When they had come within ten steps, he beckoned to one of
them--the man came up, saluting--and the colonel said, 'Take this note
to the commandant--go at once.'
"My heart had jumped to my throat, general! The next moment I drew a
good long breath of real relief. The Federal soldier touched his cap,
took the note, and went back toward the fort. Without further delay, I
pushed out and rowed across to the mainland, where we soon arrived.
"Then we left the boat, struck into the fields, and pushed for the
nearest station on the railroad. On the way, I could not refrain from
upbraiding the colonel with his imprudence. He only laughed, however,
and we went on without stopping. An hour afterward we reached the
station, and the northern train soon came. We got in, the cars started,
and we were _en route_ for Baltimore. Suddenly the dull sound of a
cannon-shot came from the direction of Fort Delaware. A moment
afterward came another, and then a third.
"'A prisoner has escaped from Fort Delaware,' said one of the
passengers near us, raising his eyes from a newspaper. Colonel Mohun
laughed, and said carelessly, without sinking his voice in the least,
'Ten to one they have found your friend, the lieutenant, Nighthawk!'
Such a man, general! It was enough to make your blood run cold! I
thought _I_ was cool, but I assure you, I never imagined a man could
equal _that_.
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