agreeable expression of countenance that was well calculated to deceive superficial observers with regard to his real character. He had a most confiding, plausible way about him, and an air of general benevolence, that completely masked the hardness of his heart, and imposed so on his victims, that, until they found themselves fairly caught in his cunningly-laid traps, they were unwilling to believe him to be the desperate old sinner he really was. Calculated as General Winder was to leave a favorable impression at first glance, he would not bear inspection. No man of strongly-marked character can long conceal his real self from those who are accustomed to study human nature; and a very slight acquaintance with Winder sufficed to convince me that he was a dangerous man to trifle with, and that cruelty and rapacity were among his predominant traits. His eyes were hard, cold, and piercing, and there was a wicked twist about his mouth that was far from being reassuring. I do not believe that man had such a thing as a conscience; that he was utterly unscrupulous with regard to the means he took for the accomplishment of his ends, I know. He was a most valuable officer, however, and I doubt whether another individual in the whole Confederacy could have been found who would have commanded the secret service corps with the signal ability he did.
General Winder plays a Trick on Me.
Such was the new commander under whom I was now to go on duty, and who, when he consented to release me from prison, and give me employment, prepared as pretty a trap as was ever devised for catching an innocent. The trap was sprung in first-rate style, but the intended victim was agile enough to slip through the wires, and the result was that General Winder had nothing but his trouble for his pains. I believe it would have delighted him to have caught me, much more than it did to have it proved, by his ingeniously- arranged device, that I was all that I pretended to be, and that the probabilities were all in favor of my being able to become a most efficient ally.
I was a little taken in by Winder's plausible manner at first, and I really did not have *a fair chance of studying his character before I was compelled to submit myself to the test which he prepared for me. From what I saw and heard of him, however, I easily arrived at the conclusion that he was
