JUDITH GREENE: The Old Port Chronicles, Part 1 Read online

  “Mrs. Greene has been captured by the Yankees Colonel. She was heading up this way when a Yankee officer on horseback gave chase and soon he was joined by another, and another, and they ran down her horse, throwing her off. Then they took her back to Old Port in irons! She’s in the old house on the east side of town. They’re using it as a guard house. The Colonel laugh and said,

  “Son, have you been drinking? For a moment there, perhaps I misheard Mrs. Greene is taken prisoner by the Yankees?”

  “For spying, sir!” Fred replied. Incredulously, Wyche asked,

  “For what? She’s no more a spy than, say, you. This is nothing but foolishness! Where did you hear such things? Mrs. Greene is in Oak Crossroads!”

  Fred, earnestly answered, “Colonel, Judith Greene is a spy… and I should know, because I am a spy too. This is no fooling sir! She has risked her life going behind the lines for some time; doing things that everybody would be proud to hear about… someday.”

  Colonel Wyche grabbed McAdams by the arm and led him over to a cavalry officer overseeing the preparations to fire the bridge. The officer dismounted, and walked over to meet them. It was Captain William Grundy.

  “Captain, my assistant has just informed me of a certain disturbing matter that might require your attention. A lady, held in high regard by the citizens of Old Port, has been arrested by the Yankees on suspicion of being a spy.”

  Grundy looked over toward the bridge, then asked,

  “Is she a spy Colonel?”

  “From all the information I have at hand, I would say yes. I would be forever grateful to you, if you could spare me a few of your men for a short while, say, until the company entrenched between here and the town is pulled out?” Without redirecting his gaze from the bridge, Grundy replied,

  “That doesn’t give you long Colonel. We’ll have to fire the bridge before dark, maybe earlier. I can give no assurances that you will not be trapped on the other side if you tarry too long in this adventure, just to warn you. Otherwise, to save the lady we need to assemble volunteers that will follow you. However, it would be my great honor to be the first.”

  Within fifteen minutes, the Colonel had a dozen well-armed horse soldiers ready to strike off towards town. Captain Grundy carried several glass bottle grenades. While the Colonel advanced cautiously through the woods, Mr. McAdams scouted out a good location for their raid. They planned to rendezvous at the old mill near the cemetery on the outskirts of town. If they failed to return, Mr. Johnston, on reaching Oak Crossroads, was to tell the young Howard Chance, next in the railroad’s chain of command, that he was the new superintendent.

  ****

  Mrs. Greene was taken place in an old house on the east side of Old Port near the cemetery known to locals as the “pesthouse,” this is a place used to isolate victims of various contagious diseases. The Yankee Army has appropriated the building as a guard house because it sits in a large clearing with few trees. Judith Greene has been captured by her archenemy Captain Rufus Willard. It is not the first time he has captured her, but the problem in each instance was keeping her from escaping. Mrs. Greene is a tall, athletic woman with remarkable physical and mental abilities. She possesses mechanical skills, including a mastery of picking locks. On this occasion, Captain Willard is not taking any chances of her escaping.

  Nothing in the room! No furnishings, no lamp, not even a scrap of paper: the soldiers had stripped the room of every creature comfort; and they were making it even worse for Judith Greene. They were boarding up the windows! Now, caught for good this time! Bruised all over from the fall off her horse; her white cotton skirt soiled and torn, and her hair full of dirt and pine needles: she appeared thoroughly ruined. The manacles had been on her so long that her wrists ached. They had clamped them down a little tighter than they should, maybe on purpose. It was not the first time she found herself cornered. The experience taught her well. Underneath her thick blond hair, hidden near the scalp was a shim fashioned from a watch spring and a suitable homemade lock pick. She kept them in her hair all the time, even when removed from any obvious danger. Given only half a minute, she could free her hands and pick the lockset on the door. The problem at the moment was the soldiers would catch her soon if she tried. The door swung open and in walked a burly Union officer flanked by two guards with rifles pointed directly at Mrs. Greene. She asked defiantly,

  “Are you planning to shoot me now Captain Willard? It would be a shame to splatter my blood everywhere after you have gone to such pains to clean the room.” Willard is not amused.

  “Judith Greene if I had a say I would shoot you where you are standing right now, but it is not up to me. By my count this is the third time I have taken you prisoner in the last two years? Correct me if I am mistaken.” She answered,

  “Sir, I believe you are correct, though we are not counting close calls. The first time I crawled through the window, and I can see you fix that. I broke a chair over a guard’s head the second time and you have fixed that as well. Then that last time you believed you had me when your men clapped me in irons and locked me in a shed. It wasn’t long before I found a stretch of stiff wire and freed myself. The latch on the shed took a little longer. It seems strange that a device designed to confine the hands of a dangerous person such as me should be fitted with such a simple locking mechanism. Don’t you think so? Looking about I see you’ve left me with nothing of which I could use to open them. This time, sir, I believe you have thought of everything.” Willard grumbled,

  “You take your fate lightly Mrs. Greene. Tomorrow we will send you off in the hole of a ship to prison to await trial. I am sure you can swim, but the open ocean ought to be too great of a challenge, even for the likes of you. We’ll see what happens after that. For the time being there are a few things we need to talk about.”

