Page:The woman in battle .djvu/408

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360
IMPROVING AN ACQUAINTANCE.


under the escort of the two officers; the colonel, in response to my request that the soldiers should not annoy me as they had done in the morning, assuring me that he regretted any thing of the kind had happened, and promising that he would see that I was protected from insult. Whether the presence of the colonel was the sole cause of the difference in their behavior or not, I cannot say, but the soldiers kept their distance as we were going to the depot, and only stared at me. When we reached the depot, the colonel procured me a ticket, and gave me five dollars, and I overheard him say, in an undertone, to the lieutenant, "You get in the rear car, and keep an eye on her movements. I think that she is all right, but it would be just as well to watch her."

The lieutenant said, "O, there's no doubt in my mind but she is all right."

This little conversation made me smile to myself, and served to convince me that I would have no trouble in getting along nicely with my friend the lieutenant.

The colonel moved off, and the lieutenant and I stepped aboard the train, a half dozen soldiers who were near making such comments as, "She's gone up." "I guess she'll hang." "Hanging's too good for a spy." I took no notice of them, however, but seated myself on the opposite side of the car from where they were standing. The lieutenant was over whelmingly polite, and after having got me fixed comfortably in my seat, he said, in a low tone, "I may go up with you as far as my camp, if I can get any one to hold my horse."

I thought that this would be a good chance to improve my acquaintance with him, and perhaps do something for the furtherance of my plans; so I said, "O, I would be so glad if you would. I would so much like to have company." And I smiled on him as sweetly as I was able, to impress him with the idea that I profoundly appreciated his courtesy. The young fellow was evidently more than half convinced that he had made a conquest, while I was quite sure that I had. If he had known what my real feelings were, and with what entire willingness I would have made a prisoner of him, could I have got him into the Confederate lines, perhaps he would not have been quite so eager for my society.

When the lieutenant left, the soldiers began to crowd about the windows of the car, for the purpose of staring at me, and using towards me the same kind of abusive language as that which I have already quoted. I came to the conclusion that