“This,” he said, “was sent to me in cipher from the War Department at Washington. I have had it translated and written out. Do you remember a man named Hudspeth?”
“Perfectly,” said the old gentleman.
“Mighty well,” said Aaron.
“Well, this man, Richard Hudspeth, is one of the most influential members of Congress. He is on the Military Committee of the House. Here is what he says:
“Dear General,—As a member of the Committee on Military Affairs, it has come to my ears that you will before long swing loose from Atlanta and march across Georgia, either to Savannah or Augusta. Should my information be correct, I have a favor to ask of you. It is this: that, so far as is consistent with your duties as a soldier, you will protect the lives and property of the people whom you may find on the Abercrombie place in Middle Georgia. You cannot miss the place. Whether you go to Savannah or Augusta, it will be in your line of march. It is in the very heart of Georgia, and is known far and wide.
“I am not sure that the people I knew are living there now; but I am very sure that I spent some very happy and some very miserable days there. It was in the days of the years of my youth, and I should have been more miserable still but for the kindness of the people on that place.
“More than that, I owe them my life, which at one time I was on the point of losing at the hands of some of the neighborhood ruffians. Some day when we meet in Washington you shall have the particulars.
“You will find on that place, I trust—though he seemed too frail to live long—a youngster known as Little Crotchet. Say to him that I shall love him tenderly while life lasts. I hope you will also find there the kindly gentleman to whose patience and courtesy I owe many a pleasant hour. I hope, too, you will find Aaron there—Aaron the fugitive, who was and who remains a mystery.