  Willard directed the guards to take Mrs. Greene into an adjacent room. Seated in a simple chair, and offered a glass of water, she retained her gracious demeanor while preparing her mind for a long interrogation. He began by saying,

  “Mrs. Greene before we part ways for good, I want to tell you to your face you are the most conniving, deceptive, and outright dangerous woman ever put on the Earth. I’ll stop before calling you evil, but not so far away that I can’t see it coming.” Judith replies

  Sir, in spite of the ill feelings you have for me, I hold you in high regard. I believe if we were on the same side, you would like me much.” Judith then smiles amusingly, and said, “Most outright dangerous woman on the Earth, you think? I had not ever had a compliment quite like that, sir, but I assure you that the attributes you so admire in me did not come without the utmost effort. It takes the most excruciating exertions to avoid sliding into the pit of virtue.”

  With a hint of exasperation, he replied, “Nothing phases you. I suppose your husband had his plate full with you while he was living… you are a widow, I assume?”

  Judith momentarily loses her feigned veneer of indifference, and asked,

  “Are you also the bringer of bad news?”

  “Not of that sort. It is only my curiosity. It is difficult for me to comprehend a man who would cheerfully send his wife into mortal danger regularly. However, if you cut telegraph lines and commit other sorts of vandalism, and break into places and steal things usually, maybe he had the right idea?”

  “He doesn’t know… He is a field surgeon, and rarely comes home on leave. There is little doubt he would approve; but it is not a decision he may make for me. If he can serve the cause, placing his life in danger, then my conscience directs me to do likewise. It seems to be the case I have fulfilled my duty admirably? If I were on your side, you might think differently. However, would it be so much of an imposition upon you to provide me with some slight comfort, say a changing of clothing and a hair brush? Maybe, a bedroll to sleep on?”

  Willard, irritated mumbled, “Anything else Mrs. Greene?” She asks with suppressed wittiness,

  “Well, I don’t want to be a pest sir, but if
you would be so kind as to loosen these manacles a notch, I would greatly appreciate it. They’re not tight enough to cut off the blood, but next to it.” Willard snaps back

  “Loose enough so you can slip your hands out of them I suppose? Is that what you have on your mind?”

  Judith answered, “If they were loose enough Captain Willard, do you think I wouldn’t try? But I don’t think I could if it were only one notch.”

  Captain Willard nods to one of the guards who produce a key from his pocket and loosened the cuffs on her wrists slightly. He asks,

  “Mrs. Greene, can I have your word of honor this time as a lady, will you not try to escape?”

  Judith smiles slightly, and much to Willard’s aggravation, said,

  “You know well, sir, that I can’t do that. Not on my word of honor. Don’t take offence, because the same would apply to you if the tables were reversed. It is my duty to exploit any opportunity for escape that presents itself. Seeing this is the third time you have captured me, I think I have performed admirably. However, you must concern yourself with your honor sir. You should not brutalize me, or deprive me of common necessities. Finally, with all these men around to guard me, you should not keep me in manacles all the time.” Willard acquiesces.

  “Very well! We’ll march you down to headquarters near the depot. I can keep an eye on you there… and I’ll find you a dress and a hairbrush. Since there are two men guarding you and eight on the grounds, there is no need to keep you in irons until we have to move you. Sergeant, could you release the lady’s hands until we get ready to take her to town?” Judith smiles and replies

  “Thank you, Captain Willard. I must say, sir, you know how to make a lady feel like she is wanted.”

  Once again, Judith Greene stealthily manipulated the condition of her captivity to her advantage. Captain Willard from the onset had intended to pile on discomfort layer on layer to the point of being unbearable. In her dank unfurnished room, she would languish in the dark with nowhere to rest but on the hard floor. Dirty, disheveled, and manacled, and deprived of all but the minimum nourishment, her will would eventually break and then she would reveal all her secrets. So he thought… but he too could not avoid slipping into the pit of virtue. If she were on his side, his admiration would be boundless. On this point, she sensed it. The pursuit of the most “outright dangerous woman” on Earth kept him forward-looking and it would be hard to find another mission as intellectually stimulating. Dangerous, she was; but both in his boasts and private thoughts, he had grossly exaggerated her dangerousness for his benefit. Had the good citizens of Old Port been privy to his accusations, he would have been called a lunatic, “What? Mrs. Greene a spy? That is most amusing sir! She is indeed a very clever lady!”

  Mrs. Greene oversaw the placement of the coffin in the tomb the day before. The timing of her business at the burial proved ideal. The caretaker was keen to quit town before the Yankee offensive. They dispensed with ceremony. Citizens that had remained during the siege evacuated when the bombardment began. Judith expected to make a clean getaway back to the eastern entrenchments, but the Confederate commander withdrew the battery on the mill stream during the night. The Yankee left wing pushed forward, and encircled the town. Taking a horse, Mrs. Greene almost made it as far as the Old Port Road before the Union cavalry gave chase. Though her escape failed, she eluded her pursuers for nearly an hour. This gave her great personal satisfaction.

  ****

  Four o’clock. The rescue party set up their ambush on the utmost south to north road in Old Port called the Boundary Road in those days, and a decade later, Tenth Avenue. The entrance to the cemetery is off this road to the east, and the old Ryan Mansion, on a hill – later called Hospital Hill – is on the west side of the road. Colonel Wyche, Captain Grundy, and their men are hidden on the road waiting for the Union guard transporting Mrs. Greene to pass on their way to the depot. Fred McAdams has watched them from a distance. The leader of the guard, Lieutenant Alexander Chaffin, is on horseback. Judith is flanked by eight soldiers on foot. Manacles have been returned to her hands. As the guard reaches the cemetery, Colonel Wyche walks toward the soldiers from down the road. He is in civilian dress. The Sergeant calls out a warning to Wyche,

  Stop, sir! Come no further!

  The soldiers guarding Mrs. Greene on her way to the depot brought their rifles to the ready. Colonel Wyche removed his broad hat and made a slight bow as he addressed the mounted Union officer and the several men of his guard,

  “Lieutenant I presume, allow me to direct your attention to the wall at the entrance to the cemetery; and to your left up the hill behind the house shielded by the woodpile. Can you see the rifle barrels? Then, there is my good friend Captain Grundy that came up from behind while you were gawking at me. He has some awfully pretty grenades. Now before you boys get all excited, I would like to say that we are not itching to pick a fight. No-no-no, nothing of the sort! Just lay down your arms and let us have the lady.”

  Colonel Wyche advanced to the mounted officer, as he spoke,

  “Oh, and there is one more thing I failed to mention. If you take a gander up the cemetery road a piece, right there under the shade of that there live oak, you’ll see a 12-pounder loaded with canister. That’s what you call insurance; because if you hurt our lady friend, they will not know how to match up the pieces that are left, son. Now why not be sensible and put down your arms right quick?”

  Lieutenant Chaffin gave the command to the guard to lay down arms. After dropping his pistol to the ground, he dismounted his horse and approached Colonel Wyche saying,

  “You know mister, it seems like you have found a nice position here. Damned if it could be any better! Up on the hill and behind the cemetery wall… and you brought the cannon too, son of a bitch! Is this woman all that important to you? Our captain says that she is trouble.” With a chuckle, the Colonel replied

  “She certainly is a pretty mess, isn’t she? Now we have to figure out how we are going to settle this transaction without anybody getting killed. By the way my name is Colonel Joseph Wyche. What do they call you, son?”

  “Lieutenant Alexander Chaffin at your service he answered. Now I don’t want to see anything bad happen here, so how do you propose we do this?” Wyche replied

  “First thing, let’s get those irons off our lady friend.”

  Chaffin reaches into his coat pocket for the key. Wyche spies Mrs. Greene holding up the opened manacles aloft, and says with a laugh.

  “Don’t bother son, she got out of them on her own while we were gabbing. They don’t work very well do they? Stop playing, Judith. Get on that horse and ride on up to the boys with the cannon?” Chaffin protested,

  “Now hold on! If she is up there safe what will keep you from cutting us to pieces?”

  Colonel signaled to the soldiers on the hill to come down, saying,

  “Come on down boys! Remember, we are not going to get into a scrap with these Yankee fellows! You hear that over there behind the wall? No firing on the Yankees! Let’s not forget what we’re here for. What about you Captain Grundy? You think we ought to let these fellows go running off your way?”

  “Sure enough, Colonel. Any place is better than standing in front of that 12-pounder. I propose that when my boys get off that hill, they collect the Yankee arms. Then, this is what we’ll do. You and the lieutenant count to three, and we all go running off in our respective directions at once – we into the cemetery, and the Yankees from whence they came. Does that sound right to everybody? Now let us have a handshake on it. We will get back to fighting later.

  According to the agreement between the two sides, the plan worked temporarily. By the time the Yankees mounted a pursuit, the rescue party had spirited away Mrs. Greene to the bend of Old Mill Creek, about two miles from town. They left the 12-pounder on the cemetery road. With a cracked barrel and unloaded, the bluff worked well enough to freeze the Yankees in their steps. Canister at short-range does not leave behind much that is reco
gnizable. The greatest problem they faced was getting back to the bridge before the troops occupying Old Port caught up with them, or the rear guard entrenched near the bridge pulled back to the other side. Following the south bank within three miles of the bridge, the rescuers found themselves trapped with their backs to the river.

  ****

  On hearing the first volleys of rifle fire towards the bridge Fred McAdams called out,

  “Colonel we’re stuck!” The Colonel replied,

  “Damnation I hope all you boys know how to swim?” Captain Grundy rode to the bank of the river to look. The width was over four hundred feet. After timing the flow for half a minute, he turned to the Colonel and said,

  “You see that branch out there in the middle? It’s moving right quickly. The current is too strong. Do you have any ideas?”

  Colonel Wyche surveyed the south bank looking for something they could use to float across the river. He shook his head and turned to Captain Grundy. Without waiting for the Colonel to speak, he called out,