me, the fact of my very prolonged absence would, I knew, be liable to increase it, although under ordinary circumstances there would have been no difficulty in explaining this to his satisfaction; for he well knew that the errand he had sent me on was a difficult as well as a perilous one, and that it was not to be accomplished quite as easily as a trip between Washington and New York.
Making all allowances for the probabilities in my own favor, however, I confess that I experienced some trepidation at the idea of facing the colonel, and I wondered not a little what he would do with me in case he did happen to know who I really was. It was of such great importance, however, that I should gain immediate admittance to the military prisons, and I knew that such admittance could be gained by going there as one of Baker's corps, whereas it might otherwise be impossible, that I determined to take all the risks, so far as my own safety was concerned, and to try and have the colonel my ally in making the preparations for what, if properly carried out, would be one of the most brilliant episodes of the war, so far as the Confederates were concerned, and that would not unlikely have the effect of bringing the contest to a speedy termination.
The idea of being able to use the chief of the Federal detectives for the advancement of the Confederate cause was one that gave me enormous satisfaction, and I more than once fancied what a capital good joke it would be for me, after I succeeded in getting beyond Colonel Baker's reach, to inform him how badly he had been taken in, and to ask him what he thought of me and of my performances from a professional point of view.
Reporting to Baker.
While on my way to Washington for the purpose of meeting him, and of making a report of my Richmond trip, my prospective interview was anything but a joking matter. The thing had to be done, though; so, stifling my fears, I, on my arrival in Washington, walked boldly into the colonel's presence, and announced myself as having just got back from Richmond.
Baker received me with proper cordiality, and congratulated me on my safe return. There was nothing whatever in his manner to indicate that he had the slightest suspicion of
