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THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/rod^eypartisanOOcast 
 
/> 
 
 jUUmRCOLLEC 
 
Rodney Bids his Mother Farewell. 
 
CASTLEMON'S WAR SERIES. 
 
 Rodney the Partisan 
 
 BY 
 
 HARRY CASTLEMON, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "gunboat SERIES," " ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,' 
 "sportsman's club series," ETC., ETC. 
 
 Four Illustrations by Geo. G. White, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PORTER & COATES. 
 
Copyright, 1890, 
 
 BY 
 
 PORTER & COATES. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 / 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. — RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE, .... 5 
 
 II. — THE RANGERS ELECT OFFICERS, ... 29 
 
 III. — DRILLS AND PARADES, 53 
 
 IV. — A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK, ... 78 
 
 V. — A WARNING, 99 
 
 VI. — UNDER SUSPICION, 124 
 
 VII. — THE EMERGENCY MEN, 149 
 
 VIII. — RODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP, . . 172 
 
 IX.— ON THE ROAD, 196 
 
 X. — COMPARING NOTES, 218 
 
 XL— RODNEY MAKES A TRADE, . . . .241 
 
 XII.— TWICE SURPRISED, 264 
 
 XIII. — WITH price's men, 287 
 
 XIV.— " HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " ... 312 
 
 XV. — A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN, . . . . 834 
 
 XVI. — THE CONSCRIPTION ACT, .... 357 
 
 XVII. — RODNEY MEETS A FRIEND, .... 378 
 
 XVIII.— CONCLUSION, 399 
 
 602908 
 
RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 a 
 
 SO you 
 are y< 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 
 
 O you are going to stick to your uniform, 
 you ? I thought perhax)s you would 
 be glad to see yourself in citizen's clothes once 
 more, and so I told Jane to put one of your old 
 suits on the bed where you would be sure to 
 see it." 
 
 It Avas Mrs. Gray who spoke, and her w^ords 
 were addressed to her son Rodney, who just 
 then stepped out of the hall upon the wide 
 gallery where his father and mother were 
 sitting. Rodney had been at home about half 
 an hour — just long enough, in fact, to take a 
 good w^ash and exchange his fatigue suit for a 
 sergeant's full uniform. 
 
 In the first volume of this series of books we 
 told of the attentions our Union hero, Marcy 
 
 5 
 
C> RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Gray, received while lie was on the way to his 
 home iiijS'orth Carolina, and how very distaste- 
 ful and annoying they were to him. We said 
 that the jDassengers on his train took him for 
 just what he wasn't — a rebel soldier fresh from 
 the seat of war, or a recruit on his way to join 
 some Southern regiment — and praised and 
 petted him accordingly. Marcy didn't dare 
 tell the excited men around him that he was 
 strong for the Union, that he had refused to 
 cheer the Stars and Bars when they were 
 hoisted on the tower of the Barrington Mili- 
 tary Academy, and that if a war came he 
 hoped the secessionists would be thrashed until 
 they were brought to their senses — Marcy did 
 not dare give utterance to these sentiments, 
 for fear that some of the half tipsy passengers 
 in his car might use upon him the revolvers 
 they flourished about so recklessly. He was 
 obliged to sail under false colors until he 
 reached Boydtown in his native State, where 
 Morris, his mothers coachman, was waiting 
 for him. Rodney Gray, the rebel, wdio you 
 will remember left the academy a few weeks 
 before Marcy did, received just as much 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 7 
 
 attention during his homeward journey. 
 Sumter had not yet been fired upon, but the 
 passengers on the train were pretty certain it 
 was going to be, and gave it as their opinion 
 that if the " Lincolnites " attempted " sub- 
 jugation " they would be neatly whipped for 
 their pains. Being in full sympathy with the 
 passengers Kodney was not afraid to tell who 
 and what he was. 
 
 ''lam neither a soldier nor a recruit," he 
 said over and over again, when some enthusi- 
 astic rebel shook him by the hand and praised 
 him for so promptly responding to the Presi- 
 dent's call for volunteers. "I am a Barring- 
 ton cadet on my way home, and I am under 
 promise to enlist inside of twenty-four hours 
 after I get there. Do you see this gray suit ? 
 I shall not w^ear any other color until the 
 independence of the Southern States has been 
 acknowledged by the world." 
 
 Such sentiments as these never failed to 
 "bring down the car," as Rodney afterward 
 expressed it when describing some of the 
 incidents of his journey from Barrington, 
 and many of the passengers assured him that 
 
8 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 he would be at liberty to put on a citizen's 
 suit in less than six months. 
 
 "The fighting wont amount to anything," 
 said one, who talked as if he thought him- 
 self able to whip the Avhole Yankee nation 
 alone and unaided. "It will be over in a 
 good deal less than six months, but you 
 gallant fellows will have to wear your uni- 
 forms a little longer in order to escort Presi- 
 dent Davis to Washington. He will dictate 
 terms of peace in the enemy's caj)ital." 
 
 "If our President will only do that, I 
 will stay in the army ten years if it is neces- 
 sary," declared Rodney, and he meant every 
 word of it, for he was carried away by his 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 A good many foolish notions of this sort 
 were drummed into Rodney Gray's head 
 during his two days' journey from Barring- 
 ton to Mooreville. He afterward had occasion 
 to recall some of them, and to wonder how 
 he ever came to accept them as the truth. 
 But he kept his word so far as his uniform 
 was concerned ; that is to say, he returned 
 to the closet the citizen s suit that had been 
 
KODNEY KEEPS HIS PPwOMISE. 9 
 
 laid out for him, and rigged liimself up as if 
 he were going on dress parade. His mother 
 looked at him with fond and admiring eyes 
 as he stepped upon the gallery and seated 
 himself in the easy chair that one of the 
 attentive darkies placed for him ; for Rodney 
 was an only child, and a very fine looking 
 young soldier besides. 
 
 "Yes," he said, in reply to his mother's 
 question. "I am going to stick to my uni- 
 form. It is the color that has been adopted 
 by our government, and, as I told some of 
 the passengers on the train, Til not wear 
 any other until we have secured our inde- 
 pendence." 
 
 "Nobly said ! " exclaimed Rodney's mother, 
 who was as strong for secession as Marcy 
 Gray's mother was for the Union. "I was 
 sure you would not stay at home very long 
 after your State called for your services. I 
 don't think you will have to wear the gray for 
 a very great while, but your father thinks he 
 sees trouble in the near future." 
 
 "I don't think so my dear; I know so," 
 replied Mr. Gray, in answer to an inquiring 
 
10 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 look from Rodney, ''The North can raise 
 more men than we can." 
 
 "That was what the colonel said when I 
 asked him to let me come home," exclaimed 
 Rodney. ''He said, further, that the Nor- 
 thern people are not cowardly— they are only 
 patient ; and that there will come a time when 
 their patience will all be gone, and then they 
 will sweep over ns like a cloud of locusts." 
 
 '' And did you believe any such nonsense ? " 
 inquired Mrs. Gray. "What will our brave 
 people be doing while the hated Yankees are 
 sweeping over us? Don't you remember our 
 President said the fighting must all be done 
 on Northern soil?" 
 
 " It takes two to make a bargain," said Mr. 
 Gray, quietly. 
 
 "That's just what Marcy said," exclaimed 
 Rodney "That boy is going to get himself 
 into business before he gets through talking. 
 He's Union to the back-bone, and while I was 
 at the academy he didn't hesitate to speak his 
 sentiments as often as he felt like it. If he 
 keeps that up when he gets home .his neigh- 
 bors may take him in hand." 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 11 
 
 '' I am sorry to hear that about Marcy," 
 said Mr. Gray, thoughtfully. ^'He is a 
 traitor and his mother must be another. I 
 wonder where Sailor Jack stands. By the 
 way, where is Jack ? ' ' 
 
 " He was at sea the last I heard, and I sup- 
 pose Marcy and his mother are greatly wor- 
 ried about him. And well they may be ; for 
 of course we'll have a big fleet of privateers 
 afloat within a month after war is declared. 
 But, father, do you think there is going to be 
 a war ? ' ' 
 
 "I am sure of it," answered Mr. Gray. 
 
 ^' And it will be fought on Southern soil ? " 
 
 "It will." 
 
 '' Well, how long do you think I shall have 
 to wear this uniform 1 ' ' 
 
 " If you don't take it off until the South 
 gains her independence, you will have to wear 
 it as long as you live." 
 
 "Why, father!" exclaimed Mrs. Gray, 
 dropping her sewing into her lap and looking 
 fixedly at her husband, who leaned back in his 
 big chair watching the smoke from his cigar. 
 "How can you bring yourself to utter such 
 
12 RODNEY, THE PARTISAI^. 
 
 treasonable language in your son's hearing? 
 You know vou do not believe a word of it." 
 
 ft/ 
 
 "Never fear for me, mother," said Rodnej^, 
 with a laugh. " I know where you stand and 
 I am wath you." 
 
 ''There was nothing treasonable in what I 
 said, and I do believe every word of it," 
 replied Mr. Gray. "I am as firm a friend to 
 the South as any man in the state, and will make 
 as many sacrifices as the next one to secure 
 her independence. Why shouldn't I ? Every 
 thing I've got in the world is right here, and 
 if the South doesn't succeed in her efforts to 
 free herself, we'll be beggars, the last one of 
 us. I wish from the bottom of my heart that 
 when our armies get started they might sweep 
 every abolitionist in the country into Massa- 
 chusetts Bay ; but they'll not be able to do it. 
 The Union has cost the JS'orthern peojile so 
 much blood and treasure that they will not 
 permit it to be destroyed." 
 
 " I reckon the South had about as much to 
 do with the war of the Revolution as the 
 North did," declared Rodney. 
 
 "And another thing, the Northern people 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 13 
 
 will not figlit," Mrs. Gray hastened to add. 
 "Wasn't it the South that did the most to- 
 ward whipping Mexico ? '^ 
 
 " And wasn't it the North that did the most 
 toward whipping England?" retorted Mr. 
 Gray. " Look here," he added, starting up in 
 his chair when he saw Rodney and his mother 
 look toward each other with a smile of dis- 
 belief on their faces. "You must have for- 
 gotten your history, you two. During the 
 Revolutionary War the colonies raised two 
 hundred and thirty-two thousand men to fight 
 England, and of this number the North raised 
 one hundred and seventy-five thousand, or 
 more than three-fourths of the whole. Mass- 
 achusetts gave sixty-eight thousand ; Con- 
 necticut gave thirty-two thousand ; Pennsyl- 
 vania twent^^-six thousand, and New York 
 eighteen thousand ; while that miserable little 
 South Carolina gave only six thousand. And 
 yet she has the impudence to talk and act as 
 if she owned the country. It would have been 
 money in her pocket and ours if she had been 
 sunk out of sight in the Atlantic before she 
 was made into a state." 
 
