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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0d267ed --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #56216 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56216) diff --git a/old/56216-0.txt b/old/56216-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6a6ede4..0000000 --- a/old/56216-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9274 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Overseer, 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: Rodney, the Overseer - -Author: Harry Castlemon - -Release Date: December 21, 2017 [EBook #56216] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE OVERSEER *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. Harrison and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE GUNBOAT'S REPLY TO THE HOME GUARDS.] - - - - - _CASTLEMON'S WAR SERIES._ - - RODNEY, THE OVERSEER - - BY - HARRY CASTLEMON, - AUTHOR OF "GUNBOAT SERIES," "ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES," - "FOREST AND STREAM SERIES," ETC., ETC. - - _Four Illustrations by Geo. G. White._ - - PHILADELPHIA: - PORTER & COATES. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1892, - BY - PORTER & COATES. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. A DISGUSTED HOME GUARD, 1 - - II. CAPTAIN TOM SMELLS POWDER, 28 - - III. THE CONSCRIPT'S FRIEND, 54 - - IV. LIEUTENANT LAMBERT'S CAMPAIGN, 82 - - V. HOW IT RESULTED, 109 - - VI. CAPTAIN ROACH LAYS DOWN THE LAW, 136 - - VII. A PERPLEXING SITUATION, 164 - - VIII. HOUNDS ON THE TRAIL, 189 - - IX. UNCLE SAM'S LOST BOYS, 216 - - X. NED GRIFFIN BRINGS NEWS, 242 - - XI. THE ESCAPED PRISONERS' STORY, 270 - - XII. A HAIL AT THE BARS, 297 - - XIII. CAPTAIN TOM SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE, 328 - - XIV. RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE, 353 - - XV. RODNEY PASSES INSPECTION, 380 - - XVI. CAPTAIN RANDOLPH RECEIVES ORDERS, 406 - - XVII. CONCLUSION, 431 - - - - -RODNEY, THE OVERSEER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A DISGUSTED HOME GUARD. - - -"I don't say that you fellows played the part of cowards by firing -into that unarmed boat, but you acted like born idiots, and it would -serve you just right if the citizens of Baton Rouge should come out -here in a body and lynch the last one of you. Why do you not wait for -orders from me instead of roaming about the country acting on your own -responsibility? I know what the Confederacy expects this company to do -and you don't." - -"Now jest listen at you, Tom Randolph." - -"Yes, listen when your commanding officer speaks, and remember that -there is a handle to my name and that I expect you to use it as often -as you address me." - -"Well, _Cap'n_ Randolph, if that suits you any better; though it's -mighty little you ever done to deserve the title. When this company of -ourn was first got up didn't you say that we was going to make all the -Union men about here hunt their holes?" - -"Yes, I did; and I would have done it in a soldier-like manner if you -had obeyed my orders, as you promised to do when you were sworn into -the service. But when you made up your minds that you knew more than -your captain and set out to have your own way, you got yourselves into -hot water directly, and I am very glad of it. If you have come to your -senses and will promise that from this time on you will obey my orders -to the letter, and quit going off on raids unless I send you, I will do -the best I can for you; but the minute you take the bits in your teeth, -as you have been doing for the last few months, that minute I will -throw you over and the conscript officer can take you and welcome. And -mark my words, this is the last warning I shall give you. The last one -of you ought to be court-martialled and shot." - -It was a motley group of men and boys, perhaps a score of them in -all, who were gathered at the foot of the wide steps that led up to -the front door of Mr. Randolph's plantation house, and one could have -told at a glance that they were as excited and angry as was the young -officer in Confederate uniform on the gallery above, who shook his -fists at them over the railing, and addressed them in the imperious -language we have just recorded. The most of the group were dressed -like soldiers, and that was what they claimed to be; but whether they -belonged to the Union or Confederate army it would have been hard to -tell, for their clothing was an odd mixture of the uniforms of both. -It would have been quite as hard to tell whether they belonged to the -artillery, infantry, or cavalry, for the distinguishing colors of these -three branches of the service were about equally represented. These -men and boys called themselves Home Guards; and they were members of -the independent company that Tom Randolph and his father raised and -equipped after Tom failed to get himself elected second lieutenant of -Captain Hubbard's Rangers. You remember something about that, do you not? - -When the war excitement was at its height in the spring of 1861, -and Rodney Gray, Marcy Gray's cousin, left the military academy at -Barrington because he could not study while others were going into -the Southern army and making ready to fight for the cause in which -they honestly believed, he was bound by a compact he had made with -some other red-hot rebels in his class to enlist within twenty-four -hours after he reached home provided he could get to a recruiting -office in that time. The uniform he wore at school was gray, and so -was the one adopted by those who were determined to break up the -government because they could no longer do as they pleased with it; -and impulsive Rodney Gray, carried away by the excitement of the hour, -declared that he would not wear any other color until the South had -gained her independence. He found it easy to keep the first part of -his promise, for it so happened that he came home in time to join an -independent company of cavalry that was being raised in his immediate -neighborhood, and which was intended to be so very select that no -applicant could get into the company if a single member of it objected -to him. - -Among the prominent citizens of Mooreville who took a deep interest in -the organization (they all claimed Mooreville as their home, although -some of them lived from three to a dozen miles outside of it), and used -both money and influence to help it along, was Mr. Randolph, Tom's -father. If any young fellow who stood well in the community hesitated -to send in his name because he could not raise money enough to buy a -horse and fit himself out as well as the other Rangers were fitted out, -Mr. Randolph was prompt to come to his aid with the assurance that if -he would go ahead and enlist, money need not stand in his way, for -the horse, uniform, weapons, and all other necessary things would be -forthcoming. He scoured the country for miles around for recruits, and -did so much in other ways to aid the company that when the Rangers made -their first camp, and hoisted above it the flag under which they hoped -to ride to victory, they named it Camp Randolph. - -This gentleman was so rabid a Secessionist that he was utterly -unreasonable. In fact, some of his warmest friends declared that he was -about half crazy. He had no clearer conception of the sufferings and -trials that he and those who believed as he did were bringing upon the -people of the South than the most ignorant negro on his plantations. -The men of the North belonged to an inferior race and did not know how -to fight. They were going to be whipped without any trouble at all, and -when the Southern troops had covered themselves with glory by taking -and holding Washington, while Jefferson Davis dictated terms of peace -to the Lincoln hirelings, he wanted all the Mooreville boys there to -witness the grand and imposing spectacle, and that was why he urged -them to enlist. That was about what Mr. Randolph said, and no doubt he -was honest with himself as well as with the recruits he brought into -Captain Hubbard's company; but events proved that he had another object -in view and one that he did not think it best to speak of. - -Tom Randolph, who was twenty-four years of age, was as conceited an -ignoramus as there was in that part of Louisiana; but he had an idea -that he was very bright, and capable of filling any office he could -get. At first he declared his intention of going to the front as -captain of the Rangers. It would be no more than right that he should -have the highest place in return for what his father had done for the -company; but when Mr. Randolph told him that _that_ would be aiming -a little too high, that Bob Hubbard, who had really done more hard -work for the company than anybody else, would certainly be chosen -captain, and that it would look better and be better if Tom would -accept something a little lower down and work his way up, the young -man decided that he would be a candidate for the second lieutenant's -place. He was sure he would get it and so was his father; but he -didn't. Although the Rangers _did_ not know anything about soldiering, -they did know what sort of men they wanted for officers, and Tom -received but twelve votes out of sixty-five—his own and those of the -eleven recruits his father had brought into the company. Then there -was trouble in the camp, and if Tom and his father had possessed -the physical power they would have thrashed every Ranger in it. But -there was one thing about it: if they could not have a voice in the -management of the company they would not only cease to support it, but -would do their best to break it up; and Tom acted upon this rule or -ruin policy by withdrawing from the ranks almost as soon as the result -of the ballot was announced, his example being followed by the eleven -recruits who had voted for him. - -"Now let's see how they will get on with their Partisan Rangers," Tom -said to his father that night. "There's almost too much social equality -in that company anyway to suit me. I have noticed it ever since I have -been in it. Who is their second lieutenant, the man they shoved into my -place? A common book-keeper who never in his life had the price of a -pickaninny in his pocket." - -Tom hoped and believed that by withdrawing from the company he had -inflicted a blow upon it from which it would never recover; but to his -surprise and disgust the Rangers went ahead with their plans as if -nothing had happened. Rodney Gray, the only member of the organization -who knew anything about military matters, was made first duty sergeant -and drill-master; and under his skillful management the Rangers -changed so rapidly from awkward greenhorns to soldiers, and became so -proficient in the school of the company, that the deserters, with the -single exception of Tom Randolph himself, began to repent their hasty -action, and ask one another what they could do to induce the Rangers -to take them back again. They knew they could not look to Mr. Randolph -for an outfit, for he took Tom's defeat as a deliberate insult to -his family, and instead of promoting enlistments in the company was -doing all he could to stop them. The only one they could turn to for -help was Rodney Gray's father—a man who had said and done nothing of -consequence to show that he was in favor of partisan organizations, -and who was looked upon with suspicion by his neighbors because he put -no faith in the final success of the secession movement, and did not -hesitate to say that the South would be whipped as she deserved to be -for trying to break up the government. There were thousands of wealthy -and influential men in Louisiana who believed as he did; and yet they -did more to help the soldiers than the blatant rebels who were fierce -for a fight at the beginning, but went over to the Federals at the -first opportunity, and became "spies and informers for the sake of the -loaves and fishes that fell into their hands." The sequel proved that -the recruits went to the right man, for six of the eleven were fitted -out at Mr. Gray's expense. And he did not boast of it either, as Mr. -Randolph and Tom had done. - -Captain Hubbard's Rangers, as the company was always called, got on -very well until they began looking around for someone to swear them -into the service and order them to the front, and then the trouble -began. They first applied to the commanding officer at New Orleans; but -he declined to have anything to do with them unless they would give -up their independent organization, and that was something the Rangers -were determined they would not do to please anybody. They formed their -company in the first place because they were led to believe that the -Richmond government was in full sympathy with such organizations, which -would be allowed full liberty of action when sworn into the service of -the State; but such would by no means be the case if they permitted -themselves to be sworn into the service of the Confederacy. As one of -the Rangers expressed it: "If they were going to give their liberty up -to a new government they might as well have stayed under the old." - -Tom Randolph was delighted when he heard of this state of affairs, and -the Rangers themselves were much depressed; but Rodney Gray was sure he -saw a way out of the difficulty when he received a letter from his old -schoolmate and chum, Dick Graham, who lived in Missouri. In that letter -Dick said he belonged to an organization of partisans who were known -as State Guards. Their immediate commander was General Price, but they -were required to take oath to obey Governor Jackson and nobody else. In -plain English this meant that while the State Guards were willing to -look out for the secession movement in Missouri and keep all Yankee -invaders off her soil, they did not intend to go into any other State -unless they felt like it, or permit the Richmond authorities to control -their movements in any way. That was exactly the kind of partisans that -Captain Hubbard and his men wanted to be; and when Rodney Gray said -that if the Governor of their own State would not accept them as a -company, they had a perfect right to offer themselves to the Governor -of another, and that it might be a good plan to ask General Price if he -would take the Rangers just as they were, Captain Hubbard was glad to -act upon the suggestion. So, without delay, a telegram was sent to Dick -Graham's father in St. Louis, and in due time the answer came back: - - Price will accept. Company officers and independent organization to - remain the same. - -To quote from Rodney, this brought the matter squarely home to the -Rangers, who were compelled to decide upon some course of action -without loss of time. A business meeting of the company (and a stormy -one it turned out to be) was held that very day; and although Captain -Hubbard and Rodney carried their point, it was only by a small majority -of votes that the Rangers consented to leave their own State and go -into the service of another. - -Believing it to be a good plan to strike while the iron was hot, -Captain Hubbard and one of his officers at once set out for New Orleans -to find a boat that would take the company to Little Rock; but in the -meantime the Governor of Louisiana got wind of the affair through spies -in the telegraph office in Mooreville, and tried to upset the designs -of the Rangers by having them sworn in by General Lacey, who was a -Confederate officer. He would have succeeded too had it not been for -quick-witted Rodney Gray, who cautioned his comrades not to answer to -their names when the roll was called. He did more. When his own name -was called he rode to the front and centre and surprised and angered -the general, a veteran of the Mexican War, who had never learned to -recognize any organizations outside of those mentioned in the Army -Regulations, by stating that the company was an independent one whose -members, while willing and eager to be sworn into the service of their -State, did not desire to enter the service of the Confederate States. -They enlisted as partisans, and partisans they wished to remain. -Upon hearing this the veteran was astounded. He declared, by the -shade of the great and good Washington, that he did not know what the -country was coming to, flung the roll-book on the ground at the feet -of Rodney's horse, and rode away in a huff; and that was the last of -Captain Hubbard's Rangers. They broke ranks then and there and never -held a company meeting afterward. - -The next morning Rodney Gray, who was determined to be a partisan and -nothing else, started for Missouri with no companion but his horse, -and eventually succeeded in finding his friend Graham in spite of all -the efforts that were made, both by Union men and rebels, to stop him. -Of course Tom Randolph was happy over the way things had turned out, -and one would think he ought to have been satisfied; but he was not. -Every one of the Rangers who voted against him when he ran for second -lieutenant made an enemy of Tom, and he showed it as often as the -opportunity was presented. He felt particularly spiteful toward Rodney -Gray, whose services as drill-master had been publicly acknowledged by -the gift of an elegant sword from the company, and he began persecuting -him the moment he learned that Rodney had decided to leave the State -and go to Missouri. With the aid of a friend of his, Drummond by name, -who had charge of the telegraph office in Mooreville, he paved the -way for Rodney's arrest in St. Louis by sending a description of him -and his horse to Mr. Randolph's agent, a Yankee cotton factor, who -lived in that city; but this scheme, which might have brought Rodney's -soldiering to an end before it was fairly begun, was frustrated by a -"student" in Drummond's office whose name was Griffin, and who went -all the way to Baton Rouge by night to warn Rodney of the plots that -had been laid against him. Acting on his friendly hints Rodney did not -go to St. Louis as he had intended, but left the boat at Cedar Bluff -Landing in Missouri; and from there, after some exciting experiences -with a squad of emergency men who happened to come in with a prisoner -during the night, he set off across the country to find General Price -and Dick Graham. - -He had undertaken something from which the boldest man might have -shrunk without any fear of being accused of timidity; but he came -through with flying colors as we have said, did a soldier's duty side -by side with his friend Dick for fifteen dreary months, was discharged -with him at Tupelo after the evacuation of Corinth, and brought Dick -home with him to his father's house at Mooreville, where they were both -resting at the time this story begins. Even after they were discharged, -and had begun telling each other that their troubles and trials as -soldiers were all over, they met with an adventure that under almost -any other circumstances might have proved a serious thing for them. -Shortly after they left Camp Pinckney on their way home, they ran into -a squad of Union troopers, who covered them with their carbines and -told them to come in out of the rain. They were prisoners for the -first time, but did not remain so any longer than it took their captors -to read their discharges. The boys' hearts overflowed with gratitude -when the good-natured corporal who commanded the squad jerked his thumb -over his shoulder and told them to "git," and Rodney hinted that the -time might come when they could repay his kindness. Strange as it may -appear the time did come, and perhaps we shall see if Rodney remembered -and kept his promise. - -Rodney Gray was the only one of Captain Hubbard's Rangers who became -a partisan. The Governor's attempt to have them sworn into the -Confederate service against their will broke them up completely, and so -disgusted some of their number that they declared they never wanted to -see a man with a star on his collar again; but they could not remain -at home while all their friends were making haste to go to the front -for fear that the fun would all be over and the Yankees whipped before -they could get there, and in the end every one of them became what he -repeatedly declared he never would be—a Confederate soldier. Then -it was that Tom Randolph and his father began to bestir themselves. -There was a good deal of pressure brought to bear upon every young man -and boy in the South about that time, and those who would not put on -a gray jacket or do something else to show their zeal for the cause -were coldly treated and sometimes snubbed; but Tom Randolph escaped -all this, and even raised himself higher in the estimation of some of -the Mooreville people by procuring, through his father's influence, a -captain's commission in the State militia, with authority to recruit -a company of mounted men who were to act as Home Guards. Tom knew the -commission was coming and prepared for it by ordering a fine uniform -and horse equipments of the latest and most expensive pattern, not -forgetting an officer's sword which on its scabbard bore an inscription -to the effect that the weapon was presented by his affectionate -relatives, and on the blade the old Spanish legend: - - Draw me not without a cause, - Nor sheath me with dishonor. - -"That is a good motto, my son," said Mr. Randolph, when Tom drew the -weapon and proudly showed it as though his father had never seen it -before, "and I trust you will bear it constantly in mind." - -"The cause of the South is a righteous cause, for it is the cause of -freedom the world over," shouted Captain Randolph, pounding the table -with his fist and ignoring the fact that his father held more than four -hundred men, women, and children in bondage at that moment. "To cease -fighting for that cause at the bidding of the tyrant Lincoln would be -dishonor; and the stain upon our record as a nation would be so deep -and black that it _never_ could be wiped out. When once I have drawn -this beautiful sword in defence of the _rights_ of my country, it shall -never be sheathed until every Yankee south of Mason and Dixon's line -has been driven back where he belongs." - -The eloquent soldier pounded the table with his fist; everyone in the -room, negro servants and all, applauded; and one of the latter ventured -to say, in tones that of course were not intended to reach the officer's -ears: "Say, you niggahs! What'll you bet dem Yankees don't run fit to -kill derselves when dey see Mass' Tom comin'?" As to Tom, he smiled -complacently and said to himself: "That was a better speech than Rodney -Gray delivered when those Rangers gave him that frog-sticker of his." - -Knowing Rodney Gray and Dick Graham as well as you ought to know them -by this time, what do you think they would have thought if they had -been in that room and listened to Tom's words? Before twenty minutes -had passed away he appeared upon the streets of Mooreville in the full -glory of his captain's suit and with his horse duly caparisoned; but -having no company to command he prudently left his sword at home. - -It was Tom's wish and his father's to bring the strength of the company -up to a hundred men; but Tom found it harder work to raise a small -fraction of that number than it was to get his commission from the -Governor. Everyone who presented himself was accepted, and that too -without reference to his social standing or his ability to pass the -surgeon; and when all other expedients to promote enlistments had been -tried, Mr. Randolph came to the front, as he had done in the case of -the Rangers, with the offer to arm and equip all recruits who could not -furnish their own outfit. This helped matters along amazingly; and when -fifty men had been enrolled Captain Randolph ordered them to appear in -one of his father's fields on a certain afternoon, armed and equipped -as the law directed, for "company inspection." No one knew just what -the order meant, but the men were all in the field at the appointed -time; and when Tom came to look at them as they sat in their saddles -facing him, after making an awkward and ineffectual effort to fall -in line, he was disgusted with them and with himself too. Until that -moment he had no idea that he had been enrolling so unpromising a body -of men. _Men!_ They looked more like lazy vagabonds, as indeed the most -of them were. Rodney Gray himself could not have made soldiers of them. -The next half hour was an ordeal that Captain Tom never wanted to pass -through again; but we will let him describe it in his own way. - -"They were the worst looking fellows I think I ever saw," Tom told his -father and mother when he reached home after the "inspection" was over. -"I brought them together because I wanted to see how they looked, and -how I would look riding at their head; and to tell the honest truth, -if a stranger had come into that field when they first tried to draw -themselves up in line I believe I should have put spurs to my horse and -galloped away rather than be seen in their company." - -"Why, what was the matter with them?" inquired his mother, who took as -deep an interest in the organization as Tom himself, and was anxious -that it should win a name for him after the rebuff he had received -at the hands of Captain Hubbard's Rangers. "You knew they were not -gentlemen when you asked them to give in their names. There are few of -that sort left in the country, more's the pity." - -"I know that; but I hoped they might have pride enough to make a -half-way respectable appearance at inspection," answered Captain Tom. -"In the first place, no two of them were mounted, armed, or dressed -alike. In the next, they came just as they had been at work in the -field in the forenoon, and I don't believe that half of them had taken -the trouble to wash their faces or comb their hair." - -"They looked just as we see them on the streets every day, I suppose," -said Mr. Randolph. - -"Just the same, only worse," replied Tom, who was almost mad enough -to cry every time he thought of it. "Here was a man mounted on the -heaviest kind of a plough horse and carrying a long squirrel rifle -on his shoulder, and beside him was one on a little runt of a mule -and armed with a heavy double-barrel deer-killer. Not a few of them -had chicken or turkey feathers stuck in their slouch hats for plumes, -and some had pipes in their mouths; and when I said that no smoking -would be allowed in the ranks, they did not hesitate to tell me that -I need not think I could boss them around as Rodney Gray had bossed -the Rangers while he was acting as their drill-master, for that was -something they would not submit to." - -"Why the—the impudence!" exclaimed Mrs. Randolph; while her husband -looked down at the floor and told himself that that was about what -might have been expected of such men as he and Tom had been able to -bring into the Home Guards. - -"That's the kind of soldiers they are," continued Captain Tom. "They -know I haven't the power to enforce my commands, and so they intend to -do pretty near as they please. The only reason they joined was because -they wanted an excuse for keeping out of the army, and get the horses -and weapons that were promised them." - -"And food," added Mrs. Randolph. - -"Food!" exclaimed her husband. "I didn't promise them any food except -in case they were ordered to some other part of the State, and then I -said I would look out for the families of those who were too poor to -make provision for them." - -"Well, a rough looking fellow who said he was a member of the company -came to the kitchen yesterday and asked for some bacon on the strength -of that promise, and I gave it to him," said Mrs. Randolph. - -"I'll bet he played a game on you," said Captain Tom. - -"That's a pretty state of affairs!" exclaimed the father, profoundly -astonished. "Don't give another mouthful to him or anybody else on the -strength of promises I made to that company. As long as they stay about -here they will earn their own food or go hungry." - -"That's the kind of soldiers they are," repeated Tom. "They enlisted -because they are afraid to go into the army and too lazy to work, and -not because they care a picayune for the Confederacy. And after I had -brought them in line as well as I could, and told one man to take his -pants out of his boots and be sure that those boots were blacked the -next time he came out to inspection, and ordered another to put his hat -on straight and quit carrying his gun flat on his shoulder as he would -if he were hog hunting in the woods, they made up their minds that they -would elect officers. When I told them that I hadn't brought them -together for any such purpose, and that we would postpone the matter -until the company had been brought up to its full strength, they didn't -pay the least attention to me." - -"It's a rabble—a mob and nothing else," cried Mrs. Randolph, who -looked as angry as her son felt. "It is the one wish of my heart to see -you take a proud position among the noble defenders of your country, -but you will never have anything more to do with those ruffians with my -consent. Whom did they choose for officers?" - -Tom mentioned the names of two of the meanest men in the country for -miles around, and his angry mother continued: - -"A common overseer and an acknowledged chicken and hog thief! My son, -you must not appear again in the company of those men." - -"I don't intend to," replied Tom, jumping to his feet and striding up -and down the room. "Although I despise every man in Captain Hubbard's -company, and have ever since they defeated me for the second lieutenancy, -I must acknowledge that they were a fine looking body of men, and I -somehow got it into my head that my Home Guards would look and act just -like them; but they don't, and I am so disappointed that I don't see how -I can ever get over it. I'll hold fast to my commission and rank, but -I'll have nothing more to do with that company of Home Guards." - -Slowly and sadly Captain Tom ascended to his room, where he took off -his fine uniform and arrayed himself in the citizen's suit he had -vowed never to put on again until he had helped the South gain her -independence. Then he put his handsome sword into its cloth case, stood -it up in the darkest corner of his closet, and closed the door. He felt -like a monarch who had lost his crown. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -CAPTAIN TOM SMELLS POWDER. - - -For a long time Captain Randolph remained firm in his resolution to -have nothing more to do with the Home Guards. Although he did not -formally throw up his command of the company he kept away from it -as much as he could, and never ordered it to appear for drills and -inspections; but by so doing he did not by any means escape being -taken to task for the lawless acts of which his men were guilty. The -company well deserved the name that Mrs. Randolph had applied to it, -and one could not reasonably expect that they would conduct themselves -as the high-toned Mooreville Rangers would have done under the same -circumstances. It had never occurred to them to inquire what their -duties would be when they were sworn into the service of the State, and -it is extremely doubtful if their captain could have enlightened them -on that point; but in their ignorance they took it for granted that -they had been given liberty to do as they pleased, and acting under the -leadership of their lieutenants, Lambert, the overseer, and Moseley, -the chicken and hog thief, they very soon made themselves known to and -feared and hated by the citizens for miles around. Tom heard of their -exploits now and then, and although he stamped his feet and shook -his clenched hands in the air, he did nothing to show his authority. -At last things came to such a pass that Captain Tom, to quote from -Rodney's friend Griffin, who was closely watching the movements of the -Home Guards, "had to fish or cut bait." - -Bright and early one morning a couple of angry planters galloped -furiously into Mr. Randolph's front yard, threw themselves from their -horses, leaving the animals to tramp down the flower beds or stand -still as they pleased, entered the house without knocking, and made -their way through the hall into the dining room, where the family sat -at breakfast. Without giving anybody time to express surprise at their -abrupt entrance or to inquire into the nature of their business, they -stalked around the table to the chair in which Tom was sitting and -shook their fists in his face pretty close to his nose. - -"Look-a-here, young feller," said the one whose rage would permit -him to speak first, "what do you mean by sending them vagabonds of -yourn, them Home Guards, into gentlemen's houses to turn things up -topsy-turvy?" - -The men looked so dangerous that Captain Tom turned white with alarm, -but could not utter a word. He understood the charge and knew he was -innocent, but he could not say so. - -"When that company of yourn was first got together you took pains to -spread it around that you were going to use them to clean out the Union -men," the planter almost shouted. "That was all right and I didn't have -a word to say against it, for I thought they oughter be driven out; but -why don't you confine yourselves to searching the houses of Union men, -and let good and loyal Confederates like me and my neighbor alone? We -are as strong for the South and as ready to fight for her as you are; -and I tell you once for all——" - -By this time Tom's father and mother had recovered themselves in some -measure, but Tom himself was still so frightened that he could not -speak. The former arose and placed chairs for the visitors, and Mrs. -Randolph told the girl to lay plates for them, adding that if they -would sit down and tell their story while drinking a cup of coffee, she -was sure her son could clear himself of the serious accusations they -had brought against him. If their houses had been raided by the Home -Guards they might rest assured that a Randolph was in no way to blame -for it. This calmed the storm and made the visitors look as though they -felt a little ashamed of themselves; but they sat down and told their -story. - -"It seems that that man Lambert, who always was too lazy and trifling -to earn an honest living, has give up his situation as overseer on Miss -Randall's place, and took to raiding through the country on his own -hook," said the planter who had thus far done all the talking. "We -have heard of him a time or two, but so long as he stole from Union men -and pestered them it was all right; but last night he jumped down on me -and Boswell, and that is a little more than we can stand." - -"I don't see what made him do that," exclaimed Tom, who had by this -time found his tongue. "He knows you are good Confederates." - -"Of course he knows it, and when we reminded him of it he didn't try -to deny it; but he allowed we had guns in the house, and that them -dangerous things couldn't be permitted to stay in the country except in -the hands of soldiers. So he came to our houses and searched them; and -as he had about a dozen men in his gang we couldn't help ourselves." - -"As sure as I live I never gave him orders to search anybody's -premises," declared Tom. - -"I don't reckon you ever gave him much orders of any sort," replied the -planter, with a look on his face which showed that he knew about how -much authority Tom had over the Home Guards. - -"And bear this in mind," added his companion: "when we found that we -couldn't say or do anything to stop them, and that they were dead set -on having the guns, we offered to bring 'em out ruther than have them -dirty vagabonds rummaging over our things; but that didn't by no means -suit Lambert. Him and his men must go in themselves so as to be sure of -getting everything in the shape of weapons there was. And when they got -into my house where do you suppose was the first place they went to?" -added Boswell, with suppressed fury. - -"I have not the slightest idea," replied Mrs. Randolph, when the man -stopped and looked around as if he expected an answer. - -"To the bed," said Tom, who had heard that it was a good plan for -raiders to look between mattresses for things they wanted to find. - -"No, they didn't. They went straight to my wife's bureau," said Boswell -fiercely. "That was a pretty place to look for guns, wasn't it, now?" - -Tom was thunderstruck. He knew that the Home Guards had been denounced -as robbers because they had ransacked the dwellings and smoke-houses -of Union men, and had thought nothing of it, for Union men had no -rights, and were not in the least deserving of sympathy; but this was a -different matter altogether. It would never do to let such a story as -that get to the ears of the Governor. - -"Perhaps they looked into the bureau for revolvers," he managed to say -at length. - -"No, they didn't. They looked for rings and breastpins and bracelets -and the like; but they didn't find none, for my wife was sharp enough -to put the whole business into her pocket as soon as she see that they -were set on coming into the house. All the same, they got a rifle that -cost me $125 in gold in New Orleans in good times, and a shot gun that -is worth almost twice as much. And I'll tell you what's a fact, Tom -Randolph: I want them guns back. They're mine, and if I don't get 'em -I'll raise a fuss." - -"And while you are getting them you might as well tell Lambert to hand -over the two guns he stole from me," said the other visitor, "and -that if he ever pokes his long nose inside my door again I'll send the -contents of one of 'em into it. I say nothing about the hams they took -from my smoke house, but they mustn't try to take any more. I reckon me -and Boswell were a little too fast in accusing you of sending Lambert -to search our houses, but you being the captain, you know, why—really -you had oughter make them fellers go a little slower. What do you think -of the situation anyhow, Mr. Randolph? And how long will it be before -we shall have Washington?" - -Mr. Randolph and his wife were glad to have the conversation turned -into another channel, and so was Captain Tom, who did not want to hear -any more about Lieutenant Lambert and his exploits. He was ill at ease -as long as the visitors remained; but they went away as soon as they -had drunk their coffee, and seemed as glad to go as the Randolphs were -to have them. - -Tom did not eat a hearty breakfast that morning, for the fear that -the Governor might get wind of Lambert's latest raid and revoke his -commission, added to the difficulties he saw in his way of complying -with the demands his late visitors had made upon him, took away his -appetite. He must restore those guns to their owners—there were no -two ways about that; but how should he go to work to get them? His -first thought was to present himself before Lambert in full uniform -and, by virtue of the authority conferred upon him by his captain's -commission, which stated in plain language that he was to be obeyed -by all persons under him, demand the return of the stolen property -forthwith. That was the way any other captain would have gone about it, -Tom thought; but he was afraid that bluster might not prove successful -in his case. He had reason to fear (and it was one of the heaviest -trials he was called upon to bear) that he did not stand as high in the -estimation of some of his men as he did in his mother's; that he had on -one or two occasions been compared to a wagon's fifth wheel in point -of usefulness, and it would be just like the insubordinate Lambert to -refuse point blank to obey his orders. That would be unfortunate, for -it would show to the world, and perhaps to the Governor, that Tom was -not the real captain of the Home Guards. After looking at the matter -from all sides he made up his mind that conciliation would be his best -policy, and when he rode away to seek an interview with his lieutenant -he wore citizen's clothes and left his sword behind. He found Lambert -at his quarters on the Randall plantation, where he continued to live, -although he had turned the work over to the field hands and seldom took -the trouble to see how it was going on, and he was just getting ready -to mount the horse that had been brought to his door. - -"Hallo, lieutenant!" began Tom, with more familiarity and -good-fellowship than he had ever before exhibited in addressing the man. - -"Morning, cap'n," replied the overseer, who might have responded to -the salutation in a very different way if Tom had not been respectful -enough to put a handle to his name. "Want to see me?" - -"I came over on purpose to have a friendly talk with you," said Tom. -"Look here, old fellow; you will play smash if you don't stop raiding -the premises of such men as Boswell and Wallace. What induced you to do -it?" - -"Aint I got a right to look for we'pons?" demanded Lambert. - -"You have authority from me," answered Tom, with some emphasis on the -two last words, "to search the houses of Union men, but you have no -right to enter the dwellings of Confederates." - -"Look-a-here, cap'n. I knowed that them two men had guns in hiding." - -"But you didn't expect to find them in bureau drawers, did you?" - -"Eh?" exclaimed the overseer. He looked somewhat abashed for a moment -and then continued: "When I search a house I search it. I look into -every hole and corner in it." - -"That is perfectly right when you search houses belonging to the -enemies of your country; but it is all wrong when you enter the houses -of our friends. Such work will turn them against us—make enemies -of them. I saw Boswell and Wallace this morning and they are mad as -hornets. They want their guns back." - -"Well, the next time you see 'em just ask if they'll have 'em now or -wait till they get 'em. I want them guns myself to keep the Yankees -from getting 'em." - -"The Yankees!" said Tom contemptuously. "You don't think they will ever -get this far South, do you?" - -"They mout. Didn't you say yourself that they was liable to come down -from Cairo or up from New Orleans, and that we'd oughter have a company -of Home Guards here to stop 'em?" - -"I said there was a bare possibility that they might do so, and that -it would be the part of wisdom to prepare for an emergency," answered -Captain Tom, who well remembered that he had used stronger language -than that while urging Lambert to send in his name. "But I want those -guns and must have them at once. You haven't any commission from the -Governor yet, and I——" - -When Tom said this he stopped abruptly and gave such a start that his -lieutenant looked up at him in surprise. - -"What's the matter, cap'n?" said he. "You what?" - -"You haven't received your commission from the Governor yet," repeated -Tom slowly and emphatically. "And when I——" - -"Have I got to have a paper like yourn?" exclaimed Lambert, looking -astonished and interested. "That's news to me." - -"Yes. And it can come to you only through my recommendation. I must -certify that you were legally elected to the office you hold, and -that was the reason I did not want you men to go through the farce -of holding an election on horseback on the day I ordered you out for -inspection," replied Tom; but the truth was he had never thought of it -until that moment. It was a bright idea that suddenly flitted through -his mind, and he wondered why it had been so long in coming to him. - -"Well, by gum!" was all the disgusted Lambert could say in reply. - -"Your papers, if you get them, will be something like mine, only -different, you know, for a captain outranks a lieutenant by a large -majority," continued Tom, improving to the utmost the advantage he had -so unexpectedly gained. "You have no authority to make out warrants, -but I have; and our non-coms., if we had any, would have to look to me -for them." - -This was all Greek to the overseer, who had taken no pains to post -himself on military matters, but he did not ask Tom to explain, for he -was anxious to hear more about the commission he ought to have, but had -not yet received. - -"Well, go on," said he impatiently. "And when you what?" - -"And when I make my first report to the Governor or his -adjutant-general, and ask him about your commission and Moseley's, I -want to be able to say that you are in every way satisfactory to me -as well as to the people hereabouts, and that I am sure you will make -brave and obedient officers. But you can see for yourself that I can't -say that if you keep on bothering good and loyal Confederates like -Wallace and Boswell. I think you had better give me those guns." - -"I aint got but one," replied Lambert, who seemed to have lost the -independent and swaggering air he had assumed at the beginning of the -interview, "and I'll go right in and bring it out." - -"Where are the others?" demanded Captain Tom. - -"Well, Moseley's got one, Smith's got another, and where t'other one -has went I disremember just at this minute." - -"You distributed the spoils among you, it seems." - -"Yes, kinder; so't the Yankees couldn't easy find them." - -"Then you must ride around and gather them up; and as I have nothing -particular to do this morning I will go with you. I'd rather be a king -among hogs than a hog among kings any day," said Tom to himself, as -his lieutenant turned about and went into his house, "but I confess -I little thought I should get so low down as to command a lot of -brigands. That idea about the commissions makes me the biggest toad in -the puddle from this time on. I'll hold them up as prospective rewards -for good behavior and prompt obedience of orders; but Lambert and -Moseley shall never have commissions on my recommendation, I bet you." - -The Home Guards had deliberately stolen these four valuable guns, and -Tom Randolph knew it as soon as he found how they had been scattered -about. The plea that if permitted to remain in possession of their -owners they might be captured by the Yankees, who would use them to -kill Confederates, was Lambert's excuse for one of the worst outrages -that had ever been perpetrated in that part of Louisiana; but it was -by no means the last. Three-fourths of all the Home Guards in the -South were like Captain Tom's men, and the worst that can be said of -them is that they acted as guards at Andersonville, Libby, Millen, and -Salisbury. It was not the Confederate soldiers who served at the front, -but the Home Guards, who starved the boys in blue to death in those -prison pens, and hunted them with bloodhounds when they escaped. - -The upshot of the whole matter was that Tom got the guns, which in -due time were restored to their lawful owners, and plumed himself on -having firmly established his authority over his men. Well, they did -behave a little better during the daytime and in that settlement where -they were so well known, but they took to riding around of nights, -and making "visits of ceremony" to isolated farmhouses in which they -had reason to suppose that they would find something worth stealing. -But riding was anything but easy work, and the novelty of frightening -women and children and browbeating unarmed men wore off after a while; -and when they had secured bacon and meal enough to last them for a few -weeks, the Home Guards subsided and were seldom heard of again until -the news of the glorious victory at Bull Run raised the war spirit -of the Southern people to the old fever heat. Then they came to the -surface again, and persecuted Union people in and around Mooreville -so fiercely that some of them were compelled to flee for their lives, -Captain Randolph being in command this time. From his friend Drummond, -the telegraph operator, he secured a list of all suspected persons -in the neighborhood, and with this to aid him Tom succeeded in doing -effective work for the cause of Southern independence. But it was too -much like labor to be kept up for any length of time; there was not -very much glory in it anyway the better class of Secessionists in the -community became strongly opposed to it, and so the Home Guards dropped -out of sight once more, not to appear again until Farragut captured New -Orleans and sent some of his vessels up the river to effect a junction -with Flag-Officer Davis at Vicksburg. When the people of Mooreville -heard of it they were very indignant, and some of them declared that -they would never submit to have their country overrun in that way—they -would die first; and to show how very much in earnest they were they -stopped all work, shut up their houses, and ran about the streets in -the greatest excitement. When the ship of war _Iroquois_ came up with -Commander Palmer on board and demanded the surrender of Baton Rouge, -the mayor of that insignificant little town "indulged in the same -mock-heroic nonsense that the mayor and council of New Orleans had been -indulging in the week before." He declared that the city would not -be surrendered to any power on earth, and that if the Federals took -possession of it they would do it without the consent and against the -wishes of the peaceable inhabitants. - -"It was all done for effect, and that man will be one of the last in -the Confederacy to shoulder a musket," said Rodney Gray when he heard -of it; but being a soldier he applauded the action of Captain Palmer, -who, without any fuss or parade, promptly took possession of the -barracks, arsenal, and other property of the United States. He hoisted -the flag of the Union over the arsenal too, and told the boastful mayor -in pretty plain language that he would let it stay there if he did not -want to get himself and his town into trouble. - -"All honor to the brave citizens of New Orleans. They have shown me how -I ought to act in this emergency," said Captain Randolph on the morning -the startling news came that some of the victorious Union fleet had -steamed up the river. He posted for his room the moment he heard of -it, and when he came down he was dressed in his uniform and wore his -glittering sword by his side. - -"Now take those things off and don't make a fool of yourself," said -Mr. Randolph, who had told his wife over and over again that from the -bottom of his heart he wished he had never had anything to do with the -Home Guards. - -"Don't be rash, my dear," said his mother in tones more befitting the -occasion. "What are you going to do?" - -"I shall assemble my company and place myself in a strong position -between here and Baton Rouge, and stand ready to resist the enemy's -advance upon Mooreville," replied Tom. "The Federal General Butler has -more than 100,000 men, and can easily spare some of them long enough to -make our capital a heap of ashes; but the Governor shall hear that I -harassed them while they were doing it, as our own Marion and his bold -men used to harass the Redcoats." - -Those who were best acquainted with Tom Randolph knew that he would -not have gone one step toward Baton Rouge if he had not had the best -of reasons for believing that there were no troops at hand to take -possession of the city after the war ships had captured it; but -although Tom hinted as much to the members of his company whom he -tried to rally to the defence of their hearth-stones, he could not -induce more than a handful of them to turn out. It did not require -very much courage to rob Union men who had previously been deprived of -their weapons, but facing blue-jackets who were likely to have loaded -muskets in their hands was a more serious matter. The excuses the Home -Guards made for refusing to follow their captain were of the flimsiest -kind; but, all the same, they wouldn't go, and Tom finally rode away -with only a baker's dozen of men at his heels. They arrived within -sight of the spires of the city on the same day that Captain Palmer's -sailors hoisted the Union flag over the arsenal, and might perhaps have -witnessed the ceremony if they had gone a mile or two farther down the -road; but Captain Tom could not uncover Mooreville even for the sake of -saving the capital of his State. He did not even venture near enough -to the Mississippi to see the _Iroquois'_ topmasts; but he went closer -to the enemy than the cowards who remained at home, and that was -something to be proud of. - -Captain Tom slept in a planter's house that night, while his men bunked -in the stables and corn cribs and under the trees in the yard, and the -next morning made a wide detour to the river above the city with no -other object in view than to be able to say, when he went home, that he -had been there. If he had known what he was going to see and experience -when he reached the river it isn't likely that he would have gone in -that direction at all; for he halted his men behind the levee just in -time to see a monster war vessel steaming leisurely up the swift, muddy -current of the Mississippi. She was the blackest, ugliest looking thing -that Tom's eyes had ever rested on, and the queerest sensations came -over him as he gazed at her. It was not a cold day, but Tom shivered -violently, and tasted something in his mouth that reminded him of salt. - -"By gum! There's one of them things now. Let's try a whack at her. What -do you say, boys?" - -Tom had been on the point of giving the signal for retreat, or trying -to give it, but this astounding and reckless proposition staggered him -so that he could not open his mouth. The man who made it showed that -he was in earnest by swinging himself from his horse and advancing on -all fours toward the levee, dragging his rifle along the ground at his -side. In less time than it takes to tell it he and all his companions -were lying prone behind the levee, using it as a breastwork, and -Captain Tom sat in his saddle looking on like one in a dream. When -they were all in position one of the Home Guards set up a warwhoop, a -straggling fire ran along the top of the levee and bullets and buckshot -went whistling toward the vessel. There were several men on her deck -and around the wheel-house, and although Tom did not see any of them -fall he did see that they were badly frightened, for they ran in all -directions, and an instant later there was not one of them to be seen. -The Home Guards yelled triumphantly and turned on their backs behind -their breastwork to reload their guns. Then Tom managed to find his -voice; but it sounded so strangely that he hardly knew whether it -belonged to him or not. - -"That's the way to make the Yankees hunt their holes," he said, in -trembling tones. "Give it to them again! Cut their old tub to pieces, -my brave——" - -Just then a wide, dark opening appeared in the side of the vessel -nearest them, a black object came slowly out, a thundering concussion -rent the air, and a thirty-two pound shell came at them. It shrieked -fearfully as it flew over the levee above their heads, and made such a -horrid din when it exploded in the thick woods behind them, scattering -iron and branches about and cutting down twigs and leaves in a perfect -shower, that for a single instant the Home Guards were motionless with -astonishment and terror. They had not hurt the gunboat at all, but -they had made her captain angry, and the fear that he might resent the -insult to his flag by firing more shells at them sent the Home Guards -to their saddles in hot haste; and with Captain Tom, who rode the -swiftest horse, far in the lead, they struck out for home at a better -pace than they had ever travelled before. And they never drew rein -until they had left the dangerous neighborhood miles behind. - -"It was the narrowest escape from an ambuscade I ever had in my life," -said Captain Tom to the first man he met when he rode into Mooreville -that night, "and if it hadn't been for my promptness in getting out of -there I shouldn't have had a man left. We'd have been cut to pieces or -captured, the last one of us. We didn't see any enemy except the ship -we fired at, but a minute or so after she opened on us a battery of -flying artillery, that had all the while been concealed in the timber -in our rear, cut loose on us with all its guns, and it's a miracle that -one of us escaped to tell the story of the battle." - -"But my partner came from Baton Rouge to-day," said the man doubtfully, -"and he declares that there are no Yankee troops in the country this -side of New Orleans. So where did that battery come from?" - -"Don't you believe any such stuff," replied Tom indignantly. "I tell -you the woods are full of them, and they are liable to come to -Mooreville between now and sunrise." - -If no one else believed his story Tom believed it himself, and the -consequence was he slept in his chair that night. But for some reason -the Yankees did not appear as he had predicted, and they might have -postponed their coming indefinitely had it not been for the lawless -acts of Captain Tom's own men. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE CONSCRIPT'S FRIEND. - - -Tom Randolph would have been very angry indeed if anyone had told -him that the noise that thirty-two pound shell made when it exploded -in the woods, and led him and his men to believe that there was a -Union battery concealed there, had frightened all the war spirit out -of him, but it is a fact that after his experience with the gunboat -he did not show the least desire to take the field again at the head -of his company. Everybody knew that there were no Federal troops in -Baton Rouge, but there were war vessels in the Mississippi holding -the city under their guns, and their presence had a depressing effect -upon a good many red-hot rebels besides Tom Randolph. More than that, -General Butler had assumed command at New Orleans; and the energetic -and effective way in which he dealt with treason there opened the -eyes of the Mooreville people to the fact that there might be a day -of settlement coming for them also, and that it would be well if they -could have a tolerably clean record to show when the invading army -moved up to take possession of Baton Rouge. - -This was the way Mr. Randolph and some of his neighbors looked at the -situation; and acting upon the hints they dropped in his presence, Tom -concealed his uniform and sword in the garret, where he thought no one -would be likely to look for them. He was getting tired of war anyway, -he said, and wished the past could be blotted out and things be as they -were before South Carolina, by her senseless act of secession, brought -so much trouble upon him and his friends. He was not as disgusted and -angry as a good Confederate ought to have been when he heard a man from -Baton Rouge affirm that after all the Yankees were not such a bad sort -when one became acquainted with them, and that some of the towns-people -were not ashamed to confess to a friendly feeling for the crews of the -gunboats that were anchored in front of the city. The blue-jackets -always acted like gentlemen when they came ashore, and, true to their -instincts of traffic, had established a lively little trade with the -citizens. They purchased everything the latter had to sell in the way -of garden-truck, milk, butter, and eggs, and paid for all they got in -good money; or, what was better, in coffee, tea (store tea too, and not -sassafras), wheat flour, and salt. It is true that the salt was not as -fine nor as clean as some they had seen, for it had been taken from the -brine of the beef and pork barrels with which the store-rooms of the -gunboats were abundantly supplied; but it was acceptable to people who -had boiled down the dirt floors of their smoke-houses in order to get -the salt that had trickled off the hams and sides of bacon which had -been cured there in better times. The gunboat officers also sent their -soiled linen ashore to be washed, so that not a day passed during which -there was not more or less communication with the fleet. - -This was a pleasant state of affairs all around, especially to the -victorious blue-jackets, who had grown tired of fighting and wanted all -the shore liberty they could get, and it might have continued until -the Confederate General Breckenridge made his unsuccessful attempt to -regain control of the Mississippi above New Orleans had it not been for -two things: the Confederate Conscription Act, and the determination on -the part of the Home Guards to evade it. The passage of that act was -like a destructive thunder-bolt from a clear sky, and there were those -in Mooreville who refused to believe that their chosen rulers would be -guilty of such perfidy; but the news had hardly been received before -the enrolling officer put in his appearance, thus proving the truth of -what we have already said—that the Richmond Government developed into -a despotism so suddenly that it was plain the machinery for it had been -prepared long before. - -The enrolling officer, Captain Roach, was a dapper little fellow who -did not look as though he had seen much service, and, indeed, he hadn't -seen a day of it; for when he received his commission and orders from -the Governor he was a practising lawyer in a small inland town. Beyond -the very slight knowledge which he had been able to gain from his -printed instructions, he knew nothing of his duties or of soldiering; -but his common-sense taught him that as Tom Randolph's commission was -older than his own, military etiquette required that he should call -upon Tom without any unnecessary delay—not to report to him, for -Tom was not in the Confederate service or in any way connected with -the conscription business, but merely to show him proper respect. He -reached Mooreville in the morning, spent the rest of the day in opening -an office and spreading abroad the news of his arrival, so that those -whose duty it was to be conscripted would have no trouble in finding -him, and the next morning mounted his horse and set out to find Captain -Randolph. The first man he met on the road was Tom's first lieutenant. -Captain Roach did not know him, but he saw that Lambert was anxious to -ride on without speaking, and perhaps that was the reason he drew rein -and accosted him. - -"Good-morning," said the captain pleasantly. "You know I have opened an -office in Kimberly's store, I suppose?" - -"Say! What made you ask me that question for?" demanded Lambert, who -was instantly on his guard. - -"Because I take you to be over eighteen and under thirty-five, and -would like to have you drop around and see me," was the reply. - -"Well, I aint a-going to do it; and that settles it. See?" - -"Really I _don't_ see how you can get out of it." - -"Don't, hey? Well, I do. I aint Confedrit. I'm State Rights." - -"Are you not aware that there are no State Rights people any more?" -asked the captain. "The conscription act that has just been passed -withdraws all non-exempt citizens between the ages of eighteen and -thirty-five from State control, and places them absolutely at the -disposal of the President during the war." - -"But I aint agreeing to no such 'rangement, don't you know?" exclaimed -Lambert, who did not like to see the enrolling officer so quiet and -confident, for it looked as though he knew what he was talking about. -"That was just what Lincoln wanted to do when he called on our Gov'nor -for soldiers to whop South Car'liny; but our Gov'nor he said he wasn't -that kind of a feller, and his men shouldn't go out of the State. Why -don't he stick to his word and say the same to Jeff Davis?" - -"My friend, you don't understand the situation at all——" began the -captain. - -"Better'n you do, by a long sight," interrupted Lambert. "I aint -agreeing to no such bargain, I tell you. Them as wants to go to Virginy -to light for the 'Federacy can go for all me; but I don't want to go, -and, by gum! I won't. And furder, I'm a Home Guard." - -"In your case that doesn't matter. The government would be quite -willing to stretch a point in favor of home organizations that have -proved themselves to be worth something, but you Mooreville fellows -haven't done the first thing for the cause. You have turned some of our -friends against us, but where are the Yankees you have shot, and how -many prisoners have you taken?" - -"Look here, by gum!" exclaimed the lieutenant. - -"I have heard all about you, and the Governor says in the letter he -sent with my commission that the best thing I can do is to send you to -a camp of instruction," continued the captain. "You are no good here, -for you don't do anything." - -"Dog-gone my pictur'! What's the reason we aint been doing something -for the cause right along?" shouted Lambert, his red face showing that -he was getting angry. "We've been the means of keeping the Union men -in these parts from rising up and taking the country for the Yankees, -and more'n that—we licked a gunboat in the river. Who told you we aint -done nothing? It must be some enemy of ourn who aint got the spirit to -jine in with us, and if I can find out who he is I'll make him sorry -for it, I bet you. But you can't conscript me, I tell you. I'm an -officer appointed by the Gov'nor." - -"Ah! That does make a difference, perhaps." - -"Well, I reckon it does," said Lambert, with a satisfied smile. - -"Do you happen to have your commission with you? Or will you tell me -when I can see it?" - -This was what Lambert himself would have called a "side-winder," and -his first thought was to hunt up Tom Randolph, and stand over him with -his riding-whip until he had seen him write to the Governor asking for -that long delayed commission. Tom had often promised to do it, but he -never had, and now Lambert was likely to see trouble on account of his -negligence. - -"I am first leftenant of our company; my commission is all right, and -that settles that point," said he at length. "If the Yankee General -Butler brings his army from New Orleans to capture Mooreville he will -run against a snag, for he will find me and my men here to stop him. We -jined to guard our homes. That's why they call us Home Guards, and that -settles the other point you was speaking of. We aint got no pris'ners -to show, kase there aint no Yankees come nigh us; but we are just as -much use here as we would be up there in Virginy." - -"We need every man we can get," replied Captain Roach. "Those who do -not come of their own free will must expect to be taken by force, -unless they can show that they are of use at home. You Mooreville Home -Guards have had the finest chance in the world to make a name for -yourselves. Why didn't you drive those gunboats away from Baton Rouge -long ago?" - -"Shucks!" exclaimed Lambert. "Why, man alive, they've got cannons on -'em." - -"What of it? Couldn't you hide behind the levee, where you would be -safe, and pick off every sailor who showed his head above decks? -Couldn't you keep those small boats from coming ashore and going back -loaded down with provisions? You have been giving aid and comfort to -the enemy by permitting such things, and that's contrary to law. But I -must ride along, for I am on my way to visit Captain Randolph. I am not -sure that you are exempt simply because you are an officer in the State -militia, but will tell you the next time we meet." - -"You needn't mind looking it up, for I aint going, I tell you. But I'll -tell you one thing, and that aint two: if you take me you will have to -take Tom Randolph likewise. I'll raise a fuss if you don't." - -The two separated, and the enrolling officer kept on his way to the -home of Captain Randolph, who had somehow heard that he might look for -a distinguished visitor on this particular morning, and was thrown into -a state of great excitement by the unwelcome news. The presence of the -enrolling officer in town was all the evidence Tom needed to prove -that there was no immediate danger of an invasion by the Federals, so -he brought his uniform from its hiding place in the garret; and when -he had arrayed himself in it, and leaned his sword in one corner of -the gallery to show that he was prepared to answer when duty called, -he was ready for the visit—that is, as ready as he ever would be, for -he would not have seen Captain Roach at all if he could have thought -of any way to avoid it. Rumor said that the captain looked as though -he might have come out of some lady's bandbox, but all the same Tom -supposed him to be a Confederate veteran who had seen service on many -a hardly contested field, and who would overawe him with his profound -knowledge of military matters. Tom wished now that he had made a little -better fight with that gunboat, or that he had slipped into Baton Rouge -some dark night with a few picked men and pulled down the flag that the -Yankee sailors had hoisted over the arsenal. - -"Oh, what honors I might have gained for myself if I had only thought -of these things before," he said to his mother. He always went to her -with his troubles now, or when he stood in need of encouragement and -advice, his father having told him somewhat sharply that he had washed -his hands of the Home Guards and never wanted to hear of them again as -long as he lived. "But that is the way it is with me. My wit comes too -slow to be of any use." - -"I am very glad that you did not think of them before, you reckless -boy," replied Mrs. Randolph. "Your record is better than I wish it was, -for I am afraid it will take you into the army. What would you do if -this enrolling officer should decide to take the company just as it -stands, and swear you into the Confederate service?" - -"Cæsar's ghost!" cried Captain Tom, in great alarm. "If my record as a -loyal soldier leads him to do that, I shall be sorry I ever put on this -uniform. What could I do?" - -"Could you not follow the same course that Rodney Gray pursued, when -General Lacey came up from New Orleans to swear the Mooreville Rangers -into the Confederate Army?" inquired Mrs. Randolph. - -"Mother, if you were a man you would be a general yourself," exclaimed -Tom, his fears vanishing on the instant. "If a first duty sergeant can -back down a major-general, I reckon a captain in the State militia can -do the same for a Confederate captain." - -He spoke boldly enough, but when one of the house servants came in to -tell him that there was a strange soldier riding into the yard he felt -his courage oozing out at the ends of his fingers, and he would hardly -have dared to go to the door to meet his visitor if his mother had not -assured him that she would go also, and that she would remain close at -his side to support him during the dreaded interview. - -The enrolling officer did not look like a very stern soldier, she -told herself, when she saw him get off his horse and shake hands with -Tom, who had hastened down the steps to meet him; but then he was -backed up by the whole tremendous power of the Confederate Government, -and it was to her interest and Tom's to make a friend of him if she -could. Captain Roach was equally anxious to secure Tom's assistance -in the disagreeable and perhaps dangerous work he had to do, and the -consequence was it was no trouble at all for them to get acquainted, -or to come to an understanding with one another. After they had spent -a few minutes in talking over the situation, and the enrolling officer -had shown his written instructions, as well as a copy of the law by -which he was supposed to be governed, the latter said: - -"What surprises me very much is that there is not the first word said -about exemptions. Whether it was an oversight or not the fact remains -that, according to this law, every man between the specified ages must -be conscripted." - -"And that is perfectly right," said Captain Tom, making a hurried -mental list of certain persons in the neighborhood whom he would be -glad to see go first of all. "Everybody except our Home Guards." - -"No, sir," said Captain Roach in tones so decided that Tom's under jaw -began to drop down. "The law excepts nobody; but wait a minute. After -the regiments and companies that have gone to the front from this State -are filled up, the rest of the conscripts will remain at home as a -reserve to be drawn upon at intervals of not less than three months, so -that our organizations in the field can be kept always full. Now, why -can't you help me so as to keep your company of Home Guards together as -long as possible? If we work it right perhaps you will not be called -upon at all." - -"That's the idea!" exclaimed Tom, greatly relieved, while his mother -smiled her approval of the suggestion, and told Captain Roach on the -spot that she expected him to stay to dinner, and as long as he -remained in that part of the country to make himself as free in her -house as he would in his own. When she ceased speaking Tom continued: -"I am like Nathan Hale, who, when the British were about to hang him as -a spy, said he was sorry he had but one life to give to his country; -but for all that I should like to stay here until I have seen some of -our neighbors who have had so much to say against the South sent to the -front. But how shall I work it to keep my company together?" - -"By doing as you have suggested," replied the captain. "By first -sending away those who ought to be made to fight for the South, since -they have had so much to say against her and her cause. Perhaps by the -time they have been killed off our independence will be acknowledged; -and then we shall not need any more soldiers." - -"That's the idea!" said Tom again. "But how can the Home Guards help -you?" - -"By serving in place of the troops that I am authorized to call on -for assistance," answered Captain Roach. "There will be a camp of -instruction established somewhere in the vicinity very shortly, and it -will be my duty to forward my conscripts to that camp as fast as I can -get them together. Of course they will not go willingly——" - -"I understand," interrupted Captain Tom. "You want me to send some of -my men with them as guards." - -"Exactly. It will be a feather in your cap as well as in mine if we can -attend to the business without calling upon the government for aid. I -don't want to do that if I can avoid it, for every man we can raise is -needed at the front to resist McClellan's advance upon Richmond. We -must be alive, for there's going to be hot work up there." - -"I am with you; and I don't know of anything that would suit the Home -Guards better," replied Tom, glad of the opportunity to gain a little -cheap notoriety without putting himself in danger; and when Captain -Roach rode away from the house after dinner Tom accompanied him to his -office in Kimberly's store, and assisted in obtaining some poll-books -from which he could make out a list of the unhappy men who were -subject to military duty under the terms of the Conscription Act. - -Of course there were a goodly number of young fellows in the settlement -between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one whose names did not appear -on the poll-books, for they were not voters; but Tom had them in his -mind, and with his mother's aid and Lambert's he succeeded during the -following week in making out a complete list of them. At the head -of the list stood the name of Edward Griffin, Drummond's assistant -operator, who had warned Rodney Gray that he was to be arrested the -moment he left the boat at St. Louis; but Drummond's name did not -appear at all. - -"Griffin is a particular friend of one of my worst enemies," explained -Tom. "Not only is he strong for the Union, but he has had a good deal -to say about me and my company behind our backs, and I want you to -serve a notice on him the first thing you do. I wish they would make -haste and establish that camp of instruction, and when Griffin is sent -there I want to command the squad that goes with him. I wish, too, that -Rodney Gray was here to go with him." - -In the meantime events proved that the people of the South were not -as willing to submit to the despotic acts of their government as -they ought to have been, especially in Georgia and Arkansas, "where -it seemed that a conflict might arise between State and Confederate -authorities." Officers of the militia in the former State were arrested -by the enrolling officers, but the Governor demanded their release and -threatened to arrest the Confederates if they did not let his State -officers alone. The Richmond Government yielded the point, but said -to the Governor of Georgia, through the Secretary of War: "If you -arrest any of our enrolling officers in their attempts to get men to -fill up the Georgia regiments now in the face of the enemy, you will -cause great mischief. I think we may as well drive out our common -enemy before we make war upon each other." In Arkansas Governor Rector -threatened to secede from the Confederacy, and called for 4500 men -to defend the State, adding that "the troops raised under this call -are intended exclusively for home protection, and will not, under any -circumstances, be transferred to the Confederate service without their -consent." In short, the Confederacy was in a very bad way, and their -authorities knew it; for on the 21st of April the congress "adjourned -in such haste as to show that the members were anxious to provide for -their own personal safety." That was the time when a rebel newspaper -invented the word "skedaddle," and that was the time too when McClellan -could have taken Richmond; but he "wasted three full months, every day -of which was of vital moment to the Confederacy, in doing nothing," and -when at last he was ready to advance, he found himself confronted by an -army that was larger than his own. - -The murmurs of dissatisfaction that arose all over the South when that -sweeping Conscription Act was passed were not entirely lost upon the -Richmond government, and the next news that came to Mooreville was that -another act had been passed providing for exemptions. Rodney Gray's -father was one of the first to hear of it, and the next time he went to -Mooreville he stopped at the telegraph office and called Ned Griffin -to the door. The young fellow had been very much distressed ever since -he received notice from Captain Roach to hold himself in readiness to -march to the camp of instruction with the first squad of conscripts -that left town, and Tom Randolph had been mean enough to let him know -how his name happened to be first on the list. Griffin was the only -support of a widowed mother, and he knew that things would go hard -with her when the small sum he received for his work in the telegraph -office ceased to come into her hands every month. More than that, he -believed in the Union and the flag that waved over it, and did not want -to fight against his principles. When he came to the door in answer to -Mr. Gray's hail he looked as though he had lost the last friend he had -in the world. - -"I came here to cheer you up a bit by telling you that you need not -go into the army if you don't want to," was the way in which Rodney's -father announced the object of his visit. "The new law provides -for the exemption of one agriculturist on each farm, where there is -no white male adult not liable to military duty, employing fifteen -able-bodied negroes, on condition that the party exempted shall give -bond to deliver to the government, in the next twelve months, 100 -pounds of bacon or its equivalent in salt pork, and 100 pounds of beef -for each able-bodied slave employed on said farm." - -Young Griffin gasped for breath, but did not say a word in reply. He -did not smile either, as Mr. Gray did, for he failed to see how that -new law could affect him. - -"Now, I happen to have such a farm up the river road," continued the -planter. "There's no one on it but a driver to look out for things, and -if you have a mind to go up and take charge of it I shall be glad to -have you. And I think I can put you in the way of earning more money -than you do now." - -"But, Mr. Gray, I am not an overseer," stammered Griffin, who wished -from the bottom of his heart that he had chosen that humble but useful -vocation instead of telegraphy. "I don't know the first thing about -farming." - -"Well, you can't learn younger, can you?" - -"No, sir. But I—you see—the fact of the matter is, where are the -bacon and beef to come from? If they were selling at a dollar a ton I -couldn't buy a hundred pounds." - -"You have a whole year in which to pay it," replied Mr. Gray. "But I -don't believe in going in debt, and perhaps we can scare up cattle and -hogs enough on the farm to fill the bill; and I shall depend on you to -raise others to replace them. I think you had better go. You can take -your mother along to keep house for you, and I don't see why you can't -live as well there on the farm as you do here in town. Tell Drummond to -come out here a moment." - -"Mr. Gray," said Griffin, with tears of gratitude in his eyes, "I wish -you would ride around to our house and let mother thank you for your -kindness. I don't know how." - -"I will save her and you the trouble," said the planter, bending -down from his saddle and speaking in tones so low that none of the -passers-by could hear his words. "Who was it that kept Rodney from -falling into the clutches of that Yankee cotton factor in St. Louis? -Tell Drummond to come here." - -Drummond came, and Griffin afterward said that he never saw so mad a -man as his chief was when the planter explained matters to him in a -few brief but emphatic words. The operator had nothing against Griffin -personally, but Tom Randolph had, and as Tom had been friendly enough -to keep his name off the enrolling list, Drummond felt in duty bound to -make common cause with him. - -"Mr. Gray, I am afraid it won't work," said he. "Griffin was -conscripted before that exemption law was passed." - -"I am prepared to take the risk," was the quiet rejoinder. "In case -objections are made we shall insist on having the first conscripts -selected from the poll-books instead of from a private list; and if any -objections are made to that we will report the matter at headquarters. -Your name comes pretty close to the top of the list, Mr. Drummond." - -The operator was frightened and saw plainly that it would not be a -safe piece of business to make an enemy of Mr. Gray; he knew too much. -Besides, he was one of the richest planters in the State, and such men -always exerted a good deal of influence when they set about it. - -"Of course, sir, I hope it will work," Drummond hastened to say, "for -I don't want to see anybody forced into the army. I only said I was -afraid it wouldn't." - -"I understand. Ned, you might as well start now as any time. Go and say -good-by to your mother, and hurry up to my house. I will be there in -a couple of hours, and after we have had a snack we'll ride up to the -farm." - -From the telegraph office Mr. Gray went to Kimberly's store, where he -created another commotion. Tom Randolph was there, and so were some of -the Home Guards, who had of late taken to spending all their waking -hours at the enrolling office. Captain Tom would have protested loudly -if his amazement and chagrin had permitted him to speak at all, but -Captain Roach had no objections to offer when Mr. Gray told him that he -would have to find someone to take Griffin's place in the first squad -of conscripts that was sent to the camp of instruction, for Griffin -himself was exempt under the law, or would be as soon as he had taken -his new position. - -"I am surprised at you," exclaimed Tom when Mr. Gray had mounted his -horse and galloped away. "You mustn't let that man Griffin off; you -can't. Haven't I told you that he is Union?" - -"I have my own interests to look out for," replied Captain Roach rather -sharply, "and consequently I cannot afford to get into trouble with -such a man as Mr. Gray. He didn't say much, nor did he bluster at all; -but I knew by the glint in his eye that there was a whole battery of -big guns behind the little he did say, and that he was ready to turn -them loose on me if I said an ugly word to him. We haven't been playing -square since this thing began, and he knows it; and if he should -insist on having a new deal from the poll-books, with your list of -names thrown out, where would your friend Drummond be? Where would you -be, seeing that even Home Guards are not exempt?" - -"I just don't care; and that's all there is about it," whined Tom, who -was mad enough to cry if he had been alone. "They ought to be exempt, -and I don't see why those Richmond fellows left them out." - -"That's neither here nor there. They left them out; but in working to -keep you with me I have practically exempted you, and that is something -I had no business to do. I can't imagine where Mr. Gray got his -information, but he understands all this, and if he should report me to -the Governor I'd have to join some regiment in the field; and that's a -place I want to keep away from as bad as you do." - -"Well, I must say that things have come to a pretty pass when a man -can say who shall go into the army and who shall not, just because he -happens to have a little money," declared Tom spitefully. - -"That's the way the thing stands, and if you want to stay at home you -and your men had better be doing something." - -These chance words, which really did not mean anything, set some of the -Home Guards to thinking. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -LIEUTENANT LAMBERT'S CAMPAIGN. - - -Of course the principal topic of conversation at the enrolling office -during the rest of the day was Mr. Gray's unexpected interference in -behalf of Ned Griffin, the conscript. It frightened Captain Roach, -enraged and disgusted Tom Randolph, and put Lieutenant Lambert into a -very anxious frame of mind. The latter was obliged to confess that his -chances for keeping out of the army were very slim indeed. - -"That's the way the thing stands, and if you want to stay at home you -and your men had better be doing something," he kept saying to himself -as he galloped along the dusty road on his way home. It was easy enough -for Captain Roach to talk, but what was there that the Home Guards -could do to distinguish themselves, seeing that the Federal troops were -so secure in their position at New Orleans that the whole Confederate -Army could not drive them out, and that the gunboats in the river in -front of Baton Rouge could not be whipped by men who were armed only -with squirrel rifles and shot guns? Lambert had been turning the matter -over in his mind ever since Mr. Gray left the enrolling office in the -morning, and now he did something which he had declared he never would -do as long as he lived. He went out of his way to ask the advice of a -Confederate veteran who had just returned from the Army of the Centre -disabled by wounds received in battle. - -There were several of these crippled veterans in the neighborhood, -and they had been so many thorns in Tom Randolph's side ever since -they first began straggling home from the front. To begin with, they -turned up their noses at the Home Guards, and made all manner of sport -of their finely uniformed captain when they saw him riding along the -road slyly pricking his horse with his spurs to make the animal prance -and go sideways, as an officer's horse ought to do. They laughed, too, -when they heard the Home Guards tell of their fight with that gunboat, -and some of them went so far as to declare that, disabled as they -were and half dead with camp fever besides, they could arm themselves -with corn-stalks and drive Tom Randolph and his warriors into the -Mississippi River. - -In the next place, almost all these veterans had brought home with -them a goodly supply of Yankee relics and trophies in the shape of -uniform coats, pants, caps, and overcoats that had been picked up on -the field, and which, for some reason or other, they seemed anxious -to get off their hands. So they offered them to the Home Guards in -exchange for citizens' clothing of equal or less value, and the latter -were always found willing to trade. Captain Tom was disgusted and angry -when first one man and then another appeared at the enrolling office -clad in some portion of a shabby uniform that had once belonged to a -Federal trooper or infantry-man, and ordered the wearers to clear out -and never come there again unless they could come properly dressed; but -the Home Guards paid no sort of attention to him. They were soldiers, -they said, and since their own government did not think enough of -them to provide them with uniforms they felt at liberty to obtain them -where they could. Besides, their new clothes, even though they were -well worn and had once belonged to Lincoln's hirelings, were warm and -comfortable, and the blue overcoats would keep out next winter's cold -as effectually as gray ones. Much against his will Tom finally appealed -to the enrolling officer; but the latter could not help him, for he had -no authority over the Home Guards. - -"But you might threaten to conscript them if they don't obey my -orders," suggested Tom. - -"I shouldn't like to do it for a little thing like that," replied -Captain Roach. "They've got the uniforms, and I don't see how you are -going to keep them from wearing them. What difference does it make, -anyway? You don't have to go on dress parade." - -"No matter for that," replied Tom. "I didn't enter the service to -command a lot of Yankees, and I won't do it. Suppose a general officer -should happen along and order them out for drill and inspection! I'd -feel so ashamed of myself that I know I should take to my heels." - -"Make your mind easy on that score," was the captain's answer. "If you -don't take to your heels until that happens you will never run. Judging -from what I have learned since I have been here, the government cares -no more for companies of this kind than it does for so many wild hogs -in the woods. If it were not for you and your mother I would conscript -the last one of them." - -"But what do you suppose makes the returned veterans so anxious to get -rid of these Yankee uniforms and things?" continued Tom. "It looks to -me as though there might be something back of it." - -"That's the way it looks to me, too," replied Captain Roach. "They -don't want to have a Yankee scouting party ride up on them suddenly and -say: 'Look here, Johnny; have you been robbing some wounded or captive -Yank? If not, where did you get those blue clothes?'" - -"But the Yankees are not here," cried Tom. - -"I know they are not here now, but they're coming; and if they keep -on besting us at every point, as they are doing at this minute, they -will be here before long, too. You needn't think that Farragut is going -to remain idle down the river, or that Flag-Officer Davis is going to -keep on doing nothing up the river while we are fortifying Vicksburg. -There's going to be fun here one of these days." - -And sure enough there was. It came much sooner than Captain Roach -had any reason to think it would, and Lieutenant Lambert of the Home -Guards, whom we saw on his way to ask advice of a Confederate veteran, -was the man who did the most to help it along. He found the soldier -of whom he was in search at his home. He was sitting on the gallery -enjoying his after supper smoke; but when he saw the Home Guard alight -at his gate he staggered to his feet, laid hold of the crutch that -leaned against the house behind his chair, and said, in mock alarm: - -"The man you want to see don't live here no more. He done moved outen -the country two year ago come next July. Clear yourself. I'm that -skeared of gray-back soldiers that I can't sleep none fur a week after -seein' one of 'em." - -"Aw! Quit your nonsense," growled Lambert, "or, by gum! I'll come there -and lick ye even if you aint got but one leg to defend yourself with." -He hitched his horse at the fence, shook hands with the veteran, then -seated himself on the porch close by his chair and continued: "Me and -you have always been the best kind of friends, Abner, and I don't want -you to sniff at me just kase you've been shot by the Yankees and I -aint." - -"I won't, Sile; I won't never do the like no more. But a Home Guard! -And lickin' a gunboat that's got 'leven inches of iron on her sides and -four foot of solid oak back of that, with nothing in the wide world -but popguns!" said the veteran, taking his pipe from his mouth to -indulge in a hearty peal of laughter. "_And_ Tom Randolph fur a cap'n. -That there is a leetle the worst I ever heard of. Hey-youp! Steady on -the left centre!" he yelled, dropping his crutch upon the gallery and -grasping with both hands the stump of his leg, which he had wrenched -a little too severely during his paroxysms of merriment. "I almost -disremembered that I aint got only part of a leg on this side. I left -the rest up to Shiloh. I'm glad to see you again, Sile; I am so. But I -would be a heap gladder if me and you had chawed hard-tack and fit the -Yanks together. Then you wouldn't be no such triflin' thing as a Home -Guard." - -"But I don't want to fight no Yanks," said Lambert truthfully. - -"Don't you want to fight no Yanks? Well, I don't know's I'm blamin' you -fur that. They aint by no means the easy fellers to lick that we uns -thought they was goin' to be, and when they set up that yell of theirn -to let we uns know they was comin' fur us—I tell you, Sile, my hair -always riz when I heard that yell, and I wisht I was to home grabblin' -fur taters." - -"Then what makes you poke fun at me fur?" demanded Lambert. "I am to -home now and I want to stay; but Cap'n Roach he allows that if we uns -don't do something pretty sudden we're liable to be conscripted." - -"Like enough. Then why don't you uns do something?" - -"That's what I come here to see you about. What is they, I'd like to -know, that we can do? If the Yanks would only come where we be [you -will notice that Lambert did not say "Yankees" any more. He copied the -veteran and used the shorter word], we uns could show the folks about -here that we Home Guards aint by no means the useless truck they take -us to be; but we can't go all the way to New Orleans fur the sake of -fightin' 'em." - -"You uns will see Yanks enough if you stay right where you be," said -the veteran, with another laugh. "I aint spilin' fur a sight at any -more of 'em, but all the same I look to see them ridin' right along -this road while I am settin' on my gallery watchin' of 'em. They aint -come this clost to Mooreville to go away without seein' it. They're -hoppin' us right along, and we had oughter be whopped." - -"Now, just listen at you!" said Lambert reproachfully. - -"I'm only tellin' you what I know," said the veteran in earnest -tones. "Look at the way they're doin'! When the law was passed that -everybody must be conscripted, why didn't they go to work and conscript -everybody? Why didn't they put the old soldiers ahead and shove the -Johnny Raws into the ranks? Steader that they let the old soldiers -stay in the ranks, and put over them fur officers a lot of new chaps -who couldn't a'told a Yank from a ground-hog if they had seed the two -standin' in one place. We uns aint a goin' to whop nobody with a lot of -greenhorns to command us, and although I aint by no means glad to go -hobblin' through the world on one leg, I am mighty glad of an excuse to -get outen the army. Now, there's that there Rodney Gray." - -"By gum! I wish he was here to be conscripted," exclaimed Lambert. - -The veteran took his pipe from his mouth, blew a cloud of smoke into -the air, and looked at his companion with an expression on his face -which seemed to say that he did not know whether to laugh or get angry. -But finally he concluded to laugh, and he did so most uproariously, -rolling about on his chair as if he were in danger of falling out of -it, but all the while taking good care not to give his wounded leg -another wrench. - -"Why, man, he's a soldier, Rodney is," he said as soon as he could -speak, "and a mighty good one, too. He's been in more battles than me, -and that's useless. He fit all through Missoury with Daddy Price, and -then they brung him over to the Army of the Centre, and that's where -I seen him. They wanted to make a big officer of him, but Rodney he -wouldn't have it so, kase he's plum sick of the war, same as I be, and -allows to come home soon's his extry three months is out. You can't -tech Rodney Gray." - -"I know that well enough, but I wish we could. You see, Tom -Randolph——" - -"You needn't say no more," laughed the veteran. "Rodney got an office -in Cap'n Hubbard's Rangers and Tom didn't, and Tom is mad about it and -wants to spite Rodney in some way. But he can't do it, and if he tries -it ole man Gray will make him wish he hadn't." - -"And ole man Gray is another chap I'd like mighty well to see sent to -the front," exclaimed Lambert angrily; "but we can't touch him neither. -He showed his hand when he come into the office this morning and told -Roach that he'd have to let that Griffin boy go free, kase he allowed -to buy him off with bacon and beef; and Roach was that skeared that he -dassent open his mouth." - -"What was he skeared of?" - -"That ole man Gray would report him fur leavin' the names of Tom -Randolph's friends off'n the conscript list, when he had oughter put -them on like he found them in the poll-books." - -"Like enough," replied Abner. "And then you and Tom Randolph and all -the rest of the Home Guards would have stood as fine a chance of goin' -to the front as Ned Griffin. It would serve you just right fur trainin' -under such a no account cap'n as you have got. Why don't you cut loose -from him and do something on your own hook? That would be me if I was -you." - -"'Taint safe," replied Lambert, who had not yet forgotten that he -brought himself into trouble the last time he tried to do something on -his own hook. "Somehow our folks have got to be mighty tender of the -Union men about here and don't like to have them pestered." - -"You let your Union neighbors alone and pester them that's got we'pons -into their hands," said the veteran indignantly. "You uns aint got no -call to fight them that can't fight back; but there's them gunboats -down to the river." - -"Well, what of 'em?" demanded Lambert, trembling at the bare thought of -again venturing within gunshot of one of those black monsters. "They've -got cannons on 'em, and they shoot balls bigger'n your head. Don't I -know? Aint I been in a fight with one of 'em?" - -"Shucks!" sneered Abner. "You stand about as much chance of bein' hit -by one of them big balls as you do of bein' struck by lightnin'. I have -seed me on the skirmish line lyin' fur hours behind a stump that wasn't -no bigger'n a plug hat, while shell and solid shot was tearin' up the -ground all around me. They don't do damage once a week less'n they're -drapped into a line of battle or into a fort that is packed full of men." - -"But how can we lick 'leven inches of iron and four foot of solid oak?" -protested Lambert. - -"Shucks!" exclaimed the veteran. "I aint talkin' about lickin' on 'em. -I'm talkin' about pesterin' of 'em—drivin' their row-boats back when -they start to come to the shore, and pickin' off the officers as fast -as they come outen their holes in the cabin. You uns could lay behind -the levee and do that, and be as safe as you be to home; kase the -shells they would send at you would all fly over your heads, and when -they bu'st they would be a mile to your rear." - -The lieutenant of the Home Guards was overjoyed to hear these -encouraging words fall from the lips of a man who had faced the Yankees -in battle and knew what he was talking about. He had given his friend -Abner to understand that he was one of the few who followed Captain -Tom when the latter rode out with a handful of brave men to see if -the Union Army was advancing upon Mooreville from Baton Rouge, but -there was not a word of truth in his story. He was one of the majority -who excused themselves and stayed behind, and all he knew about that -desperate fight with the gunboat and the concealed battery that opened -on the rear of the Home Guards was what his comrades told him. The -veteran did not seem to think that the big guns on the war vessels were -so very dangerous, and Lambert began to pluck up courage. - -"'Pears to me that Cap'n Roach said something like that the first time -I talked with him," said the latter. - -"Like enough; and if he did you can bet that that is what he would do -if he had as many Home Guards under his command as you have got. I -can't fur the life of me see what makes them Baton Rouge folks so very -friendly with the Yanks, anyhow. They take 'em into their houses and -visit with 'em, and feed 'em, dog-gone it all, and I say such doings -aint right. If ole Daddy Bragg was here fur about five minutes he'd put -a stop to all that friendship business, I bet you, and like as not -he'd have some of you Home Guards shot fur lettin' it go on as long as -it has. Anyway, he'd kick Tom Randolph into the ranks and put a soldier -in his place. That's the way they do things up in the Army of the -Centre." - -The result of this interview was that when Lieutenant Lambert took -leave of the veteran and rode home to a late supper he was fully -satisfied in his own mind that Tom Randolph was totally unfit for the -responsible position he held, that the Home Guards, who under proper -leadership might have made themselves known throughout the length and -breadth of the Confederacy, had been kept in check too long already, -and that he (Lambert), being second in command of the company, had -a perfect right to take matters into his own hands without saying a -word to anybody about it. But it was a somewhat delicate task, he told -himself. Although Lambert looked upon the friendly relations existing -between the crews of the Union war vessels and the Baton Rouge people -as a burning disgrace, he did not relish the idea of trying to bring -them to an end, for the citizens might not like it, and, worse than -that, they might make him trouble on account of it; but something must -be done or he would be compelled to go into the army, seeing that -he had no rich and influential friend like Mr. Gray to purchase his -release with bacon and beef. So Lambert's mind was made up, and before -he reached home his campaign was fully planned. - -"I'll raise a big squad and start for the city to-morrow night," he -soliloquized, flourishing his riding-switch in the air to give emphasis -to his thoughts. "And if I once gain a footing behind the levee I'll -put a stop to that friendship business, I bet you. I'll give the -folks to understand that we uns don't like the way they're giving aid -and comfort to the enemies of their country, and make them Yankee -gun-boatmen stay on board their ships where they belong. I'll take -pains, too, to see that the Gov'nor hears of it, and perhaps he'll -say that I had ought to be cap'n of the Home Guards in place of Tom -Randolph." - -That was an encouraging thought, and the longer Lambert dwelt upon -it the more excited he became. He did not sleep much that night, -and after an early breakfast mounted his horse and rode through the -country to muster his men; but as fast as he found them and unfolded -to them the details of his campaign he was met by the same excuses and -refusals that Tom Randolph had vainly tried to combat. The fighting -member of the company, the one who was always eager to shoot or hang -the defenceless Union men he assisted in robbing, was feeling so very -poorly on this particular morning that he was thinking strongly of -riding over to a neighbor's to see if he could not borrow a dose or -two of quinine; the second had promised to go to a log rolling; the -third had a lame horse and didn't rightly know where he could go to -get another; and not more than three or four out of the fifty men whom -Lambert summoned to follow him to Baton Rouge had the courage and -honesty to tell him that they did not like to do it. - -"I wouldn't mind hiding behind the levee and shooting a few Yankees," -said Lieutenant Moseley, "but they'll shoot back, and like as not -that'll make the Baton Rouge folks mad at us. Ask somebody else. You -can get all the men you want and I don't reckon I'll go." - -Whenever a Home Guard talked to him in this way Lambert always said in -reply: - -"Well, then, if you don't want to go and win a name fur yourself you -can stay to home till Roach gets ready to conscript you. If you were in -Kimberly's store yesterday you must have seen fur a fact that we uns -aint safe from going into the army just kase we happen to belong to the -Home Guards. Cap'n Roach he has said time and again that we was liable -to go if we didn't wake up and do something, and that if he had been -our commander he wouldn't have let them city people get on such amazing -good terms with the Yanks. Le's go down there and make 'em quit it -right now, and say nothing to nobody till the thing is done. Remember, -I don't ask every man, but only just them that we want to have stay in -the company. When we get back I'll give Cap'n Roach a list of them that -went with me, and if he wants to conscript the others—them that was -afraid to face the enemies of their country—and send them to the camp -of instruction, he can do it and welcome. Now, what do you say?" - -It was by the use of such arguments as these that Lieutenant Lambert -succeeded in inducing some of his particular friends to believe that it -might be policy for them to join his expedition, and that night they -secretly gathered at a designated place outside the town and started -for Baton Rouge. When they arrived within sight of the church spires -at daylight they did not attract attention to themselves by entering -the city in a body, for Lambert was afraid that some Union man or -converted rebel might suspect the object of their visit and interfere -with their designs by signalling to the fleet. They separated and went -in by different roads and in small parties, and came together again -in the neighborhood of the landing at which the boats from the fleet -always touched the shore, taking care to leave their horses behind some -warehouses out of sight. - -"Now be careful, everybody," commanded Lambert, placing a fresh cap on -his rifle and waving his hand toward the levee as a signal to his men -to advance and conceal themselves behind it. "We can't do 'em no damage -from here—it's too fur; so we must wait till some of their row-boats -come off." - -The Home Guards bent themselves almost double and stole across the -clear space that intervened between the warehouses and the levee; -and so cautious were they in their movements that the quartermasters -on watch on the decks of the different gunboats, who were constantly -sweeping the banks on both sides of the river with their long-distance -spyglasses, saw no signs of them, and so silent that when they crept -to the top of the levee on their hands and knees and looked over it, -the negroes gathered at the landing below did not know that there was -anyone near them. There were probably a dozen men, women, and children -in the group, and they were lying at their ease on the ground or -walking slowly back and forth; but all of them turned their gaze toward -the gunboats now and then, as if they were waiting for somebody to come -ashore. There were several covered baskets and pails near by, and the -sight of them was enough to enrage Lieutenant Lambert, who whispered to -the man who lay next him behind the levee: - -"Pass the word along the line fur everybody to keep under kiver. We've -ketched them niggers red-handed in the very act, fur there's grub in -them buckets and things; now you just watch and see if there aint." -Then he raised his voice a little and said to the nearest darkey: "What -you folks doing there? Who you looking fur?" - -"Waiting for Mr. Wilcox, sah," was the negro's prompt answer. He looked -up and saw two or three heads above the top of the levee, but thought -nothing of it. There were a good many whites in Baton Rouge who did not -dare show themselves as freely to the Yankee sailors as the people of -his own color did. - -"Who's Mr. Wilcox?" demanded Lambert. - -"He's de cater ob de steerage mess, sah; de man what buys de breakfus' -fur some of de officers on dat fust boat," was the reply; and although -Lambert did not understand the words any better than the negro did -himself, he gathered from them the idea that somebody on the gunboat -would come ashore for his breakfast very shortly, and that he and his -warriors had reached the levee just in the nick of time. - -This cheering intelligence was passed along the line in a whisper, and -the Home Guards pulled off their hats and were settling themselves -into comfortable positions behind the levee to await the coming of the -caterer's boat, when they were startled by hearing someone close beside -them say, in frightened and protesting tones: - -"Gentlemen, _gentlemen_, what are you going to do?" - -Lambert faced quickly around and saw a couple of citizens standing -at the base of the levee where they could observe all that was being -done by the Home Guards; but whether they had come upon his ambush by -accident or design the lieutenant did not know or care to ask. He saw -the necessity for prompt action. - -"Scrooch down right where you stand, so that the Yanks can't see you," -he commanded. - -"But what are you gentlemen going to do?" inquired one of the -citizens, both of whom obeyed Lambert's order and sank upon their -heels with alacrity when they saw the black muzzles of three or four -double-barrels swinging in their direction. - -"Well, if you can't see fur yourselves what we uns are going to do -I reckon I'll have to tell you," replied the lieutenant of the Home -Guards, turning part way around so that he could watch both negroes and -citizens at the same time, and see that no signals passed from them to -the fleet. "We're goin' to break up the visitin' and tradin' that's -been going on between this town and the Yanks till we are teetotally -sick and tired of it. The folks back in the country, who are all good -Confederits, don't like it; and me and my men have come in here to say -so in a way that both you and the Yanks will understand." - -"Merciful Heaven!" exclaimed the man, who seemed to be almost overcome -with astonishment and alarm. "You are not going to fire into those war -vessels?" - -"What's the reason I aint?" said Lambert coolly. "You just wait till -one of their row-boats starts to come ashore and I'll show you." - -"But consider for a moment——" began the citizen, his excitement -bringing him to his feet. - -"Down you go again," interrupted Lambert, drawing his cocked rifle -to his shoulder. "We uns have considered the whole business. We know -that we can't hurt 'leven inches of iron and four foot of solid oak -back of that with we'pons like these we've got, but we can make them -blue-jackets mighty jubersome about comin' ashore and being so very -friendly with you Baton Rouge folks; and that's what we allow to do." - -"In the name of God and humanity I protest against such an outrage!" -said one of the men, whose pale face and firmly set lips showed that -he would not have stopped with a mere protest if he had possessed the -power to do anything else. - -"You must not think of it, you madman!" cried the other. "Don't you -know that the boats will return your fire, and that they can knock our -town to pieces with a single broadside? There is no telling how many -innocent women and children will be killed or maimed through your act -of folly." - -"Well, then, why didn't you think of all them things before you made -friends with the enemies of your country?" answered Lambert. "But the -gunboats won't fire on women and children. Leastways they didn't in New -Orleans, and the folks in that burg were about as sassy as they could -well be." - -"If you are determined to carry your crazy scheme into execution, I beg -that you will give us a little time to remove our families to a place -of safety before you begin," said one of the citizens as he and his -companion arose to their feet and turned to go away. - -"Not much as anybody knows of, I won't," replied Lambert in savage -tones. - -"Just five minutes," pleaded the citizen. "Perhaps we can take our -wives and little ones into the cellar before you will find it necessary -to open fire." - -"Not one minute—not one second nor a half of one," snarled the -lieutenant, once more raising his weapon to his shoulder. "I aint -a-goin' to have you shakin' a handkercher at them boats to warn the -Yanks that there's something wrong here behind the levee. You just -squat down where you are till this thing is over, and then you can go -any place you please." - -"Watch out, Sile," said one of the Home Guards suddenly. "There comes -that feller after his grub." - -Lieutenant Lambert flopped over on his face as if he had been shot, and -saw a small boat, with four men at the oars and two officers sitting in -the stern-sheets, come into view from behind one of the war vessels and -turn toward the landing. - -The time for him to win a name for himself had arrived. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -HOW IT RESULTED. - - -"I wouldn't take ten gold dollars fur my chance of being made cap'n -of this company of Home Guards, who would have been conscripted to -the last man if it hadn't been fur me," thought Lieutenant Lambert -as he rolled over on his face and watched the cutter rounding the -stern of the nearest war vessel. "Look wild, there!" he whispered -almost fiercely to his men. "Be sure and hold your fire till they -come clost in to the shore so that every shot will tell. I don't want -to hear another word outen you two," he went on, addressing himself -to the citizens, who implored him to stop where he was and not bring -destruction upon their town and death to innocent people in it, as -he surely would do if he commanded his Home Guards to fire upon that -unarmed boat. "You're too big cowards to fight the enemy yourselves, -and so we uns had to come in here and do it fur you. Hold steady, -everybody!" - -Although Lambert's men were all hunters and good shots, they were not -disciplined soldiers, and that was all that saved the cutter's crew -from annihilation. They would have been steady enough if they had been -in the woods watching a runway for deer, but watching for Yankees was -a different matter altogether; and just as the Home Guards had pushed -their guns over the top of the levee, making use of every clod and -piece of driftwood and inequality of the ground that came handy for -a screen, and Lieutenant Lambert was cautiously lifting his head to -observe the progress the small boat was making toward the landing, a -deafening roar rang in his ear, and the man at his side sprang to his -feet, stood bewildered for a moment, and then dropped back to his place -again. In pushing his double-barrel over the levee with nervous hands -the valorous Home Guard had accidentally discharged the piece, and -the unexpected report frightened him and threw his comrades into some -confusion. For an instant or two a few of them looked and acted as -though they wanted to take to their heels; but the voice of Lieutenant -Lambert, who was the first to recover himself, checked them. - -"Shoot! Fire!" he yelled. "Massy knows 'twon't do no good, and that is -something we can thank you fur, Ike Spencer. A man that'll lay flat on -the ground and let his gun shoot itself off without orders can't be -conscripted any too quick to suit me, and I'll introjuce you to Cap'n -Roach soon's I get home. Fire, I tell you!" - -And the Home Guards fired—not all together like trained soldiers, but -one after another, just as it happened; but the distance was so great -and their aim so bad that not a man in the boat was injured. It stopped -instantly, however, and came no nearer the landing; and on being hailed -by the officer of the deck, it turned about and went back to the vessel -to which it belonged. Then came the very thing which the frightened -citizens had predicted and Lieutenant Lambert had scouted. - -No sooner had the small boat disappeared around the stern of the war -ship than a heavy cloud of smoke rolled over the dark, muddy surface of -the river, a cannon roared, and the embankment behind which Lieutenant -Lambert and his men were lying was jarred perceptibly, as if some heavy -body had been dashed with violent force against it. The instant's -profound silence that followed was broken, first by shouts and cries of -terror from the negroes on the bank, who scattered in all directions, -then by a muffled sound something like the puff of a tired locomotive -on an up grade, and Lambert's view of the river was shut off by a cloud -of dirt and smoke that was thrown high into the air by the explosion -of the shell that had buried itself in the ground at the base of the -levee. That was enough for the Home Guards, who could not stand so much -noise at such close quarters. They jumped to their feet, and fairly -tumbled over one another as they fled for safety behind the warehouses -where they had left their horses; but even here vengeance pursued -them, for the next shell that came from the war vessel crashed through -the walls of the nearest house, scattering bricks and mortar about -their ears, creating a panic among their untrained steeds, and finally -exploding in the edge of the woods half a mile away. - -"By gum, boys! Jump on and get outen here!" shouted Lambert, who wished -from the bottom of his heart that he could be the first to obey his own -order. "Beats the world how straight they can shoot with them big guns -of theirn. They'd win more turkeys at a shooting match than the best -man among us." - -For a few brief, perilous moments the terrified horses refused to -stand still long enough for their equally terrified owners to mount; -but when, after many fruitless efforts, the Home Guards succeeded in -placing themselves in their saddles, the stampede that followed was -something we cannot describe. They galloped frantically along the road -that ran behind the levee, through the streets of the town, which -were by this time filled with pale and excited citizens, who could -not imagine what the trouble was about, and did not know which way -to run for safety, and so out into the country, where the avenging -shells could not reach them. A Confederate veteran who was present -and witnessed the bombardment told the writer that the Home Guards -"deliberately rode into the midst of the fleeing inhabitants, selecting -groups of terrified women and children, into whom they galloped, -trampling many of them under the feet of their horses, trusting that -the humane and chivalrous blue-jackets, who had been so lenient with -the insulting rabble at New Orleans, would not follow them with their -fire." We believe this to be nothing but the truth; but whether it is -or not the fact remains that Lambert and his men kept to the crowded -streets as long as they could, and the bursting shells followed them -through every turn they made, but unfortunately without doing them the -least damage. Those who ought to have been severely punished got off -scot free, while the innocent inhabitants suffered in wounds and loss -of property, for their town was set on fire in half a dozen different -places. - -The Home Guards spread the utmost consternation among the farmers who -lived along the line of their hurried flight, and who ran out to -the road and vainly implored the frantic horsemen to draw rein long -enough to tell them what the firing was about, and if the Yankees were -coming at last to burn them out of house and home. But it was not until -the roar of the big guns ceased entirely, and the Home Guards were -satisfied that they had ridden beyond the reach of any stray shell -which might be sent after them, that those who were leading in the -retreat recovered their courage sufficiently to slacken their speed so -that their comrades in the rear could come up. Then they were willing -to talk to the planters along the road, but it is doubtful if they gave -them much reliable information. In response to one frightened citizen's -hurried inquiries, Lieutenant Lambert said: - -"We uns have been in just the worst fight we ever was in before in all -our born days, and if anybody but me had been in command the most of us -would have left our bones there behind the levee. It was awful to see -the way them Yanks fired into them women and children." - -"But what started the rucus in the first place?" asked the planter, -who, rebel that he was, could not believe that the blue-jackets had -turned demons all on a sudden. "What have you Mooreville ruffians, who -haven't any business in this part of the country anyway, been doing in -the city?" - -"You better ask what them Baton Rouge Yankees been doing?" retorted -Lambert hotly. "We're State troops, and we've got business in every -part of the country that we please to go; and when it pleases the Baton -Rouge people to start a nest of Yankee sympathizers in there, it's -our bounden duty to go in and break it up. And that's just what we -have done. We've drove the enemy away, and the Mississippi between New -Orleans and Memphis belongs to we uns once more. We'd a' whopped 'em -worse'n we did if it hadn't been for Ike Spencer, who let his gun shoot -itself off before the rest of us were ready. I reckon he feels kinder -sneakin' over it, fur I aint seen him since." - -"I should think you would all feel sneaking," answered the planter, as -he turned on his heel and moved away. "If you have kicked up a row on -the river I hope you will suffer for it. We've had peace and quiet in -this part of the country for a few weeks back, and now you have gone -and brought war and all its miseries on us again. The last one of you -ought to be hanged." - -Lieutenant Lambert and his Home Guards were amazed to find that this -angry citizen voiced the sentiments of all the people who lived on -the Mooreville road; and after a few more planters had talked to them -in this plain fashion their eyes were opened to the disagreeable fact -that they had damaged their own cause a great deal more than they had -hurt the enemy; and that if their friends and neighbors felt the same -way toward them the fire that had been poured into their ranks by the -gunboats was nothing to what they would have to stand when they reached -home. When they came to think it all over they were the maddest lot of -men that had ever been seen in that part of the country. They blamed -their lieutenant for being the cause of it, and swore at him so lustily -that he fell behind and rode alone, putting in his time by wishing -a good many heavy penalties to the address of his one-legged friend -Abner, who, after the experience he had had with Yankees, ought to have -known better than to advise him to "pester" the gunboats. All the Home -Guards rode slowly, so as to reach the outskirts of Mooreville a little -after nightfall, and then they separated and slunk away toward their -respective homes like school-boys who had been playing truant. But the -news had got ahead of them, and an indignation meeting was being held -in the dining room of the hotel. Some of the Mooreville people, Captain -Randolph among the number, had seen and talked with men who lived down -the river road and had heard the roar of the big guns, and mounted -messengers had been sent to the city to learn what the firing was -about. These men, who had fast horses and went across lots, rode all -the way at top speed, and to such good purpose that they returned to -Mooreville about two hours before the Home Guards came straggling in; -and the story they told to the crowd at the hotel raised such a storm -of indignation that for a while things looked serious. - -In the meantime, and to make matters worse, the news spread through -the country round about and armed planters came flocking in to lend -assistance in driving back the force that was supposed to be advancing -upon Mooreville; and the climax was reached when wagons began arriving -from the direction of the river, drawn by panting mules that had been -driven until they were almost exhausted, and loaded with the families -and household effects of the frightened owners who were fleeing before -the invading Federals. Of course the very meagre information these -people brought added to the excitement and alarm, for there were not -two among them who told the same story. They expected to find the town -deserted by its inhabitants, and were much surprised to discover that -it was not. - -"It's no use for you fellows to think of standing against them," -exclaimed one trembling driver, who carried in his hand a frayed ox-gad -which he had worn out over his mules' backs. "Butler is coming with -his whole army." - -"Did you see them?" inquired Mr. Gray, who had ridden in with Ned -Griffin for a companion. They were both armed, and although they did -not believe in shooting at those who carried the Old Flag, they were -ready to do what they could to protect their homes. - -"Yes, sir; I saw them," replied the man earnestly. "I hadn't left my -house a quarter of a mile behind before I discovered some of their -cavalry riding along one of my lanes. I suppose my house is in ashes by -this time." - -"Were they burning things as they came?" asked one of Mr. Gray's -neighbors. - -"There was the blackest smoke over toward the river that I ever saw -in my life," was the answer. "Baton Rouge is gone up. You'd better -leave while you can. You may save your lives, but you can't save your -property. Get along there, mule! Me and mine will take to the brush." - -Every story to which Mr. Gray and Ned Griffin listened was more -thrilling than the one that came before it. Among others they found a -man who lived in the outskirts of the city, and who, standing in his -back door, had seen a bench which supported twenty-five stands of bees -demolished by a shell from the gunboats. Still another had fled from -his house just in time to escape capture by Butler's advance infantry, -which was moving up the road in platoon front; and more than that, the -highway was blue with Federals as far as his eye could reach. Of course -such tales as these frightened some of the Mooreville people, but Mr. -Gray assured his young companion that he put very little reliance upon -them. - -"These folks are not responsible for what they tell us, because they -are scared out of their wits," was what he said to Ned Griffin more -than once. "What would the Federals gain by capturing or destroying two -little towns like Baton Rouge and Mooreville? If there was a fort or a -body of Confederate troops here I might put some faith in these rumors; -but now I don't. When our couriers return we shall have the straight of -the story, and not before. Have you seen anything of our Home Guards, -who ought to be mustering for our defence?" - -No, Ned hadn't seen them; and when he came to ride about the town and -make inquiries he could not find anybody else who had seen them. The -truth was they were too badly frightened to show themselves, for they -were afraid that they might be called upon to do something. Captain -Tom's uniform was in its old hiding place in the garret, and Tom -himself was stretched out on the lounge in his mother's room, eager for -news and dreading to hear it, but too ill to mount his horse and muster -his men for the defence of the town. - -At length two of the Mooreville messengers returned, and then the -citizens got "the straight of the story." When they learned that -General Butler's army had not moved out of New Orleans at all, that -not a Federal soldier had stepped upon the sacred soil of Louisiana -in the neighborhood of Baton Rouge during the whole of that day, and -that the city had been shelled and partially burned because Lieutenant -Lambert of Tom Randolph's Home Guards had tried to gain a little -cheap notoriety for himself by firing upon an unarmed boat—when the -citizens heard this their fear give way to the wildest rage; and if -they could have got their hands upon Lambert at that moment it is more -than probable that they would have handled him roughly. With one accord -the crowd surged up the steps that led to the hotel porch and through -the wide hall into the dining room, which was quickly filled with men -who had about made up their minds that the Home Guards had made them -trouble enough, and that it would be a good plan to get rid of them -without loss of time. - -"Of all the senseless acts I ever heard of this last one of Lambert's -is the beat," shouted an excited individual who had perched himself -upon one of the tables. "Those Baton Rouge people knew what they -wanted, and if it suited them to make friends with the Yankees and -trade with them we planters have no business to find any fault with -them for it. I would have done the same thing myself." - -"Oh, you traitor!" shouted a voice from the farther end of the dining -room. "Would you hold communication with the enemies of your flag?" - -"Yon shut up, Bill Cummings," retorted the speaker. "If I am a traitor -you're another. You've got a sack of Federal salt and some Federal tea -and coffee hidden in one of your corn cribs at this moment, and I can -prove it. You got them by trading a beef to one of the gunboats down -there at Baton Rouge, and you brought them home in your wagon at dead -of night, when you thought all your neighbors were fast asleep." - -This raised a shout of laughter at the expense of Bill Cummings, but -no one said a harsh word to him, for probably there were not a dozen -men in the room who would not have been glad to get some of that salt -and tea and coffee. Mr. Gray himself was standing in a pair of Federal -brogans, and the man next him wore a straw hat that looked exactly like -those that Uncle Sam issued to his sailors every month. - -"Now, then," continued the man who had taken possession of the table, -"I am in favor of taking that ruffian Lambert out of his bed, if he -has had time to get there, and giving him such a whipping that he won't -get over it as long as the war lasts." - -"Let's hang him and be done with him," cried another. - -"And while we are dealing with Lambert, don't let's forget Tom -Randolph," shouted a third. - -"Tom Randolph is in no way to blame for what happened at Baton Rouge," -said Mr. Gray, who was one of the few cool and reasonable men there -were in the crowd. "He has no more authority over the Home Guards than -I have." - -"Then I say let's lick him because he hasn't some authority over them -so that he can make them behave themselves. What did he organize the -company for, anyhow?" - -"That is what I should like to know. Now mark my words: there will be -a Yankee garrison in Baton Rouge in less than a week, and then our -trading will be up stump, for we can't go there any more." - -"That's so. What excuse has that man Lambert for living, I'd like to -know? Let's bu'st him and the Home Guards up right here and now." - -Uttering wild yells of approval, with which were mingled loud calls for -ropes and dire threats against the peace of mind and bodily comfort of -Captain Tom Randolph, the crowd made a rush for the door, and it was -several minutes before Mr. Gray and the cool-headed men who sided with -him could make themselves heard above the tumult. - -"Be reasonable, gentlemen," urged the former. "Don't let your -excitement lead you to do something you will be heartily ashamed of and -sorry for to-morrow. You cannot touch those men in the way you suggest, -especially Tom Randolph, who is a State officer. Whoop and yell about -it all you please," he continued, after the angry shouts of dissent -which these words called forth had subsided, "but it is a fact that -Tom holds a commission from the Governor, and if you put your hands on -him you will go to jail to pay for it. Confederate officers might deal -with him, though on that point I am not sure; but private citizens -certainly cannot." - -These warning words caused a dissension in the ranks of the would-be -lynchers at once, and the hubbub that arose all over the room, as well -as from the outside, where there was a respectable gathering that -had not been able to gain admittance to the dining hall, was almost -deafening. Mr. Gray looked troubled as he saw his angry neighbors -swaying back and forth and shaking their clenched hands in one -another's faces, and presently he stooped and whispered a few hasty -words to Ned Griffin, who, after a terrific struggle, managed to work -his way through the crowd to the nearest window, by which he made his -exit from the building. He was charged with an important duty, and he -was anxious to discharge it without loss of time; but the men on the -outside insisted on detaining him until he told what was going on in -the dining room. - -"Honor bright, there isn't anything going on in there that would -interest you or anybody else," declared Ned, who knew full well that it -would never do to say that there was some talk of lynching Lieutenant -Lambert and "bu'sting up" Tom Randolph. "Mr. Gray has been quoting some -law, that's all. Let me go, please. I want to tell Mrs. Gray that the -excitement is all over." - -The men released him and Ned made his way to the hitching rack where -he had left his horse, mounted, and galloped off. He made a great show -of riding down the road toward Mr. Gray's house, but as soon as he -thought he could do so without attracting attention he turned back, and -went at top speed toward the plantation on which Lieutenant Lambert -found employment as overseer. Paying no heed to the small army of dogs -that came out to dispute his advance he rode close to the door of the -overseer's house, there being no porch to bar his way, and tapped -lightly upon it with the handle of his riding-whip. If he had made a -good deal of noise it is probable that he would not have received any -response from the solitary occupant of the building, who was thoroughly -frightened at what he had done, but totally ignorant of the fact that -his life would be in danger if Mr. Gray and his friends failed in -their efforts to control the mob at the hotel. The cautious way in -which his visitor strove to attract his attention told him that there -was something afoot, and he thought it best to answer. - -"Who's there?" he demanded, his voice sounding as if it came from under -the bedclothes. - -"It's I—Ned Griffin," was the reply. "Come to the door so that I can -say a word to you without fear of being overheard, and be quick about -it. There's not an instant to lose." - -This startling announcement brought Lambert out of bed and to the door, -which he opened just wide enough to make sure that his visitor was Ned -Griffin, and nobody else; and then he opened it so that he could put -his head out and look up and down the lane that ran by the house to the -negro quarter. - -"I am alone," Ned assured him without waiting to be questioned, "and -I am here because Mr. Gray sent me. Do you know what you have done by -this day's work? You have destroyed a good portion of Baton Rouge and -got every white man in the settlement down on you." - -"I never——" began Lambert, who was profoundly astonished. - -"I am not here to argue the matter," interrupted Ned, "but to tell you -that there is a mob in the hotel who are talking strongly of laying -violent hands on you. They would have been here before this time if it -hadn't been for Mr. Gray and a few others who don't believe in such -things; but the gang was about equally divided when Mr. Gray sent me to -warn you, and you had better dig out. They are as likely to decide on -one thing as another, and you are not safe in this house." - -"Great smoke!" gasped Lambert when he began to comprehend the -situation. "Where shall I go?" - -"Get into your duds and draw a bee-line for the nearest patch of -timber. Mr. Gray may be able to hold the mob and he may not; so I say -again that you had better dig out." - -[Illustration: NED GRIFFIN WARNING LAMBERT.] - -"I never looked for you to be so good to me, Ned," faltered Lambert, -who seemed to be so dazed that he did not realize the necessity of -acting quickly. - -"Don't thank me; thank Mr. Gray," said Ned hastily. "If it had not been -for him I am afraid I should have left you to look out for yourself; -for I know how you and Tom Randolph have been working against me. But -you can't injure me now, and so I can afford to be magnanimous. Are you -going to clear out or not?" - -Yes, Lambert thought he had better take a friend's advice and seek -safety in flight while the way was open to him; and when Ned heard him -say that he wheeled his horse and set off post-haste to carry the same -warning and advice to another party whose name had that night been -rather unpleasantly mentioned in connection with a sound thrashing. -This one was Tom Randolph, who heard his ring at the door but lacked -the courage to answer it, for something told him that he would hear -disagreeable news if he did. Mr. Randolph answered the bell himself, -and the words he listened to almost drove him frantic. Ned did not tell -him that the mob had threatened to whip Tom, for, as he afterward -said, he couldn't get his consent to go as far as that; but he said -enough to put Mr. Randolph into a terrible state of mind. He stamped -his feet on the gallery, shook his fists over his head, and wished -from the bottom of his heart that every member of the Home Guards had -been sent to the front and killed off long ago, and then he went in to -tell his wife about it, and leave her to break the news to Tom in any -way she thought best. To say that the young man was utterly confounded -would be putting it very mildly. He was terribly frightened, of course, -and angry as well; but for some reason or other he did not seem to -stand so much in fear of personal violence as he did of losing his -commission. When his mother had repeated word for word the conversation -that took place between Ned Griffin and Mr. Randolph, and Tom had asked -a question or two, he jumped to his feet and charged about the room -like a caged wild animal. - -"There isn't a man in the world who has half the trouble I do," he -said, almost tearfully. "That idiot Lambert has broken up the company -as completely as though the Yankees had come in and captured every -member of it." - -"And think of the misery he has brought upon the Baton Rouge people," -suggested his mother. - -"I don't care a picayune for the Baton Rouge people," said Tom -in savage tones. "They ought to have known that they would bring -themselves into trouble by being so friendly with the Yankees; but -all the same Lambert showed himself a born fool when he fired on that -gunboat. I should be glad to see him and every man who went with him -conscripted and put where they would have to behave themselves, if I -could only get others to fill their places; but that is something I -can't do. And if I lose my men I shall have to throw up my commission -or go into the army. When I meet them at the enrolling office in the -morning I will talk to them in a way they will remember." - -But when morning dawned upon his sight after a restless and sleepless -night, the captain of the Home Guards had several other things -to occupy his mind. First came a committee of twelve stalwart men -appointed by the indignant citizens of Baton Rouge, who called at -Mr. Randolph's house to inquire what Tom meant by sending a gang of -ruffians to their peaceful city to bring destruction upon it, and death -and wounds to its quiet inhabitants, in that wanton, useless, and -outrageous manner. The scathing denunciation and threats that Captain -Tom was obliged to listen to before he and his mother could convince -the visitors that he was in no way to blame for it, that he did not -know the first thing about it until it was all over, and that the Home -Guards had acted on their own responsibility and without orders from -him, were things he never forgot; and the only way he could pacify -the committee, who seemed determined to have revenge upon somebody -before they left town, was by promising to turn his company over to the -conscripting officer as soon as he could get to his office. Tom knew -when he said it that his Home Guards would refuse to be disposed of -in that way, but he was so much afraid of the Baton Rouge men and so -anxious to see the last of them, that he would have promised more than -that for the sake of inducing them to leave the house. - -Although Tom did not know it until afterward, the committee took a -little responsibility from his shoulders by calling at Kimberly's store -before they went home and telling Captain Roach, in the hearing of some -of the Home Guards, that if he did not at once conscript every man -who was in any way concerned in Lambert's mad act they would petition -the Governor to remove him and put in his place an officer who would -attend to his business. And this threat of theirs was what brought some -of the Home Guards to Captain Tom's house, where we found them at the -beginning of the first chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -CAPTAIN ROACH LAYS DOWN THE LAW. - - -As soon as the Baton Rouge men with their lowering looks and big -revolvers were fairly out of sight of the house Captain Tom, feeling -much the worse for the exciting ordeal through which he had just -passed, went into his mother's room and flung himself down on the -lounge with the air of a man who had nothing in the world to live for. -There wasn't another captain in the Confederacy, he told himself, whose -ambition to do something great for his country had been balked and -defeated at every turn as his had been ever since he took command of -the Home Guards. In no single instance that he could think of had his -men conducted themselves as he thought they ought, or as he was sure -Captain Hubbard's Rangers would have conducted themselves if they had -been situated as the Home Guards were, and it was a sad disappointment -and trial to him. Already he repented of his rash promise to turn his -company over to the enrolling officer, for by such a proceeding he -would place himself right where he was before the Governor honored him -with his commission—that is to say, without any standing at all in the -community. Now he had influence and he was not ignorant of the fact. It -was very gratifying to his vanity to have men who were his superiors -in every point of view, who had seldom invited him to their houses or -treated him with anything more than ordinary civility—it was very -gratifying to have such men go out of their way to speak to him, and to -see them listen attentively while he discussed the issues of the hour, -and told how the war ought to be conducted on the Confederate side. The -most of these men in their hearts despised him, and Captain Tom knew -it; but they were aware that through his intimacy with Captain Roach he -was able to hasten or postpone their conscription, just as the humor -seized him, and for this reason thought it prudent to treat him with -some show of respect. But if he gave his company over to the enrolling -officer, or if Captain Roach were relieved and a new and stricter man -put in his place—— - -"Ow! _Ow!_" yelled the persecuted and furious captain of the Home -Guards when these dispiriting reflections passed through his mind; -and with the words he sprang from the lounge to the middle of the -room, where he swung his arms and danced about like one demented. "No -matter what I decide to do I am in a fix. But I'll never give up my -company—never in this world. I am the biggest toad in the puddle now -and I am going to stay that way, or else I'll go to Baton Rouge and -curry favor with the Yankees, as other good Confederates have done to -keep out of trouble. Jeff Davis can't reach inside their lines and -take me by the collar and drag me into his army. And as for Roach, if -he gets up on his dignity and says ugly things to me on account of -Lambert's foolishness, I'll let him know who he is talking to. I'll -report him myself for—for incompetency and general worthlessness. He's -about as fit to be an enrolling officer as Adam's off ox. At any rate -he shall never sit at my mother's table again, and he can bet on that." - -At this moment Mrs. Randolph, who had done so much to help Captain Tom -through his trying interview with the Baton Rouge committee, hastened -into the room looking very much excited and distressed. - -"My dear," said she nervously, "I am afraid we are going to have more -trouble. There is a score or more of Home Guards in the road coming -toward the house, and they are talking loudly and shaking their fists -at one another as if they are very angry." - -"I don't care if they are," shouted Captain Tom. "I am mad too, as I -have good reason to be. Stand by me and see how I will talk to them." - -Money would not have induced Captain Randolph to go out on the gallery -alone to meet his mutinous soldiers, and even with his fearless mother -at his side to support and encourage him he felt like running back into -the house when he saw them coming through the gate and heard their -loud, angry voices. Whether they intended to do him personal injury -Tom never knew for certain, though he afterward heard it hinted that -they did; but he was much gratified and relieved to observe that they -ceased all hostile demonstrations when they saw his mother standing -by his side on the gallery; and that emboldened him to go on with the -programme he had laid out for himself. - -"You are a pretty lot of soldiers—a very pretty lot indeed," was -the way in which he went at them. "I am heartily ashamed of you -and disgusted with myself to think I ever consented to act as your -commanding officer. Do you know that you have done us and our glorious -cause more injury than Farragut ever did? Men have been shot to death -in the Army of the Centre for doing less than you have done, and now -I am going to put you where you will be served in the same way the -first time you misbehave yourselves. I shall stand your foolishness no -longer. The field is the place for you, and there's where you are going -as soon as Captain Roach can send you." - -"Cap'n Roach can't send us there, nor you neither," shouted Lambert, -who of course was expected to act as spokesman for the Home Guards. -"We are swore into the service of the State, we are, and Confedrit -officers can't touch us. Didn't Bob Hubbard's Rangers——" - -"I can send you to the front to pay you for what you did yesterday, and -I will," interrupted Captain Tom. "There are no such useless things as -States troops any longer, and I am glad of it. Ask Captain Roach and -he will tell you that you are here only because I asked him to let you -stay, and that if the camp of instruction we are waiting for had been -established I could have sent you there any day I pleased. I have been -standing between you and him all along, and this is the way you repay -me, you ungrateful blackguards! I'll teach you to play the part of -fools without my orders." - -Lieutenant Lambert rubbed his hands nervously together, shaking his -head and swearing softly to himself the while, and fairly ached to make -a suitable rejoinder; but the presence of Tom's mother, of whom he had -always stood somewhat in awe, restrained him. - -"We uns thought you was dead set agin the Yankees, and that you would -be sorter glad to see them sailors made to stay on their boats," one of -the Home Guards ventured to say at length. - -"What business had you to think anything of the kind?" demanded Captain -Tom. "A soldier's whole duty is to obey. He is nothing but a machine -and his captain does his thinking for him. If I had wanted you to go to -the city and fire on those gunboats I should have led you there myself. -Lambert, you alone are to blame for this miserable state of affairs, -and I will tell you for your satisfaction that you have killed your -chances for a lieutenant's commission deader than a smelt. I'll never -recommend you to the Governor." - -"By gum! I won't stand no such talk as that!" yelled Lambert. - -He sprang into the air and knocked his heels together, dashed his hat -upon the ground and placed his foot upon the lower step, as if he were -about to rush up to the gallery where Tom was standing. The latter's -face grew as white as a sheet, but he could not think of yielding -ground to a mutinous subordinate while his mother was looking on. In an -instant the sword that hung at his side flashed from its scabbard. - -"I haven't drawn it without a cause," said he, shaking the weapon over -the railing almost in Lambert's face, "and I warn you that I shall not -sheathe it with dishonor. That is my motto, and I shall live up to it, -no matter what happens to me. Any more such actions on your part will -shut you up in the guard-house on a bread and water diet." - -It is not likely that the sight of Tom's sword or the threat which he -could not have carried out had any effect upon Lieutenant Lambert, -who was a noted rough and tumble fighter, but a glance at the face of -the resolute woman who stood quietly on the porch above cowed him at -once. Mrs. Randolph did not say a word, nor did she move an inch when -Lambert acted as though he was about to charge up the steps, but there -was something in her eye that brought the angry man to his senses. He -backed away from the steps, picked up his hat, and remarked that he -had always supposed a first lieutenant had a right to harass the enemy -in any way he could; but he was rebuked and silenced before he had -uttered half a dozen words because he forgot his manners and addressed -his commanding officer by his Christian name. - -Captain Tom was not slow to improve the advantage he had gained, and -the way he scolded, threatened, and even insulted the Home Guards would -have made a regular soldier open his eyes. He showed them that they -did wrong when they followed Lambert to Baton Rouge without orders -from their captain, and drew so harrowing a picture of the dangers and -privations of the army life to which they had doomed themselves by -their acts of disobedience and folly that he frightened the bravest of -them; and when he thought he had impressed them sufficiently he wound -up by declaring that nothing short of a solemn promise on their part -to do better in future would induce him to break the agreement he had -made with the Baton Rouge men. If they would take orders from him and -nobody else he would stand between them and all harm. - -"And mark my words, this is the very last warning I shall give you," -said Captain Tom in conclusion. "The last one of you ought to be -court-martialled and shot." - -To his great surprise and his mother's, Lieutenant Lambert stepped -forward, assumed the position of a soldier as near as he could get it, -touched his battered hat respectfully, and said: - -"We'll do it, cap'n, and there's my hand on to it, if Miss Randolph -will take it. From this time on you're boss and don't nary one of you -forget it." - -Lambert's object was to restore himself to the favor of Tom's mother; -and so he went on to declare, with some emphatic language to make it -more binding, that he spoke for the company and would take it upon -himself to see that the promise was kept. He was sure he had succeeded -in his object when Mrs. Randolph smiled and shook hands with him over -the railing, but all the same Lambert meant something very different -from what he said. Captain Tom made a life-long enemy when he drew -his sword on his second officer, and all the latter wanted was an -opportunity to show it. Tom then dismissed his men with the assurance -that he would do the best he could for them, and went into the house -congratulating himself on having won a complete victory. - -"I have had the narrowest escape of my life this morning," were the -first words he said to his mother. "The next time I come so near to -going into the army I shall go; and that will be the last you will -ever see of Tom Randolph. Didn't I bring Lambert to time when I drew -my sword on him? He's had an idea that he could run things to suit -himself, but I think I showed him his mistake. Of course it will not be -safe for me to go near Baton Rouge, for I believe the citizens would -mob me; but I can't be sent to a conscript camp so long as I have men -to command, and that is what I am figuring on now." - -Half an hour later, and before Captain Tom had finished telling his -mother and himself that he was well out of the scrape into which his -officious lieutenant had brought him, one of the Home Guards rode into -the yard with a note from Captain Roach, in which the latter requested -Tom to come to his office at once on business of the last importance. -The young man was frightened again; but the idea of talking over -matters with Captain Roach while his mother was not by to support him -was not to be entertained for a moment. He passed the note over to her -after he had read it, and said almost fiercely to the bearer: - -"Tell Captain Roach that he has forgotten himself—that I am his -senior; and if he is so anxious to see me he must come where I am. At -the present time I am not dancing attendance upon him or anybody else." - -"One moment, my dear," Mrs. Randolph interposed. "A written invitation -demands the courtesy of a written reply. Permit me to answer the -captain. I will show you the note before sending it away." - -His mother went into the house and Captain Tom said to the Home Guard, -who sat on his horse at the foot of the steps: - -"Have you any idea what Roach wants of me?" - -"I reckon it's something or 'nother about them men from Baton Rouge, -who acted like they wanted to bu'st things," replied the messenger. -"Looks to me like the cap'n feels sorter shook up over what they said -to him, and that he's got himself into some kind of a muss that nobody -but you can help him out of. He talks like he's going to send we uns to -camp. Can you shet him off on that, do you reckon?" - -"It depends entirely upon the way you Home Guards conduct yourselves -from this time on," answered Captain Tom impressively. "Roach would -have conscripted you long ago if I hadn't stood your friend, and he may -do it yet if you follow Lambert on any more of his crazy expeditions." - -"I didn't foller," said the man hastily, "and I don't want you to think -I did. I was to home all the blessed time. I aint caring to bother the -Yankees so long as they let me be. And Lambert, he won't go off that -away agin. He was purty bad skeared last night." - -"What at?" inquired Tom. - -"Why, don't you know? Some of our folks went down to the river -yesterday to see what all that shooting was about, and when they come -back and told what Lambert had been a-doing, ole man Gray and the rest -of 'em was that mad that they talked of hanging Lambert up to a tree -and licking you like you was a nigger." - -Captain Tom reeled as if the man had struck him with the handle of the -heavy riding whip he carried in his hand, and grasped at the veranda -railing for support. - -"I am telling you nothing but the gospel truth," continued the -messenger, not a little surprised at the effect his words had produced -upon his commanding officer, "and I thought you had had time to hear -all about it. They was a tol'able mad lot of men down to the hotel last -night, and when I seen 'em going on I was mighty glad I hadn't went -with Lambert and the rest." - -"Do you mean to say that old man Gray dared to talk of whipping _me_?" -exclaimed Tom, who could hardly believe his ears. "Wasn't it Lambert he -spoke of?" - -"No, it was you; and he wasn't the only one who spoke of it, nuther," -replied the Home Guard. "They was all mad, I tell you, and some of them -was for hanging Lambert." - -"I wish to goodness they had," said Captain Tom, speaking before he -thought. "That is to say, I wish they had done something to him before -he brought me into all this trouble. Was that what frightened him?" - -"You're mighty right, and he took to the bresh as soon as he got wind -of it. But he come out this morning and we all have promised to stand -by him. If they put a ugly hand on one of the company we uns allow to -burn them out." - -"That's the idea!" cried Tom, who never would have thought of such a -thing himself. "I see very plainly that we've got to do something to -protect ourselves. We are State troops, and if these cowardly citizens -drive us to it we will treat them as we would the armed enemies of our -country if we could only get at them. We'll begin on old man Gray and -never let up until we've destroyed everything he's got. No man who -dares to threaten me and those who serve under me shall hold up his -head as high—— Sh! Here comes my mother. Don't say a word in her -hearing, but tell Lambert I'll see him after a while and arrange a plan -of operations with him." - -Just then Mrs. Randolph came out on the porch with the note she had -written, and which she presented for Tom's approval. It was not written -in his name, but in her own. She said she regretted that her son did -not feel able to accept the captain's kind invitation, owing to the -excitement and distress of mind into which he had been thrown by the -unfortunate occurrences of the last few hours, but if Captain Roach -would honor her by coming up to dinner at the usual hour she hoped he -would find Captain Randolph so far recovered that he would be able to -talk over with him the very important business to which Captain Roach -had referred in his note. - -The result of this piece of strategy was that an open rupture between -Captain Tom and the conscript officer was avoided; and when the -latter, who had been so frightened and angered by the threats of the -Baton Rouge committee that he was several times on the point of doing -something desperate, came up to dinner "at the usual hour," he was -the same pleasant and agreeable fellow he had always been. But he -found Captain Tom lying on the sofa in dressing-gown and slippers, and -looking the picture of misery. Before he advanced to take the limp palm -that Tom languidly extended he stopped in the middle of the room and -asked if someone had been laying violent hands upon him. To be candid -he thought it would be a good thing for Tom if the citizens would shake -him up a little. - -"No, sir," was the very dignified reply. "Physical pain would not do a -Randolph up in this way. It is purely mental anguish; and my honor has -been touched. I little thought that I should ever permit living men to -talk as those Baton Rouge ruffians talked to me this morning without -promptly calling them to account for it. But my Home Guards were -clearly in the wrong when they fired upon that boat without my orders, -so what could I say or do?" - -Captain Roach, who had had plenty of time to cool off and recover his -courage since he wrote that note, smiled pleasantly, gave Tom's hand a -cordial shake, pulled up a chair, and said that the committee had been -quite as savage with himself as they had been with his friend Tom, and -that he had thought it the part of wisdom to comply with their demands -when he saw that they carried revolvers in their coat-pockets, and were -in just the right mood to use them. He said that he had conscripted all -the Home Guards except Tom, as he had agreed to do, because he did not -see how he could help himself. It would be very little trouble for the -Baton Rouge people, with the aid of Rodney Gray's father and a score of -others whose names the captain could mention, to keep watch of the way -things were done at the enrolling office, and if he failed to keep his -promise they would be sure to find it out; but he had conscripted the -Home Guards conditionally. If they would behave themselves in future -and take orders from their captain instead of their first lieutenant -he would not send them to camp until the last minute, and not at all if -he could help it; but the first man who kicked out of the traces would -be the first to be sent to the front. Lambert and the rest understood -this perfectly, and had agreed to be bound by his decision. - -"That's the idea!" cried Captain Tom, delighted to learn that at last -he had his refractory men right where he wanted them. "That's the way -to bring mutineers to time. There will be no more trouble of this kind, -I assure you, for I talked to some of my troops very plainly this -morning, and made Lambert knuckle in a way that would have surprised -you if you could have seen it. Of course I shall have to steer clear -of Baton Rouge, but I don't care much for that; although I confess it -nettles me to feel that I cannot go and come when I please, as I have -always been in the habit of doing." - -Mrs. Randolph remained in the room long enough to assure herself that -the relations existing between Captain Roach and her son had not been -strained by the events of the morning, and then, bestowing an approving -smile upon each, she arose and went out; whereupon Captain Tom got upon -his feet and carefully closed the door behind her. - -"Say!" he whispered when he came back and resumed his position on the -sofa, "did you know that the town was in possession of a mob last -night, and that some Yankee sympathizers among them had the impudence -to threaten me and my man Lambert?" - -"I know all about it," replied Captain Roach, an expression of anxiety -settling on his face. "But they were not Yankee sympathizers, for men -of that stamp would not dare open their heads in this community. They -were as good Confederates as you or I." - -"Don't you believe any such stuff," exclaimed Tom. "There isn't a word -of truth in it. I know that Rodney Gray is a lowdown private in our -army (he isn't considered worthy of a commission), but his father's -loyalty has always been suspected, and last night he proposed that his -gang of blackguards should whip me and hang Lambert. Now I tell you -that a man who talks that way about me——" - -"Somebody has told you what isn't so," interrupted Captain Roach. "Such -a proposition was made last night, but Mr. Gray would not hear to it. -He and a few others talked it down on the spot." - -"Well, it's a good thing for old Gray that he did, and if he knows when -he is watching his own interests he will take pains to keep it talked -down," said Captain Tom fiercely. "I was ready for him, and if you -hadn't told me what you have he would have lost some of his buildings -this very night." - -The enrolling officer had seldom been so surprised and startled. He -looked fixedly at Tom to see if he was in earnest, and then cried out -in alarm: - -"Do you know what you are saying? Are you crazy?" - -"I know what I am saying and I am not crazy," was Tom's answer. "I have -been threatened with a nigger's punishment, and I never will rest easy -until the man who proposed the thing suffers for it." - -"But you don't know who proposed it and neither do I." - -"No matter. I'll make it my business to find out." - -"And if you succeed are you going to burn some buildings?" - -"I am, most decidedly." - -"You have fully made up your mind to that, have you?" - -"I have." - -"Please present my compliments to your mother when she returns, and -say to her that I could not stop to dinner," exclaimed Captain Roach, -rising to his feet and reaching for his cap. - -"What is the matter with you? Where are you going in such a hurry?" Tom -almost gasped. - -"I am going to my office, and the first hard work I shall do after I -get there will be to put it out of your power to ruin yourself and your -father and mother, as you seem bent on doing," answered the captain; -and there was a look of quiet determination on his face that Tom had -never seen there before. "Of course you do not intend to do this -incendiary work alone (you haven't got pluck enough for that," the -captain added to himself), "so I shall make all haste to send your men -into the army where they can't help you. They will be the death of you -if I don't." - -"And must I let a man talk about whipping me as if I were a nigger and -never do or say the first thing about it?" cried Tom, throwing himself -back upon the pillow and covering his face with his hands. "I am not -made of that sort of stuff, and I did not think a Confederate officer -would advise me to such a cowardly course." - -"What would you call a thing in the shape of a man who would sneak up -on another's property, in the dead of night when there was no one to -oppose him, and touch a match to it?" exclaimed Captain Roach hotly. -"Would you call him a coward or not?" - -"I don't care," whined Tom. "I am bound to have revenge on the man who -dared to say that I ought to be whipped, and I won't give up my plan." - -"You'll have to take the consequences; and if you don't promise right -here and now that you will be governed by me in future, I will go out -of this house and never enter it again; and you know well enough what -that means. I am not going to let you send me to the army in disgrace -if I can help it." - -"Sit down a minute," said Tom, seeing that the captain stood ready to -carry out his threat to leave the house. "I don't see how the burning -of a cotton-gin or two will disgrace you or anybody else." - -"Yes, you do; for I have explained it to you more than a hundred -times. Mr. Gray and some others are almost ready to report me now for -my failure to make you and your worthless men take your chances with -the other conscripts, and the minute somebody begins to lose property -that minute I shall be ordered away from here and into the army; and -wouldn't that put me in disgrace, I'd like to know?" - -"What's the use of my being captain of the Home Guards if I can't call -upon my men to protect me?" cried Tom, who would have given something -to be alone for about five minutes so that he might have found relief -in a flood of tears. - -"There isn't a bit of use in it," replied the enrolling officer -bluntly, "except that it keeps you out of the army with my help. Your -commission gives you no authority to call upon the members of a State -organization to avenge your supposed private wrongs." - -"Well—why don't you sit down?" repeated Tom. - -"I will when I have your promise, and not before. If you have laid your -plans to get me into a muss with the Governor, I must head you off if I -can." - -"Then I will make no effort to wipe out the disgrace that has been put -upon me as long as you remain in town," said Tom very reluctantly. "But -after you leave I'll make some people I know of wish they had spoken of -Captain Randolph with more respect. Now sit down and act like yourself." - -"You ought to go straight to Mr. Gray and thank him; for if he and -his friends had not stood by you last night you might have been badly -treated," answered Captain Roach, placing his cap on the table again -and resuming his seat by Tom's side. "You and I do not want to go into -the army, and you must see that, in order to keep out of it, it will be -necessary for you to follow a different course from the one you have -marked out for yourself. If I am reported for neglect of duty the jig -will be up with you." - -"Then I must lie around and do nothing, must I?" - -"Is there anything else you can do with safety? You can ride about the -country at the head of your Home Guards occasionally, just to let the -Union men see that you are keeping up your organization, and after I -receive word that the camp of instruction has been established, you -can take the conscripts there as fast as I can get them together; and -that's about all you can do." - -"It's a dog's life compared with what I thought a partisan's life would -be," growled Tom, "and perhaps it isn't safe for me to ride about the -country. The threats that were made against me last night——" - -"Will amount to nothing, I assure you," interrupted Captain Roach. -"The hot-heads who made them and who seemed to be so fierce for a fuss -are few in number, and have had time to recover their senses since -then. You can't find a man in town who will say that he was willing to -go with the rabble last night; and more than that, the order-loving -people in the community would not stand by and see a mob run things to -suit themselves. You saw Lambert this morning, didn't you? Well, he -goes around as freely as he ever did, and no one says a word to him." - -Captain Tom thought of the compact that Lambert and the rest of the -Home Guards had made to stand by one another in case of trouble with -the citizens, but thought it best to say nothing about it to his friend -Roach. Of course he had to give the required promise over and over -again before the conscript officer became satisfied of his sincerity, -and he did it with apparent willingness; but all the while he was -telling himself that the men who had threatened to whip him as if he -were a nigger, no matter who they were, would hear from him some day, -and in a way they would not like. It took a great load off his mind -to know that he would not be mobbed as soon as he showed himself in -Mooreville. In fact it cured his "excitement and distress of mind" in -a very few minutes; and when his mother returned at the end of half an -hour he had discarded his gown and slippers, and was sitting up dressed -in his full uniform. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A PERPLEXING SITUATION. - - -When Captain Roach went to his office that evening, after the best -dinner he had ever eaten in that house, Tom Randolph rode down with -him; and before he had gone half a mile was able to tell himself that -he had been borrowing trouble and without reason. He saw no coldness -whatever in the greetings of those he met along the road, and the few -who stopped to speak with him about the occurrences of the previous day -declared with one accord that they did not lay any blame at his door; -but the way they denounced and threatened Lieutenant Lambert was a -pleasant thing for Tom to hear. - -"That man's election wasn't legal any way," was what Tom always said in -reply. "But because I have permitted him to act as my second in command -he has somehow got it into his head that he is a bigger man than I am, -and has a right to do as he pleases. If he has at last found out that -I know a trifle more than he does, and that it is a soldier's place to -wait for orders from his superior, it will be a good thing for Lambert. -If the Baton Rouge people want those gunboats driven away from their -town and will send me word, I will go down and do the work for them as -it ought to be done." - -Tom knew that he was quite safe in talking in this lofty way, for he -had learned during his interview with the committee that the people -of Baton Rouge would not look kindly upon or support any effort that -was made to drive the boats away. As long as they were let alone the -Yankees were not unpleasant fellows to have around. They put good -food into the mouths of some of the city people, good hats and shoes -on their heads and feet, and good money in their pockets, and were on -the whole more desirable neighbors than their own enlisted men would -have been, for the latter had nothing to give in exchange for garden -produce and milk and butter and eggs. But the energetic manner in which -they went to work to scatter Lambert's Home Guards proved that these -peaceable gunboat men were ready to fight at a moment's notice. - -Captain Tom's courage and importance came back to him rapidly when he -found that the situation was by no means as serious as he had supposed -it to be; and when he saw that even Lambert was willing to acknowledge -his authority, he came to the conclusion that that indignation meeting -at the hotel, and the visit of the Baton Rouge committee, were the best -things that could have happened to him and the Home Guards. He found -Lambert in his usual loafing place in Kimberly's store. Indeed the man -was afraid to go very far away from there, for there was no telling -what might be said and done against him if he should absent himself. He -saluted Captain Tom respectfully, and followed him out of the back door -in obedience to a motion of his finger. - -"Look here, lieutenant," said Tom, when they were alone together, "I do -not in the least blame you for saying that you would like to see Rodney -Gray's father burned out to pay him for what he said against you last -night, but——" - -"Somebody's been a-lying on me," exclaimed Lambert, looking alarmed. "I -never said no such stuff." - -"Oh, what is the use of denying it to a friend?" said Tom, with most -unbecoming familiarity. "But I don't ask whether you intend to burn him -out or not. What I want to say is, that you must on no account think of -it so long as Captain Roach stays here. If you do you will get him into -trouble with the Governor, and he will pay you for it by sending you -and all the men to the front." - -"And you too?" asked Lambert. - -"He can't conscript a commissioned officer, can he?" said Tom, in -reply. "No, he can't do that; and if you will promise that you will -never do another thing without my express orders, I will see that he -doesn't conscript you, either." - -"All right, cap'n. I knuckle to you. That's what I said this morning, -and I meant it. I'll move when you say the word and not before." - -"If you had made that sensible resolution long ago you would have saved -yourself and me from insult," said Tom, looking at his lieutenant as -if he would like to give him another piece of his mind. "If you have -learned that I am the head of the company I am glad of it; but if you -want to do anything to old man Gray on your own hook—on your own hook, -I said—why, that is a matter with which I have nothing to do. However, -you must wait until Roach leaves Mooreville." - -So saying, Captain Tom saluted and went into the office. When the door -closed behind him Lambert shook both his clenched hands at it, and said -through his tightly shut teeth: - -"That's a matter you have nothing to do with, is it? Well, I reckon it -is; and you don't get Sile Lambert into a furse with no such oily words -as them. I know what you want mighty well, but I just aint a-going to -do it. You can pester ole man Gray yourself if you feel like it, and -when the job is done I'll tell him where to find the chap who done it. -I'll learn you to keep my commission from me and pull a sword on me -besides, the way you done this morning. By gum! If I wasn't afeared I'd -go and make friends with the Yankees the way the Baton Rouge folks do. -I'll risk it any way before I will let myself be conscripted." - -Having weathered this storm without suffering very much damage except -so far as his feelings were concerned, and quiet having been restored -in the community, Captain Tom settled back into his old lazy way of -passing the time, and waited for something exciting to happen. The -first news out of the ordinary that came to his ears was that Baton -Rouge had been occupied by Federal troops, much to the gratification of -the citizens, both Union and Confederate, who experienced so delightful -a sense of security when they saw the blue-coats on their streets -that they forgot all about the Mooreville Home Guards, and never took -the trouble to inquire whether they had been conscripted or not. But -Captain Roach looked grave, and well he might. He had issued an order -to the effect that those he had conscripted must report at his office -at least once in every twenty-four hours to show that they were still -on hand and ready to receive marching orders; but on the day the news -came that the Yankees had garrisoned the city, only fifteen out of -forty-five presented themselves. Two-thirds of their number had left -home and friends behind and sought refuge in the city. - -"This is a pretty state of affairs," exclaimed Tom, when Captain Roach -told him of it. "Those men are not worthy to be called Southerners. -Before I would show myself so cowardly I would go somewhere and hang -myself. What will you do with them when they come back?" - -"They'll not come back," replied the enrolling officer. "They will -stay where they are safe, and no doubt desertions will be of daily -occurrence as long as the Yankees remain in the city." - -"Wouldn't it be a good plan for me to go down there and harass them -by driving in their pickets now and then?" inquired Tom. He did not -know exactly what was meant by driving in an enemy's pickets, but he -had read in the papers that it was often done by the soldiers in both -armies. - -"What good would it do?" asked Captain Roach. - -"Why, the enemy wouldn't stay where they were bushwhacked every time -they showed themselves, would they? A few determined men could torment -them as the buffalo gnats torment our stock." - -"You must be a lunatic or take me for one," was what Captain Roach said -in reply. "Why can't you be content to let the Yankees alone so long as -they are willing to let us alone? If you should fire on their pickets -they would send their cavalry all through the country about here, and -there's no telling how much damage they would do." - -"Do you think they have brought cavalry with them?" cried Tom, a most -alarming thought suggesting itself to him at the moment. - -"Why, of course. They want to know what is going on outside the city, -don't they? And how are they to find out except through their cavalry? -You may see blue-coats in Mooreville before sundown. You stay at home -and mind your business, for I hope to have use for you presently." - -"Do you mean that you hope to send me off with some conscripts?" - -"That is what I mean. I shall have to report these desertions, and -perhaps it will open the eyes of the State enrolling officer to the -fact that he ought to have had that camp of instruction in full blast -long ago." - -"But suppose a squad of Yankee cavalry should intercept me on the -road?" said Tom in a trembling voice. - -"Then you would have to fight, that's all. If you whipped them it would -be a fine thing for you and might lead to promotion. If they whipped -you they would release your prisoners and take you and your men away -with them." - -"And then they would send me up North, and I might not see home again -for long years," faltered Tom; and everyone in the office saw that he -was badly frightened at the prospect. - -"Exactly. You took your chances on that when you accepted your -commission, you know. Now, I wish you to go to work on your men and see -that they are in some sort of shape when marching orders come. There -will be guards at the camp, and I hope your company will not suffer in -comparison with them." - -Captain Tom saw very clearly that his connection with the Home Guards -was not likely to keep him entirely out of reach of the dreaded -Yankees; and when he looked through the open door and his gaze rested -upon an acquaintance of his who happened to be passing at that moment, -another alarming thought forced itself upon him. It was Ned Griffin, -and he was mounted on one of Mr. Gray's blooded horses. He smiled -pleasantly at Tom, nodded to the Home Guards clustered about the -door, and looked on the whole as though he felt well satisfied with -himself and with his lot in life. Not only was he comfortably settled -as overseer on one of Mr. Gray's fine plantations, but there was no -possible chance that he would ever be forced into the army against his -will; and that was more than Captain Randolph could say for himself. - -"How I should enjoy knocking that beggar out of his saddle," said the -latter under his breath. Then he bent over and whispered some earnest -words into the ear of the enrolling officer. "Look here, Roach," said -he, "will you do me the favor to keep the date of marching a secret -from everybody except myself." - -"I'd be glad to if you wish it, but I don't see how I can," said the -captain in surprise. "I shall have to notify the conscripts themselves, -won't I? And if they choose to publish it, as undoubtedly they will in -order to give their friends opportunity to come to the office and bid -them good-by, how am I going to hinder it? What difference does it make -to you, anyway?" - -"It may make all the difference in the world," whispered Tom. "That -fellow who just rode by would ask nothing better than to send or -take word to the Yankees where they could capture me and a squad of -conscripts on a certain day." - -"Whew!" whistled the captain. "If he does that I'll arrest him and ship -him off to Richmond." - -"But would that make a free man of me?" demanded Tom impatiently. "And -how are you going to prove it on him?" - -"That's so; and when it comes to that I don't suppose Griffin is the -only one about here who would be glad to see you and all the Home -Guards packed off to a Northern prison. The only thing you can do is to -look out for yourself. Take as big a squad with you as you can muster, -and stand ready to fight your way." - -Captain Tom was almost disheartened, but made one more effort to shirk -the duty to which, until this particular morning, he had looked forward -with the liveliest anticipations of pleasure. - -"Can't you ask the Confederate authorities to send regular troops here -to act as guards, and leave me at home to protect the town?" said he -desperately. He knew it was a confession of cowardice on his part, but -he did not care a snap for that. - -"Protect the town!" said Captain Roach in great disgust. "No, I can't. -Yes, on second thought, I can; but it will end in you and the Home -Guards being sent to the front." - -The captain spoke impatiently and jerked a sheet of paper toward him -on the desk, intimating by the action that he could not waste any more -time with his friend Tom just then, and the latter walked out of the -office, mounted his horse, and rode slowly homeward. Something was -forever happening to upset his plans, and this last trouble was all -the fault of that man Lambert. If he had not fired upon that unarmed -boat the Federals would never have thought it necessary to send a force -to Baton Rouge, and Captain Tom could have escorted his conscripted -neighbors to the camp of instruction without fear of coming in contact -with the blue-coated cavalry. He would have had many opportunities -to show his fine sword and uniform to soldiers from other parts of -the State, and could have talked as big as he pleased about whipping -iron-clad gunboats in a fair fight. He had hoped to gain admirers among -the officers stationed at the camp, and perhaps he could have himself -recommended to fill the commanding officer's place when the latter was -ordered to take the field. - -"But that's all past and gone now," said Tom as he saw these bright -hopes disappearing like the river mists before the rising sun. "If the -Yankee cavalry blocks my way, as it surely will if Ned Griffin gets a -chance to send them word, I just know I shall be captured, for I can't -expect raw troops like my Home Guards to stand against veterans. I wish -Lambert had been hanged before he fired on that boat. Who are these, I -wonder? Strangers; and spies, I'll bet." - -This was another thought that troubled him, and if there had been a -branch road that Tom could have turned into he would have taken it -rather than meet the two civilians he saw riding toward him. But there -was no escape and so he kept on his way; and as he drew nearer to -them his eyes began to open wider and an expression of amazement came -to his face. He recognized the horses they rode and the clothes they -wore, and finally it dawned upon him that the tanned and weather-beaten -countenance of one was familiar, though the boy to whom it belonged -had grown wonderfully tall and broad-shouldered since he last saw -him—so much so, in fact, that his clothes were too small for him. -If there was any doubt in Captain Randolph's mind it vanished when a -cheery voice called out: - -"Hallo, Tom—ee!" - -Tom knew the voice and the odious name by which he had been addressed. -It was the one with which his mother used to summon him into the house -in the days gone by—with a shrill rising inflection on the last -syllable. His first thought was to take no notice of the greeting or to -make an angry rejoinder; but he remembered in time that he had stood in -fear of this same boy when he was several pounds lighter than he was -now. He looked quite formidable as he sat on his horse, and no doubt -during his fifteen months in the army had come in contact with some -rough characters, and gained experience and skill in no end of rough -and tumble fights; so Tom thought it wise to be civil. - -"Rodney," he exclaimed, extending his hand with a great show of -cordiality. "You don't know how glad I am to see you back safe and -sound. How long have you been at home?" - -"Just three days," answered Rodney Gray, for it was he. "And this is -my old schoolmate, Dick Graham, who lives in Missouri when he lives -anywhere. But at present he is just staying wherever night overtakes -him." - -Dick and Tom shook hands, and the latter continued: - -"How do you like soldiering? I suppose you have seen some pretty rough -times in the army." - -"Oh, yes; but nothing compared with what some have seen. Dick and I -have brought our usual number of legs and arms back with us, but many -of our comrades were not so lucky. Doing anything for your country -these days?" - -Tom's common-sense, if he had any, ought to have told him that it would -not do for him to exaggerate his achievements in the presence of Rodney -Gray, who knew him of old, and had seen so much more service than he -had, but he counted a good deal on Rodney's ignorance and Dick's. They -had done all their campaigning in the interior, had never seen the -Mississippi River during their term of service except when they crossed -from Arkansas to Tennessee to join the Army of the Centre, and perhaps -had not had a chance to read a newspaper for six months, and so he -thought he could say what he pleased and they would believe it; but he -reckoned without his host. - -"I have been very busy since I took command of the Home Guards," he -said, in answer to Rodney's question. "I don't suppose I have smelled -quite as much powder as you have, but I have been in some pretty hard -battles all the same." - -"Why, I hadn't heard of it," said Rodney, looking surprised. - -"No, I don't imagine you had opportunity to read the papers very often, -but I thought perhaps your father had said something about it in his -letters. I have whipped two heavy iron-clad men-of-war——" - -"Two which?" exclaimed Dick, while Rodney opened his eyes and looked -still more surprised. - -Captain Tom repeated the words and was going on to tell about the -fights with the gunboats when Rodney interrupted him with: - -"Did those vessels belong to the upper or lower fleet?" - -"I don't know," replied Tom. "But they came up from New Orleans." - -"Then they were not iron-clads; you may rest assured of that." - -"Don't I know an iron-clad when I see it?" cried Tom angrily. "I have -it from good authority that the armor on their sides was eleven inches -thick, and that there were four feet of solid oak back of that." - -"Great Moses!" ejaculated Dick. "There isn't a vessel in the Yankee -navy that could carry such a load as that. Farragut has done all his -brilliant fighting with old wooden ships, and there are no iron-clads -in his fleet unless they have come to him since he ran past Forts -Jackson and St. Philip." - -"That's so," assented Rodney. "There isn't an iron-clad on the river -except those with which the Yankees demolished our fleet in front of -Memphis." - -"How does it come that you land soldiers know so much about what is -going on here on the river?" demanded Captain Tom, who was very much -astonished at the extent of Rodney's information and Dick's. - -"Oh, we've had chances to read the papers now and then," replied the -latter. - -"And while we were about it we read both sides," chimed in Rodney. "Our -officers didn't like to have us do it, because the Yankee papers tell -the truth, while our own do not scruple to lie outrageously when things -go against us." - -Captain Tom did not know what answer to make, for he had never expected -to hear Confederate veterans talk like that. He began to have a -suspicion that they were traitors at heart, but he prudently kept his -thoughts to himself. - -"How long do you remain at home?" he asked at length. - -"Just as long as I have a home to shelter me," answered Rodney. "And -when the Yanks come in here and burn it down, as they probably will -sooner or later, I shall take to the woods. I am sick and tired of the -service and I don't care who knows it. I tell you, I felt sorry for the -poor fellows I saw in Camp Pinckney, for I know what is before them and -they don't." - -"Were they prisoners?" inquired Tom. - -"Well, yes; but they didn't go by that name. They were called -conscripts." - -"Why, how far is that camp from here?" said Tom, wondering if it was -the place to which Captain Roach would forward his conscripts when the -orders came. - -"About 7000 miles," replied Dick. "At least I thought it was that far -before we covered the distance that lies between its stockade and -Rodney's home." - -"It's about sixty miles, as near as I can judge," said the latter. -"Haven't you and what's his name—Roach?—raised men enough to fill up -a squad yet? Father says you have been working at it for a good while." - -"Captain Roach has mustered some men, but has had no orders to forward -them. In fact I don't think he knows that the camp of instruction has -been established." - -"Who's going to take them there when they are ready to go?" - -"I am," said Tom proudly; and an instant afterward he felt as though -he had signed his own death warrant. There was no chance for him to -back out now. He couldn't be taken suddenly ill or send Lambert in his -place—he would have to go with the conscripts himself; for that was -what he in his haste said he intended to do, and if he did not keep his -promise this old enemy and rival of his would publicly brand him as a -coward. - -"You are? You are going to take the conscripts to the camp of -instruction with your Home Guards?" cried Rodney, his face becoming -radiant when he thought of the obstacles in the shape of blue-coated -soldiers that Captain Tom might possibly find in his way. "Hey-youp! -That will be nuts for the Yanks, won't it, Dick?" - -"You bet. There's tolerable many Yanks scattered around through the -woods, and like as not your friend will have the pleasure of meeting -some of them." - -"Do you mean to say that they are scouting between here and the camp?" -exclaimed Tom, who was almost ready to drop when he heard his worst -fears confirmed in this positive way. - -"We don't mean anything else," answered Rodney. "We ought to know, for -we ran into a squad of them on the way home." - -"What did they do to you?" inquired Tom, who did not know whether to -believe it or not. - -"Nothing. They just covered us with their carbines and told us to come -in out of the rain, and we came." - -"Humph! Why didn't you fight or run?" - -"Well, seeing that we had no weapons we couldn't fight; and we know by -experience that when a Yank points a gun at you and tells you to move -over on his side the line, you had better move." - -"But how did you escape?" - -"We didn't escape. We showed them our discharges, and when they told us -to git, we got. Oh, they were gentleman, high up." - -"Top-notch," assented Dick. - -"I never yet saw a Yankee who was a gentleman," sneered Tom. - -"Look here," exclaimed Dick, who had heard a good deal about Tom -Randolph and learned to dislike him before he ever met him; "have you -much of an acquaintance with live Yanks—I mean with those who wear -uniforms?" - -Tom was obliged to confess that he had not. - -"Well, we've seen and talked with a few and may be supposed to know -something about them; and when we say that the squad who captured us, -and might have made us trouble but didn't, were gentlemen, we mean it. -If we ever find one of them in a box and see a chance to help him out, -we intend to improve it." - -"But as you have no discharge to show, you had better not permit -yourself to fall into their hands while you have that uniform on," said -Rodney. "By gracious! It makes my old hat rise to think how I should -feel if I knew I was going to be ordered off to that camp with a lot -of conscripts. You will lose your prisoners sure, and your Home Guards -will be brushed aside like so many cobwebs. If you get through with a -whole skin we shall call you a good one. We'd better be riding along, -Dick." - -"Now you've done it," said the latter, as he and Rodney moved on and -left Tom out of hearing. "You have frightened him out of his wits." - -"With your help I think I have given him a good scare," was Rodney's -answer. "I'll bet you a month's wages in good and lawful money of the -Confederacy that Tom Randolph never takes a squad of conscripts to Camp -Pinckney. I know I shouldn't hanker after the job if I were in his -place." - -As to Tom himself, he was about as badly frightened as he could be -without becoming frantic, and much against his will he was obliged to -tell himself that there was but one course of action open to him. If it -was true that Federal scouting parties had thrown themselves between -Mooreville and Camp Pinckney, he must run the fearful risk of being -killed or captured by them, or else he must resign his commission, -exchange his fine uniform for a citizen's suit and take the position -of overseer on his father's plantation. Tom wanted to yell when this -alternative presented itself to him. An overseer was on a par with a -blacksmith or a carpenter or a clerk in a store. He had to work for his -living and was in consequence a nobody. And Tom remembered how he had -railed at Ned Griffin when he accepted Mr. Gray's offer, declaring, -in the hearing of everyone who would listen to him, that nobody but a -poltroon would take that way of keeping out of the service. - -"And now I've got to come to it myself or get shot," whined Tom. "It -will be an awful come down for a man who has held a commission in the -service of the State, but unless mother can see some other way out I -shall have to do it." - -Captain Tom wound up by wishing that every man who was in any way -responsible for the war might always feel as miserable as he felt at -that moment. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -HOUNDS ON THE TRAIL. - - -"Why, Tom, what has happened to make you look so pale and haggard?" -anxiously inquired Mrs. Randolph, as the perplexed and discouraged -captain of the Home Guards drew rein before the door and rolled out of -his saddle instead of dismounting in his usual soldier-like fashion. -"Are you ill, or have you heard some terrible news?" - -"Both," replied Tom, giving his horse a slap to start him toward the -stable, and afterward throwing himself down upon one of the steps that -led up to the porch. "Who do you suppose has come back to town to worry -and torment me?" - -"I hope it isn't Rodney Gray," said his mother, who had not forgotten -that the Barrington boy had been elected to office and presented with a -sword by Bob Hubbard's Rangers, while her son was left in the ranks. -Although she never said so out loud, she had indulged in the hope that -something might happen to keep Rodney away from Mooreville as long as -the war lasted. She knew that he had faced the Yankees in a good many -hard battles, and, being a veteran, of course he would crow over Tom, -who was nothing but a Home Guard. - -"Well, it is Rodney Gray, and nobody else," said Captain Randolph, in a -tone of intense disgust. "He looks as though he had been living on the -fat of the land, for the citizen's clothes he discarded when he went -into the army are much too small for him. He has brought with him a -comrade who lives in Missouri and who, I judge, is waiting for a chance -to get over the river; and he's about the most impudent chap I ever -talked to. He knows more about gunboats than I who have been in battle -with them." - -"Have you not learned that those who are the most conceited generally -know the least? But you are not obliged to associate with them, and -besides you can't; for you are an officer and they were nothing but -privates." - -"I know that, and I did not at all like the familiar way in which they -talked to me. They gave me bad news. They were captured by Federal -cavalry while they were coming home." - -"Tom!" exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, who was much surprised and alarmed to -hear it, "do you mean to say that our enemies are scouting through the -country?" - -"That's what I mean; and if you have any valuables you don't want to -lose, you had better be taking care of them." - -"That is what I think. How did Rodney manage to escape?" - -"He didn't escape. The Yankees read his discharge and let him go free. -And that chum of his, Dick Graham, says they were gentlemen, and if he -ever sees one of them in a scrape he will help him out if he can. And -they are both tired of the war and don't mean to go back to the army. -The way they talked was shameful, and I will speak to Roach about it -the very next time I go to the office." - -Tom then went on to repeat the conversation that had taken place -between himself and the returned veterans, and by the time he got -through his mother was as deeply perplexed and as badly frightened as -he was. Two things were plain to her: Rodney and Dick were traitors at -heart, and ought to be arrested and imprisoned before they had time -to talk to any of the conscripts as they had talked to Tom, and the -other was that her son could not take a squad of men to the camp of -instruction and run the risk of being captured by the Federal troopers. - -"Now that I have had time to think of it, I don't care whether they are -shut up or not," answered Captain Tom. "If they are permitted to run -loose in the settlement and to talk to the conscripts as they did to -me, they may frighten them into deserting to Baton Rouge; and in that -case, don't you see, there wouldn't be any men for anybody to guard to -the camp of instruction. But if a squad is sent there I am bound to go -in command of the escort; I don't see how I can get out of it, for I -told Rodney that I was going." - -"What of that? Why can't you send Lambert, or let Captain Roach go in -your place?" - -"If you can think of any excuse I can offer for not going I shall be -delighted to hear it," replied Tom. "But if I back out after what I -have said about Ned Griffin's cowardice and all that, Rodney Gray will -never let me hear the last of it. I haven't said much to you about it, -but all the returned soldiers laugh every time my name is mentioned -in their hearing, and make sport of the Home Guards because they are -willing to acknowledge me as their commander; and I believe that is one -thing that makes them so ready to rebel whenever I issue an order they -don't like. Of course Rodney will be the worst of all, for he never -liked me." - -"Why, my dear boy, you are in a predicament, that's a fact," exclaimed -Mrs. Randolph, who had never dreamed that the situation was as bad -as this. She knew that Tom would not see a minute's peace if he gave -the common people of Mooreville, especially such low fellows as the -returned veterans and those who composed the rank and file of the Home -Guards, any reason for believing that he was lacking in courage. "What -can you do? Have you decided upon anything?" - -"I have not. That is something you will have to do for me. As far -as I can see there are but two courses of action open to me: I must -either take the conscripts to camp and take my chances on being shot or -captured——" - -"O Tom, I'll never consent to that," exclaimed his mother, almost -tearfully. "You had much better follow young Griffin's example. Your -father and I can arrange all that by sending Larkin into the army and -putting you in his place." - -Larkin was Mr. Randolph's overseer; and he had not been conscripted by -Captain Roach because his employer had claimed exemption for him. Mr. -Randolph supposed, and so did his wife, that Tom was provided for as -long as the war continued; and as it was necessary that they should -have an overseer they decided that Larkin would do as well as anybody -else, and Tom's father had entered into a verbal contract to purchase -his freedom by providing the hundred pounds of bacon and beef demanded -by the Confederate Government. They would not have done such a thing if -they had had the least suspicion that Tom's position as captain of the -Home Guards was likely to bring him into contact with the Yankees. - -"That is the only alternative," said Tom. "I must face death or -confinement in a Northern dungeon, or I must send my resignation to -the Governor at the new capital. But I am afraid Larkin will demand a -larger bounty than father will be willing to pay." - -"Your father will not give him a penny with my consent," said Mrs. -Randolph very decidedly. "He is a hireling, and his wishes will not be -consulted. He will simply be discharged; that is all there is of it." - -"But he is obstinate and hard to deal with, and perhaps he will refuse -to go before his year is out," suggested Captain Tom. - -"In times like these civil contracts are not worth the paper they are -written on," said his mother, in a tone which seemed to imply that she -had already determined upon some course of action. "There are some -hundred hands on this plantation, and if your father should find it -impossible or inconvenient to pay, within twelve months, the eighty -thousand pounds of meat which the Confederate Government will demand as -the price of Larkin's exemption, then what? I think myself that Larkin -will take to the woods before he will go into the army." - -"I don't care where he goes so long as he gets out of my way," declared -Captain Tom. "I don't know what our neighbors will think of me when -they see me in the field with a gang of niggers, but I can't discover -any other way out of the difficulty; can you?" - -"At present I cannot; but I would much rather know that you were safe -in the field and within sound of the dinner-horn, than to fear that -you were in danger of being shot or captured. Perhaps we had best let -the subject rest where it is until I have had time to ask your father -what he thinks about it. I will tell you our decision to-morrow; and -meanwhile don't commit yourself. There goes the bell." - -It was the call to dinner and Captain Tom answered it, although he -did not have much appetite for the things he found on the table. His -father had of late got out of the way of asking his son if he had heard -any news in town, but when the latter remarked that he had met and -talked with Rodney Gray that morning, and that Rodney and his companion -had been captured by the enemy while on the way home, Mr. Randolph took -interest enough in the matter to inquire into the particulars, and to -ask Tom if he didn't think he would run some risk in taking conscripts -to camp. - -"Risk!" repeated Captain Tom. "You may well say that. Roach thinks I -will have to fight my way, and so does Rodney. He said in so many words -that I would be sure to lose my prisoners, that the Home Guards would -be brushed out of the way like cobwebs, and if I got through with a -whole skin he would call me a good one. Risk! I should think so. It's -positively dangerous!" - -"Well, if you don't want to go, there is one way you can get out of -it," replied Mr. Randolph, as he folded his napkin and pushed his -chair back from the table. "You can throw up your commission." - -"I have thought of resigning," said Tom; and he had half a mind to -broach the subject of Larkin's discharge then and there, but finally -concluded that he would leave it to his mother. - -"As far as I am concerned, I shall be glad to see you a civilian once -more, and to know that I shall never put eyes on that sword and uniform -again," continued Mr. Randolph. "The Southern people are all fools, and -a year ago I was one of the most senseless of them." - -"Does that mean that you have given up the hope of Southern -independence?" inquired Tom, who was not greatly surprised, although he -had never heard his father talk in this way before. - -"It means that we have made beggars of ourselves by trying to break -up the government when we had no earthly excuse for it. We were never -short of anything before, and now I am put to my stumps to find paper -to write on and salt for my table. There will be no bacon and hams for -us next winter unless I can induce some of my friends to do a little -trading in Baton Rouge for me. I dare not go into the city to do it for -myself, for you are captain of the Home Guards. I wish in my soul that -I had had a guardian appointed over me about the time I was making such -an idiot of myself on account of that company." - -Mr. Randolph rubbed some "nigger twist" between his palms, jammed it -rather spitefully into an earthen pipe with a cane stem, and went out -on the gallery to enjoy his after-dinner smoke. He was a rich planter, -and it was not so very long ago that his crop of cotton was worth a -fortune to him every year; but he could not smoke cigars now unless -they were given to him. Some of his neighbors who had not taken so -deep an interest in the Home Guards, Rodney Gray's father for one, -had passes that took them in and out of Baton Rouge as often as they -chose to make use of them; and these men had salt and tea and coffee, -stockings and shoes and cigars in abundance, and "plenty of greenback -money, too," as one darkey affirmed, who chanced to catch a momentary -glimpse of the inside of Mr. Gray's pocket-book. - -Mr. Randolph made his exit from the room through one of the low windows -that opened upon the veranda, sat down long enough to take a dozen or -more pulls at his pipe, and then came back to say: - -"Tom, you want to be kinder careful what you tell about Rodney Gray and -his folks, for, if we work matters right, I am sure Gray will lend me a -helping hand now and then; and goodness knows I need it bad enough. I -suspicion that in some way or other he has got on the blind side of the -Yankees in Baton Rouge." - -"Then he ought to be reported to our authorities," said Mrs. Randolph -spitefully. - -"That's what I say!" exclaimed Captain Tom. "If he is giving aid and -comfort to the enemy he is breaking our laws; and I say——" - -"Hold your horses," interrupted his father. "What is the use of cutting -off your nose to spite your face? Instead of giving aid and comfort to -the Federals, he is working them so that they are giving much aid and -comfort to him and a few others who are in the ring with him." - -"And is it your desire to become one of that 'ring,' as you call -it?" demanded his wife, pitching her voice in a little higher key -than usual. "Would you collogue with the enemies of your country for -the sake of making something out of them? Mr. Randolph—George—I am -surprised to hear you hint at such baseness; and in the presence of a -prominent State officer, too." - -"Hold your horses," said Mr. Randolph again. "If I can make something -to eat and wear by trading with the Yankees, who seem to have enough -and to spare, it is to my interest and yours to do it, is it not? And -through it all I can still be a good Confederate, can't I? Look here," -he continued, walking up to the table and sinking his voice almost to a -whisper. "I have 200 bales of cotton concealed in the swamp, and Gray -has more than twice as much. And every bale of that cotton is worth -sixty cents a pound in New York." - -Mr. Randolph straightened up and looked at his wife and son as much as -to say, "What do you think of that?" He expected them to be surprised, -and certainly he was not disappointed. For a minute or two they were so -amazed that they could not speak. - -"Six—did I understand you to say _sixty_ cents a pound?" Captain Tom -managed to ask at last. - -"Where did you hear that ridiculous story?" chimed in Mrs. Randolph. "I -have read the papers very closely, and I didn't see anything of it." - -"Do you for a moment imagine that our lying papers——" - -"Mr. Randolph—George!" - -"Hold your horses. I know what I am talking about. It is a fact that -our papers conceal everything that goes against us, or make light of -it, and of course they wouldn't say that cotton is bringing sixty cents -in the North while in the Confederacy it is worth only seven. If our -papers should publish such reports as that, don't you see that the -Confederacy wouldn't get any more cotton? Every planter who owns a -bale would make haste to run it into the swamp." - -"If I had any cotton I would rather give it to our government for three -cents than to our enemies for twenty times as much," declared Captain -Tom, who, seeing that he did not possess a pound of the commodity in -question, could afford to be very patriotic. He looked at his mother, -expecting to hear her say that she would do the same; but she gazed -down at her plate and said nothing. Sixty cents a pound! Reckoning each -bale at 450 pounds that would make her husband's concealed cotton worth -about $54,000, _if_ it could only be placed in the hands of the Yankees -without being confiscated. But there was the rub. - -"Tom, you always were about half-witted," exclaimed his father, who was -so angry that he spoke without thinking. "I would rather have sixty -cents in greenback money than four dollars in Confederate scrip any -day; and I don't see the use of your talking in that senseless way." - -"But your cotton is in the swamp, and how are you going to get it to -New York?" asked Mrs. Randolph. - -"And how do you know that you and the darkeys who helped you put it -there are the only ones who know where it is?" chimed in Tom. "The -Lincoln hirelings have been stealing cotton all the way from Cairo to -Vicksburg, and what assurance have you that some enemy of ours will not -guide a gang of blue-coats from Baton Rouge to the place where it is -hidden?" - -"I have no assurance whatever, and that is one thing that robs me of -sleep at night," replied Mr. Randolph; and the nervous way in which he -puffed at his pipe and strode about the room showed that the thought -made him uneasy every time it came into his mind. "Of course I stand a -chance of losing it; but if I can keep it a few months longer I know it -will be worth a big sum of money to us—and good money, too. One of our -neighbors, who shall be nameless, showed me a couple of Northern papers -he brought from Baton Rouge last night, and both of them contained a -notice of that sale of cotton in New York. There were seventy bales -of it, and it was confiscated at Port Royal. Some of the ranking -officers in the city also told him that there was some talk of opening -a trade in cotton at all points occupied by Federal troops, and that -influential parties were applying by the hundred for permits. He could -have told me more if he had felt like it, but Tom, your miserable Home -Guards, whom I wish I had never heard of, made him shut his mouth. I am -afraid I ruined myself utterly by helping you organize that company." - -Too nervous and excited to say more, Mr. Randolph stepped through the -window to the porch, and Tom left the table and went slowly upstairs. -He could not have told what prompted him to do it, but when he reached -his room he took off his fine uniform and arrayed himself in a suit -of citizen's clothes. He stood his elegant sword up in the corner -of his closet, and when it slipped down so that he could not close -the door, he kicked it out of the way as he would have done with any -other worthless piece of furniture. For some reason he seemed to have -conceived a sudden and violent dislike to everything that reminded -him of the service in which, one short year ago, his whole soul been -wrapped up; and when he mounted his horse, which a darkey had brought -to the door, and the animal began to prance and go sideways, as he -had been taught to do, Captain Tom was so angry that he lashed him -unmercifully with his whip, and would have kept him in a dead run all -the way to the enrolling office, had it not been for an unexpected and -somewhat startling interruption. - -Although there were many extensive and well-cultivated plantations -around Mooreville, there were some unbroken patches of timber which -stretched away into the Pearl River country and beyond. This timberland -was mostly low and intersected by innumerable little streams, which, -when the Pearl was "booming" at certain seasons of the year, overflowed -their banks and turned all the productive bottom into an immense swamp. -It was here that Tom Randolph's hog-stealing lieutenant plied his -vocation, though he might have had venison instead of pork, if he had -not been too lazy to hunt for it; for the bottom was a famous place for -game of all kinds. There were runaway negroes there too, by the score, -and their numbers had increased wonderfully since the war broke out. - -It was while Tom was galloping furiously past one of these patches -of timber, which was separated from the road by a narrow field of -corn, that his attention was attracted by the loud baying of a pack -of hounds; but his mind was so fully occupied with the punishment he -was inflicting upon his unoffending horse that he did not give much -heed to it, until he caught sight of a couple of men riding swiftly -through the corn a little in advance of him. When they reached the -fence that ran between the field and the road one of them threw off -the top rails so that they could jump their horses over it, while the -other raised his hand as a signal for Tom to stop. Then he saw that the -men were strangers to him, that they wore gray uniforms, were armed -with carbines and sabres instead of squirrel rifles and shot guns, and -wore plumes in their slouch hats instead of rooster feathers. They -were veterans beyond a doubt; but where did they come from, and what -were they doing in that country, which was supposed to be guarded by -an efficient company of Home Guards? Their presence angered Captain -Tom, and he wished he had the authority to order them back where they -belonged without asking any questions; but they greeted him very -civilly. - -"Good-afternoon," said the foremost, as he leaped his horse over the -ditch and came into the road where Tom was waiting for him; then he -made a military salute which was promptly and gracefully returned. "Ah! -I thought you were one of us from the start," continued the veteran. -"What regiment?" - -"I do not belong to any regiment," admitted Tom. "I am commander of a -partisan company and hold a commission from the Governor." - -"Seen any service?" was the soldier's next question. - -"More than I want to see again," replied Tom, who had not yet been -cured of his propensity to boast as often as the chance was presented. -"The enemy's gunboats have kept me pretty busy since they came up from -New Orleans." - -"Well, if you've got courage enough to fight gunboats, you've got more -than I have," said the veteran honestly. "How high up are you?" - -"I am a captain." - -"I beg your pardon, sah, I have been a little too fast. I am only -a second lieutenant, and my comrade is a first duty sergeant," and -then the lieutenant and his sergeant both raised their caps. They had -evidently served under some officer who exacted all the honors due him. - -Of course they took the right course to gain Tom's good will and bring -them an invitation to supper, but they did not do it intentionally. -Having served at the front ever since they enlisted, and until they -were transferred to the invalid corps on account of wounds received -in battle they had never seen any Home Guards, and did not know the -estimation in which that useless organization was held by the people -who knew the most about them. They had heard of the exploits of John -S. Mosby, who commanded a body of men that were farmers during the -daytime and robbers and cut-throats at night, and who had kept certain -portions of Virginia in a turmoil even before he was thought to be -worthy of a commission in the Confederate army, and they supposed that -every company of partisans was just like his. Consequently they were -ready to treat Tom Randolph with the greatest respect. - -The latter drew himself up very stiffly, assumed a soldier's position -in the saddle, copying Rodney Gray as nearly as he could, and said with -the dignity befitting his rank: - -"I assure you that no apologies are necessary. I am always glad to -shake a loyal Confederate by the hand." And he proved it by extending -to each of the veterans a palm that was as limp as a piece of wet rope. -"Now, may I ask where you belong, and what business brought you to this -part of the country?" - -"Certainly, sah. We used to belong to Jackson's brigade and division, -but were invalided on account of injuries received in action, and are -now serving as guards at a conscript camp, dog-gone the luck. We are -on the trail of four escaped Yankees who are making tracks for Baton -Rouge. Didn't you hear our dogs giving tongue just now?" - -"I noticed it, but supposed the hounds were running something on their -own hook. I noticed, too, that they yelped as though they were baffled." - -"And so they are. We have followed the trail for forty miles through -swamp and briers and cane, and now we have lost it completely. We ought -to have captured and hung the villains long ago, but everywhere along -their line of flight they have been assisted by the negroes. We found -abundant proof of it." - -"Well, that bangs me!" exclaimed Tom, who, like many others of his -class, labored under the delusion that the slaves did not know who -their friends were. "Why did you not shoot the negroes?" - -"For the very good reason, sah, that we could not place the blame upon -any particular ones. We found where the Yanks had been fed, and once -came so close upon them that we captured some quilts which the darkeys -had loaned them for beds; but among the hundred and fifty negroes on -that plantation we could not find the one who owned the quilts. Do you -know of any Union men or blacks around here who would be likely to give -them food and shelter, or aid them in reaching Baton Rouge?" - -If that question had been asked him the day before Captain Randolph -could have mentioned the names of a dozen white men who were mean and -disloyal enough to give food and shelter to anybody who wore a blue -uniform, but now he could not think of a single one. Among others he -would have given the names of some returned soldiers who had spread -dissatisfaction in the ranks of his company by deriding Tom's ability -as a commander and laughing at the story of his battles with the -iron-clads, and he would have asked the lieutenant what he thought -of fellows like Rodney Gray and Dick Graham who did not hesitate to -declare that they were sick of the army, and did not intend to go back -if they could help it. He would have told, too, of the trading that -was continually going on between the Yankee invaders and so-called -Confederates who lived in Baton Rouge and Mooreville; but somehow he -did not speak of any of these things. The knowledge that Mooreville -might at any moment be occupied by Federal cavalry frightened him; and -the plain words his father spoke at the dinner table opened his eyes to -the fact that silence was sometimes good policy. So he made answer: - -"There are several people about here who are suspected of being Union, -but I can't say whether they are or not. I drove some out of the -settlement months ago, and they have never returned." - -"That was perfectly right, sah," said the lieutenant, "but I should -think you would be afraid to stay here. What will you do when the Yanks -come swarming into town, and some mean sneak tells them that you have -been persecuting Union men? You will have to take to the brush." - -"But do you think the enemy is in sufficient force to ride over us like -that?" inquired Tom anxiously. He had often asked himself this very -question, and tried to find comfort in the hope that the Yankees would -never find their way to Mooreville. - -"Oh, it doesn't require much force to take full possession of a little -town like this," replied the veteran. "I could do it with a dozen men. -We have seen 200 of their cavalry since we have been on this hunt." - -"You have seen them!" ejaculated Tom. - -"Yes. We ran into some of them and had to skirmish our way out. We have -seen a squad on every road except this, and how those four escaped -prisoners we are after missed seeing them beats me." - -"Do you mean to tell me that there are 200 Yankees between here and -Camp Pinckney?" exclaimed Tom, who did not like to hear Rodney's story -and Dick's confirmed in this positive way. "I should think you would -have turned back when you found your way blocked." - -"Since you are an old soldier, sah, and have snuffed Yankee powder, I -know that you are joking. Our way wasn't blocked, and we had no orders -to turn back. We were commanded to capture those four men and bring -them to Camp Pinckney without the loss of an hour; and so we kept right -on as though there hadn't been a Yank within 1000 miles of us." - -Captain Randolph gazed admiringly at the veteran, who did not talk or -act as though he had done more than any other soldier would have done -under the circumstances. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -UNCLE SAM'S LOST BOYS. - - -"I wish I had some of your courage," said Tom at length. "I may need -it, for I am liable any day to be ordered to Camp Pinckney with a squad -of conscripts." - -"W-h-e-w!" whistled the lieutenant. He looked at the sergeant, the -sergeant looked at him, and then they both looked at Captain Tom with -an expression on their faces that the latter could not understand. -"Well, if this is the sort of work you partisans have to do, I am glad -I am not a partisan," continued the lieutenant. "I'd rather go through -Bull Run and take my chances, than attempt to travel the sixty miles -between here and camp with a squad of conscripts. You will have to take -to the woods, of course, and that will be the time your conscripts will -give you the slip. If you start with a hundred and get through with ten -you will be doing well." - -"There are people here who think I'll not get through at all," said -Tom. "They say that I and my men will be captured or killed." - -"_Of_ course," answered the lieutenant, who had never once thought of -that contingency. "It's to be expected that you will take your chances -on that. It is what we all have to do when we meet the enemy." - -"Have you found them a tolerably brave lot?" inquired Captain Tom, who -wanted much to meet some veteran who would assure him that the Yankees -were all cowards and did not know how to fight. - -"As brave as they make 'em," said the lieutenant earnestly, "and dead -shots into the bargain. We have bitten off a good deal more than we -can chew in ten years; now you remember what I tell you. Of course, -captain, I wouldn't say that in the presence of a civilian; but one old -soldier knows how to take another. Now, don't you think, sah, that you -partisans could lend us a hand in capturing these Yankees." - -"Why, certainly; and I will warn my company out at once," replied Tom -readily. "Where will I find you at the end of a couple of hours? I want -you and the sergeant to take supper and lodgings at my mother's house -to-night." - -"Much obliged to you, sah, but we couldn't think of it," said the -lieutenant. "Colonel Parker—he's the regular who commands the -camp—would take us to task for wasting time if he should hear of it, -and besides, we don't want to run the risk of being gobbled." - -"Gobbled?" repeated Captain Tom; for that was a word that had not yet -reached his part of the Confederacy. - -"Captured, you know." - -"Who's going to capture you at our house?" exclaimed Tom, who could -feel himself turning white. - -"The Yankee scouts might, if they should happen to ride into town and -any enemy of yours could tell them where to find us; and these escaped -prisoners might do it." - -Captain Randolph was utterly confounded. His idea of an escaped -prisoner was a man running frantically for his life and too badly -frightened to look behind him; but the lieutenant's words made it plain -to him that the four who were foot-loose somewhere in the vicinity -of Mooreville were not that sort. He became really alarmed when the -soldier went on to explain the situation. - -"You see they were run down and gobbled up three days ago by a large -squad of our cavalry, who started them for camp under guard of four -good men, one for each prisoner," said he. "But before they had been -away from us half an hour, what do those Yankees do but rise up and -kill their guards, take their weapons and ammunition, hitch their -horses in the woods so that they could not go on and alarm the camp, -and dig out through the swamp for the Mississippi River." - -"And those armed and desperate prisoners are supposed to be somewhere -in the settlement at this moment?" said Tom with a shudder. - -"That is what we think, for the dogs tracked them within a mile of this -cornfield." - -"I hope you will hang them the minute you get your hands on them," -said Tom, in a trembling voice. - -"There are fourteen men in my squad and that is what they allow to do," -replied the lieutenant; "but then they won't, for that would bring them -into trouble with Colonel Parker. If a captured man sees a chance to -escape he is at liberty to improve it, and to hurt anything or anybody -that gets in his way; and in doing it he runs the risk of getting hurt -himself." - -"The first we heard of it," said the sergeant, speaking for the first -time, "was when six of our men came into camp on foot, and reported -that they had been disarmed and dismounted by four Yankees who had -paroled and turned them loose." - -"That was about as impudent a thing as I ever heard of, and it shows -what a daring lot those escaped Yanks are," said the lieutenant; and -instead of getting angry when he thought of it, he surprised Tom by -laughing heartily, as though he looked upon it as the best kind of a -joke. "A private has no right to parole anybody, but all the same those -Yanks wrote out the papers in due form, and told our boys that they -could either sign them or stay there in the swamp till a party came out -from camp to bury them. And our boys thought they had better sign." - -"I didn't suppose that escaped prisoners ever acted that way," said -Captain Tom, after a few minutes of surprised silence. - -"Won't they have something to talk about when they get among their -friends?" said the lieutenant, with another laugh. "They are brave -soldiers, and I'll bet you they are good fellows; and when the war is -over, I don't care which side whips, I would like to meet them and talk -over the events of the last few days. We'd have a good laugh over them." - -"I don't think it is any laughing matter to kill four men as those -Yanks killed their guards," replied Tom, who could not understand how -men fighting under opposing flags could have the least particle of -respect or kindly feeling for one another. - -"Oh, that's war, you know," said the lieutenant lightly. "But you will -see now why the sergeant and I must decline your kind invitation to -take supper and sleep at your house. We don't want to put ourselves in -a position to be surrounded and captured, for we are pretty close to -Baton Rouge, and those Yanks might decide to take us along instead of -parolling us. If we camp in the woods with our dogs around us we'll -know that we are safe. Now, we shall have to bid you good-by, captain. -You will get your company together and do what you can to help us?" - -"Look out that they don't get the first shot at you, sah," suggested -the sergeant. - -"And if you are lucky enough to catch them may I depend on you to send -them to camp under guard?" added the lieutenant. "It might be to your -interest to make the acquaintance of our colonel." - -Captain Randolph shook hands with the two veterans and promised to do -all a loyal soldier could do to head the fugitives off from Baton Rouge -and send them back to Camp Pinckney; but there was not so much heart -in his promise as there was in the one he made before he learned that -the Yankees were armed and daring. In order to keep up appearances, -however, he put his horse into a lope as soon as the hand-shaking was -over, and made the best of his way to the enrolling office. He found a -few Home Guards loafing there, but not half as many as he would have -found two days before. These valiant men had heard that they might be -ordered off with a squad of conscripts any time, and they did not care -to go while the Union cavalry were riding about through the country. -So the most of them stayed at home, holding themselves in readiness to -take to their heels if they saw a horseman approaching, and had any -reason to believe that he had been sent by Captain Roach to warn them -to report for duty. The captain was at his desk, and for some reason or -other seemed to be in the best of spirits. - -"You ought to have dropped in about half an hour ago," said he, as Tom -walked into the office after hitching his horse at the rack in front -of the door. "I have had a very pleasant visit from one of your old -friends, who has just returned from Bragg's army." - -Captain Randolph was so surprised that he forgot all about the -daring Yankees who were running wild in the woods in close proximity -to Mooreville. He left home for the express purpose of warning the -enrolling officer against Rodney Gray and his chum Dick Graham, -but something in the captain's manner told him that his efforts in -that direction would not meet with much success; for the returned -soldiers had had the first chance at the captain, and they were both -smooth-tongued, winning fellows. - -"If you are speaking of Rodney Gray——" began Tom, in angry tones. - -"So you have seen him, have you!" exclaimed the enrolling officer, -leaning back in his chair and breaking out into a peal of laughter. -"Well, he's a good one, isn't he?" - -"If you are speaking of him," sputtered Tom, "you know as well as I do -that he is no friend of mine. I have told you so more times than I can -remember." - -"I know you have, and I confess that I treated him and his chum -rather coldly when they came into the office and said they wanted to -set themselves square with me by showing that they were honorably -discharged Confederate soldiers," answered the captain. "But they did -not seem to care a snap for me or for my opinion of them." - -"That's just like Rodney's impudence," exclaimed Tom. - -"Well, you see he has a sort of good-natured contempt for me because I -am not a veteran. He knows more in five minutes than I do in a month, -and he is not ignorant of the fact. He and his chum sat down without -waiting to be asked, talked as though they had known me always, and I -laughed till I cried over the stories they told of army life. I hope -to hear more of those stories when I go up to Gray's to dinner on -Thursday." - -If the enrolling officer had aimed a blow at him with the ebony ruler -that lay on his desk Tom Randolph would not have been more dumfounded. -He leaned heavily upon the back of a chair for a moment or two, and -then dropped almost helplessly into it. - -"To Gray's—to dinner on Thursday!" he repeated faintly. "You -can't—you mustn't go there." - -"What's the reason I mustn't?" demanded Captain Roach, surprised in his -turn. "Good dinners are not so plenty these times that I can afford to -throw them over my shoulder." - -"It isn't that," replied Tom. "It's the sentiments of the people who -invited you that I object to. When you go into old man Gray's house you -will go plump into a nest of traitors." - -"No, I reckon not. A man who volunteers and does a soldier's duty for -fifteen long months, and who shows me an honorable discharge, can't -well be called a traitor." - -"He stayed in the army after he got there because he had to, and did a -soldier's duty for the very good reason that he couldn't help himself," -said Captain Tom spitefully. "But see how he talks since he came back! -He says he will not go into the army again, and declares that the Yanks -who captured him while he was on the way home were gentlemen." - -"Well, what would you think if you had been in his place? What was -there to hinder those Yanks from taking him and Graham to Baton Rouge -and turning them over to the provost marshal? They were in uniform when -they were captured." - -"I see you are on the side of those traitors," said Tom, rising to his -feet and pounding lightly upon the captain's desk with his clenched -hand, "and I have this much to say to you: If you go to Gray's you will -no longer be welcome at our house." - -"I shall be sorry for that, of course, but I don't suppose I can help -it. Gray and his chum know all about soldiering, and as I may have to -go into the army myself some day, I want to learn all I can from them. -I think you would be wise to do the same." - -"And while you have been having a good time with my enemies, I have -been working for the cause which you made oath to support but seem -to have deserted," continued Tom impressively. "I have been making -arrangements to capture some of the very men whom Rodney Gray and Dick -Graham promised to assist if they found them in trouble. I want all -you fellows," here he turned about and addressed himself to the Home -Guards who had come into the office to hear what passed between their -captain and the enrolling officer, "to mount your horses at once and -go in pursuit of four escaped prisoners who are hiding in the woods -somewhere on the outskirts of the town. As you go, warn every other -member of the company you see to turn out and join in the chase." - -"Why, captain, what do you mean?" cried the enrolling officer, becoming -excited at once. - -Without paying the least attention to him or his question, Captain -Tom proceeded to give his men a short and very incomplete account of -the interview he had held with the two veterans while he was on his -way to town. We say the account was incomplete because Tom did not -tell his men that the fugitives had armed themselves when they escaped -from their guards, and had been carrying things with a high hand ever -since. He was afraid he could not raise much of a squad to aid in the -pursuit if he told that; so all he said was that the four Yankees were -striking for Baton Rouge, that fourteen Confederate veterans had been -following them with hounds for three days past, and that if they (the -Home Guards) would turn out in a body and capture the prisoners from -under the noses of the Confederates, it might be a feather in their -hats. The Home Guards thought so too; and hardly waiting for Tom to get -through with what he had to tell them, they made a rush through the -door toward the rack at which their horses were hitched. - -"I am glad to see you so prompt to obey orders," shouted Captain Tom, -following them to the sidewalk and waving his hand to them as they rode -off one after the other. "We'll show the authorities that there are -some loyal people around here yet. I'll be with you as soon as I can -ride home and get my uniform and weapons, but you needn't wait. Divide -yourselves into squads of six or eight, and search every nook and -corner of the woods you can get into between this time and dark. And -don't forget corn-cribs and nigger cabins, nor the cellars and lofts of -Union men." - -"I think it strange that you did not bring those Confederate officers -straight to my office," said the conscript captain, when the last Home -Guard had ridden away out of sight. - -"Since you have deserted loyal people for the society of those who -say that they will not do anything more for the cause they pretend to -believe in, I am sorry myself that I did not bring them here," answered -Tom. "But I did not once think of it. I am glad they did not accept my -invitation to supper, for I should have felt obliged to ask you to join -them. Where are you going?" he added, when Captain Roach began bundling -his papers into his desk and locking the drawers. - -"I am going to help capture those four Yankees," said he. "They are -Confederate prisoners, and I am a Confederate officer." - -Tom did not wait to see him off, but mounted his horse and set out for -home at top speed, as if he were impatient to arm himself and join his -men in the pursuit; but he went long distances out of his way to summon -members of his company whom he knew he would not find at home, so that -it was after three o'clock when he galloped through his father's gate -and drew rein at the foot of the steps. He had had ample time to think -over the situation and make up his mind what he would do. - -"My dear boy," exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, when Tom had hurriedly -explained matters to her, "you must not risk your life and liberty by -going in pursuit of those escaped prisoners. I'll never consent to it; -never in this world." - -"Then show me, please, how I can get out of it," answered Captain -Tom, gently disengaging himself from his mother's clinging hands and -starting up the stairs toward his room. "Some of my men are in the -woods by this time, and if that lieutenant should happen to run against -them, his first question would be: 'Where's your captain? He ought to -be here, conducting the pursuit in person.' Really I must show up, -mother, for I want those veterans to tell Colonel Parker, when they -go back to camp, that I did all I could to aid them in capturing the -Yanks." - -"Then you are sure they will be captured—that they will not be -permitted to roam at liberty during the night?" said Mrs. Randolph, who -had never before exhibited so much nervousness and anxiety as she did -at that moment. "I couldn't sleep if I knew they were at large." - -"No, I am not sure of it, for they have proved themselves to be both -daring and cunning. Just think what they have done! They have killed -their guards, captured and paroled half a dozen soldiers, and kept out -of reach of the hounds for three days; and such men are not going to be -taken easily, I bet you," replied Tom from the head of the stairs; and -then he went into his room to don his uniform and buckle on his sword -and revolver. A few minutes later he came out to ask his mother what -she thought of Captain Roach's way of doing business. - -"I wonder if he couldn't be reported and hauled over the coals for -associating with those Grays?" said Tom. - -"If the captain is disloyal—and we have no way of judging of his -feelings except by his actions—I certainly think his superior -officers ought to know it," said Mrs. Randolph. "But, my dear——" - -"I know what you want to say," interrupted Captain Tom. "You mean that -if I report him for any of his shortcomings, he will conscript me. Then -he had better do it at once, for if he waits a week it will be too -late." - -"Tom, are you going to resign your commission?" - -"I am going to take Larkin's place as overseer of this plantation," -replied Tom, very decidedly. "I thought it would be a big come-down -at first, but since I have thought the matter over, I have made up my -mind that it will be a change for the better. I can't be forced into -the army; being a civilian I may be able to obtain some salt, coffee, -and things from the Yanks; and if father ever has a chance to sell that -cotton, I shall be at hand to help him run it up out of the swamp." - -Captain Tom fully expected that his mother would strongly object to -these plans, and he even thought she might denounce him as a traitor to -the South and its flag; but somewhat to his surprise she did nothing -of the kind. She, too, had had leisure to think the matter over, and -much against her will had been obliged to confess to herself that it -didn't pay to be too good a rebel while the Federals held undisputed -possession of Baton Rouge, and blue-coated cavalry were scouting about -through the country. She even wished that Tom would hide his uniform, -his military saddle and bridle, and his sword where nobody would ever -see them again. - -"That is what I have decided to do," continued Captain Tom, as he -slipped his six-shooter into its holster and came down the stairs, "and -I mean to attend to it as soon as I see those four Yanks captured." - -"Perhaps it would be as well," answered his mother. "Delays are -sometimes dangerous. But I don't see how I can give my consent to let -you go on this expedition." - -"Don't worry about me. I am bound to come back all right, and I'll -never have to go on another. And when that traitor Roach gets ready to -send off his conscripts, he can tell somebody besides me to take them." - -"Will you recommend anyone to the Governor to take your place?" - -"Not much. I don't care whether or not anybody gets it, so long as -Lambert is left out in the cold with a fair chance of being sent to -Camp Pinckney. Good-by, mother. I must be off, or some evil-minded -person in the settlement will accuse me of shirking my duty." - -The leave-taking was a tearful one on Mrs. Randolph's part, but Captain -Tom could not have been more unconcerned if he had been going to -Mooreville to buy groceries. He thought he knew a way to keep up his -reputation as a loyal Southerner and steer clear of the dreaded Yankees -at the same time. - -"There's one thing about it," soliloquized Tom, as he galloped out of -the gate, waving a last farewell to his mother as he went, "our folks -are not as fierce for secession as they used to be, and I am mighty -glad to know it. We're getting so we live awful hard. Our table is a -sight to behold, with nothing on it but corn pone, bacon, sweet potato -coffee, and buttermilk from one week's end to another's, and I am -getting tired of such grub. And where am I going to raise forty-five -dollars in Confederate money to pay for a pair of boots when these wear -out? There's plenty of gold in the house, and I could use it to good -advantage if I could only get into Baton Rouge and obtain a permit from -the provost marshal to trade there. I'll bet you that Rodney Gray and -that chum of his will be rigged out spick-and-span from head to foot -the next time I see them, and they will buy their things inside the -Yankee lines, too. Now, I'll tell you what's a fact; I've just as much -right to use the Yankees as they have." - -When Captain Tom reached this point in his meditations he drew rein in -front of a pair of bars giving entrance into a lane that ran through -his father's plantation in the direction of the river. The house was -concealed from his view by an abrupt bend in the road, and a hasty -glance on each side showed him that there was no one in sight; so he -bent down from his saddle, opened the bars, and rode into the lane. It -is true that the escaped prisoners and the soldiers and hounds that -were pursuing them were not on that side of the road, but two miles -away in the opposite direction, but Captain Tom did not stop to think -of that. He knew where he was going, and made all haste to get there as -soon as he had put up the bars. - -"There are not half a dozen citizens in the neighborhood who will lend -a hand in catching those prisoners, and the last one of the Home Guards -will fall out and strike for a place of safety the minute they find out -that the Yanks are armed," thought Tom, as he rode swiftly along the -lane, turning about in his saddle now and then to make sure that no one -was observing his movements. "And that being the case, why should I -risk my life in trying to capture them? Say! By gracious!" - -As this exclamation fell from Captain Tom's lips he pulled up his horse -with a jerk, and looked first at the road and then at the cluster of -trees that shut the house off from his sight. He spent a minute or two -in this way and then rode on again. - -"That's a splendid idea, but my wit always comes too late to be of any -use to me," said he angrily; and he avenged himself on his slow wit -by hitting his spirited horse such a stinging cut with his whip that -the animal came very near "flying" the road and going off into the -ditch. "Instead of this gray uniform, which will send me to a Northern -prison if the Yankees ever catch me with it on, why didn't I keep on my -citizen's clothes? Then I needn't have had the least fear of meeting -the prisoners. I could have fed and sheltered them to-night and guided -them to the city in the morning; and in return for my services I could -have asked the provost marshal to give me a permit to buy some things -in the stores. Dog-gone the luck!" - -Captain Randolph hit his horse another merciless blow with the whip, -and this time the animal's sudden spring had a most astounding result. -He jumped sideways clear over the ditch that ran by the side of the -road, and when he landed on the opposite bank he stopped so quickly -that his rider was thrown headlong from his saddle, bringing up among -the cotton stalks ten feet farther on. He was not in the least injured -or even jarred by his fall, but he was tolerably angry to find himself -so easily unhorsed. He raised himself on his elbow, but before he could -make another move, or give utterance to his pent-up feelings, a voice -near at hand said pleasantly: - -"Glad to see you, John, but didn't expect to be introduced in such a -promiscuous manner, you know. Don't stand on ceremony, but come right -in. The latch-string is always out." - -This incident happened almost in the edge of the little grove of -evergreens toward which Captain Tom had been directing his course ever -since he passed through the bars. It was his intention to conceal -himself and his horse among the evergreens and remain there in safety -until dark, while the rest of the Home Guards and the citizens, if -any there were who had a fancy to join Captain Roach in such perilous -business, searched the woods for the escaped prisoners. - -Tom Randolph's first feeling was one of the most intense surprise, -without a particle of fear or anxiety in it; but when he rolled -over on his side to bring his face toward the grove, he was almost -paralyzed with terror to see three ragged fellows in nondescript -uniforms advancing swiftly upon him, while a fourth covered his head -with a cocked carbine from the edge of the evergreens. One of the three -secured his horse, which had not moved an inch since he rid himself -of his inhuman rider, a second swung the black muzzle of a musket in -unpleasant proximity to his face, and the third knelt by his side and -took possession of his sword and revolver. - -"Was yer looking fur we uns, Johnny boy?" chuckled the one who held the -musket. "If yer was, hyar we is. Mighty glad to see yer, and dat's a -fac'. Come along now, and we uns will cut a watermillyun." - -"Who—who are you?" gasped Tom, whose terror was greatly increased by -the soldier's grim humor. - -[Illustration: TOM RANDOLPH CAPTURED BY THE ESCAPED PRISONERS.] - -"Well, Johnny, we're so ragged and dirty just now that we don't rightly -know who we are, except that we are some of Uncle Sam's lost boys," -replied the one who had captured the sword and revolver. "I expect he's -down to Baton Rouge now waiting for us, and so we'd best be toddling -along. Take that horse into the grove out of sight, Ben. Come on, -Johnny." - -"Have you heard hounds giving tongue in the woods anywhere about here?" -inquired the one who had first spoken. - -Tom was so nearly overcome with fear that he could not answer. He -hardly knew when two of Uncle Sam's lost boys took him by the arms and -raised him to his feet. All he realized was that he had run squarely -into the hands of those he had tried so hard to avoid. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -NED GRIFFIN BRINGS NEWS. - - -After accompanying our Confederate hero, Rodney Gray, through fifteen -months of army life, during which he saw more adventures, endured more -hardships and learned more wisdom than he had ever dreamed of, we left -him, at the close of the second volume of this series, safe in the home -of his boyhood, which he had left for the avowed purpose of "driving -the Yankees out of Missouri." He confidently assured his mother and -the servants who assembled to see him off that it would not take more -than three or four months to do that, and then he would return, like -Lentulus of old, "with victorious eagles." Instead of that, he came -back as ragged and disgusted a specimen of a Confederate volunteer as -could be found anywhere in the South at the time of which we write, -and that is saying a good deal. The summer clothing given him and -his comrades at Tupelo after the retreat from Corinth, and which had -been furnished by one of the numerous "ladies' associations" of the -South, was not calculated to stand soldier treatment. The trousers -Rodney wore were made of a rich shawl, and his blouse had once been -part of a costly silk dress. His nights at the camp-fire, and the days -he had passed trudging along dusty roads, had played sad havoc with -his "pictured uniform." That was what Dick Graham called it, and his -regiment, which had been pretty well supplied with clothing of the same -description, presented a very fantastic appearance the first time they -went on dress parade. - -You will remember that Rodney brought Dick home with him. Dick wanted to -get into Missouri where his parents were, and in order to do that it was -necessary that he should find some point on the Mississippi that was not -guarded by Federal gunboats. They came from Camp Pinckney on foot, and -had been doing duty as infantrymen for months, although their regiment -was always spoken of as the —th Missouri cavalry. Their horses had been -"confiscated" by the commissary department during that dreary "mud -march" from the disastrous battlefield of Pea Ridge to Van Buren and -Pocahontas. The commanding general, Van Dorn, did not need cavalry -during that march, but it was necessary that his wagon train should go -through; so as fast as his jaded teams gave out and dropped in the road, -he took cavalry horses to replace them, and in process of time the two -Barrington boys found themselves on foot like hundreds of others. - -You will remember, too, that when Rodney reached home he led his friend -into the parlor and pushed him into an easy-chair with the words: "Stay -here till I find somebody," and that his mother came in a moment later. -The way in which the two greeted each other after their long separation -was something of which Dick Graham could not remain an unmoved -spectator, for it made him think of his own mother away off across the -river, whom he might never see again. He staggered rather than walked -to the window, and looked out at the oleanders in the yard. - -"O Rodney, is it possible that you have come back to me at last!" -exclaimed Mrs. Gray tearfully; and Dick knew, without turning his head, -that she was holding her stalwart son off at arms' length and giving -him a good looking over. - -"Yes, sir," replied the returned soldier, placing his arm about his -mother's waist and leading her toward a sofa, "I have come back, and I -have come to stay. The last words you said to me right out there on the -gallery were that you never wanted to hear that I had failed to do my -duty. You haven't heard any such report as that, have you? I have done -the best I could, but I have come back whipped; and I wish every other -man who wears a gray jacket were honest enough to say the same thing." - -The listening Dick expected to hear his chum soundly rebuked for giving -utterance to such sentiments, because he knew that the women were much -more zealous for the cause of Southern independence than their male -relatives, that they were exerting themselves to the utmost to keep the -war spirit at fever heat, and that, if it hadn't been for them, the -army from which he had just been discharged would have dwindled to a -corporal's guard long ago. By an accidental glance into a mirror that -hung on a side wall Dick saw that Mrs. Gray was holding her soldier boy -tightly clasped in her arms; but he did not hear her utter one word of -reproach. Like many another mother's, her patriotism had been sorely -tried, and now that Rodney had returned safe and sound she considered -that she had done all for the cause that could be expected of her, and -hoped that he would never leave her side again. Let some other mother's -son—Mrs. Randolph's, for instance—take Rodney's place at the front. - -"Say!" exclaimed Rodney, starting up all of a sudden. "What's the -matter here? This room doesn't look just as it did the last time I saw -it. Where's the carpet?" - -"It was cut into blankets and sent to Corinth, along with a lot of -other things that I thought might be of use to you ragged, shivering -soldiers," replied his mother. - -"I hoped you would never be called upon to make the smallest -sacrifice," said Rodney in a tone of disgust. - -"Do you think I made no sacrifice when I sent you to the field?" said -Mrs. Gray reproachfully. "O Rodney." - -"I didn't mean that," said the boy quickly. "But you don't want to rob -yourself for the sake of those fellows up there," bobbing his head in -the direction in which he supposed Bragg's army to be. "Like as not -the poor, foolish woman who cut her shawl up to make these trousers -of mine will suffer with cold for the want of it. But I am forgetting -something. Come here, old fellow. Mother, you have often heard me speak -of Dick Graham, the only brother I've got. Well, here he is. Rags and -dust and all, that's Dick. Kiss him for his mother, and tell me where I -will find father." - -The lonely, homesick young Missourian was almost overwhelmed by the -kindly greeting that Rodney's mother gave him, but his friend was quick -to notice it and came to his relief. When his mother said that Mr. Gray -had gone to Mooreville on business and might not be back for an hour -or two, he seized Dick by the arm and hurried him up to his room. - -"I have known you a good while, but I never saw you look so glum -before," said he, as he closed the door and forced Dick into a seat. - -"You may well say that," replied the latter. "I bore up pretty well -until I saw you and your mother together, and that knocked me. It's a -fur ways to Little Rock, and there are a good many Yanks on the road." - -"I'll trust you and your discharge to get along with the Yankee cavalry -if I can only see you safe over the river," said Rodney. "There is -where the fun is going to come in." - -"Don't you think that the commanding naval officer, or the provost -marshal at Baton Rouge, might be prevailed upon to give me permission -to go over openly and above-board?" inquired Dick. - -"Not much. You wouldn't do it yourself if you were in their places. -How would they know but that you were a spy or a bearer of secret -despatches, and that your discharge was a humbug? I tell you, Dick, -since I have had time to think of the way those Yankee scouts treated -us when they told us to come in out of the wet, I confess to a very -friendly feeling for the Yankees. How many are there who would have -run us in, just to be able to say that they had captured a couple of -graybacks?" - -"That's so," assented Dick. - -"Now the best thing you can do is to stay with me long enough to rest -your hands and face, say a week or such a matter, and then we'll go up -to Vicksburg——" - -"Suffering Moses!" exclaimed Dick. "There is a portion of two Yankee -fleets up there, according to the last report I read, and they are -fighting our fellows all the time." - -"Well, say Port Hudson then. There hasn't been much of any fighting -there. We'll buy a light, tight boat and provision it——" - -Here Dick straightened up, and turned his pockets inside out one after -the other to show that they were empty. - -"I know what you mean by that," exclaimed Rodney, "but I'll see that -you have all the money you want—money, I said, and not such stuff as -that," he added, thrusting his hand into his pocket and pulling out -the roll of Confederate scrip that the paymaster had given him with his -discharge. "Mother was wild for Southern independence when this thing -was first started, but thought it wise to prepare for a rainy day; so -she and father and I put away a little gold." - -"If it wasn't for the fact that my father and mother did the same -thing, I'd call you a traitor," said Dick. - -"Oh, I know we are in good company," answered Rodney with a laugh. "And -we don't think any the less of ourselves for putting away that gold, -either. Think what a fix Washington's army was in when it was mustered -out at Newburgh. Those men were victorious, but even victors must eat -and have something to wear, and what did they have to live on? Do you -suppose they would have thought seriously of mutiny if they had had a -little store of hard stuff to fall back on? That's why we hid the gold; -and it doesn't make any difference what sort of laws the government at -Richmond passes, we are going to keep what we have. Now, let me show -you how much my old company thought of me." - -Although Rodney's room had been regularly cared for during the long -months it had been without an occupant, he noticed, the moment he went -into it, that nothing had been disturbed. A newspaper, which he had -tossed upon the floor the morning he left, was lying in nearly the same -spot yet; and his light fowling-piece was standing in the corner where -he had placed it after shooting a hawk that was bothering Aunt Martha's -chickens. He opened the door of his closet as he spoke, and almost -without looking put his hand upon the elegant cavalry sabre that Bob -Hubbard's Rangers had given him. The uniform he had worn while acting -as drill-master, and his military saddle and bridle were there, too. - -"I left them at home because I knew they would get me captured if -I tried to take them into Missouri," said he. "Now, pull off that -picture-book," he added, nodding toward Dick's silk blouse, "and after -you have removed a little of the Louisiana soil from your features, put -on this citizen's suit. I am not sure it will fit you, but it is the -best I can do until I see how trade is." - -"I suppose gold is as potent in Baton Rouge as it was in Little Rock," -said Dick. "But do you think our discharges will take us inside the -Yankee lines?" - -"We'll make them," replied Rodney. "We'll say that we want to report -ourselves to the provost marshal and get a paper of some kind from him -that will keep the Federal scouts from bothering us; and when we see -him we'll bounce him for permission to trade." - -The boys went to work to make such improvements in their personal -appearance as they could with plenty of soap and water and Rodney's -abundant wardrobe, and when a bell rang in a lower hall half an hour -later, they answered it looking quite unlike the dusty ragamuffins who -had walked unbidden into Mrs. Gray's front parlor. It is true that -their coats were a little short in the sleeves and tight across the -shoulders, but there were no holes in them or in the light shoes they -wore on their feet. - -"That's all O. K., mother," said Rodney, catching a momentary glimpse -of a well-filled table through the open door. "When you can't think -of any other way to put in the time, just ask us if we want something -to eat. Now come and sit down with us, and tell us everything that's -happened since I have been in the army." - -Rodney's entrance into the dining room seemed to be the signal that -the house servants had been waiting for. The moment he stepped over -the threshold they rushed in through every door, some smiling, some -laughing outright, and all pushing and crowding one another in the -effort to be the first to shake "young moster" by the hand. Foremost -in the struggle was Rosebud, the darkey who had been Rodney's playmate -in the days of his babyhood, and who yelled so dolefully when he went -away. Although they all inquired particularly after his health, there -was not one among them who asked what he thought of the Yankees as -fighters now that he had had some experience with them. They knew as -well as he did that he and his comrades had failed utterly in their -efforts to take Missouri out of the Union. - -Mrs. Gray could not describe in one dinner hour everything that had -happened in and around Mooreville during the last fifteen months, nor -could she do it in a dozen hours; and even at the end of a week she -and her husband had many questions to answer as well as many to ask. -But before he went to bed that night Rodney knew pretty nearly what -Tom Randolph and his Home Guards had been doing, and how he and the -enrolling officer stood in the community, and had been made to see at -least one thing very clearly: the surest way for him to keep out of -the army was to follow Ned Griffin's example and take a position as -overseer on one of his father's plantations. - -"I am overjoyed to know that you have decided to remain at home with -us," said his father, "but, to be honest, I did not look for it, so I -gave Griffin the best opening I had. Our upper plantation, as you are -aware, is right in the middle of the woods; but I think Ned will be -willing to make the change if I ask him." - -"Not for the world," said Rodney quickly. - -"I am used to living in the woods, so I will take the little farm and -let Ned and his mother stay near civilization, where they can see white -folks once in a while. Besides, I'd rather like to be within reach -of the cotton you've got up there. A Northern paper that came into -our hands just before we left Tupelo contained the information that -there's going to be trading allowed along the river, and what the Yanks -especially want is cotton." - -"I don't blame them," said Mr. Gray, with a smile. "It is worth sixty -cents a pound in New York." - -This piece of news almost took Rodney's breath away. - -"Four hundred and fifty bales at—let me see; $270 a—— Great Scott, -father! That doesn't look as though you are going to be reduced to -beggary." - -"But you must bear in mind that our cotton is not in New York, but -concealed in the depths of a swamp," said his mother; and Rodney -afterward had occasion to recall the words when he was working night -and day, with Sailor Jack's assistance and Marcy's to keep this cotton -out of the hands of rascals, both Union and Confederate, who were -trying their best to take it from him by force or to cheat him out of -it. This news was so very important that it could be talked of only in -whispers; and after the difficulties that lay in the way of getting the -cotton into the hands of the traders had been discussed in tones so low -that no eavesdropper at the door could have heard a word of it, Mrs. -Gray said in her ordinary voice: - -"You boys have often spoken of having Northern papers in your -possession. Did your officers permit that?" - -"Well, no," said Rodney, with a laugh. "It was against orders to -look at one of them, and I have seen men triced up by the thumbs for -disregarding that order." - -"Then how did they get inside our lines?" - -"They were taken from dead Yanks, or out of the pockets of prisoners," -replied Rodney. "Sometimes they were handed over to an officer, or -thrown aside to be picked up by other men who didn't care so much -for orders; and those who got them were mighty careful to know who -was around when they took them out to read them. Why, mother, I am -telling you the gospel truth when I say that all the reliable news we -army fellows got was what came to us through the columns of Northern -papers, or from the mouths of Northern prisoners. But, as I was -saying—$120,000 and over. That's what your cotton is worth, father, -and I will take the little farm so as to be where I can see it once in -a while." - -There were so many questions to be asked and answered that Rodney and -Dick scarcely stirred out of the house during the whole of the next -day. On the second day they rode out to call upon Ned Griffin and his -mother, both of whom shed tears of joy and gratitude when they took -Rodney by the hand. - -"Yes; thanks to your father's kindness, I am here yet," said Ned, -wiping his eyes, which grew misty every time he spoke of his -benefactor, "though mercy knows how I am going to pay the debt I shall -owe him when the terms of the conscription law are complied with. A -hundred pounds of beef and bacon for every darkey on this place, big -and little, and beef and bacon worth—worth way up yonder," said Ned, -pointing to the ceiling. "It will take me a lifetime to pay it." - -"Oh, no, it won't," said Rodney encouragingly, "for if goods are high, -your services will command wages in proportion; don't you see?" - -"Do you imagine that I will ever charge your father a cent after what -he has done for me?" cried Ned indignantly. "I am not that kind of a -fellow, and you ought to know it." - -"Well, I suppose that is sentiment, but it isn't business," said the -practical Rodney. "Now, then, what do you know? Have you the straight -of the fights the Home Guards had with those gunboats?" - -Ned laughed until he was red in the face, and then went on to give the -"straight" of one "fight" as he had heard it from indignant citizens of -Baton Rouge, who had petitioned General Williams, the Union commander, -to send a company of cavalry to Mooreville with orders to exterminate -the Home Guards or drive them from the country. The boys heard much -the same story from several disabled veterans of Bragg's army, upon -whom they called on their way home, and that was the way Rodney came -to know so much about what had been transpiring along the river during -his absence. He and Dick also learned from various sources that the -enrolling officer would prove to be a jolly and entertaining companion -when once they became acquainted with him, but as he was Tom Randolph's -friend, they had better not trust him too far at first. - -"Perhaps we'll not trust him at all," said Rodney. "We can tell better -after we have had a look at him. As we are not in the Confederate -service we are under no obligations to go near him; still he might look -upon it as a courteous and friendly act if we were to drop into his -office to-morrow and tell him 'hallo!'" - -With this object in view they rode to Mooreville on the afternoon -of the next day, and that was the time they saw Tom Randolph and -frightened him nearly out of his wits, as we have recorded, by assuring -him that he need not expect to take a squad of conscripts to Camp -Pinckney without having a brush with the Union cavalry. It was after -they left him that they heard the hounds giving tongue in the woods; -but such sounds were common enough in that country, and so they paid no -attention to it, although they might have done so had they been able -to look far enough into the future to see what was going to happen -afterward. - -When they reached the enrolling office Rodney found that he knew -everyone there except the officer in charge; and as he shook hands with -some and barely nodded to others, he told himself that they were just -the sort of men he expected to find in Tom Randolph's company of Home -Guards. There were a few industrious, hard-working ones among them, but -the majority were long-haired, lazy vagabonds, who had never been known -to earn an honest living. - -"They're a pretty set to fight a gunboat," he whispered to Dick while -the two were hitching their horses at the rack. "And I'll bet my roll -of Confederate scrip against yours that they never take any conscripts -to the camp of instruction. I'll go farther, and say that they will -never start with any, for when they are wanted they'll not be found. -Now let's go in and see what sort of a chap we have to deal with." - -Dick Graham put him down at once as a conceited prig, who did not -know a thing outside of office routine, and was so disgusted with -the airs he tried to throw on that he did not salute when he handed -out his discharge; but Rodney, who did not care any more for the -enrolling officer than he did for a crooked stick in the road, pursued -a different course, and very soon succeeded in making Captain Roach -ashamed of himself. He made him see that there was a big difference -between a veteran soldier and a Home Guard, and ended by asking him to -dinner. - -"Now you've done it," said Dick, as the two mounted their horses and -rode homeward. "If your mother had wanted that officer at her table, -don't you think she would have asked him long ago?" - -"Oh, that's all right," said Rodney. "We're privileged characters, and -my folks will back up anything we do or say. Besides, during the last -three days I've got to be a policy man." - -"What do you mean by that?" - -"Just this: so long as Captain Roach collogues with Tom Randolph and -his mother—she's the one I am afraid of, for she is a schemer from -the word go, I tell you—so long will he be more or less under their -influence; and I am well enough acquainted with them to know that they -would not hesitate to say or do anything that came into their heads -if they thought they could set him against me. So I wanted the first -chance at the captain. There's no telling at what moment he may be able -to do us a good turn." - -When the boys reached home they were surprised to find that there was -a good deal of suppressed excitement among the servants, which showed -itself now and then in spite of all their efforts to keep it concealed. -Rodney's black playmate, who came to the steps to take charge of their -horses, was full of news, but his master could not get anything out -of him, although he threatened, if he did not speak, to take him on -board the gunboats and sell him to the Yankees the first thing in the -morning. When they went into the house they met Mrs. Gray, whose face -showed that she was not altogether at her ease. - -"What's up?" demanded Rodney. - -"Nothing more than we can expect in times like these, I suppose," she -replied, with a smile. "But the blacks are frightened, and of course -that has an effect on me. There are four escaped Union prisoners in -the vicinity, and some Confederate soldiers are pursuing them with -bloodhounds." - -Dick Graham took note of the fact that she did not say "some of _our_ -soldiers," as almost every other Southern woman would have done. He -thought of the Federal scouts who had captured and released himself and -Rodney a few days before, and said mentally: - -"I hope they'll not catch them. I wish we could find them long enough -to hand them a bottle of turpentine. That would throw the dogs off -their trail in short order." - -"Well, what are the blacks frightened at?" continued Rodney. "The Yanks -don't make war on people of their color." - -"But they know that there are two ex-Confederate soldiers in this -house——" began Mrs. Gray. - -"Now I understand it!" exclaimed Rodney. "And that was the reason -Rosebud wouldn't tell me what he had on his mind, though I promised to -sell him if he didn't. He was afraid that Dick and I would saddle up -and go after those prisoners. Well, we're not making war on Yanks so -much as we were, so you can rest easy, mother. But how did you find it -out? We didn't hear a word of it in town or along the road." - -"Three of the pursuing party rode into the yard not half an hour -ago to tell me of it, and to ask if I thought any of our blacks -would be likely to feed and shelter the Federals if they came on the -plantation," answered Mrs. Gray. "And I could only say truthfully -that I was sure they would. The soldiers do not mean to give the poor -fellows any rest, or the least chance to escape to the river." - -"Hal-lo!" ejaculated Rodney. "Is a Yank a poor fellow in your -estimation?" - -"A weary and hungry man is always an object of pity," replied his -mother, "and such have never been turned from this plantation without -having their wants relieved. And now the soldiers have gone and put -those dreadful Home Guards after them." - -"Haw, haw!" laughed Rodney. "Tom Randolph's Home Guards may be dreadful -to unarmed Union men who have never snuffed powder, but veterans, such -as I take these escaped prisoners to be, won't stand in fear of them. -Why, mother, if these four men were armed they would whip Tom's whole -company." - -"They are thoroughly armed," said Mrs. Gray. "And when they are in need -of food they walk right into a plantation house and demand it." - -"That's all right too. You don't expect men to go hungry when there's -grub in sight, just because they have the misfortune to be Yanks, do -you? Where did they get their weapons?" - -Mrs. Gray shuddered as she told the story as we have already heard -it; and when she described how the fugitives had surprised, captured, -and paroled a squad of six men who had been sent in pursuit of them, -Rodney's face and Dick's beamed with admiration. - -"I'll bet they are bricks," said the former. - -"Top-notch," chimed in Dick. - -"And do the Home Guards know that the Yanks are armed?" continued -Rodney. "If they do, there isn't a man in the company who will join in -the pursuit. They'll make a big show of going if Tom orders them out, -but the first good chance they get they'll hide in the woods." - -"And I don't know that I blame them," observed Dick. - -"Nor me. There's no fun in walking up on an armed and desperate man -when he is concealed and can see every move you make, while you cannot -see hide nor hair of him. Mother," here he sunk his voice to a whisper, -"I hope they won't catch those fellows; and if they come around this -house I'll help them if I can." - -"Here too," whispered Dick; and Mrs. Gray never uttered a word of -rebuke. The boys believed that she would help them herself. - -When Mr. Gray came in the matter was talked over again, and he did not -appear to be very anxious that the fugitives should be captured. On the -contrary he discussed their chances of escape with great composure, -and said he thought their prospects would be brighter than they were -if they only had somebody with them who could show them how to throw -off the dogs. These dogs were not intended to seize the fugitives, you -will understand, but merely to overtake and hold them at bay until the -soldiers could come up. Large packs of trained "nigger" dogs would -sometimes pull down a single man when they found him in the woods, and -it is a matter of history that some of our poor fellows who escaped -from Andersonville were sadly torn by them. - -But the four escaped prisoners in question did not come near Mr. Gray's -house that night; or if they did, Rodney and Dick never knew it. It was -on the morning of the next day, just as breakfast was nearly over, -that the first exciting thing happened. Ned Griffin rode into the yard, -and on his way to the back porch he passed along the carriage-way in -front of one of the dining-room windows. Rodney had a fair view of his -face as he rode by, and Ned looked through the open window and saw -Rodney; and in an instant a signal passed from one to the other—a -signal so very slight that no one but a schoolboy would have noticed -it, but it told Rodney as plainly as words that Ned had news for him -that he did not want to divulge in the presence of any third party. So -Rodney hastily excused himself and went out on the porch. - -"You look just as Rosebud did when I came home last evening," said he, -when he saw Ned standing at the foot of the steps holding his horse by -the bridle. "But I hope you will be more accommodating than he was, for -he would not tell what he had on his mind." - -"Say," replied Ned. He looked all around to make sure that there was no -else within hearing and then went on. "You heard about those escaped -Yankees, didn't you?" - -"I heard all about them. What of it?" - -"They came to our house last night." - -"That's all right. You treated them white, didn't you?" - -"I treated them the best I knew how. I thought you and your father -wouldn't care." - -"Of course not. But we would care if you had treated them any other -way. What of it?" - -"They want me to guide them to Baton Rouge," continued Ned; and then -Rodney noticed that the hand with which he held his bridle trembled -like a leaf. - -"That's all right too, and I don't see anything alarming in it. Why -don't you do it?" - -"I am perfectly willing to do it, but you see they have got Tom -Randolph with them and won't give him up. They are bound to take him -into the city as a prisoner, for they captured him in uniform." - -This astounding information almost knocked Rodney over. He sat down on -the topmost step, rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his -hands, and looked at Ned without speaking. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ESCAPED PRISONERS' STORY. - - -"I tried my level best to induce the Yanks to let Tom Randolph go free, -and so did mother," continued Ned, slipping the bridle over his horse's -head and seating himself on the steps at Rodney's feet, "but they -wouldn't hear to it. The worst of it is, they scared the life out of -Tom and made him confess everything." - -"I am sorry to hear that," replied Rodney, who had leisure, while Ned -was speaking, to gather a few of his wits about him. "If Tom told how -he persecuted unarmed Union men in this settlement he's a goner sure -enough, for there isn't a soldier in the world who will stand such work -as that." - -"I don't believe he said a word about it," exclaimed Ned. - -"Then what in the name of sense did he have to confess?" - -"About fighting those gunboats, you know." - -"He never fought any gunboats," declared Rodney impatiently. "What do -you suppose possesses him to stick to that lie every chance he gets? -One would think he'd get tired of it after a while." - -"I asked him that very question when the Yanks permitted me to have a -little private talk with him," said Ned, "and the reason he gave was -this: he had heard that brave men respected brave men, and he hoped his -captors would treat him with a little more courtesy if they knew that -he was a valiant soldier." - -Rodney Gray was utterly confounded. - -"Valiant sol—— Great Scott! There isn't a bigger coward in the -Confederacy than Tom Randolph!" he exclaimed. - -"But you see the Yankees don't know that, and Tom has stuffed them so -full of his ridiculous stories that they imagine they have got hold of -a second Mosby or Morgan, and that he is worth keeping." - -"Did you tell them all this?" inquired Rodney. - -"Of course I did; but, although they know that I am a Union man and -down on everything that looks like secession or rebellion, they would -not believe me, and you will have to go up and try what you can do; -that is, if you feel like helping one who has always done his best to -injure you." - -"I'd like to take Tom Randolph right out there in the carriage road -and punch his head for him this minute," replied Rodney, "but I am not -coward enough to take vengeance on him in any other way. I'll go, of -course, but I don't imagine they will pay any more attention to me than -they did to you." - -"Yes, they will; for they know you." - -"Know me?" cried Rodney, opening his eyes wide with amazement. "I -reckon not. I don't know a living Yank." - -"Well, they know you, and Dick Graham as well," insisted Ned. "They -remember perfectly of reading your names on the discharges you showed -when they captured you between here and Camp Pinckney." - -Rodney Gray had got upon his feet, but when he heard these words he sat -down again. He stared hard at Ned as if he were trying to understand -something that was too hard for him, and shouted: - -"Rosebud!" - -"What are you going to do?" asked Ned, when in response to the summons -the darkey came tumbling out of the kitchen with a slice of bacon in -one hand and a chunk of corn pone in the other. - -"I am going to ask you to come into the house and tell your story to -Dick and the folks from beginning to end," answered Rodney. "Give your -horse to Rosebud and come on." - -Ned Griffin followed his conductor with some reluctance, for he did not -know what a man who had fitted out half a dozen partisan rangers, and -who was a large slaveholder besides, might think of an overseer who -gave aid and comfort to Union soldiers and abolitionists without saying -a word to him about it. The quick-witted Rodney must have known what -he was thinking about, for after placing Ned in a chair and carefully -closing all the doors that gave entrance into the dining room, he -walked up to his father and whispered: - -"Those escaped prisoners were up to Ned's last night, and he is afraid -you will think hard of him for giving them a bite to eat." - -"And loaning them blankets too, Mr. Gray," chimed in honest Ned, who -meant that his employer should know the full extent of his offending. -"They had blankets enough first and last, but were so hard pressed by -the dogs that they had to throw away everything except their guns." - -"Well, I assure you that I don't think hard of you for giving hungry -men something to eat and a bed to sleep on," said Mr. Gray. "I should -have done the same thing myself if they had applied to me; but I trust -you exercised due care while you were doing it." - -"I know what you mean, sir," answered Ned, "and there isn't a white -person living who knows what happened on that plantation last night -except my mother and Tom Randolph." - -A shell from one of the gunboats in front of Baton Rouge could scarcely -have created greater consternation in that room than Ned Griffin's -last words. Mr. Gray thought that Ned's doings might as well be -published in Richmond at once, and was about to say as much, when -Rodney took a great load from his mind, and astonished him almost -beyond measure at the same time, by quietly remarking that Tom was a -prisoner in the hands of the Yankees, who were bent on taking him to -Baton Rouge. Then he requested Ned to tell them just what had happened -on his plantation the night before, and the latter gave the particulars -substantially as follows: - -The first Ned and his mother heard of the escaped prisoners was -through one of the house servants, who declared with much earnestness -that she could not remember just who told her the news, but it was in -everybody's mouth, and some of the field hands, she didn't know who, -had seen and talked with white men who had seen and talked with the -Confederate soldiers who were following the trail of the fugitives. -She did not try to conceal her joy when she informed Mrs. Griffin that -"dem Yanks was boun' to get safe to de ribber, kase dey had done pass -Mooreville de night befo', and de houn' dogs had done been heared -givin' tongue in de woods ten miles from Baton Rouge." Being intensely -loyal to the Old Flag and friendly to those who wore the blue, Ned -hoped from the bottom of his heart that this report was true; but -understanding the negro nature as well as he did, he could not believe -more than half of it. He told his mother that there was a conspiracy -among the slaves to shield those four men, and that they might be -concealed on the plantation for a month, and no white person would know -a thing about it. Consequently he was not prepared for what took place -about an hour after dark. - -He was in the act of blowing out his lantern after seeing that -everything was snug for the night. He had been the rounds of the -quarter to make sure that the darkeys were all in their cabins where -they belonged, had shaken the padlocks on the corn-cribs and smoke -house, assured himself that his yellow-legged chickens were all -roosting high, and, being entirely satisfied with his day's work, was -preparing for a quiet evening with his mother, when there came a knock -at the back door. Ned opened it, and saw his negro foreman standing -there. - -"Cæsar," he exclaimed, "didn't I leave you at your cabin not more than -ten minutes ago? You ought to be in bed by this time." - -"Oh, yes, sah; I was dah," replied Cæsar with a chuckle, "kase I knowed -mighty well dat you'd be around to see if I was dah. But I—— Step out -hyar a minute, please, sah." - -Ned went out, closing the door behind him, and was surprised as well -as startled to find himself confronted by two men who carried guns in -their hands. The night was so dark that he could not see their faces -or clothing, and his first thought was that some of the Home Guards -had come to pay him what their commander humorously called a "visit -of ceremony." If that was the case Ned knew that the house in which -he lived would be ransacked and robbed, and he himself given notice -to quit the country at once, or take such a whipping as the old time -overseers used to give their negroes. But Cæsar's next words reassured -him, although they did not lessen his astonishment. - -"You know dem Yankees what's runnin' loose in de woods?" he said in a -low tone. "Wal, sah, Moster Ned, dem's um." - -"We hear that you are Union, and so we have made bold to come here and -ask if you can give us a little help," said one of the men; and Ned -noticed that he did not speak like one who begged a favor. There was -a ring of defiance in his tones, which under the circumstances was -perfectly surprising. - -"Who told you that I am Union?" said Ned at length. - -"The darkeys. We know the name and politics of every man between here -and the place where we were captured. Just now we are looking for -supper and lodging." - -"But I care more for a pair of shoes than I do for eating and sleeping, -although I am so tired that I could drop down where I stand and sleep -for a week," said the second man. "The hounds have driven us hard -since we got away, and I have worn out all the footgear I could get or -steal." - -"We had some blankets and quilts yesterday," added his companion, "but -we had to throw them away this morning in order to make light weight -through the thick woods. We would have been in rags if it had not been -for our good friends, the darkeys." - -"I can supply your wants, and shall be glad to do so," said Ned -promptly. "But you must never mention my name where any of my neighbors -can hear it. Come into the house, and Cæsar will stand outside to see -that no one slips up on you. There ought to be four of you. Where are -the other two?" - -"We left them in the woods at the end of the lane, keeping guard over -a prize we gobbled this afternoon," replied one of the blue-coats; -and when they were conducted into the room in which Mrs. Griffin was -sitting they removed their remnants of hats respectfully, and dropped -with something like a sigh of satisfaction into the chairs that Ned -pulled up for them; but they held fast to their guns. - -It took but a minute's time for Ned to explain the situation to his -mother, and scarcely longer to provide for the immediate wants of the -two fugitives; for when Mrs. Griffin said that they were welcome to -everything there was in the house, the half a dozen black heads that -filled one of the doors were quickly withdrawn, and in less time than -it takes to tell it a plate filled with cold bread and meat was handed -to each of the hungry blue-coats. - -"I'se mighty sorry I aint got some store coffee for you, honey," said -one of the women, who by virtue of her age and position took it upon -herself to act as mistress of ceremonies. "But I isn't got none." - -"We're sorry for that, aunty; not on our account, but on yours," said -one of the soldiers; "but it seems to me that you white folks ought -to be able to get such things as coffee out here. There was lots of -trading going on with country people when we left Baton Rouge." - -"We've had a few things through the kindness of my employer," replied -Ned, "and we hope to have more when I get a permit to trade myself. Mr. -Gray thought it wasn't best to trouble the provost marshal for too -many permits, for fear that he would shut down on all of them." - -"Well, the marshal will not shut down on you, nor on any other Union -man whose name we have on our list," said the soldier confidently. "We -are not going to forget our friends, I assure you." And then he almost -made Ned jump out of his chair by adding: "You spoke Mr. Gray's name -just now; I suppose he is Rodney's father, isn't he?" - -"Yes, he is," cried Ned. "But what do you know about him?" - -"Not much, that's a fact; but we met Rodney once when he wasn't at all -glad to see us. If we had been a different lot we might have put him and -his comrade to some trouble, just to show what vigilant scouts we were." - -"Do you mean to tell me that you belonged to the squad that captured -Rodney and Dick Graham a few days ago?" - -"We're two of them, and the others are in the woods, if our pursuers -haven't found and gobbled them up. But I don't think they have, or -we'd have heard the sounds of the fight." - -"Well, you'll not go away without seeing Rodney and Dick, will you?" - -"That depends," answered the soldier, with a smile. "We are not on a -pleasure trip and can't say beforehand just what we will do. The first -thing for us to find out in the morning is whether or not our pursuers -have placed themselves between us and the river. If they have, it might -be well for us to remain in hiding a few hours, and give them time to -get out of our road. But if they are still behind us, we ought to push -on without loss of time. I don't suppose those two rebs would go back -on us if they knew where we were. They said they wouldn't." - -"Rodney and Dick!" exclaimed Ned indignantly. "While they were in the -army they fought you Yanks the best they knew how; but I know what I -am talking about when I say that you haven't better friends in your -regiment or company than Rodney Gray and Dick Graham." - -"I believe it," said the soldier earnestly. "We are not afraid to -trust any man who met us in open battle; but the Home Guards we _are_ -afraid of." - -"You'd better be," exclaimed Ned. "The most of them are sneaks and -cowards, and disgrace the uniform they wear." - -"I believe that, too; and now let me tell you why we are afraid of -them. When we met your two friends Gray and Graham, we belonged to a -squad of twenty men who were under orders to scour the country between -the river and Camp Pinckney, so that we could give timely notice to -General Williams if we discovered any considerable body of Confederates -in that direction. The general has information that the enemy is going -to try to open the river again, and, of course, he means to be ready -for any rebs who come this way. After we told Rodney and his chum to -go home and see their mammies, we rejoined our command, which we found -about three miles down the road, and reported that we hadn't seen any -graybacks and no signs of any; and the very next day we were surprised -and routed by a mixed body of veterans and Home Guards which some good -rebel had put on our track. We gave them a lively fight, but they were -too many for us, and those of us who were not killed or captured were -scattered far and wide. - -"I hadn't much of an idea of being taken prisoner, I tell you, and I -have still less now. I'd rather be shot and have done with it. I had -talked with some of our boys who had had experience as captives, and -the stories they told were enough to make one's hair rise on end. They -did not have a word of fault to find with the rebel soldiers, who, -so they said, always treated them well, but they gave it to the Home -Guards good and strong, and declared that in future they would shoot -every one that crossed their path. I could easily tell the Home Guards -from the soldiers in that fight, both by their dress and the way they -behaved under fire; and when I saw one of our boys killed after he had -given up his gun, and saw that there was no possible chance for me to -get away, I just avenged the death of my comrade by tumbling that Home -Guard out of his saddle with the last cartridge I had, and hunted up -an old soldier and surrendered to him. My three comrades did the same, -and that's the way we happen to be alive to-day. - -"We were kept with the main body about two hours, and during that time -were used like white men. The veterans divided their grub with us, -patted us on the back, and said we were good fellows for driving them -out of Corinth and licking them on the river as we had been doing, and -we had nothing in the world to complain of; but I tell you we shook in -our shoes when we learned that nine of us prisoners were to be sent to -Camp Pinckney under a strong escort of Home Guards, while the soldiers -kept to the road to hunt for more Yankees. And right there is where I -blame the officer in command of the Confederate detachment," said the -blue-coat, now beginning to show such signs of anger and excitement -that Ned Griffin would have been alarmed if he hadn't known that his -loyalty to the flag was beyond suspicion, "and if he ever falls into -the hands of my regiment he will have cause to regret that act of his. -He knew what manner of men his Home Guards were—that they were, as -you say, sneaks and cowards, that they dared not go to the front, and -that their highest ambition was to shoot a Yankee without running the -risk of being shot themselves. But he told us to go, and when the order -was given for us to fall in, we had to obey it. Well, sir, you may -believe it or not, but I can prove it, we hadn't much more than got out -of sight of the soldiers before those Home Guards began laughing and -joking about losing us on their way to camp." - -"Did they think you were going to try to escape?" asked Ned. - -"They meant that they were going to shoot us," said the man fiercely. - -Ned and his mother could hardly believe that their ears were not -deceiving them. - -"Thank goodness, our Home Guards are not as bad as that," said the -former. - -"Have they ever been put to the test?" demanded the fugitive. "I know -that they have fought gunboats and defeated some detachments of our -cavalry, but did they ever have a Yankee prisoner in their hands?" - -Ned was greatly astonished to hear that the Mooreville Home Guards had -been in action with the Federal cavalry, but he managed to say that he -didn't think they had ever taken a prisoner. Before he could say more -the blue-coat continued: - -"I shouldn't like to fall into their power, for I believe they would -make short work of me. The men who had been detailed to take us nine -prisoners to camp came from the Pearl River bottoms, and looked, acted, -and talked more like heathen than any men I ever saw before. Believing -that we did not understand their jokes about losing us in the woods, -they talked freely among themselves until we came to a place where the -road forked; and there they separated into two parties, four of their -number taking my three comrades and myself down one road, while the rest -of the escort went with the other five prisoners down the other road. - -"Before this happened I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to be -killed by those long-haired Yahoos if I could help it, and that act -of separation was two points in favor of the plans I had formed in -my mind. It gave me as companions three men who enlisted at the same -time I did, who had served in my company and regiment all through the -war, and who I knew could be depended on to back me up in anything -I undertook, and it gave us four the smallest escort, the main body -having gone down the other road with the rest of the prisoners. And I -hope and believe that those five fellows got safely into camp, for the -men who went with them were not half as villainous or blood-thirsty as -those who guarded us. To show you what sort of men we had to deal with, -one of them remarked, as he drew a big knife from his boot to cut off a -chew of tobacco, that he wouldn't think any more of sticking that knife -into a Yank than he would of putting it into a pig. - -"I have been in some tight places since I joined the service, but I -don't think I ever suffered as I did during the next fifteen minutes. -It makes me sweat now to think of it," continued the veteran; and as -he spoke he drew his crooked finger across his forehead and threw off -the perspiration which Ned saw had gathered there like big drops of -rain. "Being the only officer there was in our party—I was corporal, -you know—my fellows naturally looked to me to do something, and I was -fully aware of it; for I knew then as well as I do now that they had -one and all determined to escape from those Home Guards or die in the -attempt. I communicated with each of them by making the best use of my -eyes I knew how, and could have yelled with delight when I saw that I -made them understand me. Each of us selected a rebel and kept as close -to him as he could without exciting suspicion. I was impatient to get -to work, for I didn't know how soon they would begin work on us, but I -was afraid to do anything until I thought we were well out of hearing -of the party that had taken the other road. I was certain that there -would be some shooting done during the fight, and did not want to draw -their attention; but when I could stand it no longer I gave a yell, and -floored my man as easily as you would pitch a bundle of oats on to a -wagon. I had him out of his saddle before he could wink, and grabbed -his carbine just in time to help Ben here, who wasn't having as good -luck as I." - -"Did you kill both of them?" inquired Ned, who was so deeply interested -in the narrative that he did not know whether he breathed or not. - -"We laid them out," replied the veteran, "and as we were in something -of a hurry, we didn't wait to see how long it took them to come to. -It was all over in less than I have taken time to tell it, and there -wasn't a shot fired or another yell raised. The fight was carried on so -quietly that a person standing fifty feet away would not have heard it. -We did not waste any precious moments in congratulating one another on -our good fortune, but carried the bodies of our guards into the woods -out of sight, dragged some brush over one or two little pools of blood -there were in the road and over our footprints, thus concealing all -traces of the struggle as best we could, and hitched the four horses -among the trees where they would have plenty of leaves and twigs to -browse on until they were released; and then we struck out for the -bottom the best we knew how." - -"Whew! you have had a time of it," said Ned, as the corporal settled -back in his chair, clasped his hands over his knee, and looked at his -empty plate. "Lucindy, bring some more grub, and pile on all the plates -will hold. When did you first become aware that the dogs were on your -trail?" - -"We found it out the first thing in the morning," was the reply. "Or -rather, that was the time we learned that the rebs were going to use -hounds to follow us up. We slept in the woods that night without a -fire or a bite to eat, and at daylight set out to find a negro cabin; -for we knew that the darkeys would befriend us if they could do so -without bringing themselves into trouble. We came to a plantation after -a while, and crept close enough to the quarter to discover a negro -working about one of the corn-cribs. We attracted his attention without -much trouble, but as soon as he made out who we were, he disappeared so -suddenly that we were sorry we did not shoot him on sight, for we were -certain that he meant to betray us. So we made a little detour and took -up another position in the field, from which we could watch the doors -of the great house; for there was where we knew danger would come from, -if it came at all. By that move we came near losing a breakfast and -missing some information that was of use to us, for that darkey had no -intention of going back on us. He slipped around to his cabin, gathered -up everything he had in the way of grub, and spent many valuable -minutes in hunting us up. He had a story to tell us, but was so badly -frightened that it was a long time before he could make us understand -that the news of our escape had reached Camp Pinckney, that all the -soldiers and Home Guards that could be spared from duty there had been -sent in pursuit of us, and that a big squad of men had passed the house -before daylight that morning vowing that they would never take us -prisoners if they found us. They would shoot us in our tracks to pay us -for what we had done to their comrades back there in the road." - -"Then they were Home Guards," Ned interposed. - -"Certainly; and that threat proved it. But that was not by any means -the worst news the darkey had to tell us," continued the corporal, -placing his gun on the floor by his side, and nodding to Lucindy as -she handed him a second plateful of bread and meat. "And the part he -hadn't yet told was what frightened him. After much questioning he made -us understand that there were six soldiers in the great house waiting -for the breakfast that the missus had promised them; and when they had -eaten it, they were going down the road about half a mile after a pack -of nigger dogs that were to be put on our trail. And then he assured us -that if those dogs ever got after us we would be gone up sure; for they -were smart at following a trail, having had lots of practice in running -down the unhappy conscripts who escaped from Camp Pinckney. That was -bad news for us, as I said, and the question at once arose, Should we -take to our heels and trust to luck, or would it be a better plan to -rush into the house and put it out of the power of the rebels to go -after those dogs?" - -"But were you not afraid to attack them in the house?" exclaimed Ned. -"There were six of them and only four of you." - -"A small difference in numbers to men who are working for life and -liberty," answered the corporal. "We talked the matter over very -quickly and decided, without a dissenting voice, that we would put a -stop to that hound business before it had gone any further. We would -take our chances on surprising the rebels while they were at breakfast, -and be governed by circumstances when we found who and what they were. -If they were regular soldiers we would simply parole them and let them -go; but if they turned out to be Home Guards——" - -The fugitive did not finish the sentence, but shrugged his shoulders -and looked at Ned and his mother in a way that had a volume of meaning -in it. - -"It did not take us many seconds to determine upon a plan of -operations," he continued, "and then we crept toward the house under -cover of the bushes and out buildings, telling our friendly darkey to -stay where he was till the trouble was over, and no one should ever -hear from us that we had exchanged a word with him. Everything was in -our favor. There wasn't a servant outside the house to run in and warn -the inmates that we were coming, and before those six Johnnies knew -that there was a Yank within 100 miles, we were in the breakfast room -where they sat at the table, and had them covered." - -"And what did they turn out to be?" Ned almost gasped. - -"Regular soldiers, I am glad to say, and we were saved a most -disagreeable piece of business. We told them they were in a trap, and -could take their choice between going to the bone-yard and signing a -parole not to take up arms against the government again until they were -regularly exchanged, and they thought they had better sign; and it -didn't take them a great while to say so, either." - -"Had you any right to do that?" inquired Mrs. Griffin. - -"Not the least in the world, madam," replied the corporal, with a -smile. "But as long as the rebels didn't know it, what was the odds? We -couldn't take them with us, we couldn't shoot them, seeing that they -were not Home Guards, and yet we had to do something. All we really -hoped to accomplish was to frighten them off our trail long enough to -give us a good start toward the swamp. We knew their officers would -tell them that their parole didn't amount to a row of pins, but by the -time they found their officers we might be miles away. There was one -thing we were sorry for, and that was that they did not have their dogs -in the house with them. They wouldn't have followed any more escaped -prisoners when we got through with them, I assure you." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A HAIL AT THE BARS. - - -Although the corporal talked rapidly, he did not neglect his supper, -and by the time he reached this point in his story his second supply of -bread and meat was all gone. He handed back the empty plate, rested his -gun across his knees where it would be handy in case of emergency, and -drew from one of the pockets of his ragged blouse something that looked -like a small bundle of brown wrapping paper. - -"Yes, they concluded they'd better sign," said he, with a laugh, -"and here are their paroles. At first the lady of the house, who was -disposed to be impudent and sassy until one of the rebs cautioned her -that it might be worse for them if she didn't keep still, declared that -she had nothing at all in the way of writing materials; but when one -of the Johnnies told her, with some impatience, that if she didn't -hand them out we'd be likely to go through her shanty, she produced the -stump of a pencil and some paper that was so rough I could scarcely -write on it; but I made it do, and, would you believe it, one of my -boys had to witness their signatures, for there wasn't one of the six -rebels who could write his name. Of course we disarmed and dismounted -them, and stood among the bushes in the front yard and saw them make -tracks in the direction of Camp Pinckney; but the hounds were put on -our trail, all the same, and the next day they pressed us so close that -we had to shoot some of the leading ones. And what surprised us was -that those dogs would not attempt to follow our trail across a piece of -wet ground. They would take a circle around it and pick up our trail -again on the other side where the ground was dry." - -"They'll do it every time," said Ned. "And it isn't a part of their -training, either. That's the way they hunt deer and foxes, and it is -something they pick up themselves without any teaching." - -"Well, it's pretty bright in the dogs, I must say, and we were sorry -to shoot them, but there was no help for it. First and last we must -have killed half or two-thirds of the pack, but they have been strongly -reinforced; for, judging by the yelping we heard to-day, there are more -hounds on our trail now than there were at the start." - -"You were very fortunate in being able to keep out of their way," said -Mrs. Griffin, "and I don't see how you managed it." - -"I don't either, madam; but somehow we did it. We can't keep it up -much longer, however, for we are nearly exhausted, and I wish from the -bottom of my heart that we were in sight of those gunboats at this -minute. But we'll get there in due time, and we'll not go empty-handed. -We made an important capture this afternoon, and perhaps have saved our -scouts and gunboats, as well as the Union people in the settlement, -some trouble. It's a fortunate thing for him that we didn't know what -he was when we first caught sight of him; but as he was in full uniform -we supposed he was a soldier and treated him accordingly." - -"And—and what was he?" faltered Ned, while his mother looked anxious -and bent forward in her chair to catch the corporal's answer. Something -told them that they were about to hear bad news. - -"A miserable Home Guard and a captain besides," replied the soldier. -"Of course after he surrendered we couldn't shoot him down in cold -blood, as his kind would have served us if we had chanced to fall into -their power, but we'll put him where he'll not fight any more gunboats -for one while, I bet you." - -"How and where did you capture him?" was Ned's next question. It wasn't -the one that trembled on his tongue, but it was as near as he could get -to it. - -"Why, we had been wading for two miles in a little bayou that brought -us through a cornfield to the river side of the road, and at last we -hid in a grove of evergreens from which we could command a view in all -directions. We stayed there for an hour, listening to the faint baying -of the hounds in the timber on the other side of the road, and never -once dreaming that anybody would come near us, when to our surprise -we saw a gate open, and a single horseman ride down the lane that led -straight to our place of concealment. I tell you we were scared, for -we expected to see the dogs and all our pursuers come through the gate -after him, but he stopped to put up the bars and then came on alone; -and when he approached nearer we saw that he could not be one of the -men we were looking for, because his horse was fresh and clean, and -didn't have the splashed legs and body he would if he had been chasing -us through the swamp for three days and more. We saw, too, that he and -his horse were at outs about something, for every once in a while he -would pound the animal with his whip as if he were very mad at him; and -the last time he tried it, which he did when he was within less than -a hundred feet of our hiding-place, the horse jumped and threw him as -slick as you please, and I was glad of it. That was the time we rushed -out and took him in." - -"Did he tell you his name?" inquired Ned, and the words seemed to force -themselves out against his will. - -"Yes, he did; and we think it strange that General Williams hasn't -abolished him and put a stop to his doings long ago. But none of -us ever heard the name of Captain Randolph before. You know him, I -suppose?" - -"Certainly, I do; and I know that, so far as fighting is concerned, -he is the most harmless man in the country. Did he tell you that his -company had defeated some of your cavalry and been in action with the -gunboats?" - -"He certainly did tell us just that," replied the corporal; and Ned and -his mother thought he looked at them rather sharply. - -"Well, there wasn't a word of truth in it," said the young overseer -stoutly. He began to have a vague idea that he was injuring himself in -the estimation of these two Federals by standing up for Tom Randolph, -but he had gone too far to back out. He knew that Tom would not have -uttered a word in his defence if their situations had been reversed, -but that made no difference to Ned Griffin, who in few words gave the -corporal a full history of Tom's military exploits. The occasional -raids through the settlement that Captain Randolph had made at the -head of his company Ned did not regard as military business, for their -sole purpose was to intimidate Union men and increase Tom's importance; -so he said nothing about them. - -"If you are as strongly in favor of the Old Flag as I have been led to -believe, I don't see what your object is in saying a good word for this -Home Guard," said the corporal when Ned ceased speaking. - -"Wouldn't you say a word for an old acquaintance of yours if you saw -him in trouble, no matter whether he was your friend or not?" asked Ned -in reply. "If you will give me time I can prove that I have told you -nothing but the truth, and that Tom has deceived you from beginning to -end." - -"What do you suppose his object was in doing it?" - -"He always does it every chance he gets. He knows he will never win a -reputation by deeds of arms, and so he tries to win it with his mouth. -He never did you Yankees the least harm, and he never will." - -"Don't you think we have been here long enough, Charley?" Ben asked -of his non-commissioned officer; and he answered the question himself -by getting upon his feet as if he were making ready to leave. He was -plainly the more suspicious of the two, and showed in various ways that -he didn't have much of an opinion of one who had so friendly a feeling -for a Home Guard. - -"We've been here too long," replied the corporal. "Our friends down -there in the woods will think we are lost or have been gobbled up. May -we trespass still further on your good-nature by asking for a bite for -our absent comrades?" - -"Lucindy, fill up the biggest basket you can find in the house," said -Ned. "And Ben, if you will sit down a minute I will get shoes and -stockings for you." - -"And have you anything in the way of bedding?" inquired Mrs. Griffin. -"The nights are cool, if the days are sultry." - -No, they didn't have a thing except their guns and the dilapidated -garments they stood in; and a blanket or two, if Mrs. Griffin could -spare them, would protect them from the mosquitos if nothing more; -for of course it would be dangerous for them to build a smudge until -they knew positively that their pursuers had been left behind. Ben was -profuse in his thanks, and suggested that No. 9's would be about the -right size for him; and Ned went among the darkeys to find them, for -he wore nothing larger than 6's, and couldn't boast of an extra pair -of them. While he was gone his mother saw the basket filled and the -blankets made into a bundle, and also found opportunity to say a word -for Tom Randolph. - -"What do you intend to do with him?" she asked. - -"Turn him over to the provost marshal and have him sent North," was the -answer. - -"If you do that you will kill his mother, and punish a man who is as -innocent of any military achievements as I am," said Mrs. Griffin. "You -must not think that I am a friend of his—how can I be when he tried -his best to have my son conscripted? Why can you not parole him and let -him go?" - -"We didn't parole those six rebels for fun, or because we thought the -parole was binding," said the corporal with a smile, "but simply to -delay them until we could get a start. If we turn Randolph loose, it -will be out of gratitude to you and your son." - -"Better knock him in the head," growled Ben. - -"Don't mind him," said the corporal, seeing that Mrs. Griffin was -shocked by the words. "Ben is down on all Home Guards because he saw -one of them shoot his chum." - -"But Tom Randolph was in no way to blame for that," answered the lady. -"And I know that Rodney Gray would insist upon his release if he were -here. Promise me that you will let him go; and when you are ready to -start for the river, Ned shall take you there by the shortest and -easiest course." - -The corporal opened his lips to reply that he did not think it best -to make any promises until he could consult the rest of his party, -but before he could utter a word an incident happened that brought -him and Ben to their feet in a twinkling, and drove all the color -from Mrs. Griffin's face, leaving it as white as a sheet. First there -was a terrific and sudden outburst of yelps and growls from the -small army of coon dogs that found a home on the plantation, and then -answering yelps and deep-toned bays came from the direction of the -front bars, mingled with the shouts of command and the sharp cracking -of riding-whips. There was a second's oppressive silence, and a strange -voice called out: - -"Hal-lo, the house!" - -"Coming, sir! Get out, you whelps!" shouted Ned Griffin's voice in -reply; and presently the frightened inmates of the house heard him -running around the corner toward the bars. The corporal and his -comrade, who stood with their guns in readiness, seemingly as much -at their ease as they had been while sitting quietly in their chairs -eating the bread and meat that had been provided for them, looked -inquiringly at Mrs. Griffin. - -"They are strangers and have hounds with them," said the latter, in a -terrified whisper. "I fear the worst, but Ned will do what he can." - -"I certainly hope he will keep them out of the house," answered the -corporal calmly, "for if he don't, some of them will never see the sun -rise again." - -Ned Griffin, who had had no trouble at all in inducing one of the field -hands to hand over a pair of stockings and his best shoes for the -benefit of the bare-footed soldier in the house, was almost ready to -drop when he heard that racket at the front bars, but he answered the -hail without an instant's hesitation, tossing the stockings and shoes -into the nearest bush, and ran to the road, knowing that he would meet -a party of Confederate soldiers and a pack of "nigger" dogs when he got -there; but did the soldiers know or suspect that the men of whom they -were in pursuit had sought aid and comfort in that house? - -"They can't know it or suspect it, unless somebody has betrayed us; and -if that has happened it is all up with Ned Griffin," thought the young -overseer; and when he reached the bars and caught sight of the party -on the other side, he did not feign surprise, but said, as any other -honest, hospitable boy would have done: "Alight and hitch. I knew it was -you the minute I heard the music of your hounds. Did you catch them?" - -"No," replied one of the men, who wore some sort of insignia on his -collar to show that he was an officer. "They gave us the slip about -eleven o'clock this morning, and we haven't been able to find their -tracks since. But we——" - -"Say!" interrupted Ned suddenly. "Please don't let your big hounds come -over the fence and eat up my pups. I need them to catch wild hogs with -next winter." - -That was very true, but it was not the reason Ned did not want the -hounds to come inside the yard. He was afraid that some of them might -go foraging on their own hook; and if they wandered around to the back -door in search of something to eat, they could not help striking the -trail the two escaped prisoners made when they entered the house. They -would be sure to recognize it on the instant and give tongue, and then -there would be trouble indeed; for Ben and the corporal would fight -till they dropped before they would be recaptured. And then what would -be done to him and his mother for feeding and trying to conceal them? -But the hounds were thrashed and scolded back into the road and the -officer continued: - -"We will get the start of them to-morrow. If they are in this -neighborhood they will stay here, for we are going to place ourselves -between them and the river. But we were well fed and rested at a house -three miles back, so we'll not alight, thank you. Are we on the road to -Mooreville? That's what I called you out for." - -"Keep straight ahead, and you can't miss it," said Ned. "And if you -want to go toward the Mississippi, take the first right-hand road. But -look out for the Yanks. I haven't seen any of their critter fellers, -but there may be some between here and Baton Rouge." - -"If we run on to them before we know it, it will be our fault, won't -it? Good-night. Forward, trot, gallop!" - -The young overseer, feeling as if a mountain had been removed from his -shoulders, stood leaning on the bars until the sound of the horses' -feet had died away in the distance, and then he settled himself into a -comfortable position, drew a long breath, and waited fifteen minutes -longer in order to make sure that the rebels had really gone on toward -Mooreville. While he was waiting Cæsar came up, expecting to receive a -good scolding, and perhaps something worse, for neglect of duty. - -"Sho's you live, Marse Ned, I watch and wait wid all my eyes and ears, -and dey slip along de road and up to de bars 'fore I knowed it," he -said earnestly. "You know ole Cæsar aint going to sleep wid two Yankees -in de house and rebels all around." - -"That's all right. I was out of doors, and didn't know they were at the -bars until they hailed. Now, stay right here and see that they don't -steal a march on us. If you hear the slightest sound down the road -Mooreville way, slip into the house and let me know it." - -Ned went back to the bushes where he left the stockings and shoes, and -when he carried them into the house he found no one there except his -mother, who was plying her needle as if nothing had happened. The two -fugitives had disappeared, and there was not a darkey to be seen. - -"Open that door and you will find them," said Mrs. Griffin, when Ned -stopped and looked all around. "They thought they would rather fight it -out downstairs than in the garret, for they would have a better chance -to run." - -"They can't go any farther to-night, for their pursuers are riding hard -to get between them and the river, and may send the hounds into the -woods at any time. And I am glad of it," whispered Ned. "I'd like to -keep them until I can go for Rodney. Perhaps he can do something for -Tom Randolph. Why, mother, did you ever hear of such a lunatic? If he -gets out of this scrape I don't think he'll ever let his tongue bring -him into another." - -Ned pushed open the door, and the two escaped prisoners came out. In -few words they were made acquainted with the result of the interview -that had taken place at the bars, and Ned and his mother did not wonder -that it had a depressing effect upon them. After racing through the -almost impassable woods and swamps until they were ready to drop with -fatigue, it certainly _was_ disheartening to know that the enemy had -come so close to them when they imagined themselves safe for the night. -They decided that they had better return to their companions at once -and talk the situation over with them. - -"All right," said Ned. "I will go with you, for I want to see what Tom -Randolph has to say for himself. If you will take my advice, you will -stay pretty close about this plantation until you have seen Rodney -Gray. He can do more for you than almost anybody else in these parts, -and if you get into trouble you'll find it so." - -The blankets and the basket of provisions were brought from the room -in which they had been hastily concealed, and the fugitives lingered a -moment to shake hands with Mrs. Griffin and tell her how grateful they -were for the generous treatment they had received at her hands and her -son's. - -"There is one way in which you can show it," replied Ned's mother, "and -that is by releasing your prisoner." - -"But, madam, we have no right to do it," said Ben, who was inclined to -put more faith in Tom's story of his exploits than he did in Ned's. It -was natural, under the circumstances, for him to believe that Ned's -regard for the truth was not so strong as his desire to shield an old -acquaintance. "We are bound to take him before our colonel and state -the case to him; and if _he_ has a mind to let him go—why, all right." - -"Haven't you the same right to release Tom Randolph that you had to -release Rodney Gray and his friend?" inquired Mrs. Griffin. "You did -not think it necessary to take them before an officer?" - -"Perhaps I did stretch my authority just a little," said the corporal, -coming to Ben's assistance. "But almost any non-com., who wanted to -be half white, would have done the same thing. Rodney and Graham had -discharges in their pockets, while this man Randolph holds a commission -as captain of Home Guards at this minute. But we'll tell the boys what -you have done for us, Mrs. Griffin, and let them decide the matter. -I hope it may be our good fortune to meet again under pleasanter -circumstances. Good-night." - -Ned led the way from the house and along the lane that ran through -the negro quarter to the woods, in which the corporal's two comrades -and their prisoner were impatiently awaiting their return. They moved -silently and without exchanging a word above a whisper, but the -dark-skinned inmates of the cabins seemed to be on the watch. One door -after another was softly opened, and suppressed voices, that were -rendered husky by emotion, cheered them with such expressions as: - -"Lawd bress Marse Linkum's sojer boys! Youse boun' to whop de rebels, -honey; I know you is, kase Ise praying for you free times a day, like -Dan'l in de lion's den." - -"I certainly hope you'll not get into any trouble through what you have -done for us to-night," said hard-hearted Ben, who was moved in spite of -himself by these expressions of sympathy. - -"So far as I know, our blacks are all loyal," answered Ned, "but it -won't do to trust some negroes too far, any more than it will do -to trust some white people; and when we are in the presence of Tom -Randolph I wish you would be careful not to——" - -He stopped suddenly, but it was too late. He had committed himself. As -he afterward told his friend Rodney, he came near ruining everything -before he thought what he was doing. - -"There you have it!" exclaimed Ben angrily. "Why do you try to befriend -that man Randolph, when you dare not trust him for fear that he will -set your rebel neighbors against you? He shall never go free with my -consent, and that is a word with a bark on it." - -"Or are you afraid that he will get his Home Guards together and burn -you out, to pay you for what you have done for us Yankees?" said the -corporal. "I don't believe there's a Home Guard in the world that will -do to tie to, and I think the best thing we can do is to hold fast to -that fellow. If he's done us half the damage he says he has, he is a -prize." - -Ned's common sense told him that words would not rectify the big -mistake he had made, so he dropped Tom Randolph, entirely, and talked -of the hounds and the risk his Yankee friends would incur if they tried -to make their way to the Mississippi through the comparatively open -country that lay before them. There were not woods enough to conceal -their movements; the people along the route were mostly rebels, and -they could hardly help meeting someone who would put their pursuers -on their track if he saw half a chance. What they needed more than -anything else during the rest of their journey was a guide known to be -a good Confederate, but friendly enough to Yanks to help them out of -trouble if they got into it. The two fugitives did not think they were -likely to fall into such trouble as Ned hinted at, but the next day -they were obliged to confess that he knew what he was talking about. - -By this time they had reached the fence that ran across the end of the -lane and shut it off from the woods, and there Ben and the corporal -stopped as if expecting something. It came presently in the shape of -the challenge given in low tones: - -"_Who_ comes there?" - -"Friends with the countersign," replied the corporal. - -"Halt, friends. Advance one with the countersign, and have your head -blown off if you don't give it right," continued the voice; and -although the words seemed to be spoken in a jest, Ben and Ned remained -by the fence while the corporal climbed over it and disappeared in -the bushes. A moment afterward he called to them to come on, and when -Ned joined him he knew that he was in the presence of the other two -fugitives and Tom Randolph. It was made plain to him at once that Tom -had sent the corporal and his comrade to the house with the assurance -that they would find Union people there and plenty to eat, for Tom said: - -"Did you find Griffin?" - -"They not only found me, but brought me here to see you," said Ned, -answering for himself, and working his way slowly through the dark in -the direction from which Tom's voice came. "And I am sorry to find you -in this fix." - -Captain Randolph may have borne up bravely enough while he was alone -with his captors, but the sound of a familiar voice and the warm grasp -of Ned's hand unnerved him completely. He drew the young overseer to -a seat on a log beside him, rested his head against his shoulder, and -shook as if he had the ague; but whether it was with fear, or with the -violence of the struggle he was making to keep up the character he -had so foolishly assumed, Ned could not tell. There had been a time -when Tom Randolph would have been ashamed to rest his head against an -overseer's shoulder; but he was pretty well humbled now. It was at -this juncture that Ned was allowed a few minutes' talk with Tom, the -soldiers being busy with their own affairs—two of them in describing -what had happened at the house, and the others in disposing of the -contents of the provision basket. - -"Tom," said Ned, "you never told these Yankees that you had whipped -their cavalry and fought the gunboats." - -"Yes, I did," answered the captive; and the overseer was not much -surprised to notice that his voice was choked with sobs. "I took them -for brave men, and thought they would extend a brave man's treatment to -me if they knew me to be a loyal soldier of the Confederacy." - -"Well, do you know that you have got yourself in a scrape that may end -in your being sent to a Northern prison?" - -"Oh, don't tell me that," gasped Tom. "That's what they have been -threatening me with, and you must make them let me go. You can do it, -for you are known to be Union, and my father will reward you beyond——" - -"And you are not a loyal soldier of the Confederacy," continued Ned, -who wasn't befriending Tom in the hope of making anything out of it. -"You are nothing but a Home Guard; and these men have reason to hate -Home Guards." - -"I know it," groaned Tom. "But am I to blame for anything those Pearl -River heathen did to them? You are my only hope, Ned, and you'll have -to get me out of this. You must." - -"There's no must about it. I have said everything I could, and so has -mother. Your only hope is Rodney Gray." - -"Then send for him," said Tom nervously. "Send for him at once, and say -that if he will stand by me now, he can command me and my father ever -afterward. I wish the men who are responsible for this war were here -in my place and sentenced to be shot at sunrise. I have been deceived -and badgered ever since I sided with the Confederacy; I've stuck by -her through thick and thin, while those who deserted her at the first -sign of disaster are hail-fellows well met with the Yanks in Baton -Rouge, and live on the best the land affords. They have salt and tea -and coffee in their houses, and white flour; and we have none. You must -help me out, Ned." - -Tom Randolph continued to talk in this rambling way until the corporal -interrupted him with: - -"Well, boys, we have decided to stay here to-night." - -"And will you let Griffin go for Rodney Gray the first thing in the -morning?" exclaimed Tom. - -"Griffin isn't a prisoner, and can go and come as he likes," replied -the non-commissioned officer indifferently. "It's a matter that -concerns you more than it does us. If Griffin has a mind to go or send -for Rodney Gray, we shall be glad to see him." - -"These are the Yanks who captured Rodney and Graham while they were on -their way home," whispered Ned. "That's why I say that Rodney can help -you if anybody can." Then, without giving Tom a chance to express his -surprise, he said aloud: "What's the use, Yanks, of staying here all -night in the dark and cold? If you will come to the quarter, I will -give you a tight cabin and a bright fire to cheer you up." - -The offer was a tempting one to men situated as they were, but after -a short consultation with his comrades the corporal thought they had -better not accept it; they would feel safer and sleep more soundly -right there in the woods. Then Ned suggested that they should wrap -themselves in the blankets and get what rest they could while he stood -guard, and to his surprise and Tom Randolph's unbouded delight, the -proposition was accepted without an instant's hesitation. To keep up -appearances Tom took the blanket that was passed to him and rolled -himself up in it; but he had no intention of going to sleep. He had -another idea in his head, and it was just about as foolish as his -notion of trying to pass himself off for a soldier when he was nothing -but a Home Guard. - -"Good-night, Johnny; and many thanks for that grub and this warm -blanket," said one of the escaped prisoners who had not spoken before. - -"Good-night, Yank, and welcome," replied Ned. "But I am not a Johnny." - -"And neither am I a Yank," said the soldier. "I came from Michigan. But -good-night." - -After that silence reigned in that dark, lonesome camp for the space -of half an hour. The soldiers were weary and sank into a deep slumber -almost as soon as they had adjusted their blankets to suit them; -but Tom Randolph was wide awake. He curbed his impatience until the -heavy breathing of his captors told him that they were in a state of -unconsciousness, and then said cautiously: - -"Ned, Ned! Have you got a gun?" - -"No. What do I want of a gun?" was the answer. - -"Where are they?" - -"Wrapped up in the blankets with the soldiers, most likely." - -"Well, say, Ned; look here," whispered Tom coaxingly. - -"It's no use, for I can't do it," replied Ned, who knew what the -captive was about to say. "You don't show your usual good sense in -asking it of me, either." - -"But you could drop asleep, couldn't you, and let me crawl away?" - -"I could, but I won't. I'm not going to get myself into a scrape by -going back on these Yanks. They'd shoot me." - -"But you might go with me," suggested Tom, who was almost ready to shed -tears again. - -"And leave Mr. Gray's property to be destroyed?" demanded Ned. "I said -I'd keep guard, and I've got to do it." - -"Well, you have been weighed and found wanting," said Tom desperately. -"I know just what you are now, but I was foolish enough to think you -were a friend of mine." - -"You didn't think anything of the sort. You knew better," said Ned; -and after that he relapsed into silence. He had proved that he was -ready to assist Tom in any way he could, but he wasn't going to arouse -Ben's rage and the corporal's by permitting him to steal away in the -darkness. It was the most senseless proposition he had ever heard of, -and he was glad that Tom did not trouble him with it again. The latter -lay so quiet that his guard thought he was asleep, but he wasn't. He -was trying to think up some way to get even with Ned. - -Although the overseer was not at all drowsy, the exciting events of the -last few hours having banished slumber, he passed a dreary night on his -log, leaning against a tree, and listening for the first far-off baying -of the hounds, which would announce that the pursuit had been renewed. -But the hours dragged themselves away without disturbance of any kind, -and at daylight the corporal threw off his blanket and sat up. He felt -like a new man after his refreshing sleep, and that was what all his -comrades said when they were aroused. Then a short consultation was -held, and Ned posted off to the house with the empty basket. It was -full of eatables when he returned an hour later, to learn that during -his absence the fugitives had decided that Tom Randolph's story was -more worthy of belief than his own. - -"It doesn't stand to reason that a man would tell such damaging things -about himself just for fun," said the corporal, who spoke for all his -companions. "He was as defiant as you please when we captured him, and -I believe——" - -"But I told you a pack of lies; I did indeed," cried Tom, hiding his -face in his hands. - -"We don't believe it," answered the soldier. "Your weakening is all put -on, because you have learned that it isn't such a funny thing to be a -prisoner as you thought it was. And even if you did lie to us, you are -a Home Guard, and that is against you. If you haven't done any mean -things it's because you haven't had the chance." - -To Tom Randolph's rage and disgust Ned did not try to combat this -decision. He simply said: - -"All right; just as you say. Keep a stiff upper lip, Tom, and I will go -and get Rodney." - -This was the substance of the story that Ned Griffin told while he was -sitting in Mrs. Gray's dining room on the morning of which we have -spoken. Of course he did not tell it exactly as we have tried to, but -he told enough to give his auditors a clear idea of what had happened -on his plantation the night before. They heard him through without -interruption, and when his narrative was ended they settled back in -their chairs and looked at one another. There was one thought uppermost -in their minds: those escaped prisoners deserved their freedom after -working so hard for it, even if they were Lincoln hirelings; and Rodney -must see them safe to the river. As to Tom Randolph—they did not waste -much sympathy on him, but they were sorry for his mother. Tom took just -such chances as these when he put on his gray uniform. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -CAPTAIN TOM SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE. - - -When Ned Griffin brought his exciting narrative to a close Mrs. Gray -beckoned him to a seat at the table and gave him a cup of coffee, while -Rodney sent one of the girls to his room after a couple of overcoats, -and Rosebud to the stable to see the saddle put on his horse and -Dick's. He was elated over the prospect of doing even a little to help -the Federal soldiers who had shown themselves so friendly to himself -and his chum, and determined that Tom Randolph should not go to a -Northern prison if he could prevent it. Tom was an old acquaintance and -a near neighbor, and that meant a good deal to Rodney Gray. Ned was a -little apprehensive that his employer might not be altogether pleased -with what he had done, but to his relief Mr. Gray did not have a word -of fault to find. - -"Rodney seems to have made up his mind to help those Yankees through," -said he, addressing himself to the overseer, "and I need not tell -you that I shall be glad to have you do anything you can to aid him -and them. As to Tom—it looks now as though he would have to stand -punishment for his foolishness." - -"And how about me?" said Rodney. "It looks as though I was planning -to get myself into trouble. If I help the Yankees, my Confederate -neighbors will be down on me; and if I help Tom, they'll _all_ be down -on me—rebels and Union." - -"How are the neighbors going to find it out?" inquired Dick. - -"Oh, Tom will tell them," said Rodney carelessly. - -"And are you going to help a man who will turn around and blab it on -purpose to bring you into trouble?" exclaimed Dick. "I should think his -gratitude——" - -"Gratitude is the rarest sentiment in the world, my dear boy, as you -will learn long before your head is as white as mine. He'll do me a -mean turn the first good chance he gets. That's the kind of a chap he -is. Have you got your discharge in your pocket? All right. I don't -know when you will see us again," said Rodney, when the overcoats made -their appearance and the horses were brought to the door, "but when -we return we hope to have some better fitting clothes than these, and -a pass from the provost marshal. So, mother, if you have any currency -that you can spare I shall be glad to have some." - -These last words were whispered into the ear of his mother, who led him -to her room, where she kept a small store of specie for an emergency. -Where the rest was Rodney did not know or care to inquire. It was -enough for him that he could get a few pieces as often as he found it -necessary to ask for them. - -"Now, do be careful," pleaded his mother. "Suppose the hounds strike -your trail in spite of all you can do to prevent it, and the soldiers -with them find you and Dick in the company of the escaped prisoners! -Your discharges would not save you." - -"Don't cross a bridge till you come to it, mother," answered Rodney, -who had thought of all this while Ned Griffin was telling his story. -"We are not going into any danger. Good-by." - -In a few minutes the boys were riding post-haste toward Ned's -plantation. They reined up to the house and turned their horses over -to a darkey as any casual visitors would have done, for Ned told them -that the rest of their journey must be made on foot and under cover of -bushes and fences. - -"There's no telling who may be on the watch," said he, "or whether all -our blacks are as loyal as they pretend to be. And, boys, don't say a -word in Tom's hearing about showing the Yanks the way to the river. -He'll take it for granted, of course, that somebody is going to do it, -but we'll make it hard for him to prove it on any of us." - -Rodney did not waste many minutes in comparing notes with Mrs. Griffin -(he already knew everything she could have told him), but threw his -overcoat across his arm and motioned to Ned to go ahead with the -basketful of things that had been provided for the fugitives' dinner. -It took them three-quarters of an hour to reach the edge of the woods, -so slow and cautious were they in their movements, and they found -two of the soldiers at the fence waiting for them. Rodney and Dick -recognized them on the instant, and shook hands with them through -the fence as cordially as though they had always been the warmest of -friends. - -"Say," whispered Rodney, as soon as the greeting was over. "Call up the -corporal and the other Yank. I have a few words to say to you that I -don't want your prisoner to hear." - -"Are you afraid of him, too?" asked one of the soldiers. "Then I can't -understand why you are so anxious to have him go free. We can't leave -him in camp alone, for if we do he'll run off." - -"He hasn't the pluck to try it," said Ned, passing his basket over -the fence. "But I'll stay with him. You are not afraid to trust me, I -suppose, after allowing me to stand guard over him all night." - -But Ned hadn't told of the astounding proposition Tom made while he was -standing guard over him. That was something he kept to himself until he -told his story in Mrs. Gray's dining room. He climbed the fence and -disappeared in the woods, and presently the corporal and the "other -Yank" came up. - -"If anyone had told me that I'd ever shake hands with a rebel in this -friendly way, I should have said he didn't know what he was talking -about," said the corporal. "Johnny, how are you by this time? You and -your chum must have got safe home or else you wouldn't be here. You -know our story, of course, so there's no need of telling it over again." - -"No need and no time," replied Rodney, "for you ought to be jogging -along now. You've an open and dangerous country before you, and very -likely every man in it is on the lookout for you." - -"That's about what Griffin said to us last night," replied the -corporal. "We asked him to act as our guide, but he thinks you can be -of more use to us." - -"I don't know about that; but I will do my best on one condition." - -Of course the soldiers knew what that condition was, but listened -patiently while Rodney went on to tell them that they never made a -greater mistake in their lives than they did when they put faith in Tom -Randolph's story and rejected Ned Griffin's. He urged them to release -Tom without any more nonsense, and hinted that the sooner they complied -with his request, the sooner he would be ready to start with them for -Baton Rouge. He also added: - -"If you are bound to take Tom with you I can't go, and you'll have to -do the best you can for yourselves. He'd find means to let my rebel -neighbors hear of it, and then I'd have to go among the Yanks or back -to the army; for I couldn't live here. What do you say?" - -"What do you say, boys?" inquired the corporal, turning to his -companions. "He's a Home Guard, and a mighty mean one, too, judging -by——" - -"None of that, please," Rodney interposed. "Having submitted the case, -you have no business to keep on arguing it. Yes or no, Yanks?" - -"I wish we had knocked him on the head before we took him prisoner," -said Ben, who could not forget his lost comrade. - -"But you didn't, and you can't very well do it now," replied Rodney. -"Are you going to let him go or not?" - -Ben did not answer; but his three companions gave a favorable, though -very reluctant response to Rodney's question, and the latter drew a -long breath of relief. Ben looked and acted ugly, and if he had been a -little better talker Tom Randolph's chances for liberty and life would -have been slim indeed. As Dick Graham afterward explained it, Tom was -saved by Ben's want of gab. Rodney's next care was to urge upon the -soldiers the necessity of sending Tom about his business with the least -possible delay, and of being careful to drop no word in his hearing -that would give him a hint of their future movements. Tom would make -all sorts of promises, but they must not put the least faith in them, -for if he saw an opportunity to do it, he would put a squad on their -trail in less than an hour. This done, he and Dick climbed the fence -and followed the soldiers toward the camp. Ned Griffin had had time to -prepare Tom for Rodney's coming, and the expression Rodney's face wore -when he appeared in sight prepared him for the good news. - -"You have prevailed upon them to release me and I know it," he -exclaimed, seizing one of Rodney's hands in both his own and shaking it -with all his might. "And I'll never forget you for it; never in this -world. If you want anything, all you've got to do is to say the word, -and if I've got it you shall have it. And as for you soldiers—I'll -cook up some sort of a story when I reach home that will stop all -pursuit till you have had time to reach the Union lines. I am very -grateful to you, and will prove it by pulling off my gray suit as soon -as I get home. If all Yanks are like you, I am not going to fight any -more during the war." - -Tom was sure he saw a faint prospect of escape before him, and his joy -was so great that it choked his utterance. He continued to rattle on in -this way, until the corporal interrupted him with: - -"That's all right, Johnny. So long as you keep the hounds off our -trail, it's all the return we ask for setting you at liberty." - -"Then you are going to release me, aint you?" cried Tom. - -"I don't suppose such a thing was ever done before," said the corporal -hesitatingly. "And I don't know what the boys will say to me when they -hear of it; but I——" - -"That don't make any difference, Mr. Soldier. You just tell me to go -home, and I will keep the hounds off your trail." - -"Well—git!" said the corporal. "You will find your sword and revolver -back there in the grove where we hid them yesterday." - -Tom lost no time in grasping the corporal's hand and shaking it with -all his strength—a proceeding to which the boy in blue submitted with -very bad grace. He felt more like giving his late captive a kick, and -so did his comrades; but they let him shake their hands instead—all -except Ben, who put his hands into his pockets and turned away when Tom -approached him. Captain Randolph would have persisted in his efforts to -take leave of him also, had he not been warned by a look from Rodney -that he had better stop his nonsense and get away while the Federals -were in the humor to let him go. Acting upon the hint, he turned away -from Ben and disappeared in the direction of the fence. - -"If I am any prophet that surly Yank will see the time when he'll wish -he had not turned his back on me in that style," soliloquized Tom, when -he found himself safe in the lane. "I'll square accounts with him and -with Rodney and Dick at the same time. And Ned Griffin, too. I might -have given those Yanks the slip last night, if he had been friendly -enough to fall asleep as I wanted him to do; but he wouldn't, and now -he will see how I will pay him for it." - -Tom sped along the lane as if he had been furnished with wings, through -the negro quarter and up to the door of the plantation house, where -Ned's mother was waiting for him. She had moved her low rocking chair -to that door, and had been waiting there ever since she saw Rodney Gray -and his two companions disappear in the woods at the end of the lane; -for she felt the keenest anxiety for Tom, and wondered what his mother -would do if Rodney failed in his efforts to have him released. - -"O Tom, I am so glad to see you," she exclaimed, as soon as the captain -of the Home Guards came within speaking distance. - -"I am a free man once more, Mrs. Griffin," replied Tom loftily, "and -it is a fortunate thing for some people whose names I could mention. -If I had been kept a prisoner, my Home Guards would have made sad work -in this settlement. I'll thank you to lend me a horse. I want to reach -home as soon as I can, in order to relieve my mother's anxiety." - -And this was all he had to say to the woman who had done more than -anybody else to keep him out of prison. By her kindness and generosity -she had won the gratitude of Tom's captors and made it comparatively -easy for Rodney to effect his release; and although Tom did not know -this, he did know that Ned had done his best for him, and one would -think he might have had a civil word for Ned's mother. Instead of that -he hinted darkly at some things he knew about "some people whose names -he could mention," and Mrs. Griffin knew that that was the same thing -as a threat. She replied that she did not feel at liberty to lend Ned's -saddle-horse without saying a word to him about it, but Tom could have -a mule if he wanted it; and with the words she went into the house, -leaving Captain Randolph to stand alone at the door until the mule was -brought up. - -"This is another insult I shall have to remember against the Griffins," -thought Tom, running his eye over the ill-conditioned animal that -was finally led to the door. "Now, how shall I manage to have those -escaped prisoners captured with the least possible delay? If they -could be taken now, Rodney and Dick and Ned would be taken with them; -but I don't know whether I want that to happen or not. If it should -get noised abroad that they were captured with my help, or through -information furnished by me, I'd have everybody in the settlement down -on me; and goodness knows I've got enemies enough already." - -This was a matter requiring thought; and in order that he might have -plenty of leisure to devote to it, Captain Tom allowed his mule to -walk every step of the five miles that lay between the plantation and -Mooreville. He rode past Mr. Gray's house without stopping, and in -due time drew rein in front of Kimberly's store, to find the usual -number of lazy Home Guards loitering about there doing nothing. They -were surprised to see him, for the news of his sudden and mysterious -disappearance had been spread all through the settlement. His father, -who had spent half the night riding about in search of him, pretended -to believe that Tom had fallen in with the soldiers from Camp Pinckney -and joined them in pursuit of the escaped Yankees; but there wasn't a -man in the country who didn't laugh at the idea as soon as he heard of -it. More than that, there wasn't a single member of the Home Guards -who had made an earnest effort to trace the fugitives. The most of -them paid no attention to Tom's order to turn out, and those who did, -returned to their homes as soon as they learned that the Yankees were -armed. - -"Why, cap'n, where in the wide world did you drop from?" exclaimed -Lieutenant Lambert, as Tom Randolph rolled off his mule in front of -the store. "Have you been after them Yanks? Your pap said you had." - -Tom walked into the recruiting office and met Captain Roach, who began -to tell him how his unexplained absence had frightened his mother; but -the commander of the Home Guards interrupted him without ceremony. - -"Before I tell you anything about myself," said he, turning to the -eager Home Guards who had followed him into the office, "I want to know -how many of you men would like to win fame, and perhaps promotion, by -capturing the four Yankees who are roaming about the country, shooting -our comrades down in cold blood." - -"I would, for one," replied Lambert promptly. - -"And me!" "And me!" "And here too!" chimed in the others; and they -threw so much earnestness into their words, and seemed so impatient to -learn how the feat could be accomplished, that a stranger would have -thought they really meant to do something. - -"I am glad to see you so patriotic," said Captain Tom. "And the way for -you to prove your words is to—you know where Ned Griffin lives now, -don't you? Well, go down there at once, and you will find the men you -want at the foot of his lane." - -"How do you know that?" demanded Captain Roach. - -"Because I left them there not more than—I mean when I escaped from -them last night," answered Tom, who, now that the danger was past, -would not have sold his experience for any reasonable sum of money. -"You don't believe it, do you? Well, it is a fact that I have been a -prisoner in the hands of those very men, and narrowly escaped being -shot." - -"But how did you get away from them?" continued the enrolling officer. - -"I knocked one of them down with the butt of his own musket and took to -my heels; that's the way I did it." - -This was going too far, and Captain Tom was quick to perceive it. Some -of his men exchanged sly winks with each other, and turned toward the -door as if they had heard quite enough of such stories as that, while -Captain Roach, who had put a little faith in Tom's tale at first, sat -down in his chair and pulled some papers toward him. - -"Continue to report regularly every day," said he, addressing himself -to Lambert; "I have received no official notice that Camp Pinckney is -ready to take conscripts, but all the same I know it is ready, and an -order to send out a squad may come any hour." - -"That's a polite way of calling me a liar," said Tom to himself. "I -know where I can find those who will take some interest in what I have -to say; and if I don't go there and drop a bomb into this camp that -will scatter it far and wide, I'm a Dutchman." - -He was too angry to say anything aloud. He looked hard at Captain Roach -for a moment, and then went out to the hitching rack where he had left -his mule, the Home Guards dividing right and left, and making no remark -as he passed through their ranks. He went home with all the speed he -could induce his long-eared beast to put forth, and the reception he -met when he got there almost made amends for the deliberate slight that -had been put upon him in the enrolling office; but the best part of the -story he intended to tell was knocked in the head by the first words -his mother said to him. He was going to describe a terrific battle he -had had with the escaped prisoners somewhere in the woods; but his -mother cried, as she ran down the steps and clasped him in her arms: - -"O Tom! Where have you been? And how came your horse hitched out there -in the grove?" - -Captain Randolph had forgotten all about his horse, and just then he -wished that one of the Yankees had put a bullet through the animal's -head instead of tying him among the evergreens. Then he could have said -that he did not surrender without a fight, and the dead horse would -have proved it. - -"Some of the neighbors heard him calling as they were riding along the -road, and went in and brought him home; but they saw no signs of you," -continued Mrs. Randolph, looking hard at Tom as if to assure herself -that he was all there. "You don't know how frightened we all were. The -first thing I thought of was those dreadful Yankees, and I was afraid -you might have fallen into their hands." - -"And that's just what happened to me," replied Tom. "I was a prisoner -in less than an hour after I left you yesterday; but I made something -of a fight before they took me. I think I know where my revolver is—I -threw it into the bushes rather than give it up to the enemy." - -"Oh, you reckless boy, how could you do it?" exclaimed his mother. -"Come right in and go to bed." - -"And when you see that revolver you will notice that there isn't a -single cartridge left in it," added Captain Tom, as he followed his -mother up the steps. "I threw away my sword, too, but think I can find -it again. I didn't surrender, mind you. I was captured at the muzzle of -four loaded muskets." - -"You dear boy! And how did you get away from them?" - -"I waited until they went to sleep last night. Of course they left one -of their number to guard me, but a Yankee is no match for a gentleman -when it comes to a fight. I just knocked him down and cleared out." - -"And wasn't you hurt a bit? Didn't they try to stop you?" - -"Of course they tried to stop me, and the way the bullets flew was -a caution; but the night was dark, the bushes thick, and I escaped -without a scratch." - -This was only the introduction to the long story Tom had to tell, and -although there was scarcely a word of truth in it from beginning to -end, his doting mother believed it all. His father looked slightly -incredulous when Tom told how he had laid around in the woods for long -hours while the Yankees were searching high and low to find him, for -his boots and clothing did not bear out his thrilling narrative. They -were dusty, of course, but not at all torn and mussed, as they ought to -have been if the wearer had had such a time working his way out of the -woods. But Mr. Randolph was so overjoyed to see Tom back safe and sound -that he said nothing about it. - -"Now, my son, you must quit the Home Guards at once and stay right here -on the plantation," said Mrs. Randolph, when she had asked her hero all -the questions she could think of. "When you are a private citizen you -will not be called upon to assist in capturing desperadoes." - -"I've done the very best I could for the South ever since I joined my -fortunes with hers," answered Captain Tom; "I have risked life and -liberty in her defence more than once, and am ready to do it again; but -I can't fight the whole Yankee nation alone and unaided." - -"Certainly not," assented his mother. - -"I was the only one of the company who had the pluck to face those -desperate men in the woods," continued Tom, "and was captured for my -pains. I ordered my men out to help me, but they never came. They left -me to meet the danger alone; and when I dropped into the enrolling -office on my way home, they were loafing as usual and bragging too. And -when I told them right where they would find those Yanks, and tried to -get them to go out and capture them, do you suppose they would go? -They just as good as told me that they did not believe me, and Roach -broke in on my story by giving orders directly to Lambert instead of -passing them to him through me. I have put up with that man just as -long as I am going to; and, father, if you will pay Larkin off and let -him go, I'll be ready to take his place to-morrow morning. And now I'll -write to the Governor the very first thing I do." - -This letter to the Governor, tendering his resignation as captain of -State troops, was the "bomb" with which Tom had threatened to "scatter -Captain Roach's camp far and wide," but when he sat down to write it, -the thought occurred to him that if he said too much the letter might -operate like a boomerang, and hurt him more than he hoped to hurt -Captain Roach. If he had written it as he had it framed in his mind, -it would have been a complete and scathing indictment of the enrolling -officer's way of doing business; but the letter he showed his mother, -when she came to his room in response to his call, read something like -this: - - I have the honor to tender herewith my resignation as captain of - the State militia which was granted me on the —th day of April - last, with authority to raise and command a company of mounted men - for home defence. - - I have long been of opinion that partisan organizations are - not what we need in this hour of our country's peril, and now - I am satisfied of it. Our best men long ago went to the front - voluntarily, leaving behind them a rabble who cannot possibly be - made into soldiers. The men under my command were selected with - the greatest care, but I am obliged to say that they are fit for - nothing but guard duty at Camp Pinckney. If they were ordered there - in a body, to take the place of better men who could be sent to - the front, it would be a relief to the community. For myself I - have other ideas, which I shall proceed to carry out as soon as I - receive notice that my resignation has been accepted. - -"That is nothing but the truth," said Mrs. Randolph, after she had read -the letter. "But, Tom, I am afraid it will get you into trouble." - -"I don't see how," was the reply. "You don't suppose that the Governor -will bring it down here, show it to such fellows as Lambert and Moseley -and the rest, and ask them what they think of it; do you? He has other -fish to fry." - -"But suppose he should ask you what your other ideas are," said his -mother. - -"There's no danger of that. If the Governor thinks that my chief reason -for resigning is because I want to go to the front, well and good. I am -not to blame for what he thinks. I have other ideas, and that's a fact; -and one of them is to see the men who winked and nudged one another -to-day when I was trying to put a little courage into them, sent where -they will be held with their noses close to the grindstone. Now I'll -ride down and mail this, and when the acceptance comes I'll tell Roach -what I have done." - -"That reminds me that the mail carrier had a race with a squad of -Yankee cavalry yesterday," said Mrs. Randolph. - -"Great Scott!" exclaimed Tom. "Have they come as close as that to -Mooreville? They are bound to get here sooner or later, but I hope -they'll stay away a week longer, for then I shall be a free man." - -And Captain Tom might have added that he would be glad to see the -Federals at the end of a week, provided he received a favorable answer -from the Governor in that time. When the Home Guards were ordered away -to do duty at Camp Pinckney he would consider his account with them -settled; and the other old scores—there were four of them now—could -be attended to at some future time. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. - - -When Captain Randolph was done with his leave-taking he hastened away -as if he feared that the escaped prisoners might change their minds and -call him back. He was out of sight in an instant, and when he was out -of hearing Rodney Gray said: - -"Now we must _git_ ourselves. I don't know what sort of a story Tom -will tell when he gets home, but it is safe to say that he will make -himself out a very brave fellow, and urge his men to take up our trail -at once." - -"You needn't trouble yourself about the Home Guards," said Ned. - -"I don't; but if those same Home Guards should chance to stumble -upon the soldiers from Camp Pinckney, we'd have something to trouble -ourselves about, wouldn't we? So I say we had better move away from -here. Pick up that basket, somebody; and Ned, you take care of the -quilts, for we'll not need them. We shall lie by during the daytime and -travel at night. You haven't heard the last of this morning's work, -Ned, and neither have I." - -"If that Home Guard gets you into trouble after what you have done for -him, find means to let the —th Michigan cavalry know it; and the first -time we scout through here we'll pay our respects to him," said Ben -hotly. "If it hadn't been for Griffin's mother, Captain Randolph would -have gone to a Northern stockade as sure as he is a living man." - -"I'll bear that in mind," replied Ned. "Good-by, boys. So-long, Yanks." - -"May the best of good luck always attend you, Johnny," said the -fugitives in concert. - -This parting would have disgusted Captain Randolph if he had been there -to witness it, and might have led him to say: "This is another insult -that I've got to remember against the Griffin family," for there was a -good deal of friendly feeling manifested on both sides. Surly Ben did -not turn his back this time, but held fast to Ned with one hand, while -he pointed to the shoes he wore, with the other, and said: - -"If I get away I shall have you to thank for it. I couldn't have walked -a mile with my feet on the ground as they were when you took pity on me -last night. If I can ever repay you I will." - -"You have repaid me a hundred times over by letting Rodney and Dick go -free when you captured them a few days ago. So-long, Yanks." - -"Fall in," said Rodney. "Good-by, Ned. I wish you would make it your -business to tell mother that you saw us safely off." - -Ned began to roll up the quilts, the corporal shouldered the basket -containing the provisions, and Rodney led the way deeper into the -woods, the soldiers coming next in line and Dick Graham bringing up -the rear; and as he trudged along in silence he had much to say to -himself. Was this Rodney Gray, who was risking so much to guide these -ragged, foot-sore men to a place of safety, the same rabid Secessionist -who once wanted to ride rough-shod over everybody who stood up for -the Union; who had not scrupled to bring his own cousin into serious -difficulty on account of his loyalty to the Old Flag; who applauded so -lustily when the Mobile _Register_ said that Northern soldiers were -small-change knaves and vagrants who were fit for nothing but to be -whipped by niggers; and who declared he would not pull off his gray -suit until the South had gained her independence? We said that fifteen -months' experience in the army of the Confederacy, which never kept -a single one of the promises it made to those who enlisted under its -banner, had opened Rodney Gray's eyes; and although he still believed -in State Rights, he did not believe in fighting for a government that -had deliberately gone to work to make conscripts of its volunteers. Nor -did he longer believe that Northern men didn't know how to fight. The -way they thrashed him and his comrades in Missouri proved that they did. - -Dick Graham was like Marcy Gray, Rodney's cousin. He loved the Union -and the flag that waved over it; but, unlike Marcy, he thought it -his duty to stand by his State. When Van Dorn was whipped at Pea -Ridge Dick Graham was willing to lay down his arms and give up the -useless struggle; but the government at Richmond wouldn't let him. It -made conscripts of him and all the other State men who had enlisted -under Governor Jackson's proclamation, and ordered them across the -Mississippi to join the Army of the Centre under Beauregard. Dick went -because he could not help himself, and did his duty faithfully while he -remained; but he had his discharge in his pocket now, and said there -would have to be a marked change in his feelings before he would swear -away his liberty again. There were many like him. He thought of all -the men in his company and regiment with whom he had been on terms of -intimacy, and could not name half a dozen who would have said a harsh -word to Rodney Gray if they had known what he was doing at that moment. -The most of them would have done the same thing and been glad of the -chance. - -Although Rodney exercised little or no caution in threading his way -through the woods, he insisted that there should be no talking among -his followers. The slight rustling they made in the bushes might not -attract attention, because there were so many cattle and hogs running -at large in the timber; but the sound of a voice would betray them -to anyone who might happen to be within hearing. Their progress was -easy enough until they reached the place where the woods ended and the -broad, cultivated fields began, and then Rodney announced that it was -time for the fugitives to halt and get a little sleep if they could, -while he and Dick went on ahead to see how things looked. - -"From here on there is little cover except such as we shall find in -blind ditches and behind bush-lined fences," said he. "You boys take -a bite and a nap, and Dick and I will go to that plantation house you -see over there, and inquire about our friends from Camp Pinckney. I -am somewhat anxious to know where they are. Don't be in any haste to -challenge or shoot when you hear us coming back." - -"I suppose you know the people who live in that house," said Dick, as -he and Rodney started off, after taking leave of the Federals. "What -sort of a story are you going to tell them?" - -"I am well acquainted with them," answered Rodney, "but whether or not -their friendship for our family would lead them to do these Yanks a -good turn, I can't say. I'll not trust them too far till I find out. -We'll tell them the truth so far as our war record is concerned, but -we're hog and critter hunting when they ask us what brought us into the -woods. And of course we know all about the escaped prisoners." - -Rodney did not lead the way directly toward the house, but worked his -way along a fence until he reached a point from which the dwelling -could not be seen; and then he and Dick climbed over into the field and -struck out across it without making any further attempt at concealment. -It never occurred to them that possibly the little clump of trees that -hid the house might also hide something else from their view, but such -proved to be the case; for as Rodney walked around the corner of the -building with all the confidence of a welcome visitor, he was surprised -and frightened to find himself in the presence of the very men he came -to inquire about—the soldiers from Camp Pinckney, who were sitting or -lying at their ease under the shade of the trees, while the master of -the house and his family moved among them with steaming coffee-pots and -trays filled with something good to eat. Their hounds were lying close -by on the grass, their horses stood at the front fence with their heads -down as if asleep, and both looked as though they needed rest. The boys -made a mental note of these things and walked straight ahead as if they -belonged there, their approach being hailed with an exclamation of -delight from the owner of the plantation, who was the first to catch -sight of them. - -"What do you mean, sir, by such conduct?" said Mr. Turnbull, passing his -well loaded tray to one of the soldiers and hastening to meet Rodney -with outstretched hand. "You've been at home five or six days, and this -is the first glimpse we have had of you. Come up and have a bite." - -Rodney thanked him and presented his friend Dick, who was welcomed in -the same breezy way. Then they shook hands with the other members of -the family, and were made acquainted with the lieutenant who commanded -the soldiers—the one whom Captain Randolph had met and talked with the -day before. There was also a neighbor present who had come over to hear -what the soldiers had to say about the escaped prisoners, and about Tom -Randolph, whose mysterious disappearance was the talk of the planters -for miles around. Rodney was not pleased to see Mr. Biglin, that was -the neighbor's name, for he was a red-hot Secessionist, who denounced -Mr. Gray for his moderate views, and declared that every man who -retained a spark of love for the old Union ought to be shot on sight. - -"Now I think we are all happy and comfortable," said Mr. Turnbull, when -the boys had been provided with plates and something to put on them. -"And that's better provender, I take it, than you got in the army; eh, -Rodney? How do you like army life anyway? And when are you going back?" - -The lieutenant looked surprised, as Rodney and Dick knew he would, -and so they handed over their discharges to prove that they had seen -service, and had the right to be at home at that particular time. - -"We're not going to be in any hurry," answered Rodney, who thought all -his neighbors ought to know how he felt on that point. "Since I came -home I have met many able-bodied civilians who were fierce for a fight -when this thing first broke out, and who haven't yet put on a gray -jacket. When I see those men in the front rank I'll go back, and not -before." - -Mr. Biglin winced and glanced uneasily at the soldiers, for these -remarks came pretty near applying to him, as Rodney meant they should. -Mr. Turnbull was exempt by reason of his age, and he wasn't a very hot -Secessionist, either. His wife hastened to turn the conversation into -another channel by saying: - -"O Rodney; did you hear anything of those escaped prisoners in your -neighborhood, and do you think they have killed or captured Tom -Randolph?" - -"Small loss," began Mr. Turnbull, and then he was checked by a look -from his wife. The latter knew that every word that he uttered against -Tom would get to Mr. Randolph's ears by the shortest route, and she was -afraid of Home Guards. - -"Randolph was down here last night looking for Tom," continued Mr. -Turnbull, "but he told a story that was too funny for me to believe. He -said Tom had gone out with his Home Guards to search for the prisoners, -but I know better than that." - -"And Tom certainly did not go into the woods alone to hunt for them, so -what chance had the Yanks to kill or capture him?" added Rodney. "We -know that they were in our neighborhood yesterday, for some of these -soldiers told my mother so; but they never came near our house." - -"I noticed you did not come by the road," observed the lieutenant. -"Have you been riding through the woods back of this plantation?" - -"Dick and I have been walking through them, but not a horn nor a hoof -did we see," answered Rodney. "You know, Mr. Turnbull, that my father -will have a big lot of bacon and beef to pay to the government for the -exemption of two overseers; and just now I don't know where he is going -to get it." - -"Ned Griffin is one overseer," said Mr. Turnbull. "Who's the other?" - -"I am. I never was a good fighter. I think I can do the Confederacy -just as much service by working on a farm and raising grub for the -soldiers, as I can by staying in the army. At any rate I am going to -try it until some of my neighbors leave off fighting with their mouths -and shoulder a musket." - -"That's fair, I'm sure," said the lieutenant; while the soldiers winked -and nodded at one another as if to say: "Our sentiments exactly." Mr. -Biglin saw it and it nettled him, for he had done a great deal of -fighting with his mouth, but every dollar he gave to aid the cause of -the South was fairly squeezed out of him. - -"And while you are working one of your father's farms, I suppose you -will hold yourself in readiness to help any destitute Yankees who may -happen to come your way," said Mr. Biglin. - -If Rodney and Dick had been the inexperienced boys they were when they -first entered the army, these startling words would have knocked them -out of their chairs. If Mr. Biglin didn't know what they had been -doing that morning, his language and actions seemed to indicate that -he suspected it. If that was the case, the information must have come -from Tom Randolph. He had had plenty of time to reach home and spread -the news far and wide. If Mr. Biglin had been content to stop right -there he might have left a bad impression upon the minds of some of his -auditors; but seeing that he had made Rodney and his friend uneasy, he -went on to say: - -"I heard a fishy story about your being captured by Yankee soldiers who -were gentlemen enough to release you." - -"There's nothing fishy about it," replied Rodney, greatly relieved. "I -said that Dick and I were captured and set free again between here and -Camp Pinckney, and it is nothing but the truth. I said, further, that if -I ever saw those men in trouble I would try my best to help them out; -and I appeal to these soldiers here to say if they wouldn't do the same." - -"I would, if I could do it without bringing myself to the notice of my -superiors," said the lieutenant; while his men nodded at Rodney and one -another as they had done before. - -"Well, I wouldn't," declared Mr. Biglin, in savage tones. "And more -than that, I would report every soldier or civilian whom I knew to be -guilty of such a thing." - -"I thank you for your words," said Rodney to himself. "I know now that -you'll not do to tie to, and shall be careful that none of my doings -get to your ears." - -Mrs. Turnbull saw that it was time for her to interfere again. Two of -her guests were becoming almost red in the face with anger, and her -woman's wit or something else told her that the conversation was taking -a dangerous turn. She had wondered from the first what brought Rodney -Gray so far from home on foot, and now she believed that she knew all -about it. She moved her chair to the side of Rodney's, and asked the -young soldier to tell her a story of army life; and as she did so, her -gaze wandered through the bushes and trees to the front fence, where -she saw one of Mr. Biglin's negroes dodging about, and evidently trying -to catch the eye of his master without attracting the attention of -anyone else in the yard. The circumstance increased her suspicions, but -she said very calmly: - -"Your boy Bill is out there in the road, Mr. Biglin, and I think he -wants to tell you something." - -"Then why don't he come in?" replied the planter. "He has been down in -the woods trying to locate a small drove of my hogs, and perhaps he has -found them." - -"And perhaps he has found something else," was what Rodney's eyes and -Dick's said when they looked at each other; and they could hardly -conceal their agitation when they observed that Mrs. Turnbull was -keeping her gaze fixed on their faces. - -"You, Bill!" shouted the planter. "Come here." - -The negro came very reluctantly, and when he saw his master turn about -in his chair and look at him, he stopped and twisted his face into all -sorts of shapes and rolled up the whites of his eyes, trying by every -means in his power to make his master understand that he desired to say -a word to him in private. - -"Well, why don't you speak?" demanded Mr. Biglin. "Did you find -anything down there?" - -"Sah? Oh, ye—yes, sah; I found sumfin," replied the negro, in a tone -so significant that Mr. Biglin would have been dull indeed if he -had failed to understand him this time. With the remark that he had -better be getting along toward home he arose and followed the boy, who -promptly led the way toward the front gate. - -"Peculiar man, that," said the lieutenant, rising from his comfortable -couch on the grass and stretching his arms. "He didn't even bid us -good-by. I reckon we'd best be getting along toward camp. Boots and -saddles!" - -"Are you going to give up looking for those Yankees?" inquired Mr. -Turnbull, and from the bottom of his heart Rodney thanked him for -asking the question. He wanted to do it himself, but was afraid to -speak. - -"I reckon I might as well," answered the officer, as his men got upon -their feet, aroused the slumbering hounds by snapping their fingers -at them, and hastened to obey the command. "I did think of taking in -those woods on my way to Mooreville, but don't suppose it would be of -any use. If the Yanks were there you two would have been likely to see -them, wouldn't you?" he added, nodding at Rodney. - -"I am quite sure we would," was the reply; but after all he was not so -sure of it. The timber was thick; and, unless accompanied by dogs, a -whole regiment might have walked through it without seeing any signs of -a fugitive who took the least pains to conceal himself. - -"That's what I thought," continued the lieutenant, "and as my men and -animals are somewhat worn with travel, I think I will give it up and go -home. I would have captured those men yesterday if the Mooreville Home -Guards had been worth their salt. I may have something to say to my -colonel about it." - -While the lieutenant talked he shook hands with the planter and the -two boys, lifted his cap to Mrs. Turnbull, and thanked her for the -excellent dinner she had given his hungry men, and walked toward the -place where he had hitched his horse, accompanied by their host. The -latter's wife remained behind; and when she saw the officer swing -himself into his saddle she made some slight apology to Dick, and -motioned Rodney to follow her into the house. - -"What's down there in the woods behind our plantation?" were the first -words she said to him when they were alone. - -"Why, Mrs. Turnbull," began Rodney, "how should I know? I assure you I -am at a loss——" - -"You know what I mean, Rodney Gray, and you can't deceive me," -interrupted the lady with so much earnestness that Rodney saw it was -useless to argue with her. "You never in your life before came to this -house on foot; you were frightened when you found the soldiers here; -you became angry the moment Mr. Biglin spoke of Yankees; you were -frightened again when the boy Bill intimated that he had a word to say -to his master in private; and all through—— Aha! You do know what I -mean, don't you?" - -"Mrs. Turnbull," replied Rodney in a husky voice. "They are the men I -promised to help if I could. You'll not betray them?" - -"I ought to scold you for speaking such words to me, and some day I -will," said the lady hastily. "But just now I want to warn you against -Mr. Biglin. I am sorry to say that he is not trustworthy." - -When she ceased speaking she stepped to the window and looked out. She -stood there a moment and beckoned Rodney to her side. The Confederate -soldiers had disappeared up the road in a cloud of dust, and Mr. Biglin -was just riding by the house. It was plain that he was in a hurry, -for he did not stop to pick up his hat, which flew off just as Rodney -caught sight of him, but dug his heels into his mule's sides in the -effort to make him go faster. - -"He's trying to overtake the soldiers!" gasped Rodney. - -"He certainly is," replied Mrs. Turnbull calmly. "He will succeed, too, -and when he brings them back with the hounds——" - -"The Yankees will burn him out before he is a week older," said Rodney, -through his clenched teeth. - -"They will do nothing of the sort unless you bear witness against him, -and I know you will not do that," answered Mrs. Turnbull. "But waste no -time in words. You know what to do." - -"I will say something in your favor and Mr. Turnbull's as soon as I can -gain the ear of the provost marshal," said Rodney. "Good-by, and thank -you for the interest you take in my Yankee friends." - -Rodney made a sign to Dick as he sprang down the steps and ran around -the corner of the house, and told him his story as they sped across -the field side by side. There was one thing in their favor, he said. -Biglin's mule was one of those critters that gallop up and down in one -place instead of going ahead, and if the Confederates were moving with -any speed at all, he might not be able to overtake them until they had -gone a mile or two toward Mooreville. But he would certainly come up -with them sooner or later and bring them back; and then—— - -"And then they'll put the hounds on the Yanks' trail _and ours_," -exclaimed Dick, finishing his sentence for him. "Rodney, you have got -yourself into the worst kind of a scrape by helping those prisoners." - -"And how about yourself?" - -"I'm going to skip out and go over the river, you know; but you've got -to stay here and face the music. The lieutenant may not be able to set -Tom Randolph's cowardly Home Guards on to you—indeed, I don't believe -he will try; but he'll report the matter at Camp Pinckney, and that -will be bad for you." - -The boys ran across the field at the top of their speed, and scaled -the fence without hearing any sounds in the direction of the house to -indicate that Mr. Biglin had returned with the soldiers. Ten minutes -later they were challenged in a low, peremptory tone that Dick said -meant business. - -"_Who_ comes there?" said the corporal's voice. "Speak quick." - -"It's all right, Yank. I don't wonder you look anxious," replied -Rodney, as he and Dick made their way through the bushes and found the -fugitives standing erect with their guns in their hands. "Come on, now. -There's not a second to lose." - -"Do you know about that nigger?" inquired Ben. "Well, sir, he found us -all asleep and was onto us before we knew it. We could have captured -him easy enough; but we never looked for treachery among the darkeys, -and besides we didn't know but you Johnnies had sent him down with a -message or something. But the minute we spoke and he ran, we knew there -was mischief afoot. Of course we were afraid to shoot him, and so he -got safely away. Did you see him? What did he say?" - -"We didn't hear what he said to his master," began Dick. "But we——" - -"You go to the rear and let me talk," interrupted Rodney, who had -forgotten to tell his friend that Mr. Biglin's name must not be -mentioned in the hearing of the escaped prisoners. They would remember -him, of course, and square accounts with him the first time their -regiment was ordered out on a scout. He managed to tell some sort -of a tale without speaking of Mr. Biglin, but it was not entirely -satisfactory to the corporal. - -"You're shielding somebody, Johnny; but if he is a friend of yours it's -all right," said the latter. - -"What odds does it make to you so long as you get safe to the river?" -answered Rodney. "I am shielding somebody, and I do it because Mrs. -Turnbull expects me to. That's the name of the woman who lives in that -house, and if it hadn't been for her there's no telling what would have -happened. Bear that name in mind—Turnbull; and when you are raiding -through here, don't steal so much as a drink of milk from that family." - -The corporal and his men promised, and said the name over several times -to fix it in their memory. - -"Our pursuers are all soldiers," continued Rodney, "and under almost -any other circumstances I believe they would let us off easy; but the -way they're fixed, they've got to do their duty or be reported. They -are bound to come back to the house and put out the hounds——" - -"And they've done it," said Dick Graham, coming to a sudden standstill -and turning one ear toward the house. "There! Do you hear it?" - -All this while the fugitives had been making the best progress they -could through the woods, but now they stopped and listened intently. -Yes, they could hear it plainly enough; not a single bugle note like -that which had attracted Dick Graham's attention, but a whole chorus of -eager yelps, proving that all the hounds had taken up the trail. - -"This is going to be the tightest squeak we've had yet," observed Ben. -"How many of them are there in the party?" - -"About six hounds, I should say, and twice as many men," replied -Rodney. "Enough altogether to make running easier than fighting. Dick, -take this bottle, and don't use it until I say the word." - -"What's in it?" inquired the corporal. - -"Turpentine; and if the dogs get a good sniff of it, it will spoil -their scenting powers for quite a while. The trouble is it evaporates -quickly, and Dick mustn't use it until the hounds are close to us." - -Dick fell back to the rear and Rodney set off on a keen run, directing -his course toward a little bayou which he knew he would find a mile or -so in advance. But fast as they went, the hounds came on at a swifter -pace, their sonorous yelps grew louder every minute, and presently the -encouraging shouts of the soldiers mingled with them. - -"Oh, don't I wish I had enlisted in the infantry," puffed Ben, who -followed close at Rodney's heels. "Such a tramp as we have had wouldn't -be anything to a foot soldier, but it's death on a cavalryman." - -"The hounds are now following Dick's trail and mine across the field," -said Rodney. "They'll come on faster when they pick up yours, for they -will recognize it on the instant." - -And so it proved. The hounds gradually swept around from a point to the -rear and left of them to another that was directly behind; and then -their loud baying increased wonderfully in volume. They had at last -found the trail that had been lost to them for so many hours, and were -holding a jubilee over it. After that the horsemen were distanced, but -the active hounds came on with undiminished speed, and in less than a -quarter of an hour could be heard making their way through the bushes -close behind. The prisoners began to wonder if it wasn't about time for -Dick Graham to use the contents of his bottle, when their guide parted -the thicket in front of him, and halted for an instant on the bank of -the bayou for which he had been heading. - -"Put half of it right here and the rest on the opposite bank. Forward, -the rest of us," said he; and with the words he dashed through the -narrow stream and into the bushes on the other side. - -[Illustration: DICK BAFFLES THE BLOODHOUNDS.] - -Dick Graham showed no little nerve in carrying out his instructions. -When his companions disappeared he pulled the bottle of turpentine from -his pocket, but knowing the volatile nature of the fluid he seemed to -be in no haste to use it, until the leading hound was so close upon -him that he could hear his labored breathing. Then he dug the heels -of his shoes into the soft earth and filled the depressions with -turpentine. Ten seconds later he stood on the other side of the bayou, -filling other footprints with what was left in the bottle; and just as -the foremost of his fourfooted pursuers appeared in sight, he flung -himself into the bushes. But he was not prepared for what followed. As -fast as the hounds arrived upon the bank they smelt at the turpentine -and backed away with a sneeze; and when they were all in plain view, -running about with their heads in the air or going through such -contortions as dogs will when they unexpectedly encounter something -disagreeable, a deafening roar rang through the woods, and every one of -the hounds dropped in his tracks dead or wounded. The Union soldiers -were not going to be tracked like beasts or criminals any longer. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -RODNEY PASSES INSPECTION. - - -This was the first and last adventure that befell Rodney Gray and his -party while they were on their way to Baton Rouge; the shooting of the -hounds "broke the backbone of the pursuit," as Dick Graham expressed -it, although it did not put a stop to it altogether. The rebels raised -a chorus of angry yells when they reached the bank of the bayou and -discovered their fourfooted allies weltering in their blood, and fired -their guns at random into the woods in the direction the fugitives -had gone, but they made no energetic effort to continue the chase -after that. And this went far to confirm Rodney in his belief that the -lieutenant would not have put the hounds on the trail at all if it -hadn't been for Mr. Biglin. By expressing this opinion aloud he could -have made Mr. Biglin a beggar before another week passed over his head. - -Contrary to his original plan Rodney kept his party moving until late -that afternoon, when he halted the soldiers in the rear of another -plantation while he and Dick went to the house to get something to -eat, and make inquiries concerning their pursuers. This time they were -not gone more than half an hour, and when they returned they were -accompanied by the owner of the plantation, who cordially invited the -soldiers into the house. - -"It's all right, boys," Rodney assured them. "Our friends from Camp -Pinckney haven't been this far down the road; Mr. Banks is Union, and -a large squad of your cavalry has just gone back into the country, so -that they are between us and the rebels." - -"Why, Rodney," said Mr. Banks, "you're a rebel yourself." - -"I was, and I don't know but I am yet; but I am not fighting any Yanks -just now," was the smiling reply. "Come along, boys, and after we have -eaten everything Mr. Banks has to spare, we'll take to the road and -follow it as though we had a right there. We've done hiding now." - -The corporal glanced at the military pass which Mr. Banks produced to -prove that he was "all right" with the Federal authorities in Baton -Rouge, and gladly accepted his invitation; and for fear that he might -forget it, he drew one of those useless paroles from his pocket and -wrote Mr. Banks' name and Mr. Turnbull's upon it. - -"That's as strong a promise of protection as a non-commissioned officer -can give," said he. "It will hold good with my regiment, any way." - -The four prisoners splashed a good deal of water at the horse trough -before they would consent to enter the house and sit down to the table -like white folks, but when they got there they did ample justice to the -substantial food that was placed before them. The planter apologized -for the absence of salt on the table by saying that he hadn't been able -to obtain a permit to bring it through the lines. - -"Then smuggle it," suggested the corporal. "Buy a barrel of flour and -chuck a bag of salt inside of it." - -"But don't let your best friend see you do it," chimed in Rodney. -"That's the warning my father received. There are lots of traitors in -the city who try to curry favor with the Yanks by carrying tales about -their old neighbors. By the way, don't you want me to get you a barrel -of flour?" - -The expression of astonishment that came upon Mr. Banks' face set the -table in a roar. - -"You didn't expect me to speak so freely in the presence of these -blue-coated boys, I suppose," continued Rodney. "You needn't be afraid, -for they are not on duty now. Besides, they are soldiers, and I'd -rather trust them than some civilians I know of." - -"How will you bring the flour out?" asked Mr. Banks. - -"I'll bring it out," answered Rodney confidently. "In the first place -I'll ask for a pass for inland travel and a permit to trade, and I am -bound to get both. I know where I can borrow a team in the city, and I -intend to bring it out loaded. I know that salt and all munitions of -war are contraband, and that there is an inspection of all persons and -property going in or out of the lines; but I—well, I shall be back -this way to-morrow or next day, and if you want a bag of salt for your -table you can have it." - -"Well, I snum!" said the planter admiringly. "Your war experience has -done a heap for you, Rodney." - -"He had the reputation of being the best forager in the regiment," said -Dick. "I've known him to stick a pig and clean him and bring him into -camp under Daddy Price's nose, when the orders were strict that such -things shouldn't be done. If there was anything to eat in the country -our mess always lived well." - -Dinner over, Rodney led his party out of the house and into the woods -again; but it was done merely to mislead any talkative rebel or -treacherous darkey who might be on the watch. It wouldn't do to let all -the neighbors know that Mr. Banks had sheltered some escaped prisoners -in his house during the night; but when darkness came they left the -woods and found in one of the negro cabins beds that had been placed -there on purpose for them, and on which they slept the sleep of the -weary. Daylight the next morning found them well on their way toward -the city, with a breakfast under their belts and a big lunch in their -pockets. - -There was more travel on the road than Rodney expected to see, and the -number of teams that were constantly going and coming gave him some -idea of the amount of traffic carried on between the "invaders" and the -country people. When he and his companions were halted by the first -pickets a few miles outside the city, they told as much of their story -as they thought necessary, and demanded to be taken before Colonel -Baker, commanding the —th Michigan cavalry. In order to avoid delay -and the trouble of answering the thousand and one questions propounded -by the inexperienced non-commissioned officer who responded to the -picket's call, the corporal, who did the talking, said that they were -all escaped prisoners; but when they reached the place where the —th -Michigan were encamped, and walked down the street toward the colonel's -quarters, that story would no longer pass muster, for the corporal was -recognized by his comrades, who crowded about him from all sides. The -news of that fight near Camp Pinckney had been brought in by a farmer, -who affirmed that all the Yankees had been killed by the Home Guards -as fast as they surrendered, and as a consequence the Michigan boys -had given up all hope of seeing their friends again. Their commanding -officer greeted them in the same cordial way, laughed over the paroles -which the corporal gave him, took down the names of the Union people as -they were read off, looked at Rodney's discharge and Dick's, and told -the corporal to show them the way to the provost marshal's office. - -"But, colonel, these boys, who have stood by us as though they belonged -to us, want a pass and a permit to trade," said the corporal. "And if -you will allow me to use your name, perhaps the provost will be more -willing to grant the favor." - -The permission was readily given, and the colonel's name must have -had some weight with the marshal, for he did not detain Rodney and -Dick at his office on business for more than ten minutes; but he kept -them there talking in a friendly way for more than an hour. When he -handed them the papers they wanted he took pains to say that there -were some things that could not be taken through the lines under any -circumstances whatever, and then he asked where they intended to make -their headquarters when they were in the city, and whether or not they -had any cotton to sell. As Rodney did not know what his object might be -in asking this question, he answered it evasively. - -"I wish I owned 1000 bales, and that it was in the Northern market at -this minute," said he. "It is worth sixty cents a pound up there." - -"Because if you've got any you may as well understand that it won't -do you much good," said the marshal. "That is, unless you're sharp. -The Richmond government is going to buy or steal all the cotton in the -Confederacy and make it the basis of a foreign loan." - -"And of course you Yanks are going to stop that sort of work by -destroying every bale you can find," said Rodney. "I understand that, -but I don't know what you mean by being sharp." - -"You don't get the papers very often, do you?" said the captain. "Well, -take those when you go. They're old, but perhaps their contents will -be news to you. You will find that they say something about a 'partial -trade' that is to be established between Northern men who are to have -permits to trade inside our lines, and _Union_ Southern people. Does -that hit you? Anything to cripple the rebs, you know. And you will see -something about the _Arkansas_ ram in there, too. It was a brave act, -if it was performed by the enemies of my country." - -"What about her? What did she do?" inquired Rodney, who had heard vague -reports that there was such a vessel as the _Arkansas_, and that great -things were expected of her by her Confederate builders. - -"Why, you know that the navy has been keeping up a regular bombardment -of Vicksburg, don't you? I tell you the pluck of the Johnnies up -there is something wonderful," said the captain, and Rodney and Dick, -disgusted as they were with the policy of the Richmond government, -felt a thrill of pride as they listened to his words. "They think the -lower river was given up too easily and are going to make a fight for -their city; and when Farragut passed their batteries on the 28th of -June, and our shells were falling like hail in the streets, parties of -ladies were seen on the court house and in other conspicuous places, -waving handkerchiefs and little rebel flags to encourage their husbands -and brothers and sons, who were fighting the guns below them. Well, -when Farragut joined Davis above the city they sent an expedition up -the Yazoo to find this ram _Arkansas_ and destroy her; but before they -were fairly started they met the _Arkansas_ coming down." - -"And didn't they capture her?" exclaimed Dick. - -"No, I am sorry to say. She either disabled or dodged the three -gunboats composing the expedition, came out of the Yazoo with flying -colors, ran through both fleets, and took shelter under the guns of -Vicksburg. And she's there now in spite of two desperate attempts that -were made to destroy her. Sorry, aint you?" - -"I can't honestly say that I am," answered Rodney, who had already -made up his mind that the talkative provost marshal was willing to be -friendly to any Confederate who had laid down his arms. "A brave act -like that ought to be successful." - -"Then our attempts to destroy her ought to have been successful, for -they were equally brave," retorted the captain. "She got pretty well -hammered while passing through the two fleets, and report says that as -soon as she is repaired she is coming down to take Baton Rouge from us. -But she is as far down as she will ever get. Farragut is here now with -his whole fleet." - -And this is a good place to say a word or two more about the situation -at Baton Rouge, so that some events which we have yet to record may -be made perfectly plain. On the 22d of the month (July) Flag-officer -Davis made another attempt to destroy the _Arkansas_, but it resulted -in failure. Two of his boats, the _Essex_ and _Queen of the West_, -were commanded to go down and sink her as she lay at her moorings -under cover of the Confederate batteries, but her picked crew fought as -bravely and skilfully now as they had done a week before. The _Essex_ -ran aground and remained there for ten minutes under fire so hot that -it is a wonder she was not cut all to pieces; but she finally worked -off and ran down to join Farragut, while the _Queen of the West_ -struggled back up the river to report the failure to Flag-officer -Davis. The situation at this time was discouraging to our side. The -gunboats were widely separated; the canal that was to make Vicksburg -an inland town proved a failure; General Williams removed to Baton -Rouge the small body of troops with which he had been co-operating with -the naval forces; Commodore Davis went back to the mouth of the Yazoo -and anchored there; and for full five months there was a lull in the -operations against Vicksburg. But exciting things continued to happen -in Rodney Gray's part of the country. - -"To tell you the truth, we of the Army of the Centre always found more -reliable information in your papers than we did in our own, and I -suppose that these you have kindly given me will tell us all about the -doings on the river," said Rodney, continuing the conversation we have -broken off. "But I want to ask you one question before I go. My friend -Dick wants to go to Little Rock. How is he going to get there?" - -"I give it up," replied the captain. - -"Do you think the commanding naval officer would permit him to cross -the river if he showed his discharge!" - -"He might, and then he might not. I can't say. Those navy men are -fine fellows, the finest I think I ever saw; but they're so _very_ -particular that if I wanted to go to Little Rock, and if it was right -that I should go, I wouldn't consult—I believe I should—well, I'd -just go. That's all." - -"Well, we will no longer trespass upon your time," said Rodney, getting -upon his feet. "We are obliged to you for your kindness and courtesy, -and if you ever come out our way, drop in and see us." - -"I should be glad if I could accept half the invitations that have -been given me by people hereabout," replied the captain. "But just now -I can't. Any rebs out your way?" - -"I don't expect you to come without an escort. There are soldiers at -Camp Pinckney, and some of them have been seen in Mooreville." - -"Good-by, if you must go; and remember that there are a few things -which that permit does not authorize you to take through the lines." - -Rodney said he would not forget it, and then he and Dick saluted and -went into the outer room, which was filled with civilians and soldiers -awaiting an audience with the provost marshal. After looking in vain -for the corporal, they concluded that he had returned to camp, so they -took the nearest way to the home of Mr. Martin, the gentleman under -whose hospitable roof Rodney and his father were sojourning on the -night that Ned Griffin rode in from Mooreville with the information -that Drummond and Tom Randolph were laying plans to have Rodney -arrested when he reached St. Louis. Mr. Martin was glad to see them, -and made them feel at home at once. He laughed when they told him of -their interview with the provost marshal, and, when Rodney declared -that he'd like to see anybody treated with so much civility by an -officer holding that position in Bragg's army, cautioned them to be -careful how they trespassed upon the captain's good nature. The latter -was cordial and friendly with everyone who had business with him, -but he had a reputation as a fighter, had won all his promotions by -his bravery on the field of battle, and had no mercy on civilians or -soldiers who were caught disobeying his orders. - -"But smuggling things out of the lines is like foraging in the army," -said Mr. Martin in conclusion. "The sin lies in being detected." - -"That's all I want to know," said Rodney. "I've never been caught yet. -You can tell me where I can borrow or hire a team, I suppose?" - -Yes, the host could do that, and he might also be able to make a few -suggestions that would be of use to them; but he didn't see how Dick -would get over the river unless he acted upon the provost marshal's -advice and "just went." - -"However," he said, after a moment's reflection, "I will introduce you -to our mail carrier, if he will let me." - -"Do we have a mail carried back and forth under the noses of these -gunboats?" exclaimed Dick. - -"I don't know how or where it goes, but we certainly have communication -with the opposite shore. The service was very irregular while General -Williams was at Vicksburg, but since he came back to Baton Rouge our -mail reaches us at shorter intervals; so I imagine it is carried across -at some point up the river and brought down through the country. I -don't know, but I meet the mail carrier once in a while." - -"And can you make it convenient to say a word to him about Dick?" - -"I can and will; but I must tell you now that there is one thing that -will operate against you. You told the provost marshal that you would -make your headquarters at my house as often as you came to town, and -he knows me to be a Southern sympathizer." - -"Whew!" whistled Rodney, while Dick looked frightened. "Mr. Martin, we -will never come near your house again." - -"Oh, yes, you will," replied their host. "But you must be careful how -you act and who you talk to. The city is full of the meanest sort -of converted rebels, who are harder on us than the Yankees. If Mrs. -Martin goes out shopping or receives a guest oftener than once a week, -they run to the marshal with the news, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my premises are being watched for spies." - -"They are a contemptible lot," declared Dick. "And if the provost -marshal was the gentleman we took him for, he would not pay the least -heed to their reports." - -"All's fair in war," said the host. "These converted rebels are working -for trade permits. There's going to be a lot of money made in cotton -one of these days, and they want some of it. While in the city you may -listen all you please, but don't make a confidant of anybody but me. -And don't have too much to say to those four escaped prisoners. You may -run across them some time when they are on duty." - -Mr. Martin talked for half an hour in this strain, dropping hints here -and there which proved to be of great service to Rodney, and then he -conducted the boys to a clothing store and left them to make their -purchases, while he went out to look for a team. Before they went to -bed that night their business was all done, and all that remained for -them to do in the morning was to load the two-horse wagon their host -had provided for them and go home. Mr. Martin obtained from Rodney a -list of needed goods, principally groceries, which he purchased and -packed himself; and when the various boxes, barrels, and bags that -comprised his load were afterward unpacked at his father's door, Rodney -found in them many little articles which he was sure he had not placed -on that list. They made an early start, and Rodney's parting injunction -to Mr. Martin was to seek an interview with the mail carrier at the -earliest possible moment, for Dick was impatient to be on his way home. - -"This is my first work as an overseer," said Rodney, when the city was -left behind and the two scraggy mules that pulled the wagon had been -coaxed and thrashed into a snail's trot, "and I think I have made a -very fair beginning, seeing that the business is new to me. My next -task will be to see you over the river." - -"I never knew you were an overseer," said Dick. - -"I've called myself one ever since I had that talk with my father on -the night we came home," answered Rodney. "And just see what I shall -have to do when you are gone! I battled for fame and didn't get it, and -now I am going to work for dollars and see if I will have any better -luck. Dick, I am just aching to make the acquaintance of one of those -traders—that is, a Yankee trader. Not one of those converted rebels -Mr. Martin told us of shall touch a bale of our cotton, if I have to -fight to keep him away from it; but if some good Yankee comes along and -offers sixty cents a pound for it, you just wait and see how hard I -will work to put it in his hands." - -It was plain that Rodney Gray belonged to the class who were denounced -by Pollard, the Southern historian, as "unpatriotic planters." In -writing of this very matter Mr. Pollard said: "The country had taken -a solemn resolution to burn the cotton in advance of the enemy; but -the conflagration of this staple became a rare event; instead of being -committed to the flames it was spirited away to Yankee markets. The -planters of the extreme South, who prior to the war were loudest for -secession, were known to buy every article of their consumption from -the invading army. Nor were these operations always disguised. Some -commercial houses in the Confederacy counted their gains by millions of -dollars through the favor of the government in allowing them to export -cotton at pleasure." But Rodney Gray was a private individual, and he -was well aware that if his father's cotton brought the money it was -really worth, it would take some good scheming on his part. - -About an hour after the boys left the city they came upon the first -picket post, which they found to be an unusually strong one, being -composed of one sergeant, two corporals, and eight or nine privates. -Rodney had just time to remark "We pass inspection here, probably," -when one of the soldiers walked to the middle of the road, brought his -musket to "arms port" and commanded them to halt. An instant afterward -their wagon was surrounded by the rest of the pickets, who shook the -barrels back and forth, dug their fingers into the bags, and bumped the -boxes about in the most unceremonious style. - -"Got a permit?" demanded the sergeant. "And a pass?" He did not ask who -the boys were or where they came from, and the sequel proved that he -knew without asking. - -"These documents appear to be all right," he continued, after he had -read the papers Rodney handed out. "Discharged rebels, eh? You don't -seem to be such a desperate looking couple. What you got in your wagon?" - -"Munitions of war," replied Rodney. "There's a six-pound field-piece -in one of those barrels." - -"That's what I thought. Get out, both of you." - -Although the boys were surprised and startled by this unexpected -command they were prompt to obey it. - -"Now let me see what you've got in your pockets," said the sergeant. -"Every scrap, mind you." - -"You're welcome to read all the letters and things of that sort you can -find about us," answered Rodney. "We are not simple enough to lose our -permits and passes by carrying despatches the first thing." - -"They're the laddie-bucks who helped the —th Michigan's boys," -observed a corporal. - -"I know; but business is business," said the sergeant. "And they've -been in Martin's company ever since they came to town." - -"That's all right. I don't object to your doing your duty, for I've -been a soldier myself," said Rodney. "But I do object to being taken -for a plumb dunce. You'll find no writing about us except the papers -we showed you and our discharges." - -But the sergeant obeyed orders, like the good soldier he was, and it -was not until he had seen all their pockets turned inside out, and -had felt of the seams of their coats and trousers, that he concluded -they were all right and could pass on. He did not say a word about the -things they had in the wagon. He was after despatches and nothing else. - -"Climb in and go ahead, Johnny," said the sergeant, giving Rodney a -friendly slap to help him along. "And when you see that best girl of -yours, give her my regards and say that I am coming out to call on her -one of these days." - -"Well, be sure and come in a crowd. You'll see fun if you don't." - -"Any graybacks out your way?" - -"Some; and the events of the last few hours will probably bring more. -So-long, boys, and look out for the rebs in Vicksburg. They are coming -down to clean you out." - -He was answered by shouts of laughter and derision from the Federals, -who advised him not to take a hand in the cleaning-out business, for he -would be whipped if he did. He drove on, glad to escape so easily, and -in due time turned up at Mr. Turnbull's house, where he and Dick rested -the balance of the day and slept that night. When it was dark a barrel -of flour was taken from the wagon and carried into Mrs. Turnbull's -dining room; and when some of the flour had been taken out four bags of -salt were brought to light. If those little bags had been filled with -money Mr. Turnbull and his wife could scarcely have expressed more joy. - -"We've been seasoning our food with the floor of the smoke-house for -the last two months," said the former, "and I tell you I am glad to see -some clean salt once more. You have made us your everlasting debtors. -How much did it cost you?" - -"I didn't get an itemized bill," replied Rodney. "Take it to pay for -our grub and lodging." - -The next night saw them safe at home, and the night following found -them settled on Mr. Gray's upper plantation, which was located a -mile or two up the river from the one on which Ned Griffin was living -as overseer. Rodney was elated over the result of his first visit to -the city, for the immediate wants of the family had been abundantly -supplied by that wagon-load of goods, and he and Dick could now wear -clothes that looked as though they fitted somewhere; but his father and -mother were not elated. They looked serious, and Rodney told Dick that -he made a mistake when he described how carefully the Federal soldiers -searched them for despatches. - -"And it is a bad thing for you that they know we make our headquarters -at Mr. Martin's," he added. "They've got an eye on him; and what will -you bet that they don't know he sees that mail carrier once in a while?" - -"Then what's the reason they don't arrest him and the mail carrier -too?" said Dick. - -"They'll jump down on the pair of them when they are good and ready, -and think they can capture some important documents by doing it," -answered Rodney. "You can't cross at Baton Rouge. You'll have to start -from some point up the river. But we'll see the mail carrier if we can, -and hear what he has to say about it." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -CAPTAIN RANDOLPH RECEIVES ORDERS. - - -Rodney Gray was an overseer now at all events, and being one of those -uneasy fellows who must have something to occupy their minds at all -times, and fond of hunting, he would have been as happy and contented -as he wanted to be, if there had been no such things as Home Guards -in the world. The Yankees at Baton Rouge he did not bother his head -about. He had charge of 400 acres of land, 100 of which were under -cultivation, and fifteen work hands—just enough to bring him under the -exemption clause of the Conscription Act. For the privilege of staying -at home and overseeing these hands the Confederate Government demanded -of him 3000 pounds of salt pork and beef, or their equivalent in bacon, -and Rodney expected to furnish the meat himself. There were many hogs -running loose in the woods, and as the negro driver who had charge of -the plantation previous to Rodney's coming had taken no pains to "tame" -them by feeding them regularly, they were as wild as deer, and Rodney -intended to hunt them as he would have hunted deer—"with rifle and -with hounds." - -The "great house" in which Rodney lived was very unlike the same -dwelling on the home plantation. It was built of unhewn logs and -contained two rooms, the wide hall between them being used as the -dining room, both summer and winter. The kitchen, which stood a little -distance away, was built of logs, and so were the negro cabins, -corn-cribs, smoke houses, and the little stable in which his riding -horse would find shelter in stormy weather; but taken as it stood the -plantation was a valuable one, for, concealed somewhere in the dark -recesses of the woods, that hemmed the cultivated fields in on all -sides, were several hundred bales of cotton that was worth sixty cents -a pound in Northern markets. - -The driver had been so careless with his work and so lax with the -hands that Rodney found plenty of things demanding his attention, -but he could not think of settling down to business so long as Dick -remained with him. When they parted it might be forever, and Rodney -was reluctant to let him go. Mr. Martin told them that they need not -come to the city under a week expecting to hear any news from the mail -carrier, but they did not wait as long as that without hearing news -from another source, and of the most exciting character too. On the -morning of the third day after their arrival at the plantation, Dick -looked over Rodney's shoulder as they sat at the breakfast table in the -wide hall, and saw half a dozen armed men ride up to the bars. They -stood there a minute or two looking up and down the road, and then -three of them dismounted and came into the yard. At the same instant -another similar squad came in sight and also rode up and stopped at the -bars. - -"Rebs for a dollar," whispered Dick. - -"And not Home Guards, either," replied Rodney, as the two arose from -the table and walked out to meet the visitors. "They are strangers." - -"Well," said the foremost, who might have been an officer, though -there was nothing on his coat to show it, "how does it come that a -couple of likely lads like yourselves are here in citizen's clothes -while everybody else is in the army?" - -"Been there and came home to take a little rest," answered Rodney, -feeling in his pocket for his discharge. "But everybody else isn't in -the army by a long shot, as you would know if you belonged in this -country. Read that, and tell me if you are out conscripting." - -"We're out for more serious business than that," replied the soldier, -reading the discharges one after the other, and handing them back to -their owners. "Any Yanks about here?" - -"None nearer than Baton Rouge that we know of." - -"How large an army have they got there?" - -The boys were obliged to say they couldn't tell; but they knew that -General Williams had come down from Vicksburg with his whole force. - -"We know that, too, and are following him up to lick him." - -We don't know how to give an idea, in words, of the exclamation that -broke from Dick Graham's lips when he heard this. It was the famous -"rebel yell," long, loud, and piercing; and when the soldiers at the -bars heard it they turned in their saddles and lifted their hats, and -needed no other evidence to prove that Dick was or had been one of -themselves. Then Dick demanded if there was going to be a fight right -there in his friend's door-yard. - -"It'll happen somewhere about here," replied the soldier. "Better find -guns, you two, and join in. It's bound to be a victory for our side and -you want to share in the honor. We're going to have the _Arkansas_ to -help us, and she is a match for all the vessels the Yanks have in the -river. She proved it by what she did up at Yazoo." - -After a little more conversation the boys learned that their visitor -belonged to Breckenridge's division, which had been detached from the -force at Vicksburg as soon as General Williams withdrew and Farragut -started down the river, and they were simply scouting in advance of -the main body, which was to be reinforced by all the conscripts and -regular troops at Camp Pinckney. - -"If you want help, why don't you bring into your ranks all the Home -Guards around here?" said Rodney. - -"Are there Home Guards about here? I am glad to know it, for we need -all the help we can raise. Who's their captain and where are his -headquarters?" - -Rodney gave the desired information, adding that if his visitor did not -think it safe to venture as far as Mooreville with the small force at -his command, he and Dick would volunteer to take a message to Captain -Randolph. "But you will have to put it in writing," said he, "for Tom -will not believe us. And you must caution him against letting his men -know that there is going to be a fight; for if they find that out -they'll scatter like rats in a pantry." - -"Like Home Guards everywhere," replied the soldier in disgust. "I'll -tell you what I'll do," said he, after thinking a moment. "I'll get a -line from the colonel commanding our advance ordering Captain Randolph -to hold his company in readiness to march at a moment's notice, and -I'll either bring or send it here to-night if you will deliver it. Of -course you'll not say anything to him or anybody else that will get to -the enemy's ears." - -"Oh, you needn't think to surprise the Yanks," exclaimed Dick. "They -have had notice already that you are coming. But we'll get Tom out if -we can." - -The soldier asked a few more questions that the boys could not answer -satisfactorily touching the length, shape, and strength of the Federal -lines at Baton Rouge, and then joined his men, who moved down the road -toward Mooreville. - -"Did you forget Captain Roach and his conscripts?" asked Dick, when -they were out of sight. - -"I left them out on purpose," said Rodney. "But of course I shall -speak to Roach about it when we take that note to Tom Randolph. His -conscripts are all my near neighbors, and mostly Union men, who -wouldn't be of the least use in a fight; and, Dick," here Rodney sunk -his voice to a whisper, "if I can do it without risk to myself, I shall -go out of my way to warn them of what's coming." - -"Oh, you traitor!" cried Dick. - -"You would do the same if you were in my fix. Of course there are some -I would not dare speak to, for they would tell where they got the -information; but those I can trust to keep a still tongue in their -heads will be warned, if I can find them." - -The boys went back to their unfinished breakfast and ate heartily, -as they had often done while men all around them were forming in -line of battle and shells were bursting over their heads. But still -Rodney was anxious, for the coming contest might bring great loss -to his father. There were many bales of cotton concealed within a -circle of a few miles of the place where he was sitting; both sides -had proclaimed it contraband of war, and it seemed impossible that a -line of battle could go far in any direction without discovering some -of it; and the destruction of part would lead to the destruction of -the whole, for some of those who lost, Mr. Randolph for instance, -would be mean enough to point out the hiding-place of the rest. This -reflection troubled Rodney, but before he sat down to another meal he -had something besides cotton to think about. The scouts of the opposing -armies came together down the road, out of sight, but within plain -hearing of the two boys, who ran to the bars and listened to the sounds -of the conflict. They heard the sharp, quick reports of the carbines, -and the cheers and yells of the combatants; and when the yells became -fainter and at last died away altogether, and the cheers grew in volume -until they became one continuous cheer, they looked at each other with -the same startling question in their eyes. - -"That's the first encounter, and we're whipped," said Dick. "Now if the -victorious Yanks come back this way—then what?" - -"Our discharges and passes and permits will be of no more use than so -much blank paper," answered Rodney. "They'll say that if we haven't -given information of some sort to the enemy already, we will do it the -first chance we get, and so we'd better trot right along with them to -Baton Rouge." - -"That's what I am afraid of. I don't want to go to Baton Rouge." - -"Neither do I; and so I am going to do as other and better men have -done under similar circumstances." - -"Afoot or on horseback?" inquired Dick, who knew that his friend had -resolved to take to the woods. - -"On horseback, to save our animals from being stolen, and to give color -to the story that we have gone to town," replied Rodney. "Come on, -for there's no telling how soon the Yanks may come down the road at a -gallop." - -While one started for the stable yard, the other ran in to tell his -black housekeeper that he was going to ride toward Mooreville, where he -would remain until the Federals had left the country. Yes, there had -been a sharp skirmish down there in the woods, he said in reply to the -woman's anxious inquiries, the Confederates had been driven from the -field, and he and Dick thought it best to get out of sight for awhile. - -"The Federals may not come back this way," added Rodney, "but if they -do, tell the truth and don't try to pass me off for a Union man. They -know as well as you do that I have served my time in the Confederate -army, and there's nothing to gain by telling a different story. If -anyone asks for me, you can say that I have ridden toward Mooreville." - -Well, he and Dick did ride toward Mooreville, but they did not go -there. Not knowing how far the darkeys could be trusted, they went down -the road half a mile or so, and turning into the woods hitched their -horses close together so that they would not call to each other, and -finally took up a position from which they could see the house and -anybody who approached it. These precautions were not taken any too -soon, for the Federals did scout back that way, and when they came in -sight they were riding at top speed. They knew that a large party of -horsemen had passed along the road before them, for they saw the prints -of many hoofs in the dust. Some of them kept on without drawing rein, -while others went into the house and all over it; but as no contraband -goods rewarded their search they left it standing when they went away. -And although the hands all left their work in the field and ran to the -dwelling when they saw the blue-coats surrounding it, they did not -improve the opportunity to secure their freedom, as the boys thought -they would. They returned to their work when the soldiers departed, and -Rodney and Dick thought it safe to go back to the house. - -Their next visitor was a single Confederate soldier, who arrived just -at dusk with a note addressed to "Captain Thomas Randolph, C. S. A., -Commdg. Mooreville Troops." This man Rodney took into the house and -fed as if he had been a long-lost brother, for he was anxious to learn -something about the battle that was soon to take place; but, although -the messenger said he was orderly at headquarters, he could or would -give very little information. Breckenridge was rapidly feeling his way -toward the city, he said; he would soon be reinforced by the command -of General Ruggles, which would be picked up at Camp Pinckney, and -with the _Arkansas_ to help and clean the Yankee gunboats out of the -river, there was no doubt but that a decisive victory awaited him; and -having finished his supper, and said all he had to say, the messenger -mounted his horse and rode off. Five minutes later Rodney and Dick -had mounted theirs and were riding hard to carry that note to Captain -Randolph. They stopped at Rodney's home just long enough to put the -folks on nettles with the very meager information they had to give, and -a quarter of an hour afterward were sitting in Mrs. Randolph's parlor, -waiting for Tom to show himself. When he came he was accompanied by his -mother. - -"Hallo, boys!" exclaimed Tom, with great apparent cordiality, while -Mrs. Randolph shook hands with them one after the other. "You don't -know how I have longed to see you both in order to——" - -"That's all right," interposed Rodney, who knew there wasn't a word of -truth in what Tom had set out to say. "But if you will excuse me—here -is an order that I was requested to place in your hands." - -"Who's got any right to order me around?" exclaimed Tom, taking the -note and fixing his gaze upon the writing on the outside. "'Captain -Thomas Randolph, C. S. A.,'" he read aloud. "Somebody has made a big -mistake, for I don't belong to the army of the Confederate States, and -never did. What's in it?" - -"I don't know," answered Rodney; while Mrs. Randolph suggested that it -might be a good plan for him to open it and find out. Tom did so with -evident reluctance, and before he had fairly had time to make himself -master of its contents, he turned as white as a sheet and fell heavily -into the nearest chair. - -"Oh, my dear boy! What is the matter? What could have disturbed you -so?" cried his mother, who was really alarmed. - -"I'll not obey it!" shouted Captain Tom, as soon as he could speak. -"Who is this Colonel Clark, who takes it upon himself to command me to -hold my company ready to move at a moment's notice, and what does he -want of the company anyhow?" - -"No doubt he wants you to help——" began Rodney. - -"But how does he know that there is such a fellow as I am in the world, -and that I command a company of State troops?" continued Tom, who was -almost beside himself with terror. Acting on his own responsibility -and serving under the eye of a Confederate officer were two widely -different things. His mother took the note from his hand and read it, -and she, too, became visibly affected. - -"What can be the meaning of it?" she asked of Rodney. - -"It means that there is going to be a battle somewhere in this -vicinity, and that Tom must bring his men out to help," was the reply. -Rodney had predicted just such a scene as this and was prepared to -enjoy it. - -"A battle?" gasped Mrs. Randolph. - -"Somewhere in this vicinity!" echoed Tom. - -"That's what they tell me, and indeed there has been a skirmish -already. Breckenridge is coming here to drive the Yankees out of Baton -Rouge, and the _Arkansas_ is coming to assist him." - -Tom and his mother were too amazed to speak. They stared stupidly at -the bearer of these evil tidings, and listened in a dazed sort of way -while he told what he had heard and seen since morning. There was one -thing Tom and his mother could not understand, and that was how Colonel -Clark, whoever he might be, knew there was a company of Home Guards at -Mooreville and that Tom was commander of them. But of course Rodney did -not enlighten them on that point. - -"You enlisted for just such work as this," said he. - -"No, I didn't!" shouted Tom. "And what's more, I won't go. I'm as close -to the Yankees as I want to be, and besides I don't belong to the -service any longer. I've resigned." - -This was news to the boys, who could scarcely refrain from showing how -surprised they were to hear it. They were disappointed as well, for if -Tom told the truth they would lose the fun of hearing how he took to -the bushes to escape duty. - -"Of course if your resignation has been accepted by the Governor," said -Rodney, "why, then——" - -"It hasn't been accepted yet," replied Tom, speaking before he thought. -"I only sent it to-day." - -"Then you are still in the service and can be held to duty," said Dick; -and Captain Tom and his mother both heard the sigh of satisfaction -that escaped him as he uttered the words. "I have known men to go into -action and be killed after their term of service expired." - -"But I won't do it, I bet you," whined Tom, with tears in his eyes. "Do -you think it will be a very hard fight?" - -"It can't help it; it's bound to be, and you'll see more dead and -wounded men lying around than you—— Gracious! I'm glad they can't -call on you and me, Dick." - -"Why, won't you have to go?" faltered Mrs. Randolph. - -"No, ma'am. We showed our discharges to-day, and they never said a word -about ordering us out. They can't, for we have served our time." - -This was the heaviest blow yet, and Captain Tom came so near wilting -under it that Rodney's heart smote him and he determined to take his -leave. So he got upon his feet, and Dick followed his example. - -"What will they do to Tom if he fails to obey this order?" asked -Mrs. Randolph, who, in all the trying ordeals through which she had -passed on her cowardly son's account, had never before been so badly -frightened. - -"I couldn't obey it if I wanted to," cried Tom. "My men are scattered -for miles through the country, and I couldn't spend the night in -hunting them up." - -"They may call it disobedience of orders if you don't do it," replied -Rodney, who wanted to laugh. "If I were in your place I would make the -effort." - -"And run the risk of being shot? But suppose my men refuse to turn -out?" said Tom, a bright idea coming into his mind. - -"Then you will be blameless, and all you have to do will be to report -to the colonel and tell him that you are ready for any duty he may -assign you." - -"And can't I stay at home any way I can fix it?" inquired Tom, who made -no effort to conceal his terror. - -"I wouldn't. What if some of the colonel's troopers should find you -skulking here when you ought to be in the front rank? Or suppose the -battle should be fought on your plantation. Wouldn't you——" - -"Baton Rouge is not on our plantation." - -"I know, but a battle sometimes ends a good many miles from where it -begins, and the one that's coming is as likely to be fought here as -anywhere else. And if that should happen, wouldn't you rather have a -musket in your hands than go skulking through the bushes trying to keep -out of danger? I would a hundred times over. But really we must be -going. Good-night." - -Rodney and his companion bowed themselves to the door and went out, and -Captain Tom and his mother sat in their chairs looking at each other -and listening to the clatter of the receding hoofs. When it died away -altogether Tom jumped to his feet in great excitement. - -"We never once thought to ask them where they got that order, or why -it was sent by their hands instead of by the hands of one of that -colonel's own men," he fairly sputtered. "Mother, it's an infamous -trick, and there isn't going to be any fight. I'll remember Rodney Gray -for this and other things he has done to me—you see if I don't!" - -"I hope you are duly ashamed of yourself for frightening that poor -woman so terribly," said Dick, as he and Rodney galloped out of the -yard and turned their horses toward the village. - -"Why didn't she stay out of the room?" retorted Rodney. "We sent in -word that we desired to see Captain Tom privately, but she didn't take -the hint. So Tom thought he couldn't spend the night in riding about -the country. Well, we've got to, if we do the work we set out to do." - -The first part of that work was to call upon Captain Roach, who had -excited Tom Randolph's ire by accepting Rodney's invitation to dinner, -and the next to warn some of the Union men whom he had conscripted. -The former was overwhelmed with surprise and didn't know what to do, -not being a veteran; but he wasn't a coward, if he did turn white. He -talked the matter over very calmly with his visitors, and following -their advice said he would drop the conscript business until the battle -had been decided one way or the other. And then he looked helplessly at -Rodney as if to ask what he should do next. - -"You ought to do duty or shed that uniform," said the boy bluntly. -"You can't assemble your conscripts now, and if you could, where would -you find men to guard them to Camp Pinckney? You can only show your -good-will by reporting at the camp; and if I were in your place, I -think I should start the first thing in the morning. If you delay, you -will be liable to be cut off by Federal scouting parties. Have you seen -any Yanks about here to-day?" - -Captain Roach replied that he hadn't seen or heard of any, and Rodney -went on to tell about the skirmish that had taken place near his -plantation, and how he and Dick had taken to the woods and escaped -being caught in the house. The Federals couldn't prove anything -against them, he said, but they could shut them up in Baton Rouge until -Breckenridge captured it or was driven back where he came from, and -that was something he didn't want them to do. Then he and Dick shook -hands with the enrolling officer, wished him good luck, and went out -into the night to finish their work. It kept them busy until daylight, -and then they went to Mr. Gray's to breakfast, happy in the knowledge -that they had done as they would be done by, and not one who wished -them harm was the wiser for it. - -Tom Randolph was hardly out of bed the next morning before he was -made aware that there was some truth in Rodney Gray's story. A squad -of Federal cavalry went by the house on a keen jump, and about an -hour behind them a larger squad of Confederates went past at the same -rapid gait. Tom wasn't soldier enough to know that these were nothing -but scouts, and in his ignorance supposed that the battle had been -fought while he was asleep, and that the Confederates had driven -their antagonists; but it was not long before he discovered that the -worst was yet to come. All that day soldiers in gray uniforms were -in sight somewhere. They streamed by the house or came into the yard -and gathered about the well, and an officer with high top-boots and a -fierce mustache stood on the front gallery and issued orders in a voice -that sounded as loud as a fog-horn. They trampled down the flower beds, -cleared the cellar of everything eatable, and helped themselves to what -there was in the kitchen, and through it all, the captain of the Home -Guards never showed himself. Some of the time he was in the garret, -oftener he was under the bed in his mother's room, and then again his -frightened eyes were peeping through the carefully closed blinds. He -had never dreamed that there were so many men in an army, and yet he -saw but one column of a very small army, for Breckenridge made his -assault with less than 4000 men. To his immense relief no one asked for -him, and perhaps the reason was because Colonel Clark, who wrote that -order, was with the other column, five or six miles away. - -The attack on Baton Rouge was made the next morning at daylight, and -although Rodney and Dick heard little of it and saw less, they had some -hospital work on their hands. The heat was intense, and everywhere -along the line of march men fell exhausted out of the ranks, and were -taken in and cared for by the planters. Rodney's house and door-yard -were filled with soldiers who could not go any farther toward the -enemy, although they recovered their strength and power of action very -suddenly when it became known that there was a possibility of the -enemy's cavalry coming toward them. The attack, which was so successful -at first that the Federal camps were captured or burned, failed utterly -in the end, and at noon the fight was over and the Confederates were -in full retreat. The _Arkansas_ did not come down to help with her big -guns, and if she had she might have met a warmer reception than she -bargained for, for there were five gunboats in the river, including -the iron-clad _Essex_. These took an earnest part in the fight while -waiting for the _Arkansas_, their fire being directed by an army -signal officer who stood on the roof of the capitol building. The -Confederates were so badly whipped that they left seventy men on the -field for the Union forces to bury. - -The closing scene of the fight was enacted the next morning. The -_Essex_ went up the river six miles, found the terrible _Arkansas_, -with her ten heavy guns and 180 picked men, hard and fast aground, and -pounded her so severely that in fifteen minutes she was set on fire and -abandoned. She blew up when the fire reached her magazine, but she left -others behind which made themselves known and feared before the war was -over. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -CONCLUSION. - - -This short visit of the Confederate army was like a plague of locusts; -everything in the shape of eatables in and around Mooreville that -they could place their hands on disappeared and was never heard of -afterward. Some articles of value disappeared likewise, as was to have -been expected; but not very many, for the settlers had learned that it -was best to be careful of such things during war times. No one had seen -a Home Guard during those two troublous days, nobody could tell where -Captain Randolph had kept himself or how he had behaved, and neither -was there any news to be had of Captain Roach. - -Our two friends drew a long breath of relief when "the fuss" was over, -congratulated themselves on having escaped both duty and suspicion, -and waited with what patience they could for the excitement to pass -away so that it would be safe for them to go into the city. But that -time seemed long in coming. Inquisitive Federal scouts, who asked -troublesome questions and insisted on knowing all about everything, -came to the house every day, and on three occasions wounded Confederate -stragglers appealed to their pity and begged assistance. Nor were these -appeals made in vain, though the boys took great risks in concealing -their Confederate friends during the day and helping them on their road -at night. They deceived their neighbors, hoodwinked the darkeys they -were afraid to trust, and told gauzy stories to Federal scouts until -Dick affirmed that deceiving and lying would become a confirmed habit -with them. But fortunately the necessity for these things passed away -before that happened. The country was cleared of stragglers after a -while, the settlement quieted down, and Rodney and Dick were ready for -the next thing on the programme. - -"I don't know when I have had so hard a task set before me," said -Rodney, "and I would be glad to put it off forever if I could. But -since the parting must come, it might as well be one time as another. -Shall we start for the city to-morrow morning?" - -Dick answered with a decided affirmative, and the start was made. -Believing that he ought to be ready to act as soon as the opportunity -was presented, he took leave of Rodney's father and mother as though he -never expected to see them again, and Rodney drew on the family purse -for a good many gold pieces. If Dick succeeded in getting across the -river he would still have a long journey before him—longer than the -one Rodney made from Cedar Bluff landing to Price's army—and he would -need a horse to ride, a coat and blanket to cover him when he camped at -night, and money to purchase his supplies; and his friend's forethought -provided for all these necessary things. - -On their way to Baton Rouge they passed over the ground on which the -right wing of the Confederate force formed in line of battle previous -to the assault. It was just beyond Mr. Turnbull's house; and that -gentleman's wife, after giving a glowing description of the gallant -way in which the Confederates advanced to the attack, told the boys in -a confidential whisper that she had aided two Yankees who were captured -and managed to escape during the fight; that there was a wounded rebel -in one of the upper rooms of her house at that moment; that he was -going to remain there until he was able to travel; and that one of the -escaped prisoners whom Rodney befriended had smuggled medicine through -the lines for him at her request, thus proving that there was such a -thing as gratitude in the world. Before the boys left the house, they -visited the wounded rebel in his room, and he told them that the fight -was the most savagely contested of any he had ever been in, and, for -the number of men engaged, the bloodiest. Some of the Indiana and -Michigan boys fought with rails which they snatched from the fences, -and the Yank who smuggled the medicine out for him said he had counted -thirteen dead rebs in one heap. - -"It was bad for our side," moaned the wounded soldier, "and even if the -_Arkansas_ had been there to help us I don't suppose we would have -made any better showing. The Yanks had things fixed for us, and now -I've got to hobble through the world on one leg." - -Although some stray missiles from the Confederate side found their way -into the streets of the city, the boys did not find there as many signs -of the conflict as they expected to see. Mr. Martin's buildings escaped -unscathed, but Mr. Martin himself had been placed in arrest to prevent -him from holding any communication with the enemy. - -"As if I ever dreamed of doing such a foolish thing!" said he -contemptuously. "Why, I want to live here; and consequently I do -nothing that I consider to be risky. But I have seen the mail carrier, -and he is going to pick up some bags this very night." - -"Pick them up!" repeated Rodney. "Where are they?" - -"Out in the country somewhere, and he is out there too, or will be at -eight o'clock; and if your friend wants to go, now's his chance." - -"Mr. Martin, I hope your kind efforts in my behalf will not bring you -into trouble with the Yanks," said Dick. "I feel very grateful to you." - -But he didn't look so, and neither did Rodney. The time when they must -part was close at hand. - -"I don't want to hurry you away," continued Mr. Martin, "but as it will -take some little time to ride to the place to which I shall direct you, -you had better have your horses out of the stable at five o'clock, so -as to pass the pickets before dark. I will give you a letter that will -make you all right with Henderson." - -The rest of the day, to quote from Dick Graham, flew away as if the -hours had been greased. Half-past four came before they knew it, and -with it the letter their host had promised them, accompanied by some -instructions which they must closely follow in order to find and obtain -an interview with Henderson. He was a cross, crabbed old fellow, Mr. -Martin said, but the boys mustn't mind that. They would be cross and -suspicious too, if they had been bothered and balked in their business -as Henderson had been followed and harassed in his. They must try and -get on the right side of him, for he could take Dick to the other side -if anybody could. Mr. Martin excused himself for not accompanying them -to the stable where they left their horses by saying that to be seen -walking the streets with a suspected man would bring suspicion upon -them, and that was one thing they wanted to avoid. - -The boys left the city and the pickets behind in good season, and took -pains to make some noise as they galloped past the houses of three -"converted rebels" who, so Mr. Martin said, were always watching and -scheming for a chance to report somebody. They rode as if they were -going home; but when darkness came they doubled upon their trail, -passed these same houses again in silence, and turned into a lane that -took them miles up the river to the hiding-place of Henderson, the mail -carrier. They found it to be a pretentious plantation house situated -in plain view of the river, and not at all such a spot as they would -have chosen had they been engaged in Henderson's business. It would -have been impossible to surprise the mail carrier in his hiding-place, -however, as they found when they approached nearer to it, for they -had barely time to shout out the customary "Hallo, the house! Don't -let your dogs bite!" before their horses were surrounded by a pack of -belligerent canines, whose angry yelping completely drowned the voice -of the master of the house. - -"Get out!" he shouted, as soon as he could make himself heard above the -tumult. "Who is it, and what's wanted?" - -"Friends from the city," replied Rodney, who had been told just what to -say. "I have a communication for Mr. Henderson from our mutual friend -Mr. Martin. Will you look at it?" - -The planter came down to the gate, took the letter from Rodney's hand, -looking sharply at him and Dick as he did so, and carried it into -the house with him. He did not ask them to "alight and hitch," and -that proved that there was something or somebody in the house he did -not want the boys to see. It was all of ten minutes before he came -out again, and he brought with him a companion who straightway made -himself known by saying, in a complaining voice: - -"I told Martin I couldn't do the like, and here he's gone and sent you, -just as if I had agreed to do it. Which one of you is the fool?" - -"I am the one who wants to go over the river, if you will be kind -enough to let me have a seat in your boat," replied Dick. - -"Who said anything about a boat?" demanded Mr. Henderson, for the boys -were sure it was he. "Do you want to be captured by the gunboats, and -sent up for a spy or something? I don't expect to get back alive, or -get across, either. But then! Martin's a friend of mine and keeps me -posted in some things I—— Get off, both of you. Hitch your horses -somewhere and wait till I come." - -"Dick, you're as good as off at last," whispered Rodney, as the two men -turned about and went back to the house. "Think of me riding all the -way to Mr. Turnbull's alone in the dark while you are running the risk -of being overhauled by the naval picket boats. Have you got your money -and discharge all right? Write to me if you see the ghost of a chance -for a letter to get through, for I shall be anxious to hear from my old -Barrington chum." - -The boys had plenty to say to each other and an abundance of time to say -it in, for a whole hour passed before the mail carrier again came out. -This time he had two men with him—the planter and another passenger, -the latter being muffled up to the eyes so that no one could have seen -his face if it had been broad daylight. He said not a word, but the mail -carrier did, and Rodney was gratified to notice that he was as careful -to conceal Dick's identity as he was that of his other passenger. - -"Come on, you Moses," said he, "and remember that you are deaf, dumb, -and blind. You, Jonas, get on your horse and clear yourself." - -It would have done no good to prolong the leave-taking, and Rodney was -glad to have it broken off so abruptly. He gave his friend's hand a -final squeeze and shake, and when he came into the road again a moment -later, riding one horse and leading the other, there was no one in -sight. - -The way home was a long and lonely one to Rodney Gray, who felt as -if the last tie that bound him to his school days had been sundered -forever. He got through without any trouble, although he met some -inquisitive people who wanted to know how he happened to have a -riderless horse with him, passed one night at his father's house, and -in due time was back in his old quarters on the upper plantation, where -he had spent so many pleasant hours with the absent Dick. But before -he had leisure to look about and tell himself how very lonesome he -was, he had visitors, one of whom threw him into a terrible state of -mind before he left. They were a squad of the —th Michigan boys, and -commanded by the corporal who had once taken him prisoner, and whose -name he had never heard. They good-naturedly demanded all the weapons -he had, and threatened to go through his house if he didn't trot them -right out; but when they went to the well for water the corporal drew -off on one side, intimating by a look that he had something to say to -Rodney in private. - -"Where's your partner?" were the first words he said when they were -alone. - -"Gone over the river," answered Rodney. - -"How long since?" - -"He went night before last." - -"Well, I'll bet you a hard-tack he didn't make it. Some of your good -friends were the means of stopping him. You see," he went on, without -giving the astonished Rodney time to speak, "Ben and another boy, who -were in my party when you and Griffin did so much for us, scouted down -Randolph's way a few days after the fight, and that Home Guard—— You -made a big blunder when you stuck to us till we let him go. Now he's -gone back on you." - -"What has he done?" inquired Rodney, who told himself that that was -just what he expected from Tom Randolph. - -"Why, Ben distinctly heard him tell one of our officers that a bearer -of despatches would go from Mooreville in a few days, intending to -cross the river at Baton Rouge, where he had friends to help him," -said the corporal. "Of course the matter was reported at headquarters, -and the houses of all the Secession sympathizers in the city were -watched closer than ever." - -"Was Mr. Martin's house watched, do you know?" - -"Why, certainly. He is always watched, and we had him under arrest -during the fight." - -"And I was simple enough to tell the provost marshal that that house -would be my stopping-place as often as I came to the city," groaned -Rodney. - -"You needn't blame yourself for that, for I don't suppose it made a -particle of difference," said the corporal soothingly. "The provost -marshal would have found it out sooner or later, because it is a part -of his business to find out where every stranger lives, and what -he does while inside the lines. If you went there with your friend -Graham——" - -"I did," whispered Rodney. "And we went from there up to—up to——" - -"Henderson's? Well, he's watched, too; and if one is caught the other -will be." - -"If Tom Randolph has got Dick Graham into trouble I will see that he is -well punished for it," said Rodney angrily. - -"If he hasn't, it isn't because he didn't try. If you say the word, I -will go straight to his house and arrest him for a Home Guard." - -"No, no; don't do that. I am not coward enough to take revenge on him -in that way. But since he has made his boast that he is willing to die -for the South, I will see that he has all the chance he wants." - -"Well, my boys seem to have had their fill of water, so we'll jog -along," said the corporal. "If the Home Guards bother you let us know, -and we'll clean them out to the last man. Good-by." - -Astonished at the extent of the corporal's information, and wondering -how it was possible for any Southern sympathizer to live in Baton Rouge -when he knew that he was so closely watched, Rodney went into the house -as soon as the soldiers rode away, and sat down to write a letter. As -a general thing his thoughts came rapidly and it was no trouble for -him to put them on paper; but this particular letter seemed to bother -him, for he made three copies of it before he got it to suit him. Then -he ordered his horse brought to the door, changed his working clothes -for a business suit, and galloped off in the direction of Mooreville. -He stopped at his home "just long enough to let his mother see that he -was all right" and then rode on again, but not toward Mooreville or the -river. There was no one at either place whom he wanted to see that day, -but he did want to have a few earnest words with General Ruggles, if he -could find him. During the fight the general commanded the Confederate -column that came from Camp Pinckney, and there was where Rodney hoped -to find him now. Before he had ridden a dozen miles into the country -he ran into a small party of rebels, who looked at his discharge, and -encouraged him by saying that the officer he desired to see commanded -the camp, and was recruiting men as rapidly as he could for some -special service that was to be performed up about Holly Springs. - -"I know by experience that special service usually means dangerous -service," thought Rodney, as he rode on his way. "If Tom Randolph -really wants to do something for the South, he will jump at the chance -of going to Holly Springs." - -Camp Pinckney looked just as it did when he and Dick Graham ran the -guard there on their way home, only there were more men who were being -made into soldiers, and the number was being increased every day by the -disconsolate and homesick conscripts who were sent there from all the -districts in that part of the State. Rodney was shown at once into the -presence of the commander, and knew, before he had exchanged a dozen -words with him, that he would have no use for the letter he had taken -so much pains to write. - -"I can attend to the business myself without any aid from the -Governor," said General Ruggles, who looked more like a hard-working -farmer than he did like a brave and skilful soldier. "The slip-shod -manner in which recruiting has been done in this district is enough to -make one forget the third commandment. There hasn't been a single man -sent to this camp from your neighborhood." - -"I am aware of it, sir. But as these men belong to the State and not to -the Confederacy, I thought perhaps——" - -"There's no need of it, sir," interrupted the general. "I have all the -authority I want, and can do the business without saying a word to the -Governor. Sent in his resignation, has he? Captain—Thomas—Randolph," -he continued, writing the name on a slip of paper. "And it has not yet -been accepted? And how many men do you think he has in his company? All -right. You go home and say nothing to anybody, and I will put him where -he will meet something besides unarmed men and women and children." - -His business having been transacted to his entire satisfaction, Rodney -was in no particular haste to go home. He made friends with one of the -veterans who composed the camp guard, ate supper with him, and slept -under half his blanket that night; but the morning's sun saw him well -on his return journey. He made a wide circuit to avoid passing through -Mooreville, and did not go near his father's house for fear it might be -remembered against him at some future time. He went home as rapidly as -he could go, unsaddled his horse and turned him into the stable-yard, -and went into the house; and there, seated in Rodney's favorite rocking -chair, with his feet upon the back of another and a book in his hand, -was—Dick Graham. - -"You've got cheek! Why didn't you come out when you heard me at the -bars?" exclaimed Rodney, as soon as he found his tongue. - -"Because I thought you would prefer to come in and find me," replied -Dick; and then he dropped his book and jumped to his feet, and the two -embraced each other schoolboy fashion. - -"O Dick, you don't know how I have worried about you," said Rodney. "And -Tom Randolph was at the bottom of it all. You would have been watched if -he hadn't said a word; but what I mean is that he made matters worse. I -have paid him for it, however. Now tell me all about it." - -"We didn't succeed, and that's all there is to tell," answered Dick. "We -made six attempts on two different nights, and once got so near to the -other shore that I was sure we would make it; but the picket boats from -the fleet showed up, and we had to dig out. They were on hand every -time, and you ought to have heard Henderson cuss. He declared that one -or the other of his passengers was a Jonah, and he had a notion to chuck -us both overboard so as to be sure he got the right one." - -"It was you, Dick. Who was the other passenger?" - -"I don't know any more about him now than I did when I first saw him. -When we gave up trying on the first night and went back to the house, -he shut himself in his room, and I never saw him till we went out -on the second night to try it over again. No doubt he was a high-up -officer with important papers in his pockets." - -"Of course the picket boats opened fire on you." - -"Of course they didn't, for we saw or heard them in time to dodge out -of their way. One of them passed so close to us that we could see, dark -as it was, that she pulled six oars on a side. If she'd seen us or -heard us breathe, she would have had us sure." - -"Go on. What did you do on the night I left you?" - -"Nothing. We walked about a mile to where a little bay made into the -bank from the river, and there we found a skiff with piles of something -in the bow and stern that I took to be the precious mail-bags which Mr. -Martin said Henderson was going to pick up. When we got in there was -barely room for Henderson to work the oars, and I didn't wonder that he -growled so about taking me over." - -"How did you come home?" - -"Well, when we came back after making the sixth attempt, and Henderson -got mad and told me to clear out and never let him put eyes on me again -(I noticed that he didn't say a word to the other fellow, and that's -what makes me think that he was an officer whom Henderson had to take -whether he wanted to or not), I took him at his word and put for Mr. -Turnbull's. That gentleman was kind enough to hitch up a team and take -me to your father's, and your father brought me here, to find you -gone. You've been gone three nights, and I want to know what you mean -by such work." - -"I've been to Camp Pinckney to make arrangements for Tom Randolph and -his Home Guards to go into the army," replied Rodney, adding that he -had written to the Governor, laying the blame for the bombardment of -Baton Rouge upon the shoulders of the Home Guards, and giving such -other incidents in their history as he thought would attract the -attention of the authorities and induce them to do something; but -General Ruggles had promised to attend to the matter himself. - -"Of course Captain Randolph will be very much obliged to you when he -hears of it," observed Dick. - -"He has nobody to thank but himself, and since I have heard what those -escaped prisoners had to say about Home Guards, I wish every one of -them could be forced into the army. Now you've got to stay with me -until the war is ended one way or the other, haven't you?" - -"Not much. I'm going up to Port Hudson to try it again, if you will -show me the way; and you ought to have heard Henderson rip and snort -because I didn't go there in the first place without troubling him. But -you see I didn't know that I could, and you didn't either. If I can -take a boat from Port Hudson up Red River to Alexandria, or better yet, -up Black River to Monroe, I shall save miles of horseback travel." - -"And run the risk of being captured by gunboats every step of the way," -added Rodney. "But I suppose I'll have to go." - -And he did the very next morning. This time there was no trouble about -it, for when the steamer _New Era_, which was regularly employed in -bringing army supplies from the Red River country, moved out from -her landing at Port Hudson bound for Monroe, she carried Dick Graham -with her. The night was as dark as a pocket, but the lonely Rodney -kept watch on the bank as long as a single spark could be seen coming -out of her smokestacks, and even lingered about the place for two or -three days, almost hoping that some Union gunboat would send a shot -across her bows and drive her back; but when the soldiers assured him -that she must have gone through safely or else she would have returned -within a few hours of her departure, he realized that the long delayed -separation had come at last, and turned his face sorrowfully homeward. - -He went directly to his father's house to report the success of his -undertaking, and learned that Mooreville had been thrown into a state -of great excitement during his absence. No one had seen or heard of -Captain Roach since Breckenridge made his fruitless attempt to take the -city, but his office was occupied by a grizzly veteran, who hardly gave -himself time to sit down in Captain Roach's chair before declaring that -he hadn't come there to stand nonsense from anybody, and that everyone -liable to military duty, Home Guards and all, must make tracks for Camp -Pinckney or be dragged there by the neck. It didn't make the least -difference to him how they went, but they must go; they might be sure -of that. He brought fifty veterans with him to back him up, and in -less than twenty-four hours after taking possession of the office, sent -off forty-five conscripts, two-thirds of whom were Home Guards. - -"Mrs. Randolph tried the same game with Major Morgan, that's the new -man's name, that she tried with so much success with Captain Roach," -said Mr. Gray with a laugh. "But it didn't work. The major sent back -word that he had no time to go about visiting and eating dinners, and -Tom was given his choice between reporting at the camp voluntarily or -being sent there under guard. It's the best thing that was ever done -for this community." - -Rodney wanted to shout, but instead of doing that he got on his horse -and rode down to call on Major Morgan. He didn't find the office filled -with loafers, as it had been in Captain Roach's time, but there were a -few bronzed fellows standing about who remembered seeing Rodney at the -camp, and bowed to him as he came in. The major remembered him too, -and said, as he gave the boy's hand one short, quick jerk, that was -doubtless intended for a shake: - -"There's material enough here to form the finest kind of a battalion. -Why don't you apply for a commission and go out with it? You've had -rest enough by this time." - -"Because I don't wish to command conscripts," replied Rodney, ignoring -the fact that half the soldiers in the Confederate armies were -conscripts and nothing else, being held to service against their will. -"Besides, I am an overseer now, and I like it better than fighting." - -But Rodney could not keep out of trouble as easily as he kept out of -the army, nor did Major Morgan succeed in sending all Tom Randolph's -Home Guards to Camp Pinckney. Some of them, Lieutenants Lambert and -Moseley among the rest, took to the woods, and became freebooters to -all intents and purposes. Whether these worthies knew or suspected -that he had a hand in the breaking up of their organization Rodney -never learned; but he was quickly made aware that they did not intend -he should see a moment's peace if they could help it. They either -found the cotton of which we have spoken, or else somebody put them on -the track of it; and the efforts they made to destroy it, as well as -the counter efforts made by Rodney Gray and his two Union cousins to -protect it, shall be described in the concluding volume of this series, -which will be entitled "SAILOR JACK, THE TRADER." - - - THE END. - - - - -THE - -FAMOUS - -CASTLEMON - -BOOKS. - -BY - -HARRY - -CASTLEMON. - -[Illustration: Specimen Cover of the Gunboat Series.] - - - No author of the present day has become a greater favorite with - boys than "Harry Castlemon;" every book by him is sure to meet - with hearty reception by young readers generally. His naturalness - and vivacity lead his readers from page to page with breathless - interest, and when one volume is finished the fascinated reader, - like Oliver Twist, asks "for more." - - ∵ Any volume sold separately. - - =GUNBOAT SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully - illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $7 50 - - =Frank, the Young Naturalist= 1 25 - - =Frank in the Woods= 1 25 - - =Frank on the Prairie= 1 25 - - =Frank on a Gunboat= 1 25 - - =Frank before Vicksburg= 1 25 - - =Frank on the Lower Mississippi= 1 25 - - =GO AHEAD SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully - illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $3 75 - - =Go Ahead=; or, The Fisher Boy's Motto 1 25 - - =No Moss=; or, The Career of a Rolling Stone 1 25 - - =Tom Newcombe=; or, The Boy of Bad Habits 1 25 - - =ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $3 75 - - =Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho= 1 25 - - =Frank among the Rancheros= 1 25 - - =Frank in the Mountains= 1 25 - - =SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., - 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. - In box $3 75 - - =The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle= 1 25 - - =The Sportsman's Club Afloat= 1 25 - - =The Sportsman's Club among the Trappers= 1 25 - - =FRANK NELSON SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols. 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In - box $3 75 - - =Snowed Up=; or, The Sportsman's Club in the Mts. 1 25 - - =Frank Nelson in the Forecastle=; or, The Sportsman's - Club among the Whalers 1 25 - - =The Boy Traders=; or, The Sportsman's Club among - the Boers 1 25 - - =BOY TRAPPER SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In - box $3 75 - - =The Buried Treasure=; or, Old Jordan's "Haunt" 1 25 - - =The Boy Trapper=; or, How Dave Filled the Order 1 25 - - =The Mail Carrier= 1 25 - - =ROUGHING IT SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $3 75 - - =George in Camp=; or, Life on the Plains 1 25 - - =George at the Wheel=; or, Life in a Pilot House 1 25 - - =George at the Fort=; or, Life Among the Soldiers 1 25 - - =ROD AND GUN SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $3 75 - - =Don Gordon's Shooting Box= 1 25 - - =Rod and Gun= 1 25 - - =The Young Wild Fowlers= 1 25 - - =FOREST AND STREAM SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., - 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. - In box $3 75 - - =Joe Wayring at Home=; or, Story of a Fly Rod 1 25 - - =Snagged and Sunk=; or, The Adventures of a Canvas Canoe 1 25 - - =Steel Horse=; or, The Rambles of a Bicycle 1 25 - - =WAR SERIES.= By Harry Castlemon, 4 vols., 12mo. Fully - illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box 5 00 - - =True to his Colors= 1 25 - - =Rodney, the Partisan= 1 25 - - =Marcy, the Blockade Runner= 1 25 - - =Marcy, the Refugee= 1 25 - - =OUR FELLOWS=; or, Skirmishes with the Swamp Dragoons. By - Harry Castlemon. 16mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra 1 25 - - - - -ALGER'S - -RENOWNED - -BOOKS. - -BY - -HORATIO - -ALGER, JR. - -[Illustration: Specimen Cover of the Ragged Dick Series.] - - - Horatio Alger, Jr., has attained distinction as one of the most - popular writers of books for boys, and the following list comprises - all of his best books. - - ∵ Any volume sold separately. - - =RAGGED DICK SERIES.= By Horatio Alger, Jr. 6 vols., 12mo. - Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box $7 50 - - =Ragged Dick=; or, Street Life in New York 1 25 - - =Fame and Fortune=; or, The Progress of Richard Hunter 1 25 - - =Mark, the Match Boy=; or, Richard Hunter's Ward 1 25 - - =Rough and Ready=; or, Life among the New York Newsboys 1 25 - - =Ben, the Luggage Boy=; or, Among the Wharves 1 25 - - =Rufus and Rose=; or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready 1 25 - - =TATTERED TOM SERIES.= (FIRST SERIES.) By Horatio Alger, - Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box 5 00 - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations - in hyphenation have been standardized but all other spelling and - punctuation remains unchanged. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Overseer, by Harry Castlemon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE OVERSEER *** - -***** This file should be named 56216-0.txt or 56216-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/2/1/56216/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. 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- } - - .pagenum { - display: none; - page-break-before: avoid; - } - -} - - - -@media handheld - -{ - - body {margin: 0;} - - blockquote {margin: 1.5em 3% 1.5em 3%;} - - .transnote { - page-break-inside: avoid; - margin-left: 2%; - margin-right: 2%; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - padding: .5em; - } - - .chapter-beginning { - page-break-before: always; - } - - h2.no-break { - page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0; - } - - .poem - { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; - } - - p.drop:first-letter { - float: left; - clear: left; - } - - .hideepub {visibility: hidden;} - -} - - </style> - -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Overseer, 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: Rodney, the Overseer - -Author: Harry Castlemon - -Release Date: December 21, 2017 [EBook #56216] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE OVERSEER *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. Harrison and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - -<div class="figcenter newpage hideepub"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter newpage"> - <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="Frontispiece" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small smcap">The Gunboat's reply to the Home Guards.</span> - </div> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter newpage"> - <img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="Title_Page" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr /> - -<p class="center chapter-beginning bold in0"><span class="xlarge"><i>CASTLEMON'S WAR SERIES.</i></span></p> - -<h1 class="nobreak"><span class="smcap">Rodney, the Overseer</span></h1> - -<p class="center bold in0">BY<br /> -<span class="xlarge">HARRY CASTLEMON,</span><br /> -AUTHOR OF "GUNBOAT SERIES," "ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,"<br /> -"FOREST AND STREAM SERIES," ETC., ETC.</p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p2t"><i>Four Illustrations by Geo. G. White.</i></p> - -<p class="center bold in0 p2t">PHILADELPHIA:<br /> -PORTER & COATES.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - -<p class="center newpage bold in0"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1892,<br /> -BY<br /> -PORTER & COATES.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">iii</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><span class="xsmall">CHAPTER</span></td> - <td class="tdl"> </td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="xsmall">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Disgusted Home Guard</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Captain Tom Smells Powder</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Conscript's Friend</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Lieutenant Lambert's Campaign</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">How it Resulted</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Captain Roach Lays Down the Law</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Perplexing Situation</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hounds on the Trail</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Uncle Sam's Lost Boys</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ned Griffin Brings News</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Escaped Prisoners' Story</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_270">270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Hail at the Bars</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_297">297</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Captain Tom Shows his Gratitude</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_328">328</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Rodney Keeps his Promise</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_353">353</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Rodney Passes Inspection</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_380">380</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Captain Randolph Receives Orders</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_406">406</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Conclusion</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">1</a></span></p> - -<p class="center chapter-beginning bold in0"><span class="xxlarge">RODNEY, THE OVERSEER.</span></p> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="no-break">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="small">A DISGUSTED HOME GUARD.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">"I don't</span> say that you fellows played the -part of cowards by firing into that unarmed -boat, but you acted like born idiots, -and it would serve you just right if the citizens -of Baton Rouge should come out here in -a body and lynch the last one of you. Why -do you not wait for orders from me instead of -roaming about the country acting on your own -responsibility? I know what the Confederacy -expects this company to do and you don't."</p> - -<p>"Now jest listen at you, Tom Randolph."</p> - -<p>"Yes, listen when your commanding officer -speaks, and remember that there is a handle -to my name and that I expect you to use it as -often as you address me."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">2</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, <i>Cap'n</i> Randolph, if that suits you -any better; though it's mighty little you ever -done to deserve the title. When this company -of ourn was first got up didn't you say that -we was going to make all the Union men about -here hunt their holes?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I did; and I would have done it in -a soldier-like manner if you had obeyed my -orders, as you promised to do when you were -sworn into the service. But when you made -up your minds that you knew more than your -captain and set out to have your own way, -you got yourselves into hot water directly, and -I am very glad of it. If you have come to -your senses and will promise that from this -time on you will obey my orders to the letter, -and quit going off on raids unless I send you, -I will do the best I can for you; but the -minute you take the bits in your teeth, as you -have been doing for the last few months, that -minute I will throw you over and the conscript -officer can take you and welcome. And -mark my words, this is the last warning I -shall give you. The last one of you ought to -be court-martialled and shot."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">3</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a motley group of men and boys, -perhaps a score of them in all, who were -gathered at the foot of the wide steps that led -up to the front door of Mr. Randolph's plantation -house, and one could have told at a -glance that they were as excited and angry as -was the young officer in Confederate uniform -on the gallery above, who shook his fists at -them over the railing, and addressed them in -the imperious language we have just recorded. -The most of the group were dressed like soldiers, -and that was what they claimed to be; -but whether they belonged to the Union or -Confederate army it would have been hard to -tell, for their clothing was an odd mixture of -the uniforms of both. It would have been -quite as hard to tell whether they belonged to -the artillery, infantry, or cavalry, for the distinguishing -colors of these three branches of -the service were about equally represented. -These men and boys called themselves Home -Guards; and they were members of the independent -company that Tom Randolph and his -father raised and equipped after Tom failed -to get himself elected second lieutenant of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span> -Captain Hubbard's Rangers. You remember -something about that, do you not?</p> - -<p>When the war excitement was at its height -in the spring of 1861, and Rodney Gray, Marcy -Gray's cousin, left the military academy at -Barrington because he could not study while -others were going into the Southern army and -making ready to fight for the cause in which -they honestly believed, he was bound by a -compact he had made with some other red-hot -rebels in his class to enlist within twenty-four -hours after he reached home provided he could -get to a recruiting office in that time. The -uniform he wore at school was gray, and so -was the one adopted by those who were determined -to break up the government because -they could no longer do as they pleased with -it; and impulsive Rodney Gray, carried away -by the excitement of the hour, declared that -he would not wear any other color until the -South had gained her independence. He found -it easy to keep the first part of his promise, -for it so happened that he came home in time -to join an independent company of cavalry -that was being raised in his immediate neighborhood,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span> -and which was intended to be so very -select that no applicant could get into the company -if a single member of it objected to him.</p> - -<p>Among the prominent citizens of Mooreville -who took a deep interest in the organization -(they all claimed Mooreville as their home, -although some of them lived from three to a -dozen miles outside of it), and used both money -and influence to help it along, was Mr. Randolph, -Tom's father. If any young fellow who -stood well in the community hesitated to send -in his name because he could not raise money -enough to buy a horse and fit himself out as -well as the other Rangers were fitted out, Mr. -Randolph was prompt to come to his aid with -the assurance that if he would go ahead and -enlist, money need not stand in his way, for the -horse, uniform, weapons, and all other necessary -things would be forthcoming. He scoured -the country for miles around for recruits, and -did so much in other ways to aid the company -that when the Rangers made their first camp, -and hoisted above it the flag under which they -hoped to ride to victory, they named it Camp -Randolph.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span></p> - -<p>This gentleman was so rabid a Secessionist -that he was utterly unreasonable. In fact, some -of his warmest friends declared that he was -about half crazy. He had no clearer conception -of the sufferings and trials that he and -those who believed as he did were bringing -upon the people of the South than the most -ignorant negro on his plantations. The men of -the North belonged to an inferior race and did -not know how to fight. They were going to be -whipped without any trouble at all, and when -the Southern troops had covered themselves -with glory by taking and holding Washington, -while Jefferson Davis dictated terms of peace -to the Lincoln hirelings, he wanted all the -Mooreville boys there to witness the grand and -imposing spectacle, and that was why he urged -them to enlist. That was about what Mr. Randolph -said, and no doubt he was honest with -himself as well as with the recruits he brought -into Captain Hubbard's company; but events -proved that he had another object in view and -one that he did not think it best to speak of.</p> - -<p>Tom Randolph, who was twenty-four years -of age, was as conceited an ignoramus as there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> -was in that part of Louisiana; but he had an -idea that he was very bright, and capable of -filling any office he could get. At first he declared -his intention of going to the front as -captain of the Rangers. It would be no more -than right that he should have the highest -place in return for what his father had done -for the company; but when Mr. Randolph told -him that <i>that</i> would be aiming a little too high, -that Bob Hubbard, who had really done more -hard work for the company than anybody else, -would certainly be chosen captain, and that it -would look better and be better if Tom would -accept something a little lower down and work -his way up, the young man decided that he -would be a candidate for the second lieutenant's -place. He was sure he would get it and -so was his father; but he didn't. Although -the Rangers <i>did</i> not know anything about soldiering, -they did know what sort of men they -wanted for officers, and Tom received but -twelve votes out of sixty-five—his own and -those of the eleven recruits his father had -brought into the company. Then there was -trouble in the camp, and if Tom and his father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> -had possessed the physical power they would -have thrashed every Ranger in it. But there -was one thing about it: if they could not have -a voice in the management of the company they -would not only cease to support it, but would -do their best to break it up; and Tom acted -upon this rule or ruin policy by withdrawing -from the ranks almost as soon as the result of -the ballot was announced, his example being -followed by the eleven recruits who had voted -for him.</p> - -<p>"Now let's see how they will get on with -their Partisan Rangers," Tom said to his -father that night. "There's almost too much -social equality in that company anyway to -suit me. I have noticed it ever since I have -been in it. Who is their second lieutenant, -the man they shoved into my place? A common -book-keeper who never in his life had the -price of a pickaninny in his pocket."</p> - -<p>Tom hoped and believed that by withdrawing -from the company he had inflicted a blow -upon it from which it would never recover; -but to his surprise and disgust the Rangers -went ahead with their plans as if nothing had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> -happened. Rodney Gray, the only member of -the organization who knew anything about -military matters, was made first duty sergeant -and drill-master; and under his skillful management -the Rangers changed so rapidly from -awkward greenhorns to soldiers, and became -so proficient in the school of the company, -that the deserters, with the single exception -of Tom Randolph himself, began to repent -their hasty action, and ask one another what -they could do to induce the Rangers to take -them back again. They knew they could not -look to Mr. Randolph for an outfit, for he took -Tom's defeat as a deliberate insult to his -family, and instead of promoting enlistments -in the company was doing all he could to stop -them. The only one they could turn to for -help was Rodney Gray's father—a man who -had said and done nothing of consequence to -show that he was in favor of partisan organizations, -and who was looked upon with suspicion -by his neighbors because he put no faith in -the final success of the secession movement, -and did not hesitate to say that the South -would be whipped as she deserved to be for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> -trying to break up the government. There -were thousands of wealthy and influential men -in Louisiana who believed as he did; and yet -they did more to help the soldiers than the -blatant rebels who were fierce for a fight at -the beginning, but went over to the Federals at -the first opportunity, and became "spies and -informers for the sake of the loaves and fishes -that fell into their hands." The sequel proved -that the recruits went to the right man, for six -of the eleven were fitted out at Mr. Gray's expense. -And he did not boast of it either, as -Mr. Randolph and Tom had done.</p> - -<p>Captain Hubbard's Rangers, as the company -was always called, got on very well until they -began looking around for someone to swear -them into the service and order them to the -front, and then the trouble began. They first -applied to the commanding officer at New Orleans; -but he declined to have anything to do -with them unless they would give up their independent -organization, and that was something -the Rangers were determined they would -not do to please anybody. They formed their -company in the first place because they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> -led to believe that the Richmond government -was in full sympathy with such organizations, -which would be allowed full liberty of action -when sworn into the service of the State; but -such would by no means be the case if they -permitted themselves to be sworn into the -service of the Confederacy. As one of the -Rangers expressed it: "If they were going to -give their liberty up to a new government -they might as well have stayed under the -old."</p> - -<p>Tom Randolph was delighted when he heard -of this state of affairs, and the Rangers themselves -were much depressed; but Rodney Gray -was sure he saw a way out of the difficulty -when he received a letter from his old schoolmate -and chum, Dick Graham, who lived in -Missouri. In that letter Dick said he belonged -to an organization of partisans who -were known as State Guards. Their immediate -commander was General Price, but they were -required to take oath to obey Governor -Jackson and nobody else. In plain English -this meant that while the State Guards were -willing to look out for the secession movement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> -in Missouri and keep all Yankee invaders off -her soil, they did not intend to go into any -other State unless they felt like it, or permit -the Richmond authorities to control their -movements in any way. That was exactly the -kind of partisans that Captain Hubbard and -his men wanted to be; and when Rodney -Gray said that if the Governor of their own -State would not accept them as a company, -they had a perfect right to offer themselves to -the Governor of another, and that it might be -a good plan to ask General Price if he would -take the Rangers just as they were, Captain -Hubbard was glad to act upon the suggestion. -So, without delay, a telegram was sent to -Dick Graham's father in St. Louis, and in due -time the answer came back:</p> - - -<blockquote> -<p>Price will accept. Company officers and independent -organization to remain the same.</p> -</blockquote> - - -<p>To quote from Rodney, this brought the -matter squarely home to the Rangers, who -were compelled to decide upon some course of -action without loss of time. A business meeting -of the company (and a stormy one it turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> -out to be) was held that very day; and -although Captain Hubbard and Rodney carried -their point, it was only by a small -majority of votes that the Rangers consented -to leave their own State and go into the service -of another.</p> - -<p>Believing it to be a good plan to strike while -the iron was hot, Captain Hubbard and one of -his officers at once set out for New Orleans to -find a boat that would take the company to -Little Rock; but in the meantime the Governor -of Louisiana got wind of the affair -through spies in the telegraph office in Mooreville, -and tried to upset the designs of the -Rangers by having them sworn in by General -Lacey, who was a Confederate officer. He -would have succeeded too had it not been -for quick-witted Rodney Gray, who cautioned -his comrades not to answer to their names -when the roll was called. He did more. -When his own name was called he rode to -the front and centre and surprised and angered -the general, a veteran of the Mexican -War, who had never learned to recognize any -organizations outside of those mentioned in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> -the Army Regulations, by stating that the -company was an independent one whose members, -while willing and eager to be sworn into -the service of their State, did not desire to -enter the service of the Confederate States. -They enlisted as partisans, and partisans -they wished to remain. Upon hearing this -the veteran was astounded. He declared, by -the shade of the great and good Washington, -that he did not know what the country was -coming to, flung the roll-book on the ground -at the feet of Rodney's horse, and rode away -in a huff; and that was the last of Captain -Hubbard's Rangers. They broke ranks then -and there and never held a company meeting -afterward.</p> - -<p>The next morning Rodney Gray, who was -determined to be a partisan and nothing else, -started for Missouri with no companion but his -horse, and eventually succeeded in finding his -friend Graham in spite of all the efforts that -were made, both by Union men and rebels, to -stop him. Of course Tom Randolph was happy -over the way things had turned out, and one -would think he ought to have been satisfied;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> -but he was not. Every one of the Rangers who -voted against him when he ran for second lieutenant -made an enemy of Tom, and he showed -it as often as the opportunity was presented. -He felt particularly spiteful toward Rodney -Gray, whose services as drill-master had been -publicly acknowledged by the gift of an elegant -sword from the company, and he began persecuting -him the moment he learned that Rodney -had decided to leave the State and go to Missouri. -With the aid of a friend of his, Drummond -by name, who had charge of the telegraph -office in Mooreville, he paved the way -for Rodney's arrest in St. Louis by sending a -description of him and his horse to Mr. Randolph's -agent, a Yankee cotton factor, who -lived in that city; but this scheme, which -might have brought Rodney's soldiering to an -end before it was fairly begun, was frustrated -by a "student" in Drummond's office whose -name was Griffin, and who went all the way to -Baton Rouge by night to warn Rodney of the -plots that had been laid against him. Acting -on his friendly hints Rodney did not go to St. -Louis as he had intended, but left the boat at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> -Cedar Bluff Landing in Missouri; and from -there, after some exciting experiences with a -squad of emergency men who happened to -come in with a prisoner during the night, he -set off across the country to find General Price -and Dick Graham.</p> - -<p>He had undertaken something from which -the boldest man might have shrunk without -any fear of being accused of timidity; but he -came through with flying colors as we have -said, did a soldier's duty side by side with his -friend Dick for fifteen dreary months, was discharged -with him at Tupelo after the evacuation -of Corinth, and brought Dick home with -him to his father's house at Mooreville, where -they were both resting at the time this story -begins. Even after they were discharged, and -had begun telling each other that their troubles -and trials as soldiers were all over, they met -with an adventure that under almost any other -circumstances might have proved a serious -thing for them. Shortly after they left Camp -Pinckney on their way home, they ran into a -squad of Union troopers, who covered them with -their carbines and told them to come in out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> -the rain. They were prisoners for the first -time, but did not remain so any longer than -it took their captors to read their discharges. -The boys' hearts overflowed with gratitude -when the good-natured corporal who commanded -the squad jerked his thumb over his -shoulder and told them to "git," and Rodney -hinted that the time might come when they -could repay his kindness. Strange as it may -appear the time did come, and perhaps we -shall see if Rodney remembered and kept his -promise.</p> - -<p>Rodney Gray was the only one of Captain -Hubbard's Rangers who became a partisan. -The Governor's attempt to have them sworn -into the Confederate service against their will -broke them up completely, and so disgusted -some of their number that they declared they -never wanted to see a man with a star on his -collar again; but they could not remain at -home while all their friends were making haste -to go to the front for fear that the fun would -all be over and the Yankees whipped before -they could get there, and in the end every one -of them became what he repeatedly declared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> -he never would be—a Confederate soldier. -Then it was that Tom Randolph and his father -began to bestir themselves. There was a good -deal of pressure brought to bear upon every -young man and boy in the South about that -time, and those who would not put on a gray -jacket or do something else to show their zeal -for the cause were coldly treated and sometimes -snubbed; but Tom Randolph escaped all -this, and even raised himself higher in the estimation -of some of the Mooreville people by -procuring, through his father's influence, a -captain's commission in the State militia, with -authority to recruit a company of mounted -men who were to act as Home Guards. Tom -knew the commission was coming and prepared -for it by ordering a fine uniform and horse -equipments of the latest and most expensive -pattern, not forgetting an officer's sword which -on its scabbard bore an inscription to the effect -that the weapon was presented by his affectionate -relatives, and on the blade the old -Spanish legend:</p> - - -<div class="center"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Draw me not without a cause,</div> -<div class="i0">Nor sheath me with dishonor.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span></p> -<p>"That is a good motto, my son," said Mr. -Randolph, when Tom drew the weapon and -proudly showed it as though his father had -never seen it before, "and I trust you will -bear it constantly in mind."</p> - -<p>"The cause of the South is a righteous cause, -for it is the cause of freedom the world over," -shouted Captain Randolph, pounding the table -with his fist and ignoring the fact that his father -held more than four hundred men, women, and -children in bondage at that moment. "To -cease fighting for that cause at the bidding of -the tyrant Lincoln would be dishonor; and -the stain upon our record as a nation would -be so deep and black that it <i>never</i> could be -wiped out. When once I have drawn this -beautiful sword in defence of the <i>rights</i> of -my country, it shall never be sheathed until -every Yankee south of Mason and Dixon's -line has been driven back where he belongs."</p> - -<p>The eloquent soldier pounded the table with -his fist; everyone in the room, negro servants -and all, applauded; and one of the latter ventured -to say, in tones that of course were not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> -intended to reach the officer's ears: "Say, you -niggahs! What'll you bet dem Yankees don't -run fit to kill derselves when dey see Mass' -Tom comin'?" As to Tom, he smiled complacently -and said to himself: "That was a -better speech than Rodney Gray delivered -when those Rangers gave him that frog-sticker -of his."</p> - -<p>Knowing Rodney Gray and Dick Graham -as well as you ought to know them by this -time, what do you think they would have -thought if they had been in that room and -listened to Tom's words? Before twenty -minutes had passed away he appeared upon -the streets of Mooreville in the full glory -of his captain's suit and with his horse -duly caparisoned; but having no company -to command he prudently left his sword at -home.</p> - -<p>It was Tom's wish and his father's to bring -the strength of the company up to a hundred -men; but Tom found it harder work to raise a -small fraction of that number than it was to -get his commission from the Governor. Everyone -who presented himself was accepted, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> -that too without reference to his social standing -or his ability to pass the surgeon; and -when all other expedients to promote enlistments -had been tried, Mr. Randolph came to -the front, as he had done in the case of the -Rangers, with the offer to arm and equip all -recruits who could not furnish their own outfit. -This helped matters along amazingly; -and when fifty men had been enrolled Captain -Randolph ordered them to appear in one -of his father's fields on a certain afternoon, -armed and equipped as the law directed, -for "company inspection." No one knew -just what the order meant, but the men were -all in the field at the appointed time; and -when Tom came to look at them as they sat -in their saddles facing him, after making an -awkward and ineffectual effort to fall in line, -he was disgusted with them and with himself -too. Until that moment he had no idea that -he had been enrolling so unpromising a body -of men. <i>Men!</i> They looked more like lazy -vagabonds, as indeed the most of them were. -Rodney Gray himself could not have made -soldiers of them. The next half hour was an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> -ordeal that Captain Tom never wanted to pass -through again; but we will let him describe it -in his own way.</p> - -<p>"They were the worst looking fellows I -think I ever saw," Tom told his father and -mother when he reached home after the "inspection" -was over. "I brought them together -because I wanted to see how they -looked, and how I would look riding at their -head; and to tell the honest truth, if a stranger -had come into that field when they first tried -to draw themselves up in line I believe I -should have put spurs to my horse and -galloped away rather than be seen in their -company."</p> - -<p>"Why, what was the matter with them?" -inquired his mother, who took as deep an interest -in the organization as Tom himself, and -was anxious that it should win a name for him -after the rebuff he had received at the hands -of Captain Hubbard's Rangers. "You knew -they were not gentlemen when you asked -them to give in their names. There are few of -that sort left in the country, more's the pity."</p> - -<p>"I know that; but I hoped they might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> -have pride enough to make a half-way respectable -appearance at inspection," answered Captain -Tom. "In the first place, no two of them -were mounted, armed, or dressed alike. In -the next, they came just as they had been at -work in the field in the forenoon, and I don't -believe that half of them had taken the trouble -to wash their faces or comb their hair."</p> - -<p>"They looked just as we see them on the -streets every day, I suppose," said Mr. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Just the same, only worse," replied Tom, -who was almost mad enough to cry every time -he thought of it. "Here was a man mounted on -the heaviest kind of a plough horse and carrying -a long squirrel rifle on his shoulder, and -beside him was one on a little runt of a mule -and armed with a heavy double-barrel deer-killer. -Not a few of them had chicken or -turkey feathers stuck in their slouch hats for -plumes, and some had pipes in their mouths; -and when I said that no smoking would be -allowed in the ranks, they did not hesitate -to tell me that I need not think I could boss -them around as Rodney Gray had bossed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> -Rangers while he was acting as their drill-master, -for that was something they would -not submit to."</p> - -<p>"Why the—the impudence!" exclaimed -Mrs. Randolph; while her husband looked -down at the floor and told himself that that -was about what might have been expected -of such men as he and Tom had been able to -bring into the Home Guards.</p> - -<p>"That's the kind of soldiers they are," continued -Captain Tom. "They know I haven't -the power to enforce my commands, and so -they intend to do pretty near as they please. -The only reason they joined was because they -wanted an excuse for keeping out of the army, -and get the horses and weapons that were -promised them."</p> - -<p>"And food," added Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Food!" exclaimed her husband. "I -didn't promise them any food except in case -they were ordered to some other part of the -State, and then I said I would look out for the -families of those who were too poor to make -provision for them."</p> - -<p>"Well, a rough looking fellow who said he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> -was a member of the company came to the -kitchen yesterday and asked for some bacon -on the strength of that promise, and I gave it -to him," said Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet he played a game on you," said -Captain Tom.</p> - -<p>"That's a pretty state of affairs!" exclaimed -the father, profoundly astonished. "Don't -give another mouthful to him or anybody else -on the strength of promises I made to that -company. As long as they stay about here -they will earn their own food or go hungry."</p> - -<p>"That's the kind of soldiers they are," repeated -Tom. "They enlisted because they -are afraid to go into the army and too lazy -to work, and not because they care a picayune -for the Confederacy. And after I had brought -them in line as well as I could, and told one -man to take his pants out of his boots and be -sure that those boots were blacked the next -time he came out to inspection, and ordered -another to put his hat on straight and quit -carrying his gun flat on his shoulder as he -would if he were hog hunting in the woods, -they made up their minds that they would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> -elect officers. When I told them that I hadn't -brought them together for any such purpose, -and that we would postpone the matter until -the company had been brought up to its full -strength, they didn't pay the least attention -to me."</p> - -<p>"It's a rabble—a mob and nothing else," -cried Mrs. Randolph, who looked as angry as -her son felt. "It is the one wish of my heart -to see you take a proud position among the -noble defenders of your country, but you will -never have anything more to do with those -ruffians with my consent. Whom did they -choose for officers?"</p> - -<p>Tom mentioned the names of two of the -meanest men in the country for miles around, -and his angry mother continued:</p> - -<p>"A common overseer and an acknowledged -chicken and hog thief! My son, you must not -appear again in the company of those men."</p> - -<p>"I don't intend to," replied Tom, jumping -to his feet and striding up and down the room. -"Although I despise every man in Captain -Hubbard's company, and have ever since they -defeated me for the second lieutenancy, I must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> -acknowledge that they were a fine looking -body of men, and I somehow got it into my -head that my Home Guards would look and -act just like them; but they don't, and I am -so disappointed that I don't see how I can -ever get over it. I'll hold fast to my commission -and rank, but I'll have nothing more -to do with that company of Home Guards."</p> - -<p>Slowly and sadly Captain Tom ascended to -his room, where he took off his fine uniform -and arrayed himself in the citizen's suit he -had vowed never to put on again until he -had helped the South gain her independence. -Then he put his handsome sword into its cloth -case, stood it up in the darkest corner of his -closet, and closed the door. He felt like a -monarch who had lost his crown.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="small">CAPTAIN TOM SMELLS POWDER.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">For</span> a long time Captain Randolph remained -firm in his resolution to have -nothing more to do with the Home Guards. -Although he did not formally throw up his -command of the company he kept away from it -as much as he could, and never ordered it to appear -for drills and inspections; but by so doing -he did not by any means escape being taken to -task for the lawless acts of which his men were -guilty. The company well deserved the name -that Mrs. Randolph had applied to it, and one -could not reasonably expect that they would -conduct themselves as the high-toned Mooreville -Rangers would have done under the same -circumstances. It had never occurred to them -to inquire what their duties would be when -they were sworn into the service of the State, -and it is extremely doubtful if their captain -could have enlightened them on that point;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> -but in their ignorance they took it for granted -that they had been given liberty to do as they -pleased, and acting under the leadership of -their lieutenants, Lambert, the overseer, and -Moseley, the chicken and hog thief, they very -soon made themselves known to and feared -and hated by the citizens for miles around. -Tom heard of their exploits now and then, -and although he stamped his feet and shook -his clenched hands in the air, he did nothing to -show his authority. At last things came to -such a pass that Captain Tom, to quote from -Rodney's friend Griffin, who was closely -watching the movements of the Home Guards, -"had to fish or cut bait."</p> - -<p>Bright and early one morning a couple of -angry planters galloped furiously into Mr. -Randolph's front yard, threw themselves from -their horses, leaving the animals to tramp -down the flower beds or stand still as they -pleased, entered the house without knocking, -and made their way through the hall into the -dining room, where the family sat at breakfast. -Without giving anybody time to express surprise -at their abrupt entrance or to inquire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> -into the nature of their business, they stalked -around the table to the chair in which Tom -was sitting and shook their fists in his face -pretty close to his nose.</p> - -<p>"Look-a-here, young feller," said the one -whose rage would permit him to speak first, -"what do you mean by sending them vagabonds -of yourn, them Home Guards, into -gentlemen's houses to turn things up topsy-turvy?"</p> - -<p>The men looked so dangerous that Captain -Tom turned white with alarm, but could not -utter a word. He understood the charge and -knew he was innocent, but he could not say -so.</p> - -<p>"When that company of yourn was first got -together you took pains to spread it around -that you were going to use them to clean out -the Union men," the planter almost shouted. -"That was all right and I didn't have a word -to say against it, for I thought they oughter -be driven out; but why don't you confine yourselves -to searching the houses of Union men, -and let good and loyal Confederates like me -and my neighbor alone? We are as strong for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> -the South and as ready to fight for her as you -are; and I tell you once for all——"</p> - -<p>By this time Tom's father and mother had -recovered themselves in some measure, but -Tom himself was still so frightened that he -could not speak. The former arose and -placed chairs for the visitors, and Mrs. Randolph -told the girl to lay plates for them, adding -that if they would sit down and tell their -story while drinking a cup of coffee, she was -sure her son could clear himself of the serious -accusations they had brought against him. -If their houses had been raided by the Home -Guards they might rest assured that a Randolph -was in no way to blame for it. This -calmed the storm and made the visitors look -as though they felt a little ashamed of themselves; -but they sat down and told their -story.</p> - -<p>"It seems that that man Lambert, who -always was too lazy and trifling to earn an -honest living, has give up his situation as overseer -on Miss Randall's place, and took to raiding -through the country on his own hook," -said the planter who had thus far done all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> -talking. "We have heard of him a time or -two, but so long as he stole from Union men -and pestered them it was all right; but last -night he jumped down on me and Boswell, and -that is a little more than we can stand."</p> - -<p>"I don't see what made him do that," exclaimed -Tom, who had by this time found his -tongue. "He knows you are good Confederates."</p> - -<p>"Of course he knows it, and when we reminded -him of it he didn't try to deny it; -but he allowed we had guns in the house, and -that them dangerous things couldn't be permitted -to stay in the country except in the -hands of soldiers. So he came to our houses -and searched them; and as he had about a -dozen men in his gang we couldn't help ourselves."</p> - -<p>"As sure as I live I never gave him orders -to search anybody's premises," declared Tom.</p> - -<p>"I don't reckon you ever gave him much -orders of any sort," replied the planter, with -a look on his face which showed that he knew -about how much authority Tom had over the -Home Guards.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span></p> - -<p>"And bear this in mind," added his companion: -"when we found that we couldn't -say or do anything to stop them, and that -they were dead set on having the guns, we -offered to bring 'em out ruther than have them -dirty vagabonds rummaging over our things; -but that didn't by no means suit Lambert. -Him and his men must go in themselves so as -to be sure of getting everything in the shape -of weapons there was. And when they got -into my house where do you suppose was the -first place they went to?" added Boswell, with -suppressed fury.</p> - -<p>"I have not the slightest idea," replied Mrs. -Randolph, when the man stopped and looked -around as if he expected an answer.</p> - -<p>"To the bed," said Tom, who had heard -that it was a good plan for raiders to look -between mattresses for things they wanted to -find.</p> - -<p>"No, they didn't. They went straight to -my wife's bureau," said Boswell fiercely. -"That was a pretty place to look for guns, -wasn't it, now?"</p> - -<p>Tom was thunderstruck. He knew that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> -Home Guards had been denounced as robbers -because they had ransacked the dwellings and -smoke-houses of Union men, and had thought -nothing of it, for Union men had no rights, -and were not in the least deserving of sympathy; -but this was a different matter altogether. -It would never do to let such a story -as that get to the ears of the Governor.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps they looked into the bureau for -revolvers," he managed to say at length.</p> - -<p>"No, they didn't. They looked for rings -and breastpins and bracelets and the like; -but they didn't find none, for my wife was -sharp enough to put the whole business into -her pocket as soon as she see that they were -set on coming into the house. All the same, -they got a rifle that cost me $125 in gold in -New Orleans in good times, and a shot gun -that is worth almost twice as much. And -I'll tell you what's a fact, Tom Randolph: -I want them guns back. They're mine, and if -I don't get 'em I'll raise a fuss."</p> - -<p>"And while you are getting them you might -as well tell Lambert to hand over the two guns -he stole from me," said the other visitor, "and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> -that if he ever pokes his long nose inside my -door again I'll send the contents of one of 'em -into it. I say nothing about the hams they -took from my smoke house, but they mustn't -try to take any more. I reckon me and Boswell -were a little too fast in accusing you of -sending Lambert to search our houses, but you -being the captain, you know, why—really you -had oughter make them fellers go a little -slower. What do you think of the situation -anyhow, Mr. Randolph? And how long will -it be before we shall have Washington?"</p> - -<p>Mr. Randolph and his wife were glad to -have the conversation turned into another -channel, and so was Captain Tom, who did not -want to hear any more about Lieutenant Lambert -and his exploits. He was ill at ease as -long as the visitors remained; but they went -away as soon as they had drunk their coffee, -and seemed as glad to go as the Randolphs -were to have them.</p> - -<p>Tom did not eat a hearty breakfast that -morning, for the fear that the Governor might -get wind of Lambert's latest raid and revoke -his commission, added to the difficulties he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> -saw in his way of complying with the demands -his late visitors had made upon him, took -away his appetite. He must restore those -guns to their owners—there were no two ways -about that; but how should he go to work to -get them? His first thought was to present -himself before Lambert in full uniform and, by -virtue of the authority conferred upon him by -his captain's commission, which stated in plain -language that he was to be obeyed by all persons -under him, demand the return of the -stolen property forthwith. That was the way -any other captain would have gone about it, -Tom thought; but he was afraid that bluster -might not prove successful in his case. He had -reason to fear (and it was one of the heaviest -trials he was called upon to bear) that he did not -stand as high in the estimation of some of his -men as he did in his mother's; that he had on -one or two occasions been compared to a wagon's -fifth wheel in point of usefulness, and it would -be just like the insubordinate Lambert to refuse -point blank to obey his orders. That -would be unfortunate, for it would show to the -world, and perhaps to the Governor, that Tom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> -was not the real captain of the Home Guards. -After looking at the matter from all sides he -made up his mind that conciliation would be -his best policy, and when he rode away to -seek an interview with his lieutenant he wore -citizen's clothes and left his sword behind. He -found Lambert at his quarters on the Randall -plantation, where he continued to live, -although he had turned the work over to the -field hands and seldom took the trouble to -see how it was going on, and he was just getting -ready to mount the horse that had been -brought to his door.</p> - -<p>"Hallo, lieutenant!" began Tom, with -more familiarity and good-fellowship than he -had ever before exhibited in addressing the -man.</p> - -<p>"Morning, cap'n," replied the overseer, -who might have responded to the salutation -in a very different way if Tom had not been -respectful enough to put a handle to his name. -"Want to see me?"</p> - -<p>"I came over on purpose to have a friendly -talk with you," said Tom. "Look here, old -fellow; you will play smash if you don't stop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> -raiding the premises of such men as Boswell -and Wallace. What induced you to do it?"</p> - -<p>"Aint I got a right to look for we'pons?" -demanded Lambert.</p> - -<p>"You have authority from me," answered -Tom, with some emphasis on the two last -words, "to search the houses of Union men, -but you have no right to enter the dwellings -of Confederates."</p> - -<p>"Look-a-here, cap'n. I knowed that them -two men had guns in hiding."</p> - -<p>"But you didn't expect to find them in -bureau drawers, did you?"</p> - -<p>"Eh?" exclaimed the overseer. He looked -somewhat abashed for a moment and then -continued: "When I search a house I search -it. I look into every hole and corner in it."</p> - -<p>"That is perfectly right when you search -houses belonging to the enemies of your country; -but it is all wrong when you enter the -houses of our friends. Such work will turn -them against us—make enemies of them. I -saw Boswell and Wallace this morning and -they are mad as hornets. They want their -guns back."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, the next time you see 'em just ask -if they'll have 'em now or wait till they get -'em. I want them guns myself to keep the -Yankees from getting 'em."</p> - -<p>"The Yankees!" said Tom contemptuously. -"You don't think they will ever get -this far South, do you?"</p> - -<p>"They mout. Didn't you say yourself that -they was liable to come down from Cairo or up -from New Orleans, and that we'd oughter have -a company of Home Guards here to stop 'em?"</p> - -<p>"I said there was a bare possibility that -they might do so, and that it would be the -part of wisdom to prepare for an emergency," -answered Captain Tom, who well remembered -that he had used stronger language than that -while urging Lambert to send in his name. -"But I want those guns and must have them -at once. You haven't any commission from -the Governor yet, and I——"</p> - -<p>When Tom said this he stopped abruptly -and gave such a start that his lieutenant looked -up at him in surprise.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, cap'n?" said he. -"You what?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span></p> - -<p>"You haven't received your commission -from the Governor yet," repeated Tom slowly -and emphatically. "And when I——"</p> - -<p>"Have I got to have a paper like yourn?" -exclaimed Lambert, looking astonished and -interested. "That's news to me."</p> - -<p>"Yes. And it can come to you only through -my recommendation. I must certify that you -were legally elected to the office you hold, and -that was the reason I did not want you men to -go through the farce of holding an election on -horseback on the day I ordered you out for inspection," -replied Tom; but the truth was he -had never thought of it until that moment. -It was a bright idea that suddenly flitted -through his mind, and he wondered why it had -been so long in coming to him.</p> - -<p>"Well, by gum!" was all the disgusted -Lambert could say in reply.</p> - -<p>"Your papers, if you get them, will be -something like mine, only different, you know, -for a captain outranks a lieutenant by a large -majority," continued Tom, improving to the -utmost the advantage he had so unexpectedly -gained. "You have no authority to make out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> -warrants, but I have; and our non-coms., if -we had any, would have to look to me for -them."</p> - -<p>This was all Greek to the overseer, who had -taken no pains to post himself on military -matters, but he did not ask Tom to explain, -for he was anxious to hear more about the -commission he ought to have, but had not yet -received.</p> - -<p>"Well, go on," said he impatiently. "And -when you what?"</p> - -<p>"And when I make my first report to the -Governor or his adjutant-general, and ask him -about your commission and Moseley's, I want -to be able to say that you are in every way -satisfactory to me as well as to the people -hereabouts, and that I am sure you will make -brave and obedient officers. But you can see -for yourself that I can't say that if you keep -on bothering good and loyal Confederates like -Wallace and Boswell. I think you had better -give me those guns."</p> - -<p>"I aint got but one," replied Lambert, who -seemed to have lost the independent and swaggering -air he had assumed at the beginning of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> -the interview, "and I'll go right in and bring -it out."</p> - -<p>"Where are the others?" demanded Captain -Tom.</p> - -<p>"Well, Moseley's got one, Smith's got -another, and where t'other one has went I disremember -just at this minute."</p> - -<p>"You distributed the spoils among you, it -seems."</p> - -<p>"Yes, kinder; so't the Yankees couldn't -easy find them."</p> - -<p>"Then you must ride around and gather -them up; and as I have nothing particular -to do this morning I will go with you. I'd -rather be a king among hogs than a hog -among kings any day," said Tom to himself, -as his lieutenant turned about and went into -his house, "but I confess I little thought I -should get so low down as to command a -lot of brigands. That idea about the commissions -makes me the biggest toad in the -puddle from this time on. I'll hold them -up as prospective rewards for good behavior -and prompt obedience of orders; but -Lambert and Moseley shall never have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> -commissions on my recommendation, I bet -you."</p> - -<p>The Home Guards had deliberately stolen -these four valuable guns, and Tom Randolph -knew it as soon as he found how they had -been scattered about. The plea that if permitted -to remain in possession of their owners -they might be captured by the Yankees, who -would use them to kill Confederates, was Lambert's -excuse for one of the worst outrages -that had ever been perpetrated in that part of -Louisiana; but it was by no means the last. -Three-fourths of all the Home Guards in the -South were like Captain Tom's men, and the -worst that can be said of them is that they -acted as guards at Andersonville, Libby, Millen, -and Salisbury. It was not the Confederate -soldiers who served at the front, but the Home -Guards, who starved the boys in blue to death -in those prison pens, and hunted them with -bloodhounds when they escaped.</p> - -<p>The upshot of the whole matter was that -Tom got the guns, which in due time were restored -to their lawful owners, and plumed -himself on having firmly established his authority<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> -over his men. Well, they did behave -a little better during the daytime and in that -settlement where they were so well known, -but they took to riding around of nights, and -making "visits of ceremony" to isolated farmhouses -in which they had reason to suppose -that they would find something worth stealing. -But riding was anything but easy work, and -the novelty of frightening women and children -and browbeating unarmed men wore off after -a while; and when they had secured bacon -and meal enough to last them for a few weeks, -the Home Guards subsided and were seldom -heard of again until the news of the glorious -victory at Bull Run raised the war spirit of -the Southern people to the old fever heat. -Then they came to the surface again, and persecuted -Union people in and around Mooreville -so fiercely that some of them were compelled -to flee for their lives, Captain Randolph -being in command this time. From his friend -Drummond, the telegraph operator, he secured -a list of all suspected persons in the neighborhood, -and with this to aid him Tom succeeded -in doing effective work for the cause of Southern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> -independence. But it was too much like -labor to be kept up for any length of time; -there was not very much glory in it anyway -the better class of Secessionists in the community -became strongly opposed to it, and so the -Home Guards dropped out of sight once more, -not to appear again until Farragut captured -New Orleans and sent some of his vessels up -the river to effect a junction with Flag-Officer -Davis at Vicksburg. When the people of -Mooreville heard of it they were very indignant, -and some of them declared that they -would never submit to have their country -overrun in that way—they would die first; -and to show how very much in earnest they -were they stopped all work, shut up their -houses, and ran about the streets in the greatest -excitement. When the ship of war <i>Iroquois</i> -came up with Commander Palmer on board -and demanded the surrender of Baton Rouge, -the mayor of that insignificant little town -"indulged in the same mock-heroic nonsense -that the mayor and council of New Orleans -had been indulging in the week before." He -declared that the city would not be surrendered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> -to any power on earth, and that if the -Federals took possession of it they would do -it without the consent and against the wishes -of the peaceable inhabitants.</p> - -<p>"It was all done for effect, and that man -will be one of the last in the Confederacy to -shoulder a musket," said Rodney Gray when -he heard of it; but being a soldier he applauded -the action of Captain Palmer, who, -without any fuss or parade, promptly took -possession of the barracks, arsenal, and other -property of the United States. He hoisted the -flag of the Union over the arsenal too, and told -the boastful mayor in pretty plain language -that he would let it stay there if he did not -want to get himself and his town into trouble.</p> - -<p>"All honor to the brave citizens of New -Orleans. They have shown me how I ought -to act in this emergency," said Captain Randolph -on the morning the startling news came -that some of the victorious Union fleet had -steamed up the river. He posted for his room -the moment he heard of it, and when he came -down he was dressed in his uniform and wore -his glittering sword by his side.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span></p> - -<p>"Now take those things off and don't make -a fool of yourself," said Mr. Randolph, who -had told his wife over and over again that -from the bottom of his heart he wished he -had never had anything to do with the Home -Guards.</p> - -<p>"Don't be rash, my dear," said his mother -in tones more befitting the occasion. "What -are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>"I shall assemble my company and place -myself in a strong position between here and -Baton Rouge, and stand ready to resist the -enemy's advance upon Mooreville," replied -Tom. "The Federal General Butler has -more than 100,000 men, and can easily spare -some of them long enough to make our -capital a heap of ashes; but the Governor -shall hear that I harassed them while they -were doing it, as our own Marion and his bold -men used to harass the Redcoats."</p> - -<p>Those who were best acquainted with Tom -Randolph knew that he would not have gone -one step toward Baton Rouge if he had not -had the best of reasons for believing that there -were no troops at hand to take possession of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> -the city after the war ships had captured it; -but although Tom hinted as much to the -members of his company whom he tried to -rally to the defence of their hearth-stones, he -could not induce more than a handful of them -to turn out. It did not require very much -courage to rob Union men who had previously -been deprived of their weapons, but facing -blue-jackets who were likely to have loaded muskets -in their hands was a more serious matter. -The excuses the Home Guards made for refusing -to follow their captain were of the flimsiest -kind; but, all the same, they wouldn't go, and -Tom finally rode away with only a baker's -dozen of men at his heels. They arrived within -sight of the spires of the city on the same -day that Captain Palmer's sailors hoisted the -Union flag over the arsenal, and might perhaps -have witnessed the ceremony if they had -gone a mile or two farther down the road; -but Captain Tom could not uncover Mooreville -even for the sake of saving the capital of his -State. He did not even venture near enough -to the Mississippi to see the <i>Iroquois'</i> topmasts; -but he went closer to the enemy than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> -the cowards who remained at home, and that -was something to be proud of.</p> - -<p>Captain Tom slept in a planter's house that -night, while his men bunked in the stables and -corn cribs and under the trees in the yard, and -the next morning made a wide detour to the -river above the city with no other object in -view than to be able to say, when he went -home, that he had been there. If he had -known what he was going to see and experience -when he reached the river it isn't likely -that he would have gone in that direction at -all; for he halted his men behind the levee -just in time to see a monster war vessel steaming -leisurely up the swift, muddy current of -the Mississippi. She was the blackest, ugliest -looking thing that Tom's eyes had ever rested -on, and the queerest sensations came over him -as he gazed at her. It was not a cold day, but -Tom shivered violently, and tasted something -in his mouth that reminded him of salt.</p> - -<p>"By gum! There's one of them things -now. Let's try a whack at her. What do you -say, boys?"</p> - -<p>Tom had been on the point of giving the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> -signal for retreat, or trying to give it, but this -astounding and reckless proposition staggered -him so that he could not open his mouth. -The man who made it showed that he was in -earnest by swinging himself from his horse -and advancing on all fours toward the levee, -dragging his rifle along the ground at his side. -In less time than it takes to tell it he and all -his companions were lying prone behind the -levee, using it as a breastwork, and Captain -Tom sat in his saddle looking on like one in a -dream. When they were all in position one -of the Home Guards set up a warwhoop, a -straggling fire ran along the top of the levee -and bullets and buckshot went whistling -toward the vessel. There were several men on -her deck and around the wheel-house, and -although Tom did not see any of them fall he -did see that they were badly frightened, for -they ran in all directions, and an instant later -there was not one of them to be seen. The -Home Guards yelled triumphantly and turned -on their backs behind their breastwork to reload -their guns. Then Tom managed to find -his voice; but it sounded so strangely that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> -hardly knew whether it belonged to him or -not.</p> - -<p>"That's the way to make the Yankees hunt -their holes," he said, in trembling tones. -"Give it to them again! Cut their old tub to -pieces, my brave——"</p> - -<p>Just then a wide, dark opening appeared in -the side of the vessel nearest them, a black -object came slowly out, a thundering concussion -rent the air, and a thirty-two pound shell -came at them. It shrieked fearfully as it flew -over the levee above their heads, and made -such a horrid din when it exploded in the -thick woods behind them, scattering iron and -branches about and cutting down twigs and -leaves in a perfect shower, that for a single -instant the Home Guards were motionless with -astonishment and terror. They had not hurt -the gunboat at all, but they had made her captain -angry, and the fear that he might resent -the insult to his flag by firing more shells at -them sent the Home Guards to their saddles -in hot haste; and with Captain Tom, who rode -the swiftest horse, far in the lead, they struck -out for home at a better pace than they had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> -ever travelled before. And they never drew -rein until they had left the dangerous neighborhood -miles behind.</p> - -<p>"It was the narrowest escape from an ambuscade -I ever had in my life," said Captain -Tom to the first man he met when he rode into -Mooreville that night, "and if it hadn't been -for my promptness in getting out of there I -shouldn't have had a man left. We'd have -been cut to pieces or captured, the last one of -us. We didn't see any enemy except the ship -we fired at, but a minute or so after she opened -on us a battery of flying artillery, that had all -the while been concealed in the timber in our -rear, cut loose on us with all its guns, and it's -a miracle that one of us escaped to tell the -story of the battle."</p> - -<p>"But my partner came from Baton Rouge -to-day," said the man doubtfully, "and he -declares that there are no Yankee troops in the -country this side of New Orleans. So where -did that battery come from?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you believe any such stuff," replied -Tom indignantly. "I tell you the -woods are full of them, and they are liable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> -to come to Mooreville between now and sunrise."</p> - -<p>If no one else believed his story Tom believed -it himself, and the consequence was he -slept in his chair that night. But for some -reason the Yankees did not appear as he had -predicted, and they might have postponed -their coming indefinitely had it not been for -the lawless acts of Captain Tom's own men.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="small">THE CONSCRIPT'S FRIEND.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">Tom Randolph</span> would have been very -angry indeed if anyone had told him that -the noise that thirty-two pound shell made -when it exploded in the woods, and led him -and his men to believe that there was a Union -battery concealed there, had frightened all -the war spirit out of him, but it is a fact that -after his experience with the gunboat he did -not show the least desire to take the field again -at the head of his company. Everybody knew -that there were no Federal troops in Baton -Rouge, but there were war vessels in the Mississippi -holding the city under their guns, and -their presence had a depressing effect upon a -good many red-hot rebels besides Tom Randolph. -More than that, General Butler had -assumed command at New Orleans; and the -energetic and effective way in which he dealt -with treason there opened the eyes of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> -Mooreville people to the fact that there might -be a day of settlement coming for them also, -and that it would be well if they could have -a tolerably clean record to show when the invading -army moved up to take possession of -Baton Rouge.</p> - -<p>This was the way Mr. Randolph and some of -his neighbors looked at the situation; and acting -upon the hints they dropped in his presence, -Tom concealed his uniform and sword -in the garret, where he thought no one would -be likely to look for them. He was getting -tired of war anyway, he said, and wished the -past could be blotted out and things be as they -were before South Carolina, by her senseless -act of secession, brought so much trouble upon -him and his friends. He was not as disgusted -and angry as a good Confederate ought to have -been when he heard a man from Baton Rouge -affirm that after all the Yankees were not such -a bad sort when one became acquainted with -them, and that some of the towns-people were -not ashamed to confess to a friendly feeling -for the crews of the gunboats that were anchored -in front of the city. The blue-jackets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> -always acted like gentlemen when they came -ashore, and, true to their instincts of traffic, -had established a lively little trade with the -citizens. They purchased everything the latter -had to sell in the way of garden-truck, milk, -butter, and eggs, and paid for all they got in -good money; or, what was better, in coffee, tea -(store tea too, and not sassafras), wheat flour, -and salt. It is true that the salt was not as -fine nor as clean as some they had seen, for it -had been taken from the brine of the beef and -pork barrels with which the store-rooms of the -gunboats were abundantly supplied; but it -was acceptable to people who had boiled down -the dirt floors of their smoke-houses in order -to get the salt that had trickled off the hams -and sides of bacon which had been cured there -in better times. The gunboat officers also -sent their soiled linen ashore to be washed, so -that not a day passed during which there was -not more or less communication with the fleet.</p> - -<p>This was a pleasant state of affairs all -around, especially to the victorious blue-jackets, -who had grown tired of fighting and -wanted all the shore liberty they could get,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> -and it might have continued until the Confederate -General Breckenridge made his unsuccessful -attempt to regain control of the -Mississippi above New Orleans had it not been -for two things: the Confederate Conscription -Act, and the determination on the part of the -Home Guards to evade it. The passage of -that act was like a destructive thunder-bolt -from a clear sky, and there were those in -Mooreville who refused to believe that their -chosen rulers would be guilty of such perfidy; -but the news had hardly been received before -the enrolling officer put in his appearance, -thus proving the truth of what we have -already said—that the Richmond Government -developed into a despotism so suddenly that it -was plain the machinery for it had been prepared -long before.</p> - -<p>The enrolling officer, Captain Roach, was a -dapper little fellow who did not look as -though he had seen much service, and, indeed, -he hadn't seen a day of it; for when he received -his commission and orders from the -Governor he was a practising lawyer in a small -inland town. Beyond the very slight knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> -which he had been able to gain from his -printed instructions, he knew nothing of his -duties or of soldiering; but his common-sense -taught him that as Tom Randolph's commission -was older than his own, military etiquette -required that he should call upon Tom without -any unnecessary delay—not to report to him, -for Tom was not in the Confederate service or -in any way connected with the conscription -business, but merely to show him proper -respect. He reached Mooreville in the morning, -spent the rest of the day in opening an -office and spreading abroad the news of his -arrival, so that those whose duty it was to -be conscripted would have no trouble in finding -him, and the next morning mounted his -horse and set out to find Captain Randolph. -The first man he met on the road was Tom's -first lieutenant. Captain Roach did not know -him, but he saw that Lambert was anxious to -ride on without speaking, and perhaps that -was the reason he drew rein and accosted him.</p> - -<p>"Good-morning," said the captain pleasantly. -"You know I have opened an office in -Kimberly's store, I suppose?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span></p> - -<p>"Say! What made you ask me that question -for?" demanded Lambert, who was -instantly on his guard.</p> - -<p>"Because I take you to be over eighteen -and under thirty-five, and would like to have -you drop around and see me," was the reply.</p> - -<p>"Well, I aint a-going to do it; and that -settles it. See?"</p> - -<p>"Really I <i>don't</i> see how you can get out of -it."</p> - -<p>"Don't, hey? Well, I do. I aint Confedrit. -I'm State Rights."</p> - -<p>"Are you not aware that there are no State -Rights people any more?" asked the captain. -"The conscription act that has just been -passed withdraws all non-exempt citizens between -the ages of eighteen and thirty-five from -State control, and places them absolutely at the -disposal of the President during the war."</p> - -<p>"But I aint agreeing to no such 'rangement, -don't you know?" exclaimed Lambert, who -did not like to see the enrolling officer so quiet -and confident, for it looked as though he knew -what he was talking about. "That was just -what Lincoln wanted to do when he called on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> -our Gov'nor for soldiers to whop South Car'liny; -but our Gov'nor he said he wasn't that -kind of a feller, and his men shouldn't go -out of the State. Why don't he stick to -his word and say the same to Jeff Davis?"</p> - -<p>"My friend, you don't understand the situation -at all——" began the captain.</p> - -<p>"Better'n you do, by a long sight," interrupted -Lambert. "I aint agreeing to no such -bargain, I tell you. Them as wants to go to -Virginy to light for the 'Federacy can go for -all me; but I don't want to go, and, by gum! -I won't. And furder, I'm a Home Guard."</p> - -<p>"In your case that doesn't matter. The -government would be quite willing to stretch -a point in favor of home organizations that -have proved themselves to be worth something, -but you Mooreville fellows haven't done the -first thing for the cause. You have turned -some of our friends against us, but where are -the Yankees you have shot, and how many -prisoners have you taken?"</p> - -<p>"Look here, by gum!" exclaimed the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>"I have heard all about you, and the Governor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> -says in the letter he sent with my commission -that the best thing I can do is to send -you to a camp of instruction," continued the -captain. "You are no good here, for you -don't do anything."</p> - -<p>"Dog-gone my pictur'! What's the reason -we aint been doing something for the cause -right along?" shouted Lambert, his red face -showing that he was getting angry. "We've -been the means of keeping the Union men in -these parts from rising up and taking the -country for the Yankees, and more'n that—we -licked a gunboat in the river. Who told you -we aint done nothing? It must be some -enemy of ourn who aint got the spirit to jine -in with us, and if I can find out who he is I'll -make him sorry for it, I bet you. But you -can't conscript me, I tell you. I'm an officer -appointed by the Gov'nor."</p> - -<p>"Ah! That does make a difference, perhaps."</p> - -<p>"Well, I reckon it does," said Lambert, -with a satisfied smile.</p> - -<p>"Do you happen to have your commission -with you? Or will you tell me when I can -see it?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span></p> - -<p>This was what Lambert himself would have -called a "side-winder," and his first thought -was to hunt up Tom Randolph, and stand over -him with his riding-whip until he had seen -him write to the Governor asking for that -long delayed commission. Tom had often -promised to do it, but he never had, and now -Lambert was likely to see trouble on account -of his negligence.</p> - -<p>"I am first leftenant of our company; my -commission is all right, and that settles that -point," said he at length. "If the Yankee -General Butler brings his army from New Orleans -to capture Mooreville he will run against -a snag, for he will find me and my men here -to stop him. We jined to guard our homes. -That's why they call us Home Guards, and -that settles the other point you was speaking -of. We aint got no pris'ners to show, kase -there aint no Yankees come nigh us; but we -are just as much use here as we would be up -there in Virginy."</p> - -<p>"We need every man we can get," replied -Captain Roach. "Those who do not -come of their own free will must expect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> -to be taken by force, unless they can show -that they are of use at home. You Mooreville -Home Guards have had the finest -chance in the world to make a name for -yourselves. Why didn't you drive those -gunboats away from Baton Rouge long -ago?"</p> - -<p>"Shucks!" exclaimed Lambert. "Why, -man alive, they've got cannons on 'em."</p> - -<p>"What of it? Couldn't you hide behind -the levee, where you would be safe, and pick -off every sailor who showed his head above -decks? Couldn't you keep those small boats -from coming ashore and going back loaded -down with provisions? You have been giving -aid and comfort to the enemy by permitting -such things, and that's contrary to law. But -I must ride along, for I am on my way to visit -Captain Randolph. I am not sure that you -are exempt simply because you are an officer in -the State militia, but will tell you the next -time we meet."</p> - -<p>"You needn't mind looking it up, for I aint -going, I tell you. But I'll tell you one thing, -and that aint two: if you take me you will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> -have to take Tom Randolph likewise. I'll -raise a fuss if you don't."</p> - -<p>The two separated, and the enrolling officer -kept on his way to the home of Captain Randolph, -who had somehow heard that he might -look for a distinguished visitor on this particular -morning, and was thrown into a state -of great excitement by the unwelcome news. -The presence of the enrolling officer in town -was all the evidence Tom needed to prove that -there was no immediate danger of an invasion -by the Federals, so he brought his uniform -from its hiding place in the garret; and when -he had arrayed himself in it, and leaned his -sword in one corner of the gallery to show that -he was prepared to answer when duty called, -he was ready for the visit—that is, as ready as -he ever would be, for he would not have seen -Captain Roach at all if he could have thought -of any way to avoid it. Rumor said that the -captain looked as though he might have come -out of some lady's bandbox, but all the same -Tom supposed him to be a Confederate veteran -who had seen service on many a hardly contested -field, and who would overawe him with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> -his profound knowledge of military matters. -Tom wished now that he had made a little -better fight with that gunboat, or that he had -slipped into Baton Rouge some dark night -with a few picked men and pulled down the -flag that the Yankee sailors had hoisted over -the arsenal.</p> - -<p>"Oh, what honors I might have gained for -myself if I had only thought of these things -before," he said to his mother. He always -went to her with his troubles now, or when he -stood in need of encouragement and advice, -his father having told him somewhat sharply -that he had washed his hands of the Home -Guards and never wanted to hear of them -again as long as he lived. "But that is the -way it is with me. My wit comes too slow to -be of any use."</p> - -<p>"I am very glad that you did not think -of them before, you reckless boy," replied -Mrs. Randolph. "Your record is better -than I wish it was, for I am afraid it -will take you into the army. What would -you do if this enrolling officer should decide -to take the company just as it stands,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> -and swear you into the Confederate service?"</p> - -<p>"Cæsar's ghost!" cried Captain Tom, in -great alarm. "If my record as a loyal soldier -leads him to do that, I shall be sorry I ever -put on this uniform. What could I do?"</p> - -<p>"Could you not follow the same course -that Rodney Gray pursued, when General -Lacey came up from New Orleans to swear -the Mooreville Rangers into the Confederate -Army?" inquired Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Mother, if you were a man you would be -a general yourself," exclaimed Tom, his fears -vanishing on the instant. "If a first duty -sergeant can back down a major-general, I -reckon a captain in the State militia can do -the same for a Confederate captain."</p> - -<p>He spoke boldly enough, but when one of -the house servants came in to tell him that -there was a strange soldier riding into the -yard he felt his courage oozing out at the -ends of his fingers, and he would hardly have -dared to go to the door to meet his visitor -if his mother had not assured him that she -would go also, and that she would remain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> -close at his side to support him during the -dreaded interview.</p> - -<p>The enrolling officer did not look like a very -stern soldier, she told herself, when she saw -him get off his horse and shake hands with -Tom, who had hastened down the steps to meet -him; but then he was backed up by the whole -tremendous power of the Confederate Government, -and it was to her interest and Tom's to -make a friend of him if she could. Captain -Roach was equally anxious to secure Tom's -assistance in the disagreeable and perhaps dangerous -work he had to do, and the consequence -was it was no trouble at all for them to get acquainted, -or to come to an understanding with -one another. After they had spent a few -minutes in talking over the situation, and the -enrolling officer had shown his written instructions, -as well as a copy of the law by which -he was supposed to be governed, the latter -said:</p> - -<p>"What surprises me very much is that -there is not the first word said about exemptions. -Whether it was an oversight or not -the fact remains that, according to this law,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> -every man between the specified ages must be -conscripted."</p> - -<p>"And that is perfectly right," said Captain -Tom, making a hurried mental list of certain -persons in the neighborhood whom he would -be glad to see go first of all. "Everybody except -our Home Guards."</p> - -<p>"No, sir," said Captain Roach in tones so -decided that Tom's under jaw began to drop -down. "The law excepts nobody; but wait a -minute. After the regiments and companies -that have gone to the front from this State are -filled up, the rest of the conscripts will remain -at home as a reserve to be drawn upon at intervals -of not less than three months, so that -our organizations in the field can be kept -always full. Now, why can't you help me -so as to keep your company of Home Guards -together as long as possible? If we work it -right perhaps you will not be called upon -at all."</p> - -<p>"That's the idea!" exclaimed Tom, greatly -relieved, while his mother smiled her approval -of the suggestion, and told Captain Roach on -the spot that she expected him to stay to dinner,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> -and as long as he remained in that part -of the country to make himself as free in her -house as he would in his own. When she -ceased speaking Tom continued: "I am like -Nathan Hale, who, when the British were -about to hang him as a spy, said he was sorry -he had but one life to give to his country; but -for all that I should like to stay here until I -have seen some of our neighbors who have had -so much to say against the South sent to the -front. But how shall I work it to keep my -company together?"</p> - -<p>"By doing as you have suggested," replied -the captain. "By first sending away those -who ought to be made to fight for the South, -since they have had so much to say against -her and her cause. Perhaps by the time they -have been killed off our independence will be -acknowledged; and then we shall not need -any more soldiers."</p> - -<p>"That's the idea!" said Tom again. "But -how can the Home Guards help you?"</p> - -<p>"By serving in place of the troops that I -am authorized to call on for assistance," answered -Captain Roach. "There will be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> -camp of instruction established somewhere in -the vicinity very shortly, and it will be my -duty to forward my conscripts to that camp -as fast as I can get them together. Of course -they will not go willingly——"</p> - -<p>"I understand," interrupted Captain Tom. -"You want me to send some of my men with -them as guards."</p> - -<p>"Exactly. It will be a feather in your cap -as well as in mine if we can attend to the -business without calling upon the government -for aid. I don't want to do that if I can avoid -it, for every man we can raise is needed at -the front to resist McClellan's advance upon -Richmond. We must be alive, for there's -going to be hot work up there."</p> - -<p>"I am with you; and I don't know of -anything that would suit the Home Guards -better," replied Tom, glad of the opportunity -to gain a little cheap notoriety without putting -himself in danger; and when Captain -Roach rode away from the house after dinner -Tom accompanied him to his office in Kimberly's -store, and assisted in obtaining some -poll-books from which he could make out a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> -list of the unhappy men who were subject to -military duty under the terms of the Conscription -Act.</p> - -<p>Of course there were a goodly number of -young fellows in the settlement between the -ages of eighteen and twenty-one whose names -did not appear on the poll-books, for they -were not voters; but Tom had them in his -mind, and with his mother's aid and Lambert's -he succeeded during the following week -in making out a complete list of them. At -the head of the list stood the name of Edward -Griffin, Drummond's assistant operator, who -had warned Rodney Gray that he was to be -arrested the moment he left the boat at St. -Louis; but Drummond's name did not appear -at all.</p> - -<p>"Griffin is a particular friend of one of my -worst enemies," explained Tom. "Not only -is he strong for the Union, but he has had a -good deal to say about me and my company -behind our backs, and I want you to serve a -notice on him the first thing you do. I wish -they would make haste and establish that -camp of instruction, and when Griffin is sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> -there I want to command the squad that goes -with him. I wish, too, that Rodney Gray was -here to go with him."</p> - -<p>In the meantime events proved that the -people of the South were not as willing to -submit to the despotic acts of their government -as they ought to have been, especially in -Georgia and Arkansas, "where it seemed that -a conflict might arise between State and Confederate -authorities." Officers of the militia -in the former State were arrested by the enrolling -officers, but the Governor demanded -their release and threatened to arrest the Confederates -if they did not let his State officers -alone. The Richmond Government yielded -the point, but said to the Governor of Georgia, -through the Secretary of War: "If you arrest -any of our enrolling officers in their attempts -to get men to fill up the Georgia regiments -now in the face of the enemy, you will -cause great mischief. I think we may as well -drive out our common enemy before we make -war upon each other." In Arkansas Governor -Rector threatened to secede from the Confederacy, -and called for 4500 men to defend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> -the State, adding that "the troops raised -under this call are intended exclusively for -home protection, and will not, under any circumstances, -be transferred to the Confederate -service without their consent." In short, the -Confederacy was in a very bad way, and their -authorities knew it; for on the 21st of April the -congress "adjourned in such haste as to show -that the members were anxious to provide for -their own personal safety." That was the -time when a rebel newspaper invented the -word "skedaddle," and that was the time too -when McClellan could have taken Richmond; -but he "wasted three full months, every day -of which was of vital moment to the Confederacy, -in doing nothing," and when at last -he was ready to advance, he found himself -confronted by an army that was larger than -his own.</p> - -<p>The murmurs of dissatisfaction that arose -all over the South when that sweeping Conscription -Act was passed were not entirely lost -upon the Richmond government, and the next -news that came to Mooreville was that another -act had been passed providing for exemptions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> -Rodney Gray's father was one of the first to -hear of it, and the next time he went to -Mooreville he stopped at the telegraph office -and called Ned Griffin to the door. The young -fellow had been very much distressed ever -since he received notice from Captain Roach to -hold himself in readiness to march to the camp -of instruction with the first squad of conscripts -that left town, and Tom Randolph had been -mean enough to let him know how his name -happened to be first on the list. Griffin was -the only support of a widowed mother, and -he knew that things would go hard with her -when the small sum he received for his work -in the telegraph office ceased to come into her -hands every month. More than that, he believed -in the Union and the flag that waved -over it, and did not want to fight against his -principles. When he came to the door in answer -to Mr. Gray's hail he looked as though -he had lost the last friend he had in the world.</p> - -<p>"I came here to cheer you up a bit by telling -you that you need not go into the army -if you don't want to," was the way in which -Rodney's father announced the object of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> -visit. "The new law provides for the exemption -of one agriculturist on each farm, where -there is no white male adult not liable to military -duty, employing fifteen able-bodied negroes, -on condition that the party exempted -shall give bond to deliver to the government, -in the next twelve months, 100 pounds of -bacon or its equivalent in salt pork, and 100 -pounds of beef for each able-bodied slave employed -on said farm."</p> - -<p>Young Griffin gasped for breath, but did not -say a word in reply. He did not smile either, -as Mr. Gray did, for he failed to see how that -new law could affect him.</p> - -<p>"Now, I happen to have such a farm up the -river road," continued the planter. "There's -no one on it but a driver to look out for -things, and if you have a mind to go up and -take charge of it I shall be glad to have you. -And I think I can put you in the way of earning -more money than you do now."</p> - -<p>"But, Mr. Gray, I am not an overseer," -stammered Griffin, who wished from the bottom -of his heart that he had chosen that -humble but useful vocation instead of telegraphy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> -"I don't know the first thing about -farming."</p> - -<p>"Well, you can't learn younger, can you?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir. But I—you see—the fact of the -matter is, where are the bacon and beef to -come from? If they were selling at a dollar a -ton I couldn't buy a hundred pounds."</p> - -<p>"You have a whole year in which to pay it," -replied Mr. Gray. "But I don't believe in -going in debt, and perhaps we can scare up -cattle and hogs enough on the farm to fill the -bill; and I shall depend on you to raise others -to replace them. I think you had better go. -You can take your mother along to keep -house for you, and I don't see why you can't -live as well there on the farm as you do here -in town. Tell Drummond to come out here a -moment."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Gray," said Griffin, with tears of gratitude -in his eyes, "I wish you would ride -around to our house and let mother thank you -for your kindness. I don't know how."</p> - -<p>"I will save her and you the trouble," said -the planter, bending down from his saddle -and speaking in tones so low that none of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> -passers-by could hear his words. "Who -was it that kept Rodney from falling into -the clutches of that Yankee cotton factor -in St. Louis? Tell Drummond to come -here."</p> - -<p>Drummond came, and Griffin afterward said -that he never saw so mad a man as his chief -was when the planter explained matters to -him in a few brief but emphatic words. The -operator had nothing against Griffin personally, -but Tom Randolph had, and as Tom -had been friendly enough to keep his name -off the enrolling list, Drummond felt in -duty bound to make common cause with -him.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Gray, I am afraid it won't work," -said he. "Griffin was conscripted before that -exemption law was passed."</p> - -<p>"I am prepared to take the risk," was -the quiet rejoinder. "In case objections -are made we shall insist on having the first -conscripts selected from the poll-books instead -of from a private list; and if any objections -are made to that we will report the -matter at headquarters. Your name comes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> -pretty close to the top of the list, Mr. Drummond."</p> - -<p>The operator was frightened and saw plainly -that it would not be a safe piece of business to -make an enemy of Mr. Gray; he knew too -much. Besides, he was one of the richest -planters in the State, and such men always -exerted a good deal of influence when they set -about it.</p> - -<p>"Of course, sir, I hope it will work," Drummond -hastened to say, "for I don't want to -see anybody forced into the army. I only -said I was afraid it wouldn't."</p> - -<p>"I understand. Ned, you might as well -start now as any time. Go and say good-by -to your mother, and hurry up to my house. I -will be there in a couple of hours, and after -we have had a snack we'll ride up to the -farm."</p> - -<p>From the telegraph office Mr. Gray went to -Kimberly's store, where he created another -commotion. Tom Randolph was there, and so -were some of the Home Guards, who had of -late taken to spending all their waking hours -at the enrolling office. Captain Tom would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> -have protested loudly if his amazement and -chagrin had permitted him to speak at all, but -Captain Roach had no objections to offer when -Mr. Gray told him that he would have to find -someone to take Griffin's place in the first -squad of conscripts that was sent to the camp -of instruction, for Griffin himself was exempt -under the law, or would be as soon as he had -taken his new position.</p> - -<p>"I am surprised at you," exclaimed Tom -when Mr. Gray had mounted his horse and -galloped away. "You mustn't let that man -Griffin off; you can't. Haven't I told you -that he is Union?"</p> - -<p>"I have my own interests to look out for," -replied Captain Roach rather sharply, "and -consequently I cannot afford to get into trouble -with such a man as Mr. Gray. He didn't -say much, nor did he bluster at all; but I -knew by the glint in his eye that there was -a whole battery of big guns behind the little -he did say, and that he was ready to turn -them loose on me if I said an ugly word to -him. We haven't been playing square since -this thing began, and he knows it; and if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> -he should insist on having a new deal from -the poll-books, with your list of names thrown -out, where would your friend Drummond -be? Where would you be, seeing that even -Home Guards are not exempt?"</p> - -<p>"I just don't care; and that's all there is -about it," whined Tom, who was mad enough -to cry if he had been alone. "They ought to -be exempt, and I don't see why those Richmond -fellows left them out."</p> - -<p>"That's neither here nor there. They left -them out; but in working to keep you with -me I have practically exempted you, and that -is something I had no business to do. I can't -imagine where Mr. Gray got his information, -but he understands all this, and if he should -report me to the Governor I'd have to join -some regiment in the field; and that's a place -I want to keep away from as bad as you -do."</p> - -<p>"Well, I must say that things have come to -a pretty pass when a man can say who shall -go into the army and who shall not, just because -he happens to have a little money," declared -Tom spitefully.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span></p> - -<p>"That's the way the thing stands, and if -you want to stay at home you and your men -had better be doing something."</p> - -<p>These chance words, which really did not -mean anything, set some of the Home Guards -to thinking.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="small">LIEUTENANT LAMBERT'S CAMPAIGN.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">Of</span> course the principal topic of conversation -at the enrolling office during the -rest of the day was Mr. Gray's unexpected interference -in behalf of Ned Griffin, the conscript. -It frightened Captain Roach, enraged -and disgusted Tom Randolph, and put Lieutenant -Lambert into a very anxious frame of -mind. The latter was obliged to confess that -his chances for keeping out of the army were -very slim indeed.</p> - -<p>"That's the way the thing stands, and if -you want to stay at home you and your men -had better be doing something," he kept saying -to himself as he galloped along the dusty -road on his way home. It was easy enough -for Captain Roach to talk, but what was there -that the Home Guards could do to distinguish -themselves, seeing that the Federal troops were -so secure in their position at New Orleans that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> -the whole Confederate Army could not drive -them out, and that the gunboats in the river -in front of Baton Rouge could not be whipped -by men who were armed only with squirrel -rifles and shot guns? Lambert had been turning -the matter over in his mind ever since Mr. -Gray left the enrolling office in the morning, -and now he did something which he had declared -he never would do as long as he lived. -He went out of his way to ask the advice of -a Confederate veteran who had just returned -from the Army of the Centre disabled by -wounds received in battle.</p> - -<p>There were several of these crippled veterans -in the neighborhood, and they had been -so many thorns in Tom Randolph's side ever -since they first began straggling home from -the front. To begin with, they turned up their -noses at the Home Guards, and made all manner -of sport of their finely uniformed captain -when they saw him riding along the road slyly -pricking his horse with his spurs to make the -animal prance and go sideways, as an officer's -horse ought to do. They laughed, too, when -they heard the Home Guards tell of their fight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> -with that gunboat, and some of them went so -far as to declare that, disabled as they were -and half dead with camp fever besides, they -could arm themselves with corn-stalks and -drive Tom Randolph and his warriors into the -Mississippi River.</p> - -<p>In the next place, almost all these veterans -had brought home with them a goodly supply -of Yankee relics and trophies in the shape of -uniform coats, pants, caps, and overcoats that -had been picked up on the field, and which, -for some reason or other, they seemed anxious -to get off their hands. So they offered them -to the Home Guards in exchange for citizens' -clothing of equal or less value, and the latter -were always found willing to trade. Captain -Tom was disgusted and angry when first one -man and then another appeared at the enrolling -office clad in some portion of a shabby -uniform that had once belonged to a Federal -trooper or infantry-man, and ordered the wearers -to clear out and never come there again -unless they could come properly dressed; but -the Home Guards paid no sort of attention to -him. They were soldiers, they said, and since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> -their own government did not think enough of -them to provide them with uniforms they felt -at liberty to obtain them where they could. -Besides, their new clothes, even though they -were well worn and had once belonged to -Lincoln's hirelings, were warm and comfortable, -and the blue overcoats would keep out -next winter's cold as effectually as gray -ones. Much against his will Tom finally appealed -to the enrolling officer; but the latter -could not help him, for he had no authority -over the Home Guards.</p> - -<p>"But you might threaten to conscript them -if they don't obey my orders," suggested -Tom.</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't like to do it for a little thing -like that," replied Captain Roach. "They've -got the uniforms, and I don't see how you -are going to keep them from wearing them. -What difference does it make, anyway? You -don't have to go on dress parade."</p> - -<p>"No matter for that," replied Tom. "I -didn't enter the service to command a lot of -Yankees, and I won't do it. Suppose a general -officer should happen along and order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> -them out for drill and inspection! I'd feel so -ashamed of myself that I know I should take -to my heels."</p> - -<p>"Make your mind easy on that score," was -the captain's answer. "If you don't take to -your heels until that happens you will never -run. Judging from what I have learned since -I have been here, the government cares no -more for companies of this kind than it does -for so many wild hogs in the woods. If it -were not for you and your mother I would -conscript the last one of them."</p> - -<p>"But what do you suppose makes the returned -veterans so anxious to get rid of these -Yankee uniforms and things?" continued -Tom. "It looks to me as though there might -be something back of it."</p> - -<p>"That's the way it looks to me, too," replied -Captain Roach. "They don't want to -have a Yankee scouting party ride up on them -suddenly and say: 'Look here, Johnny; have -you been robbing some wounded or captive -Yank? If not, where did you get those blue -clothes?'"</p> - -<p>"But the Yankees are not here," cried Tom.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span></p> - -<p>"I know they are not here now, but they're -coming; and if they keep on besting us at -every point, as they are doing at this minute, -they will be here before long, too. You -needn't think that Farragut is going to remain -idle down the river, or that Flag-Officer Davis -is going to keep on doing nothing up the river -while we are fortifying Vicksburg. There's -going to be fun here one of these days."</p> - -<p>And sure enough there was. It came much -sooner than Captain Roach had any reason to -think it would, and Lieutenant Lambert of the -Home Guards, whom we saw on his way to -ask advice of a Confederate veteran, was the -man who did the most to help it along. He -found the soldier of whom he was in search -at his home. He was sitting on the gallery -enjoying his after supper smoke; but when -he saw the Home Guard alight at his gate -he staggered to his feet, laid hold of the -crutch that leaned against the house behind -his chair, and said, in mock alarm:</p> - -<p>"The man you want to see don't live here -no more. He done moved outen the country -two year ago come next July. Clear yourself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> -I'm that skeared of gray-back soldiers that I -can't sleep none fur a week after seein' one of -'em."</p> - -<p>"Aw! Quit your nonsense," growled Lambert, -"or, by gum! I'll come there and lick -ye even if you aint got but one leg to defend -yourself with." He hitched his horse at the -fence, shook hands with the veteran, then -seated himself on the porch close by his chair -and continued: "Me and you have always -been the best kind of friends, Abner, and I -don't want you to sniff at me just kase you've -been shot by the Yankees and I aint."</p> - -<p>"I won't, Sile; I won't never do the like no -more. But a Home Guard! And lickin' a -gunboat that's got 'leven inches of iron on her -sides and four foot of solid oak back of that, -with nothing in the wide world but popguns!" -said the veteran, taking his pipe from -his mouth to indulge in a hearty peal of -laughter. "<i>And</i> Tom Randolph fur a cap'n. -That there is a leetle the worst I ever heard of. -Hey-youp! Steady on the left centre!" he -yelled, dropping his crutch upon the gallery -and grasping with both hands the stump of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> -his leg, which he had wrenched a little too -severely during his paroxysms of merriment. -"I almost disremembered that I aint got only -part of a leg on this side. I left the rest up to -Shiloh. I'm glad to see you again, Sile; I -am so. But I would be a heap gladder if me -and you had chawed hard-tack and fit the -Yanks together. Then you wouldn't be no -such triflin' thing as a Home Guard."</p> - -<p>"But I don't want to fight no Yanks," said -Lambert truthfully.</p> - -<p>"Don't you want to fight no Yanks? Well, -I don't know's I'm blamin' you fur that. -They aint by no means the easy fellers to -lick that we uns thought they was goin' to -be, and when they set up that yell of theirn to -let we uns know they was comin' fur us—I tell -you, Sile, my hair always riz when I heard -that yell, and I wisht I was to home grabblin' -fur taters."</p> - -<p>"Then what makes you poke fun at me -fur?" demanded Lambert. "I am to home -now and I want to stay; but Cap'n Roach -he allows that if we uns don't do something -pretty sudden we're liable to be conscripted."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span></p> - -<p>"Like enough. Then why don't you uns -do something?"</p> - -<p>"That's what I come here to see you about. -What is they, I'd like to know, that we can -do? If the Yanks would only come where we -be [you will notice that Lambert did not say -"Yankees" any more. He copied the veteran -and used the shorter word], we uns could -show the folks about here that we Home -Guards aint by no means the useless truck -they take us to be; but we can't go all the -way to New Orleans fur the sake of fightin' -'em."</p> - -<p>"You uns will see Yanks enough if you -stay right where you be," said the veteran, -with another laugh. "I aint spilin' fur a -sight at any more of 'em, but all the same I -look to see them ridin' right along this road -while I am settin' on my gallery watchin' of -'em. They aint come this clost to Mooreville -to go away without seein' it. They're hoppin' -us right along, and we had oughter -be whopped."</p> - -<p>"Now, just listen at you!" said Lambert -reproachfully.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span></p> - -<p>"I'm only tellin' you what I know," said -the veteran in earnest tones. "Look at the -way they're doin'! When the law was passed -that everybody must be conscripted, why -didn't they go to work and conscript everybody? -Why didn't they put the old soldiers -ahead and shove the Johnny Raws into the -ranks? Steader that they let the old soldiers -stay in the ranks, and put over them fur officers -a lot of new chaps who couldn't a'told -a Yank from a ground-hog if they had seed -the two standin' in one place. We uns aint a -goin' to whop nobody with a lot of greenhorns -to command us, and although I aint by no -means glad to go hobblin' through the world -on one leg, I am mighty glad of an excuse to -get outen the army. Now, there's that there -Rodney Gray."</p> - -<p>"By gum! I wish he was here to be conscripted," -exclaimed Lambert.</p> - -<p>The veteran took his pipe from his mouth, -blew a cloud of smoke into the air, and looked -at his companion with an expression on his -face which seemed to say that he did not know -whether to laugh or get angry. But finally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> -he concluded to laugh, and he did so most uproariously, -rolling about on his chair as if he -were in danger of falling out of it, but all the -while taking good care not to give his wounded -leg another wrench.</p> - -<p>"Why, man, he's a soldier, Rodney is," he -said as soon as he could speak, "and a mighty -good one, too. He's been in more battles -than me, and that's useless. He fit all through -Missoury with Daddy Price, and then they -brung him over to the Army of the Centre, -and that's where I seen him. They wanted -to make a big officer of him, but Rodney he -wouldn't have it so, kase he's plum sick of -the war, same as I be, and allows to come -home soon's his extry three months is out. -You can't tech Rodney Gray."</p> - -<p>"I know that well enough, but I wish we -could. You see, Tom Randolph——"</p> - -<p>"You needn't say no more," laughed the -veteran. "Rodney got an office in Cap'n -Hubbard's Rangers and Tom didn't, and Tom -is mad about it and wants to spite Rodney in -some way. But he can't do it, and if he tries -it ole man Gray will make him wish he hadn't."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span></p> - -<p>"And ole man Gray is another chap I'd -like mighty well to see sent to the front," exclaimed -Lambert angrily; "but we can't touch -him neither. He showed his hand when he -come into the office this morning and told -Roach that he'd have to let that Griffin boy -go free, kase he allowed to buy him off with -bacon and beef; and Roach was that skeared -that he dassent open his mouth."</p> - -<p>"What was he skeared of?"</p> - -<p>"That ole man Gray would report him fur -leavin' the names of Tom Randolph's friends -off'n the conscript list, when he had oughter -put them on like he found them in the poll-books."</p> - -<p>"Like enough," replied Abner. "And then -you and Tom Randolph and all the rest of -the Home Guards would have stood as fine -a chance of goin' to the front as Ned Griffin. -It would serve you just right fur trainin' under -such a no account cap'n as you have got. -Why don't you cut loose from him and do -something on your own hook? That would -be me if I was you."</p> - -<p>"'Taint safe," replied Lambert, who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> -not yet forgotten that he brought himself into -trouble the last time he tried to do something -on his own hook. "Somehow our folks have -got to be mighty tender of the Union men -about here and don't like to have them pestered."</p> - -<p>"You let your Union neighbors alone and -pester them that's got we'pons into their -hands," said the veteran indignantly. "You -uns aint got no call to fight them that can't -fight back; but there's them gunboats down -to the river."</p> - -<p>"Well, what of 'em?" demanded Lambert, -trembling at the bare thought of again venturing -within gunshot of one of those black -monsters. "They've got cannons on 'em, and -they shoot balls bigger'n your head. Don't I -know? Aint I been in a fight with one of -'em?"</p> - -<p>"Shucks!" sneered Abner. "You stand -about as much chance of bein' hit by one of -them big balls as you do of bein' struck by -lightnin'. I have seed me on the skirmish line -lyin' fur hours behind a stump that wasn't no -bigger'n a plug hat, while shell and solid shot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> -was tearin' up the ground all around me. -They don't do damage once a week less'n -they're drapped into a line of battle or into a -fort that is packed full of men."</p> - -<p>"But how can we lick 'leven inches of iron -and four foot of solid oak?" protested Lambert.</p> - -<p>"Shucks!" exclaimed the veteran. "I -aint talkin' about lickin' on 'em. I'm talkin' -about pesterin' of 'em—drivin' their row-boats -back when they start to come to the shore, and -pickin' off the officers as fast as they come -outen their holes in the cabin. You uns could -lay behind the levee and do that, and be as -safe as you be to home; kase the shells they -would send at you would all fly over your -heads, and when they bu'st they would be a -mile to your rear."</p> - -<p>The lieutenant of the Home Guards was -overjoyed to hear these encouraging words fall -from the lips of a man who had faced the -Yankees in battle and knew what he was talking -about. He had given his friend Abner to -understand that he was one of the few who -followed Captain Tom when the latter rode<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> -out with a handful of brave men to see if the -Union Army was advancing upon Mooreville -from Baton Rouge, but there was not a word -of truth in his story. He was one of the majority -who excused themselves and stayed -behind, and all he knew about that desperate -fight with the gunboat and the concealed battery -that opened on the rear of the Home -Guards was what his comrades told him. The -veteran did not seem to think that the big -guns on the war vessels were so very dangerous, -and Lambert began to pluck up courage.</p> - -<p>"'Pears to me that Cap'n Roach said something -like that the first time I talked with -him," said the latter.</p> - -<p>"Like enough; and if he did you can bet -that that is what he would do if he had as -many Home Guards under his command as -you have got. I can't fur the life of me see -what makes them Baton Rouge folks so very -friendly with the Yanks, anyhow. They take -'em into their houses and visit with 'em, and -feed 'em, dog-gone it all, and I say such -doings aint right. If ole Daddy Bragg was -here fur about five minutes he'd put a stop to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> -all that friendship business, I bet you, and -like as not he'd have some of you Home -Guards shot fur lettin' it go on as long as it -has. Anyway, he'd kick Tom Randolph into -the ranks and put a soldier in his place. -That's the way they do things up in the Army -of the Centre."</p> - -<p>The result of this interview was that when -Lieutenant Lambert took leave of the veteran -and rode home to a late supper he was fully -satisfied in his own mind that Tom Randolph -was totally unfit for the responsible position he -held, that the Home Guards, who under proper -leadership might have made themselves known -throughout the length and breadth of the -Confederacy, had been kept in check too long -already, and that he (Lambert), being second in -command of the company, had a perfect right -to take matters into his own hands without -saying a word to anybody about it. But it -was a somewhat delicate task, he told himself. -Although Lambert looked upon the friendly -relations existing between the crews of the -Union war vessels and the Baton Rouge people -as a burning disgrace, he did not relish the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> -idea of trying to bring them to an end, for the -citizens might not like it, and, worse than that, -they might make him trouble on account of -it; but something must be done or he would -be compelled to go into the army, seeing that -he had no rich and influential friend like Mr. -Gray to purchase his release with bacon and -beef. So Lambert's mind was made up, and -before he reached home his campaign was fully -planned.</p> - -<p>"I'll raise a big squad and start for the city -to-morrow night," he soliloquized, flourishing -his riding-switch in the air to give emphasis to -his thoughts. "And if I once gain a footing -behind the levee I'll put a stop to that friendship -business, I bet you. I'll give the folks -to understand that we uns don't like the way -they're giving aid and comfort to the enemies -of their country, and make them Yankee gun-boatmen -stay on board their ships where they -belong. I'll take pains, too, to see that the -Gov'nor hears of it, and perhaps he'll say that -I had ought to be cap'n of the Home Guards -in place of Tom Randolph."</p> - -<p>That was an encouraging thought, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> -longer Lambert dwelt upon it the more excited -he became. He did not sleep much that night, -and after an early breakfast mounted his -horse and rode through the country to muster -his men; but as fast as he found them and unfolded -to them the details of his campaign he -was met by the same excuses and refusals that -Tom Randolph had vainly tried to combat. -The fighting member of the company, the one -who was always eager to shoot or hang the defenceless -Union men he assisted in robbing, -was feeling so very poorly on this particular -morning that he was thinking strongly of riding -over to a neighbor's to see if he could not -borrow a dose or two of quinine; the second -had promised to go to a log rolling; the third -had a lame horse and didn't rightly know -where he could go to get another; and not -more than three or four out of the fifty men -whom Lambert summoned to follow him to -Baton Rouge had the courage and honesty to -tell him that they did not like to do it.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't mind hiding behind the levee -and shooting a few Yankees," said Lieutenant -Moseley, "but they'll shoot back, and like as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> -not that'll make the Baton Rouge folks mad -at us. Ask somebody else. You can get all -the men you want and I don't reckon I'll go."</p> - -<p>Whenever a Home Guard talked to him in -this way Lambert always said in reply:</p> - -<p>"Well, then, if you don't want to go and -win a name fur yourself you can stay to home -till Roach gets ready to conscript you. If you -were in Kimberly's store yesterday you must -have seen fur a fact that we uns aint safe -from going into the army just kase we happen -to belong to the Home Guards. Cap'n Roach -he has said time and again that we was liable -to go if we didn't wake up and do something, -and that if he had been our commander he -wouldn't have let them city people get on such -amazing good terms with the Yanks. Le's go -down there and make 'em quit it right now, -and say nothing to nobody till the thing is -done. Remember, I don't ask every man, but -only just them that we want to have stay in -the company. When we get back I'll give -Cap'n Roach a list of them that went with me, -and if he wants to conscript the others—them -that was afraid to face the enemies of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> -country—and send them to the camp of instruction, -he can do it and welcome. Now, -what do you say?"</p> - -<p>It was by the use of such arguments as these -that Lieutenant Lambert succeeded in inducing -some of his particular friends to believe that -it might be policy for them to join his expedition, -and that night they secretly gathered -at a designated place outside the town and -started for Baton Rouge. When they arrived -within sight of the church spires at daylight -they did not attract attention to themselves -by entering the city in a body, for Lambert -was afraid that some Union man or converted -rebel might suspect the object of their visit -and interfere with their designs by signalling -to the fleet. They separated and went in by -different roads and in small parties, and came -together again in the neighborhood of the -landing at which the boats from the fleet always -touched the shore, taking care to leave -their horses behind some warehouses out of -sight.</p> - -<p>"Now be careful, everybody," commanded -Lambert, placing a fresh cap on his rifle and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> -waving his hand toward the levee as a signal -to his men to advance and conceal themselves -behind it. "We can't do 'em no damage from -here—it's too fur; so we must wait till some -of their row-boats come off."</p> - -<p>The Home Guards bent themselves almost -double and stole across the clear space that -intervened between the warehouses and the -levee; and so cautious were they in their -movements that the quartermasters on watch -on the decks of the different gunboats, who -were constantly sweeping the banks on both -sides of the river with their long-distance spyglasses, -saw no signs of them, and so silent -that when they crept to the top of the levee -on their hands and knees and looked over it, -the negroes gathered at the landing below did -not know that there was anyone near them. -There were probably a dozen men, women, and -children in the group, and they were lying at -their ease on the ground or walking slowly -back and forth; but all of them turned their -gaze toward the gunboats now and then, as -if they were waiting for somebody to come -ashore. There were several covered baskets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> -and pails near by, and the sight of them was -enough to enrage Lieutenant Lambert, who -whispered to the man who lay next him behind -the levee:</p> - -<p>"Pass the word along the line fur everybody -to keep under kiver. We've ketched them -niggers red-handed in the very act, fur there's -grub in them buckets and things; now you -just watch and see if there aint." Then he -raised his voice a little and said to the nearest -darkey: "What you folks doing there? -Who you looking fur?"</p> - -<p>"Waiting for Mr. Wilcox, sah," was the -negro's prompt answer. He looked up and -saw two or three heads above the top of the -levee, but thought nothing of it. There were -a good many whites in Baton Rouge who did -not dare show themselves as freely to the -Yankee sailors as the people of his own color -did.</p> - -<p>"Who's Mr. Wilcox?" demanded Lambert.</p> - -<p>"He's de cater ob de steerage mess, sah; -de man what buys de breakfus' fur some of de -officers on dat fust boat," was the reply; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> -although Lambert did not understand the -words any better than the negro did himself, -he gathered from them the idea that somebody -on the gunboat would come ashore for -his breakfast very shortly, and that he and -his warriors had reached the levee just in the -nick of time.</p> - -<p>This cheering intelligence was passed along -the line in a whisper, and the Home Guards -pulled off their hats and were settling themselves -into comfortable positions behind the -levee to await the coming of the caterer's boat, -when they were startled by hearing someone -close beside them say, in frightened and protesting -tones:</p> - -<p>"Gentlemen, <i>gentlemen</i>, what are you going -to do?"</p> - -<p>Lambert faced quickly around and saw -a couple of citizens standing at the base of -the levee where they could observe all that -was being done by the Home Guards; but -whether they had come upon his ambush by -accident or design the lieutenant did not -know or care to ask. He saw the necessity -for prompt action.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span></p> - -<p>"Scrooch down right where you stand, so -that the Yanks can't see you," he commanded.</p> - -<p>"But what are you gentlemen going to do?" -inquired one of the citizens, both of whom -obeyed Lambert's order and sank upon their -heels with alacrity when they saw the black -muzzles of three or four double-barrels swinging -in their direction.</p> - -<p>"Well, if you can't see fur yourselves what -we uns are going to do I reckon I'll have to -tell you," replied the lieutenant of the Home -Guards, turning part way around so that he -could watch both negroes and citizens at the -same time, and see that no signals passed -from them to the fleet. "We're goin' to -break up the visitin' and tradin' that's been -going on between this town and the Yanks till -we are teetotally sick and tired of it. The -folks back in the country, who are all good -Confederits, don't like it; and me and my -men have come in here to say so in a way that -both you and the Yanks will understand."</p> - -<p>"Merciful Heaven!" exclaimed the man, -who seemed to be almost overcome with astonishment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> -and alarm. "You are not going -to fire into those war vessels?"</p> - -<p>"What's the reason I aint?" said Lambert -coolly. "You just wait till one of their row-boats -starts to come ashore and I'll show you."</p> - -<p>"But consider for a moment——" began -the citizen, his excitement bringing him to -his feet.</p> - -<p>"Down you go again," interrupted Lambert, -drawing his cocked rifle to his shoulder. -"We uns have considered the whole business. -We know that we can't hurt 'leven inches of -iron and four foot of solid oak back of that -with we'pons like these we've got, but we -can make them blue-jackets mighty jubersome -about comin' ashore and being so very -friendly with you Baton Rouge folks; and -that's what we allow to do."</p> - -<p>"In the name of God and humanity I protest -against such an outrage!" said one of -the men, whose pale face and firmly set lips -showed that he would not have stopped with -a mere protest if he had possessed the power -to do anything else.</p> - -<p>"You must not think of it, you madman!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> -cried the other. "Don't you know that the -boats will return your fire, and that they can -knock our town to pieces with a single broadside? -There is no telling how many innocent -women and children will be killed or maimed -through your act of folly."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, why didn't you think of all -them things before you made friends with -the enemies of your country?" answered -Lambert. "But the gunboats won't fire on -women and children. Leastways they didn't -in New Orleans, and the folks in that burg -were about as sassy as they could well be."</p> - -<p>"If you are determined to carry your crazy -scheme into execution, I beg that you will give -us a little time to remove our families to a -place of safety before you begin," said one of -the citizens as he and his companion arose to -their feet and turned to go away.</p> - -<p>"Not much as anybody knows of, I won't," -replied Lambert in savage tones.</p> - -<p>"Just five minutes," pleaded the citizen. -"Perhaps we can take our wives and little -ones into the cellar before you will find it necessary -to open fire."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span></p> - -<p>"Not one minute—not one second nor a half -of one," snarled the lieutenant, once more -raising his weapon to his shoulder. "I aint -a-goin' to have you shakin' a handkercher at -them boats to warn the Yanks that there's -something wrong here behind the levee. You -just squat down where you are till this thing -is over, and then you can go any place you -please."</p> - -<p>"Watch out, Sile," said one of the Home -Guards suddenly. "There comes that feller -after his grub."</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Lambert flopped over on his face -as if he had been shot, and saw a small boat, -with four men at the oars and two officers sitting -in the stern-sheets, come into view from -behind one of the war vessels and turn toward -the landing.</p> - -<p>The time for him to win a name for himself -had arrived.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="small">HOW IT RESULTED.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">"I wouldn't</span> take ten gold dollars fur my -chance of being made cap'n of this company -of Home Guards, who would have been -conscripted to the last man if it hadn't been -fur me," thought Lieutenant Lambert as he -rolled over on his face and watched the cutter -rounding the stern of the nearest war vessel. -"Look wild, there!" he whispered almost -fiercely to his men. "Be sure and hold your -fire till they come clost in to the shore so that -every shot will tell. I don't want to hear -another word outen you two," he went on, addressing -himself to the citizens, who implored -him to stop where he was and not bring -destruction upon their town and death to -innocent people in it, as he surely would do -if he commanded his Home Guards to fire -upon that unarmed boat. "You're too big -cowards to fight the enemy yourselves, and so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> -we uns had to come in here and do it fur you. -Hold steady, everybody!"</p> - -<p>Although Lambert's men were all hunters -and good shots, they were not disciplined soldiers, -and that was all that saved the cutter's -crew from annihilation. They would have -been steady enough if they had been in the -woods watching a runway for deer, but watching -for Yankees was a different matter altogether; -and just as the Home Guards had -pushed their guns over the top of the levee, -making use of every clod and piece of driftwood -and inequality of the ground that came -handy for a screen, and Lieutenant Lambert -was cautiously lifting his head to observe the -progress the small boat was making toward -the landing, a deafening roar rang in his ear, -and the man at his side sprang to his feet, -stood bewildered for a moment, and then -dropped back to his place again. In pushing -his double-barrel over the levee with nervous -hands the valorous Home Guard had accidentally -discharged the piece, and the unexpected -report frightened him and threw his -comrades into some confusion. For an instant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> -or two a few of them looked and acted as -though they wanted to take to their heels; -but the voice of Lieutenant Lambert, who was -the first to recover himself, checked them.</p> - -<p>"Shoot! Fire!" he yelled. "Massy knows -'twon't do no good, and that is something -we can thank you fur, Ike Spencer. A man -that'll lay flat on the ground and let his gun -shoot itself off without orders can't be conscripted -any too quick to suit me, and I'll -introjuce you to Cap'n Roach soon's I get -home. Fire, I tell you!"</p> - -<p>And the Home Guards fired—not all together -like trained soldiers, but one after -another, just as it happened; but the distance -was so great and their aim so bad that not -a man in the boat was injured. It stopped -instantly, however, and came no nearer the -landing; and on being hailed by the officer of -the deck, it turned about and went back to -the vessel to which it belonged. Then came -the very thing which the frightened citizens -had predicted and Lieutenant Lambert had -scouted.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the small boat disappeared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -around the stern of the war ship than a heavy -cloud of smoke rolled over the dark, muddy -surface of the river, a cannon roared, and the -embankment behind which Lieutenant Lambert -and his men were lying was jarred perceptibly, -as if some heavy body had been -dashed with violent force against it. The -instant's profound silence that followed was -broken, first by shouts and cries of terror from -the negroes on the bank, who scattered in all -directions, then by a muffled sound something -like the puff of a tired locomotive on an up -grade, and Lambert's view of the river was -shut off by a cloud of dirt and smoke that was -thrown high into the air by the explosion of -the shell that had buried itself in the ground -at the base of the levee. That was enough -for the Home Guards, who could not stand -so much noise at such close quarters. They -jumped to their feet, and fairly tumbled over -one another as they fled for safety behind the -warehouses where they had left their horses; -but even here vengeance pursued them, for the -next shell that came from the war vessel -crashed through the walls of the nearest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -house, scattering bricks and mortar about -their ears, creating a panic among their untrained -steeds, and finally exploding in the -edge of the woods half a mile away.</p> - -<p>"By gum, boys! Jump on and get outen -here!" shouted Lambert, who wished from -the bottom of his heart that he could be the -first to obey his own order. "Beats the -world how straight they can shoot with them -big guns of theirn. They'd win more turkeys -at a shooting match than the best man -among us."</p> - -<p>For a few brief, perilous moments the terrified -horses refused to stand still long enough -for their equally terrified owners to mount; -but when, after many fruitless efforts, the -Home Guards succeeded in placing themselves -in their saddles, the stampede that followed -was something we cannot describe. They galloped -frantically along the road that ran behind -the levee, through the streets of the -town, which were by this time filled with pale -and excited citizens, who could not imagine -what the trouble was about, and did not know -which way to run for safety, and so out into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> -the country, where the avenging shells could -not reach them. A Confederate veteran who -was present and witnessed the bombardment -told the writer that the Home Guards "deliberately -rode into the midst of the fleeing inhabitants, -selecting groups of terrified women -and children, into whom they galloped, trampling -many of them under the feet of their -horses, trusting that the humane and chivalrous -blue-jackets, who had been so lenient with -the insulting rabble at New Orleans, would -not follow them with their fire." We believe -this to be nothing but the truth; but whether -it is or not the fact remains that Lambert and -his men kept to the crowded streets as long as -they could, and the bursting shells followed -them through every turn they made, but unfortunately -without doing them the least -damage. Those who ought to have been -severely punished got off scot free, while the -innocent inhabitants suffered in wounds and -loss of property, for their town was set on fire -in half a dozen different places.</p> - -<p>The Home Guards spread the utmost consternation -among the farmers who lived along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> -the line of their hurried flight, and who ran -out to the road and vainly implored the frantic -horsemen to draw rein long enough to tell -them what the firing was about, and if the -Yankees were coming at last to burn them out -of house and home. But it was not until the -roar of the big guns ceased entirely, and the -Home Guards were satisfied that they had -ridden beyond the reach of any stray shell -which might be sent after them, that those -who were leading in the retreat recovered their -courage sufficiently to slacken their speed so -that their comrades in the rear could come up. -Then they were willing to talk to the planters -along the road, but it is doubtful if they gave -them much reliable information. In response -to one frightened citizen's hurried inquiries, -Lieutenant Lambert said:</p> - -<p>"We uns have been in just the worst fight -we ever was in before in all our born days, -and if anybody but me had been in command -the most of us would have left our bones there -behind the levee. It was awful to see the -way them Yanks fired into them women and -children."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span></p> - -<p>"But what started the rucus in the first -place?" asked the planter, who, rebel that he -was, could not believe that the blue-jackets -had turned demons all on a sudden. "What -have you Mooreville ruffians, who haven't any -business in this part of the country anyway, -been doing in the city?"</p> - -<p>"You better ask what them Baton Rouge -Yankees been doing?" retorted Lambert -hotly. "We're State troops, and we've got -business in every part of the country that we -please to go; and when it pleases the Baton -Rouge people to start a nest of Yankee sympathizers -in there, it's our bounden duty to go -in and break it up. And that's just what we -have done. We've drove the enemy away, -and the Mississippi between New Orleans and -Memphis belongs to we uns once more. We'd -a' whopped 'em worse'n we did if it hadn't -been for Ike Spencer, who let his gun shoot -itself off before the rest of us were ready. I -reckon he feels kinder sneakin' over it, fur I -aint seen him since."</p> - -<p>"I should think you would all feel sneaking," -answered the planter, as he turned on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> -his heel and moved away. "If you have -kicked up a row on the river I hope you will -suffer for it. We've had peace and quiet in -this part of the country for a few weeks back, -and now you have gone and brought war and -all its miseries on us again. The last one of -you ought to be hanged."</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Lambert and his Home Guards -were amazed to find that this angry citizen -voiced the sentiments of all the people who -lived on the Mooreville road; and after a few -more planters had talked to them in this plain -fashion their eyes were opened to the disagreeable -fact that they had damaged their -own cause a great deal more than they had -hurt the enemy; and that if their friends and -neighbors felt the same way toward them the -fire that had been poured into their ranks by -the gunboats was nothing to what they would -have to stand when they reached home. -When they came to think it all over they were -the maddest lot of men that had ever been seen -in that part of the country. They blamed -their lieutenant for being the cause of it, and -swore at him so lustily that he fell behind and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> -rode alone, putting in his time by wishing a -good many heavy penalties to the address of -his one-legged friend Abner, who, after the -experience he had had with Yankees, ought -to have known better than to advise him -to "pester" the gunboats. All the Home -Guards rode slowly, so as to reach the outskirts -of Mooreville a little after nightfall, and -then they separated and slunk away toward -their respective homes like school-boys who -had been playing truant. But the news had -got ahead of them, and an indignation meeting -was being held in the dining room of the -hotel. Some of the Mooreville people, Captain -Randolph among the number, had seen -and talked with men who lived down the river -road and had heard the roar of the big guns, -and mounted messengers had been sent to the -city to learn what the firing was about. These -men, who had fast horses and went across lots, -rode all the way at top speed, and to such -good purpose that they returned to Mooreville -about two hours before the Home Guards came -straggling in; and the story they told to the -crowd at the hotel raised such a storm of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> -indignation that for a while things looked -serious.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, and to make matters worse, -the news spread through the country round -about and armed planters came flocking in to -lend assistance in driving back the force that -was supposed to be advancing upon Mooreville; -and the climax was reached when -wagons began arriving from the direction of -the river, drawn by panting mules that had -been driven until they were almost exhausted, -and loaded with the families and household -effects of the frightened owners who were -fleeing before the invading Federals. Of -course the very meagre information these -people brought added to the excitement and -alarm, for there were not two among them -who told the same story. They expected to -find the town deserted by its inhabitants, and -were much surprised to discover that it was -not.</p> - -<p>"It's no use for you fellows to think of -standing against them," exclaimed one trembling -driver, who carried in his hand a frayed -ox-gad which he had worn out over his mules'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> -backs. "Butler is coming with his whole -army."</p> - -<p>"Did you see them?" inquired Mr. Gray, -who had ridden in with Ned Griffin for a companion. -They were both armed, and although -they did not believe in shooting at those who -carried the Old Flag, they were ready to do -what they could to protect their homes.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir; I saw them," replied the man -earnestly. "I hadn't left my house a quarter -of a mile behind before I discovered some of -their cavalry riding along one of my lanes. I -suppose my house is in ashes by this time."</p> - -<p>"Were they burning things as they came?" -asked one of Mr. Gray's neighbors.</p> - -<p>"There was the blackest smoke over toward -the river that I ever saw in my life," was the -answer. "Baton Rouge is gone up. You'd -better leave while you can. You may save -your lives, but you can't save your property. -Get along there, mule! Me and mine will -take to the brush."</p> - -<p>Every story to which Mr. Gray and Ned -Griffin listened was more thrilling than the -one that came before it. Among others they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> -found a man who lived in the outskirts of the -city, and who, standing in his back door, had -seen a bench which supported twenty-five -stands of bees demolished by a shell from the -gunboats. Still another had fled from his -house just in time to escape capture by Butler's -advance infantry, which was moving up the -road in platoon front; and more than that, -the highway was blue with Federals as far as -his eye could reach. Of course such tales -as these frightened some of the Mooreville -people, but Mr. Gray assured his young companion -that he put very little reliance upon -them.</p> - -<p>"These folks are not responsible for what -they tell us, because they are scared out of -their wits," was what he said to Ned Griffin -more than once. "What would the Federals -gain by capturing or destroying two little -towns like Baton Rouge and Mooreville? If -there was a fort or a body of Confederate -troops here I might put some faith in these -rumors; but now I don't. When our couriers -return we shall have the straight of the story, -and not before. Have you seen anything of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> -our Home Guards, who ought to be mustering -for our defence?"</p> - -<p>No, Ned hadn't seen them; and when he -came to ride about the town and make inquiries -he could not find anybody else who had -seen them. The truth was they were too -badly frightened to show themselves, for they -were afraid that they might be called upon to -do something. Captain Tom's uniform was in -its old hiding place in the garret, and Tom -himself was stretched out on the lounge in his -mother's room, eager for news and dreading -to hear it, but too ill to mount his horse and -muster his men for the defence of the town.</p> - -<p>At length two of the Mooreville messengers -returned, and then the citizens got "the -straight of the story." When they learned -that General Butler's army had not moved -out of New Orleans at all, that not a Federal -soldier had stepped upon the sacred soil of -Louisiana in the neighborhood of Baton Rouge -during the whole of that day, and that the -city had been shelled and partially burned -because Lieutenant Lambert of Tom Randolph's -Home Guards had tried to gain a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> -little cheap notoriety for himself by firing -upon an unarmed boat—when the citizens -heard this their fear give way to the wildest -rage; and if they could have got their hands -upon Lambert at that moment it is more than -probable that they would have handled him -roughly. With one accord the crowd surged -up the steps that led to the hotel porch and -through the wide hall into the dining room, -which was quickly filled with men who had -about made up their minds that the Home -Guards had made them trouble enough, and -that it would be a good plan to get rid of -them without loss of time.</p> - -<p>"Of all the senseless acts I ever heard of -this last one of Lambert's is the beat," shouted -an excited individual who had perched himself -upon one of the tables. "Those Baton -Rouge people knew what they wanted, and -if it suited them to make friends with the -Yankees and trade with them we planters -have no business to find any fault with them -for it. I would have done the same thing -myself."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you traitor!" shouted a voice from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> -the farther end of the dining room. "Would -you hold communication with the enemies of -your flag?"</p> - -<p>"Yon shut up, Bill Cummings," retorted -the speaker. "If I am a traitor you're another. -You've got a sack of Federal salt and -some Federal tea and coffee hidden in one of -your corn cribs at this moment, and I can -prove it. You got them by trading a beef to -one of the gunboats down there at Baton -Rouge, and you brought them home in your -wagon at dead of night, when you thought all -your neighbors were fast asleep."</p> - -<p>This raised a shout of laughter at the expense -of Bill Cummings, but no one said a -harsh word to him, for probably there were -not a dozen men in the room who would not -have been glad to get some of that salt and -tea and coffee. Mr. Gray himself was standing -in a pair of Federal brogans, and the man -next him wore a straw hat that looked exactly -like those that Uncle Sam issued to his sailors -every month.</p> - -<p>"Now, then," continued the man who had -taken possession of the table, "I am in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -favor of taking that ruffian Lambert out of his -bed, if he has had time to get there, and giving -him such a whipping that he won't get -over it as long as the war lasts."</p> - -<p>"Let's hang him and be done with him," -cried another.</p> - -<p>"And while we are dealing with Lambert, -don't let's forget Tom Randolph," shouted a -third.</p> - -<p>"Tom Randolph is in no way to blame for -what happened at Baton Rouge," said Mr. -Gray, who was one of the few cool and reasonable -men there were in the crowd. "He has -no more authority over the Home Guards -than I have."</p> - -<p>"Then I say let's lick him because he -hasn't some authority over them so that he -can make them behave themselves. What did -he organize the company for, anyhow?"</p> - -<p>"That is what I should like to know. Now -mark my words: there will be a Yankee garrison -in Baton Rouge in less than a week, and -then our trading will be up stump, for we -can't go there any more."</p> - -<p>"That's so. What excuse has that man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> -Lambert for living, I'd like to know? Let's -bu'st him and the Home Guards up right here -and now."</p> - -<p>Uttering wild yells of approval, with which -were mingled loud calls for ropes and dire -threats against the peace of mind and bodily -comfort of Captain Tom Randolph, the crowd -made a rush for the door, and it was several -minutes before Mr. Gray and the cool-headed -men who sided with him could make themselves -heard above the tumult.</p> - -<p>"Be reasonable, gentlemen," urged the former. -"Don't let your excitement lead you -to do something you will be heartily ashamed -of and sorry for to-morrow. You cannot -touch those men in the way you suggest, -especially Tom Randolph, who is a State -officer. Whoop and yell about it all you -please," he continued, after the angry shouts -of dissent which these words called forth had -subsided, "but it is a fact that Tom holds a -commission from the Governor, and if you -put your hands on him you will go to jail to -pay for it. Confederate officers might deal -with him, though on that point I am not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> -sure; but private citizens certainly cannot."</p> - -<p>These warning words caused a dissension in -the ranks of the would-be lynchers at once, -and the hubbub that arose all over the room, -as well as from the outside, where there was a -respectable gathering that had not been able -to gain admittance to the dining hall, was -almost deafening. Mr. Gray looked troubled -as he saw his angry neighbors swaying back -and forth and shaking their clenched hands in -one another's faces, and presently he stooped -and whispered a few hasty words to Ned -Griffin, who, after a terrific struggle, managed -to work his way through the crowd to the -nearest window, by which he made his exit -from the building. He was charged with an -important duty, and he was anxious to discharge -it without loss of time; but the men -on the outside insisted on detaining him until -he told what was going on in the dining room.</p> - -<p>"Honor bright, there isn't anything going -on in there that would interest you or anybody -else," declared Ned, who knew full well -that it would never do to say that there was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> -some talk of lynching Lieutenant Lambert and -"bu'sting up" Tom Randolph. "Mr. Gray -has been quoting some law, that's all. Let me -go, please. I want to tell Mrs. Gray that the -excitement is all over."</p> - -<p>The men released him and Ned made his way -to the hitching rack where he had left his horse, -mounted, and galloped off. He made a great -show of riding down the road toward Mr. -Gray's house, but as soon as he thought he -could do so without attracting attention he -turned back, and went at top speed toward the -plantation on which Lieutenant Lambert found -employment as overseer. Paying no heed to -the small army of dogs that came out to dispute -his advance he rode close to the door of the -overseer's house, there being no porch to bar -his way, and tapped lightly upon it with the -handle of his riding-whip. If he had made a -good deal of noise it is probable that he would -not have received any response from the solitary -occupant of the building, who was thoroughly -frightened at what he had done, but -totally ignorant of the fact that his life would -be in danger if Mr. Gray and his friends failed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> -in their efforts to control the mob at the hotel. -The cautious way in which his visitor strove -to attract his attention told him that there -was something afoot, and he thought it best to -answer.</p> - -<p>"Who's there?" he demanded, his voice -sounding as if it came from under the bedclothes.</p> - -<p>"It's I—Ned Griffin," was the reply. -"Come to the door so that I can say a word to -you without fear of being overheard, and be -quick about it. There's not an instant to -lose."</p> - -<p>This startling announcement brought Lambert -out of bed and to the door, which he -opened just wide enough to make sure that his -visitor was Ned Griffin, and nobody else; and -then he opened it so that he could put his -head out and look up and down the lane that -ran by the house to the negro quarter.</p> - -<p>"I am alone," Ned assured him without -waiting to be questioned, "and I am here because -Mr. Gray sent me. Do you know what -you have done by this day's work? You have -destroyed a good portion of Baton Rouge and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -got every white man in the settlement down -on you."</p> - -<p>"I never——" began Lambert, who was -profoundly astonished.</p> - -<p>"I am not here to argue the matter," interrupted -Ned, "but to tell you that there is a -mob in the hotel who are talking strongly of -laying violent hands on you. They would -have been here before this time if it hadn't -been for Mr. Gray and a few others who don't -believe in such things; but the gang was about -equally divided when Mr. Gray sent me to -warn you, and you had better dig out. They -are as likely to decide on one thing as another, -and you are not safe in this house."</p> - -<p>"Great smoke!" gasped Lambert when he -began to comprehend the situation. "Where -shall I go?"</p> - -<p>"Get into your duds and draw a bee-line -for the nearest patch of timber. Mr. Gray -may be able to hold the mob and he may -not; so I say again that you had better dig -out."</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_130.jpg" alt="Warning" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small smcap">Ned Griffin warning Lambert.</span> - </div> -</div> - - -<p>"I never looked for you to be so good to -me, Ned," faltered Lambert, who seemed to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> -so dazed that he did not realize the necessity -of acting quickly.</p> - -<p>"Don't thank me; thank Mr. Gray," said -Ned hastily. "If it had not been for him -I am afraid I should have left you to look -out for yourself; for I know how you and -Tom Randolph have been working against me. -But you can't injure me now, and so I can -afford to be magnanimous. Are you going to -clear out or not?"</p> - -<p>Yes, Lambert thought he had better take a -friend's advice and seek safety in flight while -the way was open to him; and when Ned heard -him say that he wheeled his horse and set off -post-haste to carry the same warning and advice -to another party whose name had that night -been rather unpleasantly mentioned in connection -with a sound thrashing. This one was Tom -Randolph, who heard his ring at the door but -lacked the courage to answer it, for something -told him that he would hear disagreeable news -if he did. Mr. Randolph answered the bell -himself, and the words he listened to almost -drove him frantic. Ned did not tell him that -the mob had threatened to whip Tom, for, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> -he afterward said, he couldn't get his consent -to go as far as that; but he said enough to put -Mr. Randolph into a terrible state of mind. -He stamped his feet on the gallery, shook his -fists over his head, and wished from the bottom -of his heart that every member of the Home -Guards had been sent to the front and killed -off long ago, and then he went in to tell his -wife about it, and leave her to break the news -to Tom in any way she thought best. To say -that the young man was utterly confounded -would be putting it very mildly. He was -terribly frightened, of course, and angry as -well; but for some reason or other he did not -seem to stand so much in fear of personal -violence as he did of losing his commission. -When his mother had repeated word for word -the conversation that took place between Ned -Griffin and Mr. Randolph, and Tom had asked -a question or two, he jumped to his feet and -charged about the room like a caged wild -animal.</p> - -<p>"There isn't a man in the world who has -half the trouble I do," he said, almost tearfully. -"That idiot Lambert has broken up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -the company as completely as though the -Yankees had come in and captured every -member of it."</p> - -<p>"And think of the misery he has brought -upon the Baton Rouge people," suggested his -mother.</p> - -<p>"I don't care a picayune for the Baton -Rouge people," said Tom in savage tones. -"They ought to have known that they would -bring themselves into trouble by being so -friendly with the Yankees; but all the same -Lambert showed himself a born fool when he -fired on that gunboat. I should be glad to -see him and every man who went with him -conscripted and put where they would have to -behave themselves, if I could only get others -to fill their places; but that is something I -can't do. And if I lose my men I shall have -to throw up my commission or go into the -army. When I meet them at the enrolling -office in the morning I will talk to them in a -way they will remember."</p> - -<p>But when morning dawned upon his sight -after a restless and sleepless night, the captain -of the Home Guards had several other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> -things to occupy his mind. First came a committee -of twelve stalwart men appointed by -the indignant citizens of Baton Rouge, who -called at Mr. Randolph's house to inquire -what Tom meant by sending a gang of ruffians -to their peaceful city to bring destruction -upon it, and death and wounds to its quiet -inhabitants, in that wanton, useless, and outrageous -manner. The scathing denunciation -and threats that Captain Tom was obliged to -listen to before he and his mother could convince -the visitors that he was in no way to -blame for it, that he did not know the first -thing about it until it was all over, and that -the Home Guards had acted on their own -responsibility and without orders from him, -were things he never forgot; and the only -way he could pacify the committee, who -seemed determined to have revenge upon -somebody before they left town, was by -promising to turn his company over to the -conscripting officer as soon as he could get -to his office. Tom knew when he said it that -his Home Guards would refuse to be disposed -of in that way, but he was so much afraid of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> -the Baton Rouge men and so anxious to see -the last of them, that he would have promised -more than that for the sake of inducing them -to leave the house.</p> - -<p>Although Tom did not know it until afterward, -the committee took a little responsibility -from his shoulders by calling at Kimberly's -store before they went home and telling -Captain Roach, in the hearing of some of -the Home Guards, that if he did not at once -conscript every man who was in any way -concerned in Lambert's mad act they would -petition the Governor to remove him and put -in his place an officer who would attend to his -business. And this threat of theirs was what -brought some of the Home Guards to Captain -Tom's house, where we found them at the -beginning of the first chapter.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="small">CAPTAIN ROACH LAYS DOWN THE LAW.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">As</span> soon as the Baton Rouge men with their -lowering looks and big revolvers were -fairly out of sight of the house Captain Tom, -feeling much the worse for the exciting ordeal -through which he had just passed, went into -his mother's room and flung himself down on -the lounge with the air of a man who had -nothing in the world to live for. There wasn't -another captain in the Confederacy, he told -himself, whose ambition to do something great -for his country had been balked and defeated -at every turn as his had been ever since he -took command of the Home Guards. In no -single instance that he could think of had his -men conducted themselves as he thought they -ought, or as he was sure Captain Hubbard's -Rangers would have conducted themselves if -they had been situated as the Home Guards -were, and it was a sad disappointment and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> -trial to him. Already he repented of his rash -promise to turn his company over to the -enrolling officer, for by such a proceeding he -would place himself right where he was before -the Governor honored him with his commission—that -is to say, without any standing at -all in the community. Now he had influence -and he was not ignorant of the fact. It was -very gratifying to his vanity to have men who -were his superiors in every point of view, -who had seldom invited him to their houses -or treated him with anything more than -ordinary civility—it was very gratifying to -have such men go out of their way to speak to -him, and to see them listen attentively while -he discussed the issues of the hour, and told -how the war ought to be conducted on the -Confederate side. The most of these men in -their hearts despised him, and Captain Tom -knew it; but they were aware that through -his intimacy with Captain Roach he was able -to hasten or postpone their conscription, just -as the humor seized him, and for this reason -thought it prudent to treat him with some -show of respect. But if he gave his company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> -over to the enrolling officer, or if Captain -Roach were relieved and a new and stricter -man put in his place——</p> - -<p>"Ow! <i>Ow!</i>" yelled the persecuted and -furious captain of the Home Guards when -these dispiriting reflections passed through his -mind; and with the words he sprang from the -lounge to the middle of the room, where he -swung his arms and danced about like one -demented. "No matter what I decide to do -I am in a fix. But I'll never give up my company—never -in this world. I am the biggest -toad in the puddle now and I am going to stay -that way, or else I'll go to Baton Rouge and -curry favor with the Yankees, as other good -Confederates have done to keep out of trouble. -Jeff Davis can't reach inside their lines -and take me by the collar and drag me into -his army. And as for Roach, if he gets up on -his dignity and says ugly things to me on account -of Lambert's foolishness, I'll let him -know who he is talking to. I'll report him -myself for—for incompetency and general -worthlessness. He's about as fit to be an enrolling -officer as Adam's off ox. At any rate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> -he shall never sit at my mother's table again, -and he can bet on that."</p> - -<p>At this moment Mrs. Randolph, who had -done so much to help Captain Tom through his -trying interview with the Baton Rouge committee, -hastened into the room looking very -much excited and distressed.</p> - -<p>"My dear," said she nervously, "I am -afraid we are going to have more trouble. -There is a score or more of Home Guards in -the road coming toward the house, and they -are talking loudly and shaking their fists at -one another as if they are very angry."</p> - -<p>"I don't care if they are," shouted Captain -Tom. "I am mad too, as I have good reason -to be. Stand by me and see how I will talk -to them."</p> - -<p>Money would not have induced Captain -Randolph to go out on the gallery alone to -meet his mutinous soldiers, and even with his -fearless mother at his side to support and -encourage him he felt like running back -into the house when he saw them coming -through the gate and heard their loud, angry -voices. Whether they intended to do him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> -personal injury Tom never knew for certain, -though he afterward heard it hinted that they -did; but he was much gratified and relieved -to observe that they ceased all hostile demonstrations -when they saw his mother standing -by his side on the gallery; and that emboldened -him to go on with the programme he had -laid out for himself.</p> - -<p>"You are a pretty lot of soldiers—a very -pretty lot indeed," was the way in which he -went at them. "I am heartily ashamed of -you and disgusted with myself to think I ever -consented to act as your commanding officer. -Do you know that you have done us and our -glorious cause more injury than Farragut ever -did? Men have been shot to death in the -Army of the Centre for doing less than you -have done, and now I am going to put you -where you will be served in the same way the -first time you misbehave yourselves. I shall -stand your foolishness no longer. The field -is the place for you, and there's where you are -going as soon as Captain Roach can send you."</p> - -<p>"Cap'n Roach can't send us there, nor you -neither," shouted Lambert, who of course was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> -expected to act as spokesman for the Home -Guards. "We are swore into the service -of the State, we are, and Confedrit officers -can't touch us. Didn't Bob Hubbard's -Rangers——"</p> - -<p>"I can send you to the front to pay you for -what you did yesterday, and I will," interrupted -Captain Tom. "There are no such -useless things as States troops any longer, and -I am glad of it. Ask Captain Roach and he -will tell you that you are here only because -I asked him to let you stay, and that if the -camp of instruction we are waiting for had -been established I could have sent you there -any day I pleased. I have been standing between -you and him all along, and this is the -way you repay me, you ungrateful blackguards! -I'll teach you to play the part of -fools without my orders."</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Lambert rubbed his hands nervously -together, shaking his head and swearing -softly to himself the while, and fairly ached to -make a suitable rejoinder; but the presence -of Tom's mother, of whom he had always -stood somewhat in awe, restrained him.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span></p> - -<p>"We uns thought you was dead set agin -the Yankees, and that you would be sorter -glad to see them sailors made to stay on their -boats," one of the Home Guards ventured to -say at length.</p> - -<p>"What business had you to think anything -of the kind?" demanded Captain Tom. "A -soldier's whole duty is to obey. He is nothing -but a machine and his captain does his thinking -for him. If I had wanted you to go to the -city and fire on those gunboats I should have -led you there myself. Lambert, you alone -are to blame for this miserable state of affairs, -and I will tell you for your satisfaction that -you have killed your chances for a lieutenant's -commission deader than a smelt. I'll -never recommend you to the Governor."</p> - -<p>"By gum! I won't stand no such talk as -that!" yelled Lambert.</p> - -<p>He sprang into the air and knocked his -heels together, dashed his hat upon the ground -and placed his foot upon the lower step, as if -he were about to rush up to the gallery where -Tom was standing. The latter's face grew as -white as a sheet, but he could not think of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> -yielding ground to a mutinous subordinate -while his mother was looking on. In an instant -the sword that hung at his side flashed -from its scabbard.</p> - -<p>"I haven't drawn it without a cause," said -he, shaking the weapon over the railing almost -in Lambert's face, "and I warn you that I -shall not sheathe it with dishonor. That -is my motto, and I shall live up to it, no -matter what happens to me. Any more -such actions on your part will shut you up -in the guard-house on a bread and water -diet."</p> - -<p>It is not likely that the sight of Tom's sword -or the threat which he could not have carried -out had any effect upon Lieutenant Lambert, -who was a noted rough and tumble fighter, -but a glance at the face of the resolute woman -who stood quietly on the porch above cowed -him at once. Mrs. Randolph did not say a -word, nor did she move an inch when Lambert -acted as though he was about to charge up -the steps, but there was something in her eye -that brought the angry man to his senses. He -backed away from the steps, picked up his hat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> -and remarked that he had always supposed -a first lieutenant had a right to harass the -enemy in any way he could; but he was rebuked -and silenced before he had uttered half -a dozen words because he forgot his manners -and addressed his commanding officer by his -Christian name.</p> - -<p>Captain Tom was not slow to improve the -advantage he had gained, and the way he -scolded, threatened, and even insulted the -Home Guards would have made a regular soldier -open his eyes. He showed them that -they did wrong when they followed Lambert -to Baton Rouge without orders from their -captain, and drew so harrowing a picture of -the dangers and privations of the army life -to which they had doomed themselves by -their acts of disobedience and folly that he -frightened the bravest of them; and when he -thought he had impressed them sufficiently -he wound up by declaring that nothing short -of a solemn promise on their part to do better -in future would induce him to break the -agreement he had made with the Baton Rouge -men. If they would take orders from him and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> -nobody else he would stand between them -and all harm.</p> - -<p>"And mark my words, this is the very last -warning I shall give you," said Captain Tom -in conclusion. "The last one of you ought to -be court-martialled and shot."</p> - -<p>To his great surprise and his mother's, Lieutenant -Lambert stepped forward, assumed the -position of a soldier as near as he could get -it, touched his battered hat respectfully, and -said:</p> - -<p>"We'll do it, cap'n, and there's my hand -on to it, if Miss Randolph will take it. From -this time on you're boss and don't nary one of -you forget it."</p> - -<p>Lambert's object was to restore himself to -the favor of Tom's mother; and so he went on -to declare, with some emphatic language to -make it more binding, that he spoke for the -company and would take it upon himself to -see that the promise was kept. He was sure -he had succeeded in his object when Mrs. Randolph -smiled and shook hands with him over -the railing, but all the same Lambert meant -something very different from what he said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> -Captain Tom made a life-long enemy when he -drew his sword on his second officer, and all -the latter wanted was an opportunity to show -it. Tom then dismissed his men with the assurance -that he would do the best he could for -them, and went into the house congratulating -himself on having won a complete victory.</p> - -<p>"I have had the narrowest escape of my life -this morning," were the first words he said to -his mother. "The next time I come so near -to going into the army I shall go; and that -will be the last you will ever see of Tom Randolph. -Didn't I bring Lambert to time when -I drew my sword on him? He's had an idea -that he could run things to suit himself, but -I think I showed him his mistake. Of course -it will not be safe for me to go near Baton -Rouge, for I believe the citizens would mob -me; but I can't be sent to a conscript camp so -long as I have men to command, and that is -what I am figuring on now."</p> - -<p>Half an hour later, and before Captain Tom -had finished telling his mother and himself -that he was well out of the scrape into which -his officious lieutenant had brought him, one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> -of the Home Guards rode into the yard with a -note from Captain Roach, in which the latter -requested Tom to come to his office at once on -business of the last importance. The young -man was frightened again; but the idea of -talking over matters with Captain Roach while -his mother was not by to support him was -not to be entertained for a moment. He -passed the note over to her after he had read -it, and said almost fiercely to the bearer:</p> - -<p>"Tell Captain Roach that he has forgotten -himself—that I am his senior; and if he is so -anxious to see me he must come where I am. -At the present time I am not dancing attendance -upon him or anybody else."</p> - -<p>"One moment, my dear," Mrs. Randolph -interposed. "A written invitation demands -the courtesy of a written reply. Permit me -to answer the captain. I will show you the -note before sending it away."</p> - -<p>His mother went into the house and Captain -Tom said to the Home Guard, who sat on his -horse at the foot of the steps:</p> - -<p>"Have you any idea what Roach wants of -me?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span></p> - -<p>"I reckon it's something or 'nother about -them men from Baton Rouge, who acted like -they wanted to bu'st things," replied the messenger. -"Looks to me like the cap'n feels -sorter shook up over what they said to him, -and that he's got himself into some kind of a -muss that nobody but you can help him out of. -He talks like he's going to send we uns to -camp. Can you shet him off on that, do you -reckon?"</p> - -<p>"It depends entirely upon the way you -Home Guards conduct yourselves from this -time on," answered Captain Tom impressively. -"Roach would have conscripted you long ago -if I hadn't stood your friend, and he may do -it yet if you follow Lambert on any more of -his crazy expeditions."</p> - -<p>"I didn't foller," said the man hastily, -"and I don't want you to think I did. I was -to home all the blessed time. I aint caring to -bother the Yankees so long as they let me be. -And Lambert, he won't go off that away agin. -He was purty bad skeared last night."</p> - -<p>"What at?" inquired Tom.</p> - -<p>"Why, don't you know? Some of our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> -folks went down to the river yesterday to see -what all that shooting was about, and when -they come back and told what Lambert had -been a-doing, ole man Gray and the rest of 'em -was that mad that they talked of hanging -Lambert up to a tree and licking you like you -was a nigger."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom reeled as if the man had -struck him with the handle of the heavy -riding whip he carried in his hand, and -grasped at the veranda railing for support.</p> - -<p>"I am telling you nothing but the gospel -truth," continued the messenger, not a little -surprised at the effect his words had produced -upon his commanding officer, "and I thought -you had had time to hear all about it. They -was a tol'able mad lot of men down to the -hotel last night, and when I seen 'em going -on I was mighty glad I hadn't went with -Lambert and the rest."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say that old man Gray -dared to talk of whipping <i>me</i>?" exclaimed -Tom, who could hardly believe his ears. -"Wasn't it Lambert he spoke of?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span></p> - -<p>"No, it was you; and he wasn't the only -one who spoke of it, nuther," replied the -Home Guard. "They was all mad, I tell you, -and some of them was for hanging Lambert."</p> - -<p>"I wish to goodness they had," said Captain -Tom, speaking before he thought. "That is -to say, I wish they had done something to -him before he brought me into all this trouble. -Was that what frightened him?"</p> - -<p>"You're mighty right, and he took to the -bresh as soon as he got wind of it. But he -come out this morning and we all have -promised to stand by him. If they put a -ugly hand on one of the company we uns -allow to burn them out."</p> - -<p>"That's the idea!" cried Tom, who never -would have thought of such a thing himself. -"I see very plainly that we've got to do something -to protect ourselves. We are State -troops, and if these cowardly citizens drive us -to it we will treat them as we would the -armed enemies of our country if we could -only get at them. We'll begin on old man -Gray and never let up until we've destroyed -everything he's got. No man who dares to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> -threaten me and those who serve under me -shall hold up his head as high—— Sh! Here -comes my mother. Don't say a word in her -hearing, but tell Lambert I'll see him after a -while and arrange a plan of operations with -him."</p> - -<p>Just then Mrs. Randolph came out on the -porch with the note she had written, and -which she presented for Tom's approval. It -was not written in his name, but in her own. -She said she regretted that her son did not -feel able to accept the captain's kind invitation, -owing to the excitement and distress of -mind into which he had been thrown by the -unfortunate occurrences of the last few hours, -but if Captain Roach would honor her by -coming up to dinner at the usual hour she -hoped he would find Captain Randolph so -far recovered that he would be able to talk -over with him the very important business -to which Captain Roach had referred in his -note.</p> - -<p>The result of this piece of strategy was that -an open rupture between Captain Tom and -the conscript officer was avoided; and when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> -the latter, who had been so frightened and -angered by the threats of the Baton Rouge -committee that he was several times on the -point of doing something desperate, came up -to dinner "at the usual hour," he was the -same pleasant and agreeable fellow he had -always been. But he found Captain Tom -lying on the sofa in dressing-gown and slippers, -and looking the picture of misery. Before -he advanced to take the limp palm that -Tom languidly extended he stopped in the -middle of the room and asked if someone had -been laying violent hands upon him. To be -candid he thought it would be a good thing -for Tom if the citizens would shake him up a -little.</p> - -<p>"No, sir," was the very dignified reply. -"Physical pain would not do a Randolph up -in this way. It is purely mental anguish; -and my honor has been touched. I little -thought that I should ever permit living men -to talk as those Baton Rouge ruffians talked -to me this morning without promptly calling -them to account for it. But my Home Guards -were clearly in the wrong when they fired upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> -that boat without my orders, so what could I -say or do?"</p> - -<p>Captain Roach, who had had plenty of time -to cool off and recover his courage since he -wrote that note, smiled pleasantly, gave -Tom's hand a cordial shake, pulled up a chair, -and said that the committee had been quite as -savage with himself as they had been with his -friend Tom, and that he had thought it the -part of wisdom to comply with their demands -when he saw that they carried revolvers in -their coat-pockets, and were in just the right -mood to use them. He said that he had conscripted -all the Home Guards except Tom, as -he had agreed to do, because he did not see -how he could help himself. It would be very -little trouble for the Baton Rouge people, with -the aid of Rodney Gray's father and a score -of others whose names the captain could mention, -to keep watch of the way things were -done at the enrolling office, and if he failed to -keep his promise they would be sure to find it -out; but he had conscripted the Home Guards -conditionally. If they would behave themselves -in future and take orders from their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -captain instead of their first lieutenant he -would not send them to camp until the last -minute, and not at all if he could help it; but -the first man who kicked out of the traces -would be the first to be sent to the front. -Lambert and the rest understood this perfectly, -and had agreed to be bound by his -decision.</p> - -<p>"That's the idea!" cried Captain Tom, -delighted to learn that at last he had his -refractory men right where he wanted them. -"That's the way to bring mutineers to time. -There will be no more trouble of this kind, I -assure you, for I talked to some of my troops -very plainly this morning, and made Lambert -knuckle in a way that would have surprised -you if you could have seen it. Of course I -shall have to steer clear of Baton Rouge, but -I don't care much for that; although I confess -it nettles me to feel that I cannot go and -come when I please, as I have always been in -the habit of doing."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Randolph remained in the room long -enough to assure herself that the relations existing -between Captain Roach and her son had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> -not been strained by the events of the morning, -and then, bestowing an approving smile -upon each, she arose and went out; whereupon -Captain Tom got upon his feet and carefully -closed the door behind her.</p> - -<p>"Say!" he whispered when he came back -and resumed his position on the sofa, "did -you know that the town was in possession -of a mob last night, and that some Yankee -sympathizers among them had the impudence -to threaten me and my man Lambert?"</p> - -<p>"I know all about it," replied Captain -Roach, an expression of anxiety settling on -his face. "But they were not Yankee sympathizers, -for men of that stamp would not -dare open their heads in this community. -They were as good Confederates as you or I."</p> - -<p>"Don't you believe any such stuff," exclaimed -Tom. "There isn't a word of truth -in it. I know that Rodney Gray is a lowdown -private in our army (he isn't considered -worthy of a commission), but his father's -loyalty has always been suspected, and last -night he proposed that his gang of blackguards -should whip me and hang Lambert. Now I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -tell you that a man who talks that way about -me——"</p> - -<p>"Somebody has told you what isn't so," -interrupted Captain Roach. "Such a proposition -was made last night, but Mr. Gray -would not hear to it. He and a few others -talked it down on the spot."</p> - -<p>"Well, it's a good thing for old Gray that -he did, and if he knows when he is watching -his own interests he will take pains to keep it -talked down," said Captain Tom fiercely. "I -was ready for him, and if you hadn't told me -what you have he would have lost some of his -buildings this very night."</p> - -<p>The enrolling officer had seldom been so -surprised and startled. He looked fixedly at -Tom to see if he was in earnest, and then cried -out in alarm:</p> - -<p>"Do you know what you are saying? Are -you crazy?"</p> - -<p>"I know what I am saying and I am not -crazy," was Tom's answer. "I have been -threatened with a nigger's punishment, and I -never will rest easy until the man who proposed -the thing suffers for it."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span></p> - -<p>"But you don't know who proposed it and -neither do I."</p> - -<p>"No matter. I'll make it my business to -find out."</p> - -<p>"And if you succeed are you going to burn -some buildings?"</p> - -<p>"I am, most decidedly."</p> - -<p>"You have fully made up your mind to -that, have you?"</p> - -<p>"I have."</p> - -<p>"Please present my compliments to your -mother when she returns, and say to her that -I could not stop to dinner," exclaimed Captain -Roach, rising to his feet and reaching for his -cap.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter with you? Where are -you going in such a hurry?" Tom almost -gasped.</p> - -<p>"I am going to my office, and the first hard -work I shall do after I get there will be to put -it out of your power to ruin yourself and your -father and mother, as you seem bent on doing," -answered the captain; and there was a -look of quiet determination on his face that -Tom had never seen there before. "Of course<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> -you do not intend to do this incendiary work -alone (you haven't got pluck enough for -that," the captain added to himself), "so I -shall make all haste to send your men into the -army where they can't help you. They will -be the death of you if I don't."</p> - -<p>"And must I let a man talk about whipping -me as if I were a nigger and never do or say -the first thing about it?" cried Tom, throwing -himself back upon the pillow and covering his -face with his hands. "I am not made of that -sort of stuff, and I did not think a Confederate -officer would advise me to such a cowardly -course."</p> - -<p>"What would you call a thing in the shape -of a man who would sneak up on another's -property, in the dead of night when there was -no one to oppose him, and touch a match -to it?" exclaimed Captain Roach hotly. -"Would you call him a coward or not?"</p> - -<p>"I don't care," whined Tom. "I am bound -to have revenge on the man who dared to say -that I ought to be whipped, and I won't give -up my plan."</p> - -<p>"You'll have to take the consequences;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> -and if you don't promise right here and now -that you will be governed by me in future, I will -go out of this house and never enter it again; -and you know well enough what that means. -I am not going to let you send me to the army -in disgrace if I can help it."</p> - -<p>"Sit down a minute," said Tom, seeing that -the captain stood ready to carry out his threat -to leave the house. "I don't see how the -burning of a cotton-gin or two will disgrace -you or anybody else."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you do; for I have explained it to you -more than a hundred times. Mr. Gray and -some others are almost ready to report me now -for my failure to make you and your worthless -men take your chances with the other conscripts, -and the minute somebody begins to -lose property that minute I shall be ordered -away from here and into the army; and -wouldn't that put me in disgrace, I'd like -to know?"</p> - -<p>"What's the use of my being captain of -the Home Guards if I can't call upon my men -to protect me?" cried Tom, who would have -given something to be alone for about five<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> -minutes so that he might have found relief in -a flood of tears.</p> - -<p>"There isn't a bit of use in it," replied the -enrolling officer bluntly, "except that it keeps -you out of the army with my help. Your commission -gives you no authority to call upon -the members of a State organization to avenge -your supposed private wrongs."</p> - -<p>"Well—why don't you sit down?" repeated -Tom.</p> - -<p>"I will when I have your promise, and not -before. If you have laid your plans to get me -into a muss with the Governor, I must head -you off if I can."</p> - -<p>"Then I will make no effort to wipe out the -disgrace that has been put upon me as long as -you remain in town," said Tom very reluctantly. -"But after you leave I'll make some -people I know of wish they had spoken of -Captain Randolph with more respect. Now -sit down and act like yourself."</p> - -<p>"You ought to go straight to Mr. Gray and -thank him; for if he and his friends had -not stood by you last night you might have -been badly treated," answered Captain Roach,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -placing his cap on the table again and resuming -his seat by Tom's side. "You and I do -not want to go into the army, and you must -see that, in order to keep out of it, it will be -necessary for you to follow a different course -from the one you have marked out for yourself. -If I am reported for neglect of duty -the jig will be up with you."</p> - -<p>"Then I must lie around and do nothing, -must I?"</p> - -<p>"Is there anything else you can do with -safety? You can ride about the country at -the head of your Home Guards occasionally, -just to let the Union men see that you are -keeping up your organization, and after I -receive word that the camp of instruction has -been established, you can take the conscripts -there as fast as I can get them together; and -that's about all you can do."</p> - -<p>"It's a dog's life compared with what I -thought a partisan's life would be," growled -Tom, "and perhaps it isn't safe for me to ride -about the country. The threats that were -made against me last night——"</p> - -<p>"Will amount to nothing, I assure you,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> -interrupted Captain Roach. "The hot-heads -who made them and who seemed to be so fierce -for a fuss are few in number, and have had -time to recover their senses since then. You -can't find a man in town who will say that he -was willing to go with the rabble last night; -and more than that, the order-loving people in -the community would not stand by and see a -mob run things to suit themselves. You saw -Lambert this morning, didn't you? Well, he -goes around as freely as he ever did, and no -one says a word to him."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom thought of the compact that -Lambert and the rest of the Home Guards had -made to stand by one another in case of -trouble with the citizens, but thought it best -to say nothing about it to his friend Roach. -Of course he had to give the required promise -over and over again before the conscript officer -became satisfied of his sincerity, and he did it -with apparent willingness; but all the while -he was telling himself that the men who had -threatened to whip him as if he were a nigger, -no matter who they were, would hear from -him some day, and in a way they would not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> -like. It took a great load off his mind to -know that he would not be mobbed as soon as -he showed himself in Mooreville. In fact it -cured his "excitement and distress of mind" -in a very few minutes; and when his mother -returned at the end of half an hour he had -discarded his gown and slippers, and was -sitting up dressed in his full uniform.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="small">A PERPLEXING SITUATION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">When</span> Captain Roach went to his office -that evening, after the best dinner he -had ever eaten in that house, Tom Randolph -rode down with him; and before he had gone -half a mile was able to tell himself that he -had been borrowing trouble and without -reason. He saw no coldness whatever in the -greetings of those he met along the road, and -the few who stopped to speak with him about -the occurrences of the previous day declared -with one accord that they did not lay any -blame at his door; but the way they denounced -and threatened Lieutenant Lambert -was a pleasant thing for Tom to hear.</p> - -<p>"That man's election wasn't legal any -way," was what Tom always said in reply. -"But because I have permitted him to act as -my second in command he has somehow got it -into his head that he is a bigger man than I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> -am, and has a right to do as he pleases. If -he has at last found out that I know a trifle -more than he does, and that it is a soldier's -place to wait for orders from his superior, it -will be a good thing for Lambert. If the -Baton Rouge people want those gunboats -driven away from their town and will send -me word, I will go down and do the work for -them as it ought to be done."</p> - -<p>Tom knew that he was quite safe in talking -in this lofty way, for he had learned during -his interview with the committee that the -people of Baton Rouge would not look kindly -upon or support any effort that was made to -drive the boats away. As long as they were -let alone the Yankees were not unpleasant -fellows to have around. They put good food -into the mouths of some of the city people, -good hats and shoes on their heads and feet, -and good money in their pockets, and were on -the whole more desirable neighbors than their -own enlisted men would have been, for the -latter had nothing to give in exchange for -garden produce and milk and butter and eggs. -But the energetic manner in which they went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> -to work to scatter Lambert's Home Guards -proved that these peaceable gunboat men were -ready to fight at a moment's notice.</p> - -<p>Captain Tom's courage and importance came -back to him rapidly when he found that the -situation was by no means as serious as he had -supposed it to be; and when he saw that even -Lambert was willing to acknowledge his authority, -he came to the conclusion that that -indignation meeting at the hotel, and the visit -of the Baton Rouge committee, were the best -things that could have happened to him and -the Home Guards. He found Lambert in his -usual loafing place in Kimberly's store. Indeed -the man was afraid to go very far away -from there, for there was no telling what -might be said and done against him if he -should absent himself. He saluted Captain -Tom respectfully, and followed him out of the -back door in obedience to a motion of his -finger.</p> - -<p>"Look here, lieutenant," said Tom, when -they were alone together, "I do not in the -least blame you for saying that you would -like to see Rodney Gray's father burned out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> -to pay him for what he said against you last -night, but——"</p> - -<p>"Somebody's been a-lying on me," exclaimed -Lambert, looking alarmed. "I never -said no such stuff."</p> - -<p>"Oh, what is the use of denying it to a -friend?" said Tom, with most unbecoming -familiarity. "But I don't ask whether you -intend to burn him out or not. What I want -to say is, that you must on no account think -of it so long as Captain Roach stays here. If -you do you will get him into trouble with the -Governor, and he will pay you for it by sending -you and all the men to the front."</p> - -<p>"And you too?" asked Lambert.</p> - -<p>"He can't conscript a commissioned officer, -can he?" said Tom, in reply. "No, he can't -do that; and if you will promise that you will -never do another thing without my express -orders, I will see that he doesn't conscript -you, either."</p> - -<p>"All right, cap'n. I knuckle to you. -That's what I said this morning, and I meant -it. I'll move when you say the word and not -before."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span></p> - -<p>"If you had made that sensible resolution -long ago you would have saved yourself and -me from insult," said Tom, looking at his lieutenant -as if he would like to give him another -piece of his mind. "If you have learned that -I am the head of the company I am glad of it; -but if you want to do anything to old man -Gray on your own hook—on your own hook, I -said—why, that is a matter with which I have -nothing to do. However, you must wait until -Roach leaves Mooreville."</p> - -<p>So saying, Captain Tom saluted and went -into the office. When the door closed behind -him Lambert shook both his clenched hands -at it, and said through his tightly shut -teeth:</p> - -<p>"That's a matter you have nothing to do -with, is it? Well, I reckon it is; and you -don't get Sile Lambert into a furse with no -such oily words as them. I know what you -want mighty well, but I just aint a-going to -do it. You can pester ole man Gray yourself -if you feel like it, and when the job is done -I'll tell him where to find the chap who done -it. I'll learn you to keep my commission<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> -from me and pull a sword on me besides, the -way you done this morning. By gum! If I -wasn't afeared I'd go and make friends with -the Yankees the way the Baton Rouge folks -do. I'll risk it any way before I will let myself -be conscripted."</p> - -<p>Having weathered this storm without suffering -very much damage except so far as his -feelings were concerned, and quiet having been -restored in the community, Captain Tom -settled back into his old lazy way of passing -the time, and waited for something exciting to -happen. The first news out of the ordinary -that came to his ears was that Baton Rouge -had been occupied by Federal troops, much to -the gratification of the citizens, both Union and -Confederate, who experienced so delightful a -sense of security when they saw the blue-coats -on their streets that they forgot all about the -Mooreville Home Guards, and never took the -trouble to inquire whether they had been conscripted -or not. But Captain Roach looked -grave, and well he might. He had issued an -order to the effect that those he had conscripted -must report at his office at least once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> -in every twenty-four hours to show that they -were still on hand and ready to receive marching -orders; but on the day the news came -that the Yankees had garrisoned the city, only -fifteen out of forty-five presented themselves. -Two-thirds of their number had left home -and friends behind and sought refuge in the -city.</p> - -<p>"This is a pretty state of affairs," exclaimed -Tom, when Captain Roach told him -of it. "Those men are not worthy to be -called Southerners. Before I would show myself -so cowardly I would go somewhere and -hang myself. What will you do with them -when they come back?"</p> - -<p>"They'll not come back," replied the enrolling -officer. "They will stay where they -are safe, and no doubt desertions will be of -daily occurrence as long as the Yankees -remain in the city."</p> - -<p>"Wouldn't it be a good plan for me to go -down there and harass them by driving in -their pickets now and then?" inquired Tom. -He did not know exactly what was meant by -driving in an enemy's pickets, but he had read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> -in the papers that it was often done by the -soldiers in both armies.</p> - -<p>"What good would it do?" asked Captain -Roach.</p> - -<p>"Why, the enemy wouldn't stay where they -were bushwhacked every time they showed -themselves, would they? A few determined -men could torment them as the buffalo gnats -torment our stock."</p> - -<p>"You must be a lunatic or take me for -one," was what Captain Roach said in reply. -"Why can't you be content to let the Yankees -alone so long as they are willing to let us -alone? If you should fire on their pickets -they would send their cavalry all through the -country about here, and there's no telling how -much damage they would do."</p> - -<p>"Do you think they have brought cavalry -with them?" cried Tom, a most alarming -thought suggesting itself to him at the moment.</p> - -<p>"Why, of course. They want to know what -is going on outside the city, don't they? And -how are they to find out except through their -cavalry? You may see blue-coats in Mooreville<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> -before sundown. You stay at home and -mind your business, for I hope to have use for -you presently."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean that you hope to send me off -with some conscripts?"</p> - -<p>"That is what I mean. I shall have to report -these desertions, and perhaps it will open -the eyes of the State enrolling officer to the -fact that he ought to have had that camp of -instruction in full blast long ago."</p> - -<p>"But suppose a squad of Yankee cavalry -should intercept me on the road?" said Tom -in a trembling voice.</p> - -<p>"Then you would have to fight, that's all. -If you whipped them it would be a fine thing -for you and might lead to promotion. If they -whipped you they would release your prisoners -and take you and your men away with -them."</p> - -<p>"And then they would send me up North, -and I might not see home again for long -years," faltered Tom; and everyone in the -office saw that he was badly frightened at the -prospect.</p> - -<p>"Exactly. You took your chances on that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> -when you accepted your commission, you -know. Now, I wish you to go to work on -your men and see that they are in some sort of -shape when marching orders come. There will -be guards at the camp, and I hope your company -will not suffer in comparison with them."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom saw very clearly that his -connection with the Home Guards was not -likely to keep him entirely out of reach of -the dreaded Yankees; and when he looked -through the open door and his gaze rested -upon an acquaintance of his who happened to -be passing at that moment, another alarming -thought forced itself upon him. It was Ned -Griffin, and he was mounted on one of Mr. -Gray's blooded horses. He smiled pleasantly -at Tom, nodded to the Home Guards clustered -about the door, and looked on the whole as -though he felt well satisfied with himself and -with his lot in life. Not only was he comfortably -settled as overseer on one of Mr. Gray's fine -plantations, but there was no possible chance -that he would ever be forced into the army -against his will; and that was more than Captain -Randolph could say for himself.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span></p> - -<p>"How I should enjoy knocking that beggar -out of his saddle," said the latter under his -breath. Then he bent over and whispered some -earnest words into the ear of the enrolling officer. -"Look here, Roach," said he, "will you -do me the favor to keep the date of marching -a secret from everybody except myself."</p> - -<p>"I'd be glad to if you wish it, but I don't -see how I can," said the captain in surprise. -"I shall have to notify the conscripts themselves, -won't I? And if they choose to publish -it, as undoubtedly they will in order to -give their friends opportunity to come to the -office and bid them good-by, how am I going -to hinder it? What difference does it make -to you, anyway?"</p> - -<p>"It may make all the difference in the -world," whispered Tom. "That fellow who -just rode by would ask nothing better than to -send or take word to the Yankees where they -could capture me and a squad of conscripts on -a certain day."</p> - -<p>"Whew!" whistled the captain. "If he -does that I'll arrest him and ship him off to -Richmond."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span></p> - -<p>"But would that make a free man of me?" -demanded Tom impatiently. "And how are -you going to prove it on him?"</p> - -<p>"That's so; and when it comes to that I -don't suppose Griffin is the only one about -here who would be glad to see you and all the -Home Guards packed off to a Northern prison. -The only thing you can do is to look out for -yourself. Take as big a squad with you as -you can muster, and stand ready to fight your -way."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom was almost disheartened, but -made one more effort to shirk the duty to -which, until this particular morning, he had -looked forward with the liveliest anticipations -of pleasure.</p> - -<p>"Can't you ask the Confederate authorities -to send regular troops here to act as guards, -and leave me at home to protect the town?" -said he desperately. He knew it was a confession -of cowardice on his part, but he did -not care a snap for that.</p> - -<p>"Protect the town!" said Captain Roach -in great disgust. "No, I can't. Yes, on -second thought, I can; but it will end in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> -you and the Home Guards being sent to the -front."</p> - -<p>The captain spoke impatiently and jerked -a sheet of paper toward him on the desk, intimating -by the action that he could not -waste any more time with his friend Tom just -then, and the latter walked out of the office, -mounted his horse, and rode slowly homeward. -Something was forever happening to upset his -plans, and this last trouble was all the fault of -that man Lambert. If he had not fired upon -that unarmed boat the Federals would never -have thought it necessary to send a force to -Baton Rouge, and Captain Tom could have -escorted his conscripted neighbors to the camp -of instruction without fear of coming in contact -with the blue-coated cavalry. He would -have had many opportunities to show his fine -sword and uniform to soldiers from other parts -of the State, and could have talked as big -as he pleased about whipping iron-clad gunboats -in a fair fight. He had hoped to gain -admirers among the officers stationed at the -camp, and perhaps he could have himself recommended -to fill the commanding officer's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> -place when the latter was ordered to take the -field.</p> - -<p>"But that's all past and gone now," said -Tom as he saw these bright hopes disappearing -like the river mists before the rising sun. -"If the Yankee cavalry blocks my way, as -it surely will if Ned Griffin gets a chance to -send them word, I just know I shall be captured, -for I can't expect raw troops like my -Home Guards to stand against veterans. I -wish Lambert had been hanged before he fired -on that boat. Who are these, I wonder? -Strangers; and spies, I'll bet."</p> - -<p>This was another thought that troubled him, -and if there had been a branch road that Tom -could have turned into he would have taken -it rather than meet the two civilians he saw -riding toward him. But there was no escape -and so he kept on his way; and as he drew -nearer to them his eyes began to open wider -and an expression of amazement came to his -face. He recognized the horses they rode and -the clothes they wore, and finally it dawned -upon him that the tanned and weather-beaten -countenance of one was familiar, though the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> -boy to whom it belonged had grown wonderfully -tall and broad-shouldered since he last -saw him—so much so, in fact, that his clothes -were too small for him. If there was any -doubt in Captain Randolph's mind it vanished -when a cheery voice called out:</p> - -<p>"Hallo, Tom—ee!"</p> - -<p>Tom knew the voice and the odious name by -which he had been addressed. It was the one -with which his mother used to summon him -into the house in the days gone by—with a -shrill rising inflection on the last syllable. -His first thought was to take no notice of the -greeting or to make an angry rejoinder; but -he remembered in time that he had stood in -fear of this same boy when he was several -pounds lighter than he was now. He looked -quite formidable as he sat on his horse, and -no doubt during his fifteen months in the -army had come in contact with some rough -characters, and gained experience and skill in -no end of rough and tumble fights; so Tom -thought it wise to be civil.</p> - -<p>"Rodney," he exclaimed, extending his -hand with a great show of cordiality. "You<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> -don't know how glad I am to see you back -safe and sound. How long have you been at -home?"</p> - -<p>"Just three days," answered Rodney Gray, -for it was he. "And this is my old schoolmate, -Dick Graham, who lives in Missouri -when he lives anywhere. But at present he is -just staying wherever night overtakes him."</p> - -<p>Dick and Tom shook hands, and the latter -continued:</p> - -<p>"How do you like soldiering? I suppose -you have seen some pretty rough times in the -army."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes; but nothing compared with what -some have seen. Dick and I have brought our -usual number of legs and arms back with us, -but many of our comrades were not so lucky. -Doing anything for your country these days?"</p> - -<p>Tom's common-sense, if he had any, ought -to have told him that it would not do for him -to exaggerate his achievements in the presence -of Rodney Gray, who knew him of old, and -had seen so much more service than he had, -but he counted a good deal on Rodney's -ignorance and Dick's. They had done all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> -their campaigning in the interior, had never -seen the Mississippi River during their term -of service except when they crossed from -Arkansas to Tennessee to join the Army of -the Centre, and perhaps had not had a chance -to read a newspaper for six months, and so he -thought he could say what he pleased and they -would believe it; but he reckoned without his -host.</p> - -<p>"I have been very busy since I took command -of the Home Guards," he said, in answer -to Rodney's question. "I don't suppose I -have smelled quite as much powder as you -have, but I have been in some pretty hard -battles all the same."</p> - -<p>"Why, I hadn't heard of it," said Rodney, -looking surprised.</p> - -<p>"No, I don't imagine you had opportunity -to read the papers very often, but I thought -perhaps your father had said something about -it in his letters. I have whipped two heavy -iron-clad men-of-war——"</p> - -<p>"Two which?" exclaimed Dick, while Rodney -opened his eyes and looked still more -surprised.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span></p> - -<p>Captain Tom repeated the words and was -going on to tell about the fights with the gunboats -when Rodney interrupted him with:</p> - -<p>"Did those vessels belong to the upper or -lower fleet?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," replied Tom. "But they -came up from New Orleans."</p> - -<p>"Then they were not iron-clads; you may -rest assured of that."</p> - -<p>"Don't I know an iron-clad when I see it?" -cried Tom angrily. "I have it from good -authority that the armor on their sides was -eleven inches thick, and that there were four -feet of solid oak back of that."</p> - -<p>"Great Moses!" ejaculated Dick. "There -isn't a vessel in the Yankee navy that could -carry such a load as that. Farragut has done -all his brilliant fighting with old wooden -ships, and there are no iron-clads in his fleet -unless they have come to him since he ran -past Forts Jackson and St. Philip."</p> - -<p>"That's so," assented Rodney. "There -isn't an iron-clad on the river except those -with which the Yankees demolished our fleet -in front of Memphis."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span></p> - -<p>"How does it come that you land soldiers -know so much about what is going on here on -the river?" demanded Captain Tom, who was -very much astonished at the extent of Rodney's -information and Dick's.</p> - -<p>"Oh, we've had chances to read the papers -now and then," replied the latter.</p> - -<p>"And while we were about it we read both -sides," chimed in Rodney. "Our officers -didn't like to have us do it, because the Yankee -papers tell the truth, while our own do -not scruple to lie outrageously when things -go against us."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom did not know what answer to -make, for he had never expected to hear Confederate -veterans talk like that. He began -to have a suspicion that they were traitors at -heart, but he prudently kept his thoughts to -himself.</p> - -<p>"How long do you remain at home?" he -asked at length.</p> - -<p>"Just as long as I have a home to shelter -me," answered Rodney. "And when the -Yanks come in here and burn it down, as they -probably will sooner or later, I shall take to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> -the woods. I am sick and tired of the service -and I don't care who knows it. I tell you, I -felt sorry for the poor fellows I saw in Camp -Pinckney, for I know what is before them and -they don't."</p> - -<p>"Were they prisoners?" inquired Tom.</p> - -<p>"Well, yes; but they didn't go by that -name. They were called conscripts."</p> - -<p>"Why, how far is that camp from here?" -said Tom, wondering if it was the place to -which Captain Roach would forward his conscripts -when the orders came.</p> - -<p>"About 7000 miles," replied Dick. "At -least I thought it was that far before we covered -the distance that lies between its stockade -and Rodney's home."</p> - -<p>"It's about sixty miles, as near as I can -judge," said the latter. "Haven't you and -what's his name—Roach?—raised men enough -to fill up a squad yet? Father says you have -been working at it for a good while."</p> - -<p>"Captain Roach has mustered some men, -but has had no orders to forward them. In -fact I don't think he knows that the camp of -instruction has been established."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span></p> - -<p>"Who's going to take them there when -they are ready to go?"</p> - -<p>"I am," said Tom proudly; and an instant -afterward he felt as though he had signed his -own death warrant. There was no chance for -him to back out now. He couldn't be taken -suddenly ill or send Lambert in his place—he -would have to go with the conscripts himself; -for that was what he in his haste said he -intended to do, and if he did not keep his -promise this old enemy and rival of his would -publicly brand him as a coward.</p> - -<p>"You are? You are going to take the conscripts -to the camp of instruction with your -Home Guards?" cried Rodney, his face becoming -radiant when he thought of the obstacles -in the shape of blue-coated soldiers -that Captain Tom might possibly find in his -way. "Hey-youp! That will be nuts for the -Yanks, won't it, Dick?"</p> - -<p>"You bet. There's tolerable many Yanks -scattered around through the woods, and like -as not your friend will have the pleasure of -meeting some of them."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say that they are scouting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> -between here and the camp?" exclaimed Tom, -who was almost ready to drop when he heard -his worst fears confirmed in this positive way.</p> - -<p>"We don't mean anything else," answered -Rodney. "We ought to know, for we ran -into a squad of them on the way home."</p> - -<p>"What did they do to you?" inquired -Tom, who did not know whether to believe it -or not.</p> - -<p>"Nothing. They just covered us with their -carbines and told us to come in out of the rain, -and we came."</p> - -<p>"Humph! Why didn't you fight or run?"</p> - -<p>"Well, seeing that we had no weapons we -couldn't fight; and we know by experience -that when a Yank points a gun at you and -tells you to move over on his side the line, you -had better move."</p> - -<p>"But how did you escape?"</p> - -<p>"We didn't escape. We showed them our -discharges, and when they told us to git, we -got. Oh, they were gentleman, high up."</p> - -<p>"Top-notch," assented Dick.</p> - -<p>"I never yet saw a Yankee who was a -gentleman," sneered Tom.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span></p> - -<p>"Look here," exclaimed Dick, who had -heard a good deal about Tom Randolph and -learned to dislike him before he ever met him; -"have you much of an acquaintance with -live Yanks—I mean with those who wear uniforms?"</p> - -<p>Tom was obliged to confess that he had not.</p> - -<p>"Well, we've seen and talked with a few -and may be supposed to know something -about them; and when we say that the squad -who captured us, and might have made us -trouble but didn't, were gentlemen, we mean -it. If we ever find one of them in a box and -see a chance to help him out, we intend to improve -it."</p> - -<p>"But as you have no discharge to show, you -had better not permit yourself to fall into -their hands while you have that uniform on," -said Rodney. "By gracious! It makes my -old hat rise to think how I should feel if I -knew I was going to be ordered off to that -camp with a lot of conscripts. You will lose -your prisoners sure, and your Home Guards -will be brushed aside like so many cobwebs. -If you get through with a whole skin we shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> -call you a good one. We'd better be riding -along, Dick."</p> - -<p>"Now you've done it," said the latter, as -he and Rodney moved on and left Tom out of -hearing. "You have frightened him out of -his wits."</p> - -<p>"With your help I think I have given him -a good scare," was Rodney's answer. "I'll -bet you a month's wages in good and lawful -money of the Confederacy that Tom Randolph -never takes a squad of conscripts to Camp -Pinckney. I know I shouldn't hanker after -the job if I were in his place."</p> - -<p>As to Tom himself, he was about as badly -frightened as he could be without becoming -frantic, and much against his will he was -obliged to tell himself that there was but one -course of action open to him. If it was true -that Federal scouting parties had thrown -themselves between Mooreville and Camp -Pinckney, he must run the fearful risk of being -killed or captured by them, or else he -must resign his commission, exchange his fine -uniform for a citizen's suit and take the position -of overseer on his father's plantation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> -Tom wanted to yell when this alternative presented -itself to him. An overseer was on a -par with a blacksmith or a carpenter or a -clerk in a store. He had to work for his living -and was in consequence a nobody. And -Tom remembered how he had railed at Ned -Griffin when he accepted Mr. Gray's offer, declaring, -in the hearing of everyone who would -listen to him, that nobody but a poltroon -would take that way of keeping out of the -service.</p> - -<p>"And now I've got to come to it myself or -get shot," whined Tom. "It will be an awful -come down for a man who has held a commission -in the service of the State, but unless -mother can see some other way out I shall -have to do it."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom wound up by wishing that -every man who was in any way responsible -for the war might always feel as miserable as -he felt at that moment.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="small">HOUNDS ON THE TRAIL.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">"Why</span>, Tom, what has happened to make -you look so pale and haggard?" anxiously -inquired Mrs. Randolph, as the perplexed -and discouraged captain of the Home -Guards drew rein before the door and rolled -out of his saddle instead of dismounting in his -usual soldier-like fashion. "Are you ill, or -have you heard some terrible news?"</p> - -<p>"Both," replied Tom, giving his horse a -slap to start him toward the stable, and afterward -throwing himself down upon one of the -steps that led up to the porch. "Who do -you suppose has come back to town to worry -and torment me?"</p> - -<p>"I hope it isn't Rodney Gray," said his -mother, who had not forgotten that the Barrington -boy had been elected to office and -presented with a sword by Bob Hubbard's -Rangers, while her son was left in the ranks.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -Although she never said so out loud, she had -indulged in the hope that something might -happen to keep Rodney away from Mooreville -as long as the war lasted. She knew that -he had faced the Yankees in a good many -hard battles, and, being a veteran, of course he -would crow over Tom, who was nothing but a -Home Guard.</p> - -<p>"Well, it is Rodney Gray, and nobody -else," said Captain Randolph, in a tone of intense -disgust. "He looks as though he had -been living on the fat of the land, for the citizen's -clothes he discarded when he went into -the army are much too small for him. He has -brought with him a comrade who lives in Missouri -and who, I judge, is waiting for a chance -to get over the river; and he's about the most -impudent chap I ever talked to. He knows -more about gunboats than I who have been in -battle with them."</p> - -<p>"Have you not learned that those who are -the most conceited generally know the least? -But you are not obliged to associate with -them, and besides you can't; for you are an -officer and they were nothing but privates."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span></p> - -<p>"I know that, and I did not at all like the -familiar way in which they talked to me. -They gave me bad news. They were captured -by Federal cavalry while they were coming -home."</p> - -<p>"Tom!" exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, who -was much surprised and alarmed to hear it, -"do you mean to say that our enemies are -scouting through the country?"</p> - -<p>"That's what I mean; and if you have any -valuables you don't want to lose, you had -better be taking care of them."</p> - -<p>"That is what I think. How did Rodney -manage to escape?"</p> - -<p>"He didn't escape. The Yankees read his -discharge and let him go free. And that chum -of his, Dick Graham, says they were gentlemen, -and if he ever sees one of them in a scrape -he will help him out if he can. And they are -both tired of the war and don't mean to go -back to the army. The way they talked was -shameful, and I will speak to Roach about it -the very next time I go to the office."</p> - -<p>Tom then went on to repeat the conversation -that had taken place between himself and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -returned veterans, and by the time he got -through his mother was as deeply perplexed -and as badly frightened as he was. Two -things were plain to her: Rodney and Dick -were traitors at heart, and ought to be arrested -and imprisoned before they had time to talk -to any of the conscripts as they had talked to -Tom, and the other was that her son could not -take a squad of men to the camp of instruction -and run the risk of being captured by the -Federal troopers.</p> - -<p>"Now that I have had time to think of it, -I don't care whether they are shut up or not," -answered Captain Tom. "If they are permitted -to run loose in the settlement and to -talk to the conscripts as they did to me, they -may frighten them into deserting to Baton -Rouge; and in that case, don't you see, there -wouldn't be any men for anybody to guard to -the camp of instruction. But if a squad is -sent there I am bound to go in command of the -escort; I don't see how I can get out of it, for -I told Rodney that I was going."</p> - -<p>"What of that? Why can't you send Lambert, -or let Captain Roach go in your place?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span></p> - -<p>"If you can think of any excuse I can offer -for not going I shall be delighted to hear it," -replied Tom. "But if I back out after what I -have said about Ned Griffin's cowardice and -all that, Rodney Gray will never let me hear -the last of it. I haven't said much to you -about it, but all the returned soldiers laugh -every time my name is mentioned in their -hearing, and make sport of the Home Guards -because they are willing to acknowledge me -as their commander; and I believe that is one -thing that makes them so ready to rebel whenever -I issue an order they don't like. Of -course Rodney will be the worst of all, for he -never liked me."</p> - -<p>"Why, my dear boy, you are in a predicament, -that's a fact," exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, -who had never dreamed that the situation was -as bad as this. She knew that Tom would not -see a minute's peace if he gave the common -people of Mooreville, especially such low -fellows as the returned veterans and those -who composed the rank and file of the -Home Guards, any reason for believing that -he was lacking in courage. "What can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> -you do? Have you decided upon anything?"</p> - -<p>"I have not. That is something you will -have to do for me. As far as I can see there -are but two courses of action open to me: I -must either take the conscripts to camp -and take my chances on being shot or captured——"</p> - -<p>"O Tom, I'll never consent to that," exclaimed -his mother, almost tearfully. "You -had much better follow young Griffin's example. -Your father and I can arrange all -that by sending Larkin into the army and -putting you in his place."</p> - -<p>Larkin was Mr. Randolph's overseer; and -he had not been conscripted by Captain -Roach because his employer had claimed -exemption for him. Mr. Randolph supposed, -and so did his wife, that Tom was provided for -as long as the war continued; and as it was -necessary that they should have an overseer -they decided that Larkin would do as well as -anybody else, and Tom's father had entered -into a verbal contract to purchase his freedom -by providing the hundred pounds of bacon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> -and beef demanded by the Confederate Government. -They would not have done such a -thing if they had had the least suspicion that -Tom's position as captain of the Home Guards -was likely to bring him into contact with the -Yankees.</p> - -<p>"That is the only alternative," said Tom. -"I must face death or confinement in a Northern -dungeon, or I must send my resignation to -the Governor at the new capital. But I am -afraid Larkin will demand a larger bounty -than father will be willing to pay."</p> - -<p>"Your father will not give him a penny -with my consent," said Mrs. Randolph very -decidedly. "He is a hireling, and his wishes -will not be consulted. He will simply be -discharged; that is all there is of it."</p> - -<p>"But he is obstinate and hard to deal with, -and perhaps he will refuse to go before his -year is out," suggested Captain Tom.</p> - -<p>"In times like these civil contracts are not -worth the paper they are written on," said -his mother, in a tone which seemed to imply -that she had already determined upon some -course of action. "There are some hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> -hands on this plantation, and if your father -should find it impossible or inconvenient to -pay, within twelve months, the eighty thousand -pounds of meat which the Confederate -Government will demand as the price of Larkin's -exemption, then what? I think myself -that Larkin will take to the woods before he -will go into the army."</p> - -<p>"I don't care where he goes so long as he -gets out of my way," declared Captain Tom. -"I don't know what our neighbors will think -of me when they see me in the field with -a gang of niggers, but I can't discover any -other way out of the difficulty; can you?"</p> - -<p>"At present I cannot; but I would much -rather know that you were safe in the field and -within sound of the dinner-horn, than to fear -that you were in danger of being shot or captured. -Perhaps we had best let the subject rest -where it is until I have had time to ask your -father what he thinks about it. I will tell you -our decision to-morrow; and meanwhile don't -commit yourself. There goes the bell."</p> - -<p>It was the call to dinner and Captain Tom -answered it, although he did not have much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> -appetite for the things he found on the table. -His father had of late got out of the way of -asking his son if he had heard any news in -town, but when the latter remarked that he -had met and talked with Rodney Gray that -morning, and that Rodney and his companion -had been captured by the enemy while on -the way home, Mr. Randolph took interest -enough in the matter to inquire into the particulars, -and to ask Tom if he didn't think he -would run some risk in taking conscripts to -camp.</p> - -<p>"Risk!" repeated Captain Tom. "You -may well say that. Roach thinks I will have -to fight my way, and so does Rodney. He -said in so many words that I would be sure -to lose my prisoners, that the Home Guards -would be brushed out of the way like -cobwebs, and if I got through with a whole -skin he would call me a good one. Risk! -I should think so. It's positively dangerous!"</p> - -<p>"Well, if you don't want to go, there is one -way you can get out of it," replied Mr. Randolph, -as he folded his napkin and pushed his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> -chair back from the table. "You can throw -up your commission."</p> - -<p>"I have thought of resigning," said Tom; -and he had half a mind to broach the subject -of Larkin's discharge then and there, but -finally concluded that he would leave it to -his mother.</p> - -<p>"As far as I am concerned, I shall be glad -to see you a civilian once more, and to know -that I shall never put eyes on that sword and -uniform again," continued Mr. Randolph. -"The Southern people are all fools, and a -year ago I was one of the most senseless of -them."</p> - -<p>"Does that mean that you have given up -the hope of Southern independence?" inquired -Tom, who was not greatly surprised, -although he had never heard his father talk -in this way before.</p> - -<p>"It means that we have made beggars of -ourselves by trying to break up the government -when we had no earthly excuse for it. -We were never short of anything before, and -now I am put to my stumps to find paper to -write on and salt for my table. There will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> -no bacon and hams for us next winter unless I -can induce some of my friends to do a little -trading in Baton Rouge for me. I dare not go -into the city to do it for myself, for you are -captain of the Home Guards. I wish in my -soul that I had had a guardian appointed over -me about the time I was making such an idiot -of myself on account of that company."</p> - -<p>Mr. Randolph rubbed some "nigger twist" -between his palms, jammed it rather spitefully -into an earthen pipe with a cane stem, and -went out on the gallery to enjoy his after-dinner -smoke. He was a rich planter, and it -was not so very long ago that his crop of -cotton was worth a fortune to him every year; -but he could not smoke cigars now unless they -were given to him. Some of his neighbors -who had not taken so deep an interest in the -Home Guards, Rodney Gray's father for one, -had passes that took them in and out of Baton -Rouge as often as they chose to make use of -them; and these men had salt and tea and -coffee, stockings and shoes and cigars in -abundance, and "plenty of greenback money, -too," as one darkey affirmed, who chanced to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> -catch a momentary glimpse of the inside of -Mr. Gray's pocket-book.</p> - -<p>Mr. Randolph made his exit from the room -through one of the low windows that opened -upon the veranda, sat down long enough to -take a dozen or more pulls at his pipe, and -then came back to say:</p> - -<p>"Tom, you want to be kinder careful what -you tell about Rodney Gray and his folks, for, -if we work matters right, I am sure Gray will -lend me a helping hand now and then; and -goodness knows I need it bad enough. I -suspicion that in some way or other he has -got on the blind side of the Yankees in Baton -Rouge."</p> - -<p>"Then he ought to be reported to our -authorities," said Mrs. Randolph spitefully.</p> - -<p>"That's what I say!" exclaimed Captain -Tom. "If he is giving aid and comfort to -the enemy he is breaking our laws; and I -say——"</p> - -<p>"Hold your horses," interrupted his father. -"What is the use of cutting off your nose to -spite your face? Instead of giving aid and -comfort to the Federals, he is working them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> -so that they are giving much aid and comfort -to him and a few others who are in the ring -with him."</p> - -<p>"And is it your desire to become one of that -'ring,' as you call it?" demanded his wife, -pitching her voice in a little higher key than -usual. "Would you collogue with the enemies -of your country for the sake of making -something out of them? Mr. Randolph—George—I -am surprised to hear you hint at -such baseness; and in the presence of a prominent -State officer, too."</p> - -<p>"Hold your horses," said Mr. Randolph -again. "If I can make something to eat -and wear by trading with the Yankees, who -seem to have enough and to spare, it is to my -interest and yours to do it, is it not? And -through it all I can still be a good Confederate, -can't I? Look here," he continued, -walking up to the table and sinking his voice -almost to a whisper. "I have 200 bales -of cotton concealed in the swamp, and Gray -has more than twice as much. And every -bale of that cotton is worth sixty cents a -pound in New York."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Randolph straightened up and looked -at his wife and son as much as to say, "What -do you think of that?" He expected them to -be surprised, and certainly he was not disappointed. -For a minute or two they were so -amazed that they could not speak.</p> - -<p>"Six—did I understand you to say <i>sixty</i> -cents a pound?" Captain Tom managed to ask -at last.</p> - -<p>"Where did you hear that ridiculous -story?" chimed in Mrs. Randolph. "I have -read the papers very closely, and I didn't see -anything of it."</p> - -<p>"Do you for a moment imagine that our -lying papers——"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Randolph—George!"</p> - -<p>"Hold your horses. I know what I am -talking about. It is a fact that our papers -conceal everything that goes against us, or -make light of it, and of course they wouldn't -say that cotton is bringing sixty cents in the -North while in the Confederacy it is worth -only seven. If our papers should publish such -reports as that, don't you see that the Confederacy -wouldn't get any more cotton? Every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> -planter who owns a bale would make haste to -run it into the swamp."</p> - -<p>"If I had any cotton I would rather give it -to our government for three cents than to our -enemies for twenty times as much," declared -Captain Tom, who, seeing that he did not possess -a pound of the commodity in question, -could afford to be very patriotic. He looked -at his mother, expecting to hear her say that -she would do the same; but she gazed down -at her plate and said nothing. Sixty cents a -pound! Reckoning each bale at 450 pounds -that would make her husband's concealed -cotton worth about $54,000, <i>if</i> it could only -be placed in the hands of the Yankees -without being confiscated. But there was -the rub.</p> - -<p>"Tom, you always were about half-witted," -exclaimed his father, who was so angry that -he spoke without thinking. "I would rather -have sixty cents in greenback money than four -dollars in Confederate scrip any day; and I -don't see the use of your talking in that senseless -way."</p> - -<p>"But your cotton is in the swamp, and how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> -are you going to get it to New York?" asked -Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"And how do you know that you and the -darkeys who helped you put it there are the -only ones who know where it is?" chimed in -Tom. "The Lincoln hirelings have been stealing -cotton all the way from Cairo to Vicksburg, -and what assurance have you that some -enemy of ours will not guide a gang of blue-coats -from Baton Rouge to the place where it -is hidden?"</p> - -<p>"I have no assurance whatever, and that is -one thing that robs me of sleep at night," replied -Mr. Randolph; and the nervous way in -which he puffed at his pipe and strode about -the room showed that the thought made him -uneasy every time it came into his mind. "Of -course I stand a chance of losing it; but if I -can keep it a few months longer I know it will -be worth a big sum of money to us—and good -money, too. One of our neighbors, who shall -be nameless, showed me a couple of Northern -papers he brought from Baton Rouge last -night, and both of them contained a notice of -that sale of cotton in New York. There were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> -seventy bales of it, and it was confiscated at -Port Royal. Some of the ranking officers in -the city also told him that there was some -talk of opening a trade in cotton at all points -occupied by Federal troops, and that influential -parties were applying by the hundred for -permits. He could have told me more if he -had felt like it, but Tom, your miserable -Home Guards, whom I wish I had never heard -of, made him shut his mouth. I am afraid I -ruined myself utterly by helping you organize -that company."</p> - -<p>Too nervous and excited to say more, Mr. -Randolph stepped through the window to the -porch, and Tom left the table and went slowly -upstairs. He could not have told what -prompted him to do it, but when he reached -his room he took off his fine uniform and -arrayed himself in a suit of citizen's clothes. -He stood his elegant sword up in the corner of -his closet, and when it slipped down so that -he could not close the door, he kicked it out -of the way as he would have done with any -other worthless piece of furniture. For some -reason he seemed to have conceived a sudden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> -and violent dislike to everything that reminded -him of the service in which, one -short year ago, his whole soul been wrapped -up; and when he mounted his horse, which -a darkey had brought to the door, and the -animal began to prance and go sideways, as -he had been taught to do, Captain Tom was so -angry that he lashed him unmercifully with -his whip, and would have kept him in a dead -run all the way to the enrolling office, had it -not been for an unexpected and somewhat -startling interruption.</p> - -<p>Although there were many extensive and -well-cultivated plantations around Mooreville, -there were some unbroken patches of timber -which stretched away into the Pearl River -country and beyond. This timberland was -mostly low and intersected by innumerable -little streams, which, when the Pearl was -"booming" at certain seasons of the year, -overflowed their banks and turned all the productive -bottom into an immense swamp. It -was here that Tom Randolph's hog-stealing -lieutenant plied his vocation, though he might -have had venison instead of pork, if he had not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> -been too lazy to hunt for it; for the bottom -was a famous place for game of all kinds. -There were runaway negroes there too, by the -score, and their numbers had increased wonderfully -since the war broke out.</p> - -<p>It was while Tom was galloping furiously -past one of these patches of timber, which was -separated from the road by a narrow field of -corn, that his attention was attracted by the -loud baying of a pack of hounds; but his -mind was so fully occupied with the punishment -he was inflicting upon his unoffending -horse that he did not give much heed to it, -until he caught sight of a couple of men riding -swiftly through the corn a little in advance of -him. When they reached the fence that ran -between the field and the road one of them -threw off the top rails so that they could jump -their horses over it, while the other raised his -hand as a signal for Tom to stop. Then he -saw that the men were strangers to him, that -they wore gray uniforms, were armed with -carbines and sabres instead of squirrel rifles -and shot guns, and wore plumes in their slouch -hats instead of rooster feathers. They were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> -veterans beyond a doubt; but where did they -come from, and what were they doing in that -country, which was supposed to be guarded by -an efficient company of Home Guards? Their -presence angered Captain Tom, and he wished -he had the authority to order them back where -they belonged without asking any questions; -but they greeted him very civilly.</p> - -<p>"Good-afternoon," said the foremost, as he -leaped his horse over the ditch and came into -the road where Tom was waiting for him; -then he made a military salute which was -promptly and gracefully returned. "Ah! I -thought you were one of us from the start," -continued the veteran. "What regiment?"</p> - -<p>"I do not belong to any regiment," admitted -Tom. "I am commander of a partisan -company and hold a commission from the -Governor."</p> - -<p>"Seen any service?" was the soldier's next -question.</p> - -<p>"More than I want to see again," replied -Tom, who had not yet been cured of his propensity -to boast as often as the chance was -presented. "The enemy's gunboats have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> -kept me pretty busy since they came up from -New Orleans."</p> - -<p>"Well, if you've got courage enough to -fight gunboats, you've got more than I have," -said the veteran honestly. "How high up -are you?"</p> - -<p>"I am a captain."</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon, sah, I have been a -little too fast. I am only a second lieutenant, -and my comrade is a first duty sergeant," and -then the lieutenant and his sergeant both -raised their caps. They had evidently served -under some officer who exacted all the honors -due him.</p> - -<p>Of course they took the right course to -gain Tom's good will and bring them an invitation -to supper, but they did not do it intentionally. -Having served at the front ever -since they enlisted, and until they were transferred -to the invalid corps on account of -wounds received in battle they had never seen -any Home Guards, and did not know the estimation -in which that useless organization was -held by the people who knew the most about -them. They had heard of the exploits of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> -John S. Mosby, who commanded a body of -men that were farmers during the daytime -and robbers and cut-throats at night, and who -had kept certain portions of Virginia in a turmoil -even before he was thought to be worthy -of a commission in the Confederate army, and -they supposed that every company of partisans -was just like his. Consequently they -were ready to treat Tom Randolph with the -greatest respect.</p> - -<p>The latter drew himself up very stiffly, assumed -a soldier's position in the saddle, copying -Rodney Gray as nearly as he could, and -said with the dignity befitting his rank:</p> - -<p>"I assure you that no apologies are necessary. -I am always glad to shake a loyal Confederate -by the hand." And he proved it by -extending to each of the veterans a palm that -was as limp as a piece of wet rope. "Now, -may I ask where you belong, and what business -brought you to this part of the country?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, sah. We used to belong to -Jackson's brigade and division, but were invalided -on account of injuries received in action, -and are now serving as guards at a conscript<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> -camp, dog-gone the luck. We are on -the trail of four escaped Yankees who are -making tracks for Baton Rouge. Didn't you -hear our dogs giving tongue just now?"</p> - -<p>"I noticed it, but supposed the hounds -were running something on their own hook. -I noticed, too, that they yelped as though -they were baffled."</p> - -<p>"And so they are. We have followed the -trail for forty miles through swamp and briers -and cane, and now we have lost it completely. -We ought to have captured and hung the -villains long ago, but everywhere along their -line of flight they have been assisted by the -negroes. We found abundant proof of it."</p> - -<p>"Well, that bangs me!" exclaimed Tom, -who, like many others of his class, labored -under the delusion that the slaves did not -know who their friends were. "Why did you -not shoot the negroes?"</p> - -<p>"For the very good reason, sah, that we -could not place the blame upon any particular -ones. We found where the Yanks had been -fed, and once came so close upon them that -we captured some quilts which the darkeys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> -had loaned them for beds; but among the -hundred and fifty negroes on that plantation -we could not find the one who owned the -quilts. Do you know of any Union men or -blacks around here who would be likely to -give them food and shelter, or aid them in -reaching Baton Rouge?"</p> - -<p>If that question had been asked him the -day before Captain Randolph could have mentioned -the names of a dozen white men who -were mean and disloyal enough to give food -and shelter to anybody who wore a blue uniform, -but now he could not think of a single -one. Among others he would have given the -names of some returned soldiers who had -spread dissatisfaction in the ranks of his company -by deriding Tom's ability as a commander -and laughing at the story of his -battles with the iron-clads, and he would have -asked the lieutenant what he thought of -fellows like Rodney Gray and Dick Graham -who did not hesitate to declare that they -were sick of the army, and did not intend -to go back if they could help it. He would -have told, too, of the trading that was continually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> -going on between the Yankee invaders -and so-called Confederates who lived in Baton -Rouge and Mooreville; but somehow he did -not speak of any of these things. The knowledge -that Mooreville might at any moment be -occupied by Federal cavalry frightened him; -and the plain words his father spoke at the -dinner table opened his eyes to the fact that -silence was sometimes good policy. So he -made answer:</p> - -<p>"There are several people about here who -are suspected of being Union, but I can't say -whether they are or not. I drove some out -of the settlement months ago, and they have -never returned."</p> - -<p>"That was perfectly right, sah," said the -lieutenant, "but I should think you would be -afraid to stay here. What will you do when -the Yanks come swarming into town, and some -mean sneak tells them that you have been persecuting -Union men? You will have to take -to the brush."</p> - -<p>"But do you think the enemy is in sufficient -force to ride over us like that?" inquired Tom -anxiously. He had often asked himself this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> -very question, and tried to find comfort in the -hope that the Yankees would never find their -way to Mooreville.</p> - -<p>"Oh, it doesn't require much force to take -full possession of a little town like this," replied -the veteran. "I could do it with a -dozen men. We have seen 200 of their -cavalry since we have been on this hunt."</p> - -<p>"You have seen them!" ejaculated Tom.</p> - -<p>"Yes. We ran into some of them and had -to skirmish our way out. We have seen a -squad on every road except this, and how -those four escaped prisoners we are after -missed seeing them beats me."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to tell me that there are -200 Yankees between here and Camp Pinckney?" -exclaimed Tom, who did not like to -hear Rodney's story and Dick's confirmed -in this positive way. "I should think you -would have turned back when you found your -way blocked."</p> - -<p>"Since you are an old soldier, sah, and have -snuffed Yankee powder, I know that you are -joking. Our way wasn't blocked, and we had -no orders to turn back. We were commanded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> -to capture those four men and bring them to -Camp Pinckney without the loss of an hour; -and so we kept right on as though there -hadn't been a Yank within 1000 miles of us."</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph gazed admiringly at the -veteran, who did not talk or act as though he -had done more than any other soldier would -have done under the circumstances.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="small">UNCLE SAM'S LOST BOYS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">"I wish</span> I had some of your courage," said -Tom at length. "I may need it, for I am -liable any day to be ordered to Camp Pinckney -with a squad of conscripts."</p> - -<p>"W-h-e-w!" whistled the lieutenant. He -looked at the sergeant, the sergeant looked -at him, and then they both looked at Captain -Tom with an expression on their faces that -the latter could not understand. "Well, if -this is the sort of work you partisans have -to do, I am glad I am not a partisan," continued -the lieutenant. "I'd rather go through -Bull Run and take my chances, than attempt -to travel the sixty miles between here and -camp with a squad of conscripts. You will -have to take to the woods, of course, and that -will be the time your conscripts will give you -the slip. If you start with a hundred and get -through with ten you will be doing well."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span></p> - -<p>"There are people here who think I'll not -get through at all," said Tom. "They say -that I and my men will be captured or -killed."</p> - -<p>"<i>Of</i> course," answered the lieutenant, who -had never once thought of that contingency. -"It's to be expected that you will take your -chances on that. It is what we all have to do -when we meet the enemy."</p> - -<p>"Have you found them a tolerably brave -lot?" inquired Captain Tom, who wanted -much to meet some veteran who would assure -him that the Yankees were all cowards and -did not know how to fight.</p> - -<p>"As brave as they make 'em," said the -lieutenant earnestly, "and dead shots into the -bargain. We have bitten off a good deal more -than we can chew in ten years; now you remember -what I tell you. Of course, captain, -I wouldn't say that in the presence of a -civilian; but one old soldier knows how to -take another. Now, don't you think, sah, -that you partisans could lend us a hand in -capturing these Yankees."</p> - -<p>"Why, certainly; and I will warn my company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> -out at once," replied Tom readily. -"Where will I find you at the end of a couple -of hours? I want you and the sergeant to -take supper and lodgings at my mother's -house to-night."</p> - -<p>"Much obliged to you, sah, but we couldn't -think of it," said the lieutenant. "Colonel -Parker—he's the regular who commands the -camp—would take us to task for wasting -time if he should hear of it, and besides, -we don't want to run the risk of being -gobbled."</p> - -<p>"Gobbled?" repeated Captain Tom; for -that was a word that had not yet reached his -part of the Confederacy.</p> - -<p>"Captured, you know."</p> - -<p>"Who's going to capture you at our -house?" exclaimed Tom, who could feel himself -turning white.</p> - -<p>"The Yankee scouts might, if they should -happen to ride into town and any enemy of -yours could tell them where to find us; and -these escaped prisoners might do it."</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph was utterly confounded. -His idea of an escaped prisoner was a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> -running frantically for his life and too badly -frightened to look behind him; but the lieutenant's -words made it plain to him that the -four who were foot-loose somewhere in the -vicinity of Mooreville were not that sort. He -became really alarmed when the soldier went -on to explain the situation.</p> - -<p>"You see they were run down and gobbled -up three days ago by a large squad of our cavalry, -who started them for camp under guard -of four good men, one for each prisoner," said -he. "But before they had been away from -us half an hour, what do those Yankees do -but rise up and kill their guards, take their -weapons and ammunition, hitch their horses -in the woods so that they could not go on -and alarm the camp, and dig out through the -swamp for the Mississippi River."</p> - -<p>"And those armed and desperate prisoners -are supposed to be somewhere in the settlement -at this moment?" said Tom with a -shudder.</p> - -<p>"That is what we think, for the dogs tracked -them within a mile of this cornfield."</p> - -<p>"I hope you will hang them the minute you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> -get your hands on them," said Tom, in a -trembling voice.</p> - -<p>"There are fourteen men in my squad and -that is what they allow to do," replied the -lieutenant; "but then they won't, for that -would bring them into trouble with Colonel -Parker. If a captured man sees a chance to -escape he is at liberty to improve it, and to -hurt anything or anybody that gets in his -way; and in doing it he runs the risk of getting -hurt himself."</p> - -<p>"The first we heard of it," said the sergeant, -speaking for the first time, "was when -six of our men came into camp on foot, and -reported that they had been disarmed and dismounted -by four Yankees who had paroled -and turned them loose."</p> - -<p>"That was about as impudent a thing as I -ever heard of, and it shows what a daring lot -those escaped Yanks are," said the lieutenant; -and instead of getting angry when he thought -of it, he surprised Tom by laughing heartily, -as though he looked upon it as the best kind -of a joke. "A private has no right to parole -anybody, but all the same those Yanks wrote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> -out the papers in due form, and told our boys -that they could either sign them or stay there -in the swamp till a party came out from camp -to bury them. And our boys thought they -had better sign."</p> - -<p>"I didn't suppose that escaped prisoners -ever acted that way," said Captain Tom, after -a few minutes of surprised silence.</p> - -<p>"Won't they have something to talk about -when they get among their friends?" said -the lieutenant, with another laugh. "They -are brave soldiers, and I'll bet you they are -good fellows; and when the war is over, I -don't care which side whips, I would like to -meet them and talk over the events of the -last few days. We'd have a good laugh over -them."</p> - -<p>"I don't think it is any laughing matter to -kill four men as those Yanks killed their -guards," replied Tom, who could not understand -how men fighting under opposing flags -could have the least particle of respect or -kindly feeling for one another.</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's war, you know," said the lieutenant -lightly. "But you will see now why<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> -the sergeant and I must decline your kind -invitation to take supper and sleep at your -house. We don't want to put ourselves in a -position to be surrounded and captured, for -we are pretty close to Baton Rouge, and -those Yanks might decide to take us along instead -of parolling us. If we camp in the -woods with our dogs around us we'll know -that we are safe. Now, we shall have to bid -you good-by, captain. You will get your -company together and do what you can to -help us?"</p> - -<p>"Look out that they don't get the first shot -at you, sah," suggested the sergeant.</p> - -<p>"And if you are lucky enough to catch -them may I depend on you to send them to -camp under guard?" added the lieutenant. -"It might be to your interest to make the -acquaintance of our colonel."</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph shook hands with the -two veterans and promised to do all a loyal -soldier could do to head the fugitives off from -Baton Rouge and send them back to Camp -Pinckney; but there was not so much heart in -his promise as there was in the one he made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> -before he learned that the Yankees were -armed and daring. In order to keep up appearances, -however, he put his horse into a -lope as soon as the hand-shaking was over, -and made the best of his way to the enrolling -office. He found a few Home Guards loafing -there, but not half as many as he would have -found two days before. These valiant men -had heard that they might be ordered off with -a squad of conscripts any time, and they did -not care to go while the Union cavalry were -riding about through the country. So the -most of them stayed at home, holding themselves -in readiness to take to their heels if -they saw a horseman approaching, and had -any reason to believe that he had been sent -by Captain Roach to warn them to report for -duty. The captain was at his desk, and for -some reason or other seemed to be in the best -of spirits.</p> - -<p>"You ought to have dropped in about half -an hour ago," said he, as Tom walked into -the office after hitching his horse at the -rack in front of the door. "I have had -a very pleasant visit from one of your old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> -friends, who has just returned from Bragg's -army."</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph was so surprised that he -forgot all about the daring Yankees who were -running wild in the woods in close proximity -to Mooreville. He left home for the express -purpose of warning the enrolling officer against -Rodney Gray and his chum Dick Graham, -but something in the captain's manner told -him that his efforts in that direction would -not meet with much success; for the returned -soldiers had had the first chance at the captain, -and they were both smooth-tongued, winning -fellows.</p> - -<p>"If you are speaking of Rodney Gray——" -began Tom, in angry tones.</p> - -<p>"So you have seen him, have you!" exclaimed -the enrolling officer, leaning back in -his chair and breaking out into a peal of -laughter. "Well, he's a good one, isn't he?"</p> - -<p>"If you are speaking of him," sputtered -Tom, "you know as well as I do that he is no -friend of mine. I have told you so more times -than I can remember."</p> - -<p>"I know you have, and I confess that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> -treated him and his chum rather coldly when -they came into the office and said they wanted -to set themselves square with me by showing -that they were honorably discharged Confederate -soldiers," answered the captain. "But -they did not seem to care a snap for me or for -my opinion of them."</p> - -<p>"That's just like Rodney's impudence," -exclaimed Tom.</p> - -<p>"Well, you see he has a sort of good-natured -contempt for me because I am not a -veteran. He knows more in five minutes than -I do in a month, and he is not ignorant of the -fact. He and his chum sat down without -waiting to be asked, talked as though they -had known me always, and I laughed till I -cried over the stories they told of army life. -I hope to hear more of those stories when I go -up to Gray's to dinner on Thursday."</p> - -<p>If the enrolling officer had aimed a blow at -him with the ebony ruler that lay on his desk -Tom Randolph would not have been more -dumfounded. He leaned heavily upon the -back of a chair for a moment or two, and then -dropped almost helplessly into it.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span></p> - -<p>"To Gray's—to dinner on Thursday!" he -repeated faintly. "You can't—you mustn't -go there."</p> - -<p>"What's the reason I mustn't?" demanded -Captain Roach, surprised in his turn. "Good -dinners are not so plenty these times that I -can afford to throw them over my shoulder."</p> - -<p>"It isn't that," replied Tom. "It's the -sentiments of the people who invited you that -I object to. When you go into old man -Gray's house you will go plump into a nest -of traitors."</p> - -<p>"No, I reckon not. A man who volunteers -and does a soldier's duty for fifteen long -months, and who shows me an honorable discharge, -can't well be called a traitor."</p> - -<p>"He stayed in the army after he got there -because he had to, and did a soldier's duty for -the very good reason that he couldn't help -himself," said Captain Tom spitefully. "But -see how he talks since he came back! He -says he will not go into the army again, -and declares that the Yanks who captured -him while he was on the way home were -gentlemen."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, what would you think if you had -been in his place? What was there to hinder -those Yanks from taking him and Graham to -Baton Rouge and turning them over to the -provost marshal? They were in uniform when -they were captured."</p> - -<p>"I see you are on the side of those traitors," -said Tom, rising to his feet and pounding -lightly upon the captain's desk with his -clenched hand, "and I have this much to say -to you: If you go to Gray's you will no longer -be welcome at our house."</p> - -<p>"I shall be sorry for that, of course, but I -don't suppose I can help it. Gray and his -chum know all about soldiering, and as I may -have to go into the army myself some day, I -want to learn all I can from them. I think -you would be wise to do the same."</p> - -<p>"And while you have been having a good -time with my enemies, I have been working -for the cause which you made oath to support -but seem to have deserted," continued Tom -impressively. "I have been making arrangements -to capture some of the very men whom -Rodney Gray and Dick Graham promised to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> -assist if they found them in trouble. I want -all you fellows," here he turned about and -addressed himself to the Home Guards who -had come into the office to hear what passed -between their captain and the enrolling officer, -"to mount your horses at once and go in pursuit -of four escaped prisoners who are hiding -in the woods somewhere on the outskirts of -the town. As you go, warn every other member -of the company you see to turn out and -join in the chase."</p> - -<p>"Why, captain, what do you mean?" cried -the enrolling officer, becoming excited at once.</p> - -<p>Without paying the least attention to him -or his question, Captain Tom proceeded to give -his men a short and very incomplete account -of the interview he had held with the two -veterans while he was on his way to town. -We say the account was incomplete because -Tom did not tell his men that the fugitives -had armed themselves when they escaped -from their guards, and had been carrying -things with a high hand ever since. He was -afraid he could not raise much of a squad to -aid in the pursuit if he told that; so all he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> -said was that the four Yankees were striking -for Baton Rouge, that fourteen Confederate -veterans had been following them with hounds -for three days past, and that if they (the -Home Guards) would turn out in a body and -capture the prisoners from under the noses of -the Confederates, it might be a feather in their -hats. The Home Guards thought so too; and -hardly waiting for Tom to get through with -what he had to tell them, they made a rush -through the door toward the rack at which -their horses were hitched.</p> - -<p>"I am glad to see you so prompt to obey -orders," shouted Captain Tom, following them -to the sidewalk and waving his hand to them -as they rode off one after the other. "We'll -show the authorities that there are some loyal -people around here yet. I'll be with you as -soon as I can ride home and get my uniform -and weapons, but you needn't wait. Divide -yourselves into squads of six or eight, and -search every nook and corner of the woods you -can get into between this time and dark. And -don't forget corn-cribs and nigger cabins, nor -the cellars and lofts of Union men."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span></p> - -<p>"I think it strange that you did not bring -those Confederate officers straight to my -office," said the conscript captain, when the -last Home Guard had ridden away out of -sight.</p> - -<p>"Since you have deserted loyal people for -the society of those who say that they will not -do anything more for the cause they pretend -to believe in, I am sorry myself that I did not -bring them here," answered Tom. "But I -did not once think of it. I am glad they did -not accept my invitation to supper, for I -should have felt obliged to ask you to join -them. Where are you going?" he added, -when Captain Roach began bundling his -papers into his desk and locking the drawers.</p> - -<p>"I am going to help capture those four -Yankees," said he. "They are Confederate -prisoners, and I am a Confederate officer."</p> - -<p>Tom did not wait to see him off, but mounted -his horse and set out for home at top speed, -as if he were impatient to arm himself and -join his men in the pursuit; but he went long -distances out of his way to summon members -of his company whom he knew he would not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span> -find at home, so that it was after three o'clock -when he galloped through his father's gate -and drew rein at the foot of the steps. He -had had ample time to think over the situation -and make up his mind what he would -do.</p> - -<p>"My dear boy," exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, -when Tom had hurriedly explained matters to -her, "you must not risk your life and liberty -by going in pursuit of those escaped prisoners. -I'll never consent to it; never in this world."</p> - -<p>"Then show me, please, how I can get out of -it," answered Captain Tom, gently disengaging -himself from his mother's clinging hands -and starting up the stairs toward his room. -"Some of my men are in the woods by this -time, and if that lieutenant should happen to -run against them, his first question would -be: 'Where's your captain? He ought to -be here, conducting the pursuit in person.' -Really I must show up, mother, for I want -those veterans to tell Colonel Parker, when -they go back to camp, that I did all I could -to aid them in capturing the Yanks."</p> - -<p>"Then you are sure they will be captured—that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> -they will not be permitted to roam at -liberty during the night?" said Mrs. Randolph, -who had never before exhibited so -much nervousness and anxiety as she did at -that moment. "I couldn't sleep if I knew -they were at large."</p> - -<p>"No, I am not sure of it, for they have -proved themselves to be both daring and -cunning. Just think what they have done! -They have killed their guards, captured and -paroled half a dozen soldiers, and kept out of -reach of the hounds for three days; and such -men are not going to be taken easily, I bet -you," replied Tom from the head of the -stairs; and then he went into his room to don -his uniform and buckle on his sword and -revolver. A few minutes later he came out to -ask his mother what she thought of Captain -Roach's way of doing business.</p> - -<p>"I wonder if he couldn't be reported and -hauled over the coals for associating with those -Grays?" said Tom.</p> - -<p>"If the captain is disloyal—and we have no -way of judging of his feelings except by his -actions—I certainly think his superior officers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span> -ought to know it," said Mrs. Randolph. -"But, my dear——"</p> - -<p>"I know what you want to say," interrupted -Captain Tom. "You mean that if I report -him for any of his shortcomings, he will -conscript me. Then he had better do it at -once, for if he waits a week it will be too -late."</p> - -<p>"Tom, are you going to resign your commission?"</p> - -<p>"I am going to take Larkin's place as overseer -of this plantation," replied Tom, very -decidedly. "I thought it would be a big -come-down at first, but since I have thought -the matter over, I have made up my mind that -it will be a change for the better. I can't be -forced into the army; being a civilian I may -be able to obtain some salt, coffee, and things -from the Yanks; and if father ever has a -chance to sell that cotton, I shall be at hand to -help him run it up out of the swamp."</p> - -<p>Captain Tom fully expected that his mother -would strongly object to these plans, and he -even thought she might denounce him as a -traitor to the South and its flag; but somewhat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> -to his surprise she did nothing of the -kind. She, too, had had leisure to think the -matter over, and much against her will had -been obliged to confess to herself that it didn't -pay to be too good a rebel while the Federals -held undisputed possession of Baton Rouge, -and blue-coated cavalry were scouting about -through the country. She even wished that -Tom would hide his uniform, his military -saddle and bridle, and his sword where nobody -would ever see them again.</p> - -<p>"That is what I have decided to do," continued -Captain Tom, as he slipped his six-shooter -into its holster and came down the -stairs, "and I mean to attend to it as soon as -I see those four Yanks captured."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps it would be as well," answered -his mother. "Delays are sometimes dangerous. -But I don't see how I can give my -consent to let you go on this expedition."</p> - -<p>"Don't worry about me. I am bound to -come back all right, and I'll never have to go -on another. And when that traitor Roach -gets ready to send off his conscripts, he can -tell somebody besides me to take them."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span></p> - -<p>"Will you recommend anyone to the Governor -to take your place?"</p> - -<p>"Not much. I don't care whether or not -anybody gets it, so long as Lambert is left out -in the cold with a fair chance of being sent to -Camp Pinckney. Good-by, mother. I must be -off, or some evil-minded person in the settlement -will accuse me of shirking my duty."</p> - -<p>The leave-taking was a tearful one on Mrs. -Randolph's part, but Captain Tom could not -have been more unconcerned if he had been -going to Mooreville to buy groceries. He -thought he knew a way to keep up his reputation -as a loyal Southerner and steer clear of -the dreaded Yankees at the same time.</p> - -<p>"There's one thing about it," soliloquized -Tom, as he galloped out of the gate, waving a -last farewell to his mother as he went, "our -folks are not as fierce for secession as they -used to be, and I am mighty glad to know it. -We're getting so we live awful hard. Our -table is a sight to behold, with nothing on it -but corn pone, bacon, sweet potato coffee, and -buttermilk from one week's end to another's, -and I am getting tired of such grub. And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> -where am I going to raise forty-five dollars in -Confederate money to pay for a pair of boots -when these wear out? There's plenty of gold -in the house, and I could use it to good advantage -if I could only get into Baton Rouge and -obtain a permit from the provost marshal to -trade there. I'll bet you that Rodney Gray -and that chum of his will be rigged out spick-and-span -from head to foot the next time I see -them, and they will buy their things inside -the Yankee lines, too. Now, I'll tell you -what's a fact; I've just as much right to use -the Yankees as they have."</p> - -<p>When Captain Tom reached this point in his -meditations he drew rein in front of a pair -of bars giving entrance into a lane that ran -through his father's plantation in the direction -of the river. The house was concealed -from his view by an abrupt bend in the road, -and a hasty glance on each side showed him -that there was no one in sight; so he bent -down from his saddle, opened the bars, and -rode into the lane. It is true that the escaped -prisoners and the soldiers and hounds that -were pursuing them were not on that side of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> -the road, but two miles away in the opposite -direction, but Captain Tom did not stop to -think of that. He knew where he was going, -and made all haste to get there as soon as he -had put up the bars.</p> - -<p>"There are not half a dozen citizens in the -neighborhood who will lend a hand in catching -those prisoners, and the last one of the -Home Guards will fall out and strike for a -place of safety the minute they find out that -the Yanks are armed," thought Tom, as he -rode swiftly along the lane, turning about in -his saddle now and then to make sure that no -one was observing his movements. "And -that being the case, why should I risk my -life in trying to capture them? Say! By -gracious!"</p> - -<p>As this exclamation fell from Captain Tom's -lips he pulled up his horse with a jerk, and -looked first at the road and then at the cluster -of trees that shut the house off from his sight. -He spent a minute or two in this way and then -rode on again.</p> - -<p>"That's a splendid idea, but my wit always -comes too late to be of any use to me," said he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> -angrily; and he avenged himself on his slow -wit by hitting his spirited horse such a stinging -cut with his whip that the animal came -very near "flying" the road and going off into -the ditch. "Instead of this gray uniform, -which will send me to a Northern prison if the -Yankees ever catch me with it on, why didn't -I keep on my citizen's clothes? Then I -needn't have had the least fear of meeting the -prisoners. I could have fed and sheltered -them to-night and guided them to the city in -the morning; and in return for my services I -could have asked the provost marshal to give -me a permit to buy some things in the stores. -Dog-gone the luck!"</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph hit his horse another -merciless blow with the whip, and this time -the animal's sudden spring had a most astounding -result. He jumped sideways clear -over the ditch that ran by the side of the road, -and when he landed on the opposite bank -he stopped so quickly that his rider was -thrown headlong from his saddle, bringing up -among the cotton stalks ten feet farther on. -He was not in the least injured or even jarred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span> -by his fall, but he was tolerably angry to find -himself so easily unhorsed. He raised himself -on his elbow, but before he could make another -move, or give utterance to his pent-up -feelings, a voice near at hand said pleasantly:</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you, John, but didn't expect -to be introduced in such a promiscuous manner, -you know. Don't stand on ceremony, -but come right in. The latch-string is always -out."</p> - -<p>This incident happened almost in the edge -of the little grove of evergreens toward which -Captain Tom had been directing his course -ever since he passed through the bars. It was -his intention to conceal himself and his horse -among the evergreens and remain there in -safety until dark, while the rest of the Home -Guards and the citizens, if any there were -who had a fancy to join Captain Roach in -such perilous business, searched the woods -for the escaped prisoners.</p> - -<p>Tom Randolph's first feeling was one of -the most intense surprise, without a particle -of fear or anxiety in it; but when he rolled -over on his side to bring his face toward the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> -grove, he was almost paralyzed with terror to -see three ragged fellows in nondescript uniforms -advancing swiftly upon him, while a -fourth covered his head with a cocked carbine -from the edge of the evergreens. One of the -three secured his horse, which had not moved -an inch since he rid himself of his inhuman -rider, a second swung the black muzzle of a -musket in unpleasant proximity to his face, -and the third knelt by his side and took possession -of his sword and revolver.</p> - -<p>"Was yer looking fur we uns, Johnny -boy?" chuckled the one who held the musket. -"If yer was, hyar we is. Mighty glad -to see yer, and dat's a fac'. Come along now, -and we uns will cut a watermillyun."</p> - -<p>"Who—who are you?" gasped Tom, whose -terror was greatly increased by the soldier's -grim humor.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_240.jpg" alt="Captured" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small smcap">Tom Randolph captured by the escaped prisoners.</span> - </div> -</div> - - -<p>"Well, Johnny, we're so ragged and dirty -just now that we don't rightly know who we -are, except that we are some of Uncle Sam's -lost boys," replied the one who had captured -the sword and revolver. "I expect he's down -to Baton Rouge now waiting for us, and so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> -we'd best be toddling along. Take that horse -into the grove out of sight, Ben. Come on, -Johnny."</p> - -<p>"Have you heard hounds giving tongue in -the woods anywhere about here?" inquired -the one who had first spoken.</p> - -<p>Tom was so nearly overcome with fear that -he could not answer. He hardly knew when -two of Uncle Sam's lost boys took him by the -arms and raised him to his feet. All he realized -was that he had run squarely into the -hands of those he had tried so hard to avoid.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="small">NED GRIFFIN BRINGS NEWS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">After</span> accompanying our Confederate -hero, Rodney Gray, through fifteen -months of army life, during which he saw -more adventures, endured more hardships and -learned more wisdom than he had ever dreamed -of, we left him, at the close of the second volume -of this series, safe in the home of his boyhood, -which he had left for the avowed purpose -of "driving the Yankees out of Missouri." -He confidently assured his mother and the -servants who assembled to see him off that -it would not take more than three or four -months to do that, and then he would return, -like Lentulus of old, "with victorious eagles." -Instead of that, he came back as ragged and -disgusted a specimen of a Confederate volunteer -as could be found anywhere in the South -at the time of which we write, and that is saying -a good deal. The summer clothing given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span> -him and his comrades at Tupelo after the retreat -from Corinth, and which had been furnished -by one of the numerous "ladies' associations" -of the South, was not calculated to -stand soldier treatment. The trousers Rodney -wore were made of a rich shawl, and his blouse -had once been part of a costly silk dress. His -nights at the camp-fire, and the days he had -passed trudging along dusty roads, had played -sad havoc with his "pictured uniform." That -was what Dick Graham called it, and his regiment, -which had been pretty well supplied with -clothing of the same description, presented a -very fantastic appearance the first time they -went on dress parade.</p> - -<p>You will remember that Rodney brought -Dick home with him. Dick wanted to get -into Missouri where his parents were, and in -order to do that it was necessary that he -should find some point on the Mississippi that -was not guarded by Federal gunboats. They -came from Camp Pinckney on foot, and had -been doing duty as infantrymen for months, -although their regiment was always spoken -of as the —th Missouri cavalry. Their horses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> -had been "confiscated" by the commissary -department during that dreary "mud march" -from the disastrous battlefield of Pea Ridge -to Van Buren and Pocahontas. The commanding -general, Van Dorn, did not need cavalry -during that march, but it was necessary -that his wagon train should go through; so as -fast as his jaded teams gave out and dropped -in the road, he took cavalry horses to replace -them, and in process of time the two Barrington -boys found themselves on foot like hundreds -of others.</p> - -<p>You will remember, too, that when Rodney -reached home he led his friend into the parlor -and pushed him into an easy-chair with the -words: "Stay here till I find somebody," and -that his mother came in a moment later. -The way in which the two greeted each other -after their long separation was something of -which Dick Graham could not remain an unmoved -spectator, for it made him think of his -own mother away off across the river, whom -he might never see again. He staggered -rather than walked to the window, and looked -out at the oleanders in the yard.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span></p> - -<p>"O Rodney, is it possible that you have -come back to me at last!" exclaimed Mrs. -Gray tearfully; and Dick knew, without turning -his head, that she was holding her stalwart -son off at arms' length and giving him a good -looking over.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," replied the returned soldier, -placing his arm about his mother's waist and -leading her toward a sofa, "I have come back, -and I have come to stay. The last words you -said to me right out there on the gallery were -that you never wanted to hear that I had -failed to do my duty. You haven't heard -any such report as that, have you? I have -done the best I could, but I have come back -whipped; and I wish every other man who -wears a gray jacket were honest enough to -say the same thing."</p> - -<p>The listening Dick expected to hear his -chum soundly rebuked for giving utterance to -such sentiments, because he knew that the -women were much more zealous for the cause -of Southern independence than their male -relatives, that they were exerting themselves to -the utmost to keep the war spirit at fever heat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> -and that, if it hadn't been for them, the army -from which he had just been discharged would -have dwindled to a corporal's guard long ago. -By an accidental glance into a mirror that -hung on a side wall Dick saw that Mrs. Gray -was holding her soldier boy tightly clasped -in her arms; but he did not hear her utter -one word of reproach. Like many another -mother's, her patriotism had been sorely tried, -and now that Rodney had returned safe and -sound she considered that she had done all -for the cause that could be expected of her, -and hoped that he would never leave her side -again. Let some other mother's son—Mrs. -Randolph's, for instance—take Rodney's place -at the front.</p> - -<p>"Say!" exclaimed Rodney, starting up -all of a sudden. "What's the matter here? -This room doesn't look just as it did the last -time I saw it. Where's the carpet?"</p> - -<p>"It was cut into blankets and sent to Corinth, -along with a lot of other things that I thought -might be of use to you ragged, shivering soldiers," -replied his mother.</p> - -<p>"I hoped you would never be called upon to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span> -make the smallest sacrifice," said Rodney in a -tone of disgust.</p> - -<p>"Do you think I made no sacrifice when -I sent you to the field?" said Mrs. Gray reproachfully. -"O Rodney."</p> - -<p>"I didn't mean that," said the boy quickly. -"But you don't want to rob yourself for the -sake of those fellows up there," bobbing his -head in the direction in which he supposed -Bragg's army to be. "Like as not the poor, -foolish woman who cut her shawl up to -make these trousers of mine will suffer with -cold for the want of it. But I am forgetting -something. Come here, old fellow. Mother, -you have often heard me speak of Dick -Graham, the only brother I've got. Well, here -he is. Rags and dust and all, that's Dick. -Kiss him for his mother, and tell me where I -will find father."</p> - -<p>The lonely, homesick young Missourian was -almost overwhelmed by the kindly greeting -that Rodney's mother gave him, but his friend -was quick to notice it and came to his relief. -When his mother said that Mr. Gray had -gone to Mooreville on business and might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> -not be back for an hour or two, he seized -Dick by the arm and hurried him up to his -room.</p> - -<p>"I have known you a good while, but I never -saw you look so glum before," said he, as he -closed the door and forced Dick into a seat.</p> - -<p>"You may well say that," replied the latter. -"I bore up pretty well until I saw you and -your mother together, and that knocked me. -It's a fur ways to Little Rock, and there are a -good many Yanks on the road."</p> - -<p>"I'll trust you and your discharge to get -along with the Yankee cavalry if I can only -see you safe over the river," said Rodney. -"There is where the fun is going to come in."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think that the commanding -naval officer, or the provost marshal at Baton -Rouge, might be prevailed upon to give me -permission to go over openly and above-board?" -inquired Dick.</p> - -<p>"Not much. You wouldn't do it yourself -if you were in their places. How would they -know but that you were a spy or a bearer of -secret despatches, and that your discharge was -a humbug? I tell you, Dick, since I have had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> -time to think of the way those Yankee scouts -treated us when they told us to come in out of -the wet, I confess to a very friendly feeling for -the Yankees. How many are there who would -have run us in, just to be able to say that they -had captured a couple of graybacks?"</p> - -<p>"That's so," assented Dick.</p> - -<p>"Now the best thing you can do is to stay -with me long enough to rest your hands and -face, say a week or such a matter, and then -we'll go up to Vicksburg——"</p> - -<p>"Suffering Moses!" exclaimed Dick. -"There is a portion of two Yankee fleets up -there, according to the last report I read, and -they are fighting our fellows all the time."</p> - -<p>"Well, say Port Hudson then. There -hasn't been much of any fighting there. We'll -buy a light, tight boat and provision it——"</p> - -<p>Here Dick straightened up, and turned his -pockets inside out one after the other to show -that they were empty.</p> - -<p>"I know what you mean by that," exclaimed -Rodney, "but I'll see that you have -all the money you want—money, I said, and -not such stuff as that," he added, thrusting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> -his hand into his pocket and pulling out the -roll of Confederate scrip that the paymaster -had given him with his discharge. "Mother -was wild for Southern independence when -this thing was first started, but thought it -wise to prepare for a rainy day; so she and -father and I put away a little gold."</p> - -<p>"If it wasn't for the fact that my father -and mother did the same thing, I'd call you a -traitor," said Dick.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know we are in good company," -answered Rodney with a laugh. "And we -don't think any the less of ourselves for putting -away that gold, either. Think what a -fix Washington's army was in when it was -mustered out at Newburgh. Those men were -victorious, but even victors must eat and have -something to wear, and what did they have -to live on? Do you suppose they would have -thought seriously of mutiny if they had had -a little store of hard stuff to fall back on? -That's why we hid the gold; and it doesn't -make any difference what sort of laws the -government at Richmond passes, we are going -to keep what we have. Now, let me show<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> -you how much my old company thought of -me."</p> - -<p>Although Rodney's room had been regularly -cared for during the long months it had been -without an occupant, he noticed, the moment -he went into it, that nothing had been disturbed. -A newspaper, which he had tossed -upon the floor the morning he left, was lying -in nearly the same spot yet; and his light -fowling-piece was standing in the corner -where he had placed it after shooting a hawk -that was bothering Aunt Martha's chickens. -He opened the door of his closet as he spoke, -and almost without looking put his hand upon -the elegant cavalry sabre that Bob Hubbard's -Rangers had given him. The uniform he had -worn while acting as drill-master, and his -military saddle and bridle were there, too.</p> - -<p>"I left them at home because I knew they -would get me captured if I tried to take them -into Missouri," said he. "Now, pull off that -picture-book," he added, nodding toward -Dick's silk blouse, "and after you have removed -a little of the Louisiana soil from your -features, put on this citizen's suit. I am not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> -sure it will fit you, but it is the best I can do -until I see how trade is."</p> - -<p>"I suppose gold is as potent in Baton -Rouge as it was in Little Rock," said Dick. -"But do you think our discharges will take -us inside the Yankee lines?"</p> - -<p>"We'll make them," replied Rodney. -"We'll say that we want to report ourselves -to the provost marshal and get a paper of -some kind from him that will keep the Federal -scouts from bothering us; and when we see -him we'll bounce him for permission to trade."</p> - -<p>The boys went to work to make such improvements -in their personal appearance as -they could with plenty of soap and water and -Rodney's abundant wardrobe, and when a bell -rang in a lower hall half an hour later, they -answered it looking quite unlike the dusty -ragamuffins who had walked unbidden into -Mrs. Gray's front parlor. It is true that their -coats were a little short in the sleeves and -tight across the shoulders, but there were no -holes in them or in the light shoes they wore -on their feet.</p> - -<p>"That's all O. K., mother," said Rodney,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> -catching a momentary glimpse of a well-filled -table through the open door. "When you can't -think of any other way to put in the time, just -ask us if we want something to eat. Now come -and sit down with us, and tell us everything -that's happened since I have been in the army."</p> - -<p>Rodney's entrance into the dining room -seemed to be the signal that the house servants -had been waiting for. The moment he -stepped over the threshold they rushed in -through every door, some smiling, some laughing -outright, and all pushing and crowding -one another in the effort to be the first to -shake "young moster" by the hand. Foremost -in the struggle was Rosebud, the darkey -who had been Rodney's playmate in the days -of his babyhood, and who yelled so dolefully -when he went away. Although they all inquired -particularly after his health, there was -not one among them who asked what he -thought of the Yankees as fighters now that -he had had some experience with them. They -knew as well as he did that he and his comrades -had failed utterly in their efforts to take -Missouri out of the Union.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Gray could not describe in one dinner -hour everything that had happened in and -around Mooreville during the last fifteen -months, nor could she do it in a dozen hours; -and even at the end of a week she and her -husband had many questions to answer as well -as many to ask. But before he went to bed -that night Rodney knew pretty nearly what -Tom Randolph and his Home Guards had -been doing, and how he and the enrolling -officer stood in the community, and had been -made to see at least one thing very clearly: -the surest way for him to keep out of the -army was to follow Ned Griffin's example and -take a position as overseer on one of his -father's plantations.</p> - -<p>"I am overjoyed to know that you have -decided to remain at home with us," said his -father, "but, to be honest, I did not look for -it, so I gave Griffin the best opening I had. -Our upper plantation, as you are aware, is -right in the middle of the woods; but I think -Ned will be willing to make the change if -I ask him."</p> - -<p>"Not for the world," said Rodney quickly.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span></p> - -<p>"I am used to living in the woods, so I will -take the little farm and let Ned and his -mother stay near civilization, where they can -see white folks once in a while. Besides, I'd -rather like to be within reach of the cotton -you've got up there. A Northern paper that -came into our hands just before we left Tupelo -contained the information that there's going -to be trading allowed along the river, and -what the Yanks especially want is cotton."</p> - -<p>"I don't blame them," said Mr. Gray, with -a smile. "It is worth sixty cents a pound in -New York."</p> - -<p>This piece of news almost took Rodney's -breath away.</p> - -<p>"Four hundred and fifty bales at—let me -see; $270 a——Great Scott, father! That -doesn't look as though you are going to be -reduced to beggary."</p> - -<p>"But you must bear in mind that our cotton -is not in New York, but concealed in the -depths of a swamp," said his mother; and -Rodney afterward had occasion to recall the -words when he was working night and day, -with Sailor Jack's assistance and Marcy's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span> -to keep this cotton out of the hands of rascals, -both Union and Confederate, who were trying -their best to take it from him by force or to -cheat him out of it. This news was so very -important that it could be talked of only in -whispers; and after the difficulties that lay in -the way of getting the cotton into the hands of -the traders had been discussed in tones so low -that no eavesdropper at the door could have -heard a word of it, Mrs. Gray said in her -ordinary voice:</p> - -<p>"You boys have often spoken of having -Northern papers in your possession. Did your -officers permit that?"</p> - -<p>"Well, no," said Rodney, with a laugh. -"It was against orders to look at one of them, -and I have seen men triced up by the thumbs -for disregarding that order."</p> - -<p>"Then how did they get inside our lines?"</p> - -<p>"They were taken from dead Yanks, or out -of the pockets of prisoners," replied Rodney. -"Sometimes they were handed over to an -officer, or thrown aside to be picked up by -other men who didn't care so much for orders; -and those who got them were mighty careful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span> -to know who was around when they took them -out to read them. Why, mother, I am telling -you the gospel truth when I say that all the -reliable news we army fellows got was what -came to us through the columns of Northern -papers, or from the mouths of Northern prisoners. -But, as I was saying—$120,000 and -over. That's what your cotton is worth, -father, and I will take the little farm so as to -be where I can see it once in a while."</p> - -<p>There were so many questions to be asked -and answered that Rodney and Dick scarcely -stirred out of the house during the whole of -the next day. On the second day they rode -out to call upon Ned Griffin and his mother, -both of whom shed tears of joy and gratitude -when they took Rodney by the hand.</p> - -<p>"Yes; thanks to your father's kindness, I -am here yet," said Ned, wiping his eyes, which -grew misty every time he spoke of his benefactor, -"though mercy knows how I am going -to pay the debt I shall owe him when the -terms of the conscription law are complied -with. A hundred pounds of beef and bacon -for every darkey on this place, big and little,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span> -and beef and bacon worth—worth way up -yonder," said Ned, pointing to the ceiling. -"It will take me a lifetime to pay it."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, it won't," said Rodney encouragingly, -"for if goods are high, your services -will command wages in proportion; don't you -see?"</p> - -<p>"Do you imagine that I will ever charge -your father a cent after what he has done for -me?" cried Ned indignantly. "I am not that -kind of a fellow, and you ought to know it."</p> - -<p>"Well, I suppose that is sentiment, but it -isn't business," said the practical Rodney. -"Now, then, what do you know? Have you -the straight of the fights the Home Guards -had with those gunboats?"</p> - -<p>Ned laughed until he was red in the face, -and then went on to give the "straight" of -one "fight" as he had heard it from indignant -citizens of Baton Rouge, who had petitioned -General Williams, the Union commander, to -send a company of cavalry to Mooreville with -orders to exterminate the Home Guards or -drive them from the country. The boys heard -much the same story from several disabled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span> -veterans of Bragg's army, upon whom they -called on their way home, and that was the -way Rodney came to know so much about -what had been transpiring along the river during -his absence. He and Dick also learned -from various sources that the enrolling officer -would prove to be a jolly and entertaining -companion when once they became acquainted -with him, but as he was Tom Randolph's -friend, they had better not trust him too far -at first.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps we'll not trust him at all," said -Rodney. "We can tell better after we have -had a look at him. As we are not in the Confederate -service we are under no obligations -to go near him; still he might look upon it -as a courteous and friendly act if we were -to drop into his office to-morrow and tell him -'hallo!'"</p> - -<p>With this object in view they rode to Mooreville -on the afternoon of the next day, and -that was the time they saw Tom Randolph and -frightened him nearly out of his wits, as we -have recorded, by assuring him that he need -not expect to take a squad of conscripts to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span> -Camp Pinckney without having a brush with -the Union cavalry. It was after they left him -that they heard the hounds giving tongue in -the woods; but such sounds were common -enough in that country, and so they paid no -attention to it, although they might have done -so had they been able to look far enough into -the future to see what was going to happen -afterward.</p> - -<p>When they reached the enrolling office Rodney -found that he knew everyone there except -the officer in charge; and as he shook hands -with some and barely nodded to others, he -told himself that they were just the sort of -men he expected to find in Tom Randolph's -company of Home Guards. There were a few -industrious, hard-working ones among them, -but the majority were long-haired, lazy vagabonds, -who had never been known to earn an -honest living.</p> - -<p>"They're a pretty set to fight a gunboat," -he whispered to Dick while the two were -hitching their horses at the rack. "And I'll -bet my roll of Confederate scrip against yours -that they never take any conscripts to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span> -camp of instruction. I'll go farther, and say -that they will never start with any, for when -they are wanted they'll not be found. Now -let's go in and see what sort of a chap we have -to deal with."</p> - -<p>Dick Graham put him down at once as a -conceited prig, who did not know a thing outside -of office routine, and was so disgusted -with the airs he tried to throw on that he did -not salute when he handed out his discharge; -but Rodney, who did not care any more for -the enrolling officer than he did for a crooked -stick in the road, pursued a different course, -and very soon succeeded in making Captain -Roach ashamed of himself. He made him see -that there was a big difference between a veteran -soldier and a Home Guard, and ended by -asking him to dinner.</p> - -<p>"Now you've done it," said Dick, as the -two mounted their horses and rode homeward. -"If your mother had wanted that officer at -her table, don't you think she would have -asked him long ago?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's all right," said Rodney. -"We're privileged characters, and my folks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span> -will back up anything we do or say. Besides, -during the last three days I've got to be a -policy man."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> - -<p>"Just this: so long as Captain Roach -collogues with Tom Randolph and his mother—she's -the one I am afraid of, for she is a -schemer from the word go, I tell you—so long -will he be more or less under their influence; -and I am well enough acquainted with them -to know that they would not hesitate to say -or do anything that came into their heads if -they thought they could set him against me. -So I wanted the first chance at the captain. -There's no telling at what moment he may be -able to do us a good turn."</p> - -<p>When the boys reached home they were surprised -to find that there was a good deal of -suppressed excitement among the servants, -which showed itself now and then in spite of -all their efforts to keep it concealed. Rodney's -black playmate, who came to the steps -to take charge of their horses, was full of -news, but his master could not get anything -out of him, although he threatened, if he did<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span> -not speak, to take him on board the gunboats -and sell him to the Yankees the first -thing in the morning. When they went into -the house they met Mrs. Gray, whose face -showed that she was not altogether at her -ease.</p> - -<p>"What's up?" demanded Rodney.</p> - -<p>"Nothing more than we can expect in -times like these, I suppose," she replied, with -a smile. "But the blacks are frightened, and -of course that has an effect on me. There are -four escaped Union prisoners in the vicinity, -and some Confederate soldiers are pursuing -them with bloodhounds."</p> - -<p>Dick Graham took note of the fact that she -did not say "some of <i>our</i> soldiers," as almost -every other Southern woman would have -done. He thought of the Federal scouts -who had captured and released himself and -Rodney a few days before, and said mentally:</p> - -<p>"I hope they'll not catch them. I wish -we could find them long enough to hand them -a bottle of turpentine. That would throw the -dogs off their trail in short order."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, what are the blacks frightened at?" -continued Rodney. "The Yanks don't make -war on people of their color."</p> - -<p>"But they know that there are two ex-Confederate -soldiers in this house——" began -Mrs. Gray.</p> - -<p>"Now I understand it!" exclaimed Rodney. -"And that was the reason Rosebud wouldn't -tell me what he had on his mind, though I -promised to sell him if he didn't. He was -afraid that Dick and I would saddle up and -go after those prisoners. Well, we're not -making war on Yanks so much as we were, so -you can rest easy, mother. But how did you -find it out? We didn't hear a word of it in -town or along the road."</p> - -<p>"Three of the pursuing party rode into the -yard not half an hour ago to tell me of it, and -to ask if I thought any of our blacks would be -likely to feed and shelter the Federals if they -came on the plantation," answered Mrs. Gray. -"And I could only say truthfully that I was -sure they would. The soldiers do not mean -to give the poor fellows any rest, or the least -chance to escape to the river."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span></p> - -<p>"Hal-lo!" ejaculated Rodney. "Is a Yank -a poor fellow in your estimation?"</p> - -<p>"A weary and hungry man is always an -object of pity," replied his mother, "and -such have never been turned from this plantation -without having their wants relieved. -And now the soldiers have gone and put those -dreadful Home Guards after them."</p> - -<p>"Haw, haw!" laughed Rodney. "Tom -Randolph's Home Guards may be dreadful to -unarmed Union men who have never snuffed -powder, but veterans, such as I take these -escaped prisoners to be, won't stand in fear of -them. Why, mother, if these four men were -armed they would whip Tom's whole company."</p> - -<p>"They are thoroughly armed," said Mrs. -Gray. "And when they are in need of food -they walk right into a plantation house and -demand it."</p> - -<p>"That's all right too. You don't expect -men to go hungry when there's grub in sight, -just because they have the misfortune to be -Yanks, do you? Where did they get their -weapons?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Gray shuddered as she told the story -as we have already heard it; and when she described -how the fugitives had surprised, captured, -and paroled a squad of six men who had -been sent in pursuit of them, Rodney's face -and Dick's beamed with admiration.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet they are bricks," said the former.</p> - -<p>"Top-notch," chimed in Dick.</p> - -<p>"And do the Home Guards know that the -Yanks are armed?" continued Rodney. "If -they do, there isn't a man in the company who -will join in the pursuit. They'll make a big -show of going if Tom orders them out, but the -first good chance they get they'll hide in the -woods."</p> - -<p>"And I don't know that I blame them," -observed Dick.</p> - -<p>"Nor me. There's no fun in walking up on -an armed and desperate man when he is concealed -and can see every move you make, -while you cannot see hide nor hair of him. -Mother," here he sunk his voice to a whisper, -"I hope they won't catch those fellows; and -if they come around this house I'll help them -if I can."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span></p> - -<p>"Here too," whispered Dick; and Mrs. Gray -never uttered a word of rebuke. The boys -believed that she would help them herself.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Gray came in the matter was -talked over again, and he did not appear to be -very anxious that the fugitives should be captured. -On the contrary he discussed their -chances of escape with great composure, and -said he thought their prospects would be -brighter than they were if they only had somebody -with them who could show them how to -throw off the dogs. These dogs were not intended -to seize the fugitives, you will understand, -but merely to overtake and hold them -at bay until the soldiers could come up. -Large packs of trained "nigger" dogs would -sometimes pull down a single man when they -found him in the woods, and it is a matter of -history that some of our poor fellows who -escaped from Andersonville were sadly torn -by them.</p> - -<p>But the four escaped prisoners in question -did not come near Mr. Gray's house that night; -or if they did, Rodney and Dick never knew -it. It was on the morning of the next day,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span> -just as breakfast was nearly over, that the first -exciting thing happened. Ned Griffin rode -into the yard, and on his way to the back -porch he passed along the carriage-way in -front of one of the dining-room windows. Rodney -had a fair view of his face as he rode by, -and Ned looked through the open window and -saw Rodney; and in an instant a signal passed -from one to the other—a signal so very slight -that no one but a schoolboy would have noticed -it, but it told Rodney as plainly as words -that Ned had news for him that he did not -want to divulge in the presence of any third -party. So Rodney hastily excused himself -and went out on the porch.</p> - -<p>"You look just as Rosebud did when I came -home last evening," said he, when he saw Ned -standing at the foot of the steps holding his -horse by the bridle. "But I hope you will -be more accommodating than he was, for he -would not tell what he had on his mind."</p> - -<p>"Say," replied Ned. He looked all around -to make sure that there was no else within -hearing and then went on. "You heard about -those escaped Yankees, didn't you?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span></p> - -<p>"I heard all about them. What of it?"</p> - -<p>"They came to our house last night."</p> - -<p>"That's all right. You treated them white, -didn't you?"</p> - -<p>"I treated them the best I knew how. I -thought you and your father wouldn't care."</p> - -<p>"Of course not. But we would care if you -had treated them any other way. What of -it?"</p> - -<p>"They want me to guide them to Baton -Rouge," continued Ned; and then Rodney -noticed that the hand with which he held -his bridle trembled like a leaf.</p> - -<p>"That's all right too, and I don't see anything -alarming in it. Why don't you do it?"</p> - -<p>"I am perfectly willing to do it, but you see -they have got Tom Randolph with them and -won't give him up. They are bound to take -him into the city as a prisoner, for they captured -him in uniform."</p> - -<p>This astounding information almost knocked -Rodney over. He sat down on the topmost -step, rested his elbows on his knees and his -chin on his hands, and looked at Ned without -speaking.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<span class="small">THE ESCAPED PRISONERS' STORY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">"I tried</span> my level best to induce the Yanks -to let Tom Randolph go free, and so did -mother," continued Ned, slipping the bridle -over his horse's head and seating himself -on the steps at Rodney's feet, "but they -wouldn't hear to it. The worst of it is, -they scared the life out of Tom and made him -confess everything."</p> - -<p>"I am sorry to hear that," replied Rodney, -who had leisure, while Ned was speaking, to -gather a few of his wits about him. "If Tom -told how he persecuted unarmed Union men in -this settlement he's a goner sure enough, for -there isn't a soldier in the world who will stand -such work as that."</p> - -<p>"I don't believe he said a word about it," -exclaimed Ned.</p> - -<p>"Then what in the name of sense did he -have to confess?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span></p> - -<p>"About fighting those gunboats, you -know."</p> - -<p>"He never fought any gunboats," declared -Rodney impatiently. "What do you suppose -possesses him to stick to that lie every -chance he gets? One would think he'd get -tired of it after a while."</p> - -<p>"I asked him that very question when the -Yanks permitted me to have a little private -talk with him," said Ned, "and the reason he -gave was this: he had heard that brave men -respected brave men, and he hoped his captors -would treat him with a little more courtesy if -they knew that he was a valiant soldier."</p> - -<p>Rodney Gray was utterly confounded.</p> - -<p>"Valiant sol——Great Scott! There isn't -a bigger coward in the Confederacy than Tom -Randolph!" he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"But you see the Yankees don't know that, -and Tom has stuffed them so full of his ridiculous -stories that they imagine they have got -hold of a second Mosby or Morgan, and that he -is worth keeping."</p> - -<p>"Did you tell them all this?" inquired -Rodney.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span></p> - -<p>"Of course I did; but, although they know -that I am a Union man and down on everything -that looks like secession or rebellion, -they would not believe me, and you will have -to go up and try what you can do; that is, if -you feel like helping one who has always done -his best to injure you."</p> - -<p>"I'd like to take Tom Randolph right out -there in the carriage road and punch his head -for him this minute," replied Rodney, "but I -am not coward enough to take vengeance on -him in any other way. I'll go, of course, but -I don't imagine they will pay any more attention -to me than they did to you."</p> - -<p>"Yes, they will; for they know you."</p> - -<p>"Know me?" cried Rodney, opening his -eyes wide with amazement. "I reckon not. -I don't know a living Yank."</p> - -<p>"Well, they know you, and Dick Graham -as well," insisted Ned. "They remember -perfectly of reading your names on the discharges -you showed when they captured you -between here and Camp Pinckney."</p> - -<p>Rodney Gray had got upon his feet, but -when he heard these words he sat down again.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span> -He stared hard at Ned as if he were trying to -understand something that was too hard for -him, and shouted:</p> - -<p>"Rosebud!"</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?" asked Ned, -when in response to the summons the darkey -came tumbling out of the kitchen with a slice -of bacon in one hand and a chunk of corn -pone in the other.</p> - -<p>"I am going to ask you to come into the -house and tell your story to Dick and the -folks from beginning to end," answered -Rodney. "Give your horse to Rosebud and -come on."</p> - -<p>Ned Griffin followed his conductor with -some reluctance, for he did not know what a -man who had fitted out half a dozen partisan -rangers, and who was a large slaveholder -besides, might think of an overseer who gave -aid and comfort to Union soldiers and abolitionists -without saying a word to him about -it. The quick-witted Rodney must have -known what he was thinking about, for after -placing Ned in a chair and carefully closing -all the doors that gave entrance into the dining<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span> -room, he walked up to his father and whispered:</p> - -<p>"Those escaped prisoners were up to Ned's -last night, and he is afraid you will think -hard of him for giving them a bite to eat."</p> - -<p>"And loaning them blankets too, Mr. -Gray," chimed in honest Ned, who meant that -his employer should know the full extent of -his offending. "They had blankets enough -first and last, but were so hard pressed by the -dogs that they had to throw away everything -except their guns."</p> - -<p>"Well, I assure you that I don't think -hard of you for giving hungry men something -to eat and a bed to sleep on," said Mr. Gray. -"I should have done the same thing myself -if they had applied to me; but I trust you -exercised due care while you were doing it."</p> - -<p>"I know what you mean, sir," answered -Ned, "and there isn't a white person living -who knows what happened on that plantation -last night except my mother and Tom Randolph."</p> - -<p>A shell from one of the gunboats in front -of Baton Rouge could scarcely have created<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span> -greater consternation in that room than Ned -Griffin's last words. Mr. Gray thought that -Ned's doings might as well be published in -Richmond at once, and was about to say as -much, when Rodney took a great load from -his mind, and astonished him almost beyond -measure at the same time, by quietly remarking -that Tom was a prisoner in the hands of -the Yankees, who were bent on taking him to -Baton Rouge. Then he requested Ned to tell -them just what had happened on his plantation -the night before, and the latter gave the -particulars substantially as follows:</p> - -<p>The first Ned and his mother heard of the -escaped prisoners was through one of the -house servants, who declared with much earnestness -that she could not remember just who -told her the news, but it was in everybody's -mouth, and some of the field hands, she didn't -know who, had seen and talked with white -men who had seen and talked with the Confederate -soldiers who were following the trail of -the fugitives. She did not try to conceal her -joy when she informed Mrs. Griffin that "dem -Yanks was boun' to get safe to de ribber,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">276</a></span> -kase dey had done pass Mooreville de night -befo', and de houn' dogs had done been heared -givin' tongue in de woods ten miles from -Baton Rouge." Being intensely loyal to the -Old Flag and friendly to those who wore the -blue, Ned hoped from the bottom of his heart -that this report was true; but understanding -the negro nature as well as he did, he could -not believe more than half of it. He told his -mother that there was a conspiracy among the -slaves to shield those four men, and that they -might be concealed on the plantation for a -month, and no white person would know a -thing about it. Consequently he was not prepared -for what took place about an hour after -dark.</p> - -<p>He was in the act of blowing out his lantern -after seeing that everything was snug for the -night. He had been the rounds of the quarter -to make sure that the darkeys were all in their -cabins where they belonged, had shaken the -padlocks on the corn-cribs and smoke house, -assured himself that his yellow-legged -chickens were all roosting high, and, being -entirely satisfied with his day's work, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">277</a></span> -preparing for a quiet evening with his mother, -when there came a knock at the back door. -Ned opened it, and saw his negro foreman -standing there.</p> - -<p>"Cæsar," he exclaimed, "didn't I leave -you at your cabin not more than ten minutes -ago? You ought to be in bed by this time."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, sah; I was dah," replied Cæsar -with a chuckle, "kase I knowed mighty well -dat you'd be around to see if I was dah. But -I——Step out hyar a minute, please, sah."</p> - -<p>Ned went out, closing the door behind him, -and was surprised as well as startled to find -himself confronted by two men who carried -guns in their hands. The night was so dark -that he could not see their faces or clothing, -and his first thought was that some of the -Home Guards had come to pay him what their -commander humorously called a "visit of -ceremony." If that was the case Ned knew -that the house in which he lived would be -ransacked and robbed, and he himself given -notice to quit the country at once, or take -such a whipping as the old time overseers -used to give their negroes. But Cæsar's next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">278</a></span> -words reassured him, although they did not -lessen his astonishment.</p> - -<p>"You know dem Yankees what's runnin' -loose in de woods?" he said in a low tone. -"Wal, sah, Moster Ned, dem's um."</p> - -<p>"We hear that you are Union, and so we -have made bold to come here and ask if you -can give us a little help," said one of the men; -and Ned noticed that he did not speak like -one who begged a favor. There was a ring of -defiance in his tones, which under the circumstances -was perfectly surprising.</p> - -<p>"Who told you that I am Union?" said -Ned at length.</p> - -<p>"The darkeys. We know the name and -politics of every man between here and the -place where we were captured. Just now we -are looking for supper and lodging."</p> - -<p>"But I care more for a pair of shoes than I -do for eating and sleeping, although I am so -tired that I could drop down where I stand -and sleep for a week," said the second man. -"The hounds have driven us hard since we -got away, and I have worn out all the footgear -I could get or steal."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">279</a></span></p> - -<p>"We had some blankets and quilts yesterday," -added his companion, "but we had to -throw them away this morning in order to -make light weight through the thick woods. -We would have been in rags if it had not been -for our good friends, the darkeys."</p> - -<p>"I can supply your wants, and shall be -glad to do so," said Ned promptly. "But -you must never mention my name where any -of my neighbors can hear it. Come into the -house, and Cæsar will stand outside to see -that no one slips up on you. There ought to -be four of you. Where are the other two?"</p> - -<p>"We left them in the woods at the end of -the lane, keeping guard over a prize we gobbled -this afternoon," replied one of the blue-coats; -and when they were conducted into the -room in which Mrs. Griffin was sitting they -removed their remnants of hats respectfully, -and dropped with something like a sigh of -satisfaction into the chairs that Ned pulled -up for them; but they held fast to their -guns.</p> - -<p>It took but a minute's time for Ned to explain -the situation to his mother, and scarcely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">280</a></span> -longer to provide for the immediate wants of -the two fugitives; for when Mrs. Griffin said -that they were welcome to everything there -was in the house, the half a dozen black heads -that filled one of the doors were quickly withdrawn, -and in less time than it takes to tell it -a plate filled with cold bread and meat was -handed to each of the hungry blue-coats.</p> - -<p>"I'se mighty sorry I aint got some store -coffee for you, honey," said one of the women, -who by virtue of her age and position took it -upon herself to act as mistress of ceremonies. -"But I isn't got none."</p> - -<p>"We're sorry for that, aunty; not on our -account, but on yours," said one of the soldiers; -"but it seems to me that you white -folks ought to be able to get such things as -coffee out here. There was lots of trading -going on with country people when we left -Baton Rouge."</p> - -<p>"We've had a few things through the kindness -of my employer," replied Ned, "and we -hope to have more when I get a permit to -trade myself. Mr. Gray thought it wasn't -best to trouble the provost marshal for too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">281</a></span> -many permits, for fear that he would shut -down on all of them."</p> - -<p>"Well, the marshal will not shut down -on you, nor on any other Union man whose -name we have on our list," said the soldier -confidently. "We are not going to forget -our friends, I assure you." And then he -almost made Ned jump out of his chair by -adding: "You spoke Mr. Gray's name just -now; I suppose he is Rodney's father, isn't -he?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he is," cried Ned. "But what do -you know about him?"</p> - -<p>"Not much, that's a fact; but we met -Rodney once when he wasn't at all glad to -see us. If we had been a different lot we -might have put him and his comrade to some -trouble, just to show what vigilant scouts we -were."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to tell me that you belonged -to the squad that captured Rodney and Dick -Graham a few days ago?"</p> - -<p>"We're two of them, and the others are in -the woods, if our pursuers haven't found and -gobbled them up. But I don't think they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">282</a></span> -have, or we'd have heard the sounds of the -fight."</p> - -<p>"Well, you'll not go away without seeing -Rodney and Dick, will you?"</p> - -<p>"That depends," answered the soldier, with -a smile. "We are not on a pleasure trip and -can't say beforehand just what we will do. -The first thing for us to find out in the morning -is whether or not our pursuers have placed -themselves between us and the river. If they -have, it might be well for us to remain in hiding -a few hours, and give them time to get out -of our road. But if they are still behind us, -we ought to push on without loss of time. I -don't suppose those two rebs would go back -on us if they knew where we were. They said -they wouldn't."</p> - -<p>"Rodney and Dick!" exclaimed Ned indignantly. -"While they were in the army -they fought you Yanks the best they knew -how; but I know what I am talking about -when I say that you haven't better friends in -your regiment or company than Rodney Gray -and Dick Graham."</p> - -<p>"I believe it," said the soldier earnestly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">283</a></span> -"We are not afraid to trust any man who -met us in open battle; but the Home Guards -we <i>are</i> afraid of."</p> - -<p>"You'd better be," exclaimed Ned. "The -most of them are sneaks and cowards, and disgrace -the uniform they wear."</p> - -<p>"I believe that, too; and now let me tell -you why we are afraid of them. When we -met your two friends Gray and Graham, we -belonged to a squad of twenty men who -were under orders to scour the country between -the river and Camp Pinckney, so that -we could give timely notice to General -Williams if we discovered any considerable -body of Confederates in that direction. The -general has information that the enemy is -going to try to open the river again, and, of -course, he means to be ready for any rebs who -come this way. After we told Rodney and -his chum to go home and see their mammies, -we rejoined our command, which we found -about three miles down the road, and reported -that we hadn't seen any graybacks and no -signs of any; and the very next day we were -surprised and routed by a mixed body of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">284</a></span> -veterans and Home Guards which some good -rebel had put on our track. We gave them a -lively fight, but they were too many for us, -and those of us who were not killed or captured -were scattered far and wide.</p> - -<p>"I hadn't much of an idea of being taken -prisoner, I tell you, and I have still less now. -I'd rather be shot and have done with it. I -had talked with some of our boys who had -had experience as captives, and the stories -they told were enough to make one's hair rise -on end. They did not have a word of fault to -find with the rebel soldiers, who, so they said, -always treated them well, but they gave it to -the Home Guards good and strong, and declared -that in future they would shoot every -one that crossed their path. I could easily -tell the Home Guards from the soldiers in that -fight, both by their dress and the way they -behaved under fire; and when I saw one of -our boys killed after he had given up his gun, -and saw that there was no possible chance for -me to get away, I just avenged the death of -my comrade by tumbling that Home Guard -out of his saddle with the last cartridge I had,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">285</a></span> -and hunted up an old soldier and surrendered -to him. My three comrades did the same, -and that's the way we happen to be alive to-day.</p> - -<p>"We were kept with the main body about -two hours, and during that time were used -like white men. The veterans divided their -grub with us, patted us on the back, and said -we were good fellows for driving them out of -Corinth and licking them on the river as we -had been doing, and we had nothing in the -world to complain of; but I tell you we shook -in our shoes when we learned that nine of us -prisoners were to be sent to Camp Pinckney -under a strong escort of Home Guards, while -the soldiers kept to the road to hunt for more -Yankees. And right there is where I blame -the officer in command of the Confederate detachment," -said the blue-coat, now beginning -to show such signs of anger and excitement -that Ned Griffin would have been alarmed if he -hadn't known that his loyalty to the flag was -beyond suspicion, "and if he ever falls into -the hands of my regiment he will have cause to -regret that act of his. He knew what manner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">286</a></span> -of men his Home Guards were—that they were, -as you say, sneaks and cowards, that they -dared not go to the front, and that their highest -ambition was to shoot a Yankee without -running the risk of being shot themselves. -But he told us to go, and when the order was -given for us to fall in, we had to obey it. -Well, sir, you may believe it or not, but I can -prove it, we hadn't much more than got out of -sight of the soldiers before those Home Guards -began laughing and joking about losing us on -their way to camp."</p> - -<p>"Did they think you were going to try to -escape?" asked Ned.</p> - -<p>"They meant that they were going to shoot -us," said the man fiercely.</p> - -<p>Ned and his mother could hardly believe -that their ears were not deceiving them.</p> - -<p>"Thank goodness, our Home Guards are -not as bad as that," said the former.</p> - -<p>"Have they ever been put to the test?" -demanded the fugitive. "I know that they -have fought gunboats and defeated some detachments -of our cavalry, but did they ever -have a Yankee prisoner in their hands?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">287</a></span></p> - -<p>Ned was greatly astonished to hear that the -Mooreville Home Guards had been in action -with the Federal cavalry, but he managed to -say that he didn't think they had ever taken -a prisoner. Before he could say more the blue-coat -continued:</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't like to fall into their power, -for I believe they would make short work of -me. The men who had been detailed to take -us nine prisoners to camp came from the -Pearl River bottoms, and looked, acted, and -talked more like heathen than any men I ever -saw before. Believing that we did not understand -their jokes about losing us in the woods, -they talked freely among themselves until we -came to a place where the road forked; and -there they separated into two parties, four of -their number taking my three comrades and -myself down one road, while the rest of the -escort went with the other five prisoners -down the other road.</p> - -<p>"Before this happened I had made up my -mind that I wasn't going to be killed by those -long-haired Yahoos if I could help it, and that -act of separation was two points in favor of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">288</a></span> -the plans I had formed in my mind. It gave -me as companions three men who enlisted at -the same time I did, who had served in my -company and regiment all through the war, -and who I knew could be depended on to back -me up in anything I undertook, and it gave us -four the smallest escort, the main body having -gone down the other road with the rest of the -prisoners. And I hope and believe that those -five fellows got safely into camp, for the men -who went with them were not half as villainous -or blood-thirsty as those who guarded us. -To show you what sort of men we had to deal -with, one of them remarked, as he drew a big -knife from his boot to cut off a chew of tobacco, -that he wouldn't think any more of -sticking that knife into a Yank than he would -of putting it into a pig.</p> - -<p>"I have been in some tight places since I -joined the service, but I don't think I ever -suffered as I did during the next fifteen minutes. -It makes me sweat now to think of it," -continued the veteran; and as he spoke he -drew his crooked finger across his forehead -and threw off the perspiration which Ned saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">289</a></span> -had gathered there like big drops of rain. -"Being the only officer there was in our -party—I was corporal, you know—my fellows -naturally looked to me to do something, and I -was fully aware of it; for I knew then as well -as I do now that they had one and all determined -to escape from those Home Guards or -die in the attempt. I communicated with -each of them by making the best use of my -eyes I knew how, and could have yelled with -delight when I saw that I made them understand -me. Each of us selected a rebel and -kept as close to him as he could without exciting -suspicion. I was impatient to get to -work, for I didn't know how soon they would -begin work on us, but I was afraid to do anything -until I thought we were well out of hearing -of the party that had taken the other road. -I was certain that there would be some shooting -done during the fight, and did not want to -draw their attention; but when I could stand -it no longer I gave a yell, and floored my man -as easily as you would pitch a bundle of oats -on to a wagon. I had him out of his saddle -before he could wink, and grabbed his carbine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">290</a></span> -just in time to help Ben here, who wasn't -having as good luck as I."</p> - -<p>"Did you kill both of them?" inquired -Ned, who was so deeply interested in the -narrative that he did not know whether he -breathed or not.</p> - -<p>"We laid them out," replied the veteran, -"and as we were in something of a hurry, we -didn't wait to see how long it took them to -come to. It was all over in less than I have -taken time to tell it, and there wasn't a shot -fired or another yell raised. The fight was -carried on so quietly that a person standing -fifty feet away would not have heard it. We -did not waste any precious moments in congratulating -one another on our good fortune, -but carried the bodies of our guards into the -woods out of sight, dragged some brush over -one or two little pools of blood there were -in the road and over our footprints, thus -concealing all traces of the struggle as -best we could, and hitched the four horses -among the trees where they would have -plenty of leaves and twigs to browse on -until they were released; and then we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">291</a></span> -struck out for the bottom the best we knew -how."</p> - -<p>"Whew! you have had a time of it," -said Ned, as the corporal settled back in his -chair, clasped his hands over his knee, and -looked at his empty plate. "Lucindy, bring -some more grub, and pile on all the plates will -hold. When did you first become aware that -the dogs were on your trail?"</p> - -<p>"We found it out the first thing in the -morning," was the reply. "Or rather, that -was the time we learned that the rebs were -going to use hounds to follow us up. We -slept in the woods that night without a fire or -a bite to eat, and at daylight set out to find a -negro cabin; for we knew that the darkeys -would befriend us if they could do so without -bringing themselves into trouble. We came -to a plantation after a while, and crept close -enough to the quarter to discover a negro -working about one of the corn-cribs. We -attracted his attention without much trouble, -but as soon as he made out who we were, he -disappeared so suddenly that we were sorry -we did not shoot him on sight, for we were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">292</a></span> -certain that he meant to betray us. So we -made a little detour and took up another position -in the field, from which we could watch -the doors of the great house; for there was -where we knew danger would come from, if -it came at all. By that move we came near -losing a breakfast and missing some information -that was of use to us, for that darkey had -no intention of going back on us. He slipped -around to his cabin, gathered up everything -he had in the way of grub, and spent many -valuable minutes in hunting us up. He had a -story to tell us, but was so badly frightened -that it was a long time before he could make -us understand that the news of our escape -had reached Camp Pinckney, that all the -soldiers and Home Guards that could be -spared from duty there had been sent in pursuit -of us, and that a big squad of men -had passed the house before daylight that -morning vowing that they would never take -us prisoners if they found us. They would -shoot us in our tracks to pay us for what we -had done to their comrades back there in the -road."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">293</a></span></p> - -<p>"Then they were Home Guards," Ned interposed.</p> - -<p>"Certainly; and that threat proved it. But -that was not by any means the worst news the -darkey had to tell us," continued the corporal, -placing his gun on the floor by his side, -and nodding to Lucindy as she handed him a -second plateful of bread and meat. "And the -part he hadn't yet told was what frightened -him. After much questioning he made us -understand that there were six soldiers in the -great house waiting for the breakfast that the -missus had promised them; and when they -had eaten it, they were going down the road -about half a mile after a pack of nigger dogs -that were to be put on our trail. And then he -assured us that if those dogs ever got after -us we would be gone up sure; for they were -smart at following a trail, having had lots of -practice in running down the unhappy conscripts -who escaped from Camp Pinckney. -That was bad news for us, as I said, and the -question at once arose, Should we take to our -heels and trust to luck, or would it be a better -plan to rush into the house and put it out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">294</a></span> -the power of the rebels to go after those -dogs?"</p> - -<p>"But were you not afraid to attack them -in the house?" exclaimed Ned. "There were -six of them and only four of you."</p> - -<p>"A small difference in numbers to men who -are working for life and liberty," answered -the corporal. "We talked the matter over -very quickly and decided, without a dissenting -voice, that we would put a stop to that hound -business before it had gone any further. We -would take our chances on surprising the -rebels while they were at breakfast, and be -governed by circumstances when we found -who and what they were. If they were regular -soldiers we would simply parole them and -let them go; but if they turned out to be -Home Guards——"</p> - -<p>The fugitive did not finish the sentence, but -shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ned and -his mother in a way that had a volume of -meaning in it.</p> - -<p>"It did not take us many seconds to determine -upon a plan of operations," he continued, -"and then we crept toward the house under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">295</a></span> -cover of the bushes and out buildings, telling -our friendly darkey to stay where he was till -the trouble was over, and no one should ever -hear from us that we had exchanged a word -with him. Everything was in our favor. -There wasn't a servant outside the house to -run in and warn the inmates that we were coming, -and before those six Johnnies knew that -there was a Yank within 100 miles, we were -in the breakfast room where they sat at the -table, and had them covered."</p> - -<p>"And what did they turn out to be?" Ned -almost gasped.</p> - -<p>"Regular soldiers, I am glad to say, and we -were saved a most disagreeable piece of business. -We told them they were in a trap, and -could take their choice between going to the -bone-yard and signing a parole not to take up -arms against the government again until they -were regularly exchanged, and they thought -they had better sign; and it didn't take them -a great while to say so, either."</p> - -<p>"Had you any right to do that?" inquired -Mrs. Griffin.</p> - -<p>"Not the least in the world, madam," replied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">296</a></span> -the corporal, with a smile. "But as -long as the rebels didn't know it, what was -the odds? We couldn't take them with us, -we couldn't shoot them, seeing that they were -not Home Guards, and yet we had to do something. -All we really hoped to accomplish was -to frighten them off our trail long enough to -give us a good start toward the swamp. We -knew their officers would tell them that their -parole didn't amount to a row of pins, but by -the time they found their officers we might be -miles away. There was one thing we were -sorry for, and that was that they did not have -their dogs in the house with them. They -wouldn't have followed any more escaped -prisoners when we got through with them, I -assure you."</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">297</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<span class="small">A HAIL AT THE BARS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">Although</span> the corporal talked rapidly, -he did not neglect his supper, and by -the time he reached this point in his story his -second supply of bread and meat was all gone. -He handed back the empty plate, rested his -gun across his knees where it would be handy -in case of emergency, and drew from one of -the pockets of his ragged blouse something -that looked like a small bundle of brown -wrapping paper.</p> - -<p>"Yes, they concluded they'd better sign," -said he, with a laugh, "and here are their -paroles. At first the lady of the house, who -was disposed to be impudent and sassy until -one of the rebs cautioned her that it might be -worse for them if she didn't keep still, declared -that she had nothing at all in the way -of writing materials; but when one of the -Johnnies told her, with some impatience, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">298</a></span> -if she didn't hand them out we'd be likely -to go through her shanty, she produced the -stump of a pencil and some paper that was so -rough I could scarcely write on it; but I made -it do, and, would you believe it, one of my -boys had to witness their signatures, for there -wasn't one of the six rebels who could write -his name. Of course we disarmed and dismounted -them, and stood among the bushes -in the front yard and saw them make tracks -in the direction of Camp Pinckney; but the -hounds were put on our trail, all the same, -and the next day they pressed us so close that -we had to shoot some of the leading ones. -And what surprised us was that those dogs -would not attempt to follow our trail across -a piece of wet ground. They would take a -circle around it and pick up our trail again on -the other side where the ground was dry."</p> - -<p>"They'll do it every time," said Ned. -"And it isn't a part of their training, either. -That's the way they hunt deer and foxes, and -it is something they pick up themselves without -any teaching."</p> - -<p>"Well, it's pretty bright in the dogs, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">299</a></span> -must say, and we were sorry to shoot them, -but there was no help for it. First and last -we must have killed half or two-thirds of the -pack, but they have been strongly reinforced; -for, judging by the yelping we heard to-day, -there are more hounds on our trail now than -there were at the start."</p> - -<p>"You were very fortunate in being able to -keep out of their way," said Mrs. Griffin, -"and I don't see how you managed it."</p> - -<p>"I don't either, madam; but somehow we -did it. We can't keep it up much longer, -however, for we are nearly exhausted, and I -wish from the bottom of my heart that we -were in sight of those gunboats at this minute. -But we'll get there in due time, and we'll not -go empty-handed. We made an important -capture this afternoon, and perhaps have saved -our scouts and gunboats, as well as the Union -people in the settlement, some trouble. It's a -fortunate thing for him that we didn't know -what he was when we first caught sight of -him; but as he was in full uniform we supposed -he was a soldier and treated him accordingly."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">300</a></span></p> - -<p>"And—and what was he?" faltered Ned, -while his mother looked anxious and bent -forward in her chair to catch the corporal's -answer. Something told them that they were -about to hear bad news.</p> - -<p>"A miserable Home Guard and a captain -besides," replied the soldier. "Of course -after he surrendered we couldn't shoot him -down in cold blood, as his kind would have -served us if we had chanced to fall into their -power, but we'll put him where he'll not fight -any more gunboats for one while, I bet you."</p> - -<p>"How and where did you capture him?" -was Ned's next question. It wasn't the one -that trembled on his tongue, but it was as near -as he could get to it.</p> - -<p>"Why, we had been wading for two miles -in a little bayou that brought us through a -cornfield to the river side of the road, and at -last we hid in a grove of evergreens from -which we could command a view in all directions. -We stayed there for an hour, listening -to the faint baying of the hounds in the -timber on the other side of the road, and never -once dreaming that anybody would come near<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">301</a></span> -us, when to our surprise we saw a gate open, -and a single horseman ride down the lane that -led straight to our place of concealment. I -tell you we were scared, for we expected to -see the dogs and all our pursuers come through -the gate after him, but he stopped to put up -the bars and then came on alone; and when -he approached nearer we saw that he could -not be one of the men we were looking for, -because his horse was fresh and clean, and -didn't have the splashed legs and body he -would if he had been chasing us through the -swamp for three days and more. We saw, -too, that he and his horse were at outs about -something, for every once in a while he would -pound the animal with his whip as if he were -very mad at him; and the last time he tried -it, which he did when he was within less than -a hundred feet of our hiding-place, the horse -jumped and threw him as slick as you please, -and I was glad of it. That was the time we -rushed out and took him in."</p> - -<p>"Did he tell you his name?" inquired Ned, -and the words seemed to force themselves out -against his will.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">302</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, he did; and we think it strange that -General Williams hasn't abolished him and put -a stop to his doings long ago. But none of us -ever heard the name of Captain Randolph before. -You know him, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, I do; and I know that, so far as -fighting is concerned, he is the most harmless -man in the country. Did he tell you that his -company had defeated some of your cavalry -and been in action with the gunboats?"</p> - -<p>"He certainly did tell us just that," replied -the corporal; and Ned and his mother thought -he looked at them rather sharply.</p> - -<p>"Well, there wasn't a word of truth in it," -said the young overseer stoutly. He began to -have a vague idea that he was injuring himself -in the estimation of these two Federals by -standing up for Tom Randolph, but he had -gone too far to back out. He knew that Tom -would not have uttered a word in his defence -if their situations had been reversed, but that -made no difference to Ned Griffin, who in few -words gave the corporal a full history of -Tom's military exploits. The occasional raids -through the settlement that Captain Randolph<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">303</a></span> -had made at the head of his company Ned did -not regard as military business, for their sole -purpose was to intimidate Union men and increase -Tom's importance; so he said nothing -about them.</p> - -<p>"If you are as strongly in favor of the Old -Flag as I have been led to believe, I don't see -what your object is in saying a good word for -this Home Guard," said the corporal when -Ned ceased speaking.</p> - -<p>"Wouldn't you say a word for an old -acquaintance of yours if you saw him in -trouble, no matter whether he was your friend -or not?" asked Ned in reply. "If you will -give me time I can prove that I have told you -nothing but the truth, and that Tom has deceived -you from beginning to end."</p> - -<p>"What do you suppose his object was in -doing it?"</p> - -<p>"He always does it every chance he gets. -He knows he will never win a reputation by -deeds of arms, and so he tries to win it with -his mouth. He never did you Yankees the -least harm, and he never will."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think we have been here long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">304</a></span> -enough, Charley?" Ben asked of his non-commissioned -officer; and he answered the -question himself by getting upon his feet as -if he were making ready to leave. He was -plainly the more suspicious of the two, and -showed in various ways that he didn't have -much of an opinion of one who had so friendly -a feeling for a Home Guard.</p> - -<p>"We've been here too long," replied the -corporal. "Our friends down there in the -woods will think we are lost or have been -gobbled up. May we trespass still further -on your good-nature by asking for a bite -for our absent comrades?"</p> - -<p>"Lucindy, fill up the biggest basket you -can find in the house," said Ned. "And Ben, -if you will sit down a minute I will get shoes -and stockings for you."</p> - -<p>"And have you anything in the way of -bedding?" inquired Mrs. Griffin. "The -nights are cool, if the days are sultry."</p> - -<p>No, they didn't have a thing except their -guns and the dilapidated garments they stood -in; and a blanket or two, if Mrs. Griffin could -spare them, would protect them from the mosquitos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">305</a></span> -if nothing more; for of course it would -be dangerous for them to build a smudge until -they knew positively that their pursuers had -been left behind. Ben was profuse in his -thanks, and suggested that No. 9's would be -about the right size for him; and Ned went -among the darkeys to find them, for he wore -nothing larger than 6's, and couldn't boast of -an extra pair of them. While he was gone -his mother saw the basket filled and the -blankets made into a bundle, and also found -opportunity to say a word for Tom Randolph.</p> - -<p>"What do you intend to do with him?" -she asked.</p> - -<p>"Turn him over to the provost marshal and -have him sent North," was the answer.</p> - -<p>"If you do that you will kill his mother, -and punish a man who is as innocent of any -military achievements as I am," said Mrs. -Griffin. "You must not think that I am a -friend of his—how can I be when he tried his -best to have my son conscripted? Why can -you not parole him and let him go?"</p> - -<p>"We didn't parole those six rebels for fun, -or because we thought the parole was binding,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">306</a></span> -said the corporal with a smile, "but -simply to delay them until we could get a -start. If we turn Randolph loose, it will be -out of gratitude to you and your son."</p> - -<p>"Better knock him in the head," growled -Ben.</p> - -<p>"Don't mind him," said the corporal, seeing -that Mrs. Griffin was shocked by the -words. "Ben is down on all Home Guards -because he saw one of them shoot his chum."</p> - -<p>"But Tom Randolph was in no way to -blame for that," answered the lady. "And I -know that Rodney Gray would insist upon -his release if he were here. Promise me that -you will let him go; and when you are ready to -start for the river, Ned shall take you there -by the shortest and easiest course."</p> - -<p>The corporal opened his lips to reply that -he did not think it best to make any promises -until he could consult the rest of his party, -but before he could utter a word an incident -happened that brought him and Ben to their -feet in a twinkling, and drove all the color -from Mrs. Griffin's face, leaving it as white as -a sheet. First there was a terrific and sudden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">307</a></span> -outburst of yelps and growls from the small -army of coon dogs that found a home on -the plantation, and then answering yelps and -deep-toned bays came from the direction of -the front bars, mingled with the shouts of -command and the sharp cracking of riding-whips. -There was a second's oppressive -silence, and a strange voice called out:</p> - -<p>"Hal-lo, the house!"</p> - -<p>"Coming, sir! Get out, you whelps!" -shouted Ned Griffin's voice in reply; and presently -the frightened inmates of the house heard -him running around the corner toward the bars. -The corporal and his comrade, who stood with -their guns in readiness, seemingly as much at -their ease as they had been while sitting -quietly in their chairs eating the bread and -meat that had been provided for them, looked -inquiringly at Mrs. Griffin.</p> - -<p>"They are strangers and have hounds with -them," said the latter, in a terrified whisper. -"I fear the worst, but Ned will do what he -can."</p> - -<p>"I certainly hope he will keep them out -of the house," answered the corporal calmly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">308</a></span> -"for if he don't, some of them will never see -the sun rise again."</p> - -<p>Ned Griffin, who had had no trouble at all -in inducing one of the field hands to hand over -a pair of stockings and his best shoes for the -benefit of the bare-footed soldier in the house, -was almost ready to drop when he heard that -racket at the front bars, but he answered the -hail without an instant's hesitation, tossing -the stockings and shoes into the nearest bush, -and ran to the road, knowing that he would -meet a party of Confederate soldiers and a -pack of "nigger" dogs when he got there; -but did the soldiers know or suspect that the -men of whom they were in pursuit had sought -aid and comfort in that house?</p> - -<p>"They can't know it or suspect it, unless -somebody has betrayed us; and if that has -happened it is all up with Ned Griffin," -thought the young overseer; and when he -reached the bars and caught sight of the party -on the other side, he did not feign surprise, -but said, as any other honest, hospitable -boy would have done: "Alight and hitch. -I knew it was you the minute I heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">309</a></span> -the music of your hounds. Did you catch -them?"</p> - -<p>"No," replied one of the men, who wore -some sort of insignia on his collar to show -that he was an officer. "They gave us the -slip about eleven o'clock this morning, and we -haven't been able to find their tracks since. -But we——"</p> - -<p>"Say!" interrupted Ned suddenly. -"Please don't let your big hounds come over -the fence and eat up my pups. I need them -to catch wild hogs with next winter."</p> - -<p>That was very true, but it was not the reason -Ned did not want the hounds to come inside the -yard. He was afraid that some of them might -go foraging on their own hook; and if they -wandered around to the back door in search -of something to eat, they could not help striking -the trail the two escaped prisoners made -when they entered the house. They would be -sure to recognize it on the instant and give -tongue, and then there would be trouble -indeed; for Ben and the corporal would fight -till they dropped before they would be recaptured. -And then what would be done to him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">310</a></span> -and his mother for feeding and trying to conceal -them? But the hounds were thrashed -and scolded back into the road and the officer -continued:</p> - -<p>"We will get the start of them to-morrow. -If they are in this neighborhood they will stay -here, for we are going to place ourselves between -them and the river. But we were well -fed and rested at a house three miles back, so -we'll not alight, thank you. Are we on the -road to Mooreville? That's what I called you -out for."</p> - -<p>"Keep straight ahead, and you can't miss -it," said Ned. "And if you want to go -toward the Mississippi, take the first right-hand -road. But look out for the Yanks. I -haven't seen any of their critter fellers, but -there may be some between here and Baton -Rouge."</p> - -<p>"If we run on to them before we know it, -it will be our fault, won't it? Good-night. -Forward, trot, gallop!"</p> - -<p>The young overseer, feeling as if a mountain -had been removed from his shoulders, -stood leaning on the bars until the sound of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">311</a></span> -the horses' feet had died away in the distance, -and then he settled himself into a comfortable -position, drew a long breath, and waited fifteen -minutes longer in order to make sure that the -rebels had really gone on toward Mooreville. -While he was waiting Cæsar came up, expecting -to receive a good scolding, and perhaps -something worse, for neglect of duty.</p> - -<p>"Sho's you live, Marse Ned, I watch and -wait wid all my eyes and ears, and dey slip -along de road and up to de bars 'fore I knowed -it," he said earnestly. "You know ole -Cæsar aint going to sleep wid two Yankees in -de house and rebels all around."</p> - -<p>"That's all right. I was out of doors, and -didn't know they were at the bars until they -hailed. Now, stay right here and see that -they don't steal a march on us. If you hear -the slightest sound down the road Mooreville -way, slip into the house and let me know it."</p> - -<p>Ned went back to the bushes where he left -the stockings and shoes, and when he carried -them into the house he found no one there -except his mother, who was plying her needle -as if nothing had happened. The two fugitives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">312</a></span> -had disappeared, and there was not a -darkey to be seen.</p> - -<p>"Open that door and you will find them," -said Mrs. Griffin, when Ned stopped and -looked all around. "They thought they -would rather fight it out downstairs than -in the garret, for they would have a better -chance to run."</p> - -<p>"They can't go any farther to-night, for -their pursuers are riding hard to get between -them and the river, and may send the hounds -into the woods at any time. And I am glad -of it," whispered Ned. "I'd like to keep -them until I can go for Rodney. Perhaps he -can do something for Tom Randolph. Why, -mother, did you ever hear of such a lunatic? -If he gets out of this scrape I don't think he'll -ever let his tongue bring him into another."</p> - -<p>Ned pushed open the door, and the two -escaped prisoners came out. In few words -they were made acquainted with the result of -the interview that had taken place at the bars, -and Ned and his mother did not wonder that -it had a depressing effect upon them. After -racing through the almost impassable woods<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">313</a></span> -and swamps until they were ready to drop -with fatigue, it certainly <i>was</i> disheartening -to know that the enemy had come so close to -them when they imagined themselves safe for -the night. They decided that they had better -return to their companions at once and talk -the situation over with them.</p> - -<p>"All right," said Ned. "I will go with -you, for I want to see what Tom Randolph -has to say for himself. If you will take my -advice, you will stay pretty close about this -plantation until you have seen Rodney Gray. -He can do more for you than almost anybody -else in these parts, and if you get into trouble -you'll find it so."</p> - -<p>The blankets and the basket of provisions -were brought from the room in which they -had been hastily concealed, and the fugitives -lingered a moment to shake hands with Mrs. -Griffin and tell her how grateful they were -for the generous treatment they had received -at her hands and her son's.</p> - -<p>"There is one way in which you can show -it," replied Ned's mother, "and that is by releasing -your prisoner."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">314</a></span></p> - -<p>"But, madam, we have no right to do it," -said Ben, who was inclined to put more faith -in Tom's story of his exploits than he did -in Ned's. It was natural, under the circumstances, -for him to believe that Ned's regard -for the truth was not so strong as his desire to -shield an old acquaintance. "We are bound -to take him before our colonel and state the -case to him; and if <i>he</i> has a mind to let him -go—why, all right."</p> - -<p>"Haven't you the same right to release -Tom Randolph that you had to release Rodney -Gray and his friend?" inquired Mrs. -Griffin. "You did not think it necessary to -take them before an officer?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I did stretch my authority just -a little," said the corporal, coming to Ben's -assistance. "But almost any non-com., who -wanted to be half white, would have done the -same thing. Rodney and Graham had discharges -in their pockets, while this man Randolph -holds a commission as captain of Home -Guards at this minute. But we'll tell the -boys what you have done for us, Mrs. Griffin, -and let them decide the matter. I hope it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">315</a></span> -may be our good fortune to meet again under -pleasanter circumstances. Good-night."</p> - -<p>Ned led the way from the house and along -the lane that ran through the negro quarter to -the woods, in which the corporal's two comrades -and their prisoner were impatiently -awaiting their return. They moved silently -and without exchanging a word above a -whisper, but the dark-skinned inmates of the -cabins seemed to be on the watch. One door -after another was softly opened, and suppressed -voices, that were rendered husky by -emotion, cheered them with such expressions -as:</p> - -<p>"Lawd bress Marse Linkum's sojer boys! -Youse boun' to whop de rebels, honey; I -know you is, kase Ise praying for you free -times a day, like Dan'l in de lion's den."</p> - -<p>"I certainly hope you'll not get into any -trouble through what you have done for us -to-night," said hard-hearted Ben, who was -moved in spite of himself by these expressions -of sympathy.</p> - -<p>"So far as I know, our blacks are all loyal," -answered Ned, "but it won't do to trust some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">316</a></span> -negroes too far, any more than it will do to -trust some white people; and when we are -in the presence of Tom Randolph I wish you -would be careful not to——"</p> - -<p>He stopped suddenly, but it was too late. -He had committed himself. As he afterward -told his friend Rodney, he came near ruining -everything before he thought what he was -doing.</p> - -<p>"There you have it!" exclaimed Ben -angrily. "Why do you try to befriend that -man Randolph, when you dare not trust him -for fear that he will set your rebel neighbors -against you? He shall never go free with my -consent, and that is a word with a bark on it."</p> - -<p>"Or are you afraid that he will get his -Home Guards together and burn you out, to -pay you for what you have done for us Yankees?" -said the corporal. "I don't believe -there's a Home Guard in the world that will -do to tie to, and I think the best thing we can -do is to hold fast to that fellow. If he's done us -half the damage he says he has, he is a prize."</p> - -<p>Ned's common sense told him that words -would not rectify the big mistake he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">317</a></span> -made, so he dropped Tom Randolph, entirely, -and talked of the hounds and the risk his Yankee -friends would incur if they tried to make -their way to the Mississippi through the comparatively -open country that lay before them. -There were not woods enough to conceal their -movements; the people along the route were -mostly rebels, and they could hardly help -meeting someone who would put their pursuers -on their track if he saw half a chance. -What they needed more than anything else -during the rest of their journey was a guide -known to be a good Confederate, but friendly -enough to Yanks to help them out of trouble -if they got into it. The two fugitives did not -think they were likely to fall into such trouble -as Ned hinted at, but the next day they were -obliged to confess that he knew what he was -talking about.</p> - -<p>By this time they had reached the fence that -ran across the end of the lane and shut it off -from the woods, and there Ben and the corporal -stopped as if expecting something. It -came presently in the shape of the challenge -given in low tones:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">318</a></span></p> - -<p>"<i>Who</i> comes there?"</p> - -<p>"Friends with the countersign," replied the -corporal.</p> - -<p>"Halt, friends. Advance one with the -countersign, and have your head blown off if -you don't give it right," continued the voice; -and although the words seemed to be spoken -in a jest, Ben and Ned remained by the fence -while the corporal climbed over it and disappeared -in the bushes. A moment afterward -he called to them to come on, and when Ned -joined him he knew that he was in the presence -of the other two fugitives and Tom Randolph. -It was made plain to him at once that -Tom had sent the corporal and his comrade to -the house with the assurance that they would -find Union people there and plenty to eat, for -Tom said:</p> - -<p>"Did you find Griffin?"</p> - -<p>"They not only found me, but brought me -here to see you," said Ned, answering for -himself, and working his way slowly through -the dark in the direction from which Tom's -voice came. "And I am sorry to find you in -this fix."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">319</a></span></p> - -<p>Captain Randolph may have borne up -bravely enough while he was alone with his -captors, but the sound of a familiar voice and -the warm grasp of Ned's hand unnerved him -completely. He drew the young overseer to -a seat on a log beside him, rested his head -against his shoulder, and shook as if he had -the ague; but whether it was with fear, or -with the violence of the struggle he was making -to keep up the character he had so foolishly -assumed, Ned could not tell. There had -been a time when Tom Randolph would have -been ashamed to rest his head against an -overseer's shoulder; but he was pretty well -humbled now. It was at this juncture that -Ned was allowed a few minutes' talk with -Tom, the soldiers being busy with their own -affairs—two of them in describing what had -happened at the house, and the others in disposing -of the contents of the provision basket.</p> - -<p>"Tom," said Ned, "you never told these -Yankees that you had whipped their cavalry -and fought the gunboats."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I did," answered the captive; and -the overseer was not much surprised to notice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">320</a></span> -that his voice was choked with sobs. "I took -them for brave men, and thought they would -extend a brave man's treatment to me if they -knew me to be a loyal soldier of the Confederacy."</p> - -<p>"Well, do you know that you have got -yourself in a scrape that may end in your -being sent to a Northern prison?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, don't tell me that," gasped Tom. -"That's what they have been threatening me -with, and you must make them let me go. -You can do it, for you are known to be Union, -and my father will reward you beyond——"</p> - -<p>"And you are not a loyal soldier of the -Confederacy," continued Ned, who wasn't befriending -Tom in the hope of making anything -out of it. "You are nothing but a -Home Guard; and these men have reason to -hate Home Guards."</p> - -<p>"I know it," groaned Tom. "But am I to -blame for anything those Pearl River heathen -did to them? You are my only hope, Ned, -and you'll have to get me out of this. You -must."</p> - -<p>"There's no must about it. I have said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">321</a></span> -everything I could, and so has mother. Your -only hope is Rodney Gray."</p> - -<p>"Then send for him," said Tom nervously. -"Send for him at once, and say that if he will -stand by me now, he can command me and my -father ever afterward. I wish the men who -are responsible for this war were here in my -place and sentenced to be shot at sunrise. I -have been deceived and badgered ever since -I sided with the Confederacy; I've stuck by -her through thick and thin, while those who -deserted her at the first sign of disaster are -hail-fellows well met with the Yanks in Baton -Rouge, and live on the best the land affords. -They have salt and tea and coffee in their -houses, and white flour; and we have none. -You must help me out, Ned."</p> - -<p>Tom Randolph continued to talk in this -rambling way until the corporal interrupted -him with:</p> - -<p>"Well, boys, we have decided to stay here -to-night."</p> - -<p>"And will you let Griffin go for Rodney -Gray the first thing in the morning?" exclaimed -Tom.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">322</a></span></p> - -<p>"Griffin isn't a prisoner, and can go and -come as he likes," replied the non-commissioned -officer indifferently. "It's a matter -that concerns you more than it does us. If -Griffin has a mind to go or send for Rodney -Gray, we shall be glad to see him."</p> - -<p>"These are the Yanks who captured Rodney -and Graham while they were on their way -home," whispered Ned. "That's why I say -that Rodney can help you if anybody can." -Then, without giving Tom a chance to express -his surprise, he said aloud: "What's the use, -Yanks, of staying here all night in the dark -and cold? If you will come to the quarter, -I will give you a tight cabin and a bright fire -to cheer you up."</p> - -<p>The offer was a tempting one to men situated -as they were, but after a short consultation -with his comrades the corporal thought -they had better not accept it; they would -feel safer and sleep more soundly right there -in the woods. Then Ned suggested that they -should wrap themselves in the blankets and -get what rest they could while he stood guard, -and to his surprise and Tom Randolph's unbouded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">323</a></span> -delight, the proposition was accepted -without an instant's hesitation. To keep up -appearances Tom took the blanket that was -passed to him and rolled himself up in it; but -he had no intention of going to sleep. He had -another idea in his head, and it was just about -as foolish as his notion of trying to pass himself -off for a soldier when he was nothing but -a Home Guard.</p> - -<p>"Good-night, Johnny; and many thanks -for that grub and this warm blanket," said -one of the escaped prisoners who had not -spoken before.</p> - -<p>"Good-night, Yank, and welcome," replied -Ned. "But I am not a Johnny."</p> - -<p>"And neither am I a Yank," said the -soldier. "I came from Michigan. But good-night."</p> - -<p>After that silence reigned in that dark, lonesome -camp for the space of half an hour. The -soldiers were weary and sank into a deep -slumber almost as soon as they had adjusted -their blankets to suit them; but Tom Randolph -was wide awake. He curbed his impatience -until the heavy breathing of his captors<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">324</a></span> -told him that they were in a state of unconsciousness, -and then said cautiously:</p> - -<p>"Ned, Ned! Have you got a gun?"</p> - -<p>"No. What do I want of a gun?" was the -answer.</p> - -<p>"Where are they?"</p> - -<p>"Wrapped up in the blankets with the -soldiers, most likely."</p> - -<p>"Well, say, Ned; look here," whispered -Tom coaxingly.</p> - -<p>"It's no use, for I can't do it," replied Ned, -who knew what the captive was about to say. -"You don't show your usual good sense in -asking it of me, either."</p> - -<p>"But you could drop asleep, couldn't you, -and let me crawl away?"</p> - -<p>"I could, but I won't. I'm not going to -get myself into a scrape by going back on -these Yanks. They'd shoot me."</p> - -<p>"But you might go with me," suggested -Tom, who was almost ready to shed tears again.</p> - -<p>"And leave Mr. Gray's property to be destroyed?" -demanded Ned. "I said I'd keep -guard, and I've got to do it."</p> - -<p>"Well, you have been weighed and found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">325</a></span> -wanting," said Tom desperately. "I know -just what you are now, but I was foolish -enough to think you were a friend of mine."</p> - -<p>"You didn't think anything of the sort. -You knew better," said Ned; and after that -he relapsed into silence. He had proved that -he was ready to assist Tom in any way he -could, but he wasn't going to arouse Ben's -rage and the corporal's by permitting him to -steal away in the darkness. It was the most -senseless proposition he had ever heard of, and -he was glad that Tom did not trouble him with -it again. The latter lay so quiet that his -guard thought he was asleep, but he wasn't. -He was trying to think up some way to get -even with Ned.</p> - -<p>Although the overseer was not at all drowsy, -the exciting events of the last few hours having -banished slumber, he passed a dreary -night on his log, leaning against a tree, and -listening for the first far-off baying of the -hounds, which would announce that the pursuit -had been renewed. But the hours dragged -themselves away without disturbance of any -kind, and at daylight the corporal threw off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">326</a></span> -his blanket and sat up. He felt like a new man -after his refreshing sleep, and that was what -all his comrades said when they were aroused. -Then a short consultation was held, and Ned -posted off to the house with the empty basket. -It was full of eatables when he returned an -hour later, to learn that during his absence the -fugitives had decided that Tom Randolph's -story was more worthy of belief than his own.</p> - -<p>"It doesn't stand to reason that a man -would tell such damaging things about himself -just for fun," said the corporal, who -spoke for all his companions. "He was as -defiant as you please when we captured him, -and I believe——"</p> - -<p>"But I told you a pack of lies; I did indeed," -cried Tom, hiding his face in his hands.</p> - -<p>"We don't believe it," answered the soldier. -"Your weakening is all put on, because -you have learned that it isn't such a funny -thing to be a prisoner as you thought it was. -And even if you did lie to us, you are a Home -Guard, and that is against you. If you -haven't done any mean things it's because you -haven't had the chance."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">327</a></span></p> - -<p>To Tom Randolph's rage and disgust Ned -did not try to combat this decision. He simply -said:</p> - -<p>"All right; just as you say. Keep a stiff -upper lip, Tom, and I will go and get Rodney."</p> - -<p>This was the substance of the story that Ned -Griffin told while he was sitting in Mrs. Gray's -dining room on the morning of which we have -spoken. Of course he did not tell it exactly -as we have tried to, but he told enough to give -his auditors a clear idea of what had happened -on his plantation the night before. They -heard him through without interruption, and -when his narrative was ended they settled -back in their chairs and looked at one another. -There was one thought uppermost in their -minds: those escaped prisoners deserved their -freedom after working so hard for it, even if -they were Lincoln hirelings; and Rodney must -see them safe to the river. As to Tom Randolph—they -did not waste much sympathy on -him, but they were sorry for his mother. Tom -took just such chances as these when he put -on his gray uniform.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">328</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<span class="small">CAPTAIN TOM SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">When</span> Ned Griffin brought his exciting -narrative to a close Mrs. Gray beckoned -him to a seat at the table and gave him a cup -of coffee, while Rodney sent one of the girls -to his room after a couple of overcoats, and -Rosebud to the stable to see the saddle put on -his horse and Dick's. He was elated over the -prospect of doing even a little to help the -Federal soldiers who had shown themselves so -friendly to himself and his chum, and determined -that Tom Randolph should not go to a -Northern prison if he could prevent it. Tom -was an old acquaintance and a near neighbor, -and that meant a good deal to Rodney Gray. -Ned was a little apprehensive that his employer -might not be altogether pleased with -what he had done, but to his relief Mr. Gray -did not have a word of fault to find.</p> - -<p>"Rodney seems to have made up his mind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">329</a></span> -to help those Yankees through," said he, addressing -himself to the overseer, "and I need -not tell you that I shall be glad to have you -do anything you can to aid him and them. -As to Tom—it looks now as though he would -have to stand punishment for his foolishness."</p> - -<p>"And how about me?" said Rodney. "It -looks as though I was planning to get myself -into trouble. If I help the Yankees, my Confederate -neighbors will be down on me; and if -I help Tom, they'll <i>all</i> be down on me—rebels -and Union."</p> - -<p>"How are the neighbors going to find it -out?" inquired Dick.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Tom will tell them," said Rodney -carelessly.</p> - -<p>"And are you going to help a man who will -turn around and blab it on purpose to bring -you into trouble?" exclaimed Dick. "I -should think his gratitude——"</p> - -<p>"Gratitude is the rarest sentiment in the -world, my dear boy, as you will learn long before -your head is as white as mine. He'll do -me a mean turn the first good chance he gets. -That's the kind of a chap he is. Have you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">330</a></span> -got your discharge in your pocket? All right. -I don't know when you will see us again," -said Rodney, when the overcoats made their -appearance and the horses were brought to the -door, "but when we return we hope to have -some better fitting clothes than these, and a -pass from the provost marshal. So, mother, -if you have any currency that you can spare -I shall be glad to have some."</p> - -<p>These last words were whispered into the -ear of his mother, who led him to her room, -where she kept a small store of specie for an -emergency. Where the rest was Rodney did -not know or care to inquire. It was enough -for him that he could get a few pieces as often -as he found it necessary to ask for them.</p> - -<p>"Now, do be careful," pleaded his mother. -"Suppose the hounds strike your trail in -spite of all you can do to prevent it, and the -soldiers with them find you and Dick in the -company of the escaped prisoners! Your discharges -would not save you."</p> - -<p>"Don't cross a bridge till you come to it, -mother," answered Rodney, who had thought -of all this while Ned Griffin was telling his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">331</a></span> -story. "We are not going into any danger. -Good-by."</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the boys were riding post-haste -toward Ned's plantation. They reined -up to the house and turned their horses over -to a darkey as any casual visitors would have -done, for Ned told them that the rest of their -journey must be made on foot and under cover -of bushes and fences.</p> - -<p>"There's no telling who may be on the -watch," said he, "or whether all our blacks -are as loyal as they pretend to be. And, -boys, don't say a word in Tom's hearing -about showing the Yanks the way to the river. -He'll take it for granted, of course, that somebody -is going to do it, but we'll make it hard -for him to prove it on any of us."</p> - -<p>Rodney did not waste many minutes in comparing -notes with Mrs. Griffin (he already -knew everything she could have told him), but -threw his overcoat across his arm and motioned -to Ned to go ahead with the basketful -of things that had been provided for the fugitives' -dinner. It took them three-quarters of -an hour to reach the edge of the woods, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">332</a></span> -slow and cautious were they in their movements, -and they found two of the soldiers at -the fence waiting for them. Rodney and -Dick recognized them on the instant, and -shook hands with them through the fence as -cordially as though they had always been the -warmest of friends.</p> - -<p>"Say," whispered Rodney, as soon as the -greeting was over. "Call up the corporal and -the other Yank. I have a few words to say to -you that I don't want your prisoner to hear."</p> - -<p>"Are you afraid of him, too?" asked one -of the soldiers. "Then I can't understand -why you are so anxious to have him go free. -We can't leave him in camp alone, for if we -do he'll run off."</p> - -<p>"He hasn't the pluck to try it," said Ned, -passing his basket over the fence. "But I'll -stay with him. You are not afraid to trust -me, I suppose, after allowing me to stand -guard over him all night."</p> - -<p>But Ned hadn't told of the astounding -proposition Tom made while he was standing -guard over him. That was something he kept -to himself until he told his story in Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">333</a></span> -Gray's dining room. He climbed the fence -and disappeared in the woods, and presently -the corporal and the "other Yank" came up.</p> - -<p>"If anyone had told me that I'd ever shake -hands with a rebel in this friendly way, I -should have said he didn't know what he was -talking about," said the corporal. "Johnny, -how are you by this time? You and your -chum must have got safe home or else you -wouldn't be here. You know our story, of -course, so there's no need of telling it over -again."</p> - -<p>"No need and no time," replied Rodney, -"for you ought to be jogging along now. -You've an open and dangerous country before -you, and very likely every man in it is -on the lookout for you."</p> - -<p>"That's about what Griffin said to us last -night," replied the corporal. "We asked -him to act as our guide, but he thinks you -can be of more use to us."</p> - -<p>"I don't know about that; but I will do -my best on one condition."</p> - -<p>Of course the soldiers knew what that condition -was, but listened patiently while Rodney<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">334</a></span> -went on to tell them that they never made -a greater mistake in their lives than they did -when they put faith in Tom Randolph's story -and rejected Ned Griffin's. He urged them to -release Tom without any more nonsense, and -hinted that the sooner they complied with -his request, the sooner he would be ready to -start with them for Baton Rouge. He also -added:</p> - -<p>"If you are bound to take Tom with you I -can't go, and you'll have to do the best you -can for yourselves. He'd find means to let -my rebel neighbors hear of it, and then I'd -have to go among the Yanks or back to the -army; for I couldn't live here. What do you -say?"</p> - -<p>"What do you say, boys?" inquired the -corporal, turning to his companions. "He's -a Home Guard, and a mighty mean one, too, -judging by——"</p> - -<p>"None of that, please," Rodney interposed. -"Having submitted the case, you have no -business to keep on arguing it. Yes or no, -Yanks?"</p> - -<p>"I wish we had knocked him on the head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">335</a></span> -before we took him prisoner," said Ben, who -could not forget his lost comrade.</p> - -<p>"But you didn't, and you can't very well -do it now," replied Rodney. "Are you going -to let him go or not?"</p> - -<p>Ben did not answer; but his three companions -gave a favorable, though very reluctant -response to Rodney's question, and -the latter drew a long breath of relief. Ben -looked and acted ugly, and if he had been a -little better talker Tom Randolph's chances -for liberty and life would have been slim indeed. -As Dick Graham afterward explained -it, Tom was saved by Ben's want of gab. -Rodney's next care was to urge upon the -soldiers the necessity of sending Tom about -his business with the least possible delay, and -of being careful to drop no word in his hearing -that would give him a hint of their future -movements. Tom would make all sorts of -promises, but they must not put the least faith -in them, for if he saw an opportunity to do -it, he would put a squad on their trail in -less than an hour. This done, he and Dick -climbed the fence and followed the soldiers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">336</a></span> -toward the camp. Ned Griffin had had time -to prepare Tom for Rodney's coming, and the -expression Rodney's face wore when he appeared -in sight prepared him for the good -news.</p> - -<p>"You have prevailed upon them to release -me and I know it," he exclaimed, seizing one -of Rodney's hands in both his own and shaking -it with all his might. "And I'll never forget -you for it; never in this world. If you want -anything, all you've got to do is to say the -word, and if I've got it you shall have it. -And as for you soldiers—I'll cook up some -sort of a story when I reach home that will -stop all pursuit till you have had time to -reach the Union lines. I am very grateful to -you, and will prove it by pulling off my gray -suit as soon as I get home. If all Yanks are -like you, I am not going to fight any more -during the war."</p> - -<p>Tom was sure he saw a faint prospect of -escape before him, and his joy was so great -that it choked his utterance. He continued -to rattle on in this way, until the corporal -interrupted him with:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">337</a></span></p> - -<p>"That's all right, Johnny. So long as you -keep the hounds off our trail, it's all the return -we ask for setting you at liberty."</p> - -<p>"Then you are going to release me, aint -you?" cried Tom.</p> - -<p>"I don't suppose such a thing was ever -done before," said the corporal hesitatingly. -"And I don't know what the boys will say to -me when they hear of it; but I——"</p> - -<p>"That don't make any difference, Mr. -Soldier. You just tell me to go home, and I -will keep the hounds off your trail."</p> - -<p>"Well—git!" said the corporal. "You -will find your sword and revolver back there -in the grove where we hid them yesterday."</p> - -<p>Tom lost no time in grasping the corporal's -hand and shaking it with all his strength—a -proceeding to which the boy in blue submitted -with very bad grace. He felt more like giving -his late captive a kick, and so did his comrades; -but they let him shake their hands instead—all -except Ben, who put his hands into -his pockets and turned away when Tom approached -him. Captain Randolph would have -persisted in his efforts to take leave of him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">338</a></span> -also, had he not been warned by a look from -Rodney that he had better stop his nonsense -and get away while the Federals were in the -humor to let him go. Acting upon the hint, -he turned away from Ben and disappeared in -the direction of the fence.</p> - -<p>"If I am any prophet that surly Yank will -see the time when he'll wish he had not turned -his back on me in that style," soliloquized -Tom, when he found himself safe in the lane. -"I'll square accounts with him and with Rodney -and Dick at the same time. And Ned -Griffin, too. I might have given those Yanks -the slip last night, if he had been friendly -enough to fall asleep as I wanted him to do; -but he wouldn't, and now he will see how I -will pay him for it."</p> - -<p>Tom sped along the lane as if he had been -furnished with wings, through the negro quarter -and up to the door of the plantation house, -where Ned's mother was waiting for him. She -had moved her low rocking chair to that door, -and had been waiting there ever since she saw -Rodney Gray and his two companions disappear -in the woods at the end of the lane; for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">339</a></span> -she felt the keenest anxiety for Tom, and wondered -what his mother would do if Rodney -failed in his efforts to have him released.</p> - -<p>"O Tom, I am so glad to see you," she exclaimed, -as soon as the captain of the Home -Guards came within speaking distance.</p> - -<p>"I am a free man once more, Mrs. Griffin," -replied Tom loftily, "and it is a fortunate -thing for some people whose names I could -mention. If I had been kept a prisoner, my -Home Guards would have made sad work in -this settlement. I'll thank you to lend me a -horse. I want to reach home as soon as I can, -in order to relieve my mother's anxiety."</p> - -<p>And this was all he had to say to the woman -who had done more than anybody else to keep -him out of prison. By her kindness and generosity -she had won the gratitude of Tom's -captors and made it comparatively easy for -Rodney to effect his release; and although -Tom did not know this, he did know that Ned -had done his best for him, and one would -think he might have had a civil word for Ned's -mother. Instead of that he hinted darkly -at some things he knew about "some people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">340</a></span> -whose names he could mention," and Mrs. -Griffin knew that that was the same thing as a -threat. She replied that she did not feel at -liberty to lend Ned's saddle-horse without saying -a word to him about it, but Tom could -have a mule if he wanted it; and with the -words she went into the house, leaving Captain -Randolph to stand alone at the door until -the mule was brought up.</p> - -<p>"This is another insult I shall have to remember -against the Griffins," thought Tom, -running his eye over the ill-conditioned animal -that was finally led to the door. "Now, -how shall I manage to have those escaped prisoners -captured with the least possible delay? -If they could be taken now, Rodney and Dick -and Ned would be taken with them; but I -don't know whether I want that to happen or -not. If it should get noised abroad that they -were captured with my help, or through information -furnished by me, I'd have everybody -in the settlement down on me; and goodness -knows I've got enemies enough already."</p> - -<p>This was a matter requiring thought; and in -order that he might have plenty of leisure to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">341</a></span> -devote to it, Captain Tom allowed his mule to -walk every step of the five miles that lay between -the plantation and Mooreville. He rode -past Mr. Gray's house without stopping, and -in due time drew rein in front of Kimberly's -store, to find the usual number of lazy Home -Guards loitering about there doing nothing. -They were surprised to see him, for the news -of his sudden and mysterious disappearance -had been spread all through the settlement. -His father, who had spent half the night riding -about in search of him, pretended to believe -that Tom had fallen in with the soldiers from -Camp Pinckney and joined them in pursuit of -the escaped Yankees; but there wasn't a man -in the country who didn't laugh at the idea as -soon as he heard of it. More than that, there -wasn't a single member of the Home Guards -who had made an earnest effort to trace the -fugitives. The most of them paid no attention -to Tom's order to turn out, and those who -did, returned to their homes as soon as they -learned that the Yankees were armed.</p> - -<p>"Why, cap'n, where in the wide world did -you drop from?" exclaimed Lieutenant Lambert,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">342</a></span> -as Tom Randolph rolled off his mule in -front of the store. "Have you been after -them Yanks? Your pap said you had."</p> - -<p>Tom walked into the recruiting office and -met Captain Roach, who began to tell him how -his unexplained absence had frightened his -mother; but the commander of the Home -Guards interrupted him without ceremony.</p> - -<p>"Before I tell you anything about myself," -said he, turning to the eager Home Guards -who had followed him into the office, "I -want to know how many of you men would -like to win fame, and perhaps promotion, by -capturing the four Yankees who are roaming -about the country, shooting our comrades -down in cold blood."</p> - -<p>"I would, for one," replied Lambert -promptly.</p> - -<p>"And me!" "And me!" "And here -too!" chimed in the others; and they threw -so much earnestness into their words, and -seemed so impatient to learn how the feat -could be accomplished, that a stranger would -have thought they really meant to do something.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">343</a></span></p> - -<p>"I am glad to see you so patriotic," said -Captain Tom. "And the way for you to -prove your words is to—you know where Ned -Griffin lives now, don't you? Well, go down -there at once, and you will find the men you -want at the foot of his lane."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that?" demanded Captain -Roach.</p> - -<p>"Because I left them there not more than—I -mean when I escaped from them last night," -answered Tom, who, now that the danger was -past, would not have sold his experience -for any reasonable sum of money. "You -don't believe it, do you? Well, it is a fact -that I have been a prisoner in the hands of -those very men, and narrowly escaped being -shot."</p> - -<p>"But how did you get away from them?" -continued the enrolling officer.</p> - -<p>"I knocked one of them down with the butt -of his own musket and took to my heels; that's -the way I did it."</p> - -<p>This was going too far, and Captain Tom was -quick to perceive it. Some of his men exchanged -sly winks with each other, and turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">344</a></span> -toward the door as if they had heard quite -enough of such stories as that, while Captain -Roach, who had put a little faith in Tom's -tale at first, sat down in his chair and pulled -some papers toward him.</p> - -<p>"Continue to report regularly every day," -said he, addressing himself to Lambert; "I -have received no official notice that Camp -Pinckney is ready to take conscripts, but all -the same I know it is ready, and an order to -send out a squad may come any hour."</p> - -<p>"That's a polite way of calling me a liar," -said Tom to himself. "I know where I can -find those who will take some interest in what -I have to say; and if I don't go there and drop -a bomb into this camp that will scatter it far -and wide, I'm a Dutchman."</p> - -<p>He was too angry to say anything aloud. -He looked hard at Captain Roach for a moment, -and then went out to the hitching rack -where he had left his mule, the Home Guards -dividing right and left, and making no remark -as he passed through their ranks. He went -home with all the speed he could induce his -long-eared beast to put forth, and the reception<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">345</a></span> -he met when he got there almost made -amends for the deliberate slight that had been -put upon him in the enrolling office; but the -best part of the story he intended to tell was -knocked in the head by the first words his -mother said to him. He was going to describe -a terrific battle he had had with the escaped -prisoners somewhere in the woods; but his -mother cried, as she ran down the steps and -clasped him in her arms:</p> - -<p>"O Tom! Where have you been? And -how came your horse hitched out there in the -grove?"</p> - -<p>Captain Randolph had forgotten all about -his horse, and just then he wished that one of -the Yankees had put a bullet through the -animal's head instead of tying him among the -evergreens. Then he could have said that he -did not surrender without a fight, and the -dead horse would have proved it.</p> - -<p>"Some of the neighbors heard him calling -as they were riding along the road, and went -in and brought him home; but they saw no -signs of you," continued Mrs. Randolph, -looking hard at Tom as if to assure herself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">346</a></span> -that he was all there. "You don't know how -frightened we all were. The first thing I -thought of was those dreadful Yankees, and I -was afraid you might have fallen into their -hands."</p> - -<p>"And that's just what happened to me," -replied Tom. "I was a prisoner in less than -an hour after I left you yesterday; but I -made something of a fight before they took -me. I think I know where my revolver is—I -threw it into the bushes rather than give it -up to the enemy."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you reckless boy, how could you do -it?" exclaimed his mother. "Come right in -and go to bed."</p> - -<p>"And when you see that revolver you will -notice that there isn't a single cartridge left in -it," added Captain Tom, as he followed his -mother up the steps. "I threw away my -sword, too, but think I can find it again. I -didn't surrender, mind you. I was captured -at the muzzle of four loaded muskets."</p> - -<p>"You dear boy! And how did you get -away from them?"</p> - -<p>"I waited until they went to sleep last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">347</a></span> -night. Of course they left one of their number -to guard me, but a Yankee is no match -for a gentleman when it comes to a fight. I -just knocked him down and cleared out."</p> - -<p>"And wasn't you hurt a bit? Didn't they -try to stop you?"</p> - -<p>"Of course they tried to stop me, and the -way the bullets flew was a caution; but the -night was dark, the bushes thick, and I escaped -without a scratch."</p> - -<p>This was only the introduction to the long -story Tom had to tell, and although there was -scarcely a word of truth in it from beginning -to end, his doting mother believed it all. His -father looked slightly incredulous when Tom -told how he had laid around in the woods for -long hours while the Yankees were searching -high and low to find him, for his boots and -clothing did not bear out his thrilling narrative. -They were dusty, of course, but not at -all torn and mussed, as they ought to have -been if the wearer had had such a time working -his way out of the woods. But Mr. Randolph -was so overjoyed to see Tom back safe -and sound that he said nothing about it.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">348</a></span></p> - -<p>"Now, my son, you must quit the Home -Guards at once and stay right here on the -plantation," said Mrs. Randolph, when she -had asked her hero all the questions she could -think of. "When you are a private citizen -you will not be called upon to assist in capturing -desperadoes."</p> - -<p>"I've done the very best I could for the -South ever since I joined my fortunes with -hers," answered Captain Tom; "I have risked -life and liberty in her defence more than once, -and am ready to do it again; but I can't fight -the whole Yankee nation alone and unaided."</p> - -<p>"Certainly not," assented his mother.</p> - -<p>"I was the only one of the company who -had the pluck to face those desperate men in -the woods," continued Tom, "and was captured -for my pains. I ordered my men out -to help me, but they never came. They left -me to meet the danger alone; and when I -dropped into the enrolling office on my way -home, they were loafing as usual and bragging -too. And when I told them right where -they would find those Yanks, and tried to get -them to go out and capture them, do you suppose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">349</a></span> -they would go? They just as good as -told me that they did not believe me, and -Roach broke in on my story by giving orders -directly to Lambert instead of passing them -to him through me. I have put up with that -man just as long as I am going to; and, father, -if you will pay Larkin off and let him go, I'll -be ready to take his place to-morrow morning. -And now I'll write to the Governor the very -first thing I do."</p> - -<p>This letter to the Governor, tendering his -resignation as captain of State troops, was the -"bomb" with which Tom had threatened to -"scatter Captain Roach's camp far and wide," -but when he sat down to write it, the thought -occurred to him that if he said too much the -letter might operate like a boomerang, and -hurt him more than he hoped to hurt Captain -Roach. If he had written it as he had it -framed in his mind, it would have been a -complete and scathing indictment of the enrolling -officer's way of doing business; but -the letter he showed his mother, when she -came to his room in response to his call, read -something like this:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">350</a></span></p> - - -<blockquote> -<p>I have the honor to tender herewith my resignation as -captain of the State militia which was granted me on -the —th day of April last, with authority to raise and -command a company of mounted men for home defence.</p> - -<p>I have long been of opinion that partisan organizations -are not what we need in this hour of our country's -peril, and now I am satisfied of it. Our best men long -ago went to the front voluntarily, leaving behind them -a rabble who cannot possibly be made into soldiers. The -men under my command were selected with the greatest -care, but I am obliged to say that they are fit for nothing -but guard duty at Camp Pinckney. If they were ordered -there in a body, to take the place of better men who could -be sent to the front, it would be a relief to the community. -For myself I have other ideas, which I shall -proceed to carry out as soon as I receive notice that my -resignation has been accepted.</p> -</blockquote> - - -<p>"That is nothing but the truth," said Mrs. -Randolph, after she had read the letter. -"But, Tom, I am afraid it will get you into -trouble."</p> - -<p>"I don't see how," was the reply. "You -don't suppose that the Governor will bring -it down here, show it to such fellows as Lambert -and Moseley and the rest, and ask them -what they think of it; do you? He has other -fish to fry."</p> - -<p>"But suppose he should ask you what your -other ideas are," said his mother.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">351</a></span></p> - -<p>"There's no danger of that. If the Governor -thinks that my chief reason for resigning -is because I want to go to the front, well and -good. I am not to blame for what he thinks. -I have other ideas, and that's a fact; and one -of them is to see the men who winked and -nudged one another to-day when I was trying -to put a little courage into them, sent where -they will be held with their noses close to the -grindstone. Now I'll ride down and mail this, -and when the acceptance comes I'll tell Roach -what I have done."</p> - -<p>"That reminds me that the mail carrier had -a race with a squad of Yankee cavalry yesterday," -said Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Great Scott!" exclaimed Tom. "Have -they come as close as that to Mooreville? -They are bound to get here sooner or later, -but I hope they'll stay away a week longer, -for then I shall be a free man."</p> - -<p>And Captain Tom might have added that he -would be glad to see the Federals at the end -of a week, provided he received a favorable -answer from the Governor in that time. -When the Home Guards were ordered away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">352</a></span> -to do duty at Camp Pinckney he would consider -his account with them settled; and the -other old scores—there were four of them -now—could be attended to at some future -time.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">353</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<span class="small">RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">When</span> Captain Randolph was done with -his leave-taking he hastened away as -if he feared that the escaped prisoners might -change their minds and call him back. He -was out of sight in an instant, and when he -was out of hearing Rodney Gray said:</p> - -<p>"Now we must <i>git</i> ourselves. I don't know -what sort of a story Tom will tell when he -gets home, but it is safe to say that he will -make himself out a very brave fellow, and -urge his men to take up our trail at once."</p> - -<p>"You needn't trouble yourself about the -Home Guards," said Ned.</p> - -<p>"I don't; but if those same Home Guards -should chance to stumble upon the soldiers -from Camp Pinckney, we'd have something -to trouble ourselves about, wouldn't we? So -I say we had better move away from here. -Pick up that basket, somebody; and Ned, you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">354</a></span> -take care of the quilts, for we'll not need -them. We shall lie by during the daytime -and travel at night. You haven't heard the -last of this morning's work, Ned, and neither -have I."</p> - -<p>"If that Home Guard gets you into trouble -after what you have done for him, find means -to let the —th Michigan cavalry know it; and -the first time we scout through here we'll pay -our respects to him," said Ben hotly. "If -it hadn't been for Griffin's mother, Captain -Randolph would have gone to a Northern -stockade as sure as he is a living man."</p> - -<p>"I'll bear that in mind," replied Ned. -"Good-by, boys. So-long, Yanks."</p> - -<p>"May the best of good luck always attend -you, Johnny," said the fugitives in concert.</p> - -<p>This parting would have disgusted Captain -Randolph if he had been there to witness it, -and might have led him to say: "This is -another insult that I've got to remember -against the Griffin family," for there was a -good deal of friendly feeling manifested on -both sides. Surly Ben did not turn his back -this time, but held fast to Ned with one hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">355</a></span> -while he pointed to the shoes he wore, with the -other, and said:</p> - -<p>"If I get away I shall have you to thank -for it. I couldn't have walked a mile with -my feet on the ground as they were when you -took pity on me last night. If I can ever repay -you I will."</p> - -<p>"You have repaid me a hundred times over -by letting Rodney and Dick go free when -you captured them a few days ago. So-long, -Yanks."</p> - -<p>"Fall in," said Rodney. "Good-by, Ned. -I wish you would make it your business to -tell mother that you saw us safely off."</p> - -<p>Ned began to roll up the quilts, the corporal -shouldered the basket containing the provisions, -and Rodney led the way deeper into -the woods, the soldiers coming next in line -and Dick Graham bringing up the rear; and -as he trudged along in silence he had much to -say to himself. Was this Rodney Gray, who -was risking so much to guide these ragged, -foot-sore men to a place of safety, the same -rabid Secessionist who once wanted to ride -rough-shod over everybody who stood up for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">356</a></span> -the Union; who had not scrupled to bring his -own cousin into serious difficulty on account -of his loyalty to the Old Flag; who applauded -so lustily when the Mobile <i>Register</i> said that -Northern soldiers were small-change knaves -and vagrants who were fit for nothing but to -be whipped by niggers; and who declared he -would not pull off his gray suit until the South -had gained her independence? We said that -fifteen months' experience in the army of the -Confederacy, which never kept a single one -of the promises it made to those who enlisted -under its banner, had opened Rodney Gray's -eyes; and although he still believed in State -Rights, he did not believe in fighting for a -government that had deliberately gone to work -to make conscripts of its volunteers. Nor did -he longer believe that Northern men didn't -know how to fight. The way they thrashed -him and his comrades in Missouri proved that -they did.</p> - -<p>Dick Graham was like Marcy Gray, Rodney's -cousin. He loved the Union and the -flag that waved over it; but, unlike Marcy, he -thought it his duty to stand by his State.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">357</a></span> -When Van Dorn was whipped at Pea Ridge -Dick Graham was willing to lay down his -arms and give up the useless struggle; but -the government at Richmond wouldn't let -him. It made conscripts of him and all the -other State men who had enlisted under Governor -Jackson's proclamation, and ordered -them across the Mississippi to join the Army -of the Centre under Beauregard. Dick went -because he could not help himself, and did -his duty faithfully while he remained; but he -had his discharge in his pocket now, and said -there would have to be a marked change in -his feelings before he would swear away his -liberty again. There were many like him. -He thought of all the men in his company and -regiment with whom he had been on terms of -intimacy, and could not name half a dozen -who would have said a harsh word to Rodney -Gray if they had known what he was doing at -that moment. The most of them would have -done the same thing and been glad of the -chance.</p> - -<p>Although Rodney exercised little or no caution -in threading his way through the woods,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">358</a></span> -he insisted that there should be no talking -among his followers. The slight rustling they -made in the bushes might not attract attention, -because there were so many cattle and -hogs running at large in the timber; but the -sound of a voice would betray them to anyone -who might happen to be within hearing. -Their progress was easy enough until they -reached the place where the woods ended and -the broad, cultivated fields began, and then -Rodney announced that it was time for the -fugitives to halt and get a little sleep if they -could, while he and Dick went on ahead to -see how things looked.</p> - -<p>"From here on there is little cover except -such as we shall find in blind ditches and -behind bush-lined fences," said he. "You -boys take a bite and a nap, and Dick and I -will go to that plantation house you see over -there, and inquire about our friends from -Camp Pinckney. I am somewhat anxious to -know where they are. Don't be in any haste -to challenge or shoot when you hear us coming -back."</p> - -<p>"I suppose you know the people who live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">359</a></span> -in that house," said Dick, as he and Rodney -started off, after taking leave of the Federals. -"What sort of a story are you going to tell -them?"</p> - -<p>"I am well acquainted with them," answered -Rodney, "but whether or not their -friendship for our family would lead them to -do these Yanks a good turn, I can't say. I'll -not trust them too far till I find out. We'll -tell them the truth so far as our war record is -concerned, but we're hog and critter hunting -when they ask us what brought us into the -woods. And of course we know all about the -escaped prisoners."</p> - -<p>Rodney did not lead the way directly -toward the house, but worked his way along -a fence until he reached a point from which -the dwelling could not be seen; and then he -and Dick climbed over into the field and struck -out across it without making any further -attempt at concealment. It never occurred to -them that possibly the little clump of trees -that hid the house might also hide something -else from their view, but such proved to be the -case; for as Rodney walked around the corner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">360</a></span> -of the building with all the confidence of a -welcome visitor, he was surprised and frightened -to find himself in the presence of the -very men he came to inquire about—the -soldiers from Camp Pinckney, who were sitting -or lying at their ease under the shade of -the trees, while the master of the house and -his family moved among them with steaming -coffee-pots and trays filled with something -good to eat. Their hounds were lying close -by on the grass, their horses stood at the front -fence with their heads down as if asleep, and -both looked as though they needed rest. The -boys made a mental note of these things and -walked straight ahead as if they belonged there, -their approach being hailed with an exclamation -of delight from the owner of the plantation, -who was the first to catch sight of them.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, sir, by such conduct?" -said Mr. Turnbull, passing his well -loaded tray to one of the soldiers and hastening -to meet Rodney with outstretched hand. -"You've been at home five or six days, and -this is the first glimpse we have had of you. -Come up and have a bite."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">361</a></span></p> - -<p>Rodney thanked him and presented his -friend Dick, who was welcomed in the same -breezy way. Then they shook hands with the -other members of the family, and were made -acquainted with the lieutenant who commanded -the soldiers—the one whom Captain -Randolph had met and talked with the day -before. There was also a neighbor present who -had come over to hear what the soldiers had -to say about the escaped prisoners, and about -Tom Randolph, whose mysterious disappearance -was the talk of the planters for miles -around. Rodney was not pleased to see Mr. -Biglin, that was the neighbor's name, for he -was a red-hot Secessionist, who denounced Mr. -Gray for his moderate views, and declared that -every man who retained a spark of love for -the old Union ought to be shot on sight.</p> - -<p>"Now I think we are all happy and comfortable," -said Mr. Turnbull, when the boys -had been provided with plates and something -to put on them. "And that's better provender, -I take it, than you got in the army; eh, -Rodney? How do you like army life anyway? -And when are you going back?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">362</a></span></p> - -<p>The lieutenant looked surprised, as Rodney -and Dick knew he would, and so they handed -over their discharges to prove that they had -seen service, and had the right to be at home -at that particular time.</p> - -<p>"We're not going to be in any hurry," -answered Rodney, who thought all his neighbors -ought to know how he felt on that point. -"Since I came home I have met many able-bodied -civilians who were fierce for a fight -when this thing first broke out, and who -haven't yet put on a gray jacket. When I -see those men in the front rank I'll go back, -and not before."</p> - -<p>Mr. Biglin winced and glanced uneasily at -the soldiers, for these remarks came pretty -near applying to him, as Rodney meant they -should. Mr. Turnbull was exempt by reason -of his age, and he wasn't a very hot Secessionist, -either. His wife hastened to turn the -conversation into another channel by saying:</p> - -<p>"O Rodney; did you hear anything of -those escaped prisoners in your neighborhood, -and do you think they have killed or -captured Tom Randolph?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">363</a></span></p> - -<p>"Small loss," began Mr. Turnbull, and then -he was checked by a look from his wife. The -latter knew that every word that he uttered -against Tom would get to Mr. Randolph's ears -by the shortest route, and she was afraid of -Home Guards.</p> - -<p>"Randolph was down here last night looking -for Tom," continued Mr. Turnbull, "but -he told a story that was too funny for me to -believe. He said Tom had gone out with his -Home Guards to search for the prisoners, but -I know better than that."</p> - -<p>"And Tom certainly did not go into the -woods alone to hunt for them, so what chance -had the Yanks to kill or capture him?" added -Rodney. "We know that they were in our -neighborhood yesterday, for some of these -soldiers told my mother so; but they never -came near our house."</p> - -<p>"I noticed you did not come by the road," -observed the lieutenant. "Have you been -riding through the woods back of this plantation?"</p> - -<p>"Dick and I have been walking through -them, but not a horn nor a hoof did we see,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">364</a></span> -answered Rodney. "You know, Mr. Turnbull, -that my father will have a big lot of -bacon and beef to pay to the government for -the exemption of two overseers; and just now -I don't know where he is going to get it."</p> - -<p>"Ned Griffin is one overseer," said Mr. -Turnbull. "Who's the other?"</p> - -<p>"I am. I never was a good fighter. I -think I can do the Confederacy just as much -service by working on a farm and raising grub -for the soldiers, as I can by staying in the -army. At any rate I am going to try it until -some of my neighbors leave off fighting with -their mouths and shoulder a musket."</p> - -<p>"That's fair, I'm sure," said the lieutenant; -while the soldiers winked and nodded at one -another as if to say: "Our sentiments exactly." -Mr. Biglin saw it and it nettled him, -for he had done a great deal of fighting with -his mouth, but every dollar he gave to aid the -cause of the South was fairly squeezed out -of him.</p> - -<p>"And while you are working one of your -father's farms, I suppose you will hold yourself -in readiness to help any destitute Yankees<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">365</a></span> -who may happen to come your way," said -Mr. Biglin.</p> - -<p>If Rodney and Dick had been the inexperienced -boys they were when they first entered -the army, these startling words would have -knocked them out of their chairs. If Mr. -Biglin didn't know what they had been doing -that morning, his language and actions seemed -to indicate that he suspected it. If that was -the case, the information must have come from -Tom Randolph. He had had plenty of time -to reach home and spread the news far and -wide. If Mr. Biglin had been content to stop -right there he might have left a bad impression -upon the minds of some of his auditors; -but seeing that he had made Rodney and his -friend uneasy, he went on to say:</p> - -<p>"I heard a fishy story about your being captured -by Yankee soldiers who were gentlemen -enough to release you."</p> - -<p>"There's nothing fishy about it," replied -Rodney, greatly relieved. "I said that Dick -and I were captured and set free again between -here and Camp Pinckney, and it is nothing but -the truth. I said, further, that if I ever saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">366</a></span> -those men in trouble I would try my best to -help them out; and I appeal to these soldiers -here to say if they wouldn't do the same."</p> - -<p>"I would, if I could do it without bringing -myself to the notice of my superiors," said the -lieutenant; while his men nodded at Rodney -and one another as they had done before.</p> - -<p>"Well, I wouldn't," declared Mr. Biglin, in -savage tones. "And more than that, I would -report every soldier or civilian whom I knew -to be guilty of such a thing."</p> - -<p>"I thank you for your words," said Rodney -to himself. "I know now that you'll not do -to tie to, and shall be careful that none of my -doings get to your ears."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Turnbull saw that it was time for her to -interfere again. Two of her guests were becoming -almost red in the face with anger, and her -woman's wit or something else told her that -the conversation was taking a dangerous turn. -She had wondered from the first what brought -Rodney Gray so far from home on foot, and -now she believed that she knew all about it. -She moved her chair to the side of Rodney's, -and asked the young soldier to tell her a story<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">367</a></span> -of army life; and as she did so, her gaze wandered -through the bushes and trees to the -front fence, where she saw one of Mr. Biglin's -negroes dodging about, and evidently trying to -catch the eye of his master without attracting -the attention of anyone else in the yard. The -circumstance increased her suspicions, but she -said very calmly:</p> - -<p>"Your boy Bill is out there in the road, -Mr. Biglin, and I think he wants to tell you -something."</p> - -<p>"Then why don't he come in?" replied the -planter. "He has been down in the woods -trying to locate a small drove of my hogs, and -perhaps he has found them."</p> - -<p>"And perhaps he has found something -else," was what Rodney's eyes and Dick's -said when they looked at each other; and -they could hardly conceal their agitation when -they observed that Mrs. Turnbull was keeping -her gaze fixed on their faces.</p> - -<p>"You, Bill!" shouted the planter. "Come -here."</p> - -<p>The negro came very reluctantly, and when -he saw his master turn about in his chair and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">368</a></span> -look at him, he stopped and twisted his face -into all sorts of shapes and rolled up the -whites of his eyes, trying by every means in -his power to make his master understand -that he desired to say a word to him in -private.</p> - -<p>"Well, why don't you speak?" demanded -Mr. Biglin. "Did you find anything down -there?"</p> - -<p>"Sah? Oh, ye—yes, sah; I found sumfin," -replied the negro, in a tone so significant that -Mr. Biglin would have been dull indeed if he -had failed to understand him this time. With -the remark that he had better be getting along -toward home he arose and followed the boy, -who promptly led the way toward the front -gate.</p> - -<p>"Peculiar man, that," said the lieutenant, -rising from his comfortable couch on the grass -and stretching his arms. "He didn't even -bid us good-by. I reckon we'd best be getting -along toward camp. Boots and saddles!"</p> - -<p>"Are you going to give up looking for those -Yankees?" inquired Mr. Turnbull, and from -the bottom of his heart Rodney thanked him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">369</a></span> -for asking the question. He wanted to do it -himself, but was afraid to speak.</p> - -<p>"I reckon I might as well," answered the -officer, as his men got upon their feet, aroused -the slumbering hounds by snapping their -fingers at them, and hastened to obey the -command. "I did think of taking in those -woods on my way to Mooreville, but don't -suppose it would be of any use. If the Yanks -were there you two would have been likely to -see them, wouldn't you?" he added, nodding -at Rodney.</p> - -<p>"I am quite sure we would," was the reply; -but after all he was not so sure of it. The -timber was thick; and, unless accompanied by -dogs, a whole regiment might have walked -through it without seeing any signs of a fugitive -who took the least pains to conceal -himself.</p> - -<p>"That's what I thought," continued the -lieutenant, "and as my men and animals are -somewhat worn with travel, I think I will give -it up and go home. I would have captured -those men yesterday if the Mooreville Home -Guards had been worth their salt. I may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">370</a></span> -have something to say to my colonel about -it."</p> - -<p>While the lieutenant talked he shook hands -with the planter and the two boys, lifted his -cap to Mrs. Turnbull, and thanked her for the -excellent dinner she had given his hungry -men, and walked toward the place where he -had hitched his horse, accompanied by their -host. The latter's wife remained behind; and -when she saw the officer swing himself into his -saddle she made some slight apology to Dick, -and motioned Rodney to follow her into the -house.</p> - -<p>"What's down there in the woods behind -our plantation?" were the first words she said -to him when they were alone.</p> - -<p>"Why, Mrs. Turnbull," began Rodney, -"how should I know? I assure you I am at -a loss——"</p> - -<p>"You know what I mean, Rodney Gray, -and you can't deceive me," interrupted the -lady with so much earnestness that Rodney -saw it was useless to argue with her. "You -never in your life before came to this house -on foot; you were frightened when you found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">371</a></span> -the soldiers here; you became angry the moment -Mr. Biglin spoke of Yankees; you were -frightened again when the boy Bill intimated -that he had a word to say to his master in -private; and all through—— Aha! You do -know what I mean, don't you?"</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Turnbull," replied Rodney in a -husky voice. "They are the men I promised -to help if I could. You'll not betray them?"</p> - -<p>"I ought to scold you for speaking such -words to me, and some day I will," said the -lady hastily. "But just now I want to warn -you against Mr. Biglin. I am sorry to say -that he is not trustworthy."</p> - -<p>When she ceased speaking she stepped to -the window and looked out. She stood there -a moment and beckoned Rodney to her side. -The Confederate soldiers had disappeared up -the road in a cloud of dust, and Mr. Biglin -was just riding by the house. It was plain -that he was in a hurry, for he did not stop to -pick up his hat, which flew off just as Rodney -caught sight of him, but dug his heels into his -mule's sides in the effort to make him go -faster.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">372</a></span></p> - -<p>"He's trying to overtake the soldiers!" -gasped Rodney.</p> - -<p>"He certainly is," replied Mrs. Turnbull -calmly. "He will succeed, too, and when he -brings them back with the hounds——"</p> - -<p>"The Yankees will burn him out before he -is a week older," said Rodney, through his -clenched teeth.</p> - -<p>"They will do nothing of the sort unless -you bear witness against him, and I know you -will not do that," answered Mrs. Turnbull. -"But waste no time in words. You know -what to do."</p> - -<p>"I will say something in your favor and Mr. -Turnbull's as soon as I can gain the ear of the -provost marshal," said Rodney. "Good-by, -and thank you for the interest you take in my -Yankee friends."</p> - -<p>Rodney made a sign to Dick as he sprang -down the steps and ran around the corner of -the house, and told him his story as they sped -across the field side by side. There was one -thing in their favor, he said. Biglin's mule -was one of those critters that gallop up and -down in one place instead of going ahead, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">373</a></span> -if the Confederates were moving with any -speed at all, he might not be able to overtake -them until they had gone a mile or two toward -Mooreville. But he would certainly come up -with them sooner or later and bring them -back; and then——</p> - -<p>"And then they'll put the hounds on the -Yanks' trail <i>and ours</i>," exclaimed Dick, -finishing his sentence for him. "Rodney, -you have got yourself into the worst kind of -a scrape by helping those prisoners."</p> - -<p>"And how about yourself?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to skip out and go over the -river, you know; but you've got to stay here -and face the music. The lieutenant may not -be able to set Tom Randolph's cowardly -Home Guards on to you—indeed, I don't believe -he will try; but he'll report the matter -at Camp Pinckney, and that will be bad for -you."</p> - -<p>The boys ran across the field at the top of -their speed, and scaled the fence without hearing -any sounds in the direction of the house -to indicate that Mr. Biglin had returned with -the soldiers. Ten minutes later they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">374</a></span> -challenged in a low, peremptory tone that -Dick said meant business.</p> - -<p>"<i>Who</i> comes there?" said the corporal's -voice. "Speak quick."</p> - -<p>"It's all right, Yank. I don't wonder you -look anxious," replied Rodney, as he and -Dick made their way through the bushes -and found the fugitives standing erect with -their guns in their hands. "Come on, now. -There's not a second to lose."</p> - -<p>"Do you know about that nigger?" inquired -Ben. "Well, sir, he found us all -asleep and was onto us before we knew it. -We could have captured him easy enough; -but we never looked for treachery among the -darkeys, and besides we didn't know but you -Johnnies had sent him down with a message -or something. But the minute we spoke and -he ran, we knew there was mischief afoot. -Of course we were afraid to shoot him, and so -he got safely away. Did you see him? What -did he say?"</p> - -<p>"We didn't hear what he said to his master," -began Dick. "But we——"</p> - -<p>"You go to the rear and let me talk," interrupted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">375</a></span> -Rodney, who had forgotten to tell -his friend that Mr. Biglin's name must not -be mentioned in the hearing of the escaped -prisoners. They would remember him, of -course, and square accounts with him the first -time their regiment was ordered out on a -scout. He managed to tell some sort of a tale -without speaking of Mr. Biglin, but it was not -entirely satisfactory to the corporal.</p> - -<p>"You're shielding somebody, Johnny; but -if he is a friend of yours it's all right," said -the latter.</p> - -<p>"What odds does it make to you so long as -you get safe to the river?" answered Rodney. -"I am shielding somebody, and I do it because -Mrs. Turnbull expects me to. That's -the name of the woman who lives in that -house, and if it hadn't been for her there's no -telling what would have happened. Bear that -name in mind—Turnbull; and when you are -raiding through here, don't steal so much as a -drink of milk from that family."</p> - -<p>The corporal and his men promised, and said -the name over several times to fix it in their -memory.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">376</a></span></p> - -<p>"Our pursuers are all soldiers," continued -Rodney, "and under almost any other circumstances -I believe they would let us off -easy; but the way they're fixed, they've got -to do their duty or be reported. They are -bound to come back to the house and put out -the hounds——"</p> - -<p>"And they've done it," said Dick Graham, -coming to a sudden standstill and turning one -ear toward the house. "There! Do you hear -it?"</p> - -<p>All this while the fugitives had been making -the best progress they could through the -woods, but now they stopped and listened -intently. Yes, they could hear it plainly -enough; not a single bugle note like that -which had attracted Dick Graham's attention, -but a whole chorus of eager yelps, -proving that all the hounds had taken up -the trail.</p> - -<p>"This is going to be the tightest squeak -we've had yet," observed Ben. "How many -of them are there in the party?"</p> - -<p>"About six hounds, I should say, and twice -as many men," replied Rodney. "Enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">377</a></span> -altogether to make running easier than fighting. -Dick, take this bottle, and don't use it -until I say the word."</p> - -<p>"What's in it?" inquired the corporal.</p> - -<p>"Turpentine; and if the dogs get a good -sniff of it, it will spoil their scenting powers -for quite a while. The trouble is it evaporates -quickly, and Dick mustn't use it until the -hounds are close to us."</p> - -<p>Dick fell back to the rear and Rodney set -off on a keen run, directing his course toward -a little bayou which he knew he would find -a mile or so in advance. But fast as they -went, the hounds came on at a swifter pace, -their sonorous yelps grew louder every minute, -and presently the encouraging shouts of the -soldiers mingled with them.</p> - -<p>"Oh, don't I wish I had enlisted in the -infantry," puffed Ben, who followed close at -Rodney's heels. "Such a tramp as we have -had wouldn't be anything to a foot soldier, -but it's death on a cavalryman."</p> - -<p>"The hounds are now following Dick's -trail and mine across the field," said Rodney. -"They'll come on faster when they pick up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">378</a></span> -yours, for they will recognize it on the -instant."</p> - -<p>And so it proved. The hounds gradually -swept around from a point to the rear and left -of them to another that was directly behind; -and then their loud baying increased wonderfully -in volume. They had at last found the -trail that had been lost to them for so many -hours, and were holding a jubilee over it. -After that the horsemen were distanced, but -the active hounds came on with undiminished -speed, and in less than a quarter of an hour -could be heard making their way through the -bushes close behind. The prisoners began to -wonder if it wasn't about time for Dick -Graham to use the contents of his bottle, when -their guide parted the thicket in front of him, -and halted for an instant on the bank of the -bayou for which he had been heading.</p> - -<p>"Put half of it right here and the rest -on the opposite bank. Forward, the rest of -us," said he; and with the words he dashed -through the narrow stream and into the bushes -on the other side.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_378.jpg" alt="Bloodhounds" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small smcap">Dick baffles the Bloodhounds.</span> - </div> -</div> - - -<p>Dick Graham showed no little nerve in carrying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">379</a></span> -out his instructions. When his companions -disappeared he pulled the bottle of -turpentine from his pocket, but knowing the -volatile nature of the fluid he seemed to be in -no haste to use it, until the leading hound was -so close upon him that he could hear his labored -breathing. Then he dug the heels of his -shoes into the soft earth and filled the depressions -with turpentine. Ten seconds later he -stood on the other side of the bayou, filling -other footprints with what was left in the bottle; -and just as the foremost of his fourfooted -pursuers appeared in sight, he flung himself -into the bushes. But he was not prepared for -what followed. As fast as the hounds arrived -upon the bank they smelt at the turpentine and -backed away with a sneeze; and when they -were all in plain view, running about with their -heads in the air or going through such contortions -as dogs will when they unexpectedly -encounter something disagreeable, a deafening -roar rang through the woods, and every one -of the hounds dropped in his tracks dead or -wounded. The Union soldiers were not going -to be tracked like beasts or criminals any longer.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">380</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<span class="small">RODNEY PASSES INSPECTION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">This</span> was the first and last adventure that -befell Rodney Gray and his party while -they were on their way to Baton Rouge; the -shooting of the hounds "broke the backbone -of the pursuit," as Dick Graham expressed it, -although it did not put a stop to it altogether. -The rebels raised a chorus of angry yells when -they reached the bank of the bayou and discovered -their fourfooted allies weltering in -their blood, and fired their guns at random -into the woods in the direction the fugitives -had gone, but they made no energetic effort to -continue the chase after that. And this went -far to confirm Rodney in his belief that the -lieutenant would not have put the hounds on -the trail at all if it hadn't been for Mr. Biglin. -By expressing this opinion aloud he could -have made Mr. Biglin a beggar before another -week passed over his head.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">381</a></span></p> - -<p>Contrary to his original plan Rodney kept -his party moving until late that afternoon, -when he halted the soldiers in the rear of another -plantation while he and Dick went to -the house to get something to eat, and make -inquiries concerning their pursuers. This time -they were not gone more than half an hour, -and when they returned they were accompanied -by the owner of the plantation, who cordially -invited the soldiers into the house.</p> - -<p>"It's all right, boys," Rodney assured them. -"Our friends from Camp Pinckney haven't -been this far down the road; Mr. Banks is -Union, and a large squad of your cavalry has -just gone back into the country, so that they -are between us and the rebels."</p> - -<p>"Why, Rodney," said Mr. Banks, "you're -a rebel yourself."</p> - -<p>"I was, and I don't know but I am yet; but -I am not fighting any Yanks just now," was -the smiling reply. "Come along, boys, and -after we have eaten everything Mr. Banks has -to spare, we'll take to the road and follow it -as though we had a right there. We've done -hiding now."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">382</a></span></p> - -<p>The corporal glanced at the military pass -which Mr. Banks produced to prove that he -was "all right" with the Federal authorities -in Baton Rouge, and gladly accepted his invitation; -and for fear that he might forget it, -he drew one of those useless paroles from his -pocket and wrote Mr. Banks' name and Mr. -Turnbull's upon it.</p> - -<p>"That's as strong a promise of protection -as a non-commissioned officer can give," said -he. "It will hold good with my regiment, -any way."</p> - -<p>The four prisoners splashed a good deal of -water at the horse trough before they would -consent to enter the house and sit down to the -table like white folks, but when they got there -they did ample justice to the substantial food -that was placed before them. The planter -apologized for the absence of salt on the table -by saying that he hadn't been able to obtain -a permit to bring it through the lines.</p> - -<p>"Then smuggle it," suggested the corporal. -"Buy a barrel of flour and chuck a bag of -salt inside of it."</p> - -<p>"But don't let your best friend see you do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">383</a></span> -it," chimed in Rodney. "That's the warning -my father received. There are lots of traitors -in the city who try to curry favor with the -Yanks by carrying tales about their old neighbors. -By the way, don't you want me to get -you a barrel of flour?"</p> - -<p>The expression of astonishment that came -upon Mr. Banks' face set the table in a roar.</p> - -<p>"You didn't expect me to speak so freely -in the presence of these blue-coated boys, I -suppose," continued Rodney. "You needn't -be afraid, for they are not on duty now. Besides, -they are soldiers, and I'd rather trust -them than some civilians I know of."</p> - -<p>"How will you bring the flour out?" asked -Mr. Banks.</p> - -<p>"I'll bring it out," answered Rodney confidently. -"In the first place I'll ask for a -pass for inland travel and a permit to trade, -and I am bound to get both. I know where I -can borrow a team in the city, and I intend to -bring it out loaded. I know that salt and all -munitions of war are contraband, and that -there is an inspection of all persons and -property going in or out of the lines; but I—well,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">384</a></span> -I shall be back this way to-morrow or -next day, and if you want a bag of salt for -your table you can have it."</p> - -<p>"Well, I snum!" said the planter admiringly. -"Your war experience has done a -heap for you, Rodney."</p> - -<p>"He had the reputation of being the best -forager in the regiment," said Dick. "I've -known him to stick a pig and clean him and -bring him into camp under Daddy Price's -nose, when the orders were strict that such -things shouldn't be done. If there was anything -to eat in the country our mess always -lived well."</p> - -<p>Dinner over, Rodney led his party out of the -house and into the woods again; but it was -done merely to mislead any talkative rebel -or treacherous darkey who might be on the -watch. It wouldn't do to let all the neighbors -know that Mr. Banks had sheltered some escaped -prisoners in his house during the night; -but when darkness came they left the woods -and found in one of the negro cabins beds that -had been placed there on purpose for them, -and on which they slept the sleep of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">385</a></span> -weary. Daylight the next morning found -them well on their way toward the city, with -a breakfast under their belts and a big lunch -in their pockets.</p> - -<p>There was more travel on the road than -Rodney expected to see, and the number of -teams that were constantly going and coming -gave him some idea of the amount of traffic -carried on between the "invaders" and the -country people. When he and his companions -were halted by the first pickets a few -miles outside the city, they told as much of -their story as they thought necessary, and demanded -to be taken before Colonel Baker, -commanding the —th Michigan cavalry. In -order to avoid delay and the trouble of answering -the thousand and one questions propounded -by the inexperienced non-commissioned -officer who responded to the picket's -call, the corporal, who did the talking, said -that they were all escaped prisoners; but when -they reached the place where the —th Michigan -were encamped, and walked down the -street toward the colonel's quarters, that -story would no longer pass muster, for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">386</a></span> -corporal was recognized by his comrades, who -crowded about him from all sides. The news -of that fight near Camp Pinckney had been -brought in by a farmer, who affirmed that all -the Yankees had been killed by the Home -Guards as fast as they surrendered, and as a -consequence the Michigan boys had given up -all hope of seeing their friends again. Their -commanding officer greeted them in the same -cordial way, laughed over the paroles which -the corporal gave him, took down the names -of the Union people as they were read off, -looked at Rodney's discharge and Dick's, and -told the corporal to show them the way to the -provost marshal's office.</p> - -<p>"But, colonel, these boys, who have stood -by us as though they belonged to us, want a -pass and a permit to trade," said the corporal. -"And if you will allow me to use your name, -perhaps the provost will be more willing to -grant the favor."</p> - -<p>The permission was readily given, and the -colonel's name must have had some weight -with the marshal, for he did not detain Rodney -and Dick at his office on business for more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">387</a></span> -than ten minutes; but he kept them there -talking in a friendly way for more than an -hour. When he handed them the papers -they wanted he took pains to say that there -were some things that could not be taken -through the lines under any circumstances -whatever, and then he asked where they intended -to make their headquarters when they -were in the city, and whether or not they had -any cotton to sell. As Rodney did not know -what his object might be in asking this question, -he answered it evasively.</p> - -<p>"I wish I owned 1000 bales, and that it was -in the Northern market at this minute," said -he. "It is worth sixty cents a pound up -there."</p> - -<p>"Because if you've got any you may as well -understand that it won't do you much good," -said the marshal. "That is, unless you're -sharp. The Richmond government is going to -buy or steal all the cotton in the Confederacy -and make it the basis of a foreign loan."</p> - -<p>"And of course you Yanks are going to -stop that sort of work by destroying every bale -you can find," said Rodney. "I understand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">388</a></span> -that, but I don't know what you mean by -being sharp."</p> - -<p>"You don't get the papers very often, do -you?" said the captain. "Well, take those -when you go. They're old, but perhaps their -contents will be news to you. You will find -that they say something about a 'partial -trade' that is to be established between -Northern men who are to have permits to -trade inside our lines, and <i>Union</i> Southern -people. Does that hit you? Anything to -cripple the rebs, you know. And you will see -something about the <i>Arkansas</i> ram in there, -too. It was a brave act, if it was performed -by the enemies of my country."</p> - -<p>"What about her? What did she do?" -inquired Rodney, who had heard vague reports -that there was such a vessel as the <i>Arkansas</i>, -and that great things were expected of her by -her Confederate builders.</p> - -<p>"Why, you know that the navy has been -keeping up a regular bombardment of Vicksburg, -don't you? I tell you the pluck of the -Johnnies up there is something wonderful," -said the captain, and Rodney and Dick, disgusted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">389</a></span> -as they were with the policy of the -Richmond government, felt a thrill of pride as -they listened to his words. "They think the -lower river was given up too easily and are -going to make a fight for their city; and when -Farragut passed their batteries on the 28th of -June, and our shells were falling like hail in -the streets, parties of ladies were seen on the -court house and in other conspicuous places, -waving handkerchiefs and little rebel flags to -encourage their husbands and brothers and -sons, who were fighting the guns below them. -Well, when Farragut joined Davis above the -city they sent an expedition up the Yazoo to -find this ram <i>Arkansas</i> and destroy her; but -before they were fairly started they met the -<i>Arkansas</i> coming down."</p> - -<p>"And didn't they capture her?" exclaimed -Dick.</p> - -<p>"No, I am sorry to say. She either disabled -or dodged the three gunboats composing the -expedition, came out of the Yazoo with flying -colors, ran through both fleets, and took shelter -under the guns of Vicksburg. And she's -there now in spite of two desperate attempts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">390</a></span> -that were made to destroy her. Sorry, aint -you?"</p> - -<p>"I can't honestly say that I am," answered -Rodney, who had already made up his mind -that the talkative provost marshal was willing -to be friendly to any Confederate who had laid -down his arms. "A brave act like that ought -to be successful."</p> - -<p>"Then our attempts to destroy her ought to -have been successful, for they were equally -brave," retorted the captain. "She got pretty -well hammered while passing through the two -fleets, and report says that as soon as she is -repaired she is coming down to take Baton -Rouge from us. But she is as far down as she -will ever get. Farragut is here now with his -whole fleet."</p> - -<p>And this is a good place to say a word or -two more about the situation at Baton Rouge, -so that some events which we have yet to record -may be made perfectly plain. On the 22d of -the month (July) Flag-officer Davis made -another attempt to destroy the <i>Arkansas</i>, -but it resulted in failure. Two of his boats, -the <i>Essex</i> and <i>Queen of the West</i>, were commanded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">391</a></span> -to go down and sink her as she lay at -her moorings under cover of the Confederate -batteries, but her picked crew fought as -bravely and skilfully now as they had done a -week before. The <i>Essex</i> ran aground and remained -there for ten minutes under fire so hot -that it is a wonder she was not cut all to pieces; -but she finally worked off and ran down to join -Farragut, while the <i>Queen of the West</i> struggled -back up the river to report the failure to -Flag-officer Davis. The situation at this time -was discouraging to our side. The gunboats -were widely separated; the canal that was -to make Vicksburg an inland town proved a -failure; General Williams removed to Baton -Rouge the small body of troops with which he -had been co-operating with the naval forces; -Commodore Davis went back to the mouth -of the Yazoo and anchored there; and for full -five months there was a lull in the operations -against Vicksburg. But exciting things continued -to happen in Rodney Gray's part of -the country.</p> - -<p>"To tell you the truth, we of the Army of -the Centre always found more reliable information<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">392</a></span> -in your papers than we did in our -own, and I suppose that these you have kindly -given me will tell us all about the doings on -the river," said Rodney, continuing the conversation -we have broken off. "But I want -to ask you one question before I go. My -friend Dick wants to go to Little Rock. How -is he going to get there?"</p> - -<p>"I give it up," replied the captain.</p> - -<p>"Do you think the commanding naval -officer would permit him to cross the river if -he showed his discharge!"</p> - -<p>"He might, and then he might not. I can't -say. Those navy men are fine fellows, the -finest I think I ever saw; but they're so <i>very</i> -particular that if I wanted to go to Little -Rock, and if it was right that I should go, I -wouldn't consult—I believe I should—well, -I'd just go. That's all."</p> - -<p>"Well, we will no longer trespass upon -your time," said Rodney, getting upon his -feet. "We are obliged to you for your kindness -and courtesy, and if you ever come out -our way, drop in and see us."</p> - -<p>"I should be glad if I could accept half the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">393</a></span> -invitations that have been given me by people -hereabout," replied the captain. "But just -now I can't. Any rebs out your way?"</p> - -<p>"I don't expect you to come without an -escort. There are soldiers at Camp Pinckney, -and some of them have been seen in Mooreville."</p> - -<p>"Good-by, if you must go; and remember -that there are a few things which that permit -does not authorize you to take through the -lines."</p> - -<p>Rodney said he would not forget it, and -then he and Dick saluted and went into the -outer room, which was filled with civilians and -soldiers awaiting an audience with the provost -marshal. After looking in vain for the corporal, -they concluded that he had returned to -camp, so they took the nearest way to the -home of Mr. Martin, the gentleman under -whose hospitable roof Rodney and his father -were sojourning on the night that Ned Griffin -rode in from Mooreville with the information -that Drummond and Tom Randolph were laying -plans to have Rodney arrested when he -reached St. Louis. Mr. Martin was glad to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">394</a></span> -see them, and made them feel at home at once. -He laughed when they told him of their interview -with the provost marshal, and, when -Rodney declared that he'd like to see anybody -treated with so much civility by an officer -holding that position in Bragg's army, cautioned -them to be careful how they trespassed -upon the captain's good nature. The latter -was cordial and friendly with everyone who -had business with him, but he had a reputation -as a fighter, had won all his promotions -by his bravery on the field of battle, and had -no mercy on civilians or soldiers who were -caught disobeying his orders.</p> - -<p>"But smuggling things out of the lines is -like foraging in the army," said Mr. Martin -in conclusion. "The sin lies in being detected."</p> - -<p>"That's all I want to know," said Rodney. -"I've never been caught yet. You can tell -me where I can borrow or hire a team, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>Yes, the host could do that, and he might -also be able to make a few suggestions that -would be of use to them; but he didn't see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">395</a></span> -how Dick would get over the river unless he -acted upon the provost marshal's advice and -"just went."</p> - -<p>"However," he said, after a moment's reflection, -"I will introduce you to our mail -carrier, if he will let me."</p> - -<p>"Do we have a mail carried back and forth -under the noses of these gunboats?" exclaimed -Dick.</p> - -<p>"I don't know how or where it goes, but we -certainly have communication with the opposite -shore. The service was very irregular -while General Williams was at Vicksburg, -but since he came back to Baton Rouge our -mail reaches us at shorter intervals; so I -imagine it is carried across at some point up -the river and brought down through the country. -I don't know, but I meet the mail carrier -once in a while."</p> - -<p>"And can you make it convenient to say a -word to him about Dick?"</p> - -<p>"I can and will; but I must tell you now -that there is one thing that will operate -against you. You told the provost marshal -that you would make your headquarters at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">396</a></span> -my house as often as you came to town, -and he knows me to be a Southern sympathizer."</p> - -<p>"Whew!" whistled Rodney, while Dick -looked frightened. "Mr. Martin, we will -never come near your house again."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, you will," replied their host. -"But you must be careful how you act and -who you talk to. The city is full of the -meanest sort of converted rebels, who are -harder on us than the Yankees. If Mrs. -Martin goes out shopping or receives a guest -oftener than once a week, they run to the -marshal with the news, and I have the satisfaction -of knowing that my premises are being -watched for spies."</p> - -<p>"They are a contemptible lot," declared -Dick. "And if the provost marshal was the -gentleman we took him for, he would not pay -the least heed to their reports."</p> - -<p>"All's fair in war," said the host. "These -converted rebels are working for trade permits. -There's going to be a lot of money made in -cotton one of these days, and they want some of -it. While in the city you may listen all you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">397</a></span> -please, but don't make a confidant of anybody -but me. And don't have too much to say to -those four escaped prisoners. You may run -across them some time when they are on -duty."</p> - -<p>Mr. Martin talked for half an hour in this -strain, dropping hints here and there which -proved to be of great service to Rodney, and -then he conducted the boys to a clothing store -and left them to make their purchases, while -he went out to look for a team. Before they -went to bed that night their business was all -done, and all that remained for them to do in -the morning was to load the two-horse wagon -their host had provided for them and go home. -Mr. Martin obtained from Rodney a list of -needed goods, principally groceries, which he -purchased and packed himself; and when the -various boxes, barrels, and bags that comprised -his load were afterward unpacked at -his father's door, Rodney found in them many -little articles which he was sure he had not -placed on that list. They made an early -start, and Rodney's parting injunction to Mr. -Martin was to seek an interview with the mail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">398</a></span> -carrier at the earliest possible moment, for -Dick was impatient to be on his way home.</p> - -<p>"This is my first work as an overseer," said -Rodney, when the city was left behind and -the two scraggy mules that pulled the wagon -had been coaxed and thrashed into a snail's -trot, "and I think I have made a very fair -beginning, seeing that the business is new to -me. My next task will be to see you over the -river."</p> - -<p>"I never knew you were an overseer," said -Dick.</p> - -<p>"I've called myself one ever since I had -that talk with my father on the night we came -home," answered Rodney. "And just see -what I shall have to do when you are gone! -I battled for fame and didn't get it, and now -I am going to work for dollars and see if I will -have any better luck. Dick, I am just aching -to make the acquaintance of one of those -traders—that is, a Yankee trader. Not one -of those converted rebels Mr. Martin told us -of shall touch a bale of our cotton, if I have to -fight to keep him away from it; but if some -good Yankee comes along and offers sixty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">399</a></span> -cents a pound for it, you just wait and see -how hard I will work to put it in his -hands."</p> - -<p>It was plain that Rodney Gray belonged to -the class who were denounced by Pollard, the -Southern historian, as "unpatriotic planters." -In writing of this very matter Mr. Pollard -said: "The country had taken a solemn resolution -to burn the cotton in advance of the -enemy; but the conflagration of this staple -became a rare event; instead of being committed -to the flames it was spirited away to -Yankee markets. The planters of the extreme -South, who prior to the war were loudest -for secession, were known to buy every article -of their consumption from the invading army. -Nor were these operations always disguised. -Some commercial houses in the Confederacy -counted their gains by millions of dollars -through the favor of the government in allowing -them to export cotton at pleasure." But -Rodney Gray was a private individual, and he -was well aware that if his father's cotton -brought the money it was really worth, it -would take some good scheming on his part.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">400</a></span></p> - -<p>About an hour after the boys left the city -they came upon the first picket post, which -they found to be an unusually strong one, -being composed of one sergeant, two corporals, -and eight or nine privates. Rodney had just -time to remark "We pass inspection here, -probably," when one of the soldiers walked -to the middle of the road, brought his musket -to "arms port" and commanded them to halt. -An instant afterward their wagon was surrounded -by the rest of the pickets, who shook -the barrels back and forth, dug their fingers -into the bags, and bumped the boxes about in -the most unceremonious style.</p> - -<p>"Got a permit?" demanded the sergeant. -"And a pass?" He did not ask who the -boys were or where they came from, and the -sequel proved that he knew without asking.</p> - -<p>"These documents appear to be all right," -he continued, after he had read the papers -Rodney handed out. "Discharged rebels, -eh? You don't seem to be such a desperate -looking couple. What you got in your -wagon?"</p> - -<p>"Munitions of war," replied Rodney.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">401</a></span> -"There's a six-pound field-piece in one of -those barrels."</p> - -<p>"That's what I thought. Get out, both of -you."</p> - -<p>Although the boys were surprised and -startled by this unexpected command they -were prompt to obey it.</p> - -<p>"Now let me see what you've got in your -pockets," said the sergeant. "Every scrap, -mind you."</p> - -<p>"You're welcome to read all the letters and -things of that sort you can find about us," -answered Rodney. "We are not simple -enough to lose our permits and passes by -carrying despatches the first thing."</p> - -<p>"They're the laddie-bucks who helped -the —th Michigan's boys," observed a corporal.</p> - -<p>"I know; but business is business," said -the sergeant. "And they've been in Martin's -company ever since they came to town."</p> - -<p>"That's all right. I don't object to your -doing your duty, for I've been a soldier myself," -said Rodney. "But I do object to -being taken for a plumb dunce. You'll find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">402</a></span> -no writing about us except the papers we -showed you and our discharges."</p> - -<p>But the sergeant obeyed orders, like the -good soldier he was, and it was not until he -had seen all their pockets turned inside out, -and had felt of the seams of their coats and -trousers, that he concluded they were all -right and could pass on. He did not say a -word about the things they had in the -wagon. He was after despatches and nothing -else.</p> - -<p>"Climb in and go ahead, Johnny," said the -sergeant, giving Rodney a friendly slap to -help him along. "And when you see that -best girl of yours, give her my regards and -say that I am coming out to call on her one of -these days."</p> - -<p>"Well, be sure and come in a crowd. -You'll see fun if you don't."</p> - -<p>"Any graybacks out your way?"</p> - -<p>"Some; and the events of the last few hours -will probably bring more. So-long, boys, -and look out for the rebs in Vicksburg. They -are coming down to clean you out."</p> - -<p>He was answered by shouts of laughter and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">403</a></span> -derision from the Federals, who advised him -not to take a hand in the cleaning-out business, -for he would be whipped if he did. He -drove on, glad to escape so easily, and in due -time turned up at Mr. Turnbull's house, where -he and Dick rested the balance of the day and -slept that night. When it was dark a barrel -of flour was taken from the wagon and carried -into Mrs. Turnbull's dining room; and when -some of the flour had been taken out four bags -of salt were brought to light. If those little -bags had been filled with money Mr. Turnbull -and his wife could scarcely have expressed -more joy.</p> - -<p>"We've been seasoning our food with the -floor of the smoke-house for the last two -months," said the former, "and I tell you I -am glad to see some clean salt once more. -You have made us your everlasting debtors. -How much did it cost you?"</p> - -<p>"I didn't get an itemized bill," replied -Rodney. "Take it to pay for our grub and -lodging."</p> - -<p>The next night saw them safe at home, and -the night following found them settled on Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">404</a></span> -Gray's upper plantation, which was located a -mile or two up the river from the one on which -Ned Griffin was living as overseer. Rodney -was elated over the result of his first visit -to the city, for the immediate wants of the -family had been abundantly supplied by that -wagon-load of goods, and he and Dick could -now wear clothes that looked as though they -fitted somewhere; but his father and mother -were not elated. They looked serious, and -Rodney told Dick that he made a mistake -when he described how carefully the -Federal soldiers searched them for despatches.</p> - -<p>"And it is a bad thing for you that they -know we make our headquarters at Mr. Martin's," -he added. "They've got an eye on -him; and what will you bet that they don't -know he sees that mail carrier once in a -while?"</p> - -<p>"Then what's the reason they don't arrest -him and the mail carrier too?" said -Dick.</p> - -<p>"They'll jump down on the pair of them -when they are good and ready, and think they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">405</a></span> -can capture some important documents by -doing it," answered Rodney. "You can't -cross at Baton Rouge. You'll have to start -from some point up the river. But we'll see -the mail carrier if we can, and hear what he -has to say about it."</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">406</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> -<span class="small">CAPTAIN RANDOLPH RECEIVES ORDERS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">Rodney Gray</span> was an overseer now at -all events, and being one of those uneasy -fellows who must have something to occupy -their minds at all times, and fond of hunting, -he would have been as happy and contented as -he wanted to be, if there had been no such -things as Home Guards in the world. The -Yankees at Baton Rouge he did not bother his -head about. He had charge of 400 acres of -land, 100 of which were under cultivation, and -fifteen work hands—just enough to bring him -under the exemption clause of the Conscription -Act. For the privilege of staying at home and -overseeing these hands the Confederate Government -demanded of him 3000 pounds of salt -pork and beef, or their equivalent in bacon, -and Rodney expected to furnish the meat himself. -There were many hogs running loose in -the woods, and as the negro driver who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">407</a></span> -charge of the plantation previous to Rodney's -coming had taken no pains to "tame" them -by feeding them regularly, they were as wild -as deer, and Rodney intended to hunt them -as he would have hunted deer—"with rifle -and with hounds."</p> - -<p>The "great house" in which Rodney lived -was very unlike the same dwelling on the -home plantation. It was built of unhewn logs -and contained two rooms, the wide hall between -them being used as the dining room, -both summer and winter. The kitchen, which -stood a little distance away, was built of logs, -and so were the negro cabins, corn-cribs, -smoke houses, and the little stable in which -his riding horse would find shelter in stormy -weather; but taken as it stood the plantation -was a valuable one, for, concealed somewhere -in the dark recesses of the woods, that hemmed -the cultivated fields in on all sides, were several -hundred bales of cotton that was worth -sixty cents a pound in Northern markets.</p> - -<p>The driver had been so careless with his -work and so lax with the hands that Rodney -found plenty of things demanding his attention,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">408</a></span> -but he could not think of settling down -to business so long as Dick remained with him. -When they parted it might be forever, and -Rodney was reluctant to let him go. Mr. Martin -told them that they need not come to the -city under a week expecting to hear any news -from the mail carrier, but they did not wait as -long as that without hearing news from another -source, and of the most exciting character -too. On the morning of the third day after -their arrival at the plantation, Dick looked -over Rodney's shoulder as they sat at the -breakfast table in the wide hall, and saw half -a dozen armed men ride up to the bars. They -stood there a minute or two looking up and -down the road, and then three of them dismounted -and came into the yard. At the same -instant another similar squad came in sight -and also rode up and stopped at the bars.</p> - -<p>"Rebs for a dollar," whispered Dick.</p> - -<p>"And not Home Guards, either," replied -Rodney, as the two arose from the table and -walked out to meet the visitors. "They are -strangers."</p> - -<p>"Well," said the foremost, who might have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">409</a></span> -been an officer, though there was nothing on -his coat to show it, "how does it come that a -couple of likely lads like yourselves are here -in citizen's clothes while everybody else is in -the army?"</p> - -<p>"Been there and came home to take a little -rest," answered Rodney, feeling in his pocket -for his discharge. "But everybody else isn't -in the army by a long shot, as you would -know if you belonged in this country. Read -that, and tell me if you are out conscripting."</p> - -<p>"We're out for more serious business than -that," replied the soldier, reading the discharges -one after the other, and handing them -back to their owners. "Any Yanks about -here?"</p> - -<p>"None nearer than Baton Rouge that we -know of."</p> - -<p>"How large an army have they got there?"</p> - -<p>The boys were obliged to say they couldn't -tell; but they knew that General Williams -had come down from Vicksburg with his whole -force.</p> - -<p>"We know that, too, and are following him -up to lick him."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">410</a></span></p> - -<p>We don't know how to give an idea, in -words, of the exclamation that broke from -Dick Graham's lips when he heard this. It -was the famous "rebel yell," long, loud, and -piercing; and when the soldiers at the bars -heard it they turned in their saddles and lifted -their hats, and needed no other evidence to -prove that Dick was or had been one of themselves. -Then Dick demanded if there was -going to be a fight right there in his friend's -door-yard.</p> - -<p>"It'll happen somewhere about here," replied -the soldier. "Better find guns, you -two, and join in. It's bound to be a victory for -our side and you want to share in the honor. -We're going to have the <i>Arkansas</i> to help -us, and she is a match for all the vessels the -Yanks have in the river. She proved it by -what she did up at Yazoo."</p> - -<p>After a little more conversation the boys -learned that their visitor belonged to Breckenridge's -division, which had been detached from -the force at Vicksburg as soon as General -Williams withdrew and Farragut started down -the river, and they were simply scouting in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">411</a></span> -advance of the main body, which was to be -reinforced by all the conscripts and regular -troops at Camp Pinckney.</p> - -<p>"If you want help, why don't you bring -into your ranks all the Home Guards around -here?" said Rodney.</p> - -<p>"Are there Home Guards about here? I -am glad to know it, for we need all the help -we can raise. Who's their captain and where -are his headquarters?"</p> - -<p>Rodney gave the desired information, adding -that if his visitor did not think it safe to -venture as far as Mooreville with the small -force at his command, he and Dick would volunteer -to take a message to Captain Randolph. -"But you will have to put it in writing," said -he, "for Tom will not believe us. And you -must caution him against letting his men -know that there is going to be a fight; for if -they find that out they'll scatter like rats in a -pantry."</p> - -<p>"Like Home Guards everywhere," replied -the soldier in disgust. "I'll tell you what -I'll do," said he, after thinking a moment. -"I'll get a line from the colonel commanding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">412</a></span> -our advance ordering Captain Randolph to -hold his company in readiness to march at a -moment's notice, and I'll either bring or send -it here to-night if you will deliver it. Of -course you'll not say anything to him or anybody -else that will get to the enemy's ears."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you needn't think to surprise the -Yanks," exclaimed Dick. "They have had -notice already that you are coming. But we'll -get Tom out if we can."</p> - -<p>The soldier asked a few more questions that -the boys could not answer satisfactorily touching -the length, shape, and strength of the -Federal lines at Baton Rouge, and then joined -his men, who moved down the road toward -Mooreville.</p> - -<p>"Did you forget Captain Roach and his -conscripts?" asked Dick, when they were out -of sight.</p> - -<p>"I left them out on purpose," said Rodney. -"But of course I shall speak to Roach about -it when we take that note to Tom Randolph. -His conscripts are all my near neighbors, and -mostly Union men, who wouldn't be of the -least use in a fight; and, Dick," here Rodney<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">413</a></span> -sunk his voice to a whisper, "if I can do it -without risk to myself, I shall go out of my -way to warn them of what's coming."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you traitor!" cried Dick.</p> - -<p>"You would do the same if you were in my -fix. Of course there are some I would not -dare speak to, for they would tell where they -got the information; but those I can trust to -keep a still tongue in their heads will be -warned, if I can find them."</p> - -<p>The boys went back to their unfinished -breakfast and ate heartily, as they had often -done while men all around them were forming -in line of battle and shells were bursting over -their heads. But still Rodney was anxious, -for the coming contest might bring great loss -to his father. There were many bales of cotton -concealed within a circle of a few miles -of the place where he was sitting; both sides -had proclaimed it contraband of war, and it -seemed impossible that a line of battle could -go far in any direction without discovering -some of it; and the destruction of part would -lead to the destruction of the whole, for some -of those who lost, Mr. Randolph for instance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">414</a></span> -would be mean enough to point out the hiding-place -of the rest. This reflection troubled -Rodney, but before he sat down to another -meal he had something besides cotton to think -about. The scouts of the opposing armies -came together down the road, out of sight, -but within plain hearing of the two boys, who -ran to the bars and listened to the sounds of -the conflict. They heard the sharp, quick -reports of the carbines, and the cheers and -yells of the combatants; and when the yells -became fainter and at last died away altogether, -and the cheers grew in volume until -they became one continuous cheer, they -looked at each other with the same startling -question in their eyes.</p> - -<p>"That's the first encounter, and we're -whipped," said Dick. "Now if the victorious -Yanks come back this way—then -what?"</p> - -<p>"Our discharges and passes and permits -will be of no more use than so much blank -paper," answered Rodney. "They'll say that -if we haven't given information of some sort -to the enemy already, we will do it the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">415</a></span> -chance we get, and so we'd better trot right -along with them to Baton Rouge."</p> - -<p>"That's what I am afraid of. I don't want -to go to Baton Rouge."</p> - -<p>"Neither do I; and so I am going to do as -other and better men have done under similar -circumstances."</p> - -<p>"Afoot or on horseback?" inquired Dick, -who knew that his friend had resolved to take -to the woods.</p> - -<p>"On horseback, to save our animals from -being stolen, and to give color to the story -that we have gone to town," replied Rodney. -"Come on, for there's no telling how soon the -Yanks may come down the road at a gallop."</p> - -<p>While one started for the stable yard, the -other ran in to tell his black housekeeper that -he was going to ride toward Mooreville, where -he would remain until the Federals had left -the country. Yes, there had been a sharp -skirmish down there in the woods, he said in -reply to the woman's anxious inquiries, the -Confederates had been driven from the field, -and he and Dick thought it best to get out of -sight for awhile.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">416</a></span></p> - -<p>"The Federals may not come back this -way," added Rodney, "but if they do, tell -the truth and don't try to pass me off for a -Union man. They know as well as you do -that I have served my time in the Confederate -army, and there's nothing to gain by telling a -different story. If anyone asks for me, you -can say that I have ridden toward Mooreville."</p> - -<p>Well, he and Dick did ride toward Mooreville, -but they did not go there. Not knowing -how far the darkeys could be trusted, -they went down the road half a mile or so, -and turning into the woods hitched their -horses close together so that they would not -call to each other, and finally took up a position -from which they could see the house and -anybody who approached it. These precautions -were not taken any too soon, for the -Federals did scout back that way, and when -they came in sight they were riding at top -speed. They knew that a large party of horsemen -had passed along the road before them, -for they saw the prints of many hoofs in the -dust. Some of them kept on without drawing -rein, while others went into the house and all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">417</a></span> -over it; but as no contraband goods rewarded -their search they left it standing when they -went away. And although the hands all left -their work in the field and ran to the dwelling -when they saw the blue-coats surrounding it, -they did not improve the opportunity to secure -their freedom, as the boys thought they -would. They returned to their work when -the soldiers departed, and Rodney and Dick -thought it safe to go back to the house.</p> - -<p>Their next visitor was a single Confederate -soldier, who arrived just at dusk with a note -addressed to "Captain Thomas Randolph, -C. S. A., Commdg. Mooreville Troops." This -man Rodney took into the house and fed as if -he had been a long-lost brother, for he was -anxious to learn something about the battle -that was soon to take place; but, although -the messenger said he was orderly at headquarters, -he could or would give very little -information. Breckenridge was rapidly feeling -his way toward the city, he said; he would -soon be reinforced by the command of General -Ruggles, which would be picked up at Camp -Pinckney, and with the <i>Arkansas</i> to help<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">418</a></span> -and clean the Yankee gunboats out of the -river, there was no doubt but that a decisive -victory awaited him; and having finished his -supper, and said all he had to say, the messenger -mounted his horse and rode off. Five -minutes later Rodney and Dick had mounted -theirs and were riding hard to carry that note -to Captain Randolph. They stopped at Rodney's -home just long enough to put the folks -on nettles with the very meager information -they had to give, and a quarter of an hour -afterward were sitting in Mrs. Randolph's -parlor, waiting for Tom to show himself. -When he came he was accompanied by his -mother.</p> - -<p>"Hallo, boys!" exclaimed Tom, with great -apparent cordiality, while Mrs. Randolph -shook hands with them one after the other. -"You don't know how I have longed to see -you both in order to——"</p> - -<p>"That's all right," interposed Rodney, who -knew there wasn't a word of truth in what -Tom had set out to say. "But if you will -excuse me—here is an order that I was requested -to place in your hands."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">419</a></span></p> - -<p>"Who's got any right to order me -around?" exclaimed Tom, taking the note -and fixing his gaze upon the writing on the -outside. "'Captain Thomas Randolph, -C. S. A.,'" he read aloud. "Somebody has -made a big mistake, for I don't belong to the -army of the Confederate States, and never -did. What's in it?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," answered Rodney; while -Mrs. Randolph suggested that it might be a -good plan for him to open it and find out. -Tom did so with evident reluctance, and before -he had fairly had time to make himself -master of its contents, he turned as white -as a sheet and fell heavily into the nearest -chair.</p> - -<p>"Oh, my dear boy! What is the matter? -What could have disturbed you so?" cried -his mother, who was really alarmed.</p> - -<p>"I'll not obey it!" shouted Captain Tom, as -soon as he could speak. "Who is this Colonel -Clark, who takes it upon himself to command -me to hold my company ready to move at a -moment's notice, and what does he want of -the company anyhow?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">420</a></span></p> - -<p>"No doubt he wants you to help——" -began Rodney.</p> - -<p>"But how does he know that there is such -a fellow as I am in the world, and that I command -a company of State troops?" continued -Tom, who was almost beside himself with -terror. Acting on his own responsibility and -serving under the eye of a Confederate officer -were two widely different things. His mother -took the note from his hand and read it, and -she, too, became visibly affected.</p> - -<p>"What can be the meaning of it?" she -asked of Rodney.</p> - -<p>"It means that there is going to be a -battle somewhere in this vicinity, and that -Tom must bring his men out to help," was -the reply. Rodney had predicted just such -a scene as this and was prepared to enjoy -it.</p> - -<p>"A battle?" gasped Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Somewhere in this vicinity!" echoed -Tom.</p> - -<p>"That's what they tell me, and indeed -there has been a skirmish already. Breckenridge -is coming here to drive the Yankees<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">421</a></span> -out of Baton Rouge, and the <i>Arkansas</i> is -coming to assist him."</p> - -<p>Tom and his mother were too amazed to -speak. They stared stupidly at the bearer of -these evil tidings, and listened in a dazed sort -of way while he told what he had heard and -seen since morning. There was one thing Tom -and his mother could not understand, and that -was how Colonel Clark, whoever he might be, -knew there was a company of Home Guards -at Mooreville and that Tom was commander -of them. But of course Rodney did not enlighten -them on that point.</p> - -<p>"You enlisted for just such work as this," -said he.</p> - -<p>"No, I didn't!" shouted Tom. "And -what's more, I won't go. I'm as close to the -Yankees as I want to be, and besides I don't belong -to the service any longer. I've resigned."</p> - -<p>This was news to the boys, who could -scarcely refrain from showing how surprised -they were to hear it. They were disappointed -as well, for if Tom told the truth they would -lose the fun of hearing how he took to the -bushes to escape duty.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">422</a></span></p> - -<p>"Of course if your resignation has been -accepted by the Governor," said Rodney, -"why, then——"</p> - -<p>"It hasn't been accepted yet," replied Tom, -speaking before he thought. "I only sent it -to-day."</p> - -<p>"Then you are still in the service and can be -held to duty," said Dick; and Captain Tom -and his mother both heard the sigh of satisfaction -that escaped him as he uttered the words. -"I have known men to go into action and be -killed after their term of service expired."</p> - -<p>"But I won't do it, I bet you," whined -Tom, with tears in his eyes. "Do you think -it will be a very hard fight?"</p> - -<p>"It can't help it; it's bound to be, and -you'll see more dead and wounded men lying -around than you—— Gracious! I'm glad -they can't call on you and me, Dick."</p> - -<p>"Why, won't you have to go?" faltered -Mrs. Randolph.</p> - -<p>"No, ma'am. We showed our discharges -to-day, and they never said a word about -ordering us out. They can't, for we have -served our time."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">423</a></span></p> - -<p>This was the heaviest blow yet, and Captain -Tom came so near wilting under it that Rodney's -heart smote him and he determined to -take his leave. So he got upon his feet, and -Dick followed his example.</p> - -<p>"What will they do to Tom if he fails to -obey this order?" asked Mrs. Randolph, who, -in all the trying ordeals through which she -had passed on her cowardly son's account, -had never before been so badly frightened.</p> - -<p>"I couldn't obey it if I wanted to," cried -Tom. "My men are scattered for miles -through the country, and I couldn't spend -the night in hunting them up."</p> - -<p>"They may call it disobedience of orders if -you don't do it," replied Rodney, who wanted -to laugh. "If I were in your place I would -make the effort."</p> - -<p>"And run the risk of being shot? But -suppose my men refuse to turn out?" said -Tom, a bright idea coming into his mind.</p> - -<p>"Then you will be blameless, and all you -have to do will be to report to the colonel and -tell him that you are ready for any duty he -may assign you."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">424</a></span></p> - -<p>"And can't I stay at home any way I can -fix it?" inquired Tom, who made no effort to -conceal his terror.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't. What if some of the colonel's -troopers should find you skulking here when -you ought to be in the front rank? Or suppose -the battle should be fought on your -plantation. Wouldn't you——"</p> - -<p>"Baton Rouge is not on our plantation."</p> - -<p>"I know, but a battle sometimes ends a -good many miles from where it begins, and -the one that's coming is as likely to be fought -here as anywhere else. And if that should -happen, wouldn't you rather have a musket -in your hands than go skulking through the -bushes trying to keep out of danger? I would -a hundred times over. But really we must be -going. Good-night."</p> - -<p>Rodney and his companion bowed themselves -to the door and went out, and Captain -Tom and his mother sat in their chairs looking -at each other and listening to the clatter of -the receding hoofs. When it died away -altogether Tom jumped to his feet in great -excitement.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">425</a></span></p> - -<p>"We never once thought to ask them -where they got that order, or why it was sent -by their hands instead of by the hands of one -of that colonel's own men," he fairly sputtered. -"Mother, it's an infamous trick, and -there isn't going to be any fight. I'll remember -Rodney Gray for this and other things he -has done to me—you see if I don't!"</p> - -<p>"I hope you are duly ashamed of yourself -for frightening that poor woman so terribly," -said Dick, as he and Rodney galloped out of -the yard and turned their horses toward the -village.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't she stay out of the room?" -retorted Rodney. "We sent in word that we -desired to see Captain Tom privately, but she -didn't take the hint. So Tom thought he -couldn't spend the night in riding about the -country. Well, we've got to, if we do the -work we set out to do."</p> - -<p>The first part of that work was to call upon -Captain Roach, who had excited Tom Randolph's -ire by accepting Rodney's invitation -to dinner, and the next to warn some of the -Union men whom he had conscripted. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">426</a></span> -former was overwhelmed with surprise and -didn't know what to do, not being a veteran; -but he wasn't a coward, if he did turn white. -He talked the matter over very calmly with -his visitors, and following their advice said he -would drop the conscript business until the -battle had been decided one way or the other. -And then he looked helplessly at Rodney as -if to ask what he should do next.</p> - -<p>"You ought to do duty or shed that uniform," -said the boy bluntly. "You can't -assemble your conscripts now, and if you -could, where would you find men to guard -them to Camp Pinckney? You can only show -your good-will by reporting at the camp; and -if I were in your place, I think I should start -the first thing in the morning. If you delay, -you will be liable to be cut off by Federal -scouting parties. Have you seen any Yanks -about here to-day?"</p> - -<p>Captain Roach replied that he hadn't seen -or heard of any, and Rodney went on to tell -about the skirmish that had taken place near -his plantation, and how he and Dick had -taken to the woods and escaped being caught<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">427</a></span> -in the house. The Federals couldn't prove -anything against them, he said, but they could -shut them up in Baton Rouge until Breckenridge -captured it or was driven back where he -came from, and that was something he didn't -want them to do. Then he and Dick shook -hands with the enrolling officer, wished him -good luck, and went out into the night to -finish their work. It kept them busy until -daylight, and then they went to Mr. Gray's to -breakfast, happy in the knowledge that they -had done as they would be done by, and not -one who wished them harm was the wiser -for it.</p> - -<p>Tom Randolph was hardly out of bed the -next morning before he was made aware -that there was some truth in Rodney Gray's -story. A squad of Federal cavalry went by -the house on a keen jump, and about an hour -behind them a larger squad of Confederates -went past at the same rapid gait. Tom wasn't -soldier enough to know that these were nothing -but scouts, and in his ignorance supposed -that the battle had been fought while he was -asleep, and that the Confederates had driven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">428</a></span> -their antagonists; but it was not long before -he discovered that the worst was yet to come. -All that day soldiers in gray uniforms were -in sight somewhere. They streamed by the -house or came into the yard and gathered -about the well, and an officer with high top-boots -and a fierce mustache stood on the front -gallery and issued orders in a voice that -sounded as loud as a fog-horn. They trampled -down the flower beds, cleared the cellar of -everything eatable, and helped themselves to -what there was in the kitchen, and through -it all, the captain of the Home Guards never -showed himself. Some of the time he was in -the garret, oftener he was under the bed in his -mother's room, and then again his frightened -eyes were peeping through the carefully closed -blinds. He had never dreamed that there -were so many men in an army, and yet he saw -but one column of a very small army, for -Breckenridge made his assault with less than -4000 men. To his immense relief no one asked -for him, and perhaps the reason was because -Colonel Clark, who wrote that order, was with -the other column, five or six miles away.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">429</a></span></p> - -<p>The attack on Baton Rouge was made the -next morning at daylight, and although Rodney -and Dick heard little of it and saw less, -they had some hospital work on their hands. -The heat was intense, and everywhere along -the line of march men fell exhausted out of the -ranks, and were taken in and cared for by the -planters. Rodney's house and door-yard were -filled with soldiers who could not go any -farther toward the enemy, although they recovered -their strength and power of action -very suddenly when it became known that -there was a possibility of the enemy's cavalry -coming toward them. The attack, which was -so successful at first that the Federal camps -were captured or burned, failed utterly in the -end, and at noon the fight was over and the -Confederates were in full retreat. The <i>Arkansas</i> -did not come down to help with her big -guns, and if she had she might have met a -warmer reception than she bargained for, for -there were five gunboats in the river, including -the iron-clad <i>Essex</i>. These took an earnest -part in the fight while waiting for the <i>Arkansas</i>, -their fire being directed by an army signal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">430</a></span> -officer who stood on the roof of the capitol -building. The Confederates were so badly -whipped that they left seventy men on the -field for the Union forces to bury.</p> - -<p>The closing scene of the fight was enacted -the next morning. The <i>Essex</i> went up the -river six miles, found the terrible <i>Arkansas</i>, -with her ten heavy guns and 180 picked men, -hard and fast aground, and pounded her so -severely that in fifteen minutes she was set on -fire and abandoned. She blew up when the -fire reached her magazine, but she left others -behind which made themselves known and -feared before the war was over.</p> - - - - -<hr /> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">431</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> -<span class="small">CONCLUSION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="caps"><span class="upper">This</span> short visit of the Confederate army -was like a plague of locusts; everything -in the shape of eatables in and around Mooreville -that they could place their hands on disappeared -and was never heard of afterward. -Some articles of value disappeared likewise, as -was to have been expected; but not very many, -for the settlers had learned that it was best to -be careful of such things during war times. -No one had seen a Home Guard during those -two troublous days, nobody could tell where -Captain Randolph had kept himself or how he -had behaved, and neither was there any news -to be had of Captain Roach.</p> - -<p>Our two friends drew a long breath of relief -when "the fuss" was over, congratulated -themselves on having escaped both duty and -suspicion, and waited with what patience they -could for the excitement to pass away so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">432</a></span> -it would be safe for them to go into the city. -But that time seemed long in coming. Inquisitive -Federal scouts, who asked troublesome -questions and insisted on knowing all -about everything, came to the house every -day, and on three occasions wounded Confederate -stragglers appealed to their pity and -begged assistance. Nor were these appeals -made in vain, though the boys took great -risks in concealing their Confederate friends -during the day and helping them on their -road at night. They deceived their neighbors, -hoodwinked the darkeys they were afraid to -trust, and told gauzy stories to Federal scouts -until Dick affirmed that deceiving and lying -would become a confirmed habit with them. -But fortunately the necessity for these things -passed away before that happened. The -country was cleared of stragglers after a while, -the settlement quieted down, and Rodney and -Dick were ready for the next thing on the -programme.</p> - -<p>"I don't know when I have had so hard a -task set before me," said Rodney, "and I -would be glad to put it off forever if I could.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">433</a></span> -But since the parting must come, it might as -well be one time as another. Shall we start -for the city to-morrow morning?"</p> - -<p>Dick answered with a decided affirmative, -and the start was made. Believing that he -ought to be ready to act as soon as the opportunity -was presented, he took leave of Rodney's -father and mother as though he never -expected to see them again, and Rodney drew -on the family purse for a good many gold -pieces. If Dick succeeded in getting across -the river he would still have a long journey -before him—longer than the one Rodney made -from Cedar Bluff landing to Price's army—and -he would need a horse to ride, a coat and -blanket to cover him when he camped at night, -and money to purchase his supplies; and his -friend's forethought provided for all these -necessary things.</p> - -<p>On their way to Baton Rouge they passed -over the ground on which the right wing of -the Confederate force formed in line of battle -previous to the assault. It was just beyond -Mr. Turnbull's house; and that gentleman's -wife, after giving a glowing description of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">434</a></span> -gallant way in which the Confederates advanced -to the attack, told the boys in a -confidential whisper that she had aided two -Yankees who were captured and managed to -escape during the fight; that there was a -wounded rebel in one of the upper rooms of -her house at that moment; that he was going -to remain there until he was able to travel; -and that one of the escaped prisoners whom -Rodney befriended had smuggled medicine -through the lines for him at her request, thus -proving that there was such a thing as gratitude -in the world. Before the boys left the -house, they visited the wounded rebel in his -room, and he told them that the fight was the -most savagely contested of any he had ever -been in, and, for the number of men engaged, -the bloodiest. Some of the Indiana and -Michigan boys fought with rails which they -snatched from the fences, and the Yank who -smuggled the medicine out for him said he -had counted thirteen dead rebs in one heap.</p> - -<p>"It was bad for our side," moaned the -wounded soldier, "and even if the <i>Arkansas</i> -had been there to help us I don't suppose we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">435</a></span> -would have made any better showing. The -Yanks had things fixed for us, and now I've -got to hobble through the world on one leg."</p> - -<p>Although some stray missiles from the Confederate -side found their way into the streets -of the city, the boys did not find there as -many signs of the conflict as they expected -to see. Mr. Martin's buildings escaped unscathed, -but Mr. Martin himself had been -placed in arrest to prevent him from holding -any communication with the enemy.</p> - -<p>"As if I ever dreamed of doing such a foolish -thing!" said he contemptuously. "Why, -I want to live here; and consequently I do -nothing that I consider to be risky. But I -have seen the mail carrier, and he is going to -pick up some bags this very night."</p> - -<p>"Pick them up!" repeated Rodney. -"Where are they?"</p> - -<p>"Out in the country somewhere, and he is -out there too, or will be at eight o'clock; -and if your friend wants to go, now's his -chance."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Martin, I hope your kind efforts in my -behalf will not bring you into trouble with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">436</a></span> -Yanks," said Dick. "I feel very grateful to -you."</p> - -<p>But he didn't look so, and neither did Rodney. -The time when they must part was close -at hand.</p> - -<p>"I don't want to hurry you away," continued -Mr. Martin, "but as it will take some -little time to ride to the place to which I shall -direct you, you had better have your horses -out of the stable at five o'clock, so as to pass -the pickets before dark. I will give you a -letter that will make you all right with -Henderson."</p> - -<p>The rest of the day, to quote from Dick -Graham, flew away as if the hours had been -greased. Half-past four came before they -knew it, and with it the letter their host had -promised them, accompanied by some instructions -which they must closely follow in order -to find and obtain an interview with Henderson. -He was a cross, crabbed old fellow, Mr. -Martin said, but the boys mustn't mind that. -They would be cross and suspicious too, if -they had been bothered and balked in their -business as Henderson had been followed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">437</a></span> -harassed in his. They must try and get on -the right side of him, for he could take Dick -to the other side if anybody could. Mr. Martin -excused himself for not accompanying -them to the stable where they left their horses -by saying that to be seen walking the streets -with a suspected man would bring suspicion -upon them, and that was one thing they -wanted to avoid.</p> - -<p>The boys left the city and the pickets behind -in good season, and took pains to make some -noise as they galloped past the houses of -three "converted rebels" who, so Mr. Martin -said, were always watching and scheming for -a chance to report somebody. They rode as if -they were going home; but when darkness -came they doubled upon their trail, passed -these same houses again in silence, and turned -into a lane that took them miles up the river -to the hiding-place of Henderson, the mail -carrier. They found it to be a pretentious -plantation house situated in plain view of the -river, and not at all such a spot as they would -have chosen had they been engaged in Henderson's -business. It would have been impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">438</a></span> -to surprise the mail carrier in his hiding-place, -however, as they found when they approached -nearer to it, for they had barely time to shout -out the customary "Hallo, the house! Don't -let your dogs bite!" before their horses were -surrounded by a pack of belligerent canines, -whose angry yelping completely drowned the -voice of the master of the house.</p> - -<p>"Get out!" he shouted, as soon as he could -make himself heard above the tumult. "Who -is it, and what's wanted?"</p> - -<p>"Friends from the city," replied Rodney, -who had been told just what to say. "I have -a communication for Mr. Henderson from our -mutual friend Mr. Martin. Will you look at -it?"</p> - -<p>The planter came down to the gate, took the -letter from Rodney's hand, looking sharply at -him and Dick as he did so, and carried it into -the house with him. He did not ask them to -"alight and hitch," and that proved that -there was something or somebody in the -house he did not want the boys to see. It -was all of ten minutes before he came out -again, and he brought with him a companion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">439</a></span> -who straightway made himself known by saying, -in a complaining voice:</p> - -<p>"I told Martin I couldn't do the like, and -here he's gone and sent you, just as if I had -agreed to do it. Which one of you is the -fool?"</p> - -<p>"I am the one who wants to go over -the river, if you will be kind enough to -let me have a seat in your boat," replied -Dick.</p> - -<p>"Who said anything about a boat?" demanded -Mr. Henderson, for the boys were -sure it was he. "Do you want to be captured -by the gunboats, and sent up for a spy or something? -I don't expect to get back alive, or -get across, either. But then! Martin's a friend -of mine and keeps me posted in some things -I—— Get off, both of you. Hitch your -horses somewhere and wait till I come."</p> - -<p>"Dick, you're as good as off at last," whispered -Rodney, as the two men turned about -and went back to the house. "Think of me -riding all the way to Mr. Turnbull's alone in -the dark while you are running the risk of -being overhauled by the naval picket boats.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">440</a></span> -Have you got your money and discharge all -right? Write to me if you see the ghost of a -chance for a letter to get through, for I shall -be anxious to hear from my old Barrington -chum."</p> - -<p>The boys had plenty to say to each other -and an abundance of time to say it in, for a -whole hour passed before the mail carrier -again came out. This time he had two men -with him—the planter and another passenger, -the latter being muffled up to the eyes so that -no one could have seen his face if it had been -broad daylight. He said not a word, but the -mail carrier did, and Rodney was gratified to -notice that he was as careful to conceal Dick's -identity as he was that of his other passenger.</p> - -<p>"Come on, you Moses," said he, "and remember -that you are deaf, dumb, and blind. -You, Jonas, get on your horse and clear yourself."</p> - -<p>It would have done no good to prolong the -leave-taking, and Rodney was glad to have it -broken off so abruptly. He gave his friend's -hand a final squeeze and shake, and when he -came into the road again a moment later,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">441</a></span> -riding one horse and leading the other, there -was no one in sight.</p> - -<p>The way home was a long and lonely one to -Rodney Gray, who felt as if the last tie that -bound him to his school days had been sundered -forever. He got through without any -trouble, although he met some inquisitive -people who wanted to know how he happened -to have a riderless horse with him, passed one -night at his father's house, and in due time -was back in his old quarters on the upper -plantation, where he had spent so many pleasant -hours with the absent Dick. But before -he had leisure to look about and tell himself -how very lonesome he was, he had visitors, -one of whom threw him into a terrible state of -mind before he left. They were a squad of -the —th Michigan boys, and commanded by -the corporal who had once taken him prisoner, -and whose name he had never heard. They -good-naturedly demanded all the weapons he -had, and threatened to go through his house -if he didn't trot them right out; but when -they went to the well for water the corporal -drew off on one side, intimating by a look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">442</a></span> -that he had something to say to Rodney in -private.</p> - -<p>"Where's your partner?" were the first -words he said when they were alone.</p> - -<p>"Gone over the river," answered Rodney.</p> - -<p>"How long since?"</p> - -<p>"He went night before last."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll bet you a hard-tack he didn't -make it. Some of your good friends were the -means of stopping him. You see," he went -on, without giving the astonished Rodney time -to speak, "Ben and another boy, who were -in my party when you and Griffin did so much -for us, scouted down Randolph's way a few -days after the fight, and that Home Guard——You -made a big blunder when you stuck to -us till we let him go. Now he's gone back on -you."</p> - -<p>"What has he done?" inquired Rodney, -who told himself that that was just what he -expected from Tom Randolph.</p> - -<p>"Why, Ben distinctly heard him tell one of -our officers that a bearer of despatches would -go from Mooreville in a few days, intending to -cross the river at Baton Rouge, where he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">443</a></span> -friends to help him," said the corporal. "Of -course the matter was reported at headquarters, -and the houses of all the Secession sympathizers -in the city were watched closer than -ever."</p> - -<p>"Was Mr. Martin's house watched, do you -know?"</p> - -<p>"Why, certainly. He is always watched, -and we had him under arrest during the fight."</p> - -<p>"And I was simple enough to tell the provost -marshal that that house would be my -stopping-place as often as I came to the city," -groaned Rodney.</p> - -<p>"You needn't blame yourself for that, for -I don't suppose it made a particle of difference," -said the corporal soothingly. "The -provost marshal would have found it out -sooner or later, because it is a part of his business -to find out where every stranger lives, and -what he does while inside the lines. If you -went there with your friend Graham——"</p> - -<p>"I did," whispered Rodney. "And we -went from there up to—up to——"</p> - -<p>"Henderson's? Well, he's watched, too; -and if one is caught the other will be."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">444</a></span></p> - -<p>"If Tom Randolph has got Dick Graham -into trouble I will see that he is well punished -for it," said Rodney angrily.</p> - -<p>"If he hasn't, it isn't because he didn't -try. If you say the word, I will go straight to -his house and arrest him for a Home Guard."</p> - -<p>"No, no; don't do that. I am not coward -enough to take revenge on him in that way. -But since he has made his boast that he is -willing to die for the South, I will see that he -has all the chance he wants."</p> - -<p>"Well, my boys seem to have had their fill -of water, so we'll jog along," said the corporal. -"If the Home Guards bother you let -us know, and we'll clean them out to the last -man. Good-by."</p> - -<p>Astonished at the extent of the corporal's -information, and wondering how it was possible -for any Southern sympathizer to live in -Baton Rouge when he knew that he was so -closely watched, Rodney went into the house -as soon as the soldiers rode away, and sat -down to write a letter. As a general thing his -thoughts came rapidly and it was no trouble -for him to put them on paper; but this particular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">445</a></span> -letter seemed to bother him, for he -made three copies of it before he got it to suit -him. Then he ordered his horse brought to -the door, changed his working clothes for a -business suit, and galloped off in the direction -of Mooreville. He stopped at his home "just -long enough to let his mother see that he was -all right" and then rode on again, but not -toward Mooreville or the river. There was no -one at either place whom he wanted to see -that day, but he did want to have a few -earnest words with General Ruggles, if he -could find him. During the fight the general -commanded the Confederate column that came -from Camp Pinckney, and there was where -Rodney hoped to find him now. Before he -had ridden a dozen miles into the country he -ran into a small party of rebels, who looked at -his discharge, and encouraged him by saying -that the officer he desired to see commanded -the camp, and was recruiting men as rapidly -as he could for some special service that was -to be performed up about Holly Springs.</p> - -<p>"I know by experience that special service -usually means dangerous service," thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">446</a></span> -Rodney, as he rode on his way. "If Tom -Randolph really wants to do something for -the South, he will jump at the chance of going -to Holly Springs."</p> - -<p>Camp Pinckney looked just as it did when -he and Dick Graham ran the guard there on -their way home, only there were more men -who were being made into soldiers, and the -number was being increased every day by the -disconsolate and homesick conscripts who -were sent there from all the districts in that -part of the State. Rodney was shown at once -into the presence of the commander, and knew, -before he had exchanged a dozen words with -him, that he would have no use for the letter -he had taken so much pains to write.</p> - -<p>"I can attend to the business myself without -any aid from the Governor," said General -Ruggles, who looked more like a hard-working -farmer than he did like a brave and skilful -soldier. "The slip-shod manner in which -recruiting has been done in this district is -enough to make one forget the third commandment. -There hasn't been a single man sent to -this camp from your neighborhood."</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">447</a></span></p> - -<p>"I am aware of it, sir. But as these men -belong to the State and not to the Confederacy, -I thought perhaps——"</p> - -<p>"There's no need of it, sir," interrupted -the general. "I have all the authority I want, -and can do the business without saying a word -to the Governor. Sent in his resignation, has -he? Captain—Thomas—Randolph," he continued, -writing the name on a slip of paper. -"And it has not yet been accepted? And -how many men do you think he has in his -company? All right. You go home and say -nothing to anybody, and I will put him where -he will meet something besides unarmed men -and women and children."</p> - -<p>His business having been transacted to his -entire satisfaction, Rodney was in no particular -haste to go home. He made friends with one -of the veterans who composed the camp guard, -ate supper with him, and slept under half his -blanket that night; but the morning's sun -saw him well on his return journey. He made -a wide circuit to avoid passing through Mooreville, -and did not go near his father's house -for fear it might be remembered against him at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">448</a></span> -some future time. He went home as rapidly -as he could go, unsaddled his horse and -turned him into the stable-yard, and went into -the house; and there, seated in Rodney's -favorite rocking chair, with his feet upon the -back of another and a book in his hand, was—Dick -Graham.</p> - -<p>"You've got cheek! Why didn't you come -out when you heard me at the bars?" exclaimed -Rodney, as soon as he found his -tongue.</p> - -<p>"Because I thought you would prefer to -come in and find me," replied Dick; and then -he dropped his book and jumped to his feet, -and the two embraced each other schoolboy -fashion.</p> - -<p>"O Dick, you don't know how I have worried -about you," said Rodney. "And Tom -Randolph was at the bottom of it all. You -would have been watched if he hadn't said a -word; but what I mean is that he made matters -worse. I have paid him for it, however. -Now tell me all about it."</p> - -<p>"We didn't succeed, and that's all there is -to tell," answered Dick. "We made six attempts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">449</a></span> -on two different nights, and once got -so near to the other shore that I was sure we -would make it; but the picket boats from the -fleet showed up, and we had to dig out. They -were on hand every time, and you ought to -have heard Henderson cuss. He declared that -one or the other of his passengers was a Jonah, -and he had a notion to chuck us both overboard -so as to be sure he got the right one."</p> - -<p>"It was you, Dick. Who was the other -passenger?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know any more about him now -than I did when I first saw him. When we -gave up trying on the first night and went -back to the house, he shut himself in his -room, and I never saw him till we went out on -the second night to try it over again. No -doubt he was a high-up officer with important -papers in his pockets."</p> - -<p>"Of course the picket boats opened fire on -you."</p> - -<p>"Of course they didn't, for we saw or heard -them in time to dodge out of their way. One -of them passed so close to us that we could -see, dark as it was, that she pulled six oars on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">450</a></span> -a side. If she'd seen us or heard us breathe, -she would have had us sure."</p> - -<p>"Go on. What did you do on the night I -left you?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing. We walked about a mile to -where a little bay made into the bank from -the river, and there we found a skiff with piles -of something in the bow and stern that I took -to be the precious mail-bags which Mr. Martin -said Henderson was going to pick up. When -we got in there was barely room for Henderson -to work the oars, and I didn't wonder that -he growled so about taking me over."</p> - -<p>"How did you come home?"</p> - -<p>"Well, when we came back after making -the sixth attempt, and Henderson got mad -and told me to clear out and never let him put -eyes on me again (I noticed that he didn't say -a word to the other fellow, and that's what -makes me think that he was an officer whom -Henderson had to take whether he wanted to -or not), I took him at his word and put for -Mr. Turnbull's. That gentleman was kind -enough to hitch up a team and take me to -your father's, and your father brought me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">451</a></span> -here, to find you gone. You've been gone -three nights, and I want to know what you -mean by such work."</p> - -<p>"I've been to Camp Pinckney to make -arrangements for Tom Randolph and his -Home Guards to go into the army," replied -Rodney, adding that he had written to the -Governor, laying the blame for the bombardment -of Baton Rouge upon the shoulders of -the Home Guards, and giving such other incidents -in their history as he thought would -attract the attention of the authorities and -induce them to do something; but General -Ruggles had promised to attend to the matter -himself.</p> - -<p>"Of course Captain Randolph will be very -much obliged to you when he hears of it," -observed Dick.</p> - -<p>"He has nobody to thank but himself, and -since I have heard what those escaped prisoners -had to say about Home Guards, I wish -every one of them could be forced into the -army. Now you've got to stay with me until -the war is ended one way or the other, haven't -you?"</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">452</a></span></p> - -<p>"Not much. I'm going up to Port Hudson -to try it again, if you will show me the way; -and you ought to have heard Henderson rip -and snort because I didn't go there in the first -place without troubling him. But you see I -didn't know that I could, and you didn't -either. If I can take a boat from Port Hudson -up Red River to Alexandria, or better yet, up -Black River to Monroe, I shall save miles of -horseback travel."</p> - -<p>"And run the risk of being captured by -gunboats every step of the way," added Rodney. -"But I suppose I'll have to go."</p> - -<p>And he did the very next morning. This -time there was no trouble about it, for when -the steamer <i>New Era</i>, which was regularly -employed in bringing army supplies from the -Red River country, moved out from her landing -at Port Hudson bound for Monroe, she -carried Dick Graham with her. The night -was as dark as a pocket, but the lonely Rodney -kept watch on the bank as long as a -single spark could be seen coming out of her -smokestacks, and even lingered about the -place for two or three days, almost hoping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">453</a></span> -that some Union gunboat would send a shot -across her bows and drive her back; but when -the soldiers assured him that she must have -gone through safely or else she would have returned -within a few hours of her departure, -he realized that the long delayed separation -had come at last, and turned his face sorrowfully -homeward.</p> - -<p>He went directly to his father's house to -report the success of his undertaking, and -learned that Mooreville had been thrown into -a state of great excitement during his absence. -No one had seen or heard of Captain Roach -since Breckenridge made his fruitless attempt -to take the city, but his office was occupied -by a grizzly veteran, who hardly gave himself -time to sit down in Captain Roach's chair before -declaring that he hadn't come there to -stand nonsense from anybody, and that everyone -liable to military duty, Home Guards and -all, must make tracks for Camp Pinckney -or be dragged there by the neck. It didn't -make the least difference to him how they -went, but they must go; they might be sure -of that. He brought fifty veterans with him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">454</a></span> -to back him up, and in less than twenty-four -hours after taking possession of the office, -sent off forty-five conscripts, two-thirds of -whom were Home Guards.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Randolph tried the same game with -Major Morgan, that's the new man's name, -that she tried with so much success with Captain -Roach," said Mr. Gray with a laugh. -"But it didn't work. The major sent back -word that he had no time to go about visiting -and eating dinners, and Tom was given his -choice between reporting at the camp voluntarily -or being sent there under guard. It's -the best thing that was ever done for this -community."</p> - -<p>Rodney wanted to shout, but instead of -doing that he got on his horse and rode -down to call on Major Morgan. He didn't -find the office filled with loafers, as it had -been in Captain Roach's time, but there -were a few bronzed fellows standing about -who remembered seeing Rodney at the -camp, and bowed to him as he came in. -The major remembered him too, and said, -as he gave the boy's hand one short, quick<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">455</a></span> -jerk, that was doubtless intended for a -shake:</p> - -<p>"There's material enough here to form the -finest kind of a battalion. Why don't you -apply for a commission and go out with it? -You've had rest enough by this time."</p> - -<p>"Because I don't wish to command conscripts," -replied Rodney, ignoring the fact that -half the soldiers in the Confederate armies -were conscripts and nothing else, being held -to service against their will. "Besides, I am -an overseer now, and I like it better than -fighting."</p> - -<p>But Rodney could not keep out of trouble -as easily as he kept out of the army, nor did -Major Morgan succeed in sending all Tom -Randolph's Home Guards to Camp Pinckney. -Some of them, Lieutenants Lambert and Moseley -among the rest, took to the woods, and became -freebooters to all intents and purposes. -Whether these worthies knew or suspected -that he had a hand in the breaking up of -their organization Rodney never learned; but -he was quickly made aware that they did not -intend he should see a moment's peace if they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">456</a></span> -could help it. They either found the cotton -of which we have spoken, or else somebody -put them on the track of it; and the efforts -they made to destroy it, as well as the counter -efforts made by Rodney Gray and his two -Union cousins to protect it, shall be described -in the concluding volume of this series, which -will be entitled "<span class="smcap">Sailor Jack, the Trader</span>."</p> - - -<p> -THE END.<br /> -</p> - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><span class="smcap">The<br /> -Famous<br /> -Castlemon<br /> -Books.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap small">by<br /> -Harry<br /> -Castlemon.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_bookad1.jpg" alt="Cover" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small">Specimen Cover of the Gunboat Series.</span> - </div> -</div> - - -<blockquote> -<p>No author of the present day has become a greater favorite with boys than -"Harry Castlemon;" every book by him is sure to meet with hearty reception -by young readers generally. His naturalness and vivacity lead his -readers from page to page with breathless interest, and when one volume is -finished the fascinated reader, like Oliver Twist, asks "for more."</p> - -<p><span class="xlarge"><b>∵</b></span> Any volume sold separately.</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<table summary="Books"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>GUNBOAT SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. 6 - vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$7 50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank, the Young Naturalist</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank in the Woods</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank on the Prairie</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank on a Gunboat</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank before Vicksburg</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank on the Lower Mississippi</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>GO AHEAD SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. 3 - vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Go Ahead</b>; or, The Fisher Boy's Motto</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>No Moss</b>; or, The Career of a Rolling Stone</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Tom Newcombe</b>; or, The Boy of Bad Habits</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.</b> By Harry - Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, - extra, printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank among the Rancheros</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank in the Mountains</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.</b> By Harry - Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, - extra, printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Sportsman's Club Afloat</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Sportsman's Club among the Trappers</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>FRANK NELSON SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. - 3 vols. 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, - printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Snowed Up</b>; or, The Sportsman's Club in the Mts.</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Frank Nelson in the Forecastle</b>; or, The Sportsman's - Club among the Whalers</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Boy Traders</b>; or, The Sportsman's Club among - the Boers</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>BOY TRAPPER SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. - 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Buried Treasure</b>; or, Old Jordan's "Haunt"</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Boy Trapper</b>; or, How Dave Filled the Order</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Mail Carrier</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>ROUGHING IT SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. - 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>George in Camp</b>; or, Life on the Plains</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>George at the Wheel</b>; or, Life in a Pilot House</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>George at the Fort</b>; or, Life Among the Soldiers</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>ROD AND GUN SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon. - 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed - in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Don Gordon's Shooting Box</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Rod and Gun</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>The Young Wild Fowlers</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>FOREST AND STREAM SERIES.</b> By Harry - Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, - extra, printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$3 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Joe Wayring at Home</b>; or, Story of a Fly Rod</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Snagged and Sunk</b>; or, The Adventures of a Canvas - Canoe</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Steel Horse</b>; or, The Rambles of a Bicycle</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>WAR SERIES.</b> By Harry Castlemon, 4 vols., - 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in - colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">5 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>True to his Colors</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Rodney, the Partisan</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Marcy, the Blockade Runner</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Marcy, the Refugee</b></td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>OUR FELLOWS</b>; or, Skirmishes with the Swamp - Dragoons. By Harry Castlemon. 16mo. Fully illustrated. - Cloth, extra</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><span class="smcap">Alger's<br /> -Renowned<br /> -Books.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap small">by<br /> -Horatio<br /> -Alger, Jr.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_bookad2.jpg" alt="Cover" /> - <div class="caption"> - <span class="small">Specimen Cover of the Ragged Dick Series.</span> - </div> -</div> - - -<blockquote> -<p>Horatio Alger, Jr., has attained distinction as one of the most popular -writers of books for boys, and the following list comprises all of his best -books.</p> - -<p><span class="xlarge"><b>∵</b></span> Any volume sold separately.</p> -</blockquote> - - -<hr class="style1" /> - -<table summary="Books"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>RAGGED DICK SERIES.</b> By Horatio Alger, - Jr. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, - printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">$7 50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Ragged Dick</b>; or, Street Life in New York</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Fame and Fortune</b>; or, The Progress of Richard<br /> - Hunter</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Mark, the Match Boy</b>; or, Richard Hunter's Ward</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Rough and Ready</b>; or, Life among the New York<br /> - Newsboys</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Ben, the Luggage Boy</b>; or, Among the Wharves</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>Rufus and Rose</b>; or, the Fortunes of Rough and<br /> - Ready</td> - <td class="tdr">1 25</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><b>TATTERED TOM SERIES.</b> (<span class="smcap">First Series.</span>) - By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. - Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box</td> - <td class="tdr">5 00</td> - </tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1">Transcriber's Note</h2> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations -in hyphenation have been standardized but all other spelling and -punctuation remains unchanged.</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Overseer, by Harry Castlemon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE OVERSEER *** - -***** This file should be named 56216-h.htm or 56216-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/2/1/56216/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. 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