the Englishman could reply, a gentleman at the further end ofthe room called him by name, and, bowing to the two friends, heapologized for leaving them so abruptly, and walked off to where thecall came from.
As soon as he left them Alfred went up to the clerk's office and paidhis bill. The two friends then left the hotel and proceeded to Harry'sresidence.
"Do you know, Harry," observed Alfred, as they walked along, "I havean idea that Mr. Ellington is no Englishman, but that he is Awtry, thescoundrel who caused my wife and children to be driven from NewOrleans?"
"Why do you imagine such a thing?" asked Harry.
"Only because his features are very much like those of Awtry; and thestart he gave when you pronounced my name half confirms my suspicion."
"I feel certain you are mistaken," Harry remarked. "He arrived atCharleston in a blockade runner a short time ago, and brought lettersof introduction to many prominent men in the South from some of thefirst characters in England."
"That may be," Alfred answered, "still I shall keep my eye on him, andcultivate his acquaintance. If I am mistaken it will make nodifference, for he shall never know my suspicions; but if I am rightin my surmise he shall answer me for his treatment of my wife andchildren."
"That you can do," said Harry, "but be cautious how you charge himwith being a Yankee spy, and have certain proof of his identity beforeyou intimate your suspicions to him." As he spo
ke they reached theirdestination and the two friends entered the house.
Horace Awtry, for the Englishman was none other than he, under anassumed name, had ventured to enter the Confederate lines as a spy forSherman, who was then getting up his expedition against Vicksburg. Hewould have left Jackson immediately after the meeting with Alfred, butupon enquiry he learned that Mrs. Wentworth's place of residence wasunknown, and his services being needed near Vicksburg decided him toremain.
The Trials of the Soldier's Wife Page 24
