Mississippi Raider (21 page)

“
That’s for sure!” Waggles declared vehemently, making no
attempt to hide the fact that his origins also were in Texas,
although having no need to give the words a simulated suggestion of
possessing lower educational standards than was the case with his
superior. As he was speaking, the gaze of the older cavalryman
swung his way and became more contemplative. “Hell, I wouldn’t’ve
been seed
dead
riding what I’ve been give’ was I back to home.”

If the Captain and Sergeant had
been dressed in the usual fashion as required by their having been
seconded to the staff of General John Bell Hood
’s Texas Brigade of the
Confederate States Army, the speculation would have been
understandable. However, instead of their smart and well-cared-for
cadet-gray cavalry attire, they had on slovenly uniforms of a style
similar to that of the three Yankees seen by Waggles just in time
for them to halt and allow the third member of the party to take
cover with the packhorse that was carrying all they needed for the
journey they were making. Realizing that the trio were coming their
way, Stone and his noncom advanced to see what could be done to
avoid letting the presence of their companion become
discovered.

Just over six feet tall and in
his
mid-twenties, there was none of Stone’s usual smartness of
appearance about him. His black hair showed untidily from beneath a
grubby U.S. Cavalry kepi and covered the cheeks of his handsome
face with stubble. Selected to conceal the fact as far as was
possible, as was his deliberately slouching posture, his slender
frame gave no suggestion of its whipcord power. Of a bad fit,
despite the triple chevrons of a sergeant attached out of alignment
on his sleeves, the rest of his uniform was no more clean and gave
suggestions of neglect rather than hard usage. If looked at more
closely than was happening, it would have been obvious that the
saber in the slings at the left side of his waist belt was of more
excellent manufacture and kept in better condition than his attire
implied should be the case. The closed top of the holster on the
right prevented the turned-forward walnut butt of his Colt Model of
1860 Army revolver from being seen. If it had been examined, its
first-rate condition would have indicated that it, too, was better
maintained than his slovenly demeanor would have led one to
expect.

Matching his superior in height, around ten
years older, Waggles was more heavily built without being bulky.
His rusty-brown hair just as uncombed and his leathery brown
unemotional face also in need of a shave, he had taken care to
ensure that he was no more smartly dressed. Nevertheless, the
weapons that duplicated those of Stone—except for the saber being
of a slightly lower quality—were equally indicative of regular care
and attention.

Standing in concealment but
able to watch what was taking place, Belle Boyd was ready to
prevent any sound leaving either of her two excellent riding horses
or the pack animal left in her keeping. Her face streaked by dirt
and hair covered with a black Burnside hat liberally coated with
trail dust, she had on clothes similar to those worn by the two
Texans. However, the weapon at the left-side slings of her belt was
an
epee de
combat
made
to her specifications by a master cutler in Richmond who had at
first seemed puzzled by her insistence upon the features she
required—such as a knuckle bow hand guard on the handle—and then,
accepting that she knew exactly what she wanted, produced a
superlative example of his workmanship. It was designed to be
easily taken apart, and, when necessary, the blade would be
transported in a hollow walking stick while the handle would be
concealed among feminine attire in her baggage. Chosen to ride
properly in her Union Cavalry-pattern holster was a Colt Model of
1851 Navy Belt Pistol, a six-shot .36-caliber revolver despite its
name, with a seven-and-a-half-inch octagonal barrel.

How the girl came to be in enemy territory a
few miles east of Washington was the result of her latest
assignment for the Confederate States Secret Service.

On the night before the contingent from the
Richmond section of the Confederate States Secret Service returned
to their base, Colonel Charles Jeremiah Mason had entertained them,
Roxanne Fortescue-Smethurst, and Captain Anatol de-Farge at dinner.
He had thanked everybody concerned for the excellent results
obtained because of their efforts. With that done, he had
stated—albeit, the Southron girl suspected, more tongue-in-cheek
than would have been the case when they first met— that he still
did not think such duties should be handled by ladies, making it
clear that he included the redhead in the category, even though on
this occasion they had proved to be of the greatest assistance. He
had even gone so far as to state that the successful outcome could
not have been achieved without them.

With the formalities over, Ole
Dixie had proved to be an excellent host and far from as hidebound
as he had first given Belle the impression of being. In fact, she
had thoroughly enjoyed herself and been amused by the way he had
clearly relished the amusing anecdotes that Alfred Higgins
provided. While she and Roxanne had been freshening up in the room
provided for that purpose, they had derived amusement from agreeing
that it was a pity they could not put on the kind of entertainment
they had provided for the clientele of de-Farge
’s gambling house. On a more
serious level, before they parted company at the end of the
evening, the girl had been told by the gambler that he had arranged
with their host that he and the redhead would give their services
as agents as and when required. This was to prove most useful when
the forces of the Union gained control of the Mississippi River
beyond where it flowed through Baton Bayou Parish.

There had been one outcome of
the affair that was to prove beneficial for Belle in the future,
although she did not learn of Mason
’s involvement until long after. Using his
connections with General Robert E. Lee and other prominent
Southrons, he had caused her to be given the rank and pay of a
captain in the Confederate States Army as a means of helping her
obtain cooperation from officers in the line of her duties. There
had been no objections to the arrangement from Rose Green-how, who
had attained the status of full colonel for the same reason and had
already made a proposal that her niece should be granted the rank
given to all the male members of their organization.

Unaware of the way in which her career was
to be given the assistance of an official military rank, also an
addition to her earnings that was most acceptable, Belle had not
been allowed to rest on her laurels when she rejoined her aunt. Nor
could she complain that she was not put to a useful purpose in
giving service to the Southern cause. During the next six months,
she had carried out three missions to deliver and collect
information from agents that took her into Union-held territory.
All had entailed traveling in disguise and, on two, her skill at
riding astride had brought her to safety in spite of her being
hotly pursued by Yankee cavalrymen. When she was not required for
such work, she had occupied her time by carrying out training in
subjects that would be of use in future assignments.

