“Well,” he said, “now that we begin to understand each other, let us come to the point at once. Where were you on the morning of the thirteenth of December, 1856?”
Swartz replied without hesitation:—
“On the bank of Nottoway River, in Dinwiddie, Virginia, and bound for Petersburg.”
“The object of your journey?”
“To sell dried fruits and winter vegetables.”
“Then you travelled in a cart, or a wagon?”
“In a cart, general.”
“You reached Petersburg without meeting with any incident on the way?”
“I met with two very curious ones, general. I see you know something about the affair, and are anxious to know every thing. I will tell you the whole truth; but it will be best to let me do it in my own way.”
“Do so, then,” said Mohun, fixing his eyes more intently upon the spy.