14 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 There were three things that surprised Rod- 
 ney so much that for a minute or two he 
 could not sj)eak — his father's sentiments, the 
 earnest and emphatic manner in which he ex- 
 pressed them, and the items of history to 
 which he had just listened and which were 
 quite new to him, as they may be to more than 
 one boy Avho reads this story. But Mr. G-ray 
 was like a good many other men in the South. 
 He did not believe in disunion (although he 
 did believe in State Rights), but now that the 
 South was fully committed to it, he knew that 
 he must do what he could to make the attempt 
 at separation successful. If it failed, he and 
 every other slave-holder in the South would be 
 financially ruined. 
 
 "Then I suppose you don't want me to go 
 into the army?" said Rodney, at length. 
 
 "I didn't say so ; I didn't so much as hint 
 at such a thing," rei^lied his father, hastily. 
 
 "But what's the use of enlisting if I am 
 going to get whipped ? I don' t see any fun in 
 that." 
 
 "Oh, we've got to fight; we have gone too 
 far to back out. We must hold out until 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 15 
 
 England and France recognize our indepen- 
 dence — and that will not be long, for England 
 must have cotton — and then we can snap our 
 fingers at the Yankees. You can take your 
 choice of one of two things : Stay at home and 
 look out for your mother and let me go, or go 
 yourself. ' ' 
 
 ''You stay and let me go," answered the 
 boy promptly. "I gave my word to some of 
 the fellows that I would enlist within twenty - 
 four hours after I reached home, if I could get 
 to a recruiting office, and they promised to do 
 the same." 
 
 ''Very Avell," said Mr. Gray, "I shall not 
 say one word to turn you from your purpose, 
 and neither will your mother." 
 
 Mrs. Gray started when she heard these 
 words. She had talked very bravely about 
 "giving her boy his sword and shield and 
 sending him forth to battle," and she had 
 thought she could do it without a tremor ; but 
 now that the matter was brought right home 
 to her, she found, as many another mother 
 did, that it was going to be the hardest task she 
 had ever set for herself. Rodney was safe at 
 
16 RODXEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 scliool, liundreds of miles away from lier when 
 she uttered those patriotic words ; now^ he was 
 within hearing of her voice, and all she had to 
 do w^as to tell him to mount his horse and go. 
 She could not do it ; but her husband, who 
 believed that the matter might as w^ell be 
 settled one time as another, continued — 
 
 '^ There is an independent company of cav- 
 alry camped about a mile the other side of 
 Mooreville, and I know they would be glad to 
 take you in. The company is made up of the 
 very best men in the count}^, many of whom 
 are your personal friends, and every member 
 has to be balloted for." 
 
 '' They are nearly all wealthy, and some of 
 them are going to take their body servants to 
 the front with them," added Mrs. Gray, try- 
 ing to look cheerful although her eyes w^ere 
 filled with tears. ''Your father and I spent 
 an afternoon in their camp, and you don't 
 know how nicely they are situated — all the 
 luxuries the country affords on their tables, 
 and then they are so full of martial ardor ! " 
 
 "Yes," assented Mr. Gray. "We found it 
 a regulation holiday camp — nothing to do and 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 17 
 
 plenty of darkies to do it. They were having 
 no end of fun, lying around in the shade abus- 
 ing the Yankees. But wait until they meet 
 those same Yankees in battle, and their blacks 
 run away from them, and then they have to do 
 their own cooking and forage for their bacon 
 and hard-tack, and then they will know 
 what soldiering means." 
 
 "Now, father," protested Mrs. Gray. 
 " Why do you talk so when Rodney is on the 
 eve of enlisting ? You surely do not wish to 
 discourage him ? " 
 
 ''By no means. I only Avant to make him 
 see, before he swears away his liberty for the 
 next twelve months, that he is not going on a 
 Fourth of July picnic. If he knows what is 
 before him, he will not be surprised or dis- 
 heartened when the hard times come." 
 
 '' I know a little something about soldiering, 
 and you need have no fears that anything 
 father can say will discourage me," R-odney 
 said to his mother. "I have passed my word, 
 and consider myself as good as enlisted 
 already. Who commands that company of 
 cavalry ? ' ' 
 
18 EODXEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 *'Bob Hubbard is the one who is getting it 
 up, but there isn't an 3^ real commander yet. 
 The boys do just about as they please, and will 
 keep on doing so until the officers are elected, 
 which will be when they have eighty ' men 
 enrolled. Bob says that if they elect him cap- 
 tain, and I reckon he stands as good a chance 
 as anybody, the boys will have to come down 
 to Limerick and quit leaving camp and stay- 
 ing in town over night whenever the notion 
 takes them." 
 
 " Have they seen any service at all ? " asked 
 Kodney. 
 
 "None except what some of them saw while 
 they were members of the State militia," 
 answered his father. "They heljied capture 
 the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge and 
 hoist the Pelican flag over it, and you would 
 have thought by the way they acted that they 
 had done something grand. But the work was 
 accomplished without the firing of a shot, the 
 major in command offering to surrender if a 
 force of six or eight hundred men was brouglit 
 against him. By the way," added Mr. Gray 
 getting upon his feet and tossing aside the 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 19 
 
 stump of his cigar, "I expected you to do just 
 what yoa have decided upon, and if you feel 
 like taking a walk around to the stable before 
 dinner, I will show you the horse I bought for / 
 you last week. Every ' Ranger ' (that's what 
 Hubbard calls his men), furnishes his own 
 horse, the government allowing a small sum 
 for the use of it ; and if the horse dies or is 
 killed in battle, the unlucky Ranger is ex- 
 pected to get another the best way he can." 
 
 "Where is this company going to serve?" 
 inquired Rodney. 
 
 ''I don't know, and neither does Hubbard. 
 They have offered to join a regiment that is 
 being raised in New Orleans, but the colonel 
 commanding says he can't take them unless 
 they will give up their independent organiza- 
 tion." 
 
 "Oh, I hope they'll not think of doing 
 that." 
 
 "You needn't worry. More than one 
 Swamp Fox like General Marion will come to 
 the front before this thing is over, and Bob's 
 company will not be left out in the cold. I 
 haven't said much to your mother about your 
 
20 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 going into the service," Mr. Gray went on, 
 throwing open the door of a box stall and hold- 
 ing out an ear of corn to a glossy, well-con- 
 ditioned steed which came np to take a bite at 
 it. ''While she is strong for secession and 
 very patriotic where other folks are concerned, 
 she don't want any of the members of her own 
 family to go to war. She thinks they are sure 
 to be killed." 
 
 '' That isn't at all like the women and girls 
 around Barrington," replied Eodney, stepping 
 into the stall and beginning a critical inspec- 
 tion of his new horse. " They'll not have any 
 thing to do with a fellow who isn't willing to 
 prove his devotion to the Confederacy. AVhere 
 would we get the men to fight our battles if 
 everybody thought as mother does ?" 
 
 "Of course she hasn't said so," Mr. Gray 
 hastened to explain. "She is too good a 
 Southerner for that, but I know it is the way 
 she feels. What do you think of your horse ? 
 He is part Denmark, and that is what makes 
 him so gentle ; and his Copper-bottom blood 
 shows in his color. Almost all Copper-bottom 
 colts are roans." 
 
RODNEY KEEPS HIS PPwOMISE. 21 
 
 u 
 
 He's a beauty," Rodney declared, with 
 enthusiasm. " And as long as I keep him I'll 
 never fall into the clutches of the Yankees. 
 He ought to have speed." 
 
 (And the new horse did have speed, too, as 
 Rodney discovered when he rode him over to 
 the camp of the Rangers that afternoon in 
 company with his father. He moved as if he 
 were set on springs and showed himself impa- 
 tient of restraint ; but his motions were so 
 easy that his rider was scarcely stirred in his 
 seat.) 
 
 *'Good-by, my son," said Mrs. Gray, when 
 Rodney's horse and his father's were brought 
 to the door after dinner, and the two stood on 
 the gallery drawing on their gloves. "You 
 belong to me now, but I suppose that when 
 you come back you will belong to your 
 country." 
 
 "Oh no ; I can' t rush things through in that 
 style," answered the boy. "I've got to be 
 voted for, you know. But I shall certainly 
 tell Mr. Hubbard that I am ready to go if he 
 will take me." 
 
 During the ride through the village of 
 
22 RODiS^Er, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Mooreville to the camp beyond, the onlj^^ indi- 
 cations Kodney saw of the martial spirit that 
 everywhere animated the people were the Con- 
 federate and State flags that floated over all 
 the business houses, and the red, white and 
 blue rosettes, which were worn principally by 
 the women and girls. Rodney was the only 
 one in uniform, the Rangers not having 
 decided how they woukl equip themselves 
 when the time came for them to go to the 
 front. Rodney was kept busy returning the 
 salutes he received as he rode along, and now 
 and then some young fellow would rush into 
 the street to shake his hand, and inquire if he 
 was going np to the camp to give in his name. 
 The camp was not such a one as the Bar- 
 rington cadets used to make when they took 
 to the fields every summer to reduce to prac- 
 tice the military instruction they had received 
 during the year. There were tents in abun- 
 dance, but they were put up without any 
 attempt at order, there were no guards out, 
 and the few recruits there were in camp 
 seemed to have nothing to do but lounge 
 around under the trees, reading the papers 
 
RODNEY KEEPS IIIS PROMISE. 23 
 
 and talking over tlie situation. Rodney 
 thought they might as well have been at home 
 for all the good they were doing there. 
 
 " This is a pretty way to learn soldiering," 
 said lie to Mr. Hubbard, who promptly showed 
 himself when he heard the sound of horses' 
 hoofs in front of his tent. "How many men 
 have you ? Will you take in my name ? " 
 
 ''You are just the fellow we want and I 
 wish we could get fifty more like you," 
 replied Mr. Hubbard, returning the cordial 
 grasp of Rodney's hand. " The boys will cer- 
 tainly put you in for something or other. We 
 haven't got down to business yet, but will 
 next week. I suppose that all the military 
 knowledge w^e get will be by hard knocks, 
 because, being an independent company, we 
 cannot call upon any army officer to drill us. 
 We are studying the tactics all the time, but 
 are in no hurry to get our uniforms until we 
 know whether or not our services are going to 
 be needed." 
 
 "Say," exclaimed Rodney, recalling to 
 mind something that had been said to him on 
 the train a few hours before. " If I wherein 
 
24 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 your place I'd lose no time in getting ready to 
 march. President Davis is going to dictate 
 terms of peace in Washington. Wouldn't 
 you like to have your company escort him 
 there?" 
 
 " Now, that's an idea," exclaimed Hubbard, 
 while the recruits who were standing around 
 listening to the conversation declared as one 
 man that they would do and dare anything if 
 they could only have a chance to present arms 
 to the Confederate President when he walked 
 into the White House. ''The boys will all be 
 here at roll-call to-night and I will speak to 
 them about it. At the same time I will pro- 
 pose you for membership. You'll get in, of 
 course, and perhaps you had better report to- 
 morrow forenoon." 
 
 Although Kodney could not see the use of 
 reporting, seeing that there was nothing to be 
 done in camp, he promised to be on hand, and 
 rode away to call upon some of his friends in 
 the village. He found, somewhat to his relief, 
 that there was not a single one among them 
 who believed as his father did — that the South 
 was sure to fail in her efforts to dissolve the 
 
ROD]N^EY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 25 
 
 Union. They all thought as Kodney did — 
 that the Northern people belonged to an 
 inferior race, that there was no fight in them, 
 and that the States having made the nation 
 could unmake it whenever they felt like it. 
 He learned also, to his no small indignation, 
 that his father did not stand as high in the 
 estimation of his neighbors as he might have 
 done if he had not exi)ressed his opinions with 
 so much freedom. As he was about to leave 
 the village for home just before dark, he en- 
 countered an old acquaintance of his, Tom 
 E<andolx)h by name, who had just returned 
 from the camp. . 
 
 " You're in, Kodney," said he, after he had 
 given the Barrington boy a very limp hand to 
 shake. "To-morrow forenoon we're going to 
 elect officers and get down to business. Will 
 you be up ?" 
 
 Rodney re]3lied that he would, and at the 
 same time he wondered why it was that Ran- 
 dolph treated him so coolly. They never had 
 been friends. They took a dislike to each 
 other the first time they met, and the often er 
 they were thrown together, the stronger that 
 
26 RODXEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 dislike seemed to grow. They "bad always 
 tried to treat each other with civility, but now 
 there was something in Randolph's way of 
 talking and acting that Rodney did not like. 
 
 "While you were up to camp to-day did 
 any of the boys tell you that I am a candidate 
 for second lieutenant of the comiDany ? " con- 
 tinued Randolx)h. 
 
 "You?" exclaimed Rodney, in genuine 
 astonishment. 
 
 "Yes, me," replied Randolph, mimicing 
 Rodney's tone and look of surprise. "And 
 why haven' 1 1 as good a right as anybody, I 
 should be pleased to know ? " 
 
 ' ' I sui3]3ose there is no law to prevent you 
 from running for office, but you don't know 
 the first thing about military matters. If the 
 company was in line this minute, and you 
 were second lieutenant of it, you couldn't go 
 to your position unless somebody showed you 
 where it was." 
 
 " Well, I can learn, can't I ? " snapped Ran- 
 dolph. "You didn't know trail arms from 
 right-shoulder shift when you first joined the 
 academy, did you? The company ought to 
 
EODNEY KEEPS HIS PROMISE. 27 
 
 give me that place, for my father has done a 
 heap for it with money and influence. Some 
 who are now recruits held back because they 
 were not able to fit themselves out decently, 
 but father told them that the want of money 
 need not stand in their way. If they would 
 go ahead and enlist, he would see that they 
 had horses, weapons, uniforms and everything 
 else they wanted. He did what he could to 
 promote enlistments instead of preaching up 
 the doctrine that the South is going to be 
 whipped and the slaves all made free." 
 
 Rodney knew well enough that this was a 
 slap at his father, but he didn't see how he 
 could resent it, for it was nothing but the 
 truth. 
 
 "That's why I say that the company ought 
 to make me an officer," continued Randolph, 
 after a short pause. "I know you are all 
 right, for I heard how you stood uj) for the 
 Confederacy while you were at school, and I'll 
 tell you what I'll do with you : If you will 
 give me your vote for second lieutenant, I'll 
 do what I can to have you elected third ser- 
 geant. The other x^laces are sjDoken for.' 
 
 5? 
 
28 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "I am very much obliged to you," replied 
 Rodney. 
 
 '' Is it a bargain? " 
 
 ^' ]^ot much. I'll not vote for a man to be 
 placed over me unless he knows more than I 
 do." 
 
 "Perhaps you want a commission yourself," 
 said Randolph, with something like a sneer. 
 
 " No, I don't. I never thought of such a 
 thing." 
 
 " Because if you do, I want to tell you that 
 you can't get it," continued Randolph. 
 " Your father hasn't done half as much for 
 the company as he might have done, and the 
 boy's don't like the way he talks." 
 
 "Then let's seethe boys help themselves," 
 answered Rodney, as he placed his foot in the 
 stirrup and swung himself into the saddle. 
 " Time will show who is willing to do the most 
 for the success of the Confederacy, your father 
 
 or mine." 
 
 So saying he put the roan colt into a gallop 
 and set out for home. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE EANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 
 
 WHEN Rodney had left the village of 
 Mooreville half a mile or so behind him, 
 he threw the reins loose upon his horse's neck, 
 thrust his hands deep into his pockets and 
 thought over the conversation he had had with 
 Tom Randolph. He had warned his cousin 
 Marcy that the North Carolina people would 
 be sure to turn the cold shoulder upon him on 
 account of his Union principles, and now it 
 seemed to Rodney that he was in pretty near 
 the same predicament because his father be- 
 lieved and said that the seven seceding States, 
 with two and a half millions of free persons, 
 could not whip the loyal states and territories 
 with twenty-live millions. 
 
 "It serves me just right," was Rodney's 
 mental reflection. "I persecuted Marcy on 
 account of his opinions, and now I am going to 
 have a little of the same kind of treatment. 
 
 29 
 
30 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 'No one but a red-hot secessionist has got any 
 business in this part of the country." 
 
 When Rodney reached home he found his 
 father there and supper waiting for him. He 
 did not mention Tom Randolph's name, but he 
 spent a good deal of time in thinking about 
 him, and wondered how he would fare if Tom 
 succeeded in winning the coveted commission. 
 There were many ways in which a lieutenant 
 could torment his subordinates, and Tom 
 would be just mean enough to use all the ' 
 power the law allowed him. 
 
 " I'll not take a thing to-morrow, even if it 
 is offered to me," was the resolution Rodney 
 made before he went to sleep that night. "I'll 
 go out as a private and come back as a private, 
 unless I can win promotion in the face of the 
 enemy. Time makes all things right, and 
 we'll see who will come out at the top of the 
 heap — Tom Randolph or I." 
 
 The next morning about eight o'clock, Rod- 
 ney seated himself in the carriage with his 
 father and mother and was driven to the camp 
 of the Rangers. It presented more of a holi- 
 day appearance now than it did the first time 
 
THE I^ANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 31 
 
 he saw it, for it had been cleaned up and dec- 
 orated in honor of the occasion. The little 
 grove in which the tents Avere pitched was 
 thronged with visitors, the Rangers Avere out 
 in full force and there was a good deal of "log- 
 rolling" going on. All the candidates had 
 ballots prepared, and Rodney had scarcely set 
 his foot on the ground before he w^as sur- 
 rounded by a little group of recruits, all of 
 whom were anxious to serve the Confederacy 
 in the capacity of officers. 
 
 " We've got you down for third sergeant," 
 said one. "We've arranged to push you for 
 that position if you will vote for me for 
 orderly and for Randolph for second lieu- 
 tenant." 
 
 "Find out who the other candidates are 
 before you make any promises," exclaimed 
 another ; and then, when no one was observ- 
 ing his movements, the speaker gave Rodney 
 a wink and a nod which the latter could not 
 fail to understand. He drew off on one side 
 and the recruit, whose hands were full of bal- 
 lots, went on to sav : 
 
 "Randolph doesn't stand the ghost of a 
 
32 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 chance for the second lieutenancy, and he has 
 good cheek to ask the boys to give it to him. 
 He thinks he is going to run the company 
 because his father has done so much for it." 
 
 '' And he thinks he and his friends are going 
 to keep me in the background because my 
 father has done so little for it," added 
 Hodney. 
 
 " Well, they can't do it, and they will find 
 it out when the thing is put to the test. You 
 have a military education and Randolph 
 hasn't. That's one thing against him, and his 
 overwhelming self-conceit is another. You 
 are rather vouno; to look for a commission in a 
 company of men, but you Avill come in for the 
 orderly sergeant's berth sure as shooting." 
 
 *'I am obliged to those who suggested me 
 for that place, but Til not take it," said Rod- 
 ney very decidedly. ^'I enlisted for a sol- 
 dier." 
 
 ''Well, what in the name of sense do you 
 call the orderly ? ' ' 
 
 " I call him a clerk," answered Rodney. 
 
 " Why, I thought he was drill-master. 
 
 " Of awkward squads — yes.' 
 
 ii-iiiiiSLcr. 
 
 ?5 
 
THE RANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 33 
 
 "Then can't you see that that is another 
 reason why we need you in that berth ? We 
 all belong to the awkward squad now. You'll 
 have to take it. We need a drill-master, and 
 must have some one who knows enough to 
 keep the company's books ; and that's more 
 than that friend of Randolph's can do. I 
 want nothing for myself, for I am not a mili- 
 tary man. Hubbard will come in for captain 
 without opposition. It's the place he ought 
 to have, for he has done more for us than any- 
 body else, and Odell and Percy will be the 
 lieutenants. Put those in the box when the 
 time comes." 
 
 Rodney took the ballots that were placed in 
 his hand, and just then some one called out : 
 
 ' ' Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes ! All you Rangers 
 fall in in single rank here in front of head- 
 quarters, and be ready to cast your votes for 
 captain." 
 
 Rodney laughed heartily. 
 
 " That's the deputy sheriff," said the recruit 
 with whom he had been conversing, as the two 
 hastened toward the captain's tent. "There 
 isn't much military about that order." 
 
34 RODJS^EY, THE PARTISAIST. 
 
 (( 
 
 It'll do," replied Rodney. "The boys 
 seem to understand it, and what more do you 
 want?" 
 
 " JN'ow answer to your names," continued 
 the deputy ; whereupon Rodney laughed 
 again. 
 
 *' What ought he to have said? " inquired 
 his friend. 
 
 "Listen to roll-call, Avould be the proper 
 order," said the Barrington boy. "But it's 
 all right. Guerillas are not supposed to be 
 posted in such things." 
 
 " But we are not guerillas.' 
 
 " Look in your dictionary and you Avill find 
 that you can't make us out to be anything 
 else," replied Rodney. 
 
 The two fell in side by side and answered to 
 their names when they were called. The Bar- 
 rington boy supposed that nominations would 
 now be in order, but it seemed that they had 
 already been made from captain down to 
 fourth corporal. The Rangers were faced to 
 the right and ordered to march up one at a 
 time and deposit their votes for captain in the 
 ballot-box (a cigar box with a slot in the cover), 
 
THE RATs^GERS ELECT OFFICERS. 35 
 
 beside wliicli stood the three "inspectors of 
 election" who were to count the votes after 
 they were all in, and who had been chosen 
 before Rodney arrived on the ground. When 
 tlie balloting was comj^leted the company had 
 countermarched twice, and stood on the same 
 ground it occui)ied before the ceremony began. 
 One of the inspectors emptied the contents of 
 the cigar box on the table, another opened the 
 first ballot that came to his hand and called 
 out the name that was written upon it, and 
 the third kept count. The result was just what 
 Rodney's friend told him it would be. 
 
 "There were sixty-five votes cast, and they 
 one and all bear the name of our popular 
 friend Robert Hubbard," said the inspector ; 
 and the announcement was received with 
 cheers. 
 
 Speech ! Speech ! ' ' shouted the Rangers. 
 jS'o, no!" replied the newly elected cap- 
 tain, "There are two lieutenants, one orderly 
 sergeant, five duty sergeants and four corporals 
 yet to be elected, and we don't want to waste 
 anv time in foolishness." 
 
 ' ' Have you got your ballots ready for first 
 
 
36 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 lieutenant?" inquired tlie deputy sheriff, 
 who continued to act as master of ceremonies. 
 " Then face to the right again and march your- 
 selves around here and put 'em in the box. 
 Laugh away, Eodney," he added, smiling 
 good-naturedly and shaking his head at the 
 Barrington boy. "We'll get the hang of 
 these things after a while." 
 
 The voting was gone through with the same 
 as before, and there was more cheering and 
 clapping of hands when the inspector an- 
 nounced that Hiram Odell had been unani- 
 mously elected to the office of first lieutenant ; 
 but following the exam^^le of his superior he 
 declined to waste time in speech-making. 
 
 And now Rodney Gray began to take a 
 deeper interest in Avhat was going on. The 
 second lieutenant would be voted for next, 
 and Tom Randolph, whose father had done 
 so much for the company, had had the 
 imx3udence to bring himself forward as a can- 
 didate. It couldn't be possible, Rodney 
 thought, that such an ignorant upstart stood 
 any chance of election when his opponent was 
 so popular a young man as Albert Percy. He 
 
THE RANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 37 
 
 stood where lie could see Tom' s face, and there 
 was not a jDarticle of color in it. If he could 
 have looked into the ballot Tom held in his 
 hand, he Avould have found that the name 
 written upon it w^as that of Thomas Randolph 
 himself. The candidate intended to vote in 
 his own favor and he did ; but it did not bring 
 him the coveted office. When the result was 
 announced he had just twelve votes. All the 
 others were cast for Albert Percy. Then 
 there was more cheering, but Tom didn't join 
 in ; and neither did he shout out a respon- 
 sive "Aye" wdien it was x3roposed that the 
 election be declared unanimous. On the con- 
 trary he looked daggers at every man in the 
 ranks Avhose eye he could reach ; and he could 
 reach more than half of them, for the line was 
 almost as crooked as a rail fence. 
 
 "That's a pretty way for them to treat me 
 after all the exertions my father has made and 
 the money he has promised to spend for the 
 company," said Tom to the sympathizing 
 friend who stood next on the right. ' ' I believe 
 I'll haul out." 
 
 "Don't do it," was the reply. "Stay in 
 
38 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 and help beat the rest of that ticket. It's all 
 cut and dried." 
 
 "Of course it is and has been for some time. 
 I could see it now if I had only half an eye ; 
 but they have been so sly about it that I never 
 susi)ected it before. Slip out of the line and 
 tell everybody who voted for me to vote 
 against Gray, no matter what they put him up 
 for. We'll show them that they don't run the 
 company." 
 
 "Have you got your votes ready for orderly 
 sergeant V inquired the deputy. 
 
 "I'd like to say a word before the vote is 
 taken," said Captain Hubbard, without giving 
 any one time to answer the sheriff' s question, 
 "and that is, that the office of orderly sergeant 
 is one of the most important in the company." 
 
 "I wonder how he happens to know so 
 much," whispered Tom Randolph to the 
 Ranger who touched elbows with him on the 
 right ; and in a minute more he found out. 
 
 "Ever since I began taking an active part 
 in getting up this company," continued the 
 captain, "I have been in correspondence with 
 a military friend who has taken pains to post 
 
THE KANGEKS ELECT OFEICERS. 39 
 
 me on some matters that are not touched npon 
 in the tactics. Among other things he warned 
 me that if we intend to do business in military- 
 form, Ave must be careful whom we select for 
 the office of orderly. He ought to be a thor- 
 ough-going soldier — " 
 
 "Gray, Gray! Sergeant Rodney Gray!" 
 yelled a score of voices. 
 
 "Very well, gentlemen," said the captain, 
 who looked both surprised and pleased. "If 
 he is your choice I have nothing to say beyond 
 this : I shall be more than satisfied with his 
 election." 
 
 "Randolph, Randolph!" shouted Tom's 
 friends, believing that if he could not get one 
 office he might be willing to take another ; but 
 it turned out that their candidate was not that 
 sort of fellow. 
 
 "I don't want it, and what's more to the 
 point, I wont accept it," said he, wrathfully. 
 " If any one votes for me he will only be wast- 
 ing his ballot, for I am going to leave the 
 company. Do you suppose I am such a fool 
 as to allow myself to be set up and bowled 
 over by Rodney Gray ? " he added in an under- 
 
40 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 tone, in response to a mild protest from his 
 friend on the right. '' His supporters are in 
 the majority and no one else need look for a 
 show." 
 
 Everybody was surprised to hear this declar- 
 ation from the lips of one who had thus far 
 taken the deepest interest in the organization 
 and done all in his power to help it along, and 
 several of the Kangers leaned forward to get a 
 glimjjse of the ^^eaker's face to see if he really 
 meant what he said. Kodney glanced toward 
 the captain to see how he took it, and learned 
 what it was that induced the defeated candi- 
 date to take this stand. Leaning upon his 
 cane just inside the door of the captain's tent 
 was Mr. Randolph, whose face was fully as 
 black as Tom's, and who nodded approvingly 
 at every word the angry young man uttered. 
 
 ''I haven't been sworn in yet, and am as 
 free to go and come as I was a month ago," 
 declared Tom. 
 
 "For the matter of that, so are we all," 
 answered the captain, who had known a week 
 beforehand that young Randolj)h was sure to 
 be defeated, and that he would take it very 
 
THE RAN^GERS ELECT OFFICERS. 41 
 
 much to heart. "But I considered myself 
 bound from the time I put my name to this 
 muster-roll. We can't be sworn in except by 
 a State officer, for the minute we consent to 
 that, that minute we give up our freedom and 
 render ourselves liable to be ordered to the 
 remotest point in the Confederacy. We are 
 partisans, and never will surrender our right 
 to do as w^e please." 
 
 Captain Hubbard and his comx)any of Rang- 
 ers were not the only dupes there were in the 
 Confederacy at that moment. It was well 
 known that the new government ^vas in full 
 sympathy with partisan organizations ; and its 
 agents industriously circulated the report that 
 it would not only aid in the formation of such 
 organizations, but would allow them full lib- 
 erty of action after they Avere sw^orn into the 
 service of their State. The government knew 
 the temper of the Southern people, and was 
 w^ell aware that the desire to emulate the 
 example of such heroes as Marion w^ould draw 
 into the service many a dashing youngster 
 who might otherwise stay out of it. What 
 could be more alluring to a hot-head like 
 
42 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Rodney Gray than the wild, free, and glorious 
 life which the simple word "partisan" con- 
 jured uj)? The ruse, for that's just what it 
 was, proved successful. Partisan companies 
 sprung into existence all over the South, but 
 in less than twelve months after the war began 
 there was not one of them in the service. 
 ]S"either were there any such things as State 
 troops. 
 
 When Morgan and Forrest were first heard 
 of they were known and acknowledged as 
 X)artisans ; and the former carried his parti- 
 sanship so far that when General Buckner 
 declined to give him permission to act upon 
 his own responsibility, he took possession of 
 a deserted house, went into camp there, and 
 supported his men out of his own pocket ; but 
 before the war closed both he and Forrest 
 were Confederate generals, and their men 
 were regularly sworn into the Confederate 
 service. 
 
 We said that the State troo^^s also had ceased 
 to exist, and the following incident proves it : 
 When the Governor of Arkansas called upon 
 his troops, w^ho were serving in the Army of the 
 
THE RAI^GERS ELECT OFFICERS. 43 
 
 Center, to come home at once and save their 
 State from threatened invasion, General Beau- 
 regard ought to have permitted them to obey 
 the summons. He could not do otherwise and 
 be consistent, for if the eleven rebellious 
 States made the Confederacy, they surely had 
 the right to unmake it. But did he live up to 
 the principles for which he w^as fighting ? On 
 the contrary he surrounded those Arkansas 
 troops with a wall of gleaming baj^onets backed 
 by frowning batteries, and gave them just Hve 
 minutes to make up their minds whether or 
 not they would return to duty. The govern- 
 ment at Richmond was a despotism of the worst 
 sort, as more than one poor, deluded rebel 
 found to his sorrow ; and yet Jefferson Davis 
 and the rest of them stoutly maintained that 
 they w^ere fighting for the right of the States 
 to do as they pleased. 
 
 "I don't consider myself bound to stay in 
 the company for no other reason than because 
 my name is on that muster-roll," said Ran- 
 dolph. 
 
 "Stick to it and we'll back you up," whis- 
 pered the recruit on Tom's right. 
 
44 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "If I drop out of the ranks will you come 
 tooT' whispered Randolph, in reply. 
 
 " I will, and so will all the rest." 
 
 Being thus encouraged Randoli^h stepped 
 out of the line and walked off toward his 
 father's carriage, to which his indignant mother 
 had already beat a dignified retreat. When he 
 had gone a little distance he looked behind 
 him and saw, with no little satisfaction, that 
 he was followed by eleven others who were 
 displeased by the way the election was going. 
 
 They were the ones who had been urged into 
 the company by Mr. Randolph, who had 
 promised to see them well fitted out with 
 horses and weapons, and of course they felt 
 bound to follow the example of his son. There 
 were those who believed that Mr. Randolph 
 would not have taken so much interest in the 
 company if he had not believed that every 
 recruit he brought into it would cast a vote for 
 Tom. 
 
