Under Fire: A Tale of the Shenandoah Valley — page 178: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

LOOKING INTO HIS OWN GRAVE. 171 ious to commit a murder without coming under the ban of military law. The colonel had no conscience to satisfy, and was only consulting his fears when he debated with a brother officer, regarding the manner of disposing of his prisoner. Soon the colonel came back and faced Captain Chetwood once more. ‘Well, what have you decided upon, colonel ?’’ questioned the Union captain, coolly. ‘“To put you out of the world with the least dis- _ patch possible.’’ ‘*Tn other words, to murder me.”? ‘‘Nothing of the kind,’’ answered the villain, with a grim smile. ‘‘ You are a spy——’’ ‘“VYou know better than that, Colonel Trafton,”’ Chetwood interrupted, sharply. “T know what I am about, all the same,’’ retorted Trafton. ‘“‘T don’t propose to accept advice from ou. : Then the colonel came nearer, and stood by the side of the prisoner. ‘“‘T have two enemies in the world, you and ‘Traitor Mose.’ I propose to remove them.”’ “Murder them !”’ ‘As you will,’’ he growled. ‘But I am an officer in the service of the United States. You have no right to take my life, save in open battle. I am a prisoner, and should be ‘treated as one—a prisoner of war.” The captain would fain argue the case, hoping to influence T'rafton to spare his life. Why he wished to destroy him was not exactly plain to the mind of the loyal officer. A brutal sneer curled the lip of Ezra Trafton. He hated the captain with a bitterness that was be- | yond reason. This was how he would do it. He conta shooe or (Eo) Gomicbooks