Two more nights brought them in hearing of the opposing armies, and to pass the Confederate sentinels was the "tug of war." They decided, however, to make the attempt, rather than make a circuit of seventy-five miles to flank the Southern lines. On the night the attempt was made it was dark, and all would have been well if Octavia had not cried out when passing the last sentinel. At this the whole party rushed past, the sentinel firing several times into the party, killing Jim and Jack, and wounding Octavia seriously and Elsie slightly. The Northerners and Brutus escaped to the Union army. Elsie and child were carried to the Confederate headquarters and had their wounds examined and dressed. The surgeon said Elsie was all right, but that it would take good nursing and skillful treatment for the child to pull through. But she did, and when able to travel they were put on a horse in charge of a squad of soldiers, with authority to investigate the circumstances of their escape as soon as they reached Colonel R.'s plantation. Henry became alarmed, turned State's evidence against Simon, who, without time to exchange words of greeting with Elsie and the child, was hurried off and put in the county jail, and was succeeded as foreman by Henry, who probably had this in view when he gave Simon away. This was another crushing blow to Simon; this was capping the climax. What, Colonel R.'s handsome and intelligent foreman in jail? This was indeed humiliating! Simon's enemies on the farm were now elated because of his downfall. One ancient son of Ham, who had been lashed severely for his misconduct by Simon, soliloquized thus: "Dey sho' is got dat yaller son of a b---- now; he tink he white, but I'll be goldurn my black skin ef dey doan salt an' tan his yaller hide an' make it look yallerer dan 'tis." Simon could think of no way of getting relief. While he had been faithful to the trust which his master had confided in him, and who might be willing to forgive him, yet he knew his master was powerless to get him out of jail, he being in the conspiracy in abducting his master's slaves, and of feeding and harboring a spy. However, he wrote to his master, making full confession, and begged forgiveness, and asked him if there was any way possible for him to get out of prison. But before the letter reached the front there had been a battle, and Colonel R. had been captured and was a prisoner on Johnson's Island. The letter was returned unopened. He considered his last ray of hope gone, if hope it was, as he was almost certain that his master could afford no relief. He endeavored to compose himself the best he could; he was visited frequently by Elsie and Octavia. She upbraided herself to Simon as being the cause of it all. He asked her not to do that, as he blamed no one but himself. On her first visit he sent a letter to his mistress, giving explicit instructions and information where the treasure was which his