‘We had approached one edge of a clearing on the other side of these woods,’ resumed Spriggs, ‘when an exclamation from one of the men called my attention to a singular, I may say, a phenomenal sight. It was nothing less than a balloon, descending into the clearing.’ ‘A balloon!’ echoed the three officers. ‘Yes, gentlemen, a balloon. It instantly became clear to me that this was a device of the enemy for the purpose of reconnoitring the position of the national forces, and I thanked my stars that I was on the spot with a handful of brave men to stop their treasonable devices.’ The brigadier’s hand again went up to his mouth, and General Shields inquired in a dry voice: ‘Am I to understand, colonel, that what you saw was a species of air galley, filled with desperate rebels?’ ‘Ah! no,’ replied the colonel, considerably taken aback; ‘I told you it was a balloon. Its occupants were two in number.’ ‘Two!’ interjected General Shields. ‘You and your brave handful would make short work of them, eh?’ ‘We did, sir,’ answered Spriggs with a ferocious grin. ‘No sooner had they landed than I rushed up to them, and after a determined struggle, during which I was once thrown to the ground, succeeded in overpowering them.’ At this extraordinary farrago of truth and lies, the two boys interchanged nudges. ‘The ruffians were armed to the teeth,’ went on Spriggs, ‘and in the balloon car we found a perfect armament. They had evidently meant mischief. I had them searched, and on the person of one of them were found plans of our positions, and papers loaded with accurate statistics of the number and disposition of our forces.’ Ephraim’s mouth pursed up as though he were about to whistle, so great was his amazement; and as the colonel paused to take a drink of coffee, General Shields said interrogatively: ‘You doubtless have those papers with you now?’ ‘Ah! no,’ answered Spriggs in some confusion. ‘I destroyed them at once, lest by any inadvertence they should fall into the hands of the enemy.’ ‘You did wrong, sir,’ said General Shields with asperity. ‘Those papers should have been brought to camp and handed to the provost-marshal. Well, go on with your story.’ ‘It is finished in a word,’ resumed Spriggs. ‘I regret to say that owing to the extreme carelessness of the men, the two prisoners took to their heels and escaped into the woods, while I was absorbed in the contents of the papers.’ General Shields gave vent to an exclamation of impatience. This man tried him almost beyond his powers of endurance. ‘Of course I sent the men in pursuit of the spies,’ said the colonel, concluding his surprising statement. ‘They did not belong to my regiment, and they did not reappear; so I finally made my way to the camp to report the circumstances to you.’