In between her missions, the
girl was constantly improving her fighting skills without using
weapons. Nor was her ability to handle a sword—especially the
new
epee de
combat
when
it arrived, so as to ensure that she became fully conversant with
its weight, balance, and special peculiarities—and other weapons,
even those of unconventional and, until put into effect,
unsuspected devices employed to defeat Martin Jacques and David
Hunt neglected. In fact, she soon could use each with even more
efficiency and was satisfied she could do so even to the extent of
killing should the need arise. More of her time had been spent
being instructed in techniques of lock-picking and housebreaking by
Higgins. She also developed her use of disguises to an even higher
degree than she had when employing her flair for such things while
trying to find members of the Secret Service.

There had been one
disappointment for Belle as the weeks went by. Rose had had a
request passed for all Southern agents to keep watch for and seek
news of the whereabouts of George Tollinger and Alfred Barmain.
While there had been occasional reports to confirm that they were
now serving with a
“liberal” section of the Union’s Secret Service, which
generally operated in opposition to those members led by the much
more efficient Allan Pinkerton, neither had ever been anywhere near
the places where Belle had carried out her assignments. However,
this had in no way lessened her determination to be avenged upon
them for the murder of her parents and destruction of Baton Royale
Manor.

The arrival of the message that brought the
girl to her present position had been considered of such vital
urgency that taking action could not be delayed. Knowing Doctor
Fritz Conried would not have taken the chances involved in sending
the news and request for assistance by carrier pigeon unless
regarding the state of affairs he of necessity could only briefly
describe as being of the utmost gravity, Rose was informed by her
superiors in Richmond that action must be taken as soon as possible
to discover how great a threat to the Confederate cause was being
posed and, if necessary, nullify it. The problem with which she was
faced had been that only Belle of all her agents was immediately
available.

Despite having faith in the proven ability
of her niece, Rose had had qualms over sending her upon the
assignment. Its nature was far different from anything she had done
previously. However, against that, she had already made an of
necessity brief contact with Conried on her second mission when
collecting information he had gathered and knew the terrain through
which she would have to pass. With this and the other factors in
mind, putting aside thoughts of the dangers that would be involved,
the beautiful Southron woman had conferred with Belle and decided
how the duty could be performed. They had agreed from the start
that it could not be carried out without assistance, which had
raised the point of what form this would take. None of her fellow
operatives could be recalled from their respective tasks in time to
be of use. Unfortunately, neither she—because time had not
permitted them to discuss such matters even if either had been
inclined to do so instead of adhering to the wise policy of what a
later generation would term the need to know—nor Rose was aware of
how big an organization Conried controlled except that they assumed
its members would not be numerous and were unlikely to possess the
kind of skills that might be needed.

As the result of the
deliberations, it had been decided that Belle would be given the
escort of the two members of General Hood
’s Texas Brigade who were available
and possessed the requisite qualities. Chief among these had been a
willingness to accept the risks of being captured wearing uniforms
and posing as Union soldiers, thereby rendering them almost certain
to be shot as spies if they should be captured. Taking advantage of
her skill in equestrian matters, which her escort also possessed to
an equally high standard, they were to travel on horseback and ride
relay on two mounts apiece as a means of covering the distance in
the quickest possible time. Excellent in quality though their
mounts were, the speed at which they could travel would be limited
somewhat by having along a pack animal carrying all they required.
While it was their intention to do everything possible to avoid
coming into contact with anybody even before reaching Union
territory, to avoid arousing interest that might be heard of and
reported by Yankee spies, they had been given the means of offering
an explanation for their presence should they fail to do
so.

If granted the opportunity,
which the abilities as a scout possessed by one of her escort made
it likely could occur, the girl was to assume the clothing suitable
for her pose and carry documents to suggest that she was a maid
delivering the property of the wife of a Union general. For the
remainder of the time after leaving Confederate terrain, she would
travel in the same kind of close-to-regulation uniform as her
companions, which had been copied from the kind issued—to some of
the
numerous
regiments of volunteers formed with patriotic fervor or for
political motives in the North. Because these allowed considerable
variation in the kind of weapons provided, this allowed her to
carry the
epee de combat,
which had been made to her specifications by a
master cutler in Richmond on the slings at the left side of her
officially designed waist belt, and a Colt Model of 1853 Navy
revolver butt-forward in the regulation-patterned holster on the
right.

To support the identities they
intended to give themselves if unable to avoid meeting with Union
troops, the trio had been provided with the necessary documents to
establish the supposed veracity of the claim. As they all had
accents indicative of origins being other than Northern, these
alleged that they were Southerners who espoused the
Union
’s
cause out of an opposition to slavery. Producing these special
items had created no problems for Belle’s section of the Secret
Service. Enough officers of all ranks had transferred allegiance to
the Army of the Confederate States when it became obvious that war
could not be avoided—Stone Hart having been one—for the South to
follow the general organization of their Northern adversaries.
Therefore, it had been known roughly what form the genuine items
were likely to take. Furthermore, especially with the pose being
that of men serving in a recently formed volunteer regiment—few of
which were led by officers having been more than a minimal length
in such positions of command—any discrepancies in the paperwork
could be explained away as being due to inexperience with the way
things were done in the Union Army. Having looked the documents
over, Waggles had said dryly that they were more likely to be
accepted by members of regular outfits if they did not quite
conform to regulations, as such was only to be expected of
hurriedly recruited and less-than-thoroughly-trained crowds of
“weekend soldiers” led by “ninety-day wonders.”