Misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows.
Tempest.
Assistance from a Negro Boy.
Several days of our confinement in Castle Thunder were spent in a little cell with burglars, thieves, "bounty-jumpers," and confidence men. Our association with these strange companions happened in this wise:
One day we completed an arrangement with a corporal of the guard, by which, with the aid of four of his men, he was to let us out at midnight. We had a friend in Richmond, but did not know precisely where his house was situated. We were very anxious to learn, and fortunately, on this very day, he sent a meal to a prisoner in our room. Recognizing the plate, I asked the intelligent young Baltimore negro who brought it:
"Is my friend waiting below?"
"Yes, sir."
"Can't you get me an opportunity to see him for one moment?"
"I think so, sir. Come with me and we will try."
The boy led me through the passages and down the stairs, past four guards, who supposed that he had been sent by the prison authorities. As we reached the lower floor, I saw my friend standing in the street door, with two officers of the prison beside him. By a look I beckoned him. He walked toward me and I toward him, until we met at the little railing which separated us. There, over the bayonet of the sentinel, this whispered conversation followed: