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diff --git a/old/53362-0.txt b/old/53362-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c582346..0000000 --- a/old/53362-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9176 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Rebellion in Dixie, by Harry Castlemon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A Rebellion in Dixie - -Author: Harry Castlemon - -Release Date: October 25, 2016 [EBook #53362] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A REBELLION IN DIXIE *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, David Edwards and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note: - -This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. -Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. - -Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please -see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding -the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. - -The cover image has been repaired to reproduce the first letters of the -title, occluded by a library label, and, so modified, is added to the -public domain. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: REPLACING THE NOTICE.] - - - - - A - - REBELLION IN DIXIE - - BY - HARRY CASTLEMON - - AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “THE HUNTER SERIES,” - “WAR SERIES,” ETC. - - - - - PHILADELPHIA - HENRY T. COATES & CO. - 1897 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY - HENRY T. COATES & CO. - - CONTENTS. - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. IN REGARD TO THE REBELLION, 5 - II. THE CONVENTION, 25 - III. “A WORD IN YOUR EAR,” 45 - IV. CARL BRINGS NEWS, 65 - V. CAPTURING A WAGON-TRAIN, 88 - VI. THE MARCH HOMEWARD, 109 - VII. BREAKING THE MULE, 129 - VIII. REBELS IN THE REAR, 152 - IX. A NIGHT EXPEDITION, 176 - X. CALE WANTS A MULE, 196 - XI. MR. DAWSON’S STRATEGY, 220 - XII. THE REBELS TAKE REVENGE, 247 - XIII. CALE IN TROUBLE, 271 - XIV. LEON A PRISONER, 294 - XV. A FRIEND IN NEED, 315 - XVI. A FIGHT AND ITS RESULTS, 338 - XVII. THE EVENTS OF A WEEK, 363 - XVIII. COLEMAN PROVES HIS HONESTY, 384 - XIX. CONCLUSION, 407 - - - - - A REBELLION IN DIXIE. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - IN REGARD TO THE REBELLION. - - -“Now, Leon, you will take in everybody. Don’t leave a single man out, -for we want them all there at this convention.” - -“Secessionists, as well as Union men?” - -“Yes, of course. I had a talk with Nathan Knight, last night, and he -says everybody must be informed of the fact. We are going to secede from -the State of Mississippi and get up a government of our own, and he -declares that everybody must be told of it.” - -“I tell you, dad, we’ve got a mighty poor show. I suppose there are at -least two thousand fighting men here—” - -“Say fifteen hundred; and they are all good shots, too.” - -“And Jeff Davis has called out a hundred thousand men. Where would we be -if he would send that number of men after us?” - -“He ain’t a-going to send no hundred thousand men after us. He has other -work for them to do, and when the few he does send come here in search -of us, he won’t find hide nor hair of a living man in the county.” - -It was Mr. Sprague who spoke last, and his words were addressed to his -son Leon. They, both of them, stood leaning on their horses, and were -equipped for long rides in opposite directions. Just inside the gate was -a woman leaning upon it; but, although she was a Southerner, she did not -shed tears when she saw Leon and his father about to start on their -perilous ride. For she knew that every step of the way would be harassed -by danger, and if she saw either one of them after she bade them -good-bye it would all be owing to fortunate manœuvres on their part -rather than to any mismanagement on the part of the rebels. They were -both known as strong Union men, and no doubt there were some of their -neighbors who were determined that they should not fulfil their errand. -It would be an easy matter to shoot them down and throw their bodies -into the swamp, and no one would be the wiser for it. - -Leon Sprague was sixteen years old, and had been a raftsman all his -life. He had but little education but much common sense, for schools -were something that did not hold a high place in Jones county. In fact -there had been but one school in the county since he could remember, and -some of the boys took charge of that, and conducted themselves in a -manner that drove the teacher away. Leon was a fine specimen of a boy, -as he stood there listening to his father’s instructions—tall beyond his -years, and straight as one of the numerous pines that he had so often -felled and rafted to Pascagoula bay. His countenance was frank and -open—no one ever thought of doubting Leon’s word—but just now there was -a scowl upon it as he listened to what his father had to say to him. - -These people, the Spragues, were a little better off than most of those -who followed their occupation, owning a nice little farm, four negroes, -and a patch of timber-land from which they cut their logs and rafted -them down to tide-water to furnish the masts for ocean-going vessels. -His father and mother were simple-minded folks who thought they had -everything that was worth living for, and they did not want to see the -Government broken up on any pretext. The negro men worked the farm and -their wives were busy in the house, which they kept as neat as a new -pin. Just now the men had been butchering hogs in the woods, and were at -work making hams and bacon of them. These negroes did not have an -overseer—they did not know what it was. They went about their work -bright and early, and when Saturday afternoon came they posted off to -the nearest village to enjoy their half-holiday. They loved their master -and mistress, and if anybody had offered them their freedom they would -not have taken it. - -In order that you may understand this story, boy reader, it is necessary -that you should know something of the character of the inhabitants, and -be able to bear in mind the nature of the country in which this -Rebellion in Dixie took place, for it was as much of a rebellion as that -in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Missouri, where men were shot -and hanged for not believing as their neighbors did, and their houses -were set on fire. They made up their minds at the start—as early as -1862—that they would not furnish any men for the Southern army; and, -furthermore, they took good care to see that there was no drafting done -in their county. - -If you will take your atlas and turn to the map of Mississippi you will -find Jones county in the southeastern part of the State, and about -seventy-five miles north of Mobile, a port that was one of the last to -be captured by the United States army. It comprised nearly twenty -townships, the white population being 1482, a small chance, one would -think, for people to live as they did for almost two years. The land was -not fertile, “the entire region being made up of pine barrens and -swamps, traversed by winding creeks, bordered by almost impenetrable -thickets.” It was bounded on four sides by Jasper, Wayne, Perry and -Covington counties, which were all loyal to the Confederacy, and it -would seem that the people had undertaken an immense job to carry on a -rebellion here in the face of such surroundings. The inhabitants were, -almost to a man, opposed to the war. They were lumbermen, who earned a -precarious living by cutting the pine trees and rafting them to -tide-water, which at that time was found on Pascagoula bay. They had -everything that lumbermen could ask for, and they did not think that any -effort to cut themselves loose from the North would result in any glory -to them. They could not get any more for their timber than they were -getting now, and why should they consent to go into the army and fight -for principles that they knew nothing about? - -Of course, this county was divided against itself, as every other county -was that laid claim to some Union and some Confederate inhabitants. -There were men among them who had their all invested there, and they did -not think these earnest people were pursuing the right course. These -were the secessionists, but they were very careful about what they said, -although they afterward found opportunities to put their ideas into -practice. When General Lowery was sent with a strong force to crush out -this rebellion he was met by a stubborn resistance, and some of these -Confederates, who were seen and recognized by their Union neighbors, -were afterward shot to pay them for the part they had carried out in -conducting the enemy to their place of retreat. Taken altogether, it was -such a thing as nobody had ever heard of before, but the way these -lumbermen went about it proclaimed what manner of men they were. It -seemed as if the Confederacy could run enough men in there to wipe out -the Jones County Republic before they could have time to organize their -army; but for all that the inhabitants were determined to go through -with it. They held many a long talk with one another when they met on -the road or in convention at Ellisville, and there wasn’t a man who was -in favor of joining the Confederacy, the secessionists wisely keeping -out of sight. - -Things went on in this way for a year or more, during which the -lumbermen talked amazingly, but did nothing. Finally Fort Sumter was -fired upon, and afterward came the disastrous battle of Bull Run, and -then the Confederates began to gain a little courage. They knew the -South was going to whip, and these battles confirmed them in the belief; -but the raftsmen did not believe it. In 1862, when the Confederate -Congress passed the act of conscription, which compelled those liable to -do military duty to serve in the army, the lumbermen grew in earnest, -and a few of them got together in Ellisville and talked the matter over. -The market for their logs had long ago been broken up, and some of them -were beginning to feel the need of something to eat; and when one of -their number proposed, more as a joke than anything else, that they -should cast their fortunes with the Confederates, and so be able to go -down to tide-water and get some provisions, the motion was hooted down -in short order. There were not enough people there to hold a convention, -and so the matter was postponed, some of the wealthy ones who owned -horses being selected to ride about the county and inform every one that -the matter had gone far enough—that they were going to hold a meeting -and see what the lumbermen thought of taking the county out of the State -of Mississippi. Leon and his father were two of those chosen, and they -were just getting ready to start on their journey. - -“I don’t know as I ought to send that boy out at all, Mary,” said Mr. -Sprague, when he arrived at home that night after the convention had -been decided upon. “I have never seen Leon in trouble and I don’t know -how he will act; but the boys down to Ellisville seemed determined to -let him go, and I never said a word about it.” - -“I think you have seen Leon in trouble a half a dozen times,” said his -wife, who was prompt to side with her son. “The time that Tom Howe came -so near being smashed up with those logs down there in the bend—I guess -he was in trouble then, wasn’t he?” - -“But that was with logs; it wasn’t with men,” said Mr. Sprague. “Yes, -Leon was pretty plucky that day, and when all the boys cheered him I -didn’t say a word, although I had an awkward feeling of pride around my -heart, I tell you.” - -Leon and three or four other fellows of light build were frequently -called upon to start a jam of logs which had filled up the stream so -full that the timber could not move. A hasty glance at the jam would -show them the log that was to blame for it, and armed with an ax and -bare-footed the boys would leap upon the raft and go out to it. A few -hasty blows would start the jam, and the timber rushing by with the -speed of a lightning express train, the boys would make their way back -to the shore, jumping from one log to another. Sometimes they did not -get back without a ducking. On the occasion referred to Tom went out -alone, and after he had been there some minutes without starting the -jam, Leon was sent out to assist him. Two axes were better than one, and -in a few minutes the timber was started. It came with a rush, too, but -Tom was just a moment too late. The log upon which he had been chopping -shot up into the air fully twenty feet, and when it came down it struck -the log on which Tom was standing and soused him head over heels in the -water; but before he went he felt somebody’s around him. It was Leon -Sprague’s arm, for the latter struck the water almost as soon as he did. -Leon came up a moment afterward with Tom hanging limp and lifeless in -his arms, and heard the cheers of the “boys” ringing in his ears, but -had to go down again to escape the onward rush of the logs which were -coming toward him with almost railroad speed. By going down in this way -and swimming lustily whenever the logs were far enough away to admit of -it, Leon succeeded in landing about half a mile below, and hauling his -senseless burden out on the bank. Tom could swim—there were few boys on -the stream that could beat him at that—but when that log came down on -him it well nigh knocked it all out. Leon’s father never said a word. He -walked up and gave the boy’s hand a hearty shake, and that was the last -of it. Leon had the opportunity of knowing, as soon as Tom came to -himself, that he had made a life-long friend by his last half-hour’s -operations. - -“Jeff Davis ain’t a going to send no hundred thousand men after us,” -repeated Mr. Sprague, preparing to mount his horse. “He’ll send a few in -here to break up this rebellion, and when they get here we’ll be in the -woods out of sight. Kiss your mother, Leon, and let’s go. We have got a -good ways to ride before night.” - -“Now, Leon, be careful of yourself,” said his mother. - -“You need have no fear of me,” said Leon, leaving his horse and going up -to the gate. “I’ve got my revolver in my pocket all handy.” - -“But remember that when you are riding along the road somebody can -easily pick you off,” said Mrs. Sprague. “You know you are a Union boy.” - -“Do you want me to make believe that I am--Confederate?” - -“By no means. Stick to the Union. Good-bye.” - -The farewells being said, father and son got upon their horses and rode -away in opposite directions. Leon rode a high-stepping horse—he was fond -of a good animal and he owned one of the very best in the county—but he -allowed him to wander at his own gait, knowing that the horse would be -tired enough when he returned home. As he rode along, thinking how -foolish the people were to consider seriously the proposal to withdraw -from the Union, he ran against a boy about his own age who, like -himself, was journeying on horseback. He was a boy he did not like to -see. He was awfully “stuck up,” and, furthermore, he was a rebel and did -not hesitate to have his opinions known. - -“Hello, Leon,” exclaimed Carl Swayne, for that was the boy’s name. -“Where are you going this morning?” - -“I am going around to see every man in this side of the county,” said -Leon. “We are going to get up a convention on the 13th, and we want -everybody there. The convention is going to be held at Ellisville.” - -“By George! Has it come to that?” cried Carl, flourishing his -riding-whip in the air. “What do you think you are going to do after you -get to that convention?” - -“We are going to dissolve the Union existing between this county and the -State of Mississippi.” - -“Yes, I’ll bet you will. How long will it be before the Confederates -will send men in here to whip you out? You must think you can stand -against them.” - -“I don’t think we can stand against anybody,” said Leon. “If the -Confederates come in here we shall go into the woods.” - -“Well, it won’t take me long to show them where you are,” said Carl, -savagely. “I was talking with uncle about it last night, and he says you -haven’t got but a few fighting men here, and that it is utterly -preposterous for you to think of getting up a rebellion. I know one -thing about it: you will all be hanged.” - -“And I know another thing about it,” said Leon. “When it comes we’ll be -in good company. Will you be down to our convention?” - -“Not as anybody knows of,” replied Carl, with a laugh. “I’ll get -somebody up here to put a stop to it.” - -“Well, I wouldn’t be too hasty about it. You may get hanged yourself.” - -“Yes? I’d like to see the man living that can put a rope around my -neck,” exclaimed Carl, hotly. “I’ve got more friends in this county than -one would suppose. I’ll bet you wouldn’t be one of the first to do it.” - -Leon picked up his reins and went on without answering this question. He -saw that Carl was in a fair way to pick a quarrel with him, and he had -no desire to keep up his end of it. Carl was hot-headed, and when he got -mad, was apt to do and say some things that any boy of his age ought to -have been ashamed of. He kept on down the road for a mile further, and -finally turned into a broad carriage-way that led up to a neat little -cottage that was surrounded by shade trees on all sides. This was the -house of Mr. Smith—a crusty old bachelor who had always taken a deep -interest in Leon. He was Union to the backbone, and if he could have had -his way he would have made short work with all such fellows as Carl -Swayne. He was sitting out on the porch indulging in a smoke. - -“Hallo, Leon,” he cried, as soon as he found out who the new-comer was. -“Alight and hitch.” - -“I can’t do it, Mr. Smith,” replied Leon. “I am bound to see every man -in this part of the county, and that, you know, is a good long ride. We -are going to hold a convention on the 13th, and we want you to come down -to it.” - -“Whew!” whistled Mr. Smith. “You bet I’ll be there. What are you going -to do at that convention?” - -Leon explained briefly, adding: - -“I just now saw a fellow whom I asked to come down, and he positively -declined. He says he will get somebody to put a stop to it.” - -“That’s Carl Swayne,” said Mr. Smith, in a tone of disgust. “Say! I will -give half my fortune if we can hang that fellow and his uncle to the -nearest tree. They have been preaching up secessionists’ doctrines here -till you can’t rest.” - -“I think we can get the better of them after a while,” said Leon. “When -did you get back?” he added, for Mr. Smith had been down to tide-water -to see what was going on there. “Did you see or hear anything in -Mobile?” - -“I got back last night. There is nothing in Mobile except -fortifications. I tell you it will require a big army to take that -place. By the way, Leon, I want to see you some time all by yourself. -Don’t let any one know you are coming here, but just come.” - -“I’ll remember it, Mr. Smith. You won’t forget the convention? Good-by.” - -“What in the world does the old fellow want to see me for?” soliloquized -Leon. “And why couldn’t he have told me to-day as well as any other -time? Well, it can’t be much, any way.” - -Leon kept on his ride, and before night he was many miles from home. He -took in every house he came to, Union as well as secessionist, and while -the former greeted him cordially, the rebels had something to say to him -that fairly took his breath away. If he hadn’t been the most -even-tempered fellow in the world he would have got fighting mad. They -all agreed as to one thing: They were going to see Leon hanged for -carrying around the notice of that convention. His neighbors wouldn’t do -it, but there would be plenty of Confederates in there after a while -that would string the Union people up as fast as they could get to them. -Leon had no idea that there were so many secessionists in the county as -he found there when he came to ride through it, and he made up his mind -to one thing, and that was, it was going to be pretty hard work to carry -that county out of the State. - -“But just wait until we get together and decide upon a constitution,” -said Leon, as he rode along with his hands in his pockets and his eyes -fastened upon the horn of his saddle. “Jeff Davis has long ago ordered -all Union men out of the Confederacy, and what is there to hinder us -from ordering all these rebels out? That’s an idea, and I will speak to -father about it.” - -Leon did not care to spend all night with such people as these, and so -he kept on until he found a family whose sentiments agreed with his own, -and there he laid by until morning. The head of this household had but -recently come into the county, and Leon did not know him. When the -latter rode up to the bars the man was chopping wood in front of a -dilapidated shanty, but when he saw Leon approaching he dropped his axe, -took long strides toward his door and turned around and faced him. The -boy certainly thought he was acting in a very strange way, and for a -moment didn’t know whether he was a Union man or a rebel. - -“Good evening, sir,” said Leon, who thought he might as well settle the -matter once for all. “Can I stay all night with you?” - -“Who are you and where did you come from?” asked the man in reply. - -“My name is Leon Sprague and I live in the other part of the county,” -replied Leon. “I am a Union boy all over, and I came out to tell -everybody—” - -“Course we can keep you all night if that is the kind of a boy you are,” -replied the man coming up to the bars. “Get off and turn your horse -loose. I haven’t seen a Union boy before in a long while. I came from -Tennessee.” - -“What are you doing down here?” asked Leon, as he led his horse over the -bars. - -“I came down here to get out of reach of the rebels, dog-gone ’em,” said -the man in a passionate tone of voice. “You had just ought to see them -up there. They have got their jails full, they are hanging men for -burning bridges, and when I left home there was two or three thousand -men going over the mountains into Kentucky. But I couldn’t go with them. -The rebels cut me off, and as I was bound to go somewhere, I came on -down here.” - -Leon had by this time taken the saddle and bridle from his horse and -turned him loose to get his own supper. Then he backed up against the -fence and watched the man chopping his wood. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - THE CONVENTION. - - -“What made you start for the house when you saw me coming up?” said -Leon, as the man sank his axe deep into the log on which he was chopping -and paused to moisten his hands. - -“Because I thought you was a rebel. I reckoned there was more coming -behind you, and I wanted to be pretty close to my rifle. I didn’t know -that I had got into a community of Union folks down here.” - -Leon was astonished to hear the man converse. He talked like an -intelligent person, and the boy was glad to have him express an opinion, -for it was so much better than his own that he resolved to profit by it. - -“I don’t know that you got in among Union people,” said Leon, “for I -have seen more rebels to-day than I thought there was in the county; but -all the same there are some Union folks here. You might have gone -further and fared worse.” - -“So I believe. When you came up you said you were out to tell everybody -something. What were you going to say?” - -It didn’t take Leon more than two minutes to explain himself. The man -listened with genuine amazement, and when the boy got through he seated -himself on the log and rested his elbows on his knees. - -“How are you going to take this county out?” said he. “You haven’t got -men enough to do any fighting.” - -“No, sir; but we are going to do the best we can with what we have got.” - -“That’s plucky at any rate. I suppose that if the rebels come in here to -capture you, you will take to the swamp.” - -“Yes, sir. That’s just what we intend to do.” - -“Well, sir, you can put my name down for that convention,” said the man, -getting upon his feet and going to work upon his wood-pile. “I’ve got so -down on the rebels that I am willing to do anything I can to bother -them. I’ve got two brothers in jail up there now.” - -“You said something about bridge burning,” said Leon, and he didn’t know -whether he made a mistake or not. “Perhaps you had a hand in it.” - -“Perhaps I did,” answered the man with a laugh. “And I tell you I had to -dig out as soon as I got home. So you see I dare not go back there.” - -“What’s the punishment?” - -“Death,” answered the man. “And they don’t give you any time to say -good-bye to your friends. They don’t even court-martial you, but string -you up at once.” - -The man said this in much the same tone that he would have asked for a -drink of water. Leon was surprised that one who had passed through so -many dangers as that man had could speak of it so indifferently. But -then he looked like a man who would have been picked out of a crowd to -engage in business of that kind. He was large and bony, the ease with -which he handled his axe was surprising, but his face was one to attract -anybody’s attention. It was a determined face—a face that wouldn’t back -down for any obstacles. If the Union men in Tennessee were all like him, -it was a wonder how the rebels got the start of them. - -“I can’t give you as good a place here as I could at home,” said the -man, as his wife came to the door and told him that supper was ready. -“At home I have a commodious house, and you could have a room in it all -to yourself. Here I have nothing but this little tumble-down shanty to -go into. It leaks, but I will soon get the better of that. Molly, this -young man is Union all over, and he has come down here to tell of a -convention that is to be held at Ellisville to take this county out of -the State. Whoever heard of such a thing? I am going to that meeting, -sure pop.” - -His wife was greatly surprised to listen to this, but she accepted the -introduction to Leon, and forthwith proceeded to make him feel at home. -There were two children, but they had been taught to behave, and did not -try to shove themselves forward at all. Taken altogether, it was a -comfortable meal, and before it was over Leon learned some things -regarding this man that he wouldn’t have believed possible. He had come -all the way through the rebel State of Mississippi by telling the people -he met on the way that he was going to see some friends, and had, by -chance, struck Jones county, the very place of all others he wanted to -be. - -“I must confess it was pretty pokerish, sometimes,” said the man. “The -rebels had sent on a description of me as the man who helped burn their -bridges, and now and then I had to get under the bundles of clothing and -cover myself up there, leaving my wife to guide the horses. But I had my -rifle all right, and it would have gone hard with the men who discovered -me.” - -The evening was passed in this way listening to the man’s stories, and -when Leon went to bed in a dark corner of the room he told himself that -he had got into a desperate scrape, and that he had got something to do -in order to get out of it. He had never dreamed that men could be down -on their neighbors in that way, and here this man had all he could do to -keep from being shot. - -“By George! I tell you we are in for it,” said Leon, pulling the -blankets up over him, “and I don’t know how we are going to come out. -There are rebels all around us, and if they are as bad down here as they -are up in Tennessee there won’t one of us come through alive. But I am -armed, and I’ll see that some of them get as good as they send.” - -It was daylight when Leon awoke, and after washing his hands and face in -a basin outside the door he stood in front of the fireplace, before -which the woman was engaged in cooking the breakfast, and looked up at -the man’s rifle, which hung on some wooden pegs over the mantel. It was -an ordinary muzzle-loading thing, and didn’t look as though it had been -the death of anybody. - -“That rifle has been too much for half a dozen men,” said the woman. - -“Why, how did that happen?” asked Leon. - -“It happened when they came to burn us out,” answered the woman. “They -came one night and tried to call Josiah to the door, but he would not -go. He took his rifle down, but he wouldn’t shoot until they did, and as -he is a good shot, he hit every time. The next day we had to move, for -they came with a larger body of men.” - -“There is one thing that makes me think you are in a bad place,” said -Leon. “You are right here close to the river which separates the two -counties, and if anybody makes a raid over here they will strike you, -sure. I think if that convention is held you had better come down to our -place. We have room enough there to stow you away.” - -“Oh, thank you. Perhaps you had better speak to Josiah about it.” - -Josiah was out attending to his horses and cow, and Leon went out to -him. He looked at him with more respect than he did the night before, -for, in addition to burning the bridges, he had “got the better” of half -a dozen men. He bade Leon a hearty good-morning, but the boy noticed -that all the while he kept talking to him he kept his eyes fastened on -the woods. Probably it was from the force of habit. He agreed with Leon -that they were in a bad place to meet raids, and promised that after the -convention came off he would see what he could do. He didn’t want to -trespass on anybody until he had to. - -Breakfast over, Leon brought his horse to the door, put on his saddle -and bridle and bid good-bye to the family from Tennessee, and rode off. -He was two days more on his route, and on the third day he turned his -horse toward home. He reached it without any mishap, and his mother was -glad to see him, judging by the hug she gave him. His father had arrived -the night before, but the stories he had to tell didn’t compare with -Leon’s. Of course his mother was shocked when she learned that Josiah -(Leon did not know what else to call him) had shot so many men before he -left Tennessee, but she readily agreed to shelter his wife and children. - -“I never thought to ask him his name,” said Leon, “but I will ask him -down to the convention. He was dead in favor of it, and said he would be -there. I tell you that man has passed through a heap. He couldn’t talk -to me without running his eyes over the woods to see if there was -anybody coming.” - -On the next day but one was the time of the convention, and at an early -hour Mr. Sprague and Leon mounted their horses and set out for -Ellisville. On the way they picked up a good many more, both afoot and -on horseback, and by the time they reached their destination they -numbered fifty or more. They made their way at once to the church, and -found themselves surrounded by a formidable body of men, all of whom -were armed with rifles. There must have been a thousand men there, and -there was not a secessionist to be seen in the party. Shortly afterward -Nathan Knight arrived. He bid good-morning to the people right and left, -and went into the church, whither he was followed by all the building -would hold. Those who couldn’t get in raised the windows on the outside -and settled themselves down to hear what was going to happen. - -Nathan Knight was a large man, with gray whiskers and an eye that seemed -to look right through you. But for all that his face was kindly, and if -you got broken up in business and wanted help, Nathan Knight was the man -to go to. He took his seat in the pulpit, just where he knew the folks -would send him, took off his hat and drew his handkerchief across his -forehead. His meeting was not conducted according to order, but those -who were there understood it. - -“Gentlemen will please come to order,” said he. “Are there any of us who -are opposed to taking this county out of the State of Mississippi? If -there is, let him now speak or hereafter hold his peace.” - -Each man gazed into the face of his neighbor; but each one knew that the -one he looked at was as much in favor of secession as he was himself. -Finally, some one in the back part of the church called out: - -“Nathan, there ain’t nary a rebel here.” - -“I am glad to hear it,” said Mr. Knight. “But there are some around in -the county, and you want to be careful how you deal with them. I will -now appoint a committee of six to draw up a series of resolutions of -secession. They will go over to the hotel and come back when they get -done.” - -Mr. Knight had evidently been thinking of this matter before for he -appointed the committee without hesitation, and among them was the name -of Mr. Sprague. They were all men who would not say a thing they did not -mean, and as they were about to go out the president beckoned Mr. -Sprague to his desk and placed a piece of paper in his hands. - -“There’s some resolutions I drew up after thinking the matter over,” -said he. “Perhaps it will serve as a model to you. You can amend them or -leave them out entirely, as suits you best.” - -When the committee had retired Mr. Knight got up, and for the next -half-hour proceeded to arraign the Confederate States and praise the -Union, his remarks calling forth loud and long-continued applause. He -took the ground that it was a “geographical impossibility” to conquer -Jones county, because, the inhabitants being lumbermen, it would be easy -for them to slip into the woods, and when there nobody but a raftsman -could find them. He kept his speech going until the committee were seen -coming back. Mr. Sprague made his way to the desk, and amid the most -impressive silence read the resolutions of secession as follows: - -WHEREAS, The State of Mississippi has seen fit to withdraw from the -Federal Union for reasons which appear justifiable; - -_And whereas_, We, the citizens of Jones county, claim the same right, -thinking our grievances are sufficient by reason of an unjust law passed -by Congress of the Confederate States of America, forcing us to go to -distant parts, etc., etc.; - -_Therefore be it resolved_, That we sever the union heretofore existing -between Jones county and the State of Mississippi, and proclaim our -independence of said State and the Confederate States of America; and we -solemnly call upon Almighty God to witness and bless such act. - -When Mr. Sprague ceased reading, the applause which shook the building -was long and loud. Not satisfied with that, some of the raftsmen fired -off their guns, and for the next five or ten minutes it was impossible -to do anything inside the church. By that time the excitement had -somewhat died out, and then the president asked if there was any debate -on the matter, but no one had anything to say. Knowing that those six -men had the good of the county at heart, there was not one who had -anything to say against them. Mr. Knight expressed himself pleased, and -was about to announce that the resolutions were passed, when somebody on -the outside of the building called out: - -“Nathan, here’s a couple of rebels out here.” - -“What are they doing out there?” asked the president, in surprise. - -“I don’t know. They have just come up here. It looks to me like they -were going to recruit.” - -“Well, fetch them in here. Now, boys, not a word out of you. I will do -the talking, and if you have any questions to ask, you can ask them; but -don’t all talk at once.” - -Mr. Knight settled back in his chair and the most profound silence -ensued. Finally the crowd about the door gave way as the rebels and -their escort approached, and the Confederates, seeing so many men -standing there with their hats all off, courteously took off their own. -They kept on until they got up to the desk, and then Mr. Knight drew up -chairs for them to be seated. - -“Now, gentlemen, what brought you up here?” asked the president. - -“We came up here to recruit,” replied the ranking officer. “I am glad to -see so many of you here, for it will save us the trouble of hunting you -up.” - -“Will you be kind enough to read that?” said Mr. Knight, unfolding the -paper on which the resolutions were written and passing it over to the -officer. - -The official took the paper, and as he read his eyes opened with -surprise. When he had got through with it he passed it over to his -subordinate, and then turned and looked at the men near him. He was -satisfied that there was not a man there who did not believe every word -of those resolutions. The officer had nothing to fear now—he was the -first recruiting official that ever came there—but after he got away he -would not come back at any price. - -“These are not all your men?” said he. - -“No, sir. We have not more than three hundred men, but these extra -parties have come in with their families at odd times. And every man you -see is a Union man.” - -“My friend, you are making a great mistake,” began the officer. - -“We are ready to stand by it, sir.” - -“Do you suppose the Confederates will stand by and allow you to take -this county out of the State, to be an odd sheep in the flock?” -continued the officer. “The first thing you know you will be overrun -with men, and you won’t have a house to go into.” - -“What will we be doing all that time?” - -“Oh, I suppose you will fight, but it won’t do you any good. The -Confederates can send twenty thousand men in here.” - -“We don’t care if they send forty thousand,” replied the president. -“Whatever you send we’ll fight.” - -The men who were crowded in the church and gathered about the windows -couldn’t stand it any longer. They broke out into loud applause, which -continued for some minutes. When they got through, the officer evidently -thought they were in earnest. - -“We have a thousand men here, and when we get into the swamp we are -willing to meet five thousand,” continued Mr. Knight. “You can’t conquer -us.” - -“What will you do for grub?” - -“We’ll steal it,” shouted one of the men; and the answer was so droll -and corresponded so entirely with the thoughts of the men who were -standing around, that the whole assembly burst into laughter. Even the -enrolling officers joined in. - -“I suppose you can do that, of course,” said he, “but supposing the -escort is too strong to be successfully attacked?” - -“We don’t borrow any trouble on that score,” said Mr. Knight. “We -haven’t got all the men we are going to have. You see how they are -coming in now. But you are interrupting us, and we shall have to bid you -good-bye. You see very plainly that you can’t raise any men here for the -Confederate army. Another thing we’ll tell you, you are the first to -come in, and you will be the last to go out.” - -“Do you mean to say that you will kill any enrolling officers who come -here?” - -“That’s just what I mean to say. We don’t want them here.” - -“Well,” said the official, rising to his feet, “we’ll go, but we won’t -be the last officers to come in here. I will tell you that very plainly. -You mustn’t think that the Confederates are going to allow you to have -your own way in this matter. It beats anything I ever heard of.” - -“We are aware of that, and that’s what makes us think we are going to go -through with it. I will bid you good-bye, gentlemen.” - -The men divided right and left to allow the rebels a chance to get out, -and when they had passed out beyond the door the president proceeded to -call the meeting to order. - -“I am pleased with the way you obeyed my commands,” said Mr. Knight. “If -you will obey as promptly as that, we are going to be hard to whip. The -next thing is to elect a president.” - -“I nominate Nathan Knight as president of the Jones County Confederacy,” -shouted a man near the door. - -“We ought to have a ballot for that,” said Mr. Knight. - -“We don’t need no ballot. It takes too much time. Can I get a second to -that?” - -He could and he did. It seemed as if every man in the house seconded the -motion. Mr. Sprague put the vote before the house, and it was carried -unanimously. Mr. Knight did not stop to make a speech, but said the next -vote would be for vice-president, and Mr. Sprague was nominated. - -“Hold on, there,” shouted a voice. “We don’t want Mr. Sprague for -vice-president. We want him for secretary of war. If there is any man -who can put us fellows where we can do the most good in a fight Mr. -Sprague is the chap.” - -And so it was all through the convention. There wasn’t a ballot taken -for anything, and no man thought of declining an office. By four o’clock -the work was all done, and then Mr. Knight thought of something else. - -“There is one thing more that I want the convention to decide on,” said -he. “It is a ticklish piece of business, but we have got to do it. Jeff -Davis has been making things very uncomfortable for our fellows out -there in the Confederacy by telling them that they have got to light out -or go into the army; now, what’s to hinder us from doing the same thing? -There are many rebels about here—” - -“And I say let’s get rid of them,” said a voice. “I know one fellow who -is going around all the time talking secession, and if the meeting says -the word I’ll go to him and tell him he had better dig out. The county -will be a heap happier if he ain’t in it.” - -“Let’s all go in a body,” said another voice. - -“That’s what I say,” said a chorus of half a dozen men. - -“I think myself that would be the better way,” said the president. “If a -lot of us get together and call upon a man, he will think we are in dead -earnest. Give them time to take what they want, and then escort them out -of the county. Don’t leave a rebel behind you. There being no further -business, the convention stands adjourned, to meet again upon call.” - -And where was Leon Sprague all this time? He was sitting in the front -seat, where he could hear all that was going on. He felt proud when his -father was elected secretary of war. He supposed, of course, that it was -his business to post men in battle, but he learned better after a while. -He was particularly anxious about escorting the rebels out of the -county, and as soon as the convention adjourned he hurried out to find -Tom Howe. As he was hurrying through the door, whom should he run -against but Josiah—the “man who had seen a heap,” and who “got the best -of half a dozen men.” He stood with his rifle hugged up close to him as -if it were an old friend and he did not want to part from it. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - “A WORD IN YOUR EAR.” - - -“Why, Josiah, I am glad to see you,” said Leon, advancing and shaking -hands with the man. “The rebels haven’t raided you yet? Look here, what -is your name? I forgot to ask you when I was up to your house.” - -“Giddings—Josiah Giddings,” answered the man. “No, the rebels have not -raided me yet, but I am mighty dubious about them.” - -“Well, I want to make you acquainted with my father,” said Leon. “He -will give your wife protection at his house. We have a negro cabin there -that is much more comfortable than the one you live in now, for it -doesn’t leak. And there is plenty of pasturage there for your horse and -cow.” - -Leon drew up alongside of Giddings and in a few minutes his father came -out. The introduction was given, and after a few commonplace remarks Mr. -Sprague inquired how he liked the resolutions. - -“They ain’t strong enough,” said Giddings. “If you had two brothers in -jail waiting for their death-warrant, I reckon you would put in more -language than you did.” - -“Where is that?” inquired Mr. Knight, who came out just at that moment. - -“Up in Tennessee mountains. My brothers were engaged in bridge burning, -and now they have got to suffer death for it.” - -Leon waited just long enough to see that Giddings was in a fair way to -make the acquaintance of the principal men of the county, and then -hastened out to find Tom Howe. After looking all about, he discovered -him sitting under the shade of an oak eating a lunch. - -“Hallo, Leon; have some,” was the way in which he greeted the new-comer. -“It’s mighty good, I tell you—chicken and apple pie.” - -“A person to look at your lunch wouldn’t think that we Union fellows -would be so hard up for grub,” said Leon, seating himself on the ground -by Tom’s side. “You heard what that man said, in reply to the enrolling -officer, that if we got short of provisions we would steal them? But I -want to talk to you about driving those rebels away from here.” - -“I know one who will get out of the county with once telling,” said Tom. - -“Who is it?” - -“Carl Swayne.” - -“That’s just the fellow I was thinking of,” said Leon, spitefully. “He -told me the other day that if we ran into the swamp it would not take -him long to show them where we were.” - -“And he told me that he wished I had been smashed up in that jam while I -was about it, for then there would be one Union man less in the world,” -said Tom. “I’ll never forget him for that.” - -“Well, you come around to the house early to-morrow morning, and we will -go up and send him off. I see father is getting ready to go home, so I -must go. So-long.” - -Leon mounted his horse and started on a lope after his father, but when -he came up with him he found him surrounded by a lot of men and boys who -were talking loudly of the secession resolutions, finding no end of -fault with the Confederate Government, and praising the Union. - -“They won’t get me, no matter which way they turn,” said one of the men, -who lived away off in the swamp. “I live two miles from everybody, and -right there is where the fight is going to take place. The river in -front of my house is so narrow that you can throw a stone across it -anywhere, and for a mile above and below the house it spreads out into a -swamp that they couldn’t get across to save their necks.” - -“So you really think there is going to be a fight, do you?” inquired Mr. -Sprague. - -“Oh, sure. It’s just as that enrolling officer said. The Confederates -ain’t a-going to leave us to be the black sheep in the flock. We are -going to see some fun before we get through with this.” - -That was the opinion of all the men, and they concluded, too, that the -best place to hold the fight would be right there in front of this man’s -house. “But I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” said Giddings, “you will have -to look out for your wife and children. The rebels will make short work -of them if they get hold of them.” - -“The swamp is big,” said the man. “If they get out in there I will risk -the rebels getting hold of them.” - -Then men and boys dropped off one after the other when they came to the -cross-roads that led to their homes, and by the time Mr. Sprague reached -his home there were but few men besides Giddings left. The latter got -off his horse at the gate and went in to take a view of the cabin in -which Mr. Sprague told him he could live until the trouble was all over, -and he straightway came to the conclusion that it was a much better -house than the one he now occupied. - -“You see there was nobody there to tell me that I could go into that -house or I could stay out of it,” said Giddings. “It wasn’t occupied, -and so I went into it, and sometimes when it rains you might just as -well be outside. If it suits you, I will come here to-morrow.” - -Mr. Sprague told him that the sooner he came the better; but Giddings -declined an invitation to supper, because he knew his wife was waiting -for him, so he got on his horse and rode off. - -“It kinder runs in my mind that that man Giddings will be a good fellow -to tie to,” said Mr. Sprague, as he drew his chair up to the table. -“There’s no end to the way he hates the rebels, and it’s my opinion that -when he shoots at them he will shoot to kill.” - -“But do you really think there is going to be a fight?” inquired his -wife. She asked this in a very indifferent manner, as if she did not -care whether it came or not. She had got used to thinking of such -things. - -Mr. Sprague, by way of reply, told her all about the convention, and -described to her the visit of the enrolling officers who had come up -there to enlist men for the Confederate army. - -“Did they get any?” inquired Mrs. Sprague. - -“Not much. There were a thousand men there under arms, and that is -rather more than two men want to handle. They know all about our plans, -for Knight showed them the resolutions. Of course, they are going back -to their headquarters, and are going to make a fuss about it.” - -“I tell you it won’t be long now before we shall see some Confederate -soldiers up here, and I wonder if I dare shoot at any of them?” said -Leon. “If they will let me alone I believe I’ll let them alone.” - -“How about those rebels that we are going to drive away from here -to-morrow?” asked his father. “I think I have heard you say something -pretty rough against Carl Swayne.” - -“Well, that’s a different matter. Carl won’t let me alone, and I am -determined that hereafter I am going to live in peace. He told Tom Howe -that he wished he had been jammed up in that log heap, and I don’t like -to have people talk that way.” - -Early the next morning Mr. Sprague’s family were up and stirring. Leon -was surprised when he looked at his father. There was a determined -expression on his face, and the boy became aware that he was about to -engage in an enterprise that promised at some future time to bring him -no end of trouble. Leon took his cue from it, and from that time he was -not so joyous as he had been. He took his revolver out, shot it at a -mark, and then proceeded to load it very carefully. There was only a man -and a boy and two women in the family he intended to send out of the -county, and Leon could not understand that determined look on his -father’s face. When he sat down at the breakfast-table he asked him -about it. - -“Father, you seem to think you are going to have a handful in sending -that Swayne family away from among their friends,” said he. “What do you -look for?” - -“I don’t look for anything now,” said Mr. Sprague. “There will be a time -when they will come back. Old man Swayne is a fighter, and it will stand -us well in hand to get rid of him entirely.” - -The conversation was dropped there, and they ate breakfast in silence. -Before it was fairly ended the five men on whom Mr. Sprague was -depending to assist him stepped up on the porch and came into the house. -They were all invited to sit down and take another breakfast, but all -declined, having broken their fast several hours before. - -“You see, Mrs. Sprague, we got an order from the Secretary of War, and -we’ve got to be on hand,” said one of the men. “It would not do to go -back on anything he tells us.” - -“I don’t know what they put me in for that office for,” said Mr. -Sprague. “I don’t see that I have got anything to do.” - -“Well, wait until it comes to fighting, and then you will find plenty to -do. Now if you are all ready we’ll go on,” said the man, forgetting that -he was giving orders to his superior officer. “We can’t get rid of that -Swayne family any too quick. They’re all the time boasting and bragging -of what they intend to do, and now we will give them a chance.” - -Leon found opportunity to kiss his mother good-bye, and when he went out -on the porch, where Tom Howe was sitting and waiting for him, they fell -in behind the men, who shouldered their rifles and marched at a brisk -pace toward Mr. Swayne’s house. There was no attempt at military -movement, for there was not one in the party who knew anything about it, -but they went ahead just as if they were going hog-hunting in the woods. -In due time they came to a cross-roads which led down to Swayne’s house, -and here they stopped, for there was something that drew their attention -and angered them not a little. Before they left Ellisville, on the day -of the convention, Mr. Knight had given several copies of the -resolutions to men living in different parts of the county, with the -request that they should nail them up on trees (there was no -printing-press in the county), in order to give those who were not there -timely notice of what they had done. The man who served this notice -performed his duty, for the tacks were in the tree plain enough, but it -hadn’t been able to do much good. The notice had been torn down and the -pieces scattered about on the ground. - -“Well, I do think in my soul!” began one of the men, “he wasn’t going to -let anybody see it, was he?” - -“Look here,” exclaimed Leon, who had grown wonderfully sharp sighted of -late; “I know who did it. It was that miserable Carl Swayne. Do you not -see his footprints here in the dust?” - -“That’s so. Now what shall we do with him? Sprague, you are Secretary of -War, and you ought to be able to say what shall be done with him. Knight -never thought yesterday, when he gave out those resolutions, that -somebody would go to work and pull them down.” - -Meanwhile Leon had been busy gathering up the torn fragments of the -resolution that were scattered around. When he got them together he -compared them and saw they were all there. - -“I’ll fix him,” said he. “And I’ll make him so sorry that he ever tore -this down that he’ll go by a resolution the next time he sees it.” - -“What are you going to do?” - -“I’ll make him write it over again and come here and put it up,” said -Leon, savagely. - -“That’s the idea,” said Tom Howe. “He pulled it down, and of course he -must put it up. I’ll be close at your heels when you are doing it.” - -Mr. Sprague said nothing, but Leon noticed that the look on his face got -deeper than ever. He led the way at increased speed toward Swayne’s -house, and in a few minutes turned through the carriageway and saw Mr. -Swayne and his nephew, Carl, sitting on the front porch. They evidently -grew alarmed at seeing them, for they arose from their chairs and held -on to the backs of them. - -“Good morning,” said Swayne, and his voice trembled and his hand shook -as he hauled up some chairs for them to seat themselves. “I did not -expect to see so many of you here this fine morning.” - -“We have no time to sit down,” said Mr. Sprague, who was supposed to do -all the talking. “You are a rebel, are you not?” - -“Well—yes; that is it depends on what you call a rebel,” said Mr. -Swayne, trying to laugh at his own wit. “I am opposed to your trying to -take this county out of the State; because why—” - -“So I supposed. We have come here to tell you that you can pack up and -leave this county as soon as you please. We don’t want to hear any -argument about it.” - -“Why—why, where shall I go to?” exclaimed Swayne, while the boy turned -whiter than ever. “If I leave here, I leave everything I have got behind -me.” - -“We will give you an hour to pack up things. If you are in the house at -the end of that time, we shall set fire to it.” - -“Well, now, see here,” said Swayne, who grew more frightened than ever; -“I can’t pack up in an hour—” - -“I have told you just what I intend to do,” said Mr. Sprague, consulting -his watch. “It is now ten o’clock. If you are in here at eleven we shall -set the house going. If you are out of it in that time, why, we’ll save -it. You want to make up your mind in a hurry.” - -“Of all the brazen-faced fellows I ever saw you are the beat,” said -Swayne, his fear giving place to anger. “I wish I had half a dozen -Confederate soldiers here to protect me.” - -“By gum! We’ll set the house a-going before you get out of it,” said one -of Mr. Sprague’s men. “You ain’t a-going to talk to us like that.” - -“One moment, Bud. We’ll sit down here on the porch until he gets through -being mad, and then maybe he’ll pack up. You had better go, Swayne, for -as sure as we are sitting on this porch, so sure will we set fire to -it.” - -In the meantime Leon and Tom had stood close together, and as Carl -flounced into the house after his uncle, the two bounded up the steps -and went up to the frightened boy. - -“A word in your ear,” said Leon. - -“Well, I don’t want anything to do with you,” said Carl, almost ready to -cry when he found himself driven away from his home. “A man who will do -as you have done has no business with a white person.” - -“One moment,” said Leon, while Tom cocked his gun and brought it to bear -on Carl’s head. “That brings you to your senses, don’t it? Here’s a -resolution of secession that my father got up yesterday, and which was -left on a tree down here, and I found it torn up and strewn on the -ground. Did you have a hand in it?” - -“Say, Tom, I want you to turn that gun the other way,” said Carl, who -dared not move for fear that the rifle would still be pointed at him. - -“Did you have a hand in it?” repeated Leon. - -“Yes, I did,” said Carl, who, remembering that his uncle had got off -easy by showing some grit, now resolved to show a little himself. “I -will tear up every one you put there.” - -“Well, I want you to go into the house and bring out some writing -materials, and sit down at this table here on the porch and draw up a -full copy of this resolution,” said Leon; and Carl had never heard him -speak so before. As he spoke he drew a revolver from his pocket. - -“I can’t write as well as that,” stammered Carl, who saw that he had got -to do something very soon. “I wish you would put that revolver away. You -don’t know how it worries me to have those things in sight.” - -“You can write well enough. Go and get the pen and ink. And mind you, -you want to be out here in short order, or we will be in there after -you.” - -Carl hurried into the house, while Tom uncocked his gun and leaned upon -it, and Leon put his revolver into his pocket. They didn’t think they -would have any more use for them. Carl went at once to the room in which -his aunt was busy packing up some of her clothes, and the face he -brought with him was enough to attract anybody’s attention. - -“Well, Carl, this is pretty rough, ain’t it?” said his uncle, who was -engaged in getting some of his own things together. - -“I should say it was,” whimpered Carl. “Are you not going to be revenged -on these fellows?” - -“We’ll be revenged on them so quick that they won’t know it,” said his -aunt, in a husky voice. She didn’t cry, but her hands trembled and her -face was very white. - -“Where are your writing materials, aunt? That little Leon Sprague is -going to make me write out those resolutions I tore down. I wish, with -uncle, that we had some half a dozen Confederate soldiers here. Wouldn’t -we make a scattering among them?” - -“Carl, you can’t have those writing materials,” said his aunt, who was -struck motionless with surprise. “Tell him that we haven’t got any in -the house. The young jackanapes! Where’s your rifle, that you don’t use -it? I wish I were a man for about twenty minutes. There wouldn’t be so -many of them as there are now.” - -“But, aunt, they have got fire-arms, and they pulled them on me,” said -Carl. “If I don’t get them out there very soon they will come after me.” - -“You will find them in the top bureau drawer,” said his aunt, who began -to think it was necessary to show a little speed. “Wait until I get my -things all together and get out there, I will give them a piece of my -mind.” - -“Now, Lydia, you want to be mighty careful what you say out there,” said -her husband. “They have got weapons, and they had just as soon use them -as not. It is a pretty piece of business, this allowing strangers to -drive us away from our home, but I tell you we’ll have revenge for it -sooner or later. Pack up all your things in a hurry, for we have an hour -left us in which to save our home.” - -Carl, seeing that his uncle had no way to propose for him to get out of -making a copy of that secession resolution, hunted up the writing -materials as soon as he could, and went out on the porch with them. He -found Leon and Tom there, and they were getting impatient. - -“Look here,” said the former, “if you want to help your uncle get his -things together you will move a little spryer than that. Now, sit down -at this table and make out a full copy of this paper, just as it was -when you pulled it down.” - -“I’ll bet you won’t always have things all your own way,” said Carl, as -he seated himself and removed the stopper from the ink-bottle. “You -don’t suppose we’ll come back, do you?” - -“I suppose you will, and that you will have men with you,” said Leon. -“But you must bring all of two thousand men to put this rebellion down. -Don’t let’s have any more talk. Go on and write out that paper.” - -“And remember, it’s got to be the same as it was there,” said Tom, when -he saw Carl arrange the pieces without reference to what came after -them. “If you don’t, you will have to write it over again.” - -While Carl was busy with his copying his uncle and aunt came out on the -porch. They didn’t say a word, but brought with them a large bundle of -clothing that they wanted to save. Aunt Lydia showed that she would have -annihilated Mr. Sprague if she could, for the glance she cast upon him -was full of hate. Mr. Swayne then took a horn down from a nail under the -porch and blew two long blasts upon it. That was a signal to let the -field-hands know that they were wanted. Presently the field-hands came -up, a half a dozen of them, and although they may have been very smart -negroes, the clothing which they wore did not proclaim the fact. There -was hardly a piece of cloth on them that wasn’t patched until it was -almost ready to drop off their persons. They looked on in surprise when -they saw so many Union men there (they used to say that the darkies were -rather blunt in such matters, and that they didn’t know who the Union -men were), and saw the piles of clothing that had been brought out, but -the first words their master spoke to them cleared everything up. - -“We’ve got to go away from home now, or these men are going to burn it,” -said Mr. Swayne. “Hitch those mules to the lumber-wagons and bring them -up here. Be in a hurry, now, for we have no time to waste.” - -The darkies rolled their eyes in great astonishment, and then went about -their work with alacrity. In a few minutes the wagons were driven up to -the door, and the darkies began to pile in the clothes. While Mr. -Sprague was watching them he became aware that somebody was trying to -attract his attention. A pebble thrown by a friendly hand hit him on the -shoulder. He faced about, and saw one of the darkies behind the house. -When he saw Mr. Sprague looking at him he beckoned to him to come where -he was. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - CARL BRINGS NEWS. - - -“Say, Marse Sprague, is you Union men going to burn dese houses ober -deir heads?” began the darky, so excited that he could scarcely stand -still. - -“We have given them an hour to take their things out,” said Mr. Sprague. -“If they don’t take them out in that time we’ll set the house a-going. -If they get all their things out and loaded in the wagons we’ll save the -house, so that they can have something to live in when these troubles -are all over.” - -“Whar do you reckon dey’ll go if dey get the things all tooken out?” -asked the negro. - -“I don’t know where they will go; over into the next county, probably. -But what makes you so anxious?” - -“Well, say, Marse Sprague, I don’t care to go ober into the next county -wid ’em. Dey’s rebels ober dere.” - -“So I have heard.” - -“Well, I don’t want to go among dose rebels ’cause I won’t get no -freedom. Dey say we’ll get it in a little while if we stays here among -dese Union men.” - -“Who told you that?” - -“Your own Mose told me dat, sah.” - -“Is Mose going to take his freedom when he can get it?” - -“Sah? No, sah. He say he’s got a Marse who don’t stripe his jacket none, -and he ain’t a-going to look at his freedom. I tell you, I don’t care to -go ober into dat oder county wid dem people here.” - -“What are you going to do about it?” - -“We-uns didn’t know what to do about it. If we slip away from dem while -dey are going ober dar can dey catch us?” - -“I don’t know whether they can or not. There’s been an Emancipation -Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln, saying that if they don’t quit -their rebellion in six months he will declare their niggers all free.” - -“Dat’s just what I want to get at, sah,” said the negro, pounding his -knees and shaking his head as if he were overjoyed to hear it. “Dat’s -just what I want, sah. De rebels ain’t a-going to go and get up such a -’bellion, and den go and give it up ’cause somebody tells ’em to. I -ain’t a-going into dat oder county, and the first thing Marse Swayne -knows my folks and me will be missing.” - -“Well, you have got to depend on yourself,” said Mr. Sprague. “I cannot -help you if you do run away from them.” - -“I knows dat mighty well. But you just watch out and see if you hain’t -got more black folks up to your plantation dan you ought to have. You is -a Union man and I know it, and you ain’t a-going to give me up just -’cause Marse Swayne says so.” - -The negro started one way because he heard somebody calling him, and Mr. -Sprague joined the men on the porch feeling as if he had a big -responsibility resting upon him. He didn’t agree to take all the darkies -in the county who might make up their minds to run away from their -masters, and how was he going to support them all and find work for them -to do? - -“I tell you, this thing is coming to a head,” said Mr. Sprague to the -man who sat next to him. “You remember what Stephens said about having a -Government whose cornerstone should be slavery?” - -The man remembered it perfectly. They used to get Confederate papers -when the war first broke out, but now that they were in rebellion, and -the postmaster was a rebel, they didn’t get a sight of one. The man who -had charge of the office removed to Mobile as soon as he saw how things -were going, and since then there had not been any post-office. - -“Well, sir, old Cuff has just been talking to me, and he thinks of -running away. He says that if he goes over into the other county he -won’t get his freedom.” - -“Good” said the man. “I am glad of it. We’ll see how their -‘corner-stone’ is going to hold out when they get their Confederacy. But -they ain’t a-going to whip.” - -“But this old Cuff thinks I am going to support him,” said Mr. Sprague. -“I haven’t got any work for him to do.” - -“Send him into the woods to cut logs for you,” said the man. - -“I might do that, but I don’t see where I am going to find market for -them. But I will get along somehow. Well, half an hour is gone, and they -haven’t got many things out yet. Leon and Tom seem to be making it all -right with Carl, don’t they?” - -The two boys referred to stood patiently by until the resolutions were -complete; then Tom took his copy and Leon fastened his eyes upon the -torn manuscript and waited for him to read it. It was all correct; there -wasn’t a mistake in it. - -“You write a pretty good hand for a boy who hasn’t been to school more -than you have,” said Leon. - -“Keep your compliments for them that need them,” said Carl, snappishly. -“I don’t care to hear them.” - -“You haven’t got through with this business yet,” said Leon, in a voice -which he meant should carry conviction with it. “You found this -resolution on a tree, and you tore it down so that people couldn’t see -it. I intend that you shall go back and post this thing up there.” - -“But you told me I should have to help my uncle carry out his things,” -said Carl, anxious to shirk all the responsibility he could. - -“Oh, we’ll wait until you carry out your things,” said Leon, with a -smile. “You are going right by the tree, and it won’t hurt you at all to -stop and nail this thing up.” - -Carl gathered up the pen and ink and disappeared in the house, and Leon -and Tom went down the steps to join the men who were sitting there. - -“I got it, but I had hard work in getting it, too,” said Leon. “How much -longer time has he got?” - -“Not quite fifteen minutes,” said Mr. Sprague. - -“And I see he is hustling things more lively than he did. You won’t -start the fire when the quarter of an hour is up, seeing that he is -doing the best he can to get them out?” - -“Oh, no. I wanted to see him get to work, that is all.” - -At the end of half an hour the furniture and clothes they intended to -take with them had been loaded on the wagons, and then the women began -to slam the blinds and fasten them securely. When Mr. Swayne came out on -the porch he locked that door and put the key into his pocket. - -“We have got some things in there yet, but we don’t want these traitors -to have them,” said his wife, in a tone which was intended very plainly -for the ears of Mr. Sprague and his friends. “Let them go somewhere else -and steal somebody else poor.” - -Mr. Swayne did not pay any attention to it. He buttoned up the key in -his pocket, and looked all around as if he were searching for someone. -At last he called out: - -“Cuff! Where is that lazy nigger Cuff? Come here this minute, or I will -stripe your jacket till you can’t rest.” - -Mr. Sprague was surprised. He thought it very likely that he could tell -Mr. Swayne what had become of the negro Cuff. He had been sent with all -his companions to the quarters to bring some clothes and other things -they wanted to save, and he hadn’t showed up since. It would be very -easy for them to slip through the cornfield, and so into the woods, and -that was right where Cuff was when his master was calling him. - -“Carl, suppose you run down to the quarters and hurry them up,” said his -uncle. “We want to get away from here as soon as we can. There’s too -many Union people here.” - -The man who had threatened to burn the house before they got out of it -was sitting on the steps a little way from Mr. Sprague. He wiggled and -twisted and wanted to say something in return, but there was his -superior officer who didn’t say anything, and he thought he would hold -in for a better opportunity. Carl was away about fifteen minutes, and -when he came back his face bore evidence that he was utterly confounded. - -“There ain’t a nigger about the quarters,” said he. “Their clothes, both -bedding and wearing apparel, are gone, and that proves that they have -run away.” - -“That’s the first time I ever had a nigger serve me that way,” said Mr. -Swayne, pacing up and down the porch. “Run away, have they? If I ever -get my hands on them I’ll make it awfully uneasy for them to lie down, -now I tell you. Did you follow them into the woods to see where they -went?” - -“No, I didn’t. I saw their tracks leading through the cornfield, and -then I came home to report the matter to you. Those niggers think they -are going to get their freedom now.” - -“Yes, and you might have expected it,” said his aunt, turning her -flashing eyes upon Mr. Sprague. “What are these Union men here for if it -isn’t to coax the niggers away from an honest Confederate?” - -“Mrs. Swayne, we had no hand in inducing your negroes to run away from -you,” said Mr. Sprague, who now began to get angry. “They said they were -not going into the other county with you, and I told them that they must -depend entirely upon themselves.” - -“By gum! You want to see your house go before you get away from it,” -said the man who had threatened to burn them out. “Any more such talk as -that and I’ll set her a-going; by gum I will.” - -“Carl, you will have to do some driving for us, for we can’t stop to -hunt the niggers,” said Mr. Swayne. - -“Oh, now, I didn’t agree to do driving,” whined Carl. “Let’s stop and go -into the woods after them.” - -“You have already got your things loaded on the wagons, and I must ask -you to drive on,” said Mr. Sprague. “It is my duty to stay by you until -you get beyond Ellisville.” - -“Carl, jump on that wagon and drive after me,” said Mr. Swayne. “I don’t -want to hear any more argument about it.” - -“Tom, you haven’t got any horse, and I advise you to get into that wagon -with Carl,” said Leon. “When you come to the tree on which the -resolution was posted, make him get out and post this one in its place. -He’ll object, but we can’t help it.” - -While Carl was tying his riding-horse behind the wagon Tom climbed in -and seated himself on the table which had been placed there for one of -the negroes who had gone off with Cuff. Carl saw what he was doing, but -didn’t make any fuss about it. He had arrived at his uncle’s conclusion -that the best thing they could do was to take no notice of the Union -men. By doing that they would irritate them, and they would not have so -much to brag of when they talked about driving Confederate families out -of the county. But they didn’t know Mr. Sprague and his friends. The -task was one they did not like, but they did it because they had been -ordered to. Carl kept his mouth resolutely closed until they came to the -tree from which he had torn down the resolutions. He whipped up his -mules when he came there, but Tom laid hold of the reins and stopped -them. - -“Now, Carl, this is the place,” said he. “Here’s the notice, and you -want to get out and tack it up. The nails are all there.” - -Carl didn’t know whether to refuse or not, but just then Leon came up on -his side of the wagon. Leon had a revolver in his pocket, and Carl did -not like to see that; so he grabbed the notice and sprang out of the -wagon. In a few minutes it was tacked up just the same as it was before. - -“There,” said Leon, “that will do. Now anybody who comes along here and -who wasn’t at the convention can see what we did there.” - -“Now I guess you had better get out,” said Carl, addressing himself to -Tom Howe. - -“No, I reckon not,” replied Tom. “I’ve got to go with you as long as you -stay in the county, and I reckon I can get along here as well as I can -afoot. Drive on.” - -Carl at once closed his lips and had nothing more to say. As they were -going by his own house, Leon noticed that there was nobody present, for -his mother was too refined a woman to take such a paltry vengeance on -those who did not believe as she did, but there was one little -circumstance that attracted his attention. He was certain that he saw -old Cuff’s cottonade coat disappear around the house. He did not have -more than a glimpse of it, but he was sure it was there. When they -arrived at the cross-roads they met ten more men on foot who were -escorting four more wagon-loads of secessionists to Perry county, which -was the nearest place they could get and be among friends. They never -said a word, but fell in behind Mr. Sprague, and followed along after -him. They were all armed with rifles, and some of them had revolvers -stuck in their belts. The sight of these men made Carl open his eyes. He -had not dreamed that there were so many Union men in the county. - -“I believe you’ve got more Yankees here than Confederates,” said he. - -“These men are not Yankees,” said Tom. “They are men born here in the -South. But these ain’t a patching to what we’ve got. If you had been -down to that convention you would have seen a thousand men under arms. -There were so many of them that we couldn’t get them all in the church. -Some of them had to stay outside and raise the windows.” - -“Well, what did you do there besides pass the resolutions of secession?” -asked Carl; for now that his uncle was out of hearing he seemed anxious -to learn what had been going on at that meeting. - -“We elected officers,” said Tom. - -“Didn’t you do anything else?” - -“Well, yes. There was a couple of enrolling officers came there to -enlist men for the Confederate army, and we sent them back where they -came from.” - -“Then the rebels don’t allow that this county is out of the State, do -they?” said Carl, who was overjoyed to hear it. “You have got your own -way this time, but I tell you we are coming back. And I won’t forget the -boys that drew fire-arms on me.” - -“Well, that’s right. I suppose they won’t draw any more on you?” - -“No, sir, they won’t,” said Carl, hotly. “I don’t mind talking this way -to you, but I do hate the sight of that revolver that Leon Sprague has -in his pocket. Where is he now?” - -“He is back talking to those men that came up awhile ago,” said Tom. “He -can’t hear you, but you must remember that we can fight tolerable -sharp.” - -Leon had gradually slackened his pace until the single man on horseback, -who seemed to be the leader of the party, came up and rode beside him. - -“Well, sir, you got ’em, didn’t you?” said the man. “You know, when your -father said he would go up after that man yesterday I felt rather -anxious about him. I thought he would fight, sure.” - -“Well, he didn’t. He did not show any signs of it. He was mighty saucy, -though, and so was that nephew of his.” - -“One of our men was sassy, too. Do you see that man driving the next -wagon? He’s got a big lump under his eye. Bob Lee hit him.” - -“Now, what did he do that for? Bob had the right on his side, and there -was no reason why he should get mad and strike the man. My father had -just as good reason to hit Swayne, but he didn’t do it.” - -“He had no business to be sassy. If Bob hadn’t a hit him I would. He -said that he hoped to goodness that the rebels would come in and take -the last scalp from our heads. When Bob asked him to take it back he -said he wouldn’t do it, and so Bob upended him. That was the last sassy -word given to us. It showed them that we were in earnest. Hello! There’s -three more fellows come up and are talking to your father, and by -gracious! one of them is a rebel. Let’s go there and see what they have -got to say.” - -Leon and his friend urged their horses forward, and in a few minutes -drew up beside Mr. Sprague, who was listening to some words the rebel -had to say to him. As he spoke he looked at the women and Mr. Swayne, -and then sank his voice almost to a whisper. - -“Colonel, are these some rebels that you are taking out of the county?” -said he. - -“We have got so far with them, and we expect to get the rest of the -way,” answered Mr. Sprague. - -“I want you to come off on one side so that I can talk to you without -fear of being overheard,” said the rebel. “Now,” he added, as the men -moved some distance down the road, “the rebels are going to move a big -wagon-train along that road to-morrow. You see they have got to go -around this county, for they don’t want to run the risk of being -captured if they pass through here.” - -“We stopped and saw President Knight about it, and he advised us to come -on and see you,” said one of the men who had acted as guard to the -rebel. - -“Take his gun away from him,” said Mr. Sprague, and the rebel promptly -gave it up, together with his ammunition-box and bayonet. “Have you any -other weapons about you?” - -“Nary one, sah,” said the rebel. “My family is down here a little ways -from Ellisville, and you may know that I am all right when I bring them -with me.” - -“How did you say you escaped?” - -“I wasn’t conscripted, as a great many were, but there was such a -pressure brought to bear upon me that I thought I might as well go into -the army instead of waiting until I was conscripted in reality. I have -been in the service only six months, but I have been in three or four -little engagements. I live in Perry county, and when I found out what -you were doing here, how you had never sent any men into the army, and -how there were a thousand men here who didn’t intend to go at all, I -wrote to my wife, advising her to come here and I would join her after -awhile; but she wrote back that she wouldn’t stir a step unless I came. -On the night I escaped I was on guard, and the corporal hadn’t any more -than got away from me when I was missing. I travelled all night, and at -daylight reached my home. I packed up what few things I wanted to save -and came here, and one of my mules dropped dead as soon as I got to -Ellisville. I wanted the President to go on at once and capture that -train, but he thought I had better come on and see you about it.” - -“Well, you tell a pretty straight story, and I shall have to put some -faith in it until I can prove the contrary,” said Mr. Sprague. - -“You are at liberty to disprove my story in any way you can,” said the -rebel, earnestly. “I am dead shot on this thing, and if this county is -going to stay out of the Confederacy I am going to stay out, too.” - -“I shall have to send you to my house,” said Mr. Sprague. - -“Send me anywhere, sah, but stop and explain to my family why I don’t -come home. She will appreciate the reason, for she is a soldier’s wife.” - -“Father, come here a minute. I don’t see what’s the use of sending that -rebel to our house,” said Leon, when his father had drawn off on one -side. “He must have a camp down there in Ellisville, and, now he has -given up his weapons, I don’t see how he is going to get away. There are -fully five hundred men camped around Ellisville now.” - -“Well, that is so,” said Mr. Sprague, after reflecting a moment. “I -think I had better take him on to Ellisville and leave him there, with -plenty of men to watch him.” - -“That would be my way, certainly.” - -“Forward, march!” shouted Mr. Sprague, as he placed himself at the head -of his little train, and the cavalcade once more moved onward. The rebel -kept close at his side, and Leon rode a little ways behind him. There -was one thing that drew the boy’s attention, and that was the rebel’s -horse. Although she was tired, her gait showed that she fretted and -fumed at the bit as if she was anxious to go faster. She was a beautiful -animal, with limbs so small that they did not look strong enough to -support her weight. - -“May I ask you where you got that horse?” said Leon, after he had -watched her for some length of time. - -“I stole her from the wagon-master,” said the rebel. “I should not have -been able to get home if it hadn’t been for her. I did the rebels all -the damage I could before leaving them.” - -“There must be some escort with that wagon-train, isn’t there?” inquired -Mr. Sprague. - -“There are twenty-five men, including two officers,” replied the rebel. -“But half of them you needn’t be afraid of, for they are all Union.” - -“How many wagons are there in the train?” - -“Forty;” whereat Leon opened his eyes in surprise. - -“Will the teamsters fight?” - -“Fight!” exclaimed the rebel, in disgust. “No, they won’t. Half of them -are armed, but they don’t know what it is to fight. When they see you -coming up with your guns all ready the majority of them will throw up -their hands.” - -If ever there was a happy man in that train it was the rebel. He joked -and laughed because he said he was among friends once more and could say -what he pleased, and all the way to Ellisville entertained his auditors -with thrilling stories of his earliest battles. He told how frightened -he was when he got into the first one, and how he looked around for a -hollow log into which he could crawl and get out of sight; but there -were his companions all standing up without being shot, and his pride -made him stay right where he was. At three o’clock they reached -Ellisville, where the President had located his office. As Leon had -said, there were at least five hundred men camped around there, some -with their families, some had no homes at all, but all wanted to be -where they could feel that they were of some assistance to Mr. Knight. -They knew that when a raid was made upon the county it would come from -Perry, the county next on the south, and they calculated to be at hand -to stop it. Here Mr. Sprague halted his train and went in to hold an -interview with the President, taking the rebel’s gun with him. He was -gone but a few minutes, and when he came out his countenance indicated -that he had resolved upon something. He mounted his horse and rode in -among the lean-tos and other shelters which the men had erected for -themselves, and shouted “Attention!” at the top of his voice, and -immediately every man who heard him came running up to see what was the -matter. When he thought he had got a sufficient number about him, Mr. -Sprague proceeded to unfold his plans. It wasn’t the way that a majority -of leaders do, for they never let their men know what sort of dangers -they are going to meet until they get fairly into them. - -“We are going out to-morrow to attack that wagon-train,” said Mr. -Sprague, “and I want all of you who can go to be on hand here bright and -early.” - -“Good!” exclaimed one. “Then we’ll have something to eat.” - -Mr. Sprague then went on to tell them how many wagons there were in the -train, how many teamsters, and how large an escort of soldiers; for he -put implicit faith in the rebel’s word. He was certain that five hundred -men, if he could secure that many, advancing with their guns at full -cock, would take all the fight out of them. Mr. Sprague was careful not -to talk so loud as to attract the attention of Mr. Swayne, for he knew -that he would warn the Confederates. Having given his men something to -think about, he rode back to place himself at the head of his train, -which moved away toward the county line. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - CAPTURING A WAGON-TRAIN. - - -“Now,” said Mr. Sprague, when Leon rode up beside him, “you want to go -and tell your mother the reason that I don’t come home to-night. I shall -have to stay here with the men, to be ready to start out with them at an -early hour.” - -“Then after that I suppose I can stay at home,” said Leon. - -“Yes; I think that would be the best place for you. Those twenty-five -men, and all of them old soldiers, are not going to give up that -wagon-train without some resistance.” - -“Well, now, I’ll tell you what’s a fact, father,” said Leon, decidedly. -“I just ain’t a-going to stay at home.” - -“Why not?” said Mr. Sprague, in surprise. - -“If you are going to meet those men, I am going, too. You needn’t think -you are going into danger without my being close beside you. I wouldn’t -dare look mother in the face again if I should be guilty of remaining at -home.” - -Mr. Sprague looked down at the horn of his saddle and thought about it. -Leon had really more pluck than his father thought he had, and after -awhile he thought it would be better to let the boy have his own way in -the matter. - -“I don’t see what is the use of sending any word at all home to mother,” -said Leon, after pondering what his father had said. “She knows that we -are in the service of the county, and she won’t care whether we come -home or not. The best way would be to stay right down here and go home -when we get the job done.” - -This settled the matter, and Mr. Sprague never referred to it again. -About eight o’clock they arrived at the little bridge which spanned the -creek that flowed between Jones and Perry counties, and there Mr. -Sprague halted his men and motioned to Mr. Swayne to go on. The man -complied, and when he had got far enough across to let all the wagons -that came after him get a footing on Confederate soil he stopped and -jumped out. - -“Thank goodness I’ve got a white man’s ground under my feet!” he -exclaimed; and no one had ever seen him so mad before. He seemed to be -holding in for just this occasion, and he was so angry that he could -scarcely speak plainly. “I suppose that now I can talk to you as I have -a mind to.” - -“Draw yourselves in line across this bridge and hold your guns in -readiness to shoot,” said Mr. Sprague in a low tone to his men. “He may -open fire on us before we can get under cover. Oh, yes, you can say what -you please, now,” he said, in his ordinary voice. “But I wouldn’t say -too much till I get behind that bend.” - -“Well, I want to say this much to you,” shouted Mr. Swayne; “you have -had your own way this time, but we are coming back in less than a week -to clean you all out.” - -“And remember this,” exclaimed Carl from his place in the wagon. “I will -bear in mind the boys who drew shooting-irons on me, you see if I don’t. -I’ll tear down that notice, and every other one that I can find.” - -“And you, Bob Lee, I’ll remember you,” said the man with a lump under -his eye. “I’ll teach you that the next man who says anything about the -Confederates—well, you had better let him alone, that’s all,” he added, -when he saw Bob raise his gun to his shoulder. - -“If you are all ready, go on,” said Mr. Sprague. - -Mr. Swayne was a long time in getting into his wagon. He would place his -foot upon the hub, and then one of the men would say something insulting -in regard to the men they had just left, and Mr. Swayne would take his -foot down and stand there until he heard what the man had to say. He was -in earnest when he said they were coming back to clean the Union men all -out, and that there wouldn’t be hide nor hair of them left when they did -come, and finally he got into his wagon and drove on. When he looked -behind to see what had become of Mr. Sprague and his party, he saw them -just disappearing around the nearest bend in the road. - -“I wish I dared shoot at them,” said he. - -“Well, I’ll shoot at them, and welcome,” said the man whom Bob Lee had -struck, as he reached for his gun. - -“Don’t do it, Jim,” expostulated Mr. Swayne. - -“Dog-gone it, don’t you see the bump under my eye?” said the man. “I can -see the chap who did it, and I can pick him off just as easy as you -would kill a squirrel.” - -“If you shoot at them they will come back here and arrest the whole of -us, and take us back to their camp and make us stand a court-martial,” -said Mr. Swayne. “I am not a-going to stand punishment for your deeds -and mine into the bargain.” - -This view of the matter rather arrested the man’s hand, and he sat with -his gun resting across his knees, muttering curses not loud but deep, -until he saw the Union men disappear around a bend in the road. Mr. -Sprague knew that he stood a chance of being fired upon, and that was -what he intended to do; he would arrest the whole of them and take them -to camp. But Mr. Swayne was a little too sharp for him. It was two -o’clock when they arrived at the camp, and the men, to show that they -knew what sort of respect ought to be paid to the Secretary of War, went -off to hunt up some forage for his horse and Leon’s before they went to -bed. - -“Well, Leon,” said Mr. Sprague, after the horses had been picketed with -plenty to eat and the men had all gone away, “we haven’t got any -blankets.” - -“No matter for that,” said Leon. “It won’t be the first time I have -slept out with nothing to cover me. Get some leaves, and they will do -just as well.” - -They walked along the road as they talked, and Mr. Sprague could not -help thinking what a big army he was going to have to attack that -wagon-train. Every step of the way he saw lean-tos, and he knew that -there were stalwart men sleeping under them. Finally he drew up before a -lean-to where there was a sentry sitting in front of the door. He did -not carry his arms at a “support,” nor did he bring his piece to “arms -port” and call out, “Who comes there?” when he saw Mr. Sprague and Leon -approaching. But he greeted him in regular backwoods style. - -“Hallo, Sprague” said he. “Did you get your parties through all right?” - -The Secretary of War replied that he did, adding— - -“This must be the home of that rebel, isn’t it?” - -“Yes. But he has been perfectly peaceable all night. He didn’t sleep at -all the night before.” - -“No; but I am awake now,” called out a voice from the inside; and there -was a little fussing in the cabin and the rebel came to the door. - -“Say, Colonel, are you going to stay here all night?” - -“That is the intention. I want to get an early start, and it is too far -for me to go home.” - -“Well, now, I know that you haven’t got any quilts,” said the rebel, -disappearing under the roof of the lean-to. “Here’s some that will add -to your comfort to-night. Take them and welcome.” - -Mr. Sprague thanked the rebel for his gift and spread the quilts down -where they intended to camp for the night, while Leon told himself that -it was a good thing to have a father who was Secretary of War, after -all. They slept soundly for a little while, but at half-past three Mr. -Sprague was awake and busily engaged in arousing the men. In less time -than it takes to tell it they were all up and cooking their breakfast, -and in an hour more the grove was empty. Five hundred men were going out -to attack that wagon-train, and, if possible, secure something to eat. -We don’t mean to say that they were hard up for provisions, for there -was bacon and corn-meal enough in the county to last them for months; -but we mean that they had lived so long on these things that they had -grown tired of them. They had been used to something better than that -before the war, and when their boats came back from tide-water, after -their owners had succeeded in selling their logs, the housewife found -pickles, canned meat and condensed milk enough to last her family for -six months. That was one thing that the men had in view; and another -thing, some of them were in need of clothes; and they believed that this -wagon-train had something of that kind stowed away for the boys in -Mobile. And, better than all—and here was the thing that led the men to -look with favor upon robbing the train—it would show the Confederates -they were in earnest;—just what the Union people wanted to do. - -It was a long march from the grove in Ellisville to the stream that -separated the two counties, but the men went about it in earnest and -determined to get there in time to stop that wagon-train. Of course, -there was plenty of joking and laughing while they were on their own -ground, but the moment they struck the bridge a deep silence fell upon -the company. We ought by rights to say that the men had been divided -into five companies, a hundred men in each, and that each one had three -officers to direct them; but the Union men of Jones county had not got -that far in military tactics. There was only one man at the head, Mr. -Sprague, and he had the full management of them. - -Mr. Sprague rode at the head of the line in company with all the men who -had horses, and there must have been about fifty of them, and when he -crossed the bridge he sent a dozen of them on ahead to travel at full -speed, to see if the wagon-train had passed. - -“I needn’t remind you that you want to go into every house you come to, -and if there is a man in there take him in,” said he. “Don’t say a word -to the women, but ketch the men. It won’t do to leave any rebels behind -us, for they can easily warn the train, and so we must take them with us -until we get the job done. Silas, I will appoint you captain of this -squad.” - -Silas raised his hand to his hat with something that was intended for a -military salute, called all his men about him, and went down the road at -a keen jump, while the rest of the company travelled on as before. An -hour afterward they came up with their scouts, and Silas at once rode up -to report. - -“The wagon-train hain’t passed yet, and we’ve got five men, and two of -them are rebels. We had to chase through a cornfield after one, and -fired two shots at him.” - -“Did you hit him?” - -“No, we didn’t hit him, but he was mighty ready to throw up his hands -when he heard the bullets whistling.” - -“Did you get their guns?” - -“Yes, we got them all safe.” - -“Now the best thing we can do,” said Mr. Sprague, turning about to face -his men, “is to go down the road and conceal ourselves in the bushes. -When you see me move my arm this way,” here he raised his arm above his -head and waved it toward the right and left of the road, “you will all -divide and go into the timber on different sides; and when you hear me -whistle this way,” he put his hand to his mouth and gave a whistle that -could have been heard a mile, “then you may know that it is time for you -to get down to business. But bear one thing in mind: Don’t shoot unless -you have to.” - -The company, or, more properly speaking, the battalion, moved on again, -and in half an hour not one of them was in sight. They had divided right -and left, as Mr. Sprague had directed, and taken up their positions on -opposite sides of the road, and there was not the least noise or -confusion about it. Two of the men had gone down the road to see if the -train was coming, and they were impatiently waiting their return. The -prisoners had all been turned over to Mr. Sprague, and he was having -something of a time with one of them, who was determined that he would -not hold his tongue. He had a very shrill voice, and when he spoke in -his ordinary tone it could be heard a long distance. - -“Now, Sprague, I don’t see the sense in your doing this,” said the -shrill-voiced man, and he seemed to have pitched his tones so loud that -they could have heard him at the end of the line. “You take me away from -my home, who never did the Union any harm—” - -“You are a nice fellow, you are,” said one of the men who happened to be -close around when the shrill-voiced person was talking. “I take notice -of the fact that Ebenezer Hale wanted to come up here so as to be among -Union men, and you heard his story, and when he was asleep that night -you went off and got a lot of rebels to surround and carry him off. -Where is he now? In jail, likely. And you, dog-gone you, you never did -the Union men any harm! You had oughter go to jail until this trouble is -all over.” - -“Well, now, Simeon, I did just what I thought was best for the -community. I didn’t have nothing against Ebenezer Hale, but I knew that -if he went into this fight—” - -“That’s enough,” said Mr. Sprague. “We have listened to you all we want -to.” - -“Now, Sprague, I shan’t quit talking until I have a mind to,” said the -shrill-voiced man. “You have undertaken more than you can accomplish, -and I say—” - -“Sim, cut a little piece of wood about four inches long, and tie a -string to each end of it,” said Mr. Sprague. “If Kelley don’t shut up -we’ll gag him.” - -“Oh, now, Mr. Sprague, don’t gag me,” said the man, sinking his voice -almost to a whisper this time. “I won’t say one word more. I won’t, upon -my honor.” - -The gag was duly cut and prepared, and nothing was wanting except -another word from Mr. Kelley to induce Sim to put it where it belonged; -but the man took just one look at it and concluded that the best thing -he could do was to keep still. He never showed any disposition to open -his head until the scouts were seen coming back with the information -that the train was approaching. They came in a hurry, too, as if they -were anxious to get something off their minds. - -“Where’s Sprague?” were the words they shouted as they galloped along -the road; whereupon Mr. Sprague showed himself. “The train is coming,” -they said, as soon as they came within hearing of their leader. “Every -blessed one of them is coming, and are acting as if they didn’t fear -anything.” - -“Did they see you?” inquired Mr. Sprague. - -“No, they didn’t. We hid our horses in the bushes, and then went and lay -down beside the road until we saw the train coming. Yes, sir, we’re -going to get them all.” - -Mr. Sprague and his scouts went into the bushes again out of sight, and -then he noticed that Mr. Kelley wasn’t so anxious to keep in the -background so much as he had been. He was even disposed to go out of the -bushes, but he hadn’t made many steps in that direction when Simeon -seized him by the collar and stretched him flat on his back. - -“Oh, now, Simeon—” - -“Not another word out of you,” said his guard, savagely. “You will get -the gag in your mouth as sure as you’re alive.” - -“Take your stand close behind him,” said Mr. Sprague, who was getting -angry now, “and with the very first words he utters shoot him down. We -are not going to have our plans spoilt for the sake of him.” - -Leon, who stood close at his father’s side and heard all this -conversation, grew as pale as death when he found that the wagon-train -was coming. He clutched his revolver nervously, and determined that -whatever danger his father got into he would be there to help him. The -leader glanced at his son’s pale face and said, in a low tone: - -“Leon, I think you had better stay here as a guard to these prisoners.” - -“Are you going out there to face that escort?” asked Leon. - -“Of course I am. I shall be right in the thickest of it.” - -“Then I’m going, too.” - -“But you will be safe here. They can’t hit you, even if they shoot at -you.” - -But Leon only shook his head, and at that moment somebody whispered that -the foremost wagons were in sight. That turned Mr. Sprague’s attention -into a new channel, and Leon was left to himself. He glanced at Simeon -and his captive, and was gratified to see that Mr. Kelley had been -forced to sit down, and Simeon was standing there with his cocked gun -ranged within two inches of his head. He wanted to speak, and made a -motion to Simeon to turn the gun the other way, but as often as he did -this the piece was raised to his guard’s shoulder, and the words froze -on his lips. - -The foremost wagon came along as rapidly as the mules could draw it, and -after what seemed an age to Leon the wagons were all in view. When the -leading wagon was almost opposite to him Mr. Sprague raised his hand to -his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Never in his life had he given a -better one. He wasn’t excited at all. There was a moment’s silence there -in the brush, and out popped the cavalry and infantry, and in less time -that it takes to tell it the wagon-train was surrounded. Not a shot was -fired. To say that the rebels were astounded would not half express -their feelings. Every teamster had three or four guns looking at him, -and the cavalry, who occupied the advance of the train, were surrounded -with horsemen that were two to their one. - -“Well, by George! You have done this up in good shape,” said the rebel -captain, after he had taken time to get his wits together. “What are -you—Union?” - -“Yes, sir; Union to the backbone,” replied Mr. Sprague. “May I trouble -you for your sword and revolver?” - -“That was as neat a surprise as I ever saw,” said the captain, as he -unbuckled his belt and handed it to Mr. Sprague. “You didn’t give us -time to fire a shot. What are you going to do with us? Put us in jail?” - -“No, sir. We shall allow you to go where you please,” said Mr. Sprague, -accepting the belt and fastening it about his own waist. “We are not -making war on your folks now, but on your provisions. We shall have to -take your horses, too. Dismount.” - -“I guess father’s all right, and now I’ll get some weapons of my own,” -said Leon, as he turned his horse and rode along the line of the escort. -“There must be some rebels in there that haven’t given up all their -fire-arms.” - -As he rode along he found a soldier on the inside of the third four who -held his weapons in his hand and was looking around for somebody to give -them to. When he saw Leon approaching he held his sword, revolver and -carbine toward him over his companion’s horse. - -“Come out here,” said Leon. “I shall have to take your horse as well as -your weapons.” - -“Well, I can’t help it, can I?” said the rebel, who was more inclined to -laugh than he was to feel despondent over it. He came out and proceeded -to give up his horse and weapons to Leon, and at the same time he took -particular pains to place himself on the boy’s side next to the woods. -In this way he could talk to him without his rebel friends hearing it. - -“Say,” he added, “you won’t take me to jail, will you?” - -“Certainly not,” said Leon. - -“Don’t talk so loud. I don’t want my companions to know that I have -found a friend among Union men. Let me go out in the woods a little -while, and I will come back sure when you are all ready to start for -home.” - -“You will only be giving yourself trouble if you do that,” said Leon, -who thought his rebel friend was taking a queer way to escape. “As soon -as we get your weapons we intend to turn you all loose, to go where you -please.” - -“But I don’t want to go with those rebels,” said the young soldier, -earnestly. “I am a Union man, and I went into the army because I had to. -I will come back, sure.” - -“Well, go ahead, but don’t let anybody see you.” - -When Leon led the captured horse back to his father’s side he found that -the escort had all been dismounted and disarmed, and were now standing -there and awaiting further orders. Some were disposed to be angry and -sullen, while others were laughing over what they considered a -first-class surprise. Mr. Sprague was highly elated over it. He did not -show it, but there was something about him that made Leon feel happy, -too. The goods that were captured that day must have been worth -$500,000. - -“Now, Captain, you are all right, and I will bid you good-day,” said Mr. -Sprague. “You can go ahead, and as fast as the teamsters come up, we’ll -send them on after you. Silas, go back there and send up all the -teamsters.” - -“But suppose they don’t want to go?” said Silas. - -“Then leave them behind. If they want to go and join the Confederate -army, send them up here; but if they want to stay and join the Union -forces, let them alone.” - -“Colonel, I suppose I can say what I please, can’t I?” said the rebel -captain. “You have got the dead-wood on me now, but it won’t be long -before I’ll come back. Then I shall ask you for my sword.” - -In a few minutes the teamsters began to come up, and, as they -approached, Mr. Sprague told them to fall in behind the escort, which -was marching down the road. Leon kept a close watch on them, but didn’t -count more than thirty who wanted to go back to the Confederacy. There -must have been at least ten of them who wanted to stay with the Union -men. The next thing was to turn the mules around and start back home. -This occupied a good deal of time, for the mules were balky; and some of -them would not “back;” but those five hundred men soon took the “balky” -out of them, and in half an hour more the wagons were all turned around -and the train was on its way to Ellisville. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - THE MARCH HOMEWARD. - - -Leon remained beside his father until the wagons were turned around, and -when he ordered the cavalry ahead to take its place at the advance of -the column, he went with them. Forty wagons, and some of them were -loaded so heavily that four mules could scarcely draw them. Everybody -was pleased with the performance. If all the wagon-trains they captured -were to be taken as easily as that, they had no fear but that they -should have grub enough. Every driver’s seat was filled with men who -thought that they preferred riding to walking, and they all joined in -and sang, at the top of their voices: - - “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.” - -How the song got down there they didn’t know. Probably some of those who -had been prisoners in the hands of the Federals, and there were a good -many old soldiers in the lot, had heard it sung by their captors, and -now that they were fighting for the Union they resolved to imitate them -as far as possible. Finally, when Mr. Sprague appeared riding along -beside them, somebody thought he ought to be praised for what he had -done, so he called out, in tones that were heard to the farthest end of -the line: - -“Three cheers for Colonel Sprague. Hip, hip, hurrah!” - -All the men immediately around there joined in in cheering Colonel -Sprague—they had given him a new title, now—and Mr. Sprague took off his -hat. As far as he went along the line everybody cheered him, and there -was something in their way of talking to his father that made Leon feel -very happy. He was bringing up the rear, leading his captured horse as -he went, until he found himself opposite a wagon managed by his friend -Tom Howe. Leon was glad to see him, for he had not spoken with him since -they left Ellisville. There were three men on the driver’s seat, and Tom -was sitting on the knees of one and handling the reins over his -four-mule team as if he had been used to it all his life. - -“G’lang here!” he shouted when he saw Leon riding by. “We don’t take no -slack from anybody. But say, Leon, you will stand by me, won’t you?” - -“Of course I will stand by you,” said Leon. “But I don’t know what you -mean.” - -“Do you see that leading muel there, that white one?” said Tom, pointing -out the animal in question. “Well, that’s mine. There ain’t been anybody -to lay a claim to him and I want him.” - -“I guess you can have him,” said Leon. “But why don’t you take a horse?” - -“I would rather have the muel than that horse you are leading by the -bits. Where did you get him?” - -“I got these weapons,” said Leon, showing the revolver and sword he -carried about his waist and the carbine he held in his hand, “from a -young fellow who gave them up to me without being asked. He has gone off -in the bushes, now, to get out of sight of the other members of the -escort, but he’ll be back directly.” - -“Who let him go into the bushes?” inquired one of the men who was -sitting on the driver’s seat with Tom. - -“I did.” - -“Well, he has taken a rough way to escape. Why didn’t he stay here and -march away with his squad?” - -“But he don’t want to escape,” said Leon. “He is a Union man, and he -wants to go home with us.” - -“You are the most confiding man I ever saw. You will never see him -again.” - -“Then I shall have a horse and weapons to give to somebody who needs -them. I don’t need them myself. When you want to get that mule, Tom, you -come to me.” - -“I’ll do it,” said Tom, as he unwound his lash and gave the leading -white mule a cut with the whip to make him pull faster; whereupon the -mule’s ears came back and he kicked with both hind feet in the direction -of the wagon, barely missing the wheel-mule’s head. Leon laughed -heartily. “Well, you see, he hasn’t been taught to pull in a wagon. This -is his first attempt, but he is gay on horseback, and I’ll bet on it. -I’ll teach him in two days so that he won’t kick.” - -Leon urged his horse on ahead to catch up with the cavalry, but he had -not made many steps before the bushes parted at his side and the young -rebel who owned the steed he was leading came out. - -“Have they gone?” said he, and he acted like one who felt overjoyed. “I -told you I would come back, and here I am. May I get up and ride my -horse?” - -“Certainly,” said Leon, and he felt so delighted to see the rebel that -he could have hugged him. He didn’t know what his father would say to -him for allowing that man to go out in the bushes. He gave up the horse, -and the young fellow swung himself into the saddle. - -“I am glad you didn’t give him up to some of your men who have no horses -of their own,” said the rebel, as he accompanied Leon toward the head of -the column. “My father raised this animal, I broke him myself, and he’s -got just the kind of a gait that I like. Now, what are you going to do -here in this county? Are you going to rebel against the Confederacy sure -enough?” - -“We have gone out already,” said Leon. “I haven’t got a copy of the -resolutions with me, but you can see them when you get up to -Ellisville.” - -“It beats anything I ever heard of,” exclaimed the rebel, who burst out -laughing every time he thought of it. “The idea that one county in the -very heart of the Southern Confederacy should cut loose from it and say -that they are Union men beats my time all holler. I told my father about -it—” - -“Where is your father now?” interrupted Leon. - -“He is in the rebel army.” - -“Was he conscripted?” - -“No. We didn’t wait for that, but we heard enough to let us know what -Jeff Davis was going to do. More than that, some of our neighbors began -to talk about hanging those who did not believe as they did to the -plates of their own gallery, and as we could get into the cavalry by -enlisting then, we rode down to the county-seat one day and gave our -names in.” - -“Have you been in any fights?” - -“Two or three; but, mind you, I always shot high. I never drew a bullet -on a Union man in my life. I live only three or four miles from where -you stopped us, and I really wish the authorities of Jones county would -give me permission to go back and get my mother.” - -“Do you think your father would come up here after that?” - -“Of course he would. We have done nothing but think and talk about what -you fellows are doing here ever since we have been in the army. There -was a distinct understanding between my father and myself that whoever -escaped first should bring my mother here.” - -“Well, Mr.— Mr.—,” began Leon. - -“Dawson is my name,” said the rebel. - -“If you turn out to be all right I will go with you,” said Leon. - -“Will you?” exclaimed the rebel, so highly excited that he could hardly -speak plainly. “I know we will succeed, for you have been in fights -enough to know what it means.” - -“I don’t understand you,” said Leon. “This is as near as I have come to -being in a fight.” - -“What! Capturing our wagon-train? You don’t tell me! Well, I have seen -men who had been in three or four battles that showed more nervousness -than you did. You were not excited a bit.” - -Leon very wisely concluded that he would not say anything more on this -subject just then. He never was more excited in his life than when he -rode along the line and demanded the rebel’s weapons. If Dawson thought -he wasn’t excited, so much the better for him. - -“I certainly thought you had been where you had seen men knocked down by -the cart-load,” said Dawson, looking at Leon to see what he was made of. -“I have been where I have seen a whole platoon laid out at one fire, but -I never go into action without feeling afraid. After this trouble is all -over I would like to compare notes with you.” - -“To see how many times I am afraid?” asked Leon. “I don’t care to -compare notes with you on that, for I know I shall feel afraid all the -time. I’ve got one chum here who won’t haul in his shingle one inch to -please anybody, and we’ll ask him to go with us.” - -“Two men are all we want,” said Dawson. “By the way, there was a friend -of mine deserted the camp night before last, and he stole the -wagon-master’s horse to help him along. I don’t suppose you have seen -anything of him, have you?” - -“We have a rebel up to Ellisville, and he says that was the way he got -away. But his horse and weapons have been taken from him.” - -“That’s all right. You wanted him to prove to you that he was true-blue -before you let him have his fire-arms. But he’s all hunky-dory. He told -you about this wagon-train? I never saw him in a fight with Federals -when he pretended to show any vim about it, but you give him rebels to -shoot at and you’ll hear something drop. He hasn’t got the smallest -sympathy for a Confederate. Why, they had him with a rope around his -neck, and were going to hang him.” - -“He never said anything to us about that,” said Leon, in surprise. - -“It happened on the very morning that father and I went down to enlist,” -said Dawson, “and the way they acted made us believe that when they got -through with him they were coming to see us. We rushed into his house -and did some good talking to save the man’s neck, and when they let him -go he got onto his horse and went down to the county-seat with us. But -didn’t he give the rebels a good blessing!” - -“He could say what he had a mind to in your presence, I suppose?” - -“Yes, sir; and he laid down the law in good shape, I tell you. There are -six men he wants to find, and they are the men who had the rope around -his neck. What are you going to do with the prisoners you capture in -battle?” - -“I am sure I don’t know,” said Leon, with a laugh. “We haven’t got any -yet.” - -“You haven’t been in a fight yet? How many men have you?” - -“We had about three hundred fighting men, but first one Union family has -come in, and then another, until we have a thousand men able to bear -arms. Father said that about three hundred fighting men were all we had -when this war broke out about a year ago, but they have been coming in -from all sides. One man I know here has come from the mountains of -Tennessee. I tell you we are going to make a good fight if the rebels -get after us.” - -“I believe you; and these men you have now won’t be a patching to what -you will have by and by. But say,” added Dawson, as they drew up in the -rear of the cavalry, “do you really think you will be able to go with me -to get my mother?” - -“That depends entirely on what my father says. If he continues to let me -do as I please, as he always has done, I’ll go with you. There is no -chance of being captured down there, I suppose?” - -“Not in the least. Mobile is their nearest headquarters, and we can slip -in there and get away again without any one being the wiser for it. It -can be done just as easy as falling off a log.” - -“Well, you stay here and I will go on and ride by my father. I will tell -him about you and see what he has to say.” - -Leon turned out and hurried on ahead to meet his father, who was riding -alone in advance of the column, with his hat drawn over his eyes, as if -he were thinking deeply. When he saw who the new-comer was he pushed -back his hat, and beamed upon him with a smile that reminded the boy of -old times. - -“I tell you, father, you have done one good act in capturing this -train,” said Leon. “What were you thinking of?” - -“Oh, there are lots of things to come after this,” said Mr. Sprague. “We -have got to whip the rebels in order to keep the train. Where’s your -horse?” - -“The owner has got him;” and taking this as his starting-point, Leon -went on to give his father as much of the history of Dawson as he was -acquainted with. When he told about the rebels having a rope around the -neck of that man in camp his father was hardly prepared to believe it. - -“But do you think the man honest?” asked Mr. Sprague. - -“I know he is. No boy could talk as feelingly of his mother as he did -and tell a lie about it. Now, if you will let me go down there and bring -his family up here, we will make two good soldiers by the operation.” - -“We will see about it when the time comes,” said Mr. Sprague. - -That was enough for Leon, who reined his horse out of the road and -halted until Dawson came up. Somehow he had taken a great fancy for the -young rebel. There was something so honest about him that Leon put -strong faith in everything he said. He drew up beside Dawson, and the -latter’s face grew more radiant than ever when Leon said that his father -would “see about it.” - -“That is as good as saying that I may go, if something doesn’t turn up -in the meantime. Now, the next thing will be to get Tom to go with us. I -shall feel a heap better with him alongside of me.” - -It was a long journey toward Ellisville, and the mules walked so slowly -that it was almost midnight when they got there. Following the -instructions of Mr. Sprague, the wagons were drawn up in a park in the -grove, the mules were watered at the river and staked out where they had -plenty of food, and the men left of their own accord and went to bed. -There was no posting of sentries about the wagons to see that some -backwoodsman did not slip up there to steal anything, for such a thing -as theft was never heard of in that county. They knew that the things -would be in the wagons in the morning in just as good shape as they were -then. When Leon and Dawson, after hitching their horses and foddering -them, turned to go to the opposite side of the grove, the place where -that rebel was under guard, they came across Tom Howe, who had his coat -off and was building a fire. - -“Why, Tom, come with us,” said Leon. “I am going to get something to eat -before I go to bed.” - -“Well, sir, you can go and get it, for you are one of these hungry -fellows who always want something,” replied Tom. “Do you see that muel? -I ain’t a-going to take my eyes off of him until your father gives him -into my possession.” - -“You haven’t had any supper, have you?” - -“Nary supper. And I ain’t a-going to have any, either, until I get that -there muel in my hands.” - -“You can come back here and sleep. Tom, this is Dawson, whom I want you -to be friends with. He was in that squad, but he gave up his horse and -weapons to me without being asked.” - -The moment Leon referred to Dawson Tom put his hands behind his back as -if he didn’t want to say how glad he was to see him. Leon noticed the -movement and went on with something which he knew would bring Tom to his -senses. Tom had a mother, his father was dead, and he fairly worshipped -her. - -“He is going down after his mother, and I am going, too. And we want you -to go with us.” - -“Howdy!” exclaimed Tom, and his hands came out and he shook Dawson as if -he was a friend from whom he had long been separated. “Then he’s all -right, of course. I’ll go, but you must get my muel for me.” - -The boys bent their steps toward the hotel, for they knew that the -landlord was a man who was determined to do what he could to help along -the cause. He knew that at least a portion of the men who had gone out -to capture that wagon-train had no place to get anything to eat, and he -cooked up a lot of food for them, and had it spread out on his -dining-room tables. He had remained up all night, and the noise the men -made when they returned almost drove him wild. - -“Who said those who took part with us in this useless struggle would go -hungry?” said he, standing on the porch, and welcoming the men as they -came up, and sending them all into the dining-room. “Ah! here’s Leon and -Tom Howe, I declare. Where did you get shot, boys? And a rebel, as sure -as I am a foot high. Where did you take him up?” - -“I am a rebel no longer,” replied Dawson. “In spite of my clothes I am -as good a Union man as there is in the county.” - -“You are just the lads we want,” said the landlord. “Haven’t had -anything to eat yet? No dinner, either? Then go right into the -dining-room. You will find the President and the Secretary of War in -there.” - -The boys went in and found the two officers sitting in a remote corner -engaged in earnest conversation. They talked in low tones, and it was -evident that they did not want anybody to hear what they were -discussing, so the boys sat down and began an attack upon the food. The -way the landlord’s bacon, eggs and corn-bread disappeared before them -would have astonished that gentleman could he have witnessed it. It made -no difference to them that the food was cold, for the coffee was hot, -and they finally stopped because they were ashamed to eat any more. By -the time they had finished eating their supper the two high officers -ceased their consultation, and Mr. Sprague hauled up a chair to the -nearest table and sat down. Leon decided that this was his time. Tom -Howe would certainly sleep better if he knew that the mule was his own. - -“Father, there’s a white mule out there in the train, and Tom Howe wants -him.” - -“Well, he can have him, I guess,” said Mr. Sprague. “Anybody else laid -any claim to him?” - -“No, sir; Tom is the only one. And he has taken a mighty queer animal to -carry him through this war. He kicks.” - -“Tom will have to manage that to suit himself. Why don’t he wait until -we can capture a horse?” - -“Because he would rather have that mule than anything else.” - -“Tell him to take him, and welcome.” - -Leon found his companions in the living-room, and when he told them that -the Secretary of War had given Tom the mule he wanted, Tom was -delighted. He promised the others that he would get to work early in the -morning to break him of kicking, and wanted them to come over and see -how it was done, and then turned away to his own camp, while Leon and -Dawson started out to find the camp of the rebel who was kept under -guard. - -“There’s his lean-to right there,” said Leon, after walking some -distance up the road. “Do you see any comparison between that sentry and -the ones you left behind? I mean, do they sit down and warm themselves -by a fire when they are left on duty?” - -“Not much, they don’t,” answered Dawson, with a laugh. “If you had our -officer of the day here he would snatch that fellow bald-headed. He -ought to get up, hold his arms at support and pace his beat.” - -“Who is it that the officer of the day is going to snatch bald-headed?” -asked the sentry. He sat on a log with his rifle beside him, and he was -warming his hands over the fire. He seemed to think that he could see -everything that was going on, and he thought that was all that was -required of him. - -“The officer of the rebel army, if there was one here, would take you to -task for not pacing your beat,” said Leon. - -“Sho! What would he do that for?” asked the man. “That rebel hasn’t -moved in there without my seeing him, and he can’t get away. Say, -Johnny, are you asleep?” - -“No; I am wide awake,” shouted a voice from the inside. “I wanted to see -the men that came back with that wagon-train. Well—halloo! Dawson,” -exclaimed the rebel, who, when he came out, caught sight of his old -comrade in arms. “You’re here, ain’t you?” - -The two men shook hands as though they had not seen each other for -years. Dawson then explained how the capture was effected, and the -rebel’s eyes fairly flashed as he listened to it. When he ceased -speaking the rebel asked permission for Dawson to come under his lean-to -and share his blankets with him, and as the sentry did not find any -fault Leon readily granted it. When he had seen the two tuck themselves -away preparatory to a good sleep and had exchanged a few words with -their guard, Leon turned about and made the best of his way to the -hotel. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - BREAKING THE MULE. - - -What Mr. Sprague was talking about when Leon and his companions went in -to eat their suppers was whether or not it would be a good plan to send -a party of cavalrymen, say a dozen or more, down to the little creek -that separated the two counties to bring them warning of a Confederate -force which was coming to subdue them; for Mr. Sprague was certain that -those men would be along before a great while. The rebels were not the -men to stand still and allow themselves to be robbed of $500,000. - -“Their scouts will be a long ways ahead of the main body, and by the -time they get here we can be safe in the swamp,” said Mr. Sprague. “The -cavalrymen are all good shots, and by the time they get through with one -fire there won’t be so many of them to follow up our men.” - -“They will shoot them down, I suppose?” said Mr. Knight. - -“Of course they will have to take their chances on that. While all the -rest of them are asleep one of them can be standing guard.” - -“I think it would be a good plan. We’ll send cavalrymen down there every -morning to relieve them. Perhaps you had better detail some guards for -to-morrow morning. But do you say you captured that train without firing -a shot?” - -“It is the truth,” said Mr. Sprague. “One of the soldiers said it was -the prettiest surprise he every saw. The men were all prompt, and they -obeyed my whistle just like clock-work.” - -The next morning when Leon awoke and stretched himself on the bench -which served him in lieu of a bed he felt like a new man. He was not -accustomed to spending so many hours in the saddle, his long ride of the -day before had wearied him, and when he went to slumber he “slept for -keeps,” as he expressed it. He got up, and, after washing his hands and -face, went out on the porch and saw a party of a dozen men gathered -about a tree a short distance away. There was a white mule in the party, -and three or four men were fussing around her. - -“Tom has got to work to break the ‘muel,’ as lie calls it, from -kicking,” said Leon, “and I am going down to see how it is done. He -thinks he has got a prize there, and I hope he has.” - -When Leon got up with the crowd he found that the mule had been securely -fastened to a tree, and that there were two men engaged in holding her -head up. You may have noticed that when a mule wants to kick she always -puts her head down, and by holding her head up it was impossible for her -to kick Tom, who, by bringing her tail around by her side, was busy in -tying a stone that weighed two or three pounds, and was wrapped up in a -thick rag so that it would not bruise her heels, fast to the end of it. -Leon saw through the plan at once, and he laughed heartily. - -“There, now, I reckon we’re all right,” said Tom, as he took a finishing -knot in the string with which the stone was tied. “Kick, now, and we -will see how you will come out. Let go her head, boys.” - -When Tom said this he raised the stone and let it down against the -mule’s heels with a sounding whack, and the men let go their hold and -backed away. In an instant you could not have told where that mule -belonged. Her heels were in the air all the time; but no matter how high -the stone went, it always came down, and the further it went, it came -back to its place and punished her heels severely. Sometimes she seemed -as if she would kick herself over her head, she stood up so straight. -The men stood around and laughed heartily, until the mule, after trying -in vain to rid herself of the contrivance, stopped her kicking and -turned around and looked at it. She seemed to know that it was fast to -her, and after looking first on one side and then on the other, and -trying with more energy than before to throw off the useless appendage, -which she knew did not belong there, she drew her haunches under her, -looked at Tom and broke out into a faint bray, as if begging him to take -it off. - -“There, sir, she is done with her kicking for all time,” said one of the -men. - -“Tom,” said Leon, “don’t go near her. You know how treacherous a mule -can be.” - -The man promptly stepped up to the mule, undid the stone, lifted her -tail, and did other pranks which would have led even a mule who did not -know how to kick to lay back her ears. - -“I said I would break her of kicking in less than two days, and we have -broken her in less than half an hour,” said Tom, gleefully. “Now watch -me and see me ride to camp.” - -Tom mounted in regular Texas fashion, placing his left hand upon the -mule’s shoulder and throwing his right leg over her back, and with a -“G’lang there, muel!” went down the road at a furious pace. She loped -beautifully, and Tom wasn’t even moved, although he rode bare-back. Leon -was satisfied that he had got a prize, after all. - -“Now all he wants is to go around that mule forty times a day, lifting -her tail and patting her, and she won’t kick him,” said the man who -undid the stone. “I just know, for I’ll bet on it.” - -When Leon had seen the mule broken and Tom ride away, he turned his -steps toward the camp of the rebels to see how they were getting on. -There was another sentry on guard this time, and he was engaged in a -favorite occupation, sitting on a log with his rifle beside him, smoking -a cob pipe and warming his hands at the fire. The two rebels were -standing in the door of the lean-to, and they greeted Leon heartily. -After exchanging a few words with them Leon said: - -“I am going to speak to father about you to-day, and I think he will let -you out. I am going home this morning, and I want Dawson to ride with -me.” - -“If he lets me out I will go and be glad of the chance,” said Dawson. -“But what are you going home for?” - -“To let my mother know that I shan’t be home to-night. I reckon we are -going down after your mother.” - -“By George! That’s the best news I have heard since I have been a -prisoner,” exclaimed Dawson. “You will see father here in less than a -week, and you don’t want to let him get into any fight where the rebels -are. He don’t take any prisoners.” - -Leon next bent his steps toward the hotel to get his breakfast. In the -living-room he met the landlord, who had three or four men around him, -and was talking gleefully of the manner in which the wagon-train had -been captured the day before. - -“To think that our boys never fired a shot, and there were twenty-five -of them rebels who were hired to defend it,” said he. “Now here’s Leon,” -he added, taking the boy’s right hand in his own, throwing his left arm -around his shoulder, and affectionately drawing him up to his side. “Who -would think that this boy would watch over his father? He gets close up -to his side, and if anyone pops him over he is going to see about it.” - -“You will have to get away from this place, Mr. Faulkner,” said Leon. -“Your house is right on the main road, and the first party of rebels who -come in here will set fire to it.” - -“I know all about that,” said Mr. Faulkner, with a laugh. “I expect -everything I have got will go up in smoke. But you see they won’t burn -anything but the house. Your father is going to lend me some of the -wagons as soon as they are unloaded, and I am going to pile on -everything I have got and take them all up to the swamp. I should like -to see the rebels get them out of there.” - -“So would I,” said Leon. - -“I can’t give you as good a breakfast as I could once,” added Mr. -Faulkner. “Bacon, eggs, corn-bread and coffee—I am almost out of coffee, -now that I think of it. I shall be all out if you haven’t got some in -those wagons you captured yesterday. Go on and get your breakfast, the -whole of you. There’s many a better man than you and I dare be who is -living on worse food, and he’s just as good a Union man as though he -stood in our ranks.” - -Leon went into the dining-room and found his father and Mr. Knight -sitting there by themselves, and he concluded that it was a good time to -talk to them about the rebels who were kept under guard. - -“I have been thinking about them all the morning,” said Mr. Sprague, -when Leon had explained things to him, “and I don’t see the need of -keeping them under guard any longer; do you, Knight?” - -“No, I don’t. I say let them out.” - -“Well, I will go back with you and turn them loose,” said Mr. Sprague. -“That will be the way we’ll work it. As fast as any rebels come in here -and say they are on our side we’ll take their weapons and horses away -from them, if they have any, and hold them until they prove that they -are just as they should be.” - -“Well, what do you say to my going down to Dawson’s house after his -mother?” said Leon. - -“What do you think about it, Knight?” - -“Why I say let the boy go. He has proved long ago that he knows how to -handle himself in a tight place; yesterday, for instance; and he will be -just as safe as he would be here in camp. By the way, Leon, we have -given your father a new title. He says the Secretary of War is too long -for him, and so we have promoted him to Colonel. He likes that better. -Maybe if you conduct yourself all right he will make you aid-de-camp.” - -We are sorry to say that Mr. Knight did not pronounce this word -correctly, and if there had been some boys like you, who are fresh from -their books, they would have seen a good many other words whose spelling -bothered him. But he knew one thing that had evidently slipped the -President’s mind. If his father had been promoted to colonel, Leon -thought that was being promoted backwards. But then this thing would not -last more than a year or two, and it did not make much difference to him -what people said about it. He got no money for the position he held, -none of the officers got any, and he was willing to do what he could for -the sake of the county. - -“I don’t care if my father never promotes me to anything,” said Leon. -“If he will let me stay close by him, so as to be on hand if anything -happens to him, I shall be satisfied.” - -The party having finished their breakfast arose from the table at the -same time, and Mr. Sprague went out with Leon to call upon the rebels. -On the way he talked more plainly to Leon than he had ever done before. - -“I shan’t appoint you aid-de-camp,” said Mr. Sprague. - -“I know why,” said Leon. “If you should do a thing like that, the -fellows who are not as high in authority as you are would think that you -were giving me a place to keep me out of danger. I don’t want anybody to -think that of me.” - -“Well, yes; that has something to do with it. But you would be in just -as much danger there as you would anywhere else. I don’t want you -hanging around me all the time. The men think you are doing it on -purpose to shield me.” - -“I confess that that is what I was thinking of.” - -“Don’t do it any more. Of course I shall be in the thickest of the -fight, if we have any, but I don’t want you to be there. That’s the -reason I am giving my consent to allow you to go down after Dawson’s -mother.” - -“Do you say I may go?” exclaimed Leon, joyfully. - -“Yes; but I want you first to let your mother know we are safe and what -is the reason we don’t come home.” - -“I’ll go and get Tom and Dawson to go with me. By the way, Tom has got -his mule broken.” - -“So that he won’t kick?” asked Mr. Sprague, in surprise. - -“Yes, sir; and he broke him in less than half an hour.” - -Leon then went on to tell how Tom had operated to break the mule, and -when he described her kicking he made his father laugh heartily. By this -time they had reached the lean to and found the two rebels enjoying -their breakfast. They arose to their feet as Mr. Sprague approached, -knowing that the Secretary of War had much authority over their -prisoners, but he motioned them to keep their seats. Even the sentry got -up, put down his plate—for the rebels had helped him most -bountifully—and held his rifle in a way that was intended to present -arms. But then the Secretary didn’t know whether the motion was properly -executed or not. He touched his hat, however, and after bidding the -rebels good-morning and lifting his hat once more out of respect to the -woman who sat at the head of the table, he turned again to the sentry. - -“I would like to see all the men who are on guard with you,” said he. -“They are around here, I suppose?” - -“Oh, yes, sir; they are around here,” said the sentry. Then lifting his -voice he called out: “All you guards turn out. The Secretary of War -wants you. Come a-lumbering!” - -The men came in a hurry, three of them, some bareheaded, some swinging -on their bullet-pouches as they hastened through the bushes, and all -eager to see what the Secretary of War wanted. Like the good soldiers -they were, they concluded that there was some business to engage in, and -they were impatient to do it. But when they found out what he wanted -they were just as pleased, all the same. Mr. Sprague told them in so -many words that the rebels were all right, and from this time they were -released from all sentry duty. The rebels were just as free in their -camp as they were themselves. - -“Colonel, I want to shake your hand for that,” said the owner of the -lean-to, and as he spoke he got up from the table and came out. “Now I -want all of you boys to understand one thing. You have done nothing but -call me ‘Johnny’ ever since I have been in camp, and now I want you to -stop it. My name is Roberts, and I am as good a Union man as the best of -you. If you don’t believe it, wait until we get into a fight and I will -show you.“ - -All this was said in a perfectly good-natured way, and the guards, on -being sent back to their lean-tos, promised that they would address him -as Roberts ever afterward. They had called him “Johnny” because they did -not know any other name for him. - -“Now, Dawson, I am going to start for home,” said Leon. “Come with me -and I will get your horse and weapons for you.” - -When Leon and Dawson turned away the former was surprised to see -standing at his side another boy, Newman by name, who was enough like -Carl Swayne to have been his brother, except in one particular. Newman -did not proclaim himself so much in favor of the secessionists as Carl -did, but in every other way, so far as meanness was concerned, they were -a good team. Leon was not the only one about there who believed that -Newman was a rebel at heart, and that if he had his way he would have -arrested every Union man in the county. He noticed that Newman did not -go with them when they assaulted the train—he had something else that -demanded his immediate attention; but he noticed, too, that when the -expedition came back Newman had as much to say as anybody. There was one -thing about Newman that did not look exactly right to Leon. In the early -part of the year, when there was a good deal of talk about the secession -of Jones county, this Newman’s father had piled all his worldly goods -into a one-horse wagon and started for Mobile; but in two months’ time -he came back. There was more fighting going on there than there was in -Jones county, he said, and as he was a man of peace and did not believe -in contests of any kind, he thought he and his family had better come -back and stay in their own house until the trouble was over. Mind you, -that was the story he told; whether or not it was the truth remains to -be seen. - -“Well, Leon, we got ’em, didn’t we?” was the way in which Newman began -the conversation. - -“Got whom?” inquired Leon, and he was not very civil about it, either. -He wished that Newman would keep to his own side of the walk and let him -alone. - -“Why, the rebels, of course,” said Newman. “You have got one them with -you right now.” - -“How many of them did you capture?” inquired Leon, poking his elbow into -Dawson’s ribs when he saw that he was about to reply. - -“I captured one, but I let him go. You know the President said we wasn’t -going to take any prisoners.” - -“Yes, I know. But what made you let him go?” - -“Oh, he told me such a funny story about his wife being sick, and all -that, that I couldn’t bear to keep him captive. So I just told him to -clear out.” - -“And you let him take his weapons with him?” - -“Of course,” replied Newman; and then finding that Leon was getting onto -rather dangerous ground he changed the subject, for he had come there to -ask a favor. “Say, Leon, do you suppose that your father would give me -one of them muels that we captured yesterday? I reckon I’ve got as much -right to them as he has.” - -“Well, I reckon you haven’t,” replied Leon, indignantly. - -“Just because he’s a high officer, do you think he has more right to -property that we capture than them that takes it?” asked Newman, getting -mad in his turn. “He gave Tom Howe a muel, and Tom didn’t do any more -than I did.” - -“What’s the use of telling such an outrageous falsehood? You was not -there. Did you see me?” - -“Yes, I saw you.” - -“What did I do? Did you see me when I ran from this man, and he followed -after me, swinging his sword in his hand?” - -“Eh? Oh, yes, I saw you,” said Newman, looking surprised. “He came -pretty near catching you, too, and he would if that man hadn’t come up -and poked a revolver in his face. Who was that, do you know?” - -“Well, Newman, I don’t believe you can get a mule to ride during this -war,” said Leon, once more turning his steps towards the hotel. “You see -Tom wants to do something with this mule, and you don’t. You simply want -him to ride around, and when the fight comes you will be miles away. -That is, if you are on our side at all,” said Leon to himself. “I -wouldn’t be afraid to bet that you will stay around here and lead the -rebels to our place of concealment.” - -Newman thrust his hands into his pockets, pushed his hat on the back of -his head, and looked after Leon as he walked away with the rebel by his -side. - -“I’ll bet that boy lied to me when he spoke of that fellow being after -him with a sword,” said he, “and that he ever run from him a step. I am -no good for a spy. I haven’t got my wits about me. But his father will -give me one of those mules or I’ll know the reason why. It is most time -for the rebels to come up here, and when they do come, my fine lad, I’ll -have that horse of yours.” - -“Who is that fellow, anyway?” asked Dawson, after they had left Newman -behind. “You don’t seem to like him very well.” - -“Neither would you if you knew him as well as I do,” replied Leon. “Ever -since I got into a scrape with those logs that fellow has been down on -me, and said he didn’t see why I should come out all right when other -men had lost their lives in attempting the same thing.” - -“You don’t bear him any ill-will for that, I hope?” said Dawson. “He -didn’t dare do it, although I don’t know what danger you got into.” - -“I ran out on the logs and started a jam, and Tom Howe fell into the -water and I saved him. But that isn’t what I have against him,” said -Leon. “You see, Newman’s father has never said where he stood. When he -came back to this county, and found that we were in earnest in -threatening to secede, then he wanted an office, but the men were too -sharp to give it to him.” - -“Ah! that’s the trouble, is it? Let him go in and serve as a private. -That’s what my father and I intend to do.” - -“But he don’t want to serve as a private. He wants the position that -father holds, so that he can boss around the men and have nothing else -to do. Father would give it to him in a minute if he thought he was able -to fill it, but you see he don’t. And mind you, I don’t say this out -loud, but I believe it to be so, he says if he can’t be an officer he -will betray us all.” - -“Ho-ho!” said Dawson, while a gleam of intelligence shot across his -face. “He is going to turn Benedict Arnold, is he? By gracious! You -fellows have something to contend with, haven’t you? A spy! Well, let -him come on and see how much he will make by it.” - -“Now, don’t say that out loud,” said Leon earnestly, “for I don’t know -that it is so. I only judge him by his actions. Now, here’s the place -where your weapons were left. We’ll go up and see the President.” - -“I don’t look fit to go into the President’s office,” said Dawson, -looking down at his clothes. “I want to get home and see my wardrobe, so -that I can get some clothes more befitting my station in life.” - -“O come on,” said Leon, with a hearty laugh. “Ten to one you will find -the President with a pair of jean breeches on, and a pair of cowhide -boots. He is like all the rest of us, but then he will be glad to see -you, for you were a rebel once.” - -“There’s where you make a mistake,” said Dawson. “I never was a rebel, -although I wear the clothes. Introduce me as a Union man forced into the -rebel army.” - -At this moment Leon opened the door that gave entrance into the office -of the high dignitary of Jones county, where they found him leaning back -in his chair and conversing with three or four men. He was just such a -man as Leon said he was—to the manor born. He didn’t act as though he -considered himself better than other men simply because he was -President. Dawson took off his hat, while the other men did not remove -theirs. He followed Leon to a corner in which several stand of fire-arms -were stowed, and assisted him in picking out his own weapons. Leon gave -him the sword and revolver, and motioned him to buckle them around him, -while with the carbine in his hand he approached the President’s chair. -When he got through talking with the men he looked up to see what Leon -had to say. - -“Mr. Knight, here’s a good man I have got for us,” said he. “His name is -Dawson, and although he wears the rebel uniform, he is as much of a -Union man as anyone here.” - -“Howdy, Dawson,” said the President, nodding his head, “So you are -coming over to side with us, are you?” - -“Yes, sir,” said Dawson. “I was obliged to go into the rebel ranks to -escape being hung.” - -“He wants his horse and his weapons, too,” added Leon. “Father says he -is all right.” - -“Let him have them,” said the President. - -Leon promptly handed over the carbine. “He wants to go home to-night to -get his mother,” said he. “There are two of us, myself and Tom Howe, -going with him.” - -“I heard all about it from your father,” said Mr. Knight. “Now, be -careful of yourself, Leon. If you should get captured it would drive the -first colonel I have got crazy.” - -The boy promised that he would look out for himself, and, with a salute -from Dawson, they opened the door and went down the stairs. They saw -that Mr. Sprague had already hitched the mules to the wagons and hauled -them down in front of the hotel where they could be examined by all the -principal men of the county. Before they had taken many steps they saw -Newman walk up to the Secretary of War and accost him. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - REBELS IN THE REAR. - - -“What did I tell you?” said Leon, turning to his companion. “Newman is -going to strike father for one of those mules. Let us go up and see how -he comes out.” - -“I don’t think I ought to give you a mule, Newman,” said Mr. Sprague, as -Leon and Dawson approached within hearing distance. “You were not with -us at all, yesterday.” - -Newman glanced at Leon and saw there was one lie nailed, but he had -become so accustomed to being caught that way that he hardly changed -color. He thrust his hands into his pockets, looked up the road toward -the lean-tos, and said: - -“Well, you see one of our cows had strayed away and I was afraid she -might not come up, so I went into the woods to find her.” - -“And you thought that cow was of more use to the county than stopping -the train, did you?” - -“It was of more use to us, ’cause, you see, we wouldn’t have had any -milk to put in our coffee.” - -“And you have milk in your coffee every day, do you? That’s more than I -have, and I have eight or nine cows on my place.” - -“Well, can I have the mule? That’s what I want to know.” - -“No, I don’t think you can.” - -“You have given one to Tom Howe and never asked him what he was going to -do with it,” said Newman, hotly. - -“But I knew what Tom was going to do with his mule before I gave it to -him. Whenever we get ready to go out and capture a train Tom will be on -hand, and that’s more than I can say in regard to you.” - -“Then you won’t give me the mule?” - -“No, I can’t. You will have to go to somebody else and get one. It is -Government property that comes into my hands, and I am bound to take the -best of care of it.” - -“I’ll get even with you for this some way or another,” said Newman, -starting to walk off. - -“Newman,” said Mr. Sprague, sternly, “come back here.” - -“Well, now, when I come back you just blow a horn to let me know it, -will you?” replied Newman, still continuing on his way. - -“If I ask you once more I shall put you under arrest,” said Mr. Sprague. -“I am not in the habit of giving orders twice.” - -While he was speaking there were certain other parties, who had arrived -with a wagon, who happened to overhear the conversation that passed -between Mr. Sprague and Newman. They dropped whatever they were about -and came up to see about it, for one of the disputants had got so angry -that he raised his voice a good deal above its natural key. One of them -was Bud McCoy, the man who had threatened to burn Mr. Swayne’s house -before he got out of it. He did not like Newman any too well, for he -believed that the young man was more in favor of secessionists than he -was of the Union men. - -“Come back here, you scoundrel!” said Bud, shaking his fists in the -other’s face. - -“Oh, now, Bud, you haven’t anything to do with it,” said Newman, and he -retraced his steps very slowly. - -“Come faster than that,” said Bud, tucking up his shirt-sleeves. “I will -show you that I have something to do with it.” - -“I will tell my father what you are doing up here, and perhaps he will -think we had better go back to Mobile,” said Newman. - -“Well, go back to Mobile. You belong there among the rebels more’n you -do among these Union men. Your father has not got anything to do with -this business. We’ve been talking about playing soldier for a long time, -and now that we have got a constitution we are going to act. You’ll see -that there is a big difference between the two.” - -“One moment, Bud,” said Mr. Sprague, when he saw that Newman had been -frightened sufficiently to put a little sense into him. “You may not -have been aware of the fact,” he added, addressing himself to Newman, -“but you were treating me in a way that I don’t like when you refused to -come back here. Perhaps I have more authority in this county than you -think for. You talked about getting even with me. How are you going to -do it?” - -“I was only fooling,” said Newman. “I didn’t mean nothing by it.” - -“Well, hereafter, when you feel aggrieved by an officer, don’t say that -you will get even with him in some way. That looks to me as though you -had something on your mind.” - -“I haven’t; I haven’t, honor bright,” said Newman, wondering if Mr. -Sprague knew anything further. There had been talk between his father -and some of the rebel officers who had their quarters in Mobile in -regard to betraying all the chief men of the Jones-County Confederacy -into their hands, and this was one reason that brought him back there. -But Newman didn’t suppose that anybody but his own family knew anything -about it. - -“It looks mighty suspicious,” continued Mr. Sprague. “But I can’t give -you that mule. It is not my business, anyway. It belongs to the -quartermaster’s department, and he is the man you must see.” - -Mr. Sprague turned on his heel and went away to inspect one of the -wagons, and Leon and Dawson continued their walk toward Roberts’ -lean-to. To say that Leon was surprised to hear his father talk in this -way would not express his feelings. - -“I tell you your father can’t be too strict when it comes to the pinch,” -said Dawson. “I didn’t know he had so much in him. Well, you see he is -high in authority, and it won’t do to let ordinary men talk to him as -that Newman did. Say, that fellow knew something he did not want to -speak about.” - -“That’s my idea exactly,” said Leon. “I’ll keep watch on him, and if I -find anything out of the way with him I’ll arrest him and take him -before father.” - -“If you do that he’ll shoot him.” - -“My gracious! Has it come to that?” exclaimed Leon, astonished beyond -measure. - -“Of course it has. I have seen three men shot to death because they -tried to desert the army, and you have got to come down to that way of -doing business here. You will have to be stricter, too, than they are in -the army, for you have got less power to back you up. Oh, you’re not -going to have a picnic, I’ll tell you that.” - -Leon was thunderstruck, for he did not believe that such things could -take place in Jones county. While he was thinking about it they came up -with Roberts, who had borrowed a mule to take the place of the one that -had dropped dead during his rapid flight, and was engaged in packing -things into his wagon. He said he was going deeper into the swamp. - -“You see these houses are right on the main road, and the rebels who -come in will come from Perry county,” said he. “I don’t propose to have -what things I own burned up, and so I am going to take them where it -will cost the Confederates some trouble to get at them.” - -“Well, say, Mr. Roberts, what do you suppose they would do to you if -they should succeed in getting their hands on you?” asked Leon. - -“I deserted to the enemy, didn’t I?” asked Roberts. - -“Yes, you did.” - -“And I had my rebel clothes on when I left their camp?” - -Leon nodded; and Roberts, after looking at him a moment, made a turn of -a rope around his neck, drew it up with his left hand and allowed his -head to fall over on one side. - -“That’s what they would do with me,” said Roberts, with a laugh. “I -don’t suppose they would shoot me, but they must catch me first. I’m not -going to be taken prisoner. And Dawson, there, would come in for -something of the kind.” - -Dawson smiled and said he well knew what was coming if he allowed -himself to be taken prisoner, and thrust out his hand, adding: - -“Well, I don’t suppose I shall see you again until we get into our first -fight. I am going after my mother to-night.” - -“So-long, old boy, and remember and don’t let those Graybacks get a grip -on you.” - -“I’ll stay right there on the field until I drop,” said Dawson, -earnestly. “You’ll never hear of my being hung.” - -They turned off to find their horses, after which they drew a bee-line -for Tom’s camp. Leon didn’t have much to say. When men like Dawson and -Roberts could talk as they did about falling into the hands of their old -comrades, it made him feel kind of anxious. And if they would serve the -deserters that way, what would they do with him? He was a traitor to the -cause of Southern independence, everybody on the Pascagoula river from -the swamps down knew who he was, and if he should unfortunately fall -into the hands of the Confederates a captive, they would without a doubt -hang him without giving him any trial at all. He had never been able to -look at it in this light before, and it made him feel rather desperate. -But here was a fellow who would take ample revenge for his death if such -a thing should happen. It was Tom Howe, who, when they found him, was -sitting at the foot of a tree, and he had just been disposing of a -substantial breakfast which somebody had provided for him. - -“Halloo, Leon! And you, Dawson, halloo!” said Tom, getting upon his -feet. “Well, if you are going home now I am going with you. I have been -around that muel forty times, as that man told me to, petting her and -fooling in various ways, and she never offered to kick me. But what’s -the matter with you, Leon? You act as though your last friends had been -gobbled up by the rebels.” - -“Well, they haven’t been gobbled up yet, but I am just thinking of what -would happen to them if they were gobbled,” said Leon. “Do you know what -they would do with you if they caught you?” - -“Hang me, I suppose. But you see, Leon, these swamps are mighty big.” - -“But you are going right among them to-night.” - -“Oh, no,” said Dawson, quickly. “We’ll not see a rebel from the time we -leave here until we get back. I’m not going to get you in any fuss. If I -thought there was a chance I wouldn’t go myself.” - -“But we are liable to be mistaken, you know.” - -“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said Dawson. “I’ll ride on ahead, and the -first glimpse I see of anything suspicious I’ll warn you. You certainly -will not be captured in that way.” - -Tom struck up a whistle, as if to show how much he cared what the rebels -might think it worth while to do, and went to work about the mule as -though he had always owned her, strapped a piece of gunny-sack to serve -in lieu of a saddle, felt his revolvers to make sure that they were -safe, and then announced that he was ready. Their ride would have been -gloomy enough, for they did not meet a single person on the way, had it -not been for Dawson, who was fairly alive with stories. He was two or -three years older than Leon, but, like all boys who had lived much -out-of-doors, he was almost big enough to be considered a man. He was -young enough in his boyish tastes and habits to be hail-fellow with Leon -and Tom, and reckless enough to add a spice of danger to everything he -engaged in. They did not think they had been on their way a great while -before the plantation-house was in view. Leon did not see anybody about. -The doors of the negro quarters were closed, and so were the rear doors -of the house; and even the pickaninnies, who were usually the first to -welcome him when he rode up to the bars, were nowhere in sight. - -“I wonder what’s been going on here?” said Leon, involuntarily sinking -his voice to a whisper. “There are more people than this in the house.” - -“I should say there ought to be,” said Tom. “We haven’t seen any, yet.” - -“If it was a little nearer the lower end of the county I should say that -some rebels had been calling here,” said Dawson, in an anxious tone of -voice. “I have seen many a house look that way.” - -Filled with forebodings, Leon hurried on until he came opposite the -front bars, and on the way he saw a man lying down behind a log with a -rifle in his hand, and it was pointed toward the other bank of the -stream, which here ran through Mr. Sprague’s property. The moment the -topmost bars rattled the front door opened and his mother came out on -the porch. Thank goodness she was safe. - -“Why, mother, what’s up?” cried Leon, throwing himself off his horse and -rushing up the steps with arms spread out. “When I saw the house closed -I supposed something had happened.” - -“Something has happened,” replied his mother; and although her face was -very pale, her tightly-closed lips and the way in which her hands -trembled showed that she was trying to keep down some rising emotion. -“The rebels are at it already.” - -“At what?” asked Leon, while the other boys got up close to her to hear -what she had to say. - -“There have been two men over on the other side of the creek, and they -have got a complete map made out of all the streams and the places where -they are fordable,” said his mother. - -“Why, how did you find it out?” asked Leon. - -“One of the darkies discovered them, and I slipped out very quietly and -told Mr. Giddings of it.” - -“Wasn’t it lucky that I brought Giddings here? I knew I was proposing a -good thing when I advised him to come. Well, what did Giddings do?” - -“He took down his rifle and shot one of the men,” said Mrs. Sprague, at -the same time clinging to Leon as if she were afraid that the ghost of -the slain man might come back. “This war is going to be a horrible -thing. I wouldn’t see the thing happen again for all the money the -United States is worth. It was the first thing of the kind I ever saw -done—” - -“Why did you stay here and look at it?” asked Leon. “How did he know -that he had a map? What made him shoot him, in the first place?” - -“Well, he was acting very sly, making use of every tree and stump to -cover him, so Mr. Giddings thought he would shoot them both. He went -over there in our boat and got the man, and he is out there now in one -of our negro cabins. And he hadn’t any more than brought him over here -before the other fellow shot at him.” - -“He didn’t hit him, I suppose?” - -“No; but he made the bullet sing pretty close to his head.” - -“I reckon that Giddings had better stay here to-night and protect you,” -said Leon, after thinking a moment. “I am not coming home to-night, and -neither is father. We had some work day before yesterday,” he added, as -if trying to draw her away from the melancholy event she had witnessed. -“We captured forty wagons without firing a shot. Here’s a man who was -with them. Mother, let me introduce Mr. Dawson. He is going back into -the country for his mother to-night, and wants Tom and me to go with -him.” - -Mrs. Sprague smiled for the first time, shook Dawson by the hand, said -she was glad to see him on the Union side if he did wear those clothes -on his back, and then she turned to Tom Howe, who had just come in from -hitching the horses. - -“As those rebels didn’t fire a shot at you the other day you don’t know -how it feels,” said Mrs. Sprague. - -“Who? Me? No, ma’am. I just covered a driver’s head with my rifle and -told him to hold up his hands, and he put them into his pockets and -brought out his revolvers, which he handed to me. There they are,” said -Tom, putting his hands behind him and bringing out a pistol in each. -“You see Leon had a revolver and I had none, and I just put these into -my clothes and said nothing about it. If I am going to be a soldier I’ll -soon learn how to steal as well as anybody.” - -“Let’s go out there and see what Giddings is doing,” said Leon. “Mother, -can you get us up some dinner? We have a long way to ride to-night, and -we want to give our horses a little rest after we get back to -Ellisville.” - -His mother said that dinner would be ready by the time he wanted it, and -Leon walked around the house toward the place he had seen Giddings lying -in ambush, followed by his companions. Giddings was on his feet now, and -was standing behind a corn-crib, looking cautiously around the corner of -it. - -“Howdy, Leon?” he exclaimed, when he saw the boys approaching. “You had -better get something between you and the woods over there, for that chap -is a tolerable fair shot. I don’t like the way he sent his bullet -a-flying past my head.” - -“He didn’t hit you, though,” said Leon, as the boys drew up beside the -mountaineer from Tennessee. They kept an eye on the woods, but all -danger from that source had passed. The rebel who had been left alive -had taken advantage of the bushes, crawled among them until he was out -of sight, and so got himself safe off. - -“And the only reason he didn’t make a better shot was because he had a -revolver,” said Giddings. “I tell you, Leon, we are going to have -trouble now. Those fellows are making a map of this whole country.” - -“Perhaps they are looking, too, for that wagon-train we stole from -them,” said Leon. “There were forty wagons in the lot, and we captured -the last one of them.” - -“Sho!” exclaimed Giddings in disgust. “And I wasn’t there to help. But -let’s go in and look at that man. Perhaps you know who he is.” - -The boys followed the man into the negro cabin with slight quakings of -conscience, all except Dawson, who had seen so many dead men that he -thought nothing of it. He lay there on the floor covered with a blanket, -never to move again in this life, with bushy black whiskers spread all -down his breast, and dressed in a uniform that had a couple of bars on -the collar. He was a fine-looking man, and Leon was wondering how many -hearts would break when they heard of his death. - -“I hit him right in the heart,” said Giddings, pointing out the mark of -his bullet on his coat with as much indifference as he would have shown -if it had been a deer instead of a man that was stretched out before -him. “Know him, any of you?” - -“No, he is a stranger to me. I think the best thing you can do, Mr. -Giddings,” said Leon, reverently spreading the blanket over the dead -man’s face again, “is to stay here and keep an eye on mother. I didn’t -think the rebels would ever trouble her up here.” - -“Did you steal much of them?” asked Giddings. - -Leon replied that to the best of his knowledge it was pretty near half a -million dollars’ worth. - -“A half a million? Pshaw! They will be all over this county looking for -them goods, and you will have to go deeper into the swamp to be rid of -them. When the rebels come they won’t leave a shingle of this house that -you can use. They will burn them all.” - -“Where’s the map he made out?” - -“Your mother has got that, and his weapons, too. Yes, I guess the best -thing I can do is to stay here. There may be some more of these -Confederates where these came from.” - -Leon went out, spent a few moments in exchanging compliments with -Giddings’ wife, who was very comfortably settled in her new quarters, -and went into the house to ask his mother for the map the rebel had -made. While the dinner was being made ready the boys spent their time in -looking it over. They were astonished to find all the streams, as far up -as he had time to go, were correctly drawn, and still more amazed to see -that the little creek which marked the boundary-line between their -county and Perry, which was so deep at the place where the bridge -extended across it, could be forded in five different localities. - -“That man must have been a civil engineer,” said Dawson. “No one, -without he had some knowledge of the business, could go over those -streams in the short time he has and make such a complete map of them.” - -At the end of half an hour the boys had eaten their dinner and were well -on their way toward Ellisville, Leon having the map, for which the man -in the rebel army had given his life, safely stowed away in one of his -pockets. He wasn’t as happy now as he was when he came that way before. -Dawson’s stories of his adventures had made him a little reckless, and -he felt as though he would like to go through some of them himself; but -unfortunately it did not come to him in quite that way. Here was his -mother liable to see more adventures than he was, and how did he know -but a squad of rebel cavalry would come down on her, kill her guard and -carry her off to some Southern prison-pen? Another thing, the Union men -had been very careful to hold a force on the main road which extended -into Perry county, so as to meet the Confederate troops when they came -there, and now the rebels had been at work operating in their rear. It -told Leon that they had got something to do before they could establish -their independence. - -“I know what you are thinking of, Leon,” said Dawson. “I don’t care how -strongly a place is fortified or how closely it is watched, the enemy -will get in and make a map of it. They know right where the strongest -works are, and all about it.” - -“What do they do with a man they catch making those maps?” - -“That depends. If he is in citizens’ clothes they take him and shut him -up; but if he is in uniform, then it’s good-bye, John.” - -“Do they shoot him?” - -“No; they hang him just as surely as they can get their hands upon him. -So you see that that rebel up to your house got what he deserved. He -knew what was going to happen to him in case he was caught, and he would -rather be shot than hung.” - -Before the boys had gone a great way on their road to Ellisville they -met a party of perhaps a hundred men, some with an axe on one shoulder -and a rifle on the other, accompanied by three or four wagons loaded -with their household furniture. They were going up into the swamp to -build boats, so that their families would not be cut off when the time -came for them to retreat. - -“The President sent us, but I don’t look for much trouble up here,” said -the leader of the party, leaning on his rifle. “But then it is well to -be on the safe side.” - -“Don’t fool yourselves,” said Leon. “The rebels won’t come along the -main road.” - -“Sho! How do you know?” - -“Because they have got men around in your rear working at maps, and all -that sort of thing,” said Leon. “Here’s a map that was taken off a dead -rebel this morning.” - -As Leon produced the book the men crowded around in eagerness to see it. -They looked at it in surprise, but they little thought it was a plan -that would lead the attacking force miles behind them, and that when -they turned they would find five hundred men in front of them, and that -they could drive them pell-mell across the little stream before spoken -of, and into the hands of another Confederate party who were concealed -there in the bushes waiting for them. It was a scheme to clean out the -Union party at one fell swoop, and nothing but Leon’s going home that -morning saved them from it. - -“There’s the little creek right there which divides our county from -Perry,” said Leon, pointing it out with his riding-whip, “and that map -shows that it is fordable in five different places—above and below the -bridge.” - -“Well, sir, it’s amazing how he got all the little streams down there in -the little time that he has had,” said the leader. “Who shot this -rebel?” - -“Mr. Giddings. He is lying in one of father’s negro cabins. I tell you -this that you need not be caught napping,” said Leon, putting the book -where it belonged. “There may be more rebels where these came from, and -you don’t want to let them see what you are doing. Good-bye, and good -luck to you.” - -Ellisville was livelier now than they had ever seen it, except on the -day of the convention. There were men scattered all over it, but the -greatest number of them were around the hotel. All the chief men were -there inspecting the wagons to see what there was in them, and as fast -as one wagon was found to contain provisions it was pushed off on one -side, to be hitched up directly and taken away into the swamp. It seemed -strange that when one of them had been doing such good work, and when -all the men about him were so deeply interested in what was going on -before them, that there was one among them who ached for an opportunity -to “throw it all into the ditch.” It was Newman. He was waiting to see -the quartermaster. He was going to get a mule if he could; if not, he -was “going to bust up the whole thing.” - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - A NIGHT EXPEDITION. - - -“Who do you report to?” asked Dawson, as, following Leon’s example, he -pulled his horse up to a halt. - -“What do I want to report to anybody for?” asked Leon. These things were -entirely new to him, and he had a good many formalities to learn. - -“Why, it is the rule that you must report to the men who sent you away, -in order that they may know when you got back.” - -“Oh! Then I suppose I ought to report to father. He is busy now, but as -soon as I can get his ear I’ll tell him about this map. Now, Tom, you -and Dawson go back to your camp, and stay there till I come. We’ll make -that our headquarters until we get ready to go away.” - -But Mr. Sprague was not so very busy that he could not take a little -time to listen to Leon. The last two wagons were loaded with clothing, -and he told the person who officiated as quartermaster that it would be -proper for him to call up any of the men who needed something to wear, -adding: - -“There are rebel uniforms in there, and I expect the men won’t want to -wear them, but it can’t be helped. I know I shouldn’t want to take off -my clothes and put on a gray jacket. Well, Leon, how did you find your -mother? No Confederates been near her, I suppose?” - -Mr. Sprague opened his eyes in surprise when he received a warning -gesture from Leon, but he followed him off on one side, out of reach of -everybody. The boy then began a hurried account of what had transpired -at his house, showed him the map, and told how he had left Giddings -there to keep an eye on his mother. To his surprise his father never -changed his countenance at all. He listened to Leon’s recital with the -same apparent unconcern that he would have received any ordinary piece -of news. - -“Now, father, what are you going to do about this?” said Leon, in -conclusion. “It looks to me as though the rebels were getting up -something, and the first thing we know they will be after us.” - -“I don’t know what I shall do about it yet,” said Mr. Sprague. “I shall -want to see Knight about it first. Now, as you are going into foreign -parts to-night—” - -“Why, I am not going away,” exclaimed Leon. “I am only going into Perry -county.” - -“Well, that is a foreign country. That is what the rebels call the -United States, and head all their news as ‘foreign intelligence.’ What’s -the reason that we can’t so designate a county which they claim? You are -going into Perry county to help Dawson bring his mother up here, and I -must instruct you how to pass the sentries.” - -“Have you got some sentries out?” inquired Leon. - -“We’ve got ten men down by that bridge, but this map you have shown me -proves that they won’t do much good there. Now, when you come up with -them—” - -Mr. Sprague took this as his starting-point, and went on to tell Leon -just what he must do when he passed the sentries. It was new business to -him, and he must be very careful how he acted. He must not attempt to -run by them—Mr. Sprague thought that Dawson was rather careless, and was -afraid he might do something to draw the sentries’ fire—but must do just -as he was told. When ordered to dismount and bring the countersign, -“Fidelity”—could he remember it?—he must be sure not to give it until -the sentry was close upon him, and then utter it in tones so low that no -one but the man for whom it was intended could hear it. Leon promised -compliance, repeated the countersign over to be sure he had it in his -mind, then shook his father warmly by the hand and went off to Tom -Howe’s camp. In reply to their inquiring glances, Leon then went on to -tell that his father had decided to see Mr. Knight before he determined -what to do in regard to the men who had been operating in the rear, and -described how he was going to work it to get by the sentries. - -“That’s all right,” said Dawson. “We can’t attempt anything wrong there, -although, to tell the truth, I have run by my own sentries more than -once.” - -“What would they do with you if they were to catch you in that -business?” inquired Tom. - -“Oh, if you hadn’t made any effort at deserting they would put you in -the guard-house,” replied Dawson, with a laugh. “They would think it was -merely a little fun on your part, and they wouldn’t punish you very -severely. But if you were known to be a deserter, they would hang you in -a minute. Now, I suppose we can wait here until it is pretty near dark, -and then we must be up and doing. If you fellows don’t want to go say -the word, and I’ll go alone.” - -“I shall be with you when you see your mother,” said Leon. - -“Here too,” said Tom. “You just bet I’ll stick close to Leon’s -coat-tails. If he gets into a row I’ll be there to help.” - -After that there was silence in the camp, for two of the boys had -something at least to think about. They were about to begin soldiering -in earnest. It is true that the events of the day before had infused new -confidence into them, but the attacking Union party was a great deal -stronger than the Confederate escort, and a battle, if one had taken -place, could have ended in but one way. Now, they were going right in -among those fellows, and who knew but they might run onto a squad of -rebels who were numerically their superiors, and be all taken prisoners? -That was what bothered Leon. He wasn’t afraid of being shot, but he was -afraid of being hanged. There was something murderous about a rope and -the men getting ready to haul away on it, but with a bullet the case was -different. - -“Well, if I am going to die I’ll show myself a man,” soliloquized Leon, -as he rolled about under the trees watching Tom, who was getting an -early supper for them. “How cool Dawson takes it.” - -His rebel friend lay opposite to him, on the other side of the fire, -with his saddle for a pillow and his hat drawn over his face, and the -regular breathing that came to Leon’s ears told him he was fast asleep. - -“Now, it seems to me that if I was going back among a lot of comrades -who were just aching to hang me I should find something to think about -to keep me awake,” muttered Leon. “Maybe it is all in a lifetime. -Perhaps when I have been through as many dangers as he has I can go to -sleep, too.” - -Supper was ready at last, Dawson aroused to eat his share of it, and the -moment he was settled with a plate of bacon and corn-bread before him, -he became at once full of stories. He seemed surprised because Leon told -him that he was asleep. - -“Well, I couldn’t make the time pass quicker by staying awake, could I?” -said Dawson. “You would have gone to sleep if you knew what’s before -you. You may see the time when you will be glad to take a wink all by -yourself.” - -In half an hour more the boys rode out of the grove and turned their -horses toward the bridge. In passing by the hotel Leon saw his father -standing on the porch. He saluted him, but kept right on without -stopping. Dawson was surprised, and remarked in his quiet way that Mr. -Sprague was taking the separation very coolly. - -“He must have unbounded confidence in you,” said he. “Most fathers would -have come out to bid you good-bye.” - -“I did that long ago,” said Leon. “My mother is the only one I am -worrying about now. If the killing of that rebel will convince them that -we have a body-guard out on all sides, I shall be more than pleased. -They will come with a bigger force than two men to take a map next -time.” - -The ride through the woods was a lonely one, and, finally, just as it -began to grow dark, they came within sight of the bridge, and saw a -sentry pacing up and down there with his piece carried at shoulder arms. -One thing was evident to Leon: his father had improved his time in -giving the men some instruction, or else the squad was under a corporal -who understood his business. The sentry halted when he heard the sound -of their horses’ hoofs on the road, faced about, and brought his gun to -arms port before he said a word. - -“That fellow acts like an old sentinel, don’t he?” said Dawson. “He has -been in the service before.” - -“No, I reckon not,” said Leon. “So far as I know, everyone of these men -is as green as I am myself.” - -“Halt!” shouted the sentry. “Who comes there?” - -“Friends with the countersign!” said Leon. - -“Dismount, friends. Advance, one, with the countersign.” - -So far everything was all right; but the next move was something that -was not down in the tactics. No sooner had Leon’s voice answered the -sentry than nine men came running from different parts of the woods and -took up their stand directly behind the sentry. They held their guns in -readiness, too, as if they meant to be on hand for anything that might -happen. - -“I tell you they meant to be ready for us, didn’t they?” said Dawson. -“You won’t get the sentries in our army to answer a challenge like -that.” - -“What would they do?” - -“They would keep out of sight in the bushes, and perhaps be ready to -fire in case anything goes wrong.” - -The boys had by this time dismounted, and Leon, leaving his horse for -Dawson to hold, walked up to the sentry and whispered the countersign, -“Fidelity,” in his ears. - -“The countersign is correct,” said the man. “Why, Leon, where are you -going? Don’t you know that you will be gobbled up if you go beyond that -bend?” - -“No,” said Leon, in amazement; “we are going down after Dawson’s -mother.” - -“Well,” said one of the men who stood behind the sentry, “you can go, -but I won’t. A little while ago two or three of us happened to be out -here, and we looked up and saw a fellow standing in the road watching -us. We called to him, but he got into the bushes before we could shoot -at him.” - -This was something Leon had not bargained for. The other boys had come -up in obedience to his signal, and they all heard what the man had to -say about the spy who was watching them. - -“Did you see more than one?” asked Dawson, who was utterly amazed to -know the rebels had come between him and his mother. If that was the -case he might as well go back, for all hope of bringing her into the -Union camp was, as he expressed it, “up stump.” - -“No, I didn’t see but one, and he was a Johnny, for the way he took to -the bush was a caution,” said the man. “That was what brought us out -here in such a hurry. We didn’t know but there might be others behind -you, and we thought we would be ready for you.” - -“Well, Dawson, I am going ahead if you are,” said Leon. - -“Talk enough,” exclaimed Dawson, placing his foot in the stirrup and -swinging himself upon his horse. “All I want is a little pluck to back -me up, and I will have my mother up here before you see the sun rise.” - -“You have got the old man’s grit, I can see that easy enough,” said the -sentry. “Good-bye and good luck to you. We don’t want to say a word to -dishearten you, but if you come back here at all, you’ll come a-flying. -One sentry can’t stop you.” - -The boys laughed, but anybody could see that it was forced, and in a few -moments they were around the bend, out of sight. It was there that the -rebel spy had been seen. They looked sharply into the woods as they -passed along—every boy had his revolver drawn and hanging by his -side—but the thickets were as silent as if nobody had ever been there. -Leon and Tom were very pale, there was no mistake about that, but they -kept as close at the heels of Dawson’s horse as they could possibly get. -Not a word was said until the woods had been passed and they found -themselves in the midst of a long cotton-field which stretched away on -both sides of them, and in the distance was a row of buildings which -Dawson pointed out to them. - -“If we can get there inside of that house we are all right,” said he, -and a person wouldn’t have thought from the way he spoke that he was -thinking of his mother. “There is where she lives.” - -“If that spy was in the bushes and saw us when we went by, what was the -reason he didn’t jump out and grab us?” said Tom. - -“Perhaps he was alone,” said Leon, who would have felt safer if that -spy, whoever he was, had been among his friends. “He wants more help -before he attempts to arrest us.” - -“Now, boys, let’s keep perfectly still and ride up to the house as -though we had a right there,” said Dawson. “You are not afraid to shoot, -are you, Tom?” - -“All I ask of you is to give me a chance,” returned Tom, indignantly. -“Anything to keep from being made prisoner.” - -The boys relapsed into silence again, and presently drew up before the -gate which gave entrance into the door-yard. It was an old-fashioned -gate, and was held in place by a wooden pin, which was thrust into an -auger-hole. The horse Dawson rode showed that he was accustomed to that -way of getting in, for he moved up close to the pin, so that his rider -could pull it. The gate creaked loudly on its wooden hinges, whereupon -they heard a little confusion in the house, the door opened, and by the -aid of the light from the fireplace the boys saw a woman and two little -children fill the door. - -“Oh, Bo—” - -One of the children was on the point of shouting out Dawson’s name, but -quicker than a flash the mother’s hand covered his mouth. It was no -place to speak a person’s name out loud. - -“Sh—! Not a word out of you,” said Dawson, dismounting from his horse. -“You will bring the rebels on me. That’s a little boy, but he is Union -all over,” he added, turning to Leon. “Now you stay here and hold my -horse, and I will go in and get things ready. I needn’t tell you to keep -a good watch down the road. If you hear so much as a foot-step, I want -to know it.” - -“Now hold on a bit,” said Tom, dismounting and handing his reins to Leon -to hold for him, “If you are going to leave us here in silence I must -take care of my muel, else she will arouse the neighborhood. You hold -her head, Leon, and I will look out for her tail.” - -“Well, why don’t you take care of it, then?” asked Leon, when he saw Tom -station himself in such a position that he could readily seize her tail -in moments of emergency. - -“Because she isn’t ready to bray yet,” said Tom. “Whenever she gets -ready to let the people know she is here she will bob her tail up and -down. Then I will be ready to take hold of it and keep it down. Oh, -there’s a heap to be learned about muels the first thing you know.” - -Dawson laughed—he couldn’t keep from laughing if he knew his mother was -in danger—and went on into the house, the door of which was closed after -him; so Leon didn’t hear much of that greeting. And he wouldn’t have -learned much if he had heard it. His mother had lived in danger for the -last year, and all she did was to kiss him and listen while he told of -his capture. - -“But I wanted to go,” said he, “and father and I promised each other -that whoever got away first should go to Jones county, and the one that -was left in the rebel ranks should come there as soon as he could. I got -away first, and now I am come after you. Pack up everything you want and -be ready to load it aboard the mule-team which I will bring here as soon -as possible.” - -“Will I be protected there?” asked his mother. - -“You certainly will. There is a thousand men there, and they are growing -every day. I wouldn’t ask you to stir a step if I didn’t think so. Your -house is gone up.” - -“Well, I can’t help that. But do you really think your father will be -able to join us there?” - -“He’s got to take his chances; that’s what I had to do. Now, mother, -take everything you need and leave the rest behind for the rebels.” - -This was all that was said, and Dawson left the house and went out to -his companions; but he knew that his mother had gone hastily to work to -bundle up such things as she needed and could not possibly do without. -He took his bridle from Leon’s hand and with a whispered “follow me” led -the way around behind a corn-crib, out of sight. - -“Now I must leave you again, and you will take notice that your horses -don’t let anyone know they are here,” said Dawson. “I am going to get a -mule-team.” - -“Your mother is going, is she?” asked Tom. - -“Of course she’s going. She would look nice living in that house while -she had a husband and son in the Yankee army! Of course we have seen the -house for the last time. The rebels will burn it up the first time they -come this way.” - -While Dawson was getting ready to go out and get the mule-team the boys -noticed that their horses raised their heads, and pricked their ears -forward and looked down the road, as if there was some object down there -that attracted their attention. Dawson was the first to notice it, and -he straightway grabbed his horse by the bridle and forced his head down. - -“Somebody’s coming,” said he. - -Leon speedily dismounted and took up a position by his horse’s bridle, -Tom gave his reins into his hand and occupied his old station by his -mule’s tail, and all the boys held their breath and listened. It was -faint and far off, but presently they could distinctly hear the sound of -a multitude of horses’ hoofs upon the hard road. Nearer it came, until -Dawson, who was experienced in such matters, informed his companions in -a whisper that there must be a whole platoon of cavalry approaching. It -came from the south, too, and that was the direction in which the rebel -headquarters were situated. - -“I tell you it’s lucky that we got here just in the nick of time,” said -Tom. “Hold on there, old muel,” he continued, catching the mule’s tail -and pulling it down. “You mustn’t let those folks know we’re here. Did -you see how I stopped his braying?” - -Leon and Dawson were too deeply interested in what was going on in the -road to pay much attention to him, and finally they could see, through -the cracks in the corn-crib where the chinking had fallen out, a number -of men ride past the house, or, rather, the majority of them rode by, -while three drew rein and stopped there. - -“By gracious! I hope mother heard them, and that she had time to put her -bundles away out of sight,” whispered Dawson. “Everything depends upon -that.” - -“Where do you suppose they are going?” asked Leon, who was so excited -that he could scarcely speak. - -“They are going up to Jones county to see how nearly ready for them we -are,” said Dawson. “I reckon they’ll stop when they get to the bridge. -There are some riflemen up there that act to me as if they were good -shots.” - -“Now, here’s a thing that bothers me,” said Leon. “You are talking about -getting a mule-team to haul your mother’s things to our county, and I -would like to know how we are to get it by those fellows? We’ll have to -wait until they go back.” - -Dawson did not answer at once, for he was much concerned about those -three men who rode into the yard. He saw one of them dismount and go -into the house, and his heart beat like a trip-hammer when he saw it. He -waited for the confusion which he knew would follow when the bundles his -mother had made up were exposed to view, but it did not come. In a few -minutes the man came out and spoke to the two men he had left on -horseback, and they went on, and the rebel turned and came directly -toward the corn-crib. - -“He’s coming here,” said Leon; and before anybody could say a word -against it he had cocked his revolver, rested it in the crack, and -pointed it at the man’s head. He was right in front of the open doorway, -and of course Leon couldn’t have missed him at that distance. The rebel -came on as though he knew where he was going, entered the doorway, -placed his mouth close to the crack, and whispered: - -“Robert!” - -“For goodness’ sake turn that revolver the other way!” whispered Dawson. -“It is my father.” - - - - - CHAPTER X. - CALE WANTS A MULE. - - -“I am to go to the quartermaster, am I? It is his business to give the -muels out, is it? He give one to that Tom Howe and never asked what he -was going to do with him, and now he had to go and refuse to give one to -me. I’ll get even with you, Mr. Sprague, for that, and you just see if I -don’t.” - -It was Newman who spoke, and he leaned against the corner of the hotel -and watched Mr. Sprague as he went on inspecting the wagons. He was a -boy about nineteen years old, although he might have passed for thirty, -judging by his looks. He didn’t have a rifle; in fact he didn’t have -anything except the big hunk of “nigger-twist” which he took from his -pocket, transferring a generous slice to his mouth. He was not a -raftsman, anybody could have told that, for they generally took some -pains with their personal appearance. This Newman was ragged and dirty, -and looked as though he had been in the habit of sleeping wherever night -overtook him. He had the appearance of being mean enough for anything, -and the facts proved that he was. - -“See that ole Sprague stepping around like he owned the nation,” -muttered Newman, shutting one eye and squirting a flow of tobacco-juice -at the nearest tree. “I’ll see pap, and if he thinks it can be done I am -going to do it. That ’rolling officer, when he was here, told them that -they couldn’t have things all their own way, and I guess they will find -it out. They will give me something for telling them where they can find -the men, and I’ll be dog-gone if I don’t do it. Where’s that -quartermaster, I wonder? Busy, as usual, I’ll bet. Well, let him work -his own gait. He won’t do it much longer.” - -Newman stayed around almost all day before he got a chance to speak to -the quartermaster, and before he went away there was something that drew -his attention from Mr. Sprague to Leon. The latter and two companions -came up to report what had happened at Mr. Sprague’s plantation since -his absence. Leon made a handsome figure, if he only knew it. He sat his -horse with easy grace, was clad in a suit of blue jeans which fitted his -person admirably, and he raised his hand to his father with a military -salute that would have done credit to an old soldier. Newman did not -hear any of his report, for it was given in tones so low that they could -not reach his ears; but if he had heard any of it, it would have shown -the necessity of his being up and doing. - -“See how easily he touches his hat to that old civilian,” said Newman, -with a sneer; “while my father, who could have had that position if the -folks had been a-mind to give it to him, has to go around without -anybody saluting him. Such things ain’t right, but I tell you I am going -to make them that way. They offered my father something nice if he would -betray these chief men into their hands—they didn’t say what it would -be, but I suppose it is some commission—and he don’t seem willing to do -it. I’ll do it, and see what they will give me. There’s the -quartermaster now, and he don’t seem to be busy.” - -Newman threw his tobacco out of his mouth and walked up to the -quartermaster, who stood with his hands in his pockets and watching some -wagons that were being hitched up previous to being hauled into the -swamp. - -“I want to see if you will give me a muel, please, sir,” said Newman, -stepping up and trying his best to give the military salute as he had -seen Leon do. - -“A mule? What do you want of a mule?” said the officer, more than half -inclined to laugh at the boy’s appearance. “You don’t want a mule to -ride up to the house.” - -“No, sir; but I want him so as to be ready to go with the men when they -capture another wagon-train,” said Newman. - -“Why, you didn’t go with the men the other day. I saw you around here -the whole time. Your father was with you, and so was Dan.” - -Dan was Newman’s oldest brother. All we can say about him is that he was -Cale Newman over again. Dan was the one that stole the bacon and sweet -potatoes that the family lived on. He had courage to go where Cale -wouldn’t dare show his head. - -“But we would a-had to go afoot,” said Newman, in an injured tone. “I -couldn’t walk so fur.” - -“It seems the others did it without any trouble. You could have gone -there and showed your good-will, if you had been a-mind to. I reckon you -will find it better to do without a mule.” - -“You gave Tom Howe one and said nothing about it,” said Newman, growing -angry again. - -“I did?” said the quartermaster. - -“Old Sprague done it, and it amounts to the same thing.” - -“Look here, Newman, you want to be careful how you talk about that man. -He ain’t a common civilian any more.” - -“What is he, then, I would like to know?” - -“He’s got power enough to put you where people won’t hear you say that,” -said the officer, fastening his eyes sternly on Newman’s face. “He will -put you in jail.” - -“Well, I’ll bet he won’t put me in jail, neither. My father has got -friends enough to tear it up.” - -“Well, Cale, if you are going to hold to such doctrines as that you -might as well go among the Confederates, where you belong. You don’t -belong here, that is certain.” - -“If you will give me a muel I won’t hold no such docterings,” said -Newman. “I’ll be the loyalest fellow you ever see.” - -The quartermaster looked at Newman in amazement. - -“What kind of a fellow are you, any way?” he asked. “You are going to be -loyal or not, just as you get paid for it.” - -“That’s the way my father looks at it. You didn’t give him an office, -and now he’s going to let you hoe your own row. Now, if I could have a -muel to ride around—” - -“Well, you’ll not get any, I can tell you that. And, furthermore, if I -hear any more such talk from you I’ll have you arrested.” - -“My father says—” - -“I’ve heard enough. Don’t speak to me again. A man who will depend upon -a mule for his loyalty don’t amount to much. Now go away, and don’t let -me see you again.” - -The quartermaster was very angry as he turned away, and Newman stood and -watched him while he went on inspecting the wagons. Then he took a chew -of “nigger-twist,” shook his head threateningly, and turned his steps -toward home. - -“You have heard enough, have you?” he muttered, as he followed the blind -path that led through the woods toward the little shanty under which his -family found shelter. “Well, I’ll bet you will hear more of it before -to-morrow night. If father don’t give you into the hands of the rebels I -will.” - -When Newman arrived within sight of his home he found his father sitting -on the door-step smoking his pipe, while his brother Dan was stretched -in a sunny spot where he could enjoy the full benefit of the warmth -without going near the fire. His mother was engaged in a lazy sort of -way over a blaze which had been started in the fireplace; that is to -say, she was sitting down and watching a pot that had been set over the -coals, while a dingy cob pipe, like her husband’s, was tightly clasped -between her teeth. The house was a tumble-down affair, and looked as -though it was about to come to pieces, with a dirt floor, and the door -beside which Mr. Newman was sitting was minus a hinge near the top. The -family were all of them what might have been expected by this -description of their place of abode. And the work, which might have been -accomplished by one man in three or four days to make his house worth -living in, was not above Mr. Newman’s ability, for he showed on his face -that he had seen better times. He had been wealthy once, but now he had -lost it, and was much too lazy to go to work and earn more. That -accounted for Cale’s way of talking. He didn’t say “pap” and “mam” -unless he spoke before he thought, for he considered himself better than -those with whom he associated. The raftsmen used to say that if Mr. -Newman’s work was equal to his talk he would have a much better house to -live in. - -“Well, Cale, what’s the matter with you?” inquired his father, as the -new-comer approached the place where they were sitting. “You act as -though you had lost your last friend.” - -“I want to tell you what has happened down there in town, and see if you -wouldn’t look so, too,” said Cale, seating himself on the ground. “I -asked old Sprague and the quartermaster—” - -“Quartermaster nothing,” exclaimed Mr. Newman. “Who gave him such an -office as that? He had the handling of the mules and horses and would -not give you one.” - -“That’s just the way of it,” said Cale. “Now, I want to know if such a -thing is right? He gave Tom Howe one and never said nothing about it; -but he wouldn’t give me one for fear that I wouldn’t be on hand when he -was going out to capture the next wagon-train.” - -“No more would you,” said his mother, at that moment appearing at the -door to hear what Cale had to say. “You ain’t on that side. The South is -going to whip, and you don’t want to be beholden to those fellows for -anything.” - -“I told ’em if they would give me a muel I would be just the loyalest -fellow he ever saw,” said Cale. - -“The more shame to you,” said his mother, angrily. - -“Well, I don’t know about that,” chimed in Mr. Newman. “If he could get -a mule or one of the horses he could fly around easy, carrying -dispatches and the like. He could be here to-day and see what was going -on, and to-night he could get on his mule and take the news down to the -Confederates. Wouldn’t he give you a mule?” - -“No, he wouldn’t, I tried Sprague and the quartermaster, too, and they -both threatened to arrest me if I talked so any more.” - -“Well, I do think in my soul that they are getting on a high horse,” -said Mr. Newman, taking the pipe from his mouth. “I’d like to see them -arrest you or anybody connected with this family. Their old jail would -stay up about as long as I could get to it with an axe.” - -“That’s what I told ’em; and he said that I mustn’t talk that way any -more.” - -“Say,” said Dan, who had mustered up energy enough to straighten up -during this talk and was now engaged in filling a cob pipe with some -nigger-twist, “you don’t suppose that the men who were captured with -that wagon-train have gone on to Mobile, do you? It seems to me that -they ought to be back here to-night or to-morrow. Them fellows ain’t -a-going to stand still and let themselves be robbed of half a million -dollars’ worth.” - -“Don’t I wish I had the stuff that’s in one of them wagons!” exclaimed -Cale. “There’s grub enough to keep our jaws wagging for one good solid -year; and clothes! You just ought to see the uniforms there is in -there.” - -“I came away before they got to inspecting the wagons,” said Mr. Newman. -“Somehow I couldn’t manage to stay around and see the clothes and things -our fellows were going to wear go to those lazy vagabonds.” - -That was one reason why Mr. Newman came away before the wagons were -overhauled, but the principal motive that governed him was because he -did not want to see others saluted. His attention was first called to it -by the actions of Bud McCoy. Bud didn’t care for anything, but he seemed -to be carried away by his Union sentiment, and once, when he spoke to -Mr. Sprague, he did it without saluting; but he thought of it at once, -and came back and touched his hat to him. - -“I declare, Mr. Secretary of War, I almost forgot my manners to you. I -forgot that you ain’t a plain raftsman any more.” - -Mr. Newman would have given a good deal if he could have been saluted -that way, and because he was not, he didn’t care to stay around where -the crowd was. - -“Mr. Sprague let on that he didn’t want to be saluted every time a man -spoke to him, but I know a story worth two of that,” said Mr. Newman, -getting upon his feet and pacing up and down in front of his house. “I -am better able to hold that position than anybody else, because I have -seen more military than they have. But no, they had to go and give it to -a man who don’t know a thing about it.” - -“That’s just what I told them,” said Cale. - -“And what did they say?” - -“They said I couldn’t have the muel.” - -“Well, now, if those fellows come back here,” said Dan, “what’s the -reason we can’t help them get all the chief men of the county? I am in -it, for one.” - -“Here, too,” said Cale. - -“You must be careful what you do,” said Mr. Newman. “They have got -sentries posted down there, and you can’t get by them without the -countersign.” - -“Then we’ll go below the bridge and swim the creek,” said Dan. “If I go -into this business I shall go in all over.” - -“If you will do that you may be able to get me the commission of Colonel -of the Confederate army,” said Mr. Newman. “I never told you this -before, but I shall ask that or nothing.” - -“A colonel!” ejaculated Cale, with intense enthusiasm. “Then you will -have command. He rides a horse, doesn’t he?” - -“He certainly does, and he’s got a commission backed by a government. -He’s higher than the President of the Jones-County Confederacy. That’s -the commission I am working for.” - -One would not have thought that Mr. Newman was working very hard for -that commission to have seen him at that moment. In fact he did not seem -to be working for anything. He was sitting there perfectly quiet and -waiting for the commission to come to him. - -“I tell you, boys, you must work hard for that colonel’s -shoulder-straps,” said Mrs. Newman, taking her stand in the door with -her arms placed on her hips. “You won’t be wearing no ragged clothes -like you be now, and I’ll have a silk dress to wear at all seasons. You -won’t catch me around cooking as I am now. I’ll be a lady, and have a -better pipe than this to smoke.” - -“And who knows but that father might get us something?” said Dan. “I’ll -bet if you held old Sprague’s position you would give me something -besides a private in your ranks.” - -“That’s just what I am thinking of,” returned Mrs. Newman. “Your father -was telling me about it last night. Of course he would have a staff, and -you two would come in for two of the offices mighty handy. I tell you -you want to work hard. Your father doesn’t seem to be able to do -anything.” - -“And what is the reason?” exclaimed Mr. Newman, taking his pipe from his -mouth with one hand and extending the other toward his wife. “Do you -suppose I am going to run down there among all that crowd and stand all -the risk of getting my neck stretched for treachery? The boys can do -what they please and nobody will say a word to them; but let me go down -there and carry news of what has been going on and you will see how long -you have got a husband to take care of you. It ain’t safe for me to go -there.” - -“I didn’t think about your being hung,” said Mrs. Newman, indifferently. - -“Of course that is what they are up to, and they are thinking now how it -could be done.” - -“Yes,” exclaimed Cale, “they told me that I had best go among the -rebels, where I belonged.” - -“Don’t that prove what I said? I ain’t going down there any more. But I -want to see them lock you up, if they dare do it. That’s what I am -aching for.” - -But Cale didn’t agree with his father’s opinions in regard to locking -him up, and he secretly resolved that he wouldn’t say anything more in -the presence of the quartermaster that would lead him to carry that -resolution into effect. His father filled his pipe and sat down in his -usual place in the doorway, and Cale, following the motion of Dan’s -head, accompanied him around behind the house. Mr. Newman didn’t care -where they went or what they did while they were gone. All he thought of -was the carrying out of Dan’s proposition to surrender the head men of -the Jones-County Confederacy into the hands of the enemy. It looked like -a very small piece of business for a father to put this into his sons’ -hands, but Mr. Newman thought he was acting just right. The boys were -gone half an hour or more, and came back in time to get something to -eat. They sat down to their supper in silence, and when they had got -through they put on their hats and left the house. They didn’t take -their dogs with them, and that proved that they were not going after -wild hogs. - -“You just let those boys alone,” said Mr. Newman, looking down the path -along which they had gone with some satisfaction. “They are going to get -whatever they go for.” - -“I think it would have been some honor to you if you had gone in their -place,” said his wife. “Somehow it don’t seem right to leave the -capturing of so many men to boys.” - -“Yes, and run the risk of stretching hemp,” replied Mr. Newman, -indignantly. “Those boys can be away from home as much as they are -a-mind to and nobody will say a word; but if I go down to where the men -are and find out something about them they would know in a minute if I -wasn’t at home, like I had oughter be. And I don’t want them to ask that -question. Let the boys go on. We’ll have some of them men arrested the -first thing you know.” - -“But how are they going to arrest them? Are they going to come here and -take them?” - -“No; it will be in a fight, likely.” - -“And where will you be when the fight comes off?” - -“Oh, I’ll be around somewhere. You look out for yourself and let your -husband look out for himself. That’s the way to do it.” - -“I wish we had a muel to ride,” said Dan, as they trudged through the -woods toward the creek. “Somehow it puts me on nettles to walk. Now that -Tom Howe has got a muel I don’t see why we can’t have one. We ought to -have gone with them men that captured that train.” - -“But we had no guns,” said Cale. - -“No, but we would soon have had them. There’s lots of guns in the -President’s headquarters that haven’t got any owners. Tom didn’t have a -muel, and now he’s got one.” - -“And that’s what comes of touching his hat to those civilians,” said -Cale, in disgust. “I bet you I wouldn’t do it. Why didn’t they give -father a position like he ought to have had? We would have had muels by -this time.” - -“It’s my opinion that father has got his foot in it,” said Dan, with a -knowing shake of his head. “He has said all along that the South was -going to whip, and old Sprague and the other men don’t like it. I’ll bet -you that if the truth was known half of them are on our side.” - -This was the substance of the conversation that passed between Dan and -Cale on their way to the creek. Boys as they were, they had every reason -to believe that one county could not stand against the whole Southern -Confederacy, that the Union men in the county were going to be easily -whipped out, and they wanted to be on the winning side. Perhaps there -was a little hope of plunder mixed in with it, as Cale finally said: - -“I’ll tell you what, Dan: I don’t like the way that young Sprague had of -throwing on style to-day. He rode up on that colt of his and saluted the -old man as if he were the owner of the State. I’d like to have him go -afoot for awhile and let me ride on that horse.” - -“Well, he’ll have to do it,” returned Dan. “But he’s got some other -things that I’d like to have—his revolver, for instance.” - -Before long it began to grow dark, but the gloom that settled over the -woods did not interfere with the movements of these backwoodsmen. They -kept straight ahead as though it had been broad daylight, and finally -arrived on the banks of the creek. Without saying a word they threw off -their clothes and prepared to plunge into the stream. If they had known -as much as Leon did they would have looked for that ford which was but a -short distance from the place where they swam the creek. The water was -somewhat cold, but they took it bravely, and in a few minutes more stood -on the opposite side. - -“That Leon is going to have a colder place than this,” said Dan, as he -shiveringly put on his clothes. “I do wish they would turn him and Tom -over to us.” - -“What would you do with him?” - -“I’d make him swim this creek.” - -“Perhaps he wouldn’t do it.” - -“He wouldn’t, eh? Wait until he sees his revolver looking him squarely -in the face. I bet you he would go. Now, we want to be still, for we -don’t know how close those sentries are to us. We must keep mum and make -as little noise as possible in going through the woods until we find out -where they are.” - -Cale was now perfectly willing that Dan should take the lead, for as -they were getting pretty close to armed men he did not want to be the -first to draw their fire; so he gradually fell behind, while Dan made -his way through the bushes with an ease and celerity that was -astonishing. He scarcely caused a twig to rustle. The experience which -the boys had in hunting wild hogs stood them well in stead. Finally Dan -pushed aside the bushes and saw the road fairly before him. There was -nothing on it as far as he could see, and the bridge seemed to be empty. - -“Somebody has been fooled in regard to those sentinels,” said Dan. - -“Go out in the road,” said Cale. “You can’t see anything from here.” - -Dan went, but had scarcely got clear of the bushes when a voice called -out, in a surprised tone: - -“Halt!” - -“By gum, I guess you found something,” whispered Cale. “You had better -be getting out of there.” - -Dan waited to hear no more. He drew a bee-line for the bushes, and in a -moment more was threading his way noisely through them. When he had gone -a little ways he stopped and said to his brother: - -“I didn’t see anybody there.” - -“No, but they are there, and they saw you,” said Cale, who was greatly -excited. “Now, what’s to be done? I wish that cavalry would come along -now, and we would have those sentinels took in out of the wet. I hope -they did not see you.” - -“Nor me. I wouldn’t dare go back home again. Let’s sit down here a -spell.” - -“I—I believe I would rather go a little further away,” said Cale. -“Suppose some officer should come along the road?” - -Dan answered this question by seating himself on the nearest log and -resting his chin on his hands. He wasn’t going any further, and Cale, -rather than be left alone in the woods, took a place by his side. They -stayed there for a quarter of an hour without saying a word, except -Cale, who wished they had a gun, so that they could tumble the officer -over when he came along to see where they went, and then they heard -another challenge to halt from the sentinel on the bridge. - -“There, now, I’ll bet there is somebody else coming,” said Cale, his -excitement and fear increasing tenfold. - -“Well, he didn’t come by here,” said Dan, who sat where he could see -everybody who passed along the road. - -“No, but he came from Ellisville. Who knows but there was someone there -watching our house, and who saw us when we came away?” - -“That’s so,” said Dan, but he didn’t seem to be much worried by it. - -“Well, now, I say let’s go a little further back.” - -But Dan kept his seat with his eyes fixed upon the road, and while his -brother was trying to make up his mind whether or not he ought to leave -him they heard the clatter of horses’ hoofs on the bridge, and even Dan -began to prick his ears. It was a small party of horsemen who were -coming directly along the road of which he kept watch. They were walking -their horses, and that made the spies eager to escape observation. Dan -stretched himself out at full length in the bushes, his example being -promptly followed by Cale, and in a few minutes the horsemen rode by; -but they saw nothing to excite their suspicions, and in a few seconds -more they passed out of hearing. - -“Don’t I wish I had a gun!” exclaimed Dan, raising himself on his knees -and going through all the motions he would make in covering the -horsemen. - -“Who was it?” asked Cale. - -“It was Leon, that worthless Tom Howe, and that rebel fellow that they -have been running with since yesterday,” said Dan. “Now I wish your -squad of cavalry would come along. But you see we hain’t got no guns, -and each one of them has got a six-shooter.” - -Cale had never been more astonished in his life. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - MR. DAWSON’S STRATEGY. - - -“Yes, sir, I wish I had a gun in my hands,” said Dan, rising to his feet -and gazing down the road in the direction in which the horsemen had -disappeared. “I could have tumbled that Leon Sprague off his horse just -as easy as not. And I might have had if there had been any way for me to -earn it.” - -There had been plenty of ways for him to earn a gun, or, for the matter -of that, some better clothes than he wore, if it had not been for his -disinclination to work. He could have gone into the woods almost any -time and made a man’s wages by chopping, but that was niggers’ work and -a little too low down for him. Mr. Newman and his boys had tried it -once, but the men who had charge of them were so cross and snappish, and -wanted them to do so much more work than they did, that they could no -longer stand it. At the end of three days they came home with their -axes, put them up in a corner, and vowed that they would hunt wild hogs -with their dogs and stick them with their knives rather than work under -such task-masters. And if their father wouldn’t do it they might be sure -that the boys would not, for Dan and Cale looked for better times -without doing a thing to bring them about. They preferred to be -idle—they were squatters; even the ground their house was built upon did -not belong to them—and whenever anybody came near losing his life, as -Tom Howe had come near losing his during the last spring drive, it -pleased them wonderfully. That little episode added to their enmity -against Leon Sprague. According to their belief, Leon ought to have -stood on a log and seen him go under. - -“I didn’t see anybody go by,” said Cale. - -“I don’t suppose you did,” said Dan, with something like a sneer. “You -are like an ostrich. Whenever they get frightened they hide their heads -and think their body can’t be seen. Now let’s go down this way a little -further, and then we’ll lay in the bushes and see what’s going to -happen.” - -“What do you suppose that rebel fellow has come out here with Leon for?” -said Cale. “Has he got any relatives or things down here that he is -going after?” - -“That’s just what’s a-bothering of me. I don’t know, but we can watch -and find out. Now we’ll wait until they come back,” said Dan, picking -out a comfortable seat for himself against a tree where the bushes were -so thick that one might have passed within five feet of him without -knowing that he was there. “He’s a rebel, he deserted to the enemy with -a uniform on, and if we see some Confederates come along here we will -tell them where he is.” - -“But we don’t know where he is,” said Cale, looking around to find an -easy spot to sit down. - -“Well, the rebels can easy watch here until he comes back,” retorted his -brother. “What’s there to hinder them from jumping out on him and taking -him and all that he’s got into the bargain? Now, I like, when I am -sitting down in this way, to talk about what I am going to do with those -things we are going to take away from Leon. I speak for his revolver.” - -This started Cale off on a new subject, and it wasn’t long before he -forgot that there were armed men within less than a quarter of a mile -from him. If Leon and Tom could have been dealt with as these young -backwoodsmen wanted them to be it wouldn’t be long before they would -have changed places. They probably passed an hour in talking over their -various plans, and then they were brought to an abrupt silence by the -sound of horses’ hoofs upon the road. The men had been advancing so -cautiously that they were close upon them before they knew it. Cale, -whose greatest care was to keep out of sight, at once stretched himself -at full length in the bushes, while Dan, who wanted to see who the men -were, raised himself to his full height and looked over the thicket. -What he saw was about a dozen men, all on horseback, and noted, too, -that they were all dressed in Confederate uniform; but one thing that -astonished him was a revolver that was pointed straight at his head. The -leader of the horsemen was an old soldier, and he could not be taken -unawares. - -“Halloo! By George, there’s a Yank,” he exclaimed. “Come out of that.” - -Dan was thunderstruck. He had never expected to be greeted this way by -his friends, and for a moment or two he stood with his hands down by his -side unable to move or speak; while Cale, uttering a smothered -ejaculation, began to worm his way out of the bushes on his belly. - -“Hold on! There are two of you there, and if you move another hair I -will cut loose on you!” shouted the leader; and to show that he was in -earnest he turned his horse and rode into the woods. His men were with -him, and when Dan cleared his eyes of a mist that seemed to obstruct -their vision he found that there were half a dozen revolvers looking at -him. “We’ve got you and you might as well come out. Where do you -belong?” - -“Are you Confederates?” stammered Dan. - -“Of course we are. What did you take us for? Come out of that.” - -“Well, now, if you are Confederates you want to turn those weapons the -other way,” said Dan, growing bolder when he heard his own voice. “I am -as good a Confederate as you are.” - -“Oh, well, then, it is all right. Come out here on the road so that we -can talk to you. Get up there, you fellow lying in those bushes. You -needn’t think we are going to hurt you. Now, then, what do you know? -Have you seen any Confederates around here to-day?” - -“No, I haven’t. But say,” added Dan, who had by this time taken up his -stand in the road and grew bolder when he saw that none of the soldiers -addressed him by name, “you want to get all the head men of Jones county -in your hands, don’t you?” - -“Well, I should say so,” exclaimed the leader, showing more enthusiasm -than he had thus far exhibited. “Can you put me in the way of getting my -hands onto them?” - -“How much will you give?” said Dan. - -“How much will I give?” asked the leader, as if he did not quite catch -Dan’s meaning. - -“Yes. My father had some talk with you fellows about it, and he says he -is working for a colonel’s commission. He won’t work for any less. Now, -you can afford to give me captain and my brother here lieutenant, can’t -you?” - -The captain, for that’s who he was, was taken aback by this bold -declaration on the part of Dan. He looked hard at him to see if he was -in earnest, and then looked around at his men. There was one present, a -lieutenant, who evidently measured Dan by his own estimate, for he said: - -“I was there and heard all about it, Captain. We had a long talk with -the old man—what’s your father’s name?” he added, bending down from his -saddle and trying to get a glimpse of Dan’s face. - -“His name is Newman,” said Dan. - -“And yours?” - -“Dan; and this is my brother, Cale Newman. We are two good Confederates, -dyed in the wool.” - -“I know you are, for I recognize the name. We had a long talk with Mr. -Newman about it, and we agreed to give him a colonel’s position if he -would put us in the way of getting the chief men of Jones county into -our hands. Now, Captain, you can afford to give two such little offices -as he wants in return for his services.” - -“Why, yes, of course,” said the captain, who fell in at once with his -lieutenant’s ruse. “You see, Captain—I want all of you men hereafter to -address this man as captain and his brother as lieutenant—do you hear?” -he added, turning to his squad; and a responsive “Yes, sir,” came from -all the men; although candor compels us to say that some of them wanted -to laugh. Some of them looked back down the road, and others had -something to to do with fixing their feet in their stirrups. - -“Thank-ee, Captain; thank-ee,” said Dan, who didn’t know whether he was -awake or dreaming. “Just give us a horse apiece and a gun, and we will -lead you against those men any day.” - -Cale Newman scarcely believed he had heard aright. He knew more about -military matters than his brother did, and he did not know that an -officer had a right to promote one to his own rank without going first -through some preliminary steps. He listened in a dazed sort of way to -the conference between the leader of the squad and Dan, but as no one -spoke to him and addressed him as “lieutenant,” he did not know whether -he was an officer or not. At any rate, he decided to get home before he -built any hopes upon it. His father had “seen some military” (although -where he saw it, it would be hard to tell, unless he had seen some -military companies march along the street), and he would know whether or -not everything was just as it should be. - -“You see, Captain, I was not with my officers when they talked this -matter over with your father, and consequently I didn’t know anything -about it,” said the leader of the squad. “However, I am glad to be set -right on the matter. You spoke of surrendering the chief men into our -hands; now, how are you going to do it?” - -“I will tell you where you can get one of them right here,” said Dan. -“Leon Sprague has gone down the road with a rebel fellow that he has -been running with since yesterday—” - -“A rebel fellow?” interrupted the captain, in astonishment. “Have any of -our men deserted to you?” - -“Oh, yes; there’s lots of them. We had 1498 men when this war broke -out,” replied Dan, copying what he had often heard his father say, “and -now we have a thousand fighting men camped right up this road.” - -“Well, I declare,” said the captain, turning to his lieutenant. “We came -within an ace of getting right in the midst of it. They are camping -right up this road, you say?” - -“Yes; and they stole a big lot of provisions from you yesterday.” - -“We know that, dog-gone them!” said the captain. “We have come up here -to see about those provisions. Do you know where they are?” - -“The most of them have been hauled to the swamp.” - -“There!” said the lieutenant. “Then it is of no use to go any further. -If those goods have been taken to the swamp they are lost to us.” - -“I confess it does look that way. Now, about this rebel fellow who has -just gone off. What is he going after; do you know?” - -“He may be out scouting, the same as you are,” replied Dan. - -“And he takes a couple of green boys to help him scout the same as we -are?” exclaimed the captain. “I guess not. He’s got some friends down -here, and he wants to get them on the other side of the line. Do you -know where this boy lives or what he is?” - -“We can easy catch him as we go back,” said the lieutenant. “And in the -meantime I would suggest to you the propriety of going up and finding -out for ourselves the number of pickets they have placed at the bridge. -I believe you said there were some there?” he continued, turning to Dan. - -“There’s a whole pile of them,” answered Dan. “We didn’t see them -ourselves, because we swum the creek; but when we got over here I went -out to see if I could see anything of the sentinels, and they saw and -halted me.” - -“But you didn’t go in, did you?” - -“Not much I didn’t. I took leg bail, and got into the woods. You see the -men up there are acquainted with us, and if they got us they would make -us stretch hemp.” Another quotation from his father. - -“Well, we shall have to ask you to stay here until we come back,” said -the captain. “We shan’t be gone but a little while. Forward, and hold -your sabres in so that they won’t hit against your heels.” - -The two boys stood there in the road and saw them ride around the first -bend, and they went so silent and still that one who didn’t know they -were there would not have suspected anything. As soon as they were out -of hearing Dan showed off a little of the enthusiasm that was in him. - -“Captain! Captain Dan Newman!” said he, with a violent attempt to -refrain from giving a wild hurrah. “And I never was in the army in my -life! And you are a lieutenant, Cale. But you don’t seem to think much -of it.” - -“The fact is, I don’t know whether I am an officer or not,” replied -Cale, looking down at the ground. “I don’t believe that officer had any -right to promote us.” - -“Well, I declare, you are a dunce,” said his brother, more than half -inclined to get angry with him. “Didn’t you hear what the officer said -to his men—‘I want you all to address him as captain and his brother as -lieutenant’—I tell you that’s enough for me.” - -“But this officer was a captain.” - -“No matter for that.” - -“And I don’t believe that he had a right to promote you to the same rank -as himself. They don’t do business like that in Jones county.” - -“What way?” - -“Why, the President has something to do with it.” - -“Somebody has been stuffing you. Of course they don’t do business that -way in Jones county; but these men are in the service, and of course -they know what’s right.” - -“Well, I am going to wait until I see father, and if he tells me that I -am an officer, why I’ll have to believe it.” - -This was a new thing to Dan, and he did not say any more. He supposed -that the next thing was to be ordered to Mobile, where his uniform, a -horse and weapons would be given him, and after that he would be at -liberty to take command of a body of scouts the same as this captain had -done; but now he began to look at it in a different light. - -“I’ll tell you what is the matter with you,” said Cale, after thinking -the matter over. “It all comes of your wanting father to get that -commission as colonel.” - -“Hasn’t he got a right to it, I’d like to know?” retorted Dan. “He said -he wouldn’t work for any less.” - -“I know, but they didn’t tell him that they would give him that -commission. He told us that he was working for it; and here the rebs -have gone and got on your blind side—” - -“Whoop!” yelled Dan, his anger getting the start of him; and with the -word he kicked out savagely at his brother, who was just a little bit -too quick for him. He slipped out of the way, and Dan’s momentum took -him around on one foot and finally seated him rather roughly on the -ground. - -“That shows that you don’t believe it more than I do,” said Cale. -“Heavens and earth! What’s that?” - -It was fortunate that something happened to turn Dan’s mind from all -thoughts of revenge, for just then there was a rapid fusillade of -carbines heard up the road. Dan picked himself up, and before he could -answer there came another report of rifles in reply to the first, and -they were so accurately aimed that some of the bullets passed through -the branches above their heads. The first alarm was given by the rebels, -who wanted to see how many men there were at the bridge. They had halted -a little ways from the creek, leaving two men to hold their horses, and -crept up on the unconscious sentinel and brought him bleeding to the -ground. A moment later they became aware that the pickets at the bridge -were too strong to be carried by the small force they had at their -command, for the answering volleys that came across the creek—they came -thick and fast, too—showed them that the insurgents of Jones county had -taken ample precautions. It demonstrated another point to their -satisfaction: it showed them that they knew how to fight. - -“They are shooting at us!” cried Cale, who straightway dove into the -bushes. - -Dan stood there in the road and didn’t know what to do. While he was -considering the matter the firing ceased, and then all was still. He -stood there for a long time, half an hour, it seemed to him, and then he -heard the sound of horses’ hoofs coming from the direction of the -bridge, and in a few minutes the Confederates rode up. - -“Did you hit any of them?” inquired Dan. - -“We hit one that we know of, and that was the sentry,” said the captain. -“We filled him so full of holes that he never will hold that position -again. Now we will go on and report that they have got sentries at the -bridge. I’ll look into all the houses as I go by, and if that rebel -fellow is about I’ll have him, sure.” - -“Well, now, look here,” said Dan, who began to think now that there was -some truth in what his brother told him. “What be I going to do?” - -“You? Oh, yes. We shall want you to stay here, so as to be on hand, you -know, the next time we come out after the Yanks. You will be right here -when we want you?” - -“No. I live all of twelve miles from here, and how will I know when you -are coming? Couldn’t you take me on to Mobile with you?” - -“Why, of what use would you be there?” answered the captain, speaking -before he thought. “Why—you see,” he added, on receiving a nudge from -his lieutenant, “your company isn’t ready for you to command it.” - -“Couldn’t you take me on your staff?” - -“Well, you see, I don’t have a staff,” said the leader, struggling hard -to keep from laughing outright. “I’ll speak to the colonel about you as -soon as I get back. Good-bye. Forward!” - -“Of all things I ever heard of this is the beat,” thought Dan, as he -stood there and watched the men out of sight. “If I am a captain, I do -not see what’s the reason my company isn’t ready for me to command it. I -guess I have made a botch of this business. Well, Cale,” he added, -aloud, “let’s catch up and go home. And Cale, I won’t say anything to -the old man about this.” - -“I reckon I wouldn’t if I was in your place,” said Cale. - -“No; but I will depend upon you to do it for me,” continued Dan, -coaxingly. “You can repeat what the captain said to us without -mentioning any names, can’t you?” - -“I suppose so.” - -“And all the while I will listen and be as earnest as you for -disbelieving it,” said Dan. “In that way we will get at the truth of the -matter. But I do say that I think that that captain was up to mighty -mean business. I reckon he’ll find somebody else that he wants to -promote in the same way, and I wish I could be there to whisper a word -or two in his ear.” - -Cale followed along behind his brother as he bent his steps toward home, -swam the creek, and just at daylight arrived within sight of his -dilapidated shelter. His father was up, and a smoke lazily ascended from -the chimney. - -“Well, boys, what luck?” he exclaimed, when his eyes fell upon the two -weary tramps coming toward him. “Did you see any rebels?” - -Dan borrowed his father’s plug of nigger-twist, and Cale hunted up his -pipe before either of them replied. Dan cut off a generous chew, and -then seated himself on the doorstep. - -“You have been gone a long time,” continued Mr. Newman, “and I think you -must have seen something. Did you capture any of the head men of the -county?” - -“No,” replied Dan. “We saw some Confederates, but they wouldn’t go after -them.” - -“Why, how was that?” - -Dan began and told his story just as it happened, and the old man became -so interested that he allowed his pipe to go out. He told about his -meeting with the Confederates, described the conversation they had with -them, all except the promotion, told about the firing on the pickets, -and that they went back to report that they had found sentries at the -bridge. - -“And didn’t they charge across the bridge and capture those pickets?” -exclaimed Mr. Newman, in disgust. - -“They didn’t make nary charge that we heard of,” replied Dan. “They said -they would go back and report it.” - -“Well, if that ain’t a pretty way to do business I don’t want a cent. -They ought to have a couple of thousand men behind them; then they could -have captured the sentries, and come on up here and gobbled these men.” - -It was now Cale’s turn to try his hand. - -“Father,” said he, “has a captain any right to promote a man to the same -rank as himself?” - -“No,” said his father. “What made you ask that question?” - -“Oh, I was just thinking about it.” - -“The captain has a right to watch his men in action, and if he sees them -doing any brave act he reports it to the colonel,” said Mr. Newman. “But -he has no authority to promote them himself.” - -The boys were satisfied. Cale stretched himself out upon his shake-down -and dropped off into a dreamless slumber, while Dan threw out his -tobacco, filled a pipe with nigger-twist, and sat down and thought about -it. There was one thing he did not neglect to do. While he was lost in -dreaming of the glory that might have been his if his promotion had been -according to law, he did not forget to vow vengeance upon the captain -who had presumed to play upon his credulity in that outrageous way. - -“I know just how he looks,” soliloquized Dan, “and if it ever comes in -my way to do him a mean act he’ll see how quick I’ll take him up. But -that promotion is what gets me. How fine that old fellow looked in his -high-topped boots, slouch hat, and gloves that came up to his elbows! -Never mind. I’ll see the day when I will be better off than any of -them.” - -Meanwhile there was one soldier in the captain’s ranks who would have -given everything he possessed to have been able to have pulled out his -revolver and shot Dan down when he talked about “that rebel fellow” who -had gone off with a couple of Yanks. He well knew what had brought him -out there. He was Mr. Dawson, and the boy who had escaped at the time -the wagon-train was captured was his son. The boy had lived up to his -agreement, and was now paving the way to take his mother and younger -brothers inside the Federal lines in Jones county. - -We have said that Mr. Dawson came out and spoke to the two men who had -come into the yard with him, and they went on, while Mr. Dawson himself -came toward the corn-crib, behind which he knew his boy was concealed. -He was after a saddle, for his own, together with his horse and weapons, -had been taken by the Jones county men when they captured the train. He -had seen his boy go off into the bushes and drew a long breath of -relief, for he knew that his troubles were ended. He obtained the -saddle, placed it on the old clay-bank which had been given to him to -replace the horse he had lost, and rode on and overtook the line just -after they had made a capture of Cale and Dan Newman. He was in -something of a scrape, because if either of the boys saw or recognized -him they might have mistrusted something. So he sat there on his mule, -and heard what Dan had to say about that “rebel fellow,” but no one -thought of connecting him with it. They supposed that young Dawson was -somewhere in Mobile, and that they would find him there when they got -back. - -The captain went into all the houses as he went along, but without -finding any preparations for hurried departure. The women came to the -doors as fast as they could find some clothing to put on, obediently -struck a light in response to the captain’s request, and then he -departed with a slight apology for his intrusion. One garrulous old -woman followed him to the door and inquired: - -“What did you-uns think you wanted to find, anyway?” - -“I just wanted to see if any of your men folks had been at home packing -up goods to take them into the Yankee lines,” said the captain. - -“Sho! My men folks been in the Conf’drit army before you was born. They -ain’t seed nuthing to make ’em desert yit.” - -Finally they reached the house where Mr. Dawson lived, and he noticed -one thing that attracted his attention at once. There was but a single -dog to welcome him, and he was tied up back of the house. All the others -had gone off somewhere. As the lieutenant reined his horse up close to -the pin the captain turned about and said: - -“Why, this is the place where one of you men live, isn’t it? You came in -here after a saddle, didn’t you?” - -“Yes, sir,” replied a voice from somewhere in the line. - -“Your boy is in the service, too. You don’t suppose that he has -deserted, do you?” - -“Well, he went off into the woods, and I haven’t seen him since. You can -go in and see for yourself, sir.” - -“Seeing is believing. It will not take but a minute.” - -The captain dismounted from his horse and pounded loudly upon the closed -door, but met with no response. Then he pushed open the door and entered -the house. By the flickering light that was thrown out by the fire that -was blazing on the hearth the lieutenant found a candle, and when he had -struck a light a scene of the greatest confusion was presented. The -bureau drawers were all thrown every which way, and when they made their -way to the sleeping-room, not a vestige of clothing was there on the -bed. - -“Gee-whizz!” shouted the captain. “Here’s where one of those fellows has -been. Arrest that man out there—the one riding the clay-bank mule.” - -The men outside began riding about the house, but no such man could be -found. They saw the place where the solitary hound had been confined, -but he was gone, and the man on the clay-bank mule had disappeared. - -“Don’t you find him anywhere?” shouted the captain, coming out of the -door in great excitement. - -“No, sir. He has skipped,” exclaimed one of the men. - -“He’s gone off this way,” shouted another. “I hear somebody going -through the field.” - -“Take after him, the last mother’s son of you!” commanded the captain. -“And remember and don’t come back without him. I tell you I’ll get fits -for this, going out on a scout and letting one of my men desert under my -very eyes!” - -In an instant the captain and all his men were in hot pursuit of the -horseman whose hoof-beats could just be heard. The chase led through a -wide cotton-field, with a high fence at the other end, but the horseman, -whoever he was, had a long start and seemed determined to make the most -of it. Toward the fence he held, the men scattering out so as to head -him off when he got there, and finally the captain, who rode a splendid -horse, got near enough to the object he was pursuing to see that it was -a clay-bank mule. - -“Halt!” he shouted. “We’ve got you, and you might as well give up. If -you don’t we’ll leave you right here for the buzzards to eat. Halt, I -say.” - -Still there was no response, and the mule kept on as fast as ever. The -captain began to get angry, and he drew his sabre, intending to cut the -man down when he got within reach of him; but just then they came within -reach of the fence, and the mule turned and ran alongside of it. That -brought him within reach of the captain’s vision (it was so dark that -they couldn’t see the man on the mule’s back), and the officer, after -taking a look or two at the mule, drew up his horse. - -“Gee-whiz!” he shouted, making use of his favorite expression; “we have -been chasing that clay-bank mule, but where’s the man on her? The mule -was going home but the man’s got off. Catch him, men, and then we’ll go -back and hunt for somebody else who is hidden somewhere in the bushes.” - -The captain was mortified in the extreme, and no doubt he was a little -suspicious. At any rate, he was certain that he heard one or two of his -men giggling softly to themselves. The idea of halting a clay-bank mule -and telling him that if he didn’t give some heed to it he would leave -him there for the buzzards to eat was almost too much for them. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - THE REBELS TAKE REVENGE. - - -“Robert,” whispered a voice close to the crack where the chinking had -fallen out, “is that you?” - -“For goodness’ sake turn that revolver the other way, Leon!” exclaimed -Dawson, so full of excitement that he could scarcely speak plainly. “It -is my father, and if you kill him I am gone up. What is it, pap?” - -“You got away, didn’t you?” continued the voice, and one would have -thought there was a slight chuckle mingled with it, “and you have come -here to take your mother over into Jones county.” - -“You’re right, I have,” returned Dawson, gleefully, “and you are here to -help us. I’ve got two Yanks here with me, and they are just as good as -they make them.” - -“I thought I heard you mention Leon’s name. Is it Leon Sprague?” - -“Yes, sir,” returned the owner of that name. “I am here and ready to -assist him in any way I can.” - -“I am glad to see you here,” continued Mr. Dawson, “for I shall know -that we are going to stand some show.” - -“Now, father, what shall I do first?” asked Dawson, who was impatient to -get to work. - -“Hitch the first two mules you can get to that wagon, and by the time -you have done that your mother will be ready for you. Leave one dog -behind you, so that I can readily follow your trail.” - -“Why, are you not going to stay, too?” - -“No; I must go on with the squad, and run my risk of getting away -afterward,” replied Mr. Dawson. “I will be missed if I don’t go with -them, and I want you and your mother to get a good start. Be lively, and -work as hard as you can, for I don’t know when we shall be back.” - -“What shall I do after I get the mules hitched up?” asked Dawson. “Will -it be safe for me to drive around in front of the house?” - -“You can go where you please. There will be nobody to bother you. Keep -up a good heart till I come.” - -The man went off to get his saddle, which hung in a remote corner, and -Dawson kept a close watch on him as long as he remained in the crib. -Leon couldn’t help thinking how coolly father and son went about -escaping from serving under the flag they didn’t like. If they made a -success of it, well and good; if they failed, it was certain death to -the one of them that happened to be caught. What would Leon’s own mother -have said if she could have seen him at that moment? When Mr. Dawson got -his saddle and turned to go out he waved his hand toward the crack as a -farewell signal, and that brought the first long breath from the young -fellow at Leon’s side. It was plain now that all the nonsense was gone -out of him. - -“There goes the best father that any fellow ever had,” said Dawson. “He -is plucky, too, and when he next joins us he won’t come so still. He’ll -have all that crowd after him. But now I must get to work,” he added, -brightening up. “You fellows can help me by staying right here and -watching these animals, so that they won’t arouse the whole -neighborhood, while I get the team ready.” - -“Why don’t you let one or the other of us go with you?” asked Leon. - -“You’ll only be in the way; and, besides, I have got plenty of negroes -out there to help.” - -Dawson went away, and although the boys who were watching the animals -caught sight of him once in a while through the cracks, it was fully -half an hour before he came back. Then he had the team, which an old -negro was driving, and the wagon was loaded so full that there did not -seem to be room for so much as a skillet anywhere about it. Safely -perched among the feather-beds was his mother, and she was having as -much as she could do to keep the children quiet. On the end-board in -front was Cuff, who was talking to his mules in a quiet sort of way, and -it was astonishing how much speed he got out of them. Following along -behind the wagon were ten or fifteen negroes, who wished her every -success in her journey and promised to come to her on the following day. -The dogs were there, too, all except the one that had been tied behind -the house, and they seemed to think they were going off on a pleasure -trip. - -“Now, then,” said Dawson, taking his bridle from Leon’s hand and -mounting his horse, “you darkies have followed us far enough. Go back -now and go to bed, and remember and don’t come out of your house again -to-night, no matter how much noise is made here. Leave that dog tied up. -Father wants him to follow our trail by. Good-bye. Now, Cuff, whip up. -We don’t want to stay around here any longer. Mother, take a good look -at your home, for it is your last chance to see it.” - -“No, Robert, I will see it in my dreams, anyway,” replied his mother, -who was almost heart-broken at the idea of separating herself for so -long a time from all her associations. “If your father only comes up -with me I shall be satisfied.” - -“What do you think of that, Leon?” asked Dawson, as the wagon passed on -out of hearing. “These rebels want killing. Father brought my mother to -that house when he first married her, and we have lived there ever -since. I am going to shoot every rebel that comes in my way.” - -Leon did not know what reply to make to this. It was probable that his -own mother might be obliged to leave her home in the same way, and he -didn’t know how he would feel if she were turned loose in the world. It -was no wonder, he thought, that Union men should talk of killing every -rebel that came within reach. He knew he would feel so, too. - -“There is one thing about it,” said Dawson, with something that sounded -like a sigh. “A woman has more pluck than a man to stand under such -things. I never believed so until to-night.” - -The road they intended to take had evidently been explained to Cuff -before they started, for he took to the lane that led through the -cotton-fields, and he kept his mules on a keen trot all the way. Dawson -didn’t go so fast. He allowed the wagon to gradually get ahead of him, -in order to cover their retreat, and of course the boys stayed behind -with him. When they arrived at the cover of the woods Cuff turned into -it, and in a few moments more was out of sight, while Dawson turned his -horse into a fence-corner and dismounted. - -“Now, we will wait here for father,” said he. - -“Where’s your wagon?” asked Leon. - -“They are going on ahead toward the bridge. Taken in connection with -those pickets I saw there they will get across, too, because I believe -they would turn out to help us. Now, if you see that squad coming back -along the road, just hold your breath. Father is with that crowd.” - -Leon had never known what excitement was before. He tried to take it -coolly, as Dawson did, but did not succeed very well. He threw the -bridle off his horse’s neck and placed it around his arm, leaned on the -top rail of the fence and kept watch of the road, and all the while he -kept thinking how he would have felt if his father had been with that -squad of Confederates and watching for a chance to escape. Tom Howe took -it philosophically, as Dawson did. He had a mother to worry over him, -but all he cared for was the successful outcome of Dawson’s scheme. The -baying of the lonely hound came faintly to their ears, but with the -exception of that, silence reigned unbroken. They stood leaning on the -fence, watching first the house and then allowing their eyes to roam as -far down the road as they could reach, and finally Tom broke the -stillness. - -“I see some fellows away off in that direction,” said he, pointing with -his finger to direct the attention of his comrades, “who are coming -along this way. There’s a whole body of them, too.” - -“The time is coming,” said Dawson, after he had taken a look at the -advancing horsemen. “We’ll know in a minute what’s going to happen.” - -After that all was still again. The three boys stood there in the -fence-corner and watched the men when they rode into the yard, and in a -few minutes the baying of the hound ceased. Judging from the distance -they were from the scene, there was a fearful commotion in the house. -Men were seen riding rapidly about, a faint voice like a command came to -their ears, and the squad suddenly vanished from view. - -“Father has the start of them at last,” exclaimed Dawson, so excited and -nervous that he could not stand still. - -“Why, how do you make that out?” asked Leon. “You must have an owl’s -eyes, for I can’t see anything from here.” - -“Neither can I; but he is doing just what I would have done if I had -been in his place. You don’t hear the hound any longer, do you? Well, -you just wait until father comes up and he will tell you that the men -are chasing a riderless mule.” - -Leon began to understand the matter now, and he was utterly amazed at -the strategy the man had used. He had dismounted from his clay-bank, -given him a tremendous dig from some weapon or other he had in his hand, -knowing that the mule would go home before he would go anywhere else, -unloosed the dog, which showed him the way down the lane, and he was now -coming that way with the speed of the wind. His pursuers had gone on -after the mule, and were leaving him behind every moment. All this Leon -went over for the benefit of Tom Howe, and Dawson simply nodded his head -and then walked out in the lane to find his father. Presently he saw the -hound, which sprang upon him, delighted to see him, and a long way down -the lane behind him came his father. - -“That’s father’s lope and I know it,” said Dawson, addressing himself to -his companions. “He’ll hold that for two hours in order to beat a deer -on his runway. But I am going to show him that I am a good soldier. Who -comes there?” he added, in a voice pitched just loud enough to reach the -fugitive’s ears. - -“It is I, Robert,” came the joyful response; and in a few seconds Mr. -Dawson came up. “By George, I have had a good race for it!” he went on, -pulling his hat from his head and using his crooked finger to remove the -big drops of perspiration that clung there. “Now, let us see what those -laddy-bucks are going to do with the house.” - -“You’ll never see it again after to-night,” replied Dawson. “Father, -this is Leon Sprague, who has stuck to me all along.” - -“Leon, I am glad to meet you,” said Mr. Dawson, extending his hand. “If -you wait here for a few minutes you’ll see what you are going to come -to. The rebels are making up an organization already to go up to Jones -county and clean them out.” - -“And, father, here’s another Yank that we must not forget,” said Dawson, -laying his hand upon Tom Howe’s shoulder. “He’s little, but he don’t say -much. You heard about the boy that came so near losing his life during -the last drive? Well, sir, he’s the man, and there is the one who saved -him.” - -“I’m no Yank,” returned Tom, indignantly. “I am Tom Howe, Southern born, -the same as yourself; but I hate a rebel.” - -“I am glad to know you, Tom, and sometime, when I get opportunity, I am -going to shake hands with you. You see the reason we never knew you -before is because you kept to the river during your drives, and never -came back into the country at all,” said Mr. Dawson, turning to Leon. -“Now, we will wait here a few minutes and see what those fellows are -going to do with the house.” - -They were not obliged to wait very long, for the squad soon returned, -having captured the clay-bank mule, and two of them at once proceeded to -ride out the lane in which the fugitives had gone. They came on until -they got within fifty yards of the woods, and there they stopped. - -“I declare they are coming on in pursuit of us,” whispered Leon, drawing -one of his revolvers and resting it upon the top rail of the fence in -readiness to shoot. - -“That’s the captain and the lieutenant,” said Mr. Dawson. “They’re not -coming any further. When they see that we have gone into the woods they -will go back. There isn’t a man in that squad that dare trust himself -within reach of these thickets.” - -[Illustration: THE OLD HOMESTEAD DOOMED.] - -The boys stood there and watched the two men—Leon at the bridle of his -horse to hold his head down, and Tom keeping a firm hold of his mule’s -tail—and finally they saw one of them alight and strike a match. By the -aid of the light which it threw out they examined the ground and easily -saw the wagon-tracks, but they didn’t care to go any nearer the woods. -They held a short consultation, after which they turned their horses and -rode back to the house. - -“I told you they wouldn’t come any further,” said Mr. Dawson. “If I was -in command of that squad I would think twice before I would put my men -in danger of certain death by bringing them in here.” - -Mr. Dawson leaned upon the fence again and devoted himself to the house. -He wanted to see what was going to happen to his property before he went -away. He had not held this position for more than five minutes before -his heart gave a violent throb, and then he became satisfied that the -enemy was carrying out his plan of setting fire to the house. He saw a -bright light on the inside, which grew brighter every moment, and -finally the flames came out of the doors and windows. And not only the -house, but the barns, the corn-crib and the negro cabins went up in -smoke. - -“Well, boys, I have seen enough,” said Mr. Dawson, turning away to -follow up the wagons. “The rebels have one enemy now that they never had -before. Which way did your mother go, Robert?” - -“Yes, and they have got two now,” said Dawson, who was almost ready to -cry when he saw the home of his boyhood going up in flames. “I’ll shoot -every rebel that comes across my path.” - -“What could you expect in war times?” said his father. “Of course, I -looked for them to burn my house—indeed, I should do the same if I were -on their side; but there’s one thing they can’t burn, and that is the -ground. When these troubles are all over, if we live to see it, we have -the plain land with which to start over again.” - -“But what have they done with our black ones?” - -“Oh, they have gone.” - -“Gone where?” - -“They are on the road towards Mobile before this time.” - -“Well, I’ll bet you they don’t keep them there long,” said Dawson, -angrily. “They will have to watch them all the time or they’ll get away. -Mother went out this way, father.” - -“You see, it wouldn’t do for them to leave the darkies with us,” said -Mr. Dawson, pausing for a few moments to allow the boys time to mount -their animals, “because we are traitors to the South. They calculate to -whip us, and when the war is ended we’ll have to get out.” - -“But they ain’t a-going to whip us,” said Dawson. - -The fugitives followed along the road—it had been cut in better times, -to enable the planter to haul out the logs—for a mile or more, and then -they came up with the wagon, which had halted for them to come up. They -had been within sight of the burning house all the while, and the -mother, although she had all she could do to choke back her tears, was -endeavoring to explain the matter to her children, who could not see -into it at all. When young Robert appeared in sight, they forthwith -assailed him with questions. - -“Say, Bobo, what’s the matter?” said the elder. - -“Oh, some men wanted to burn our house, and so we had to get out and let -them do it,” returned Dawson. - -“Go on, Cuff,” said Mr. Dawson; and all he did was to reach in and give -his wife a cordial grasp of the hand. “Keep right in this road until you -strike the main road, and then go for the bridge the best you know how.” - -“But, Bobo, I don’t see what them folks should want to burn our house -for,” said the boy. “We’ve always minded our own business—” - -“Wait till we get to where we are going and then I will tell you all -about it,” said Dawson; and that settled the question of burning the -house until the party reached Ellisville. - -Following the directions of his master, the negro stuck to the -woods-road, while Mr. Dawson and the boys stopped in a fence-corner to -reconnoiter. The house was a mile away, but it threw out so much light -that anything that happened around it could be plainly seen. They saw -some of the men moving about, and when everything was well started they -all mounted their horses and disappeared down the road in the direction -of Mobile. But they had an old soldier to contend with in Mr. Dawson, -who did not leave his hiding-place for an hour. He didn’t know but some -of the men would come back, and so get between him and the bridge and -cut him off, and that was the reason he waited there in the -fence-corner. While he waited there he talked, but it was not about -anything connected with his recent misfortune. - -“Do you boys happen to know anything about Dan Newman?” said he. - -“Yes, sir, we know him,” replied Leon, with a smile. “And we know Cale, -too.” - -“Well, what sort of fellows are they?” - -“It’s my opinion that they are all rebels,” said Leon, with emphasis. -“The amount of it was that the old man expected to get some kind of a -position, and when he didn’t get it he turned against us.” - -“That’s just what I supposed,” said Mr. Dawson. “Robert, I heard all -about you before I ever saw you to-night.” - -“Who told you?” asked his son, in surprise. - -“Dan Newman told me; or, rather, he told it to the captain and I -overheard it.” - -“Was he out here?” asked Leon, and he was so surprised that he could -scarcely believe he heard aright. “Was he out here among the rebels?” - -“He was, and he was the one that kept the squad from running into the -pickets stationed at the bridge.” - -Mr. Dawson then went on to tell what he knew about Dan, and before he -got fairly started he had two surprised and angry boys for listeners. -When he told how “that rebel fellow” had ridden on before them in -company with Leon and Tom, and that he could easily capture them if they -would only wait until they came back, Leon took off his hat, scratched -his head and declared: - -“If that fellow is at home when we get there I am going to have him -arrested. I don’t see why the fellow didn’t wait.” - -“Well, I don’t think he paid much attention to what Dan had to say,” -replied Mr. Dawson. “He preferred to go on and see how many men there -were at the bridge, and when he came back he would look into all the -houses and see if there had been any evidences of hasty departure. I -guess he didn’t find any until he got to our house, and then he found -all he wanted,” added Mr. Dawson, with a laugh. - -“Well, now, this beats me,” said Leon. - -“Don’t it?” replied Tom. - -“There was one amusing thing that was connected with the interview,” -said Mr. Dawson, “and that was Dan’s rapid promotion. The captain made -him a captain, too, and his brother a lieutenant.” - -“Why, had the captain right to do that?” - -“Certainly not; but the captain saw what manner of man he was, and so -promoted him on the spot. I thought I had better tell you of this, so as -to put you on your guard.” - -“Thank you; and you may be sure that we shall take advantage of it. -Captain Newman! How that sounds!” - -As for Tom Howe, he was almost beside himself with fury. When Leon -punched him in the ribs and asked him what he thought about it, he -simply shook his head and said nothing. After awhile he inquired: “Was -Cale there?” - -“Yes, Cale was there, but he didn’t have much to say.” - -“No matter. He was knowing to it all, and he would have been the worst -one in the lot if he had only dared.” - -“What would you have done, Robert?” asked Leon of his rebel friend, -although the latter hadn’t made any remark thus far. - -“What would I have done if they had laid alongside the road and tried to -capture us?” replied Dawson, and there was much more determination in -his words than Leon had ever noticed before. “Well, sir, I wouldn’t have -been here now. Didn’t you hear me say that I would drop before I would -be captured? I meant every word of it. If I should be taken prisoner I -would only be hanged, and I would rather be shot than that.” - -“Well, boys, I have seen enough to make me believe that the rebels have -gone home,” said Mr. Dawson. “Now let’s go and find your mother and see -how much luck we will have in getting by the sentries.” - -“Oh, we won’t have any trouble there,” said Leon. “I’ve got the -password.” - -“Yes; but it won’t be of any use to you in broad daylight.” - -“Then I’ll make my face pass us. Everybody about here knows Leon -Sprague.” - -They had something more to do in coming up with the wagon, for Cuff, -when he struck the main road, kept on “the best he knew how,” so they -had almost reached the bridge when they came within sight of his span of -mules. After a short consultation it was decided that Leon and Tom -should go on ahead to smooth the way for the fugitives, leaving them to -follow with the team; so they galloped their horses and presently heard -a voice ordering them to halt. By this time it was almost sunrise, and -Leon, profiting by the experience of the old soldier, didn’t say he had -the countersign. He and Tom stopped and got off their horses. - -“Well, I declare, it’s you, ain’t it?” said the one who came out to see -who and what they were. “Did you see anything of the rebels last night?” - -“I should say we did,” returned Leon, with a laugh. “We stood right by -and saw Mr. Dawson’s house burn up.” - -“Was that before they fired into us?” - -“Why, I didn’t hear anything about that. Did they shoot into you?” - -“Yes, sir; and they killed Bach Noble as dead as a hammer. You see he -was standing guard when they crept up and had no show to defend himself; -but we got the better of them.” - -“What did you do with Bach?” - -“We laid him out there in the bushes and sent a man up to Ellisville -after a wagon to take him home. He was the first man killed on our side, -but I’ll bet he ain’t the last.” - -“You are sergeant of this post, are you not?” - -“I reckon. That’s what they call me.” - -“I want you to pass along this road a party of rebels who are now coming -toward us. I saw their houses burned last night. They are mighty tired -of fighting our fellows, and are now going over into Jones county to -battle under our flag. And I will tell you another thing about them: -they won’t take any prisoners. Here they come now.” - -“Now, Leon, I reckon you’ll swear by them?” - -“I will, any day in the week. Ask the man any questions you want to. -They have got children with them, and they wouldn’t surely take them -into an enemy’s country.” - -The Dawson party approached, being beckoned to by Leon’s hand, and young -Robert was promptly recognized by the so-called sergeant in charge of -the post. He shook him warmly by the hand, and said if the rest of the -family were as strong for the Union as he was they might all come in and -go on to Ellisville. - -“They are as strong,” said Dawson. “If you had stood where my father -stood and saw your property burn up, you wouldn’t have much love in you -for rebels.” - -The party passed on over the bridge, lingered there to exchange a word -with the squad on guard at the bridge and to look at the blood-stains -the sentinel had left when he fell, and finally kept on the road to -camp. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - CALE IN TROUBLE. - - -The Dawson party now drew a long breath of relief. They had crossed the -bridge and were now on the road to Ellisville, the pickets were between -them and their pursuers, and all danger of capture was passed. Young -Robert walked along beside his horse—the elder Dawson seemed determined -to foot it, and his son kept him company—and, judging from the remarks -exchanged between husband and wife, all peril of being made prisoners -was gone. Even Cuff drew a long breath and slowed up on his mules, while -Leon and Tom rode on ahead, apparently very much occupied with their own -thoughts. Everybody knew what they were thinking about, and for a long -time no one troubled them; but at last Dawson could stand it no longer. - -“It’s rather rough on you, ain’t it, Leon?” said he. “To see where that -sentinel shed his blood is enough to make you believe that you have not -undertaken a picnic.” - -“I tell you, boys, you have taken something of a job on your hands,” -said Mr. Dawson. “I never heard of such a thing, and I am afraid before -the thing is up you will find it an impossibility. The sight of a little -blood don’t worry me. When you belong to a company that charges a -battery, and the battery opens on you and kills all but five or six of -you, then it will be time for you to open your eyes.” - -“Well, I don’t see why you took that method of finding out how many men -there were at the bridge,” said Leon. “Why couldn’t you have made a fuss -of some kind out there in the bushes and then counted the men when they -came out?” - -“Because it was orders,” said Mr. Dawson. “If you were in the rebel army -for a few short weeks you would know what that means. I fired with the -balance, but I shot wild. I never fired at a Union man in my life.” - -“But, father, how did you come to be on this scout?” asked Dawson. “You -don’t belong to that company.” - -“Oh, no. I happened to be present when the squad was made out, and among -them was an old German fellow who didn’t care to go, and I borrowed his -weapons and mule and went in his place. I expect he’ll get tired waiting -for his weapons before he sees them again. That’s a pretty good -carbine,” added Mr. Dawson, holding his gun off at arm’s length and -looking at it. - -“I didn’t know that a man could do that,” said Leon. “I thought you had -to obey orders, no matter whether you wanted to or not.” - -“Not in a case like this. I didn’t say anything to anybody about it. I -got on the mule, and when the squad was called together I put in an -appearance. I was afraid that something was going to happen to my -family, and I couldn’t bear to stay behind.” - -“I tell you, things turned out all right, didn’t they?” said Dawson, -gleefully. “You came home just in the right time to join us.” - -“What I want to know is, am I going to get my horse?” said Mr. Dawson. -“I raised him myself, and shouldn’t like to part with him.” - -“You will get your horse all right,” said Leon. “If he has been given to -anybody, that man will have to give him up.” - -That settled the matter to the satisfaction of all the Dawson family. -Leon soon began to get over the forebodings caused by that crimson stain -on the floor of the bridge, and riding beside the wagon he kept up a -conversation with Mrs. Dawson, who told him many things connected with -the service that he hadn’t dreamed of. In due time they arrived at -Ellisville. Just as they were going up the main road that led past the -hotel they met a squad of sentinels going down to relieve those at the -bridge. It was plain that an old soldier was in command of them, for -they were closed up, held their guns at a carry and marched by twos. The -two officers who commanded them marched at the head. They had evidently -had some time to drill their men, and the result showed that the -backwoodsmen were not at all behind in military matters. When they came -up, they reined their horses out of the way and passed on without -speaking. - -“There’s a squad that is well drilled,” said Mr. Dawson. “But I do not -see why you do not destroy that bridge. It seems to be a world of -trouble to you.” - -“There’s a very good reason why we don’t destroy it,” said Leon. “There -are five other places where it can be forded.” - -“Why, I hadn’t heard of that,” exclaimed Mr. Dawson. - -“Do you remember sending two men up here to make a map of the country?” -asked Leon. “Well, they found it out.” - -“And did you let those men go back?” - -“No, one of them stayed up here,” said Leon, who somehow could not find -it in his heart to say the man had been killed. “If we destroy the -bridge, anybody like you, who is tired of serving under that old rag, -won’t know that they can get across, and we have nobody to send them to -show where the fords are. We don’t know, ourselves.” - -As they drew near to the porch of the hotel, Leon saw his father -standing there. He dismounted and shook him by the hand—he was certain -that his father put a little more grip into the shake than usual—and -presented Mr. Dawson, who, it is not necessary to say, was received with -a hearty welcome. - -“The first thing this man wants is his horse,” said Leon. - -“Was he with us when we captured that wagon-train?” asked Mr. Sprague. -“If so, he can have his horse. They have not been given out yet.” - -“There, sir, you got your horse,” added Leon, turning to Mr. Dawson. -“Now the next thing is, we want to report. Is the President in his room? -Then, father, I want you to come up there with Mr. Dawson. He’s got some -things to tell you that will astonish you.” - -His father replied that he didn’t see how he was going to be astonished -any more than he had been, but followed Leon up the stairs to the -President’s office. They found the gentleman there just as they had seen -him before, with a pair of blue jean pants on, which were tucked in -heavy cowhide boots, and no coat on. He greeted Mr. Dawson very -cordially and inquired, in his hearty way: - -“So you’ve got tired of serving under a flag that you don’t like, and -have come over here to cast your lot with us. Well, sir, the best we -have got is yours.” - -“I am well aware of that, Mr. President,” said Mr. Dawson. “But there is -one thing that I want to post you on at once. It is about that man Dan -Newman.” - -Mr. Knight removed the pen from behind his ear and settled back in his -chair. He had been expecting to hear something from Dan Newman for a -long time. Mr. Dawson began and told him the whole story of Dan’s -meeting with the Confederates, his sudden promotion, and all about it, -and when he got done there was an expression on the President’s face -that few people had seen there. - -“Well, Dawson, you can go down there and pick out any place you can find -to draw your wagon up,” said he. “You are right at home here. Sprague, -what is your opinion regarding Dan Newman?” - -“My opinion is that he ought to be arrested at once,” replied Mr. -Sprague. - -“And after that are you going to try him by a court-martial?” - -“That will be just as the men say. If he is not tried by court-martial -he will be shipped off among his friends. They can promote him faster -than we can,” said Mr. Sprague, with a smile. - -“Well, get to work at once. Take as many men as can surround Newman’s -old shanty and make prisoners of those boys. If the old man says too -much, bring him along, too. Dawson, I shall send for you presently.” - -“Very good, sir. I will be on hand when I am wanted.” - -Mr. Sprague lost no time in getting his men together, and while he was -hunting them up Dawson held a short interview with his father. - -“Now, you take my horse,” said he, “and when we get back we’ll get your -nag. Of course Leon is going to arrest Newman, and I am going with him. -Turn into any open place you can find in the grove, and there make your -camp. You will find them all friendly here.” - -Mr. Dawson mounted the horse and led the wagon down the road, and just -then Bud McCoy came up. Bud was always on hand when he was wanted. He -got so in the habit of staying close around to Mr. Sprague that it was -not long before the men came to call him Colonel Sprague’s body-guard. -But Bud didn’t mind that. He said he got more to do by being around -there than he could anywhere else, and that was what a Union volunteer -wanted in times like these. - -“What’s up?” he exclaimed. “What does the old man want with volunteers?” - -“He is going out to arrest Dan Newman,” said Leon. - -“Well, there; I always thought that man ought to be arrested,” said Bud. -“He has been preaching up secession docterings till you can’t rest. -What’s he been doing now?” - -It did not take long for Leon to make Bud understand the matter, and as -he went on to tell what Dan had been guilty of, the scowl on the man’s -face changed to one of furious hatred. When Leon ceased he struck his -fist into his open palm with a ringing slap. - -“You’ll go, too, won’t you?” - -“Of course I’ll go. I ain’t a-going to stand no fooling like that. He -has said enough to hang him higher’n Haman.” - -While they were talking Mr. Sprague was seen coming at the head of five -men whom he had summoned to make the arrest. We said he had summoned -five men, but the news of what he wanted to do had gradually worked its -way through the camp until there were more than twenty men who were -slinging on their bullet-pouches and hurrying to catch up with those who -had been summoned. The feeling was so great against Newman that all -hands wanted to have a finger in his arrest. As he passed by the porch -of the hotel, Leon, Tom and Dawson joined him. - -“There’s one thing about it,” said Leon, looking back at the stalwart -fellows behind him. “No Newman can get away from this party.” - -“You’re mighty right,” said one of the men. “It’s a wonder to me that -your father didn’t arrest him long ago.” - -“See here, boys,” said Mr. Sprague, from the head of the column. “Be -quiet and still. Those Newmans are like quails; they’ll run and hide if -they hear a twig snap. When we come up with the house I’ll give the -word, and then you know what to do.” - -[Illustration: THE NEWMANS IN TROUBLE.] - -Silently the men fell in behind their leader, and swiftly did they work -their way toward the shanty. It was probably half a mile to where it was -located, and although everybody moved so cautiously that they were -certain not a twig snapped, they were not careful enough to conceal -their presence from the man they were going to arrest. At length, when -Mr. Sprague dashed aside the thicket and stepped out into the little -space that surrounded the cabin, they saw Newman and his wife at the -door. The former held in his hand an axe, and the other had a skillet, -which she flourished to and fro as the men approached. - -“What do you want here?” exclaimed Newman, and he lifted his axe -threateningly in his hand. - -“Surround the house, boys,” said Mr. Sprague. “We’ll talk to you in a -minute.” - -The most of the men were prompt to act upon this suggestion, and no -sooner had Bud McCoy, who was leading one squad, appeared behind the -house than he caught a glimpse of Cale Newman in the act of leaving it -through the window. - -“Ah! here you are, my fine lad,” said Bud, seizing him by the arm. -“Where’s that brother of yours?” - -“Oh, now, what are you going to arrest me for?” exclaimed Cale, who -turned white and trembled in every limb. “I ain’t done nothing. Father, -do you see what they are doing?” - -“We hain’t done you no harm yet, but just wait until we get back—” - -Bud had been on the point of looking in at the window to see if he could -discover anything of Dan, when, to his surprise, there came something -down on his head which knocked the hat over his eyes and narrowly -escaped laying him out flat. It was the skillet in the hands of the old -woman; but Bud didn’t wait to see what it was. He straightened himself -up by the side of the house, and when the skillet descended a second -time he caught it in his hand and came within an ace of jerking the -woman through the window. He wrested the novel weapon from her and threw -it as far as possible into the bushes. - -“Say, old woman, you want to keep your distance!” said Bud, who was so -angry that he could scarcely talk straight. “You try that again and I’ll -have you through that window!” - -By this time the men from the front part of the house had entered -through the door—the man with his axe didn’t make half the battle his -wife did—but no Dan was there to be seen. You will remember that when he -came back he sat down with his pipe to smoke and think over the perfidy -of the captain in giving him promotion when he had no business to do it, -and that he had not yet gone to bed. While smoking he was startled by a -noise in the bushes. He listened, but the noise increased and grew -louder, and in an instant it flashed upon him that his interview with -the rebel captain was known. That was enough to start him into the -bushes. Giving his father a sign to call Cale, he was out of sight in a -moment, and all efforts to find him were useless. - -“Here’s one of them, colonel!” said Bud, coming around the house. “Now, -where’s the other?” - -The man had been disarmed of his axe, and the woman didn’t seem to have -any more fight left in her, the powerful jerk she got from Bud -satisfying her that the best thing she could do was to keep quiet; but -they had plenty of talk left in them. - -“Of all the mean things that I ever saw this is the beat!” said Mrs. -Newman, as she gazed around at the number of men that had come there to -take her boy into custody. - -“It is an outrage!” chimed in Mr. Newman, stamping about over the floor -as if he were almost beside himself. “They come with an army of men to -take away one little fellow! I hope you feel duly ashamed of -yourselves.” - -“Let go my coat!” exclaimed Cale to the man who held him tight by his -collar to see that he did not escape. “What are you going to do with -me?” - -“We’ll put you in jail; that’s what we’ll do with you,” said the man. -“You have preached up secession long enough.” - -“Say, father, are you going to let that old jail stand?” demanded Cale, -trying hard to escape from the grip that held him. “You said that you -would cut it down if they took any of us there.” - -“Where’s your brother?” demanded Bud. - -“He’s gone where you won’t find him,” retorted Mrs. Newman. “Now, I want -you to turn my boy loose.” - -“We have had enough out of you,” said Mr. Sprague, who had looked all -around in the hope of finding Dan hidden somewhere in the house. “If you -say another word I’ll take you along to keep Cale company. You two stay -here and watch the cabin, one in front and one at the back,” he added, -pointing out two of the men he wished to obey his orders. “Don’t let -Newman and his wife go out of doors, and if Dan comes back here, gobble -him up. I will relieve you in a couple of hours. Forward, the rest of -us.” - -Taking Cale along the narrow path that led through the woods was as much -as two men wanted to do, he kicked and struggled so furiously. As long -as he remained within reach of his father he constantly appealed to his -father to “cut down the jail” so that he could not be confined there, -and it was only when Mr. Sprague threatened him with the gag that he -condescended to keep still. They hustled him along the half a mile that -led to Ellisville, and when they arrived within sight of the grove they -found all the men there to see how they had come out. Cale must have -listened to some things that astonished him, for he heard one man say -that hanging was too good for such as he was, and advocated that he be -tied to a tree and left there. He was marched through the crowd of men, -some of whom shook their fists in his face, and up the stairs that led -to the President’s office. Then the men let go of his collar, and in an -instant every inch of standing-room was filled. There wasn’t the least -chance for escape. - -“Well, Cale Newman,” said the President, taking off his spectacles and -settling back in his chair, “you tried to get those Confederates last -night to go after our boys.” - -“I never,” began Cale. - -“I am not here to argue the matter with you; I am here to tell you what -you have done,” said Mr. Knight. “They offered you promotion in case you -would do something for them.” - -“Well, I’ll tell you how it was,” said Cale, who didn’t think that he -was betraying his brother by the confession he was about to make. “The -captain offered to make me lieutenant, but I didn’t think he had any -right to do it.” - -“Ah!” said the President. - -“Yes; and my brother he offered to make captain. Dan was in for it, but -I was a little jubius. He offered to show them where Leon and that rebel -fellow was, but the captain said he would go on and see how many men -they were at the bridge.” - -“And that was the time they killed Bach Noble,” said Mr. Knight, with -suppressed fury. - -“Well, it was all in war times, wasn’t it?” - -“War times? What do you mean by that?” ejaculated the President, while a -restless movement among the men told that they did not uphold anybody in -thus taking the life of a sentry. Bach Noble was one of the most popular -lumbermen in the county, and this method of shooting him just because it -“was war times” aroused all the anger there was in them. A word from the -President would have seen Cale swung up to a tree in less than no time. - -“It was war times, wasn’t it?” inquired Cale, who seemed to think he had -said too much. - -“We’ll not discuss that. The Confederate captain offered you and your -brother promotion. Then what?” - -By a little questioning Mr. Knight got at all that had transpired during -their interview with the Confederate captain, and the old soldiers that -were in there were amazed when they saw how green Dan was. After -thinking a moment, he said: - -“I don’t think that Cale has been guilty of treason. What do you men say -to that?” - -“No,” said a voice. “But he has been giving out docterings that won’t go -down with this county.” - -“That’s so,” chimed in others. - -“I acknowledge that,” said Mr. Knight. “But I say let’s shut him up and -keep him until we can catch his brother. He can’t be far off.” - -“I noticed that some of my men went into the bushes to find him,” said -Mr. Sprague. “Some of them haven’t returned yet.” - -“Very well. We’ll shut Cale up until we find that slippery brother, and -then we’ll examine them both. We’ll find a room somewhere in the hotel—I -see Bass Kennedy has got his corn in the jail and it would be hardly -worth while to take it out for the sake of one prisoner—and, Eph, if you -will keep watch of him I will relieve you in a couple of hours.” - -“Well, say, Knight,” began Cale. - -“Mister Knight, if you please. I am mister to all such fellows as you -are. What were you going to say?” - -“I want you to understand that you dassent hang me,” said Cale, not -daring to venture upon the man’s surname again. Like everybody else in -the county he had learned to call a man by his name without any fixture -to it, and he did not care to begin now. His father had always spoken of -him as “Knight,” and Cale thought he was as good as the President. - -“Dassent, eh?” said Mr. Knight, with a look of surprise. “You will find -that we dare do anything.” - -“But I tell you that my father will tell the folks at Mobile about it,” -whined Cale, almost ready to cry. - -“There you have it. Shut him up. Eph, you want to open the door every -time you hear the clock strike, to see if he is there. If there is no -further business before the meeting it stands adjourned.” - -Eph at once seized his prisoner and hurried him before the proprietor of -the hotel, who at once hit upon a room that would do for his -confinement. - -“We’ll put him high up, so that he can’t get down,” said he. “We’ll put -him up in the third story. Come on.” - -Taking a key from behind his desk, the proprietor led the way up the -stairs until he came to a small room with only one window in it, pushed -open the door and stood aside, so that Cale could enter. There was -literally no furniture in the room, it all having been removed -down-stairs, so that it could be ready to be moved whenever Mr. Faulkner -got ready to go to the swamp. - -“Now, sir, you’ll stay here till you come out to be hung,” said Eph, -giving him a shove. - -“Good mercy me!” exclaimed Mr. Faulkner, opening his eyes in surprise. -“Is that what’s to become of him? Well, it’s a mighty hard death for a -young man to die.” - -“Oh, no, they dassent hang me,” said Cale, almost ready to cry again. - -“If we do your pap will tell the folks in Mobile about it,” said Eph, -with a sneer. “Well, you tell your folks in Mobile to go somewhere and -do something about it. Didn’t you hear what our President said, that we -dare do anything?” - -“He ain’t any more a President than I be,” declared Cale, boldly. - -“Let me hear you say those words again and I’ll begin operations right -here!” said Eph. “He’s as much of a President as Jeff Davis, and I am -not going to hear a word said against him. Go in there!” - -“Hold on. He hasn’t got a chair. I’ll get one.” - -Mr. Faulkner was gone not more than two minutes and came back with a -chair, which was pushed into the room, and then the jailer locked the -door and put the key into his pocket. Cale took a look around his -prison, and then walked to the window and took a good look there, too. -It wasn’t a great ways to the ground, and Cale was certain, if his -enemies did not put a sentry there to see that he did not drop down and -take himself safe off, his escape would be an assured thing. He tried -the window, and was gratified to find that it yielded to his touch. Then -he walked back to the chair and seated himself upon it. - -“Those Union men is mighty smart,” he soliloquized. “Because I am three -stories up they think I am safe. I’ll show them how easy it will be for -me to hang by my hands and drop down. And they talk about hanging me! -I’ll bet they can’t do it.” - -The muffled tread of the sentry came to his ears, and finally, when the -clock struck, Eph opened the door to see if he was there. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - LEON A PRISONER. - - -“Ah!” said Eph, “you’re there yet. You are thinking over how you can -escape being hung for your treason. Well, that’s a good way to put in -one’s time.” - -Cale did not answer. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head -bowed upon his hands, and he was thinking deeply—not of how he could -escape being hanged, but of where he should go and what he should do in -case he made the attempt at escape successful. He had heard Mr. Sprague, -when he placed sentinels over his house, one in front and another -behind—had heard him tell them not to let his father or mother go out of -the house—and he knew it would be foolhardy to go home after that. The -sentries would capture him and bring him back to his prison. Eph took an -unbounded delight in bothering the boy. He knew that the most that would -be done with Cale would be to ship him off among his friends, and that -would be the last of him. He glanced at the window to see that it was -all right, and then went out, closing the door behind him. - -“That fellow keeps telling me that I am going to be hung,” said Cale, -raising his head and glancing at the door through which Eph had just -gone out. “What would I give to be in here at night when he comes in and -finds the window open and Cale Newman gone? I tell you that would be -worth some money. Now, if I could only find Dan. He would know where to -go and what to do.” - -For long hours Cale sat there and listened to the tread of the sentinel, -and every time the clock struck down-stairs he lifted his head and -looked at the sentinel, who opened the door and looked in. They were -changed every two hours, and finally it began to grow dark. By that time -Cale began to grow hungry, and while he was thinking about it the door -opened and in came Mr. Faulkner, whose hands were filled with bedclothes -and eatables. - -“I can’t bear to have any man around me who I know is hungry, even if he -is going to be hung,” said he. “Let me put this bread and meat on the -chair. There’s something for you to lie down on. It’s pretty rough, I -know, but I expect you get rougher at home. Good-night and pleasant -dreams.” - -Cale examined the bedclothes as well as he could in the dark, and found -that he had a pillow and, what was better than all, two quilts, which he -could tear up, fasten to the chair, and thus let himself down from the -window. He chuckled to himself and devoted his attention to the viands. -By the time he had got through the sentry opened the door, and Cale saw -a light streaming in. - -“Oh, I’m here yet,” said Cale. - -“I know you are,” said the man. “And you’re going to stay there until -you come out to be hung.” - -“All right. But you won’t hang me until you catch my brother. He had the -most to do with talking with that captain.” - -“No matter. You was knowing to it all, and that counts for a heap -against you.” - -The sentry closed the door, and in an instant Cale was on his feet. -Things had to be done in a hurry, and quietly, too, for in an hour more -the man would look in to see if his prisoner was all right. It was -something of a job to tear the quilts; but fortunately he had them all -done at last, and when he knotted them together he was glad to see how -long they were. He didn’t think he would be obliged to drop more than -ten feet. - -The next thing was opening the window and fastening the quilts to the -chair; but he accomplished it without alarming the sentinel, and drawing -in a long breath, he launched himself over the side of the window and -heard the chair bang loudly as he threw his weight upon the quilts. In -his haste the quilts did not do much toward assisting him to the bottom, -for he slid rapidly down them and landed all in a heap under the window -just as the sentry opened the door to see what was going on. - -“Are you there yet, Cale?” asked the man, as he looked all around the -room. “By gracious, he has gone!” - -With two jumps the man reached the window and leaned over and looked -out. Everything was concealed by darkness, and even the crouching Cale, -who was close to the wall, right under the man’s gaze, escaped his -notice. Then the man thought of his rifle. He rushed back into the hall -and got it, fired it once out of the window, and then went down-stairs -to tell the men what an extraordinary escape Cale had made. This was the -time for the prisoner to make the most of his opportunity. He arose to -his feet and made good time across the narrow cotton-field that lay -between him and the woods, and he never ceased running until he reached -the banks of a little bayou a mile back in the forest, where he stopped -and sat down to rest. - -“There, sir,” said Cale, wiping the big drops of perspiration from his -forehead. “I’ve done it; as sure as the world I have done it. That is -the first time I ever was put in jail for something I didn’t do. Let -them get somebody else and talk about hanging them. Now, if I could only -find Dan.” - -Cale did not take very long to rest himself before he got upon his feet -again and cautiously worked his way toward his father’s shanty. The -darkness had no effect upon Cale, for he took his course as straight as -he could have done in the daytime. The sentries might have been removed -by this time, but all the same he made his way stealthily through the -bushes, as though the sentries were there and liable at any minute to -jump out and make a prisoner of him. It would never do to be captured -again, for the next time he would be put where it would be impossible -for him to get away. But he walked right onto Dan, who had been up to -the house for the same purpose; that is, he wanted to see if there was -any chance for him to communicate with his father. As Cale was working -his way cautiously through the bushes, going so still that he could not -hear the thicket rattle behind him, he was startled out of a year’s -growth by hearing a voice close at his side mutter: - -“I’ll be dog-gone if there ain’t Cale!” - -“D—Dan, is that you?” stammered Cale, so overjoyed that he could -scarcely speak. - -“You’re right, it’s me,” said Dan. “Where you been?” - -“They had me shut up in jail,” was the answer. - -“In the calaboose?” - -“No, in the hotel; and they left one window there without any sentry to -guard it, and I just come out.” - -“Well, sir, I will say hereafter that you’ve got pluck. But come up -here. I’ve got something to show you.” - -Cale began feeling his way toward the place where Dan was, and in a few -moments he placed his hand upon his shoulder. But there was something -else that he touched there. It was a revolver. - -“Why, Dan, where have you been to get that?” asked Cale, in surprise. - -“I have not only got that, but the man what owns it,” returned Dan, with -the same pride he would have exhibited had he won an enemy’s colors in -battle. “I’ve got Leon Sprague.” - -Cale was so astonished that he couldn’t say anything just then. - -“While you have been shut up in jail I have been working for the -glorious cause,” said Dan. “I got him just as easy as falling off a log. -I’ve heard so much tell about Leon’s courage that I was kinder afraid to -tackle him; but pshaw! I handled him as easy as you would handle a -baby.” - -Let us now go back for a moment and tell what had happened to Dan while -Cale was being shut up in the hotel. When he came back from holding his -interview with the Confederate captain he did not go to bed, as Cale -did, but filled his pipe with negro-twist and lay down on the ground to -smoke and think. He lay there for an hour—he didn’t want any breakfast; -besides, he was getting tired of corn-bread and bacon, anyway—building -his air-castles and dreaming how proud he would be if he could only hold -a position equal to the captain’s. - -“Boots on his feet that came up to his knees and gloves on his hands -that came clear up to there,” said Dan, motioning with his finger to a -point on his arm that came clear up to his elbow. “And didn’t he handle -that horse gay? She was a frisky animal, but he managed her as easy as -if he was seated in a rocking-chair. And, dog-gone him, he went and -fooled me!” - -By this time his father had eaten his breakfast and came out to his -usual place on the threshold, pipe a-going. He took a few pulls at the -tobacco, cast his eye up to the clouds to see what the weather was going -to be, and was then ready to begin his topic of conversation. - -“The South is going to whip,” said he. “It don’t stand to reason that -one county in the midst of a State that’s in rebellion is going to whip -all the counties around her.” - -“But, father, do you think they are going to fight?” asked Dan. - -“Fight! No, they won’t. I only wish I could get my position as colonel. -I would show them how to clean these men out.” - -“And the men here wouldn’t give you the position of Secretary of War,” -said Dan. “What would you have done if you had got that position?” - -“Eh? Well, I would have done a heap more than that old Sprague is doing, -I can tell you that. I would have made you boys officers, to begin with. -You would make a bully captain, Dan.” - -“That’s just what I think, and—and—I ought to be one, too.” - -“Yes; and think of the money we would make. That’s what makes me so down -on all these officers. That must be worth six or eight thousand dollars -a year.” - -“Whew!” whistled Dan. “And old Sprague is making that much?” - -“I have no doubt of it. At any rate they might have offered it to me, -and I would ask how much they was going to give. If the price didn’t -suit me—What’s the matter?” added Mr. Newman, seeing that Dan removed -his pipe from his mouth and sat up straight on the ground. “Do you hear -anything?” - -“Father, there is some one coming along through the bushes,” said Dan, -involuntarily lowering his voice to a whisper. “And they are coming -fast, too.” - -Mr. Newman listened, and presently he heard the faint rustle of the -thicket as a body of men worked its way through them. It was still very -faint, but it came plainly to his ears. - -“I’ve got to go,” said Dan, hurriedly. “You call Cale.” - -“What have you been a-doing?” said his father, in astonishment. “You -stay where you are, and if they should put one of you in the calaboose -I’d cut it down as soon as I could get to it with my axe.” - -“I know, but I’ll tell you at some future time what I have been a-doing. -Call Cale.” - -Dan turned and made a dive for the bushes, and no sooner had he -disappeared than Mr. Sprague came in sight. While Mr. Sprague was -holding his colloquy with the father and mother, who stood at the door, -and Bud McCoy had gone around the house in time to catch Cale Newman -coming out of the window, Leon noticed the pipe which Dan had thrown -down, and which was not yet extinguished. He took a few pulls at it, and -it went as lively as it ever did. - -“Dan is out here in the bushes,” said he to Tom and young Dawson, who -remained close at his side. “Let’s go out and capture him.” - -“All right,” said Dawson. “Let us spread out a little, so that we will -cover more ground. Be in a hurry, now.” - -Leon was out of sight before he had ceased speaking. He made no attempt -to draw his revolver, for he did not think it would be worth while. He -had always known Dan, and knew him to be a lazy, worthless fellow, but -he was little prepared for what happened afterward. He was looking -everywhere for Dan—he must have been half a mile or more from his -friends by this time—when suddenly, as he pressed down a thicket to look -into it, he felt something on his back and he was thrown violently on -his face. Knowing in a minute what it was, his hand went behind him, but -he felt some fingers at work with his own, and his revolver was torn -from his grasp. A feeling of horror came over him when he knew that he -was disarmed. The weight was lifted off his back, he was rolled over, so -that he could see what he had to contend with, and his own revolver was -looking him in the face. It was cocked, too, and it needed only the -pressure of a finger to make all things blank to him. It was Dan Newman -who was bending above him. His face was very pale, but there was a glint -in his eyes that spoke volumes. - -“Not a word out of you,” said Dan, fiercely. “Not a word out of you. -Roll over, with your face downwards.” - -Leon had no alternative but to obey. There was shoot in Dan’s eyes, and -Leon saw it. He rolled over, and Dan arose to his feet and took off his -coat, and then his shirt, which he proceeded to tear up into small -strips. It was then a task of no difficulty to bind Leon’s arms. It was -done in less time than it takes to tell it, and then Leon was pulled to -a sitting posture, while Dan stood and looked down at him. - -“I’ve got you, ain’t I?” said Dan, who hardly knew whether he stood on -his head or his heels. “Now, what are you going to do about it?” - -“I don’t see that I can do anything,” said Leon, wondering if he was to -give up and remain a prisoner in the hands of this man. “You can do what -you please with me.” - -“And it pleases me to take you down to Mobile and give you up to our -folks,” said Dan. “Mebbe they’ll think that my company is in a condition -for me to command it. It ain’t often that a man can get the son of a -Secretary of War prisoner, is it?” - -Leon did not care to talk any longer. He knew what Dan was going to do -with him, and he did not feel much elated over it. He sat there in -silence and watched Dan, who was grinning all over and hardly knew -whether or not his good fortune had stood him so well in stead or not. -He wanted to be sure about it, and so began a conversation with Leon; or -rather, he talked and Leon listened. He examined his revolver -repeatedly, took aim at certain spots on the trees, and acted for all -the world like one who was bereft of his senses. Having spent an hour in -this way, and being at last satisfied that Mr. Sprague had looked around -the house without being able to find him, Dan thought he would go home -and hold a short consultation with his father. - -“The old man will be dreadful glad I’ve got you,” said Dan, wondering -how he was going to leave Leon so that he wouldn’t arouse the whole -neighborhood by his yelling, “and perhaps he’ll think I had better do -something else with you. I want to go home and get a shirt, too, for -these nights are mighty damp.” - -“Does the old man believe as you do?” asked Leon. He thought it would be -policy to learn all he could concerning the belief of the squatter’s -family, for he did not expect to remain a prisoner all his life. When he -returned he would know how to go to work. The first thing he did would -be to put all that family under arrest. - -“Of course the old man believes as I do,” said Dan. “The South is going -to send men enough in here to whip you. I tell you, Leon, you fellows -are crazy.” - -“What are you going to do with that?” asked Leon, referring to a piece -of shirt which Dan was carefully folding. - -“I am going to use it as a gag,” said Dan. “You must think that I am a -pretty smart man to go away and leave you with your mouth wide open. -Now, I guess this will do.” - -“I assure you that I won’t halloo,” exclaimed Leon, who did not like to -have any of Dan’s clothing in his mouth. “Try me and see.” - -“No, I reckon I’d best be on the safe side. If you will let this go into -your mouth, well and good; if not, it will have to go in anyway,” said -Dan, picking up his revolver. - -There was but one course open to Leon, and he submitted to have a wad of -shirt tucked into his mouth that almost made him sick. It was tied hard -and fast, too, so that he could not get rid of it. Dan next turned his -attention to his feet, which he bound with another piece of shirt, and -fastened them to a tree so that he could not get up. Then he looked at -the way his hands were fastened and got up, shoving the revolver into -his pocket. - -“I won’t be gone but a little while,” said Dan, straightening up the -thicket in which Leon lay. “I reckon I’ll bring the old man back here -with me. You will be glad to see him, I know. My father might have been -top-notch in this county if it hadn’t been for your old man. But no, -they wouldn’t have him for Secretary of War, and now they see what they -made by it.” - -Dan took one more look at his prisoner to see that his bonds were all -safe, and then went away. He was hardly out of sight before Leon began -tugging and twisting at his fastenings in the hope of being able to get -rid of some of them; but the harder he worked the more he exhausted -himself. Dan had done his work well, and finally Leon gave it up as a -bad job. Dan was gone fully an hour, and when he came back Leon noticed -that he didn’t have a shirt on. He noticed, too, that he was in pretty -bad humor. - -“They have got two sentries up there to the house, dog-gone them, and I -guess they must be waiting for me,” said Dan, as he began to undo the -fastenings that confined Leon’s mouth. “They think I’ll come back after -awhile, but they don’t know Dan Newman.” - -When Leon felt the gag removed from his mouth he coughed once or twice -and acted as if he was about to expel the contents of his stomach; but -after awhile he was able to reply to Dan’s question. - -“It makes you sick, don’t it?” asked Dan. - -“Yes, and that shirt would make anybody sick. I suppose they have got -the sentries there in order to catch you when you come back.” - -“But I say they don’t know me,” retorted Dan. “I didn’t go near the -house till I had looked around a bit, and then I saw those men there and -I came away. They won’t let me get even a shirt. I wonder if they have -got Cale?” - -“Where was Cale when the men came up to capture you?” - -“He was in the house and fast asleep.” - -“Then of course they have got him. He didn’t come out of the front door -or I would have seen them. It rather bothers a man to be up all night, -don’t it?” - -“Who said I was up all night?” asked Dan. - -“I do. You were up all night, and held a conference with that rebel -captain.” - -“Who’s got a better right? You fellows here in this county won’t give me -anything, and I have a right to go where I can get to be a captain.” - -“Well, untie my feet, will you?” said Leon, who didn’t seem disposed to -discuss this matter with Dan. “You have got them fastened to that -sapling until they hurt me.” - -Dan was accommodating enough to untie his feet, but he didn’t make any -move towards untying his hands. After that he sat down and held a long -talk with his prisoner, who, considering the situation in which he was -placed, took the matter very coolly. He knew he couldn’t get away, but -there would come other times, he thought, when his hands would be at -liberty, and then he would try his best at escape. They passed the -afternoon in this way, and finally it began to grow dark. Leon was -getting hungry, and he knew that Dan was bothered the same way, and -consequently he was relieved when his captor said he would try and reach -home again and get something. - -“But first I must tie you up,” said he. - -“Now, what’s the use of going to all that trouble?” said Leon, who -couldn’t bear the thought of having that shirt thrust into his mouth for -the second time. “I didn’t halloo before.” - -“No, of course you didn’t,” said Dan, with a laugh. “’Cause why, the gag -wouldn’t let you. I won’t be gone but a little while, and then I will -untie you.” - -Leon yielded with a very bad grace while Dan was placing the gag in his -mouth; and well he might, for there was the revolver, lying within easy -reach of his captor’s hand. He was tied up just as he was before, and -Dan, after a few parting words, disappeared in the darkness. - -“Oh, how I wish Tom Howe knew where I was!” panted Leon, after he had -tried in vain to get rid of some of his bonds. “I’ll bet you that I -wouldn’t be here much longer. Now, what will be done with me if I am -given up to the rebels? Beyond a doubt I’ll be hanged, for of course -they will take revenge on my father through me. Well, if I go up there -will be one less to fight them.” - -Dan was gone longer than he was before, and when he came back Leon was -surprised to hear him talking to somebody. Of course, it was so dark -that he couldn’t see anything, but as his captor drew near he began to -recognize Cale Newman’s voice. Leon was thunderstruck. He did not know -where Cale had been confined, but by some inadvertence on the part of -his jailers he had got away. Leon was impatient to hear Cale’s version -of it. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - A FRIEND IN NEED. - - -“Well, sir, you have got him as easy as falling off a log, haven’t you?” -said Cale, gleefully, as he sat down on the ground beside Leon and -passed his hands over him from head to foot. “It’s Leon, as sure as I am -alive, and you’ve got him tied up hard and fast,” he added, as he felt -of the prisoner’s face. - -“Hold on till I take the gag out of his mouth,” said Dan. “He talks as -sassy as you please.” - -“He does? Then I would punch him in the mouth for it,” said Cale, who -showed that he could be brave enough when he had the power. - -“No, that won’t do,” said Dan, who forthwith proceeded to take the shirt -out of Leon’s mouth. “You are an officer—” - -“Oh, get out!” sneered Cale. “I’ll bet you when our officers get him -into their hands they’ll treat him worse than we will.” - -“They didn’t treat them so at Mobile when we saw those prisoners brought -in there,” retorted Dan. “We are officers, and I’ll bet you that I will -get some men to command when I give this fellow up.” - -Leon took a few moments in which to get over the effect of the shirt -being in his mouth, after which he was ready to talk to Cale; for, as we -said, he was impatient to hear his version of the story of his escape. - -“How did you get away, Cale?” said he. - -“You thought they had me hard and fast, didn’t you?” said Cale, shaking -his fist at Leon. “Well, they didn’t. They had me in the third story of -the hotel, and once, when the sentinel wasn’t looking, I tore up the -quilts they had given me to sleep on and dug out.” - -“Didn’t they have any sentry under the window?” said Leon, astonished at -such a want of foresight on the part of the Union men. - -“No, they didn’t; and I took note of that the first thing when I went -in. I stayed up close to the building while the sentry was looking out, -and when he fired his gun to let them know that I had gone I dug out -across the cotton-field until I struck the woods. I wondered what I -should do without Dan, and I run onto him the first thing. Now, what are -you going to do with this fellow?” - -“As soon as it comes daylight we’ll take him down to Mobile.” - -“Ah! that’s the place for you,” said Cale, giving Leon a pinch. “You -won’t be riding around on that horse of yours and making us all wish we -had one, too. You’ve got the revolver, Dan, and now I’ll have the horse. -I wish father could get away from the house. Mebbe he would make you -stretch hemp right where you are.” - -“Well, Cale, as I didn’t have any sleep last night I’ll lie down,” said -Dan. “Do you reckon you can watch him while I doze a little?” - -“You’re right, I can,” said Cale, with savage emphasis. “Give me your -revolver. Now, let us see him make a move to get away. I’ll stretch him -out so stiff that he won’t be of any use down there at Mobile.” - -“That fellow has got a mighty nice shirt on that I’d like to have,” said -Dan, as he drew his coat about him, but couldn’t confine it, for it had -no buttons. “As soon as it comes daylight I’ll make him shed that linen. -I ain’t a-going among our officers with no shirt on.” - -“Why don’t you make him take it off now?” said Cale. “I’ll watch him so -that he can’t run away.” - -“No, I guess I’d better be on the safe side. Let it go until to-morrow.” - -Leon was glad that he had such a reputation. He was able to sleep warm -for one night at least. His clothing was comfortable, and his coat being -buttoned up to the chin, and being protected from the keen wind by the -thicket in which he was placed, he slept as warm as he would if he had -been at home. The only thing was, his hands hurt him. He knew it would -be of no use to appeal to Dan, so he gritted his teeth and said nothing. -When Leon awoke it was broad daylight. Both his captors were asleep. The -revolver that Cale threatened him with was lying by his side, and all he -needed was his hands at liberty to turn the tables on them in good -shape. - -“By gracious!” muttered Leon; and once more he began trying the effect -of Dan’s knots. But they were there to stay. He could not move his hands -at all. “Halloo! here,” he added aloud. “Do you want to go to sleep and -let me run off? I am cold, and it is time I was moving.” - -“Well, now, I’ll be shot!” said Dan, opening his eyes and rubbing them, -while Cale made a clutch for the revolver. “It was good of you not to go -away.” - -“You can thank yourself for it,” said Leon. “If I could have got away -I’d had my revolver in my hands, and then you would have gone to -Ellisville.” - -“Yes; and what would we be doing all that time?” said Cale. - -“You shut up!” answered Dan. “You said you could watch him, and so you -did. You went fast asleep watching him.” - -“I only just closed my eyes, that’s all,” protested Cale. “If he’d -a-made any move—” - -“Oh, shut up, and let’s be moving,” interrupted Dan. “The sooner we get -him where our officers are, the sooner we’ll be rid of him and get -something to eat.” - -Leon found that he was somewhat stiff when he came to get upon his feet, -but before they had gone half a mile he stepped off with his accustomed -free stride. Dan led the way with the revolver in his hand, and he was -considerate enough to keep the bushes from striking his prisoner in the -face. Leon knew how far it was to the river, but the distance seemed to -lengthen out wonderfully since he last passed that way. He kept a bright -look-out in the hope that he would meet some of the Union men, but in -this he was disappointed. - -“Now, right up that way, not more than a mile, is a company of your -fellows stationed there to watch the bridge,” said Dan, stopping at -length. “How much would you give to holler and bring them down here?” - -“Don’t talk to him that way,” exclaimed Cale, disturbed by the thought. -“The first thing you know he will holler.” - -“Then this revolver will settle his hash,” said Dan, savagely. “Let him -holler, if he wants to.” - -A little further on came the river, whereupon Dan backed off for a few -feet and told Cale to undo the prisoner’s hands. Cale was prompt to -obey, and the first thing that Leon did when he felt his arms free was -to stretch them above his head, as if he enjoyed having them at liberty -once more. He did not make a motion to escape, for there was the -revolver looking him in the face. - -“Now take off your clothes, you two, and be ready to swim the river,” -said Dan. - -“Am I going over there with him?” asked Cale, and he was thoroughly -frightened at the prospect. - -“You go first, and when you get over there you can pick up a club. I’ll -keep his clothes behind with me, and the revolver, too, and if he wants -to run off naked let him go. I bet you he’ll be glad to have his clothes -again.” - -The two boys lost no time in taking off their clothes, and there was one -thing that Leon didn’t like pretty well. He would lose his shirt by the -operation; but there was no help for it that he could see. In due time -the boys were all over, and Leon saw his shirt go upon the back of Dan -Newman. - -“There, now, I feel like myself again,” exclaimed Dan. “I can go among -our officers now and have a shirt on. Button your coat up tight, Leon, -and no wind can get in. Now you must have your hands tied again.” - -This much being accomplished, the prisoner and his captors went ahead at -a more rapid pace, the woods being more open, and they held their course -parallel with the main road. Their object was to get below the bend, -where they would be out of sight of the sentries. At the end of half an -hour they emerged from the woods, and striking the road went on their -way with increased speed. - -“Don’t you know some place along here where you can go and get something -to eat?” asked Leon. “I could travel twice as fast if I had something on -my stomach.” - -“I was just thinking of that thing myself,” answered Dan. “I am going to -stop at the first house I meet. And remember, Leon, no trying to get -away,” he added, showing the revolver he still carried in his hand. - -Leon didn’t make any reply. He knew now that he was beyond all reach of -help, and after he got something to eat—that was the first thing on the -programme—he must make up his mind to face “our officers,” who wouldn’t -be apt to treat him any too well. But first one house was passed and -then another, and as neither Dan nor Cale had the courage to go in and -beg something to eat, Leon finally gave it up as a bad job, and thought -he would have to go on to Mobile before he could get a mouthful to stay -his appetite. At last they came along to a place that Leon remembered. -The first time he saw it there was a pleasant farm-house, and corn-cribs -and negro quarters in abundance; but now everything had been given up to -the flames, and some of the ruins were still smoking. - -“Well, I declare, somebody has been burned out, here!” said Dan. “Is -this the place where you came last night, Leon?” - -“I was around here somewhere,” replied Leon. - -“Then here’s where that rebel fellow lives,” continued Dan. “It serves -him just right. Before I take an oath to support a government and then -go back on it I would deserve to be burned out myself.” - -Leon did not make any reply to this, for he thought that Dan might be -burned out and still not lose a great deal by it; but he did not want to -say so for fear of making him angry. His captors had treated him all -right so far, but he knew what the consequences would be if he got them -down on him. While he was thinking about it, and wondering how Tom Howe -and young Dawson would look upon his absence—they certainly would know -he had been captured—they came suddenly around another bend in the road, -and saw before them a long line of horsemen who were travelling as -though they had some place to reach before night. He took a second -glance at them, and saw that they were all dressed in Confederate -uniform. - -“There’s some of our men now!” exclaimed Dan, so overjoyed that he took -off his hat and waved it to them. “But, Cale, that ain’t our captain in -front, is it? He was a big man, and this is a little one. There must be -a whole regiment of them, and if that is the case they are going up to -whip the Union men.” - -Leon’s heart fairly came up into his mouth. He would know soon what the -rebels were going to do with him. The Confederates discovered them as -soon as they came around the bend, and they kept a close watch of them -until they came up. The man in front certainly was not a captain. He had -a mark on his collar that no one had ever seen before. - -“Well, boys, where are you going?” inquired the man; and they found out -before the interview was over that his men called him colonel. Of -course, Dan looked at him with a great deal of respect after he found -out what his rank was. - -“Yes, we’ve got a Yankee prisoner here,” said Dan, who was expected to -do all the talking. “He is the son of the Secretary of War up in Jones -county.” - -“He is, hey?” exclaimed the colonel, beginning to show some interest in -the matter. “Well, we’ll send him right down to Mobile the first thing -we do. Are you from Jones county?” - -Dan replied that he was. - -“Then you must know all about the men up there,” said the colonel. “How -many have they got, anyway?” - -“A thousand fighting men,” replied Dan. “And I tell you, you will want -more men than you have got here to whip them.” - -“I don’t know about that. We have got a thousand men here in this -regiment, and they are all disciplined, and when they draw up against -your crowd of bushwhackers you will see some scattering. Now, we want to -get across that bridge; how far is it from here?” - -“You will find it right straight up this road about twenty miles. You -want to be careful, because they have got ten men hidden up there, and -they are all good shots.” - -“We will take care of them, don’t you fear. Now, after we get across the -bridge we must deploy in line of battle; how far will we have to go -before we can strike their main line?” - -“It is ten miles from the bridge to Ellisville, and when you get there -you will find all the men you want.” - -“Well, now, see here: suppose you go with me? You know all the crooks -and turns of the road that leads—” - -“But, Captain,” began Dan. - -“This gentleman is a colonel,” interrupted the man who rode by his -commanding officer’s side. - -“A colonel!” exclaimed Dan, somewhat surprised to find that he had found -the man who held the position his father was working for. “Colonel, I am -glad to meet you,” he added, advancing and thrusting out a dirty, -begrimed hand to the man, who merely reached down and touched the tips -of it with his fingers. “My father calculates to hold the position of -colonel when he has delivered up all the head men of the county into -your hands. But, Colonel, I want to see this man located in Mobile. I -had a heap of trouble to gobble him, and I don’t want to lose him.” - -But that wasn’t the principal reason why Dan did not want to go back. -Some of the men at the bridge would be certain to recognize him, and if -he escaped the bullets which they would send after him he would not dare -go home. - -“We’ll take care of him,” said the colonel. “The son of the Secretary of -War is too valuable to lose.” - -“What do you reckon you will do with him, Colonel?” - -“Hang him, probably.” - -Leon heard the words, and looked around at Dan and Cale. Dan smiled upon -him as if he had just heard a glorious piece of news, but Cale was -grinning with delight. He said to himself: “If Leon is going to be hung -I’ll have his horse.” - -“Adjutant, pick out a good, trusty man to march this fellow to Mobile,” -said the colonel. “A faithful fellow, mind you.” - -“Captain Cullom, have you such a man in your company?” said the -adjutant, turning to the officer who commanded the advance of the line. - -“Yes, sir. Ballard, step out here!” - -The man referred to, who was one of the leading fours of his company, -urged his horse to the front and brought his hand to his hat with a -military salute. Then he slung his carbine upon his shoulder and drew -his revolver from his belt. Leon looked at him, and he told himself that -if he had been a rebel he would have trusted that man with his life. He -was young, not more than twenty-four, but he was from Texas, and had -been a cowboy all his life; consequently he was a little better clad -than the majority of his comrades. - -“Ballard, you take this man before General Lowery and tell him that I -sent him,” said the colonel. “Tell him that he is the son of a high-up -man of Jones county, and let him do what he pleases with him.” - -“Very good, sir,” answered Ballard. - -“I wouldn’t untie his hands,” continued the colonel, “but you have got -your revolver in your hands and can easily stop him in case he runs for -the woods.” - -“Very good, sir,” replied Ballard. “Forward, march! Go off at one side -of the road so as to be out of the way of the column.” - -“Now, two of the men must make room for these boys,” said the colonel. -“Forward!” - -Dan and Cale were quickly provided with places to ride behind two of the -cavalrymen, the adjutant shouted “Forward!” with all the strength of his -lungs, and Leon stood at one side of the road and watched the men as -they marched by. He had heard a good deal about Texas, and he finally -came to the conclusion that all the soldiers were from that region. They -were all long-haired, and many of them were unacquainted with combs, but -there were some among them who were dressed like his cowboy, with -handkerchiefs around their necks, broad tarpaulins on their heads and -fine boots on their feet. A good many of them had a word to say to -Ballard and his prisoner, and they were not of the kind that was -calculated to encourage Leon. When Leon wasn’t looking Ballard raised -his pistol and took a deliberate aim at his head—a proceeding that was -welcomed by shouts from all the men who saw it. - -“That’s the way; shoot him down!” shouted one of the soldiers. “There -will be one less Yank for us left to fight, anyway.” - -“Now, sonny, I guess all the men have passed,” said Ballard. “Take the -middle of the road and travel ahead as if you were going for the doctor. -Mobile is a long ways from here.” - -Leon accordingly took to the road and plodded along at his best pace; -but he was wearied, and his hands hurt him so that he was on the point -of urging his captor to untie them for a little while, so that he could -stretch his arms and get the kinks out of them. He walked along until he -had got around the first bend, out of sight of the cavalrymen, and then -Ballard, after looking all around and up and down the road, to make sure -that there was nobody in sight, leaned forward and whispered to him: - -“Say, sonny, go into the woods.” - -Leon turned around and faced him. He had heard that was one way the -Confederates had of getting rid of their prisoners, namely, to take them -into the woods and “lose” them. They would shoot them down and leave -them there. Leon couldn’t help himself if Ballard had decided to lose -him, for his hands were tied. - -“What will I go in there for?” he asked, and one wouldn’t suppose that -his life was in danger, to hear him talk. - -“Go into the woods quick!” said Ballard. “I’m Union.” - -The revulsion of feeling was so great that Leon staggered and would have -fallen to the ground if Ballard had not ridden up and caught him by the -collar. - -“Go in there quick before some one sees you!” said Ballard, looking up -and down the road as he spoke. “I wouldn’t hurt the hair of your head. -I’ve wanted to get with those Jones county people ever since I have been -here, and now I have got a chance at last. Go into the woods quick as -you can walk. I’ll untie your hands in there.” - -Leon waited to hear no more, but dived straight into the bushes, and he -never stopped until he had gone half a mile from the road. But fast as -he went, Ballard was close behind him. When he stopped his captor -dismounted and pulled a big bowie-knife from his boot. One blow was -enough, and Leon’s arms were free. - -“Ballard, I never shall forget you!” said Leon, and his voice was -somewhat husky as he spoke. “I have been wondering how I should get -away, but I never thought that you would help me. You are a friend -indeed. But first I want to know if you have anything to eat in your -haversack? I haven’t had a bite since yesterday.” - -Ballard at once unslung his haversack, and while Leon was regaling -himself on the corn-bread and bacon, which tasted wonderfully good to -him, he told Leon how he happened to go into the service, while he knew -that the South was going to be utterly impoverished. He owned a fine -cattle-ranch in Texas, and when the Southern men around him began to -talk of going into her service he found that he had to go, too, or run -the risk of stretching hemp. - -“I didn’t want to go for a long time,” said Ballard, “and when I found -that my neighbors were all giving in their names, and began to look -cross-eyed at me and make remarks that people who were not for us were -against us, I saw it was high time I was doing something; so I got an -Englishman to take care of my place, and here I am. I tell you, there is -a lot of men in the rebel army that think just the same as I do.” - -“Let them come over into our county and we’ll treat them right,” said -Leon. “Father says we will have at least ten thousand men by-and-by, and -it is going to take more than double that number of men to whip us. Now, -Ballard, I am much obliged to you for this breakfast, and I am now able -to go on. Are you going to take your horse with you?” - -“Oh, I couldn’t think of going anywhere without that horse,” said -Ballard, hastily. “I’ll warrant that if the rebels went by within ten -feet of us he wouldn’t say a word.” - -Leon at once stepped out at his old pace, and Ballard kept close behind -him. The woods were so thick that they couldn’t stop to do much talking, -and by the time it began to grow dark they were on the banks of the -creek. - -“Now, we are half way home,” said Leon. “I would like to know just how -that cavalry came out in attacking our men. I’ve listened every once in -a while, but I didn’t hear any sound of rifles or carbines.” - -“Probably they are too far away for us to hear them,” said Ballard. “If -your men will fight—” - -“Oh, they will fight, and there are some of them with us who have -repeatedly declared that they won’t take any prisoners. If they drive -our men back to the swamp they are whipped, sure. By gracious! what’s -that? It sounds like a couple of horses coming through the woods.” - -Ballard took his horse by the bridle to hold his head down in case he -wanted to call to them and listened intently. Soon the measured tread of -the horses could be heard coming through the woods, and in a few minutes -a couple of rebels appeared on the opposite bank of the creek and but a -short distance above them. One of the Confederates had no hat on, his -left arm was hanging loose by his side and his companion was holding him -on his horse. They paused for a few moments, as if they didn’t know what -to do with the creek in front of them, and then the uninjured one urged -the horses in, and in a few strokes of the hoofs they were safe across. - -“I’ll tell you what’s the matter with our side,” said Ballard, as soon -as the two rebels had disappeared in the bushes. “We have been whipped!” - -“Do you mean to say that our fellows have whipped the cavalry?” inquired -Leon, and he was surprised and delighted to hear it. - -“That is just what I mean. If the cavalry had been successful they would -have kept to the road and taken some prisoners with them; but their -being scattered in this way makes me think that they have been worsted. -You saw that man who was being held on his horse? Well, he was wounded.” - -“We have got to swim the creek before we can get over,” said Leon. “I am -impatient to see how my father came out. Take off your clothes and hold -them above your head. I’ll carry your carbine for you.” - -Leon worked in earnest now, for his father had been in danger and he was -not there to share it. In hardly less time than it takes to tell it he -was on the other side of the bayou and pulling on his clothes. Ballard -was not very far behind him, and seeing how impatient Leon was he donned -his uniform with all possible haste, after which they struck out for -Ellisville. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - A FIGHT AND ITS RESULTS. - - -Let us now return to the cavalrymen and see how they came out in their -assault on the Union men who had been left to guard the bridge, and -particularly to tell how Dan and Cale felt when they found themselves -going back among those who would be sure to know them. Cale was -frightened, and consequently he said nothing, but Dan was just scared -enough to have plenty of talk in him. - -“Take that man up behind you,” said Captain Cullom, addressing himself -to one of the leading fours of his company. - -“Up you come with a jump,” said the man, reaching down to catch Dan by -the hand. - -“Oh, now, I tell you I don’t want to get up there,” said Dan. “Those -people at the bridge will surely know me, and I’ll be tumbled off with -the first volley you get.” - -“Get on up there,” said Captain Cullom, and he reached over as if he was -going to draw his sword. - -“Give us your hand,” said the man, getting impatient. “Now throw your -leg over the back of the horse. You are Southerner enough to do that.” - -Dan finally made out to get on the cavalryman’s horse, but it was more -the effects of the sword, which had leaped half-way out of its scabbard -while the captain was talking to him. Cale was already seated behind his -man, and in response to the adjutant’s order, “Forward!” they moved -toward the bridge. Dan was more than half-inclined to cry when he found -that he must go whether he wanted to or not, and the man he was with -began to torment him. - -“Oh, they will give it to you if they catch you up there,” said he, in a -tone so low that the captain couldn’t hear it. “Say, Charlie, you -remember what they done to those two fellows they caught down to -Mobile?” - -“You’re right, I do,” replied the man thus addressed. “They hung ’em up -to the nearest tree.” - -“What did they do that for?” asked Dan. - -“Because they wanted to betray their friends into our hands,” said the -man. - -“But these ain’t friends of mine,” replied Dan, “I’ve been down on them -ever since I have been here.” - -“No matter. You know what we will do to them if we catch them, and the -others will serve you the same way. I would rather be in my boots than -in yours.” - -“But you are going to lick them, ain’t you?” - -“Lick them? Of course we are. That’s what we are going up here for. Have -you got any friends there?” - -“I’ve got a father and a mother.” - -“Then they had better get out. We’re going to sweep everything clean. -There won’t be hide nor hair left of a Union man to-night.” - -“Now, if you will let me get off and go through the woods,” said Dan, “I -can warn my relatives.” - -“Can’t do it,” said the man, shaking his head. “Didn’t you hear what the -captain said? If you were in the service you would know how to obey -orders.” - -“Silence in the ranks!” commanded Captain Cullom, and this put a stop to -all conversation between them, although Dan had many things that he -wanted to say. - -After this they rode along in a sort of a fox trot, but Dan noticed that -they didn’t take as much pains to go quietly as the squad had done the -night before. By the time they got to the bend Dan was certain that the -pickets had heard them and taken to the bushes, and when they got around -it in plain view of the bridge there was not a sentinel in sight. But -before they had gone many feet along the road a voice called out: - -“Halt! Who comes there?” - -“Draw sabres and revolvers!” shouted the colonel, and the order was -repeated by the adjutant, who galloped back along the column and yelled -out the command as he went. “Forward! Charge!” - -In a second Dan was flying along the road faster than he had ever -travelled on horseback before, and in another second the line was thrown -into confusion by a discharge of rifles and carbines from the woods on -each side of the bridge. The shots were well-aimed, too, for each man -was sure of his mark. The colonel and his horse went down, and so did -the two men who were carrying Dan and Cale double. The leading four were -also badly cut up, and before the major could get up to command in place -of his colonel a second discharge followed, which came within an ace of -putting the column to a rout. Dan and Cale were on their feet as soon as -they struck the ground, the former with his left arm hanging loose and -the latter with a bullet-hole through both cheeks. - -“I’ve got it now! I’ve got it now!” moaned Dan, and when he tried to -raise his arm he saw that the lower part of it was useless. - -“And I, too!” yelled Cale. “What’s the matter with my face, Dan? I can’t -hardly talk.” - -But Dan wasn’t staying around there to tell Cale what was the matter -with his face. In fact he didn’t think anything of his brother at all, -for his thoughts were wrapped up in his own wound. He gazed at the -fallen men who were scattered around him, heard the major issue some -rapid orders, and then he, too, fell off his horse. The pickets were -evidently going for the officers, and they made short work of them. Dan -saw and heard all this and then made a desperate lunge for the bushes, -and Cale was close at his heels when he got there. - -“Oh, my face!” groaned Cale. “I wish I knew what was the matter with -it.” - -“Do you think there is nobody killed but yourself?” retorted Dan. “Look -at this arm. It don’t hurt me so much, but it feels bruised, and you -have got nothing but a bullet-hole through your cheeks.” - -By this time the column was under command of a captain, who had little -difficulty in rallying them, and Dan heard a yell such as he had never -heard before, the yell of charging cavalry, and he saw the body of men -sweep on toward the bridge; but when they got there they saw the Union -pickets far up the road. But they loaded their rifles as fast as they -went, and when they turned around to fire at their pursuers some man was -certain to go down. At last the captain who commanded the cavalry went -over also, and this left Captain Cullom, who was the second in rank, in -charge of the regiment. - -“Forward!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “They are going on ahead -to arouse the other men, and we must overtake them before they get -there.” - -Again that charging yell arose, and it was answered by yells equally as -savage from the Union men, who turned and fired another volley at them. -The ten miles that lay between them and Ellisville were quickly passed -over, and by the time the pickets had arrived within sight of the camp -there was not a man to be seen. The houses didn’t look as though there -was anybody around them, but when they came nearer they found that every -window was filled with sharpshooters. The church, too, was used as a -barricade, and as it stood broadside to the road we can imagine that it -must have been hot work for that column of cavalry to have stood against -it. As they came opposite the hotel the door opened and Mr. Knight and -Mr. Sprague stepped out. - -“What is going on down the road?” asked the former. - -“The rebs are coming!” shouted half a dozen voices. “They have got a -whole regiment of cavalry with them. We hain’t lost a man.” - -“You have done nobly,” said Mr. Sprague. “Go around behind the -church-house and make your horses fast, and go in there. Be ready to -shoot when you hear us.” - -“This looks like a fight,” said one of the pickets, as they made their -way into the church. “Boys, I laid out one traitor the first fire I had. -It was that miserable Dan Newman.” - -“And I made all haste to lay out the other one,” chimed in a second. -“His brother, Cale Newman, was there, and Bob, here, shot the man’s -horse, and I took particular aim at his head. I know I hit him, but I -did not fix him. I saw him get up and go into the bushes.” - -“Here they come!” said one of the sharp-shooters, who was keeping watch -at one of the windows. “There is lots of them, ain’t they?” - -“Yes, but it is going to take more than they have got to get away with -us,” said one of the pickets. “If ten men can throw a column like that -into confusion, they won’t stand long against the fire of five hundred.” - -“Now, all you men who can get there at the window fire your one shot, -and then fall back and give somebody else a chance,” said the -quartermaster—the one who had refused to give Cale Newman a mule. “In -that way we can keep up a regular fusillade on them.” - -The Confederates came on, yelling as they went, and there was more than -one man who took note of the fact that discipline was a great thing. All -those in front were coming to their death, but not one was seen to -flinch. The men in the church began to wonder if Mr. Sprague had -forgotten how to shoot, his signal was so long delayed, and some of the -most excitable ones yelled “Fire!” as the rebels came on, but the calm -voice of their leader broke in with: - -“Steady there, men. Don’t shoot until you have the word;” and scarcely -had he got the words out of his mouth when a rifle-shot came from the -hotel across the way, and an instant afterward nearly a thousand rifles -and carbines cracked in unison. The slaughter was fearful. The captain, -who was leading the charge, fell with a dozen bullets in his person, and -when the smoke cleared away so that they could see the effect of the -shot, they found that the leading company had been dismounted, and their -horses were running about as if they didn’t know which way to go. - -“Now, you men at the window who have had a hand in this fall back,” said -the quartermaster; but nobody seemed to hear him. The men struggled to -keep their places, and the men in the body of the church, finding that -no opportunity was to be given them, opened the door and went out. Then -the rebels got another volley, and it was almost as disastrous as the -first. And this wasn’t the worst of it. All the men came out from their -hiding-places, from the hotel and from behind the trees that concealed -them in the grove, and the surviving rebels, seeing nothing before them -but a regiment of Union men who were backed by rifles that never missed, -and more running up to join them, took to their heels and made the best -of their time down the road. - -“Get on your horses and follow them!” shouted Mr. Knight from the window -of the hotel. “Don’t let one escape!” - -That was the way the rebels got scattered. The Union men pursued them on -fresh horses; and some of them, seeing that their chances for escape -were slim indeed, threw down their arms and surrendered, while the rest -took off through the woods. That was the time that Leon and Ballard -might have added some glory to their escape by capturing the two men who -went across the creek, but the trouble was they didn’t know how the -thing had ended. - -“Now, if you think they were whipped we can go up the main road,” said -Leon. “But I really shouldn’t like to get so close to home and then have -them jump onto me.” - -“I shouldn’t like it, either,” said Ballard, with a laugh. “I would be -apt to fare worse than you would. But can’t we go on and reconnoitre the -ground? If we find some of your men there we’ll be safe.” - -“Let us try it,” said Leon. “Anything is better than walking through -this thick underbrush.” - -Leon was not more than half a mile below the bridge, and before he had -gone that distance he heard somebody talking in the road. He raised his -hand to Ballard, and the latter at once took his horse by the head and -forced it down. Leon held on, and after carefully feeling his way came -upon several Union men who were gathered about a rebel who had been shot -from his horse. One of the Union men he recognized as Bud McCoy, but who -the others were he didn’t know. - -“Halloo! there. You licked them, didn’t you?” - -“Well, I’ll be dog-gone!” exclaimed the man, as he turned about and saw -Leon advancing upon him through the bushes. “Where have you been? Your -pap has been in a heap of worry about you.” - -“And well he might be,” said Leon. “I have been a prisoner. Come on, -Ballard; it’s all right.” - -The men all straightened up—they were busy getting ready to remove the -wounded rebel—and presently saw Ballard coming through the woods leading -his horse. - -“And here’s the man who saved me,” added Leon. “Know him, boys. His name -is Ballard. He was going to take me down to Mobile, but after he got out -of sight of the rebels he asked me into the woods and gave me something -to eat. How many of the Confederates did you kill?” - -“But first, I want to know how you came to be taken prisoner?” said Bud. -“Did you run onto the rebels before you knew it? The last time I saw -you, you were up to old Newman’s house.” - -“No, I didn’t run onto the rebels before I saw them,” said Leon; and he -knew the confession he was about to make would not meet the entire -approval of Bud McCoy. “One man made a prisoner of me.” - -“Who was it?” - -“Dan Newman.” - -“And you had a revolver in your pocket?” - -“Yes, but he got it away from me.” - -“Dan Newman! Well, I’ll be dog-gone! Before I would let a man like Dan -Newman capture me—” - -“But, Bud, he threw me down when I didn’t know he was near me,” -protested Leon, “and when I turned over to see what had happened to me, -there was my own revolver aimed straight at me.” - -“Well, you will never have an opportunity to get even with him now,” -said Bud. “He was shot right through the arm, and his brother got a -bullet-hole through both cheeks.” - -“Why, who did that?” exclaimed Leon, who felt very much disappointed to -hear it. He had always contended that no Newman could handle him, and -now he would have to live with that shadow on his mind. - -“I don’t know; some of the pickets did it, Tom Howe was almost as worked -up as your father. He’s down there now, helping gather up the wounded -rebels,” said Bud, jerking his head down the road. - -“I hope Dan will get well, for I am bound to try my strength with him -some day,” said Leon. “Has anybody here got a horse that I can ride?” - -“Take that gray,” said one of the men, “I have got to carry this man to -Ellisville, so I will have to walk.” - -Leon thanked him, unhitched the horse, swung himself upon his back and -galloped across the bridge and down the road to the place where his two -friends were at work. Tom and Dawson were surprised to see him, and -while he was telling them the story he looked all around to find Dan and -Cale. He wanted to see how badly hurt Dan was, for he believed, if they -were to measure strength once more, that Dan would go under. - -“There’s one thing that happened about this business that you won’t -like,” said Tom; and he spoke as though he was very much disheartened -himself. “Old man Smith was badly wounded during the fight.” - -“Why, how did that happen?” asked Leon in surprise. - -“Well, you must know that all the shooting that was done wasn’t confined -to our men,” said Tom. “The rebels rallied two or three times, and every -time they poured in a volley.” - -“But how did Mr. Smith get hit? Wasn’t he under cover?” - -“Yes; he was in the hotel with your father, but he came out. He was just -getting all ready to fire when a bullet took him in the side and over he -went.” - -Leon was very sorry to hear this. He remembered that Mr. Smith had told -him particularly that he had something to say to him, and he had not -been near him since. Perhaps if he went directly home he would get there -in time to hear what he had to say. He didn’t think it anything worth -listening to, but he would show his good-will. While he was looking -around at the dead and wounded Confederates lying there—and he was -really surprised when he saw what a havoc ten guns had made in the -assaulting column—he became aware that there was a man leaning on a -rifle and keeping guard over several prisoners. Among them were Dan and -Cale. One’s arm and the other’s face had been bandaged after a fashion, -and they were waiting until the rebels were all gathered up, when they -would go on to Ellisville and be placed under the care of the doctor. -Leon gave his horse the rein and rode up and accosted Dan. - -“Well, old fellow, I am sorry to see you in this fix,” said he. - -“Yes, no doubt you are glad of it,” whined Dan, moving his wounded arm -to a better place. - -“I am, really. I was in hopes that you and I would come together again, -and I wanted you to see that you couldn’t take me down as easy as you -did before. You handled me as easy as though I wasn’t there.” - -“I can do it all the time,” replied Dan, snappishly, for just then his -arm pained him and he moved it to another position. “I can get away with -you the best day you ever saw.” - -“Oh, it is very easy for you to talk that way now, but if you had two -good arms I would try you right here.” - -“Say, Leon, what do you reckon those fellows will do with us after they -get us to Ellisville?” said Cale, speaking with difficulty. - -“I am sure I don’t know. If I had my way with you I would send you among -the rebels, with orders not to come back. You talk of the rebels as ‘our -men,’ and you belong with them.” - -“I guess you’ll stretch hemp,” said the man who was acting as sentry -over them. - -“I hope they won’t go that far, but I don’t know,” said Leon, as he -turned his horse about and started for Ellisville. - -It was getting dark by this time, but all the way Leon saw some signs of -the fight. Here was a dead rebel who had been shot during the retreat, -and who had fallen in the middle of the road, and he had been moved out -on one side and his body covered with a blanket. A little further on he -came across a wagon which was loaded with wounded Confederates, and the -Union men all greeted him as though they were glad to see him. There was -one thing about it, if there was any faith to be put in what the men -said to him: His father had been in a constant worry ever since he -failed to show up at Newman’s house, and he became so satisfied that -Newman was to blame for his capture—for Mr. Sprague knew that somebody -had made a prisoner of him—that he sent a squad of men back to the house -and placed them all in custody. Finally Leon came up to the place where -the slaughter had taken effect when the Confederates got ready to make -their charge, and he shuddered when he looked at it. The rebels and -their horses had fallen together in a heap until they were piled on top -of one another. The Union men had not got through removing them yet. - -“By gracious, if those rebels could come up here from Mobile and see -what I have seen to-day, I’ll bet they would give up trying to conquer -us,” said Leon, as he once more gave his horse the rein and drew up -before the hotel porch. “I didn’t suppose that a battle ended in that -way. I thought the dead and wounded were scattered all around, and that -you had to hunt a long time before you found them, but—I never want to -see another fight.” - -The hotel porch was empty when he got there, but a little way up toward -the grove he saw a company of Confederates, all huddled together, and -Union men were keeping guard over them. They were waiting there until -their paroles could be made out. You see they had no printing-press in -Jones county, and everything like this had to be made out by hand. He -went up into the President’s room, and there he found as many men as -could find seats at the table engaged in writing. Some of the prisoners -were there to assist them. - -“The way we do this,” said Mr. Knight, addressing himself to the captain -who had last commanded the regiment (by the way, he was wounded, too, -for a handkerchief that was wet with blood was tied around his -forehead)—“the way we do this is all owing to you rebels alone. You have -not hung any of our men yet; indeed, I don’t know that you have had a -chance, but if you had hung any of them, we should pick out as many men -as had been executed and hang them to the nearest tree. We want you to -understand that these paroles are matters of life and death with you. If -you go into battle against us without being exchanged, and we capture -you, you can expect nothing but death. I think you have found out, by -the way that cavalry charged upon us, that we know how to fight. How -many men had you to go back to Mobile?” - -“Well, sir, I should say about two hundred.” - -“And how many had you in the first place?” - -“We marched up here to assault you with eleven hundred men, sir.” - -“And only two hundred escaped! That’s doing pretty good work.” - -Leon was astonished when he found out that so small a number of -Confederates had got away, and then, seeing that the conversation -between the President and the rebel captain had ceased, he began looking -around for his father. He found him at last sitting at a table in a -remote corner of the room, and walked up and placed his hand upon his -shoulder. Mr. Sprague looked up, and finding Leon’s face beaming down -upon him, put his pen in his mouth and extended his hand. - -“Halloo, Leon; you have got back, haven’t you?” he exclaimed; and for -the first time in his life he saw his father’s eyes filled with tears. - -“Yes, sir, I have got back. Where’s Mr. Smith?” - -“Mr. Smith has got his death-wound, I am afraid,” said his father, -looking down at the paper on which he was writing with a most gloomy -expression. “He wants to see you bad, and I would advise you to go down -to him at once. You will find him in the parlor, lying on the sofa.” - -Leon waited to hear no more, but worked his way through the men toward -the door, stopping to shake hands with this one, or to give a bow and a -smile to another, and presently found himself in the parlor. The doctor -was there and bending over the wounded man, and so was a distant -relative of his, who seemed determined that the doctor should not -exchange any words with Mr. Smith without he could hear them. Leon had -never liked that man, Leonard Smith. It is true that he had never worked -for his father, nor for Mr. Smith, either, for there was something about -him that neither of the gentlemen approved of. He was constantly telling -around that he was going to have a lot of money one of these days, and -nobody knew where he was going to get it. Mr. Smith had a little, just -how much no one knew, and it was very clear to everyone that Leonard -Smith wouldn’t get any of it when he got done with it. Mr. Smith had -often been heard to declare: - -“I’ll never help a man who is too lazy to help himself. What does that -Leonard Smith do to earn his living? He works at the logs about half the -time, and the balance he spends in visiting me. I have often told him to -go to work, but he won’t do it. He is a sort of second cousin to me, but -all the same he has no claim on me.” - -When Leon came into the parlor Mr. Smith turned his head and saw him. -With more strength than a person of his injuries would be likely to show -he thrust out his hand and welcomed him in his cheery way. - -“Why, Leon, where have you been?” exclaimed the wounded man. “Come here -and tell me all about it. Now, doctor, I can get along without any more -help until I get through with Leon. Take everybody out of the room.” - -The only person in the room besides the doctor and Leon was this Leonard -Smith, and he didn’t seem inclined to move. He walked back toward the -foot of the sofa and leaned upon it, and there he seemed determined to -stay. - -“I want you to go, too,” said Mr. Smith, in angry tones. “Take him out -with you, doctor.” - -“I guess I had better stay here,” said Leonard. “You might want me to -hand you your water or something.” - -“I reckon this man I have got here is enough to hand me my water or -anything else,” retorted Mr. Smith. “Doctor, I want to see Leon about -something particular, and I would thank you to take that fellow out of -the room. I haven’t got but a short time to live—” - -“Come, now, Leonard, go out of the room,” said the doctor. - -Leonard waited a moment, just long enough to cast a glance of mingled -hate and rage upon Mr. Smith and Leon, and then went out, banging the -door after him. - -“That’s all right,” said Mr. Smith. “Now, lock the door. It will take -not more than a minute, but what little I do say I want to reach your -ears, and your ears alone. Pull up a chair and sit down.” - -Leon complied. He fastened the door, and then drew a chair close to the -wounded man’s side and leaned over him. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - THE EVENTS OF A WEEK. - - -“That’s all right,” repeated Mr. Smith, as Leon seated himself close by -his side. “I didn’t want that Leonard Smith to hear a word I had to say -to you, for he is a slippery fellow, and I don’t deny that I have -detected him in efforts to steal money from me. The funds I have got— -Put your hand inside my vest and pull out my pocket-book.” - -Leon arose to his feet and was about to comply with the man’s request -when the door of the parlor was tried with a careful hand, but the lock -prevented intrusion. - -“That’s Leonard,” said Mr. Smith. “Let him work. He has got rid of the -doctor and was coming in to hear what I had to say to you. That’s it,” -he continued, as Leon drew out a pocket-book which was made so large -that it would contain bills at full length. “Now, put it in your pocket -and button it up and give it to your father the first thing you do. My -will is in there, and my money is all bequeathed to you.” - -Leon gasped, but he had never thought of anything like this, and he -didn’t know what to say to it. Finally he stammered: - -“Do you think it right, Mr. Smith, to take all this money away from -Leonard and give it to me, who—” - -“I have a right to do what I please with my own,” interrupted Mr. Smith. -“I have worked hard for every cent of it, and I have made it all. The -money is all in gold, and the will tells where to find it; but don’t you -let Leonard get hold of the pocket-book, for if you do he will cheat you -out of it. Keep watch of him the first thing you do, and don’t let him -catch you off your guard. Now, Leon, that’s all. Hand me a drink of -water. This fever, or something else in me, is burning me up.” - -Leon made all haste to bring the wounded man a tumbler of water from the -table, and when he had drained it he thought it wise to provide for the -use of the money in case Mr. Smith’s injuries should not be as severe as -they thought. - -“Of course, if you get well,” he began. - -“Why, then, of course, I’ll get the money back. I understand that; but, -Leon, you don’t want to talk about such things. I know when I am done -for as well as anybody. Now you may unlock the door and let Leonard in. -After that, take the money up and give it to your father. It is all -willed to you, mind you, but of course your father will have full charge -of it until you are twenty-one. Now unlock the door.” - -Leon lingered a moment. Something told him that he would not see Mr. -Smith alive again, and he wanted to bid him good-bye, but he didn’t know -how to go about it. The wounded man was getting impatient, so he stepped -up and shook him by the hand; after that he unlocked the door, and he -unlocked it so suddenly that it came open with a jerk, and Leonard -Smith, who was leaning over with his ear close to the key-hole in the -hope of hearing something that would be of use to him, came into the -parlor on all-fours. He didn’t apologize for his abrupt entrance, and -neither did Leon for letting him into the room so suddenly, while Mr. -Smith looked the disgust he could not express in words. - -“If I were in that man’s place I should feel so ashamed of myself that I -couldn’t look Mr. Smith in the face,” said Leon, as he bounded up the -stairs that led to the President’s room. “But I suppose he has been -caught in so many tricks that he isn’t ashamed of anything. Father,” he -added, in a whisper, “this is what Mr. Smith wanted to see me about. -This pocket-book has got his will in it, and tells us where to find his -money. How much of it there is I don’t know; but he wanted me to give it -into your hands, with instructions to look out for Leonard Smith.” - -“Ah!” said Mr. Sprague, taking the pocket-book and slipping it inside -his vest. “So Leonard has got onto it in some way or another, has he?” - -“Yes; and it was all Mr. Smith could do to get him out of the parlor -when he wanted to talk to me. He says don’t you let Leonard catch you -off your guard one instant, for if you do he will cheat you out of it.” - -“Why, if the money is made over to you I don’t see what Leonard can have -to do with it.” - -“But he will find out where the money is hidden, and go there and dig it -up.” - -“Well, I reckon Mr. Leonard won’t get it now,” said Mr. Sprague, -buttoning his vest. - -“No, I don’t think he will. Now, hadn’t you better go down and see Mr. -Smith? He thinks he isn’t going to last much longer.” - -“I will go down and see him now. I hope he will get well, so that he can -have this money back again.” - -Mr. Sprague laid down his pen and got upon his feet, and just then there -was a rumble of wagons in front of the house, which told them that some -of the wounded had arrived. Leon went down to assist them and to look -for Ballard, whom he wanted to introduce to the President, while his -father went on to the parlor. Leon found that there were four -wagon-loads of wounded rebels there, and while he was looking around -watching for a chance to lend a hand his father came to the door and -beckoned to him. - -“He has gone,” said he, when Leon approached within speaking distance. - -“Is he dead?” - -“Yes; and all his pockets are turned inside out.” - -Leon followed his father into the parlor, and they found no one there -except the doctor and Leonard Smith. The doctor shook his head and -turned and went out, while Leonard stood in his accustomed place at the -foot of the sofa, and did nothing but glare at the father and son. The -pockets had evidently been searched, and Leonard did not have time to -put them back again before the doctor came in. Leon drew a long breath -of relief when he saw how mad Leonard was. He had arrived home just in -the nick of time. If he had delayed his coming half an hour the -pocket-book would now be in the possession of one whom Mr. Smith did not -want to have it. But it was plain Leonard did not intend to give it up -in this way. As Leon took hold of the sheet to spread it reverently over -the dead man’s face, Leonard suddenly aroused himself and seemed -determined to find out where the pocket-book was. - -“I would thank you to give up what you got from him when I went out,” -said he, and he was so angry that he could scarcely form the words into -a sentence. - -“What did I get?” inquired Leon, while his father straightened up and -looked at him without speaking. - -“You got a pocket-book, or something else, in which he kept his will,” -said Leonard. “That pocket-book is mine, and I am bound to have it.” - -“It’s safe,” replied Mr. Sprague. “I’ll tell you what I will do in order -to find out whether it is in the possession of the one who ought to have -it. As soon as these troubles are all over I will take out the will and -read it in the presence of the men—” - -“But I don’t intend to remain out of my money so long,” interrupted -Leonard. “Some of these rebels might come here and dig down and find it. -If I have it now it will be safe.” - -“How do you know it is in the ground?” - -“Well, I just suppose it is. I don’t know any other place he could put -it where it would be equally safe.” - -“I told you that I would read the will in the presence of the men and -let them decide who owns the money. More than that I cannot promise.” - -“Now, I will just tell you what’s the gospel truth,” said Leonard, -leaving his place at the foot of the sofa and striding up and shaking -both his clinched hands in Mr. Sprague’s face. - -“Put down your hands or I will have you arrested in a minute!” said Mr. -Sprague, not in the least alarmed by the other’s threatening manner. - -“I will shake my fists in your face or in anybody else’s face who -intends to rob me of my birthright!” exclaimed Leonard, at the same time -allowing his hands to fall by his side. “I tell you that I will camp on -that place every night, and woe be to the man or boy who comes there -after that money. He will not get away with it.” - -“I hope you have said enough in the presence of this dead man—” - -“He was my cousin; that is what he was,” shouted Leonard. - -“—of this dead man to make you ashamed of yourself,” said Mr. Sprague. -“Now, we will go out.” - -“But I want you to understand what I said about camping on that place,” -said Leonard. “The man or boy who gets that money don’t get away with -it.” - -Mr. Sprague and Leon went out without making any reply, the former going -back to the President’s room to resume his work upon the paroles, and -his son to wander aimlessly about, with no disposition to do any work, -although he saw plenty of it before him. After awhile he found Tom Howe, -and both his friends with him. They were tired of removing wounded -rebels and were now going up to Tom’s camp for a good nap. Ballard was -evidently much impressed with the sharp-shooting the Union men had done, -and declared that he had never seen the beat. - -“I don’t see how any of our fellows came out alive,” said he, and his -astonishment was so great that he threw his arms about his head. “You -Union men are dead shots!” - -“Well, there are plenty of deer and bear loose in the swamps, and -squirrels in abundance,” said Leon, “and you can’t expect that men who -sometimes have to depend on them for a living will miss them every -time.” - -“Come on, Leon,” said Dawson. “You’ll have to go up to Tom’s camp, too. -We haven’t heard your story yet.” - -Leon began his story as they walked along, and as he did not have very -much to tell, anyway, his companions knew all about it by the time they -got to the place where Tom had left his mule. Tom was disgusted when -Leon told him about his being captured by one man, and more than all by -such a man as Dan Newman, but he was elated just as much when Leon told -how Ballard had taken him into the woods and given him something to eat. - -“Howdy, Mr. Ballard,” said Tom, walking up and shaking the Texas rebel -by the hand. “I didn’t get a chance to shake hands with you before, but -now I am glad to see you. That boy is a friend of mine, and if you do -anything for him it is as though you did it for me. Now, we will take -some supper and then go to bed.” - -While Tom was kindling the fire Leon related to him the particulars of -Mr. Smith’s death, and to say that Tom felt quite as badly as Leon did -would be telling nothing but the truth. He did not say anything about -the will which he had given into his father’s care, or about the trouble -that Leonard Smith had threatened to make on account of it, for -something told him that he had better keep that to himself. Thus far, he -and Mr. Sprague were the only ones that knew anything about it. Of -course, he would have been perfectly willing to have trusted Tom with -his secret, but there were other men there, Ballard and Dawson, of whom -he knew nothing. How did he know that they would not hunt for the money -and make off with it? It was hidden in the ground somewhere. Leonard -seemed to think that that was the place he would go to find it, and if -he told everybody of it they would dig Mr. Smith’s farm full of holes -but that they would find it. - -“I don’t think I had better say anything about that,” said Leon to -himself, after he had thought the matter over. “I will talk about it to -father the first chance I get. These men will all be poor when this war -is settled, and they may fight about the money as readily as they fired -into that regiment of cavalry.” - -During the week following there was nothing happened that would be of -interest to you, although it was full of interest to the Union men of -Jones county. In the first place, as soon as they had eaten breakfast, -the prisoners who had been captured the day before were summoned to the -hotel, and there signed their paroles. They did it, too, knowing full -well what was to be expected if they didn’t keep them, for Mr. Knight -was there, and he went over the same speech he had delivered to the -captain in his room. There were a number of wagons, and the wounded were -placed carefully in them, and they were to be taken away and delivered -to their friends. There were also two hundred Union men with them who -were to guard them as far as the bridge, and then they were to bid them -good-bye and come back. - -“I hope,” said Mr. Knight, after he had got through with his speech, -“that you all have been treated right since you have been here.” - -“Oh, yes, sir,” responded a dozen voices. “You have treated us like we -were your own.” - -“Then I hope that if you get any of my boys in the Confederate lines you -will treat them in the same way. That’s all. Go on.” - -Mr. Knight did not raise any objections when the men took off their hats -and gave him a cheer. He simply bowed and went up the stairs that led to -his room. - -The next thing was taking Mr. Smith and Bach Noble, and several other -men who had been killed and wounded during the fight with the cavalry, -to their homes. It was done with rather more of solemnity than had yet -been displayed, and a long line followed after each man who had given up -his life in defence of the flag. Mr. Sprague and Leon went with the man -who had bequeathed them all he had in this world to give, and saw a -grave dug where he had always said he would wish to be laid, and when -the ceremony was over they came back to the hotel very much depressed in -spirits. And it was a long time before they got over thinking about Mr. -Smith. He was so lively and full of fun that he was sadly missed, but it -was not long before something else demanded their attention. There was -one thing that Leon was glad to see. Leonard Smith was not present at -the funeral. It was not the man he cared for—it was the money he thought -he had laid away, and which he believed he was in duty bound to get, -seeing that Mr. Smith had no one else to bestow it upon. But he saw that -he was not likely to get it by fair means, and so he kept out of the -way. - -There was another thing that happened during the week that made the -Union men draw a long breath of relief. The boats which that squad had -been sent up to build were all done, and now it needed nothing but a -strong force of Confederates, much too large to be handled by them, to -send the last man of them over to the island, where they would be -comparatively safe. They were now ready to fight, and they didn’t care -how soon it was forced upon them. During that week, too, a large number -of men, probably two hundred of them in all, came in to give themselves -up. Some of them were on foot, and others had their wagons along loaded -with their families and household furniture. They had heard the -particulars of the capture of that wagon-train, and believing that the -men in Jones county were in earnest, and that they did not intend to be -forced into the rebel army, they watched their opportunity and came in -by night. And this wasn’t the worst of it. There were more came in every -day, until Leon wondered where they should get food for them all. - -“I don’t think the rebels knew how many fighting men there were about -here,” said he. “We must have as many as twenty-five hundred men here.” - -“Yes, and I guess if you had said double that you wouldn’t have been far -out of the way,” said Ballard, who stuck close to the boys wherever they -went. “It will take ten thousand men to whip us.” - -“Do you suppose that Jeff Davis can send that number of men up here? We -are only one little part of the Confederacy, and I should think he would -want to save his men for something else.” - -“He may now, but he won’t after a while. When Mobile becomes surrounded -by Union troops, as she certainly will, he will need all the men he can -get.” - -And there was one other thing that happened during this week that caused -Leon and Tom to look at each other in perfect astonishment. It proved -that the chief men of the county, although they might act so very -innocent, were not to be taken unawares. They had spies out. Some of -them went to Mobile to see what they could find there that was worth -looking at, especially to keep track of that strong force which they -knew would be sent against them sooner or later, and the others went up -into the interior of the State to keep a lookout for some more -wagon-trains. These men took their lives in their hands, for every one -of them that went into the Confederate lines was dressed in a rebel -uniform. If they were caught and could not make a good excuse in regard -to the regiment and company they belonged to, they would be hanged. Leon -had been so very busy ever since he came into camp that he had not had -time to learn all these things; but there was one other thing that he -did learn which afforded him infinite gratification. It was what -happened to Mr. Newman and family. They had been arrested as soon as Mr. -Sprague found out, or rather mistrusted, that one of their number could -tell more about Leon’s absence than any one else, and Bass Kennedy’s -corn being thrown out of the calaboose, they were chucked in there, and -guards placed over them to be sure that they stayed, too. Of course, Mr. -Sprague was very much astonished when he learned that Dan had made a -prisoner of Leon and had been wounded and captured by the pickets, and -when he was brought to Ellisville he had him put into the jail with his -father and mother. On the morning that the prisoners were sent away they -were given a wagon to themselves and forwarded to the rebels in Mobile, -and Leon never heard of them afterward. We may tell you, however, that -Dan’s arm was amputated when he got among the doctors, and Cale never -recovered his good looks. He looked as if his jaws were sunk in, and all -the negro-twist he could get in them would not make them look any -different. - -By this time everything had been got ready for the visit of that force -which was to crush out the rebellion of the Jones-County Confederacy. We -don’t say that Mr. Sprague and the other chief men looked upon it as -boys’ play, because they knew well enough what it meant. The actions of -the regiment of cavalry which came in there, as well as the threats they -had made that they were “going to sweep everything clean,” and that -before night there wouldn’t be a Union man left, showed them that they -couldn’t hope for any mercy. The head men of the Confederacy would be -hanged, and the others would be forced into the rebel army. Mr. Sprague -talked this all over with Leon, but the latter did not exhibit any signs -of wavering. - -“Well, I suppose if that is what we have got to contend with we can’t -meet it any too soon,” said Leon, compressing his mouth firmly, as he -always did whenever his courage was tested to the utmost. “I never -thought that this thing was coming through all right. Such an exploit -was never thought of before.” - -“I know it; and that is what makes us think we shall come through with -flying colors. There’s one thing about it: We won’t fight against our -old flag.” - -In spite of all the constant work there was for him to do at -headquarters, Mr. Sprague found opportunity to go home and assist his -wife in packing up for the island, which was the place the backwoodsmen -had decided upon to make their last stand. It was a piece of ground in -the midst of the swamp, entirely surrounded by water, and now that the -inside of it had been cleared of all underbrush, which had been piled -around the outside of it to answer for a breastwork, the island seemed -to be a larger camp than the force of men at their disposal needed. Leon -went up and saw it. He took his mother over in one of the boats, making -their stock swim behind, and through a long, winding pathway, made of -corduroy logs, and obstructed at every turn by numerous barricades, and -when he came at last into the cleared space he was astonished. - -“Why, father, we haven’t got men enough to fill up that space,” said he. -“There’s room enough for ten thousand men.” - -“Don’t worry yourself,” said his father, with a smile. “This war is not -half over yet. By the time we have our first fight here we’ll have more -men than we want.” - -We must not forget to say that Tom Howe’s mother and Mr. Giddings and -his family went with them. They all settled right down close together, -and seemed as happy and contented there as they would have been under -their own roofs. Mr. Giddings especially was the source of constant -merriment to the boys. It didn’t make any difference to him that he was -so far from his mountain home, but he pitched right in and had a good -time. Of course, he was careful of his rifle. Whenever he could get his -hands upon that he seemed to throw care to the winds. It was on this -very day that Mr. Sprague thought it best to speak to Leon about that -will. The boy didn’t know anything about it, and if anything happened to -him during the fights that followed he wanted Leon to know where to get -the money. Mr. Sprague, in the presence of his wife, had examined the -will a few days before, and the result almost took his breath away. -There were a few gold-pieces in the pocket-book, perhaps a hundred -dollars or two, and a few bills payable; but they were all marked off, -as if to show Mr. Sprague that Mr. Smith did not want to press the men -for the money. Among these bills was the will, and when Mr. Sprague came -to examine it his hand shook and he passed it over to his wife, saying: - -“My goodness! Mary, who would have supposed that Mr. Smith was worth so -much money? We dare not say anything about this, for if we do our lives -will not be worth a moment’s purchase. These men around us will fight as -hard to keep the money here as they will to keep the rebels away. Now, -what had we better do?” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - COLEMAN PROVES HIS HONESTY. - - -Mrs. Sprague fastened her eyes on the document, and as she read the -color all left her face. She looked around. There was plenty of -opportunity for her to be overheard now, for they were living in a brush -lean-to, and there were people constantly passing back and forth almost -within reach of them. There were plenty of folks there that could be -trusted with their secret, but there were lots more from whom it must be -kept at all hazards. - -“And do you think that some of these people will fight for this money?” -she said in an earnest whisper. - -“There are lots of them that will do it,” returned her husband. “You see -we will be as poor as they make them when this thing is ended, and where -they are going to get money to start on, I don’t know. I tell you, we -mustn’t let anybody know it. Put that away and I will go out and call -Leon.” - -The heir of all this wealth was found assisting Mr. Giddings, who was -just putting the finishing touches on his brush shanty preparatory to -getting his family under it. He looked up when he saw his father -approaching, and he had never seen him look so white before; but he was -warned by the signal his father made him, and so he didn’t say a word. -His mother handed him the will when he entered their brush lean-to, and -in less time than it takes to tell it Leon was master of its contents. - -“A hundred thousand dollars!” he gasped. - -“Sh! Not so loud,” cautioned his mother. “You don’t want everybody to -know it, do you? Sit down here and tell us what you think of it.” - -“To think that old Mr. Smith, who went about with his knees and elbows -out, should be worth so much money!” said Leon. “It is no wonder that -that fellow wanted to fight for it.” - -“Yes, and you must be careful what you say around where he can hear it,” -said his father, who had taken up a position in the door of the lean-to -so that he could partially screen Leon while reading the will. “If he -finds out where that money is hid, it’s all up with you.” - -“But he won’t find it,” said Leon, who quickly copied after his father -and spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. “He has got it hidden in the -pig-pen. I was there while he was laying that floor along in the early -part of the war, and he said then that I might some day dig up something -under it. I couldn’t think then what he meant, although I know it now.” - -“Well, you had better let your mother take care of the will,” said Mr. -Sprague, “and then if anything happens to us she will know right where -to go and get the money. I tell you that is a good deal more than we -thought we were going to have.” - -Leon was almost overwhelmed by the result of the last few minutes, and -if he could have had his own way he would have been glad to get off -somewhere by himself and think the matter over. But now it was -impossible. Everywhere he went there was somebody around, and it seemed -to Leon, now that he thought about it, that those who knew about Mr. -Smith’s will had a way of looking at him as though they knew the secrets -of what was hidden under the pig-pen. Of course, it was all imagination -on his part, but still he wanted to get away and talk the matter over -with Tom Howe. - -“Mustn’t I take anybody into my confidence at all, not even Tom?” said -he. - -“Take nobody into your confidence,” said his father, earnestly. “You -don’t know what sort of a fellow Tom is. He may be all right to have -around where there’s a jam of logs in the river, but you don’t want to -say anything to him about this money business.” - -“Well, when are you going to get it? We’ll have to go away from here in -order to use it.” - -“We’ll go to it after this war is settled, and not before. Of course, we -shall have to go away from here, for we can’t use it around where -Leonard Smith is. And here’s another thing I want to tell you. Remember -and keep close within reach of me, and don’t let Smith or anybody else -get you off on one side. If you do, you will suffer for it.” - -Leon smiled and wondered what sort of a story Smith could make up to -draw him off in the woods, and it wasn’t so very long before he found -out. Ever since the night that Mr. Smith died, Leonard had been -half-crazy. He had no idea how much the will in the pocket-book -contained, but he was certain that it was enough to keep him all his -days without work. This was what this lazy vagabond was building his -hopes upon. Anyway, he didn’t want the Spragues to have it, and what was -more he was determined that they shouldn’t. If there was any way by -which could get the will, or any means to learn the hiding-place of the -money, why then it would be clear sailing with him. Leon undoubtedly had -time to read the will and find out where the money was concealed, and if -he could get him off by himself somewhere he would find out where that -money was concealed, or he would leave Leon hanging to a tree in the -woods. It took him two days to come to this decision, and all the while -he roamed about over Mr. Smith’s place, poking into every place that he -could think of where there was the least chance of hiding money. When -the funeral procession came there he slunk into the woods, but when they -went away again he came out and renewed his endeavors to find the -fortune. - -“There is money hidden somewhere about here, and I am as certain of it -as that I am alive,” said Leonard Smith, when the men who had composed -the funeral procession had gone away. “If it were not that Leon has the -secret stowed away in his head I would up-end him the moment I saw him; -but if I can get him in the woods and make preparations to hang him, -I’ll find out where the money is. I can’t do anything by myself, and I -must have somebody to help me. Now, who shall I get?” - -Fortunately it was an easy thing for Leonard Smith to decide upon this -question. He thought over all the worthless fellows who occurred to his -mind just then, and finally hit upon one who was just about of as much -use in the world as he was. Caleb Coleman was on the island beyond a -doubt—he was always around where he was certain there was no danger—and -if he could only get over there and see him he was sure that he could -induce him to lend a hand in finding the money. But the trouble was he -did not care to go around where Leon was. - -“I don’t know whether that boy is certain that I am looking for the -money or not, but he acts as if he did,” said Smith, as he took a look -around to make sure that he had not missed any place where he thought -there was a chance of hiding the money. - -He had removed every pile of boards there was about the farm-house and -had dug under them until he saw that the earth had not recently been -disturbed, and then threw the piles of boards back again. He had even -been in the cow-stable and plied his search there; but with all his -looking he could not find any place which bore the appearance of having -been dug over, and he was almost inclined to give up his search in -despair. But he had one more trump card to play, and the more he thought -of it the more confident he became that it would surely work. - -“Here’s one thing that I have got to blame old Sprague for,” said Smith, -as he picked up his rifle—nobody ever thought of going abroad without a -rifle in war times—and turned his steps toward the island. “He’s gone -and sent off that Newman family, and if they were here I would know -right where to go to find three good men to assist me; but seeing that -he couldn’t mind his own business, I suppose Coleman is the best one I -can get. I’ll bet I will make his eyes open if I promise him one -thousand dollars in gold.” - -Smith had not yet been over to the island, but it was no trouble at all -for him to get there, for the boats were constantly employed in carrying -over the household furniture of the refugees. He did not know that there -were so many men in the county before, and when he came to look closely -at them he found that the most of them were strangers. A great many of -them, too, were dressed in rebel uniform, and they worked like honest -men who were anxious to take their families to a place of safety; but he -did not see Coleman there. - -“I’ll bet I’ll find him on the island, laid down alongside the fire,” -said Smith, as his boat touched the shore and he jumped off. “You may be -sure that he wouldn’t do any work while there is anybody to do it for -him.” - -Smith was surprised to find that no one on the island had missed him, -for nobody spoke to him. The majority of the men were busy building -their houses and getting their household goods under cover, and well -they might be. After they got through here they were to march in a body -down to the hotel and meet the assault of that force which was coming to -crush out the last vestige of the Jones-County Confederacy. The men all -acted with a feverish eagerness, as if they were impatient to get at it. -Smith thought, too, that if that invading force succeeded in following -the Union men to their island they were bound to be whipped. The passage -through the cane was long and winding, and at every turn there were -barricades erected, behind which three or four hundred men could have -resisted a thousand. These breastworks of logs had been thrown up by the -party who came out to build the boats and without any orders from -headquarters, and Mr. Sprague showed what he thought of them by praising -the men without stint. - -“You will make good soldiers some day,” said he. “The rebels can’t get -in here any way they can fix it. They are bound to come in column when -they assault these breastworks, because the cane is so thick that they -can’t come in any other way, and before they can get in here they won’t -have a man left.” - -“There’s one of them now,” muttered Smith, as he caught sight of Mr. -Sprague standing in the door of his lean-to. If Smith had only known it, -Leon was in the act of reading the will. “If I can get a-hold of that -boy of yours I’ll soon know as much as he does. He knows where the money -is, and he will tell it all sooner than be hung.” - -Mr. Sprague bowed to Smith as he passed by, but the latter didn’t pay -any attention to him. The man wanted to know where he could find -Coleman, but he was much too sharp to speak to Mr. Sprague about it. He -kept on a little further, and found somebody of whom he could make -inquiries. Another thing that attracted Smith’s attention right here was -the air of neatness and order with which all the lean-tos were arranged. -They were laid off in streets, so that one could go the whole length of -them on the darkest of nights without stumbling over a brush shanty -which contained some sleeping occupants. - -“You will find Caleb up there on the outskirts of the camp,” said the -man of whom he made inquiries. “He’s got sick of poleing the boats over, -and so has gone up to camp to lie down.” - -“Then he isn’t doing any work at all?” asked Smith. - -“Work? Naw. He says he hain’t got but a little time to stay with his -folks, and so he intends to see them all he can. When we go down there -to meet the rebels, he is going to stay in camp.” - -“Then he is just the man I want,” said Smith to himself, as he pursued -his way toward Coleman’s lean-to. “I aint a-going to meet the rebels -myself, and consequently I don’t blame him.” - -Smith followed along up the street until he came to the end of it, and -there he found Coleman. The lean-to that he had over him was not very -secure, but Coleman didn’t seem to mind that. He lay stretched out on -the bedding with his pipe in his mouth, and three or four dogs and as -many children kept him company. - -“Why don’t you put a roof on your lean-to?” asked Smith. “When it rains -you’ll wish you had paid more attention to it.” - -“Well, when it rains I can’t fix it; and now it don’t need it,” replied -Coleman with a laugh. “It will do.” - -“Why don’t you get out and pole the boats over?” - -“Oh, there’ll be plenty of men besides me to do that little thing,” -replied Coleman. “Besides, I’ve poled some of them over until I am all -tired out.” - -“Well, get up, if you can. I want to see you.” - -“Anything particular?” - -“You will think so when you hear it,” replied Smith, impatiently. “Kick -some of those dogs out of the way and come along with me.” - -Coleman arose with an effort, laid the children carefully aside and -followed after Smith, who led the way around on the outside of the -lean-to, being particular to keep out of sight of Mr. Sprague at the -other end of the street. There he threw himself down upon the leaves and -waited for Coleman to join him. - -“Sit up closer—not so far off,” he said, when the man halted at least -five feet away. “I have got something in particular that I want to say -to you, and I don’t want anybody to overhear it.” - -“It seems to me that you are mighty friendly, now that the old man is -dead and you have come into his fortune,” said Coleman, moving up -closer. “How much did you make out of that? I think I have heard you say -that you wanted as much as twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars.” - -“That’s what I said,” answered Smith, frowning fiercely. “But the -trouble is I have not got it.” - -“Who has got it, then?” demanded Coleman, looking surprised. - -“That little snipe, Leon Sprague. Smith had no business to give it to -him, but he did, and I am left out in the cold.” - -“I say! That’s a pretty how-de-do, ain’t it?” - -“I should say so. Now, I will give you a thousand dollars if you will -help me to get it.” - -“That’s a power of money, ain’t it? But how can I help you?” - -“By going to Leon and telling him that I want to see him in the woods,” -said Smith, sinking his voice almost to a whisper. “If I once get him -out there, away from everybody, I will tell him that if he wants to see -daylight again he can tell me where that money is.” - -“Good gracious! What are you going to do with him? Kill him?” - -Smith nodded. - -“Then you can get somebody else to help you get that money,” said -Coleman, drawing a long breath. “You won’t get any help out of me.” - -“But think of the thousand dollars,” said Smith, who began to see that -he had made a mistake. - -“I don’t care if it’s twice a thousand dollars. I wouldn’t dare show my -face in Jones county again.” - -“You needn’t come back to Jones county,” said Smith, who began to fear -that he had run against a snag when he least expected it. “I am not -coming back. I am going over to the rebels.” - -“Well, there! That’s just what I expected you to do. Here you promise to -support this government, and then go back on it the first chance you -get!” - -“You say you won’t meet the rebels,” retorted Smith. - -“I know it; but I didn’t say I was going over to them. Good land! You -can get somebody else to help you,” said Coleman, rising to his feet. -“That’s a little too dangerous a piece of business for me. If that’s all -you wanted to say I’ll go back.” - -“Well, here, hold on a minute,” exclaimed Smith, who saw that it would -not do to permit Coleman to go back among his friends feeling as he did -now. “There is all of twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars in that -will, and Leon knows where it is.” - -“Let him keep it. That’s what I say.” - -“Now, suppose, instead of hanging him,” continued Smith, paying no heed -to the interruption, “we will just make believe to hang him—pull him up -until he sees stars and then pull him down again. We could do that.” - -“No, we couldn’t. Leon’s eyes would be unbandaged, and he could easy see -who pulled him up. I tell you you had better get somebody else.” - -“Well, I supposed you were willing to work hard for a thousand dollars,” -said Smith, in disgust. “But you are willing to live along just as you -are now, without any thought for the morrow. Thank goodness, there are -plenty of men in this party who will help me.” - -“Then you had better get one of them.” - -“You won’t say anything about what I have told you?” - -“Never a word; only, don’t mention it to me again. I would rather be -poor all my life than make a living in that dishonest way.” - -“Say, Coleman, sit down here a minute. I want to whisper something to -you.” - -The man was a long time in sitting down. He seemed to think that Smith -had some other terms to disclose which would lead him into his scheme, -whether he wanted to or not. - -“I will give you five thousand dollars,” said Smith, in an earnest -undertone. “Just think of that! Here you will be as poor as Job’s -turkey, and that amount of money will easily set you on your feet.” - -“I don’t care if it’s ten thousand. I won’t do it.” - -“Well, Coleman, I was only just fooling you,” said Smith, and in order -to give color to his words he leaned back and laughed heartily. “You -will do to tie to.” - -“Yes?” said Coleman, and he laughed, too, but it was a different sort of -laugh. “You have an awful funny way of fooling a fellow, I must say. If -you were not in earnest when you sat down here I shall miss my guess.” - -Coleman got upon his feet again, and Smith was so angry that he let him -go without compelling him to promise over again that he would not tell -anybody of the scheme that had been proposed to him. He laid down on his -bed and filled his pipe, but he rolled over to see where Smith went. - -“That fellow is a-going to get himself in a power of disturbance the -first thing he knows,” said he to his wife, as he saw Smith moving down -toward Mr. Sprague’s end of the street. “He is fixing himself to get -hung.” - -“Good land! How is that?” exclaimed the woman. - -In spite of the fact that he had promised Smith that he would not say a -word about it, it did not take Coleman long to go over his interview -with him, and when he told of the amount of money that had been offered -him his wife fairly gasped for breath. - -“I know that is a big sum,” continued Coleman, “but just think of the -danger there will be. If Leon gets off in the woods and don’t come back -they will hunt high and low for him, and it won’t take them long to -determine who it was that had a hand in his taking off. If they -make-believe they were going to hang him, why, of course, he will know -who it was and he’ll tell of it when he comes back. I think I was pretty -smart in keeping out of it. There goes Smith off toward the boats. Now I -believe I’ll go and see Leon.” - -Smith had evidently missed his guess by a long ways when he selected -Coleman to assist him. He had never known anything against this man’s -honesty. He supposed, of course, that a fellow who hated to work as bad -as he did, and who was content to lay around home all the time in -company with the dogs and the children in preference to handling an axe, -ought to be willing to engage in anything that he thought would bring -him money; but as it happened, there were some honest men in that party, -although they did wear ragged jackets. Without further thought Coleman -arose and sauntered off toward Mr. Sprague’s end of the street, and when -he came opposite their lean-to he found the boy he wanted to see, -talking with his mother. - -“Well, Caleb, what can I do for you to-day?” asked Mr. Sprague, who -still occupied his old position in the door of the lean-to. - -“Not a thing,” replied Coleman. “But I want to see Leon for about five -minutes.” - -“Do you want him to go out in the woods with you?” said Mr. Sprague, -with a wink that spoke volumes. - -“Eh? No; but I want to tell him to keep away from the woods,” replied -Coleman, who wondered if Mr. Sprague knew all about it. - -“Well, you might just as well come in here and tell it,” said Mr. -Sprague, taking Coleman by the arm. “There are no secrets between us.” - -Coleman went, and in a few minutes was seated on a trunk revealing the -scheme that had been proposed to him. Leon and his father exchanged -significant glances, and the boy thought how wise Mr. Sprague had been -when he advised him to stick closely by his side and to let nothing draw -him away. - -“I did say that I wouldn’t tell this to anybody,” said Coleman, in -conclusion. “And I won’t tell it to any one except you-uns, who are so -deeply interested in it. You won’t tell on me?” - -“Did he say how much he was going to get?” asked Leon, after his father -had made the required promise. - -Coleman replied that he thought he was going to get twenty-five or -thirty thousand dollars, and this proved that Mr. Smith did not know -anything of the value of the deceased man’s legacy. - -“That’s a heap of money,” said Leon. “And now, Coleman, I’ll tell you -what we will do with you. If you will stay around with Smith and learn -all you can in regard to his plans you shall not lose anything by it. I -want to find out if he gets somebody else to assist him.” - -Coleman promised, and having had his talk out went away. - -“I can easily give him a thousand dollars to pay him for the trouble he -has taken,” said Leon. - -“But you must remember that you haven’t got the money yet,” said his -father. - -“Oh, I know I shall have some trouble in getting it,” said Leon, while -that firm expression settled about his mouth. “When this trouble is over -that fellow is going to camp on the place, and just as likely as not he -will shoot down everybody who goes anywhere near the money.” - -“Leon, I am afraid to have you go there,” said Mrs. Sprague. - -“But think of the money! I tell you that will set us up. Then I can get -an education. That’s one thing I will never have if I stay down here.” - -The matter was settled for the time being by Mrs. Sprague’s putting the -will into her bosom and pinning it fast; then Leon went out and mingled -with his fellow-refugees. But his feelings were very different from -those which he had experienced when he followed his father into the -lean-to. When he came to think of what the will bequeathed him it fairly -took his breath away. It would get them a little home somewhere, his -mother would be obliged to do no more work, and, better than all, he -would have money enough left to send him to school. - -“Well, Leon, you seem to be particularly happy, and so am I,” said Mr. -Giddings, as he took his seat near the door of his lean-to, pulled off -his hat and wiped the big drops of perspiration from his forehead. “Or -rather, I should be happy if my brothers were out of prison. I expect -they have been executed by this time.” - -“If I thought that, it would make me shoot to kill,” said Leon. - -“Oh, won’t I, when I get the chance!” replied Mr. Giddings, with so much -excitement that Leon was glad he was not a rebel. “I am waiting for the -colonel to say the word and get me down there where I will have full -swing at them, and then every one that I pull on goes up. I tell you, -you don’t know anything about rebellion down here.” - -This started Mr. Giddings on his favorite subject of conversation, and -Leon sat there and listened to him until they were called to supper. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - CONCLUSION. - - -But two adventures remain to be told regarding Leon Sprague’s life as a -Jones county Confederate soldier. One was the first real fight in which -he bore a part, though to tell the truth he didn’t remember much about -it, and the other the exploit he went through in getting the money that -had been bequeathed to him. - -It took one hundred men to guard the island, and although there was no -necessity for having this number of men out, the colonel thought it best -to be on the safe side. He selected the men, posted them himself, and -sat up nearly all night to make sure that they were doing their duty. At -the first peep of day the men were all aroused, and, having had -breakfast, were getting ready to march down to the hotel. How Leon’s -eyes opened when he saw the men all in line after they had got across -the stream! His father said that there were at least three thousand of -them—enough to whip four times their number of rebels, if they were -brought against them. They were going back to the hotel because it was -the first point that the rebels would strike in Jones county; and, more -than that, they had things very neatly fixed there for the reception of -any body of men who might be brought against them. A long line of -breastworks extended across the edge of the woods, one side being -flanked by a deep swamp and the other by the river, so it was impossible -to get behind them. They calculated to whip the men right there. If they -didn’t, the island would be their next halting place. The women had -congregated on the edge of the island to see them off, and after giving -them a hearty cheer to ease their hearts when they were away, the -cavalcade set out on its journey. - -“Now bring on your rebs!” said Dawson. - -Nearly two-thirds of the men were on horseback. They had attempted to -form column of fours as nearly as they could, and aided by some old -soldiers, of whom there were a goodly number in the ranks, they managed -to hit the right number at last, and before the brigade had marched a -mile it was going along as orderly as any old body of cavalrymen could -have exhibited. Leon was riding in the first four in company with Mr. -Giddings, Dawson and Tom Howe, and he was as lively and jolly as could -be. He looked all around, but he couldn’t see either Smith or Coleman. -But, in spite of the fact that there were men enough to protect him, he -wished that Smith was out of the way. - -“I declare, it is always so,” soliloquized Leon. “When you get -everything going just as you want it to, there is always somebody to -step in and knock the thing into a cocked hat. Smith won’t get the -money, and he might as well give up trying.” - -“Bring on your rebs, I say,” repeated Dawson, raising his carbine and -looking all around. “We’re ready for a fight!” - -“You may sing a different tune from that,” said Mr. Giddings. - -“I know I may, but I hope not,” said Dawson. “I want to keep up long -enough to pay the rebels for burning our house.” - -It was three o’clock when they arrived within sight of Ellisville, and -then Mr. Dawson, who had been riding all the way with Mr. Sprague, took -command. Under his supervision the Union men were all posted behind the -breastworks, and each one knew where he belonged. His camp was right -where he halted, and all the men had to do was to throw off their arms, -picket their horses and wait for dinner and supper, which were to be -served together. If there was anything to which Leon objected it was to -being held down with a firm hand. He wanted to go with his father, for -by doing that he knew that he would be in a fair way to learn all the -news that happened within the borders of the Jones-County Confederacy, -as well as some things that occurred outside of it; so he climbed the -breastworks and went down to the porch of the hotel, where he found all -the chief men of the county gathered and holding a consultation with his -father. - -“I thought it best to burn the bridge, and move our pickets up nearer -headquarters, for it would put the rebels to some trouble to swim their -horses over the creek,” Mr. Knight was saying to his father when he came -up. “If we only had our breastworks built nearer the creek we could whip -them before they ever got across.” - -“I think that is the best way, and I wondered long ago that you didn’t -think of it before,” said Mr. Sprague. “Halloo! there is something -coming, down there. And what’s that waving over them? It is a white -flag, as sure as I live! Knight, you are getting to be a big man when -the enemy comes to consult you in that way.” - -“I declare, I believe that’s what it is!” said Mr. Knight, after he and -the other chief men of the party had taken a good view of it. “Now, we -don’t want them to see how many men we have got, and I want you to order -them all into the breastworks out of sight. Tell them that we will -describe the whole thing to them after the rebels go away.” - -The chief men went off at once to obey the order, and by time the two -Confederates got up to the hotel porch there wasn’t more than a -half-dozen of them in sight—just enough to act as body-guard for the -President. There were two rebels in the party, and with them were four -pickets whom they had picked up after they had swam their horses across -the creek. - -“Here’s a couple of gentlemen who want to see the President,” said one -of the pickets. “They have come to us with General Lowery’s compliments -and want us to surrender.” - -“Well, I guess they can take General Lowery’s compliments back to him -and say we didn’t come out here to surrender,” said Mr. Knight. - -“I want to see—are you the President?” asked one of the rebels, opening -his eyes in surprise. - -“I have that honor,” replied Mr. Knight. - -The rebels looked at him in profound astonishment. If any of the other -men standing around had said that he was the President of the -Jones-County Confederacy, they might have believed it; but for this man, -who stood there with his coat off, his hands in his pockets and his hat -perched on the back of his head—for him to say that he was the head and -front of that rebellion, was almost too much. The rebels looked at him, -and then they looked at the men standing around. There didn’t seem to be -but a few of them, and perhaps it was not going to be much to whip them, -after all. - -“General Lowery wants you to surrender at once,” said the rebel, who had -grown bolder since he looked around. - -“You have my answer, sir,” said Mr. Knight. - -“If you surrender, we will let the privates off if they will enlist in -the army,” said the colonel, for Leon made out that that was his rank. -“But the chief men of the party will have to go under arrest and be -tried for treason.” - -“That’s very kind of General Lowery, but somehow we are not ready to be -tried yet. We won’t surrender.” - -“Why, my goodness, my friend, there won’t be a living man of you left by -this time to-morrow. How many men have you got here, anyway?” - -“About five thousand.” - -“Why, I don’t see anybody.” - -“Of course you don’t; but if you bring your four thousand four hundred -men up here—” - -“Have you had spies out?” asked the rebel, more surprised than ever. - -“We know how many men you have, and we know that we outnumber them,” -said Mr. Knight. - -“Then, of course, you won’t surrender if you have that number of men. -Then we may as well go back.” - -“I think it would be as well. We are bound to kill and capture some of -the men you bring against us, and to-morrow we’ll send them inside of -your lines with their paroles.” - -“Yes? Well, their paroles won’t amount to a row of pins.” - -“I think they will. If we capture any of the men without being exchanged -we’ll hang them to the nearest tree. Good-morning, sir.” - -It was right on the rebel’s tongue to tell Mr. Knight to look out or he -would get hung himself, but he didn’t say it. After looking all around -to make sure that there were no Union men in sight he wheeled his horse -and rode off, accompanied by the pickets. No sooner were they out of -sight around the first bend than the men began to pour out of their -breastworks, and in five minutes more the hotel grounds in front of the -porch were just black with an eager, excited crowd, all anxious to hear -what the rebels had to say. Mr. Sprague took the part of spokesman, and -when he told them what the Confederates had said about there not being -one Union man left alive by this time to-morrow, the announcement was -received with whoops and yells. - -“Let them bring their men on!” shouted Bud McCoy. “We are all ready for -them.” - -“You must remember that the demand for a surrender comes before a -fight,” said Mr. Sprague. “They may be up here in an hour, and I think I -had better send some men down there to reinforce those pickets.” - -“I’ll go for one,” and “I’ll go for another,” were the exclamations that -arose from the crowd, and in less time than it takes to tell it five -hundred men were all mounted and armed, and rode up to the porch to -listen to their final instructions from Mr. Knight. Leon wanted to go, -too, but a positive shake of the head from his father told him that that -thing wouldn’t do at all. - -“You will get fighting enough if you stay right here,” said Mr. Sprague. -“You do your duty here under my eye and that is all I shall ask of you.” - -“Make as good a fight as you can, boys,” said Mr. Knight. “Only, don’t -let them get behind you. Be sure and retreat while you have the chance.” - -The reinforcements rode on down the road with Mr. Dawson in command, and -as soon as they were out of sight a silence fell upon the men they had -left behind. All were listening for the first report of a carbine or -rifle that should announce the opening of the battle. One hour passed, -and then two, and just as darkness came down to conceal the movements of -the rebels the long-wished-for report came. It was followed by a -moment’s silence, and then it seemed as if a hurricane was going through -the woods. The Confederates had deployed their line until it reached the -woods, where it was lost to view, and in that manner charged across the -stream and through the timber. But where were the Union men who were to -oppose them? For three miles they went through the woods, and then all -of a sudden the opposition came when they least expected it. It was the -report of a carbine in the hands of young Dawson, and the nearest -colonel threw up his arms and fell from his horse. A moment afterward -the woods were fairly aflame in advance of them. Scarcely a yell was -heard, for the Union men fought as though they had life and liberty at -stake. - -“Fire low, boys,” said Mr. Dawson, as he loaded up for another shot. “If -you strike a man in the legs it will take two to carry him off.” - -The Union men fired three times before they thought of retreat, and the -middle of the line was not only thrown into confusion, but it was -annihilated, so that their officers could not get anybody to charge upon -their concealed enemy; but the wings were all right—they were stretched -out so far in the woods that they could easily wrap around the Union men -and capture them all—and they hastily got on their horses and beat a -quick retreat. The company that came along the road was badly cut up. -They were marching in column of fours, and it was their intention, after -they got the Union men in full flight, to follow them in, and they would -go with such rapidity that they would take the breastworks at once. But -after the smoke had cleared away there wasn’t more than a dozen men -left. The riders had been shot down, and the horses, having no one to -control them, were running frantically about, trampling the dead and -dying under their feet. - -“That’s pretty well done for the first time,” said Mr. Dawson, when he -had made up his mind that all of his battalion were in the road. The -rest were in the woods, and could easily fight their way to Ellisville. -“Now, boys, give them as good as they send.” - -The retreat to Ellisville was accomplished in short order, and when the -rebels broke from the woods and uttered their charging yell they -couldn’t see a single man. They were all behind their breastworks. - -“I tell you we gave it to them down there in the woods,” said Dawson, as -he rode along behind the breastworks until he found Leon and Tom. “You -ought to have been along. I reckon I have paid the rebels for burning -our house. I lifted one officer out of his saddle as clean as a -whistle.” - -“Did you kill him?” asked Leon. - -“Well, I reckon so. He threw his arms above his head, and that is a -pretty good sign that he was done for.” - -“Did you hear any bullets come near you?” inquired Leon, who shuddered -when he thought how coolly Dawson could talk of shooting another in cold -blood. - -“Yes, sir, I heard them; but the rebels fired too high. I saw one man -clap his hand to his mouth and say ‘Oh!’ but I didn’t see who it was. -There they come!” said Dawson, grasping his carbine with a firmer hold -and creeping up to an opening in the breastworks. “Now, Leon, show what -you are made of.” - -“It is certain death to send those fellows up here!” said Leon. “I wish -I could warn them away.” - -“Haw! haw!” laughed Dawson. “They know what is behind here better than -we can tell them. If they don’t, they will soon find it out.” - -Mr. Sprague stood a little ways from Leon with his rifle in his hand. He -had charge of the brigade now, and it was his duty to give the order to -fire. Nearer and nearer came the rebels, yelling like so many mad men, -but the report of Mr. Sprague’s gun couldn’t be heard. As soon as the -men saw him raise his piece to his shoulder they all fired, and the way -the rebels went down before it was certain proof that their bullets had -not all been thrown away. But these men were not to be defeated by one -volley. They kept on until they reached the breastworks, and then they -found that they were too high to be scaled by their horses. The Union -men on the other side reached over and fired their guns in their faces, -until the Confederates could stand it no longer. They turned their -horses and fled, and did not stop until they were safe in the woods, -from which they had just emerged. - -“Long live the Jones-County Confederacy!” shouted some one in the ranks; -and the shout was taken up by all the men in the line. - -“Let’s go after them!” said another. “We can easy whip them.” - -“No, stay where you are,” said Mr. Sprague, who got his instructions -from Mr. Knight. “We can whip them here, but if we should get out of -line of the breastworks they might prove too much for us.” - -It was the occasion of no little difficulty for the Confederate officers -to rally their men, and the trouble was that those who belonged to the -right and left wings reported that it was impossible to flank the Union -position. Those on the right said that there was a swamp in which many -men had been killed in their efforts to get around it, and the men who -belonged on the left reported that there was the river there, and that -any attempt to get by it would be useless. General Lowery began to see -that the Union men were not to be easily whipped, but he used all his -eloquence and authority to induce them to make an effort to carry the -centre of the line. He dismounted some of his men with instructions to -go and throw down the breastworks, and the rebel cavalry was to be close -behind them and go in at the openings they had made. This was the plan -that General Lee decided on when he made the attempt to split Grant’s -lines by his assault on Fort Steadman. He had half his army in that -exploit, but his effort ended just as General Lowery’s did to split the -Union lines here. The second attempt was grandly made, and the fight -lasted a little longer than it did at first; but the dismounted men were -quickly picked off, the cavalry began dropping here and there, and -finally, without a word from anybody, they all took to their heels. This -time there was nothing said about pursuit, for the Union men had their -blood up, and nobody could have controlled them. By the time the rebels -were in the woods the Union men had mounted their horses and started -after them. Leon was in this exploit, and his father did not tell him to -stay behind. He didn’t find any Confederates on the way, but he assisted -in making some noise, so he did just as much as anybody. - -This was the last attempt that was made to break up the Jones-county -Confederacy. The rebels saw that the Union men were in earnest and they -gave it up as a bad job. A week afterward a big wagon-train was captured -and taken to their place of refuge on the island, and after that the -Union men breathed a good deal easier. They were going to have grub -enough to support them, no matter what happened. About this time, too, -some more men began to come in, and Leon saw the army grow from one -thousand men to more than twenty thousand. Of course with such an army -as that the Confederates wouldn’t try to whip them. They minded their -own business, going out whenever they thought that their provisions were -getting low, and picking up wagon-trains and taking them where they -would do the most good. Of course, too, these parties when they went out -always captured some papers, which were read until they almost crumbled -to pieces. When the rebels were defeated at Vicksburg and Gettysburg the -Union men drew a long breath of relief, for they thought that the war -was almost ended and that they could go home; but there were some severe -battles to be fought before their flag could wave over the entire -country. One day, long months after this, when Leon had got so tired of -being a soldier that he wished that the Confederacy would sink or do -something else that would wipe it out of existence, he was out with a -party of skirmishers, when they ran plump onto a rebel soldier who had a -gun on his shoulder, and acted as though he was going somewhere. In an -instant Bud McCoy’s pistol was aimed at his breast. - -“Put up your revolver, young man!” said the rebel, who did not seem at -all abashed by finding himself in the company of Union men. “You belong -down in Jones county, don’t you? Well, I want to say that you are behind -the times. General Lee has surrendered!” - -Bud and the rest were so astonished that they could not say a word. - -“It’s a fact,” continued the rebel. “I wasn’t there, because I was in -our Western army, but I heard of it, and more than five thousand of us -escaped that night. The Confederacy has gone up!” - -“I tell you I am glad of it,” replied Leon. “Why didn’t you surrender -when you got whipped at Gettysburg?” - -“A good many men said it ought to have been done,” answered the rebel, -“but I wasn’t at the head of affairs. You had better let me go, for I -want to reach home and see my wife. I haven’t seen her since I went into -the service.” - -The foragers were only too glad to let him go. They would have passed -anybody who brought such news as that; and, furthermore, they wheeled -their horses and went back to Ellisville with much more speed than they -had shown in coming out. There was joy on the island when they told what -the rebel had said to them, and some of the men fired off their guns in -ecstacy; but Mr. Knight said that the rebels had so long been accustomed -to lying that they didn’t know when they spoke the truth, and suggested -that it would be better for them if they sent a couple of men down to -Mobile to see what was going on there. Any number of men offered -themselves, but two were promptly sent, and while they were gone the -refugees hardly knew what to do with themselves. In due time the men -came back, and, better than all, they swung a paper over their heads. - -“It’s a Yankee paper, and now we’ll get at the truth of the matter,” -said one of the messengers. “Yes, sir, Lee has surrendered; that whole -army has surrendered, and the fortifications down at Mobile are just -black with Yankees!” - -Cheers long and loud rent the air at this announcement, so that it was a -long time before Mr. Sprague could read what the paper said in regard to -Lee’s surrender. When he read it, the cheers once more broke out afresh. - -“They said that we couldn’t take this county out of the Confederacy,” -said Mr. Knight. “I reckon we’ve done something that nobody else could -do.” - -A day or two after this, companies of Union cavalry began scouting about -Mobile to see if they could find any rebels, and some of them presented -themselves before Mr. Knight. The officer listened in amazement while he -was told the story, and when Mr. Knight had got through he laughed until -he could hardly sit on his horse. The Union men all laughed, too; and, -taken all together, it was a jolly party—very different from what they -felt while they were resisting the cavalry that tried so hard to -overpower them. The officer told them that they could go home, that the -war was ended, and that they would never be called upon to fight for the -flag again. - -After that there was a good deal of excitement in and around Ellisville, -for the refugees were making efforts to go home. The bridge over the -bayou that had been burned to keep the rebels from getting across so -easily was rebuilt, and after that Leon and his father had their hands -full in saying good-bye to the Union men, who wished them every success -in life. Then they went home and went to work, getting their ground -ready to plant a supply of cotton, glad indeed to handle a plow once -more instead of a rifle. Their object was to throw Smith off the scent. -They had seen him a few times during the last few months, but he had -nothing to say to them; but the sequel proved that he knew what he was -talking about when he threatened to camp on his cousin’s place and shoot -the man or boy who came there for the money. He lived in Mr. Smith’s -house, for the rebels had not had time to set the buildings on fire; but -it was close to the pig-pen, so it would be next to impossible for them -to go there and dig for what was hidden in it, and every day he rode -over the plantation, to make sure that the Spragues had not dug in some -other place. Mr. Sprague kept close watch of his movements, and one day -announced to Leon his plan of action. - -“We will go there and hunt for that money to-night,” said he. “But, mind -you, we won’t dig where it is. We will go down into the lower part of -the plantation and dig there, and when we come away we’ll leave a shovel -there. How will that do? He will be sure to see the shovel, and at night -he will watch that place and leave the pig-pen free for us.” - -Leon didn’t see that anything else could be done, so he readily fell in -with his father’s proposal. When night came they set out, and selecting -a place where some brush had been thrown to get it out of the way, they -threw it aside, and in a few minutes had a hole dug there that was six -feet deep. Then they placed a shovel in a conspicuous position and went -home, wondering what was to be the result of Mr. Sprague’s new scheme. -They were not long in finding out. The next day about ten o’clock -Leonard Smith rode by on his horse, and, seeing the father and son -employed in plowing the field, stopped and had a word to say to them. - -“You didn’t get the money last night, did you?” he asked, while his face -was white with fury. “I know where it is now, and I will give you fair -warning that if either of you go there again I will shoot you.” - -Mr. Sprague made no reply, and Smith rode off. When night came they set -out again—only, this time they went on horseback, and told Mrs. Sprague -that if she heard them going by some time during the night—she must pack -up the next day and go to Mobile. Mr. Sprague and Leon were armed, of -course. They went up the road until they came to Mr. Smith’s gate, and -there Mr. Sprague left Leon while he went ahead to reconnoitre. He was -gone half an hour, and when he came back his words were full of news. - -“There’s nobody about the house,” said he, and one wouldn’t think that -he had a hundred thousand dollars at stake. “Now, we must go quickly. -Stay by the horses’ heads, so that they won’t call out. I will do the -digging.” - -With a heart that beat like a trip-hammer Leon dismounted, passed the -shovel over to his father, and followed along after him when he led the -way toward the pig-pen. The house was all dark, and it didn’t look as -though anybody lived there, but Leon couldn’t help drawing a long breath -when he thought of the unerring rifle that was hidden somewhere about. -His father got into the pen and pried up the boards, and he did it -without causing anything to creak. Then by putting down his shovel in -various positions he found where the earth had been disturbed, and then -he went to work. Never had he worked so hard before, but it seemed an -age to Leon, as he stood there holding fast to the horses. At length, to -his great relief, his father seized something and held it over the side -of the pen. - -“Leon,” he exclaimed, “here’s one of them!” - -How heavy it was! But just as Leon was going to take it he heard the -sound of horses’ hoofs up Mr. Smith’s lane. His horses heard it, too, -and raised their heads to see what was coming. - -“Father, father, they are coming back!” he faltered. “Can’t you find the -other one?” - -“Yes, here it is. Now, you get on your horse and ride for dear life and -I will stay behind. I will keep them from overtaking you.” - -Leon was on his horse in a moment, the other valise was passed up to -him, and in another second he was flying down the road. Mr. Sprague was -close behind him, but before they had gone far they heard some muttered -ejaculations from the horsemen, followed by the command: - -“I declare, there is that Sprague. Halt! I say halt!” - -But Leon and his father were not given to halting. Their horses went -faster than ever, and by the time Smith—for he was one of the party—had -lingered to look at the pig-pen, they were far out of sight. Then -followed a volley from their carbines—not one or two of them—but from a -dozen which proved that Smith had found more than one man to assist him. -But all the balls went high or wild, and Mr. Sprague and Leon got safely -off. They crossed the bridge, travelled rapidly along the road that led -to Mobile, and by ten o’clock the next day had the money safely in the -bank. On the next day but one Mrs. Sprague came along. She told a pretty -thrilling story about what had happened to her since Mr. Sprague left. -Smith was so mad to think they had got away with the money that he -burned her house over her head, and did not even leave her a negro cabin -to go in to. - -[Illustration: THE HIDDEN FORTUNE SAFE AT LAST.] - -Here we will leave Leon Sprague, only stating that he came on to -Clayton, where Mr. Sprague had some friends, who gave him a cordial -welcome. They purchased a neat little house which had been deserted by -its owner during the war, and as they now lived there six years it began -to look very home-like. He made the acquaintance of Bob Nellis almost as -soon as he got into town, through him learned of the academy at which -the latter was preparing for college, and went with him and entered his -name on the books when he went there next term. Of course he was in the -lowest class, but he studied his books night and day, and the result was -very soon apparent. In two years he was up with boys of his own age. - -We said that Joe Lufkin had not forgotten the raid he was going to make -on that watering place the time he talked of stealing all the jewels. He -made it, and perhaps we shall see what came of it. His son Hank got a -boat about this time; and what he did with it, and how it took Joe -Lufkin almost two hundred miles to sea, shall be told in “The Cruise of -the Ten-Ton Cutter.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note - -Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and -are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. -The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions. - - 7.14 tall [be-]beyond his years Removed. - - 68.20 “Good,[”] said the man. Added. - - 90.8 he could scar[c]ely Added. - - 105.17 “Come out here,” said Leon. [“]I shall have - - 147.8 [mye fin/my fine] lad, Misplaced. - - 149.13 with a pai[s/r] of jean breeches on Replaced. - - 182.10 [“]Supper was ready at last, Dawson aroused Removed. - - 206.9 ain[t]’t' a-going to stand still Removed. - - 209.6 the commission to come to him[.] Added. - - 214.25 and the other men don’t like it. [“]I’ll bet Removed. - - 216.24 “You had better be get[t]ing Added. - - 275.15 “And did you let those men go back?[”] Added. - - 299.25 so overjoyed that he could scar[c]ely speak. Added. - - 312.2 Leon, who didn’t seem[ed] disposed to discuss Removed. - - 313.12 [“]Oh, how I wish Tom Howe knew Added. - - 340.1 “You[ /’]re' right, I do,” replied the man Replaced. - - 350.3 The men all straighten[e]d up Added. - - 352.14 He want[ed] to see how badly hurt Dan was Added. - - 370.4 he could put it where it would[ be] equally Added. - safe. - - 402.3 to hang him, why, of course[./,] he will know Replaced. - - 409.11 but [b/h]e couldn’t see either Replaced. - - 412.15 we didn’t come out here to surrender[,]” said Added. - Mr. Knight. - - 416.19 while you have the chance[.]” Added. - - 431.15 “Leon,[”] he exclaimed, “here’s one of them!” Added. - - 431.23 “Yes, here it is. [“]Now, you get on your Removed. - - 432.8 “I declare, there is that Sprague[,/.] Halt! Replaced. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Rebellion in Dixie, by Harry Castlemon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A REBELLION IN DIXIE *** - -***** This file should be named 53362-0.txt or 53362-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/3/6/53362/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, David Edwards and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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