VII. — SECRET SERVICE.
The statesman leaned back in his great chair, and was silent. At the same moment a tap was heard at the door; it opened noiselessly, and Nighthawk glided into the apartment.
Under his cloak I saw the gray uniform of a Confederate soldier; in his hand he carried a letter.
Nighthawk saluted Mr. X——- and myself with benignant respect. His quick eye, however, had caught the gloomy and agitated expression of the statesman’s countenance, and he was silent.
“Well,” said Mr. X——-, raising his head, with a deep sigh. Then passing his hand over his face, he seemed to brush away all emotion. When he again looked up, his face was as calm and unmoved as at the commencement of our interview.
“You see I begin a new scene in this comedy,” he said to me in a low tone.
And turning to Nighthawk, he said:—
“Well, you followed that agreeable person?”
“Yes, sir,” said Nighthawk, with great respect.
“She turned out to be the character you supposed? Speak before Colonel Surry.”
Nighthawk bowed.
“I never had any doubt of her character, sir,” he said. “You will remember that she called on you a week ago, announcing that she was a spy, who had lately visited the Federal lines and Washington. You described her to me, and informed me that you had given her another appointment for to-night; when I assured you that I knew her; she was an enemy, who had come as a spy upon us; and you directed me to be here to-night, and follow her, after your interview.”
“Well,” said Mr. X——-, quietly, “you followed her!”
“Yes, sir. On leaving you, after making her pretended report of affairs in Washington, she got into her carriage, and the driver started rapidly, going up Capitol and Grace streets. I followed on foot, and had to run—but I am used to that, sir. The carriage stopped at a house in the upper part of the city—a Mr. Blocque’s; the lady got out, telling the driver to wait, and went into the house, where she staid for about half an hour. She then came out—I was in the shadow of a tree, not ten yards from the spot, and as she got into the carriage, I could see that she held in her hand a letter. As the driver closed the door, she said, ‘Take me to the flag-of-truce bureau, on Ninth Street, next door to the war office.’ The driver mounted his box, and set off—and crossing the street, I commenced running to get a-head. In this I succeeded, and reached the bureau five minutes before the carriage.
“Well, sir, I hastened up stairs, and went into the bureau, where three or four clerks were examining the letters left to be sent by the flag-of-truce boat to-morrow. They were laughing and jesting as they read aloud the odd letters from the Libby and other prisons—some of which, I assure you, were very amusing, sir—when the lady’s footsteps were heard upon the stairs, and she came in, smiling.
“I had turned my back, having given some excuse for my presence to one of the clerks, who is an acquaintance. Thus the lady, who knows me, could not see my face; but I could, by looking out of the corners of my eyes, see her. She came in, in her rich gray cloak, smiling on the clerks, and handing an open letter to one of them, said:—“‘Will you oblige me by sending that to my sister in New York, by the flag-of-truce boat, to-morrow, sir?’
“‘If there is nothing contraband in it, madam,’ said the clerk.
“‘Oh!’ she replied, with a laugh, ‘it is only on family matters. My sister is a Southerner, and so am I, sir. You can read the letter; it is not very dangerous!’
“And she smiled so sweetly that the clerk was almost ashamed to read the letter. He, however, glanced his eye over it, and evidently found nothing wrong in it. While he was doing so, the lady walked toward the mail-bags in which the clerks had been placing such letters as they found unobjectionable, the others being marked, ‘Condemned,’ and thrown into a basket. As she passed near one of the bags, I saw the lady, whom I was closely watching, flirt her cloak, as though by accident, across the mouth of one of the mail-bags, and at the same instant her hand stole down and dropped a letter into the bag. As she did so, the clerk, who had finished reading the other letter, bowed, and said:—-
“‘There is nothing objectionable in this, madam, and it will be sent, of course.’
“‘I was sure of that, sir,’ replied the lady, with a smile. ‘I am very much obliged. Good evening, sir!’
“And she sailed out, all the clerks politely rising as she did so.
“No sooner had the door closed than I darted upon the bag in which I had seen her drop the letter. The clerks wished to stop me, but I informed them of what I had seen. If they doubted, they could see for themselves that the letter, which I had easily found, was not sealed with the seal of the bureau. They looked at it, and at once acknowledged their error.
“‘Arrest her!’ exclaimed one of them, suddenly. The rapid rolling of a carriage came like an echo to his words.
“‘It is useless, gentlemen,’ I said. ‘I know where to find the lady, and will look to the whole affair. You know I am in the secret service, and will be personally responsible for every thing. I will take this letter to the official who directed me to watch the lady who brought it.’
“To this, no objection was made, as I am known at the office. I came away; returned as quickly as possible; and here is the letter, sir.”
With which words Nighthawk drew his hand from under his cloak, and presented the letter to Mr. X——-, who had listened in silence to his narrative.