 Here was a pretty state of affairs, thought 
 Captain Hubbard, who looked troubled rather 
 than vexed. He did not care so much for the 
 desertion of young Randolph and his friends 
 
THE RANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 45 
 
 (although the unexpected withdrawal of twelve 
 men from his command was no small matter), 
 but he did care for the spirit that prom xd ted 
 their action. It was a rule or ruin policy he 
 did not like to see manifested at that juncture. 
 He was well enough acquainted with Kandoli^h 
 to know that he w^ould not be satisfied with 
 simplj^ deserting the company, but would try 
 in all ways to be revenged upon every member 
 of it who had voted against him. While the 
 captain was thinking about it, somebody tried 
 to make matters worse by setting up a loud 
 hiss, and in an instant the sound was carried 
 along the whole length of the line. It wasn' t 
 stopped, either, until Rodney Gray stepped to 
 the front. 
 
 ^'Mr. Commander," said he, raising his 
 hand to his cap with a military flourish, *'I 
 don't want this position. The officers already 
 chosen have been fairly elected, but I'll vote 
 for Randolph for the next highest office in the 
 gift of the company, if he can be induced to 
 come back." 
 
 "Haven't you heard him say that he don't 
 want it and wont take it?" replied the cap- 
 
46 EODNEY, THE PARTISAIS^. 
 
 tain. "I think the Rangers know what they 
 are doing. Proceed with the election." 
 
 "But, Captain, I don't want to be a clerk," 
 protested Rodney. "I want to be a soldier. 
 Aside from his writing, the orderly has little 
 to do but loaf about camp all the while, keep- 
 ing an eye on the company property, signing 
 requisitions and drilling awkward squads, and 
 that's a job I don't want. What's more, with- 
 out any intention of being disrespectful, I'll 
 not take it. There must be some here wdio 
 want it, and who can do that sort of work as 
 well, if not better than I can. If you think 
 you must put me in for something, let me be a 
 duty sergeant, so that I will have a chance to 
 go on a scout now and then." 
 
 So saying the Barrington boy made another 
 flourish with his hand and stepped back to his 
 place in the ranks with military precision. 
 
 ''Now, Rodney, take that back," said Lieu- 
 tenant Percy, with most unbecoming famili- 
 arity. " You are the only militar}^ man in the 
 company, and I don't see how we can get along 
 without you." 
 
 "I'll tell you what I'll do, Rodney," 
 
THE EAISTGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 47 
 
 cliimed in Captain Hubbard. " You take tlie 
 position, and I will promise that you shall go 
 out on a scout as often as you please." 
 
 The Barrington boy's face relaxed into a 
 broad grin. 
 
 "Captain," said he, "what sort of an 
 organization is this anyway — a mob or a mili- 
 tary company? " 
 
 " Now, what is the use of your asking such 
 a question as that ? ' ' demanded the captain, 
 rather sharply. 
 
 "Well, then, if it is a military company, I 
 suppose you intend to be governed by military 
 rules, do you not ? " 
 
 ' ' Of course we do, if we have brains enough 
 to find out what those rules are." 
 
 "I have no fears on that score; and when 
 you find out what those rules are, you will see 
 that you have no business to let me go out on 
 a scout as often as I please." 
 
 " What's the reason I haven't ? " exclaimed 
 the caj)tain. "I command the company, 
 don't I?" 
 
 " You certainly do." 
 
 "And haven't I a right to do as I please 1 " 
 
48 kod:n^ey, the paetisan. 
 
 '^Tliat depends upon circumstances. Do 
 you intend to remain right here about home ? " 
 
 "Not by a jugful. We're going to belong 
 to some part of the army, if we have to go clear 
 up to Missouri to find a commander who will 
 take us." 
 
 "Then you will find that you can't do as 
 you i^lease. The minute that commander 
 accepts you, he will swear you and all of us 
 into the service." 
 
 " After we have been sworn into the service 
 of the State?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 " I don't believe it," said Captain Hubbard, 
 bluntly. ^'He wouldn't have any right to 
 do it." 
 
 The boy's words raised a chorus of dissent 
 all along the line, and Lieutenant Odell said, 
 as soon as he could make himself heard : 
 
 "You are way off the track, Eodney. 
 What did we secede for if it wasn't to prove 
 the doctrine of State Rights ? If we are going 
 to give our liberty up to a new government, we 
 might as well have stayed under the old. " And 
 all the Rangers uttered a hearty "That's so." 
 
THE BANGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 49 
 
 *' You'll see,'- replied Rodney, who was 
 greatly amused by the look of astonishment 
 his words had brought to the faces around 
 him. "A general would look pretty accept- 
 ing the services of a company he couldn't 
 command, wouldn' t he, now ? ' ' 
 
 *'But he could command us," said every- 
 body in the line ; and Captain Hubbard added: 
 'Td promise that we would obey him as 
 promptly and readily as any of his regular 
 troops." 
 
 "But that wouldn't satisfy him. He'd 
 want the power to make us obey him, or we 
 might take it into our heads to leave him 
 when things didn't go to suit, just as Ran- 
 dolph and his friends have left us. If we 
 should try any little game like that in the 
 face of the enemy, he might have the last one 
 of us shot." 
 
 "What do you think of the prospect, 
 boys ?" said the captain, pulling out his hand- 
 kerchief and mopping his face with it. He 
 was all in the dark and wanted somebody to 
 suggest something. 
 
 "Look here, Rodney," said Lieutenant 
 
50 KODXEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 Percy. *' If you knew our company was to go 
 up in smoke what did you join it for ? " 
 
 "I don't believe it is going up in smoke," 
 was tlie reply. "I certainly hope it isn't, fori 
 am under promise to go into the service, and 
 would rather go with my friends and neigh- 
 bors than with strangers ; but if we are going 
 to bear arms, Ave've got to have authority from 
 somebody to do it." 
 
 "Why, we'll get that from the State of 
 Louisiana," exclaimed the Rangers, almost as 
 one man. " The State is supreme, no one out- 
 side of it has a right to command our services, 
 and State Rights Avill be our battle-cry, if we 
 need one." 
 
 "All right," exclaimed Rodney. "I am 
 here to share the fortunes of the company, 
 whatever they may be, but I can't take the 
 position you have so kindly offered me, and I 
 beg you will not urge me further. Give it to 
 some one who wants it, and I will do all I can 
 to help him." 
 
 "Wei], that's different," said the caj)tain, 
 who seemed to be much relieved. "Fallout 
 and prepare your ballots ; and you had better 
 
THE RAXGERS ELECT OFFICERS. 51 
 
 fix 'em all up while you are about it, so that 
 there may be no further delay." 
 
 The order to " fall out" was quite unneces- 
 sary, for the ranks were pretty well broken 
 before the captain gave it. He allowed them 
 half an hour in which to write out their ballots, 
 and then the line was reformed, after a fashion, 
 and the voting went on ; and although the 
 results were in the main satisfactory, there 
 were some long faces among the E-angers. 
 
 " ^ever mind," said Rodney, who had been 
 elected first duty sergeant. "You outsiders 
 may have a chance yet. I'll bet a picayune 
 that if this company sees any service at all, it 
 will not be mustered out with the same officers 
 it has now. Bone your tactics night and day, 
 and then if there is an examination, you will 
 stand as good a chance as anybody. Captain, 
 who is going to commission you \ " 
 
 " I have been commissioned already ; that is 
 to say, I have been authorized by the governor 
 to raise a company of independent cavalry to 
 be mustered into the State service. That is all 
 right, isn't it?" 
 
 " I suppose it is," replied the boy ; and then 
 
63 RODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 he walked off to find his father, thoughtfully 
 pulling his under lip as he went. 
 
 *' What's the matter? " inquired Mr. Gray, 
 as his son approached the place where he was 
 standing. " Wasn't the election satisfactory ? 
 I thought the best men were chosen." 
 
 " I wasn't thinking about that," was the 
 answer. '' If we are mustered into the service 
 of the State, we must of course be sworn in. 
 This State is a part of the Confederacy ; and if 
 the Confederacy calls upon Louisiana for 
 troops — then what ? " 
 
 ''Why, then you would have to go, I 
 reckon," replied one of the planters who was 
 talking with his father. 
 
 " Yes, I reckon we would ; and we'd have to 
 take the oath to support the Confederacy, and 
 that would take us out from under the control 
 of the State and make us Confederate troops, 
 wouldn't it ? It's a sort of mixed-up mess and 
 I don't see where our independence comes in. 
 But the boys seem to think it is all right and 
 I suppose it is." 
 
 But it wasn't all right, and the sequel 
 proved it. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 DRILLS AND PARADES. 
 
 WHEN the Rangers had broken ranks, 
 which they did without orders as soon 
 as the fourth corporal had been elected, the 
 captain and his lieutenants suddenly thought 
 of something and posted off to find Rodney 
 Gray. 
 
 ''Look here," said the former, somewhat 
 nervously. "What's the next thing on the 
 programme?" 
 
 ''Drill, guard-mount and all that sort of 
 thing ; but principally drill," answered Rod- 
 ney. " If I were in your place I would send 
 for a copy of the army regulations without 
 loss of time." 
 
 "Where'lllget them?" 
 
 " Write to the commanding officer at New 
 Orleans, and the minute they get here, turn 
 this camp into a camp of instruction with 
 written regulations, so that every member of 
 
 53 
 
54 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 tlie company may know what is required of 
 him — reveille at five a.m., brealvfast at six, 
 sick-call at seven, inspection of company 
 parade grounds at eight, squad drill at half 
 past, and — " 
 
 "Hold on," exclaimed Lieutenant Percy. 
 ''You win have to put that in writing. I 
 never could remember it in the world." 
 
 ''You 11 have to, and a good deal more like 
 it," replied the Barrington boy. "It's noth- 
 ing to what I had to keep constantly in mind 
 while I was at school. I had to walk a chalk- 
 mark, I tell you, or I'd have lost my cJiemonsy 
 
 " I suppose the hardest part of the work 
 will be training our horses," observed Lieu- 
 tenant Odell. " Mine is pretty wild." 
 
 "No matter for that if he is only intelli- 
 gent. He'll learn the drill in less time than 
 you will, I'll bet you. But we'll not need our 
 horses for a month to come." 
 
 "What's the reason we wont? We're 
 cavalry." 
 
 " I know it ; but how are you going to teach 
 your horses the movements unless you knoAV 
 them yourselves ? Suppose we were in line in 
 
DKILLS AND PARADES. 55 
 
 two ranks and. the command was given 
 "Without doubling, right face." The horses 
 don't know Avhere to go but their riders must, 
 in order to rein the animals in their j)laces. 
 See ? Oh, there's more work than fun in 
 soldiering." 
 
 "Well now, look here," said the captain 
 again. "I don't want to take the boys away 
 from home and shut them up here for nothing, 
 and yet I don't want to waste* any valuable 
 time, for we may be called upon before we 
 know it. Will you drill a volunteer squad 
 here every forenoon V\ 
 
 "I will, and be glad to do it. I hope they 
 will turn out strong, for you will find that the 
 workers are the men that make the soldiers. 
 I am glad we've got a drum and fife. You 
 don't know how hard it would be for me to 
 drill a large squad w^ithout some kind of music 
 to help them keep step." 
 
 And so it was settled that Camp Randolph 
 (it had been named after Tom's father w^hen 
 the Confederate flag w^as first run up to the 
 masthead, and sorry enough the Rangers were 
 for it now^), was to become a camp of instruc- 
 
56 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 tion, and that Sergeant Gray was to drill a 
 volunteer squad every pleasant forenoon, and 
 spend two hours every afternoon in teaching 
 the company officers their duties. 
 
 The young soldier had undertaken a big 
 contract, but he went about it as though he 
 meant business, and in less than a week suc- 
 ceeded in convincing some of the members of 
 his company that he was just a trifle too par- 
 ticular to be of any use. The strict discipline 
 in vogue at Barrington was promptly intro- 
 duced at Camp Randolph, and not the slight- 
 est departure from the tactics was tolerated 
 for an instant. It made the spectators smile 
 to see full-grown men ordered about by this 
 imperious youngster who was not yet seven- 
 teen years of age, and the sight aroused the 
 ire of Tom Randolph, who now and then rode 
 out to the camp to watch the drill and criticise 
 the drill-master. He wanted to learn some- 
 thing too, for Tom had an idea that he might 
 one day have a company of his own. His 
 father suggested it to him, and Tom lost no 
 time in talking it up among his friends. To 
 his great disgust Tom had learned that some 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 57 
 
 of these friends were getting "shaky.'' As 
 time wore on and the Rangers began to show 
 proficiency under the severe drilling to which 
 they were daily subjected, these friends began 
 to think and say that they were afraid they 
 had been a little too hasty in withdrawing 
 from the company just because Tom Randolph 
 could not get the office he wanted, and the 
 first mounted drill that was held confirmed 
 them in the opinion. Due notice had been 
 given of the drill, and the whole town and all 
 the planters for miles around, turned out to 
 see it. Of course the horses were green but 
 tlieir riders understood their business as well 
 as could be expected, and the spectators, one 
 and all, declared that it was a very creditable 
 showing. 
 
 We do not, of course, mean to say that Ran- 
 dolph and his father and mother and a few 
 other dissatisfied ones were pleased with the 
 drill. They were rather disappointed to find 
 that the Rangers could do so well without the 
 aid of the twelve deserters. They came to 
 witness it because their neighbors came, one of 
 them, at least, being animated by the hope 
 
58 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 that the spirited horses would become so res- 
 tive when they heard the rattle of the drum 
 and the shrill scream of the fife, that their 
 riders could not keej) them in line. It was a 
 matter of difficulty, that's a fact ; but the 
 Kangers were all good riders, and if Randolph 
 hoped to see any of them thrown from his 
 saddle, his amiable wish was not gratified. 
 Another thing that disgusted Tom was the 
 fact that Sergeant Gray commanded the drill, 
 the commissioned officers riding in the ranks 
 like so many privates. The file-closers, of 
 course, occupied their proper places. 
 
 ''If I could afford to bu}^ a horse I would 
 join the company within an hour, if they 
 w^ould take me," said one of the eleven who 
 had seen fit to withdraw from the Rangers 
 when Tom did. "I cut off my nose to spite 
 my face, and so did all of us wdio got our 
 backs up because we couldn't have things our 
 own wa}^ But I dout supi^ose they would 
 take us back now." 
 
 " Would you be willing to have such a fel- 
 low as Rodney Gray order you around as he 
 does the rest of them ! " demanded Tom. 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 59 
 
 ^' Why, I don't see what's the matter with 
 Rodney Gray. I never heard the first word 
 said against him until you took it into your 
 head that he was going to run against you for 
 second lieutenant. Yes ; I'd Jet him or any- 
 body else boss me around if he would only 
 teach me how to drill. He's a nobby soldier, 
 aint he?" 
 
 ' ' Nobby nothing, ' ' snarled Randolph. ' ' I'll 
 bet you our company will drill just as well as 
 they do." 
 
 Our company? " 
 
 Yes. You don't imagine that the Rangers 
 are the only ones who will go into the service 
 from this i^lace, do you ? It would not be 
 policy for the State to send all her best men 
 into the Confederate army," said Tom, quot- 
 ing from his father ; for although he had been 
 a voter for more than three years he seldom 
 read the papers, and depended upon others to 
 keep him posted in the events of the day. 
 "Some of us can't go. Father says the Yan- 
 kees will fio;ht if thev are crowded too hard, 
 and if they should happen to come down the 
 river from Cairo, or up the river from New 
 
 it 
 
60 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Orleans, wouldn' t the capital of our State be in 
 a pretty fix if there were no troops here to 
 defend it?" 
 
 *'Aw! they aint a-going to come up or 
 down," exclaimed the other, who was too good 
 a rebel to believe that Union troops could by 
 any possibility gain a foothold in the seceded 
 States. ''The fighting must all be done on 
 Northern soil.' That's what our President 
 said, and I reckon he knows what he was talk- 
 ing about." 
 
 '* Perhaps he don't. Fortune of war, you 
 know," said Randolph, who, ever since his 
 father suggested the idea, had kept telling 
 himself that nothing would suit him better 
 than to be captain of a company of finely uni- 
 formed and mounted State Guards. " At any 
 rate we are going to prepare for what may 
 happen. We are going to get up a company, 
 and my father will equip every one who joins 
 it. If he has a family, my father will support 
 them if we have to leave the neighborhood and 
 go to some other part of the State. What do 
 you say ? Shall I put your name down ? " 
 
 Tom's friend did not give a direct reply to 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 61 
 
 this question. He evaded it ; but when he 
 had drawn away from Tom's side and reached 
 another part of the grounds (the mounted 
 drill was still going on), he said to himself : 
 
 '^No, you need not put my name down. 
 I'm going to be a regular soldier and not a 
 Home Guard. There must be some patriotic 
 rich man in this country who will do for me 
 what Mr. Randolph promised to do, and Vm. 
 going to see if I can find him. By gracious ? 
 I believe I'll try Mr. Gray. They say he 
 hasn't done much of anything for the com- 
 pany, but perhaps he will if he's asked." 
 
 No ; Mr. Gray had not been buying votes 
 for his son, for he did not believe in doing 
 business that way. According to his ideas of 
 right and wrong the company officers ought to 
 go to those who were best qualified to fill 
 them ; and he didn't want Rodney to have any 
 position unless the Rangers thought him 
 worthy of it. But he was prompt to respond 
 to all appeals for aid, and so it came about 
 that in less than a week Tom Randolph's 
 friends had all been received back into the 
 company, and it was reported that six of them 
 
62 RODT^EY, THE PAETISAW. 
 
 were to be mounted and armed at Mr. Gray's 
 expense. 
 
 " That's to pay 'em for voting Rodney in for 
 first duty sergeant," snapj^ed Tom, when he 
 heard the news. "I'd go without office before 
 I would have my father do things in that bare- 
 faced way. And as for those who are willing 
 to accept pay for their votes, they ought to be 
 heartily ashamed of themselves." 
 
 "Never niiind," said Mr. Randolph, sooth- 
 ingly. "There is no need that a young man 
 in your circumstances should go into the army 
 as private, and I don't mean that you shall do 
 it. I'll make it my business to call on the 
 governor and see if he can't find a berth 
 for you." 
 
 "But remember that it must be a military 
 appointment," said Tom. "No clerkship or 
 anything of that sort for me." 
 
 While the Rangers were working hard to 
 get themselves in shape for the field, Captain 
 Hubbard and his lieutenants had received 
 their commissions and been duly sworn into 
 the State militia. Nothing was said, how- 
 ever, about swearing in the company, and 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 63 
 
 when Cax3tain Hubbard called the governor's 
 attention to the omission the latter replied : 
 
 "General Lacey is the man to look after 
 such matters as that. He' s in New Orleans and 
 you may be ordered to report to him there." 
 
 "How about our uniforms?" asked the 
 ca]3tain. 
 
 " Do as you please about uniforms so long 
 as you conform to the army regulations. Of 
 course your arms and equipments will be 
 furnished you, and the government will allow 
 you sixty cents a day for the use of your 
 horses.'' 
 
 The most of the Rangers thought this was 
 all right, and Captain Hubbard at once called 
 a business meeting of the company to decide 
 upon the uniform they wonld Avear when they 
 went to New Orleans to be sworn in ; but there 
 was one among them who did not take much 
 interest in the proceedings. He did not say a 
 great deal during the meeting, but when he 
 Avent home that night he remarked to his 
 father : 
 
 " This partisan business is a humbug so far 
 as this State is concerned.". 
 
64 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ^' What makes you say that? " inquired Mr. 
 Grav. 
 
 ^'Just this," answered Rodney. ''Why 
 didn't the governor swear us in himself instead 
 of telling us that we must wait for General 
 Lacey to do it ? The General is a Confederate, 
 not a State officer, and when he musters us in 
 it will be into the Confederate service." 
 
 This was not a pleasing prospect for the rest- 
 less, ambitious young fellow, who had con- 
 fidently looked for something better, but he 
 had gone too far to back out. He had told his 
 comrades that he intended to share theii for- 
 tunes, whatever they might be, and this was 
 the time to make good his words. If he had 
 worked his men hard before, he worked them 
 harder now, devoting extra time and attention 
 to the officers in order to get them in shape 
 to command the grand drill and dress parade 
 that was to come off as soon as their uni- 
 forms arrived. 
 
 In the meantime outside events were not 
 overlooked. Everything pointed to war, and 
 news from all parts of the Confederacy bore 
 evidence to the fact that the seceded States 
 
DRILLS AjS-D parades. 65 
 
 were preparing for it, while tlie people of the 
 North stood with their hands in their j^ockets 
 and looked on. Finally the long-delayed ex- 
 plosion came, and the country was in an uproar 
 from one end to the other. Fort Sumter was 
 fired upon and comj)elled to surrender — fifty- 
 one men against five thousand — and the Ran- 
 gers shook hands and patted one another on 
 the back and declared that that was the way 
 they would serve the Yankees every time they 
 met them. Then came President Lincoln's 
 War Proclamation, followed b}^ the accession 
 of four States to the Confederacy, the block- 
 ade of the Southern sea-ports and President 
 Davis's offer to issue letters of marque and 
 reprisal. All this while the mails were regu- 
 larly received, and Rodney Gray heard from 
 every- one of the Barrington boys who had pro- 
 mised to enlist within twenty-four hours after 
 they reached home. They had all kept that 
 promise except Dixon, the tall Kentuckian, 
 and he was getting ready as fast as he could. 
 
 " I have been between a hoot and a whistle 
 ever since I have been home," was what he 
 
66 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN". 
 
 wrote to Rodney Gray. *'Tlie State was 
 divided against itself, and I couldn't tell until 
 the 15th, (April) which way she was going ; 
 but now I know. When the Yankee Presi- 
 dent called for those seventy-five thousand 
 volunteers our Governor replied : ' I say em- 
 phatically that Kentucky will furnish no 
 troops for the wicked purpose of subjugating 
 her sister Southern States. As Dick Graham 
 used to say, 'That's me.' I go with the 
 government of my State. jS'ow, then, what 
 have you done? I shall write the rest of the 
 fellows to-day." 
 
 Billings, the South Carolina boy, reached 
 home too late to take part in the bombardment 
 of Fort Sumter, and he told Rodney that he 
 was very sorry for it. Every one of the 
 gallant five thousand who had fought for 
 thirty-four hours to compel a handful of 
 tired and hungry men to haul down their flag 
 was looked upon as a hero, and Billings said 
 he might have been a hero too, if he had only 
 had sense enough to leave school a month 
 earlier. But he was all right now. He was a 
 Confederate soldier and ready to do and dare 
 with the best of them. 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 67 
 
 Dick Graham, whose -home you will remem- 
 ber was in Missouri, wrote in much the same 
 strain that Dixon did. His State was in such 
 a turmoil and seemed to be so evenly divided 
 between Union and disunion, that Dick could 
 not tell which way she was going until he saw 
 Governor Jackson's answer to Lincoln's call 
 for volunteers. " There can be, I apprehend, 
 no doubt that these men are intended to make 
 war upon the seceded States," said the Gov- 
 ernor. ".Your requisition, in my judgment, is 
 illegal, unconstitutional and revolutionary in 
 its objects, inhuman and diabolical and cannot 
 be complied with. Not one man will the State 
 of Missouri furnish to carry on such an unholy 
 crusade." 
 
 "When I read those burning words," Dick 
 wrote, with enthusiasm, "my mind was made 
 up and I knew where I stood. I expected some 
 such move on the Governor's part, for when he 
 came into office in January, he declared that 
 Missouri must stand by the other ^lave States 
 whatever course they might pursue. I kept 
 my promise and enlisted in a company of par- 
 tisans raised under the terms of the Military 
 
68 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Bill, whicli makes every able-bodied man in 
 the State subject to military duty. Price is 
 our immediate commander, but we were re- 
 quired to take the oath to obey the Governor 
 alone." 
 
 "There, noAv," exclaimed E-odney, when he 
 read this. " What's the reason our Governor 
 can't swear the Rangers in as well as the Gov- 
 ernor of Missouri can swear his troops in ? I 
 believe he could if there wasn't something 
 back of it." 
 
 ^' What do you think there is back of it ?" 
 inquired his father. 
 
 "I can't imagine, unless there is some sort 
 of an arrangement existing between him and 
 the Confederate authorities at ISTew Orleans," 
 replied Rodney. " The Governor lets on that 
 he is strongly in favor of independent organi- 
 zations, but he don't act as if he was." 
 
 Rodney showed Dick's letter to Captain 
 Hubbard, who posted off to Baton Rouge with 
 it ; but he got no satisfaction there. There 
 had been ho such Military Bill passed in 
 Louisiana, the Governor said, and there was no 
 need of it, the situation there and in Missouri 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 69 
 
 was so different. The latter State was exposed 
 to "invasion" (by which he meant that Cap- 
 tain Lyon's small company of regulars was 
 likely to be reinforced), bnt Louisiana was so 
 protected on all sides that Lincoln's hirelings 
 could not get at her if they tried. 
 
 "Then he wouldn't assume control of the 
 company?" said Rodney. 
 
 " No, he wouldn't. I had a personal inter- 
 view with him at his own house and did some 
 of my best talking ; but it was no use. He 
 was non-committal — that was the worst of it, 
 and I — Say," added the captain, in an under- 
 tone, " I have sorter suspected that he meant 
 to turn us over to the Confederacy." 
 
 "That's what I have thought for a good 
 while," said Rodney. 
 
 "Yes," continued the captain. "So I 
 thought I might as well give him to under- 
 stand that we were not going to allow our- 
 selves to be turned over as long as we re- 
 mained free men. I showed him your friend's 
 letter, and hinted pretty strongly that if we 
 could not swear obedience to the Governor of 
 our own State, the Governor of another State 
 
70 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 miglit be willing to accept us, and you ouglit 
 to have seen him open his eyes." 
 
 ''What did he say?" 
 
 ' ' He said he ho]3ed that I wouldn' t think 
 of doing such a thing as that, but if I did, he 
 would have to revoke my commission." 
 
 "Who calces if he does?" exclaimed Rod- 
 ney. ' ' Let him revoke it if he wants to, and 
 you can get another from Governor Jackson." 
 
 " That's what I thought. Now, I'll tell you 
 what we'll do — at least we'll hold a secret 
 meeting after drill and propose it to the boys. 
 Suppose you telegraph to your chum's 
 father — you know where to find him and you 
 don't know where to find Dick Graham — and 
 ask him if General Price will accept our ser- 
 vices, leaving us our independent organization, 
 provided we will take the oath to obey the 
 Governor of Missouri." 
 
 "I'll do it,'' answered Rodney. "And if 
 you will postpone the drill for half an hour I 
 will ride into town and attend to it at once. 
 It's the only thing ^we can do and keejD out of 
 the Confederate army. Dog- gone the Confed- 
 eracy. The State is the one I want to serve." 
 
 5> 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 71 
 
 Rodney rode into Mooreville at a gallop, 
 wrote out the dispatch and stood at the desk 
 while Drummond, the operater, sent it off. 
 Although the latter looked surprised he did 
 not say anything ; but while Rodney was on 
 his way back to camp, a copy of his dispatch 
 was on its way to Baton Rouge. 
 
 In accordance with Captain Hubbard's pro- 
 gramme a secret meeting of the company was 
 held after the drill was over, but it turned out 
 that the members were not so strongly in favor 
 of the captain's plan as he and Rodney 
 thought they were going to be. While the 
 Rangers fully determined to preserve their in- 
 dex)endent organization, they were not willing 
 to give their services to the governor of 
 another State. There was a dead-lock devel- 
 oped at once ; and it was finally decided that 
 the best thing they could do would be to ad- 
 journ until Rodney had received a reply to his 
 disx)atch. Perhaps General Price would not 
 take them, and that would end the matter. 
 If he would, why then, they could call 
 another meeting and decide what they would 
 do about it. 
 
72 RODNEY, THE PARTISAT^. 
 
 The next day their uniforms came up from 
 New Orleans, and on the afternoon of the day 
 following there was a grand drill and dress 
 parade commanded by Captain Hubbard in 
 person. The spectators, if we except the Ran- 
 dolph family, were delighted with it, and 
 Rodney told his father privately that he had 
 seen many a worse one at the Barrington 
 Academy. Kodney didn't want to say so out 
 loud, of course, for he was the drill-master ; 
 but it was not long before he discovered that 
 the Rangers knew whom to thank for their 
 proficiency, and that they fully appreciated 
 the patient and untiring efforts he had made 
 to bring them into military form. When the 
 ranks had been broken after dress parade, and 
 the Rangers and their invited guests thronged 
 into the grove behind the tents to make an 
 assault upon the well-loaded tables they found 
 there, the deputy sheriff, the man with the 
 stentorian voice, who was a j^rivate in the 
 company, sprang upon the band-stand, com- 
 manded attention, and afterward shouted for 
 Sergeant Rodney Gray to come forward. As 
 the boy wonderingly obeyed, the Rangers 
 
DRILLS AND PAEADES. 73 
 
 and their guests closed about the stand and 
 hemmed it in on all sides. Captain Hubbard 
 had taken np a position there, and when Rod- 
 ney halted in front of him and took off his 
 cap, the latter began a speech, thanking the 
 young sergeant for Avhat he had done for the 
 company, and begging him to accept a small 
 token of their respect and esteem. 
 
 " Take it, friend Rodney," said the captain, 
 in conclusion. " Keep it to remind you of the 
 pure gold of our friendship which shall never 
 know alloy. And while we sincerely trust 
 that it may never be drawn except upon peace- 
 ful occasions of ceremony, we are sure you 
 will not permit it to remain idle in its scab- 
 bard while the flag of our Young Republic is 
 in danger, or your good right arm retains the 
 power to wield it." 
 
 The captain stepped back, and the thor- 
 oughly astonished Rodney stood holding in 
 his hands an elegant cavalry sabre. He stared 
 hard at it, and then he looked at the expectant 
 crowd around the band-stand. 
 
 " Speech, speech ! " yelled the Rangers. 
 
 But the usually self-possessed Barrington boy 
 
74 EODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 J 
 
 was past speecli-making now. He managed to 
 mumble a few words of thanks, got to the 
 ground somehow and mingled with the crowd 
 as quickly as possible. 
 
 ''How very surprised he is," sneered Tom 
 Randolph, who told himself regretfully that a 
 sword like that might have been presented to 
 him if he had only remained with the com- 
 pany. ' ' I will bet my horse against his that he 
 knew a week ago that he was going to get it." 
 
 Rodney waited four days before he received 
 a reply to the disjpatch he sent to Dick Gra- 
 ham's father, and seeing that the authorities 
 had assumed control of the wires, and the 
 operator at Mooreville was a government sx3y, 
 it was rather singular that he got it at all. It 
 ran as follows : 
 
 "Price will accept. Company officers and 
 independent organization to remain the same." 
 
 " I tell you Missouri is the best State yet," 
 said Rodney, handing the telegram over to 
 Captain Hubbard. ' ' This brings the matter 
 squarely home to the boys, and they've got to 
 decide upon something this very night." 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 75 
 
 And they did. but it was only after a stormy 
 and even heated discussion. The captain and 
 Rodney carried their point but it was by a 
 very small majority of votes ; and the former, 
 believing it advisable to strike while the iron 
 was hot, took one of his lieutenants and 
 started for New Orleans to engage passage for 
 his company to Little Rock. It was at this 
 juncture that Rodney wrote that letter to his 
 cousin Marcy Gray, a portion of which we 
 gave to the reader in the first volume of this 
 series. You will remember that he spoke 
 with enthusiasm of the " high old times " he 
 expected to have "running the Yankees out 
 of Missouri." Well, he had all the opportu- 
 nities he wanted, but they were not brought 
 about just as he thought they were going 
 to be. 
 
 The captain and his lieutenant were gone 
 two days, and came back to re^Dort that the 
 steamers were all so busy with government 
 business that it would be a week or more 
 before they could get transportation ; but the 
 captain had left instructions with his cotton- 
 factor who would keep his eyes open, and 
 
76 KODNEY, THE PARTISAiq". 
 
 telegraph liim when to expect a boat at Baton 
 Rouge landing. In the meantime the harder 
 they worked the less they would have to learn 
 when they reached the Army of the West. 
 That very afternoon they had a great surprise. 
 The Rangers were going through a mounted 
 drill, acquitting themselves very creditably 
 they thought, when some one in the ranks 
 became aw^are that they had a distinguished 
 visitor in the person of the Governor of the 
 State, who sat in a carriage looking on. 
 Beside him was a little, dried-up, cross-look- 
 ing man in fatigue cap and soiled linen duster, 
 who kept making loud and unfavorable com- 
 ments upon the drill, although he did not look 
 as though he knew anything about it. As 
 soon as Captain Hubbard learned that the Gov- 
 ernor w^as among the spectators, he brought 
 the Rangers into line and rode up to the car- 
 riage and saluted. 
 
 " Well, captain," said the Governor, nod- 
 ding in response to the salute. ' ' I am glad to 
 see that you are hard at work and that your 
 men are rapidly improving. Have you a copy 
 of your muster-roll handy ? " 
 
DRILLS AND PARADES. 77 
 
 The captain replied that he had and the 
 Governor continued — 
 
 *'Then be good enough to produce it and 
 hand it to this officer who will muster you in. 
 I am not going to let such a body of men as 
 you are go out of the State if I can helj) it." 
 
 '' Shall I dismount the men, sir?" asked the 
 captain, addressing the cross-looking little man, 
 who arose to his feet and shook himself to- 
 gether as if he w^ere getting ready for business. 
 
 "No," was the surly reply. "We'll drive 
 up in front of the company and I can call the 
 roll while standing in the carriage. It'll not 
 take ten minutes and then you can go on with 
 your drill. I see you need it bad enough." 
 
 Captain Hubbard, who was so angry that he 
 forgot to salute, wheeled his horse and rode 
 back to the company. 
 
 "Orderly," said he, in an undertone. " Get 
 a copy of your muster-roll and give it to that 
 old curmudgeon in the carriage. He's going 
 to try to muster us in but I doubt if he Ivuows 
 enough. I am glad to see him, however, for 
 when he gets through with us, we shall know 
 right where we stand." 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 
 
 " ^ AY," exclaimed Rodney Gray excitedly, 
 k3 as Captain Hubbard took liis place on 
 the right of the company and the orderly 
 galloped off to his tent. "Who is that old 
 party in the Governor's carriage ? " 
 
 "You can't prove it by me," answered the 
 captain. "I never saw him before, but I 
 know he's a mighty cross-grained old chap." 
 "Mav I leave the ranks a minute?" con- 
 
 ft/ 
 
 tinned Rodney. 
 
 " Of course not. What would the Governor 
 think?" 
 
 *' I don't care a picayune what he thinks," 
 replied Rodney, his excitement increasing as 
 the Governor's carriage began to circle around 
 toward the front and center of the company. 
 "If that man in the fatigue cap and duster 
 isn't General Lacey, all the descriptions I have 
 heard of him are very much at fault." 
 
 78 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 79 
 
 ''And do you really believe," began the 
 captain, avIio was profoundly astonished. 
 
 ''I don't believe, I know that he means to 
 muster us into the Confederate service," inter- 
 rupted Rodney. ''Hold on a minute before 
 you do a thing or let a man answer to his 
 name. My father knows him by sight." 
 
 Without again asking permission to leave 
 his place, Rodney put his horse in motion and 
 rode over to the tree under whose friendly 
 shade Mr. Gray was sitting Avhile he watched 
 the drill. 
 
 "Father," said he, speaking rapidly and 
 panting as if he had been running instead of 
 riding, " who is that in the carriage with the 
 Governor? Is it General Lacey ? " . 
 
 Mr. Gray nodded and looked up at his 
 son as if to ask him what he was going to do 
 about it. 
 
 " Well, he has come here to muster us in, 
 and the orderly has gone after the roll-book," 
 continued Rodney. "The general is a Con- 
 federate oiScer, and if we let him muster us 
 in, he will make Confederate soldiers of us, 
 wont he?" 
 
80 RODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 "That's the way it looks from where I sit," 
 answered Mr. Gray. 
 
 *' It's the way it looks from where I sit too, 
 and I just wont have any such trick played 
 uj)on me," said Rodney, hotly. "I know 
 what I want and what I want to do ; and as 
 long as I am a free man, nobody shall make 
 me do anything else." 
 
 ' ' Are you going to back out ? ' ' 
 
 "I am. I'll not answer to my name when it 
 is called. I'll go back and put the other fel- 
 lows on their guard, and then I'll fall out." 
 
 So saying Rodney wheeled his horse and 
 returned to his company, which he found in a 
 state of great excitement. The ranks were 
 kept pretty well aligned (the horses knew 
 enough to look out for that now), but the men 
 were twisting about in their saddles, each one 
 comparing notes with every one else whose 
 ears he could reach. When Rodney rode up 
 they all turned to look at him and listen to his 
 report, regardless of the fact that the little 
 man in the brown ulster was standing up in 
 the Governor's carriage shouting "Atten- 
 tion ! " at the top of his wheezy little voice. 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WOKK. 81 
 
 "Mind what you are doing, boys," said 
 Rodney, as lie rode slowly along the line be- 
 hind the rear rank. " That's General Lacey. 
 Don't answer to your names unless you want 
 to be sworn into the Confederate service." 
 
 "But what shall we do r' inquired one or 
 two of the timid members, who thought they 
 might be obliged to answer whether they 
 wanted to or not. 
 
 " Keep mum and say nothing," replied Rod- 
 ney. " Watch me and do as I do. My name 
 is second on the roll." 
 
 "Are you ever going to come to attention so 
 that I can get through with my business and 
 go back where I belong ? " yelled the general, 
 as soon as he could make himself heard. "A 
 pretty lot of soldiers you are ; but I warn you 
 that you will have to mind better than this 
 when you reach the camp of instruction, to 
 which I shall immediately order you. Atten- 
 tion to roll-call ! George Warren ! " 
 
 " He— er— here ! " replied the orderly, hesi- 
 tatingly. 
 
 The Rangers were amazed, and Captain 
 Hubbard glared at the frightened sergeant as 
 
82 EODNEYj THE PARTISAIN^. 
 
 tliougli lie had half a mind to knock him out 
 of his saddle. The captain had told the man 
 in the most emphatic language not to answer 
 to his name, and yet he had gone and given 
 away his liberty for the next twelve months. 
 It served him right for being so stupid. 
 
 ' ' You blockheads don' t seem to understand 
 what I want and what I am trying to do," 
 shouted the general, wrathfully. " All you 
 who volunteer for the Confederate service 
 answer to your names, and speak up so that I 
 can hear you. I hope that is sufficiently plain. 
 Oeorge Warren ! ' ' 
 
 The Rangers, one and all, drew a long 
 breath of relief and felt like giving a hearty 
 cheer. Their comrade had most unexpectedly 
 been allowed a chance for escape, and he was 
 sharp enough to take advantage of it. He 
 kept his eyes straight to the front and said 
 nothing. The general looked surprised, but 
 as he was in a great hurry he passed on to the 
 next. 
 
 " Rodney Gray ! " 
 
 This time there was no mistaking the 
 answer. The sergeant moved from his place 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 83 
 
 on tlie left of the line, rode to the center of the 
 company, came to a front and saluted. The 
 general opened his lips to tell him that he 
 needn't come to the front and center in order 
 to answer to his name, but the Barrington boy 
 was too quick for him. 
 
 "General," said he, while all the Rangers 
 strained their ears to catch his words. " I am 
 ready at any time to be sworn into the service 
 of my State, but I do not wish to join the Con- 
 federate army. I am a Partisan Ranger." 
 
 "A — a — tohatf^ vociferated the general, 
 now thoroughly aroused. He was a Mexican 
 veteran, a thorough soldier as well as a marti- 
 net, and he had never learned to recognize any 
 organizations outside of the regular service. 
 
 "A Partisan Ranger," repeated Rodney, 
 who was neither embarrassed nor angered by 
 the covert sneer contained in the general's 
 words. 
 
 "A Ranger!" exclaimed the general, rais- 
 ing his hands in the air and turning his eyes 
 toward the clouds. " Shade of the great and 
 good Washington ! what are we coming to 1 
 A partisan ! And are you all partisans ? " 
 
84 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "Yes sir, we are; and until very recently 
 we have been encouraged to believe that we 
 could preserve our independent organization." 
 
 "You were, eh? Then you had better 
 organize yourselves into Home Guards at once 
 and I will go back to JN'ew Orleans. Partisan 
 Rangers ! " said the general, who seemed 
 unable to get the obnoxious words out of his 
 mind. "There's your roll-book. Drive on, 
 coachman." 
 
 The general flung the book on the ground 
 at the feet of Rodney's horse, threw himself 
 back in his seat and the carriage moved 
 rapidly away. The Rangers sat motionless in 
 their saddles until it passed through the gate 
 and disappeared behind the trees in the grove, 
 and then they turned and looked at one 
 another. 
 
 "We know where we stand now at all 
 events," said Captain Hubbard, riding up in 
 front of the line, and throwing his right leg 
 over the horn of his saddle in a position most 
 unbecoming a commanding officer. "My 
 commission will be taken from me, and vou 
 fellows will be reduced to plain, every-day 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 85 
 
 citizens once more. We might as well quit 
 this nonsense now, and I say, let's pack up 
 and go home." 
 
 '' I'll go, but I'll not promise to stay there," 
 said Rodney. 
 
 " Where will you go ? " 
 
 ^' Up to Missouri. I have set my heart on 
 being a partisan, and if my own State wont 
 take me, I have a i^erfect right to offer my 
 valuable services to another. I shall start for 
 Baton Rouge to-morrow, and I and my horse 
 will take passage on the first St. Louis boat 
 that comes along." 
 
 "Hear, hear!" shouted some of the 
 Rangers. 
 
 " Let's go in a body," said one. " We have 
 the assurance that our services will be ac- 
 cepted, that the officers we have elected will 
 be retained, that our plan of organization will 
 not be interfered with, and what more could 
 we ask for? " 
 
 "That wont suit me,'^ another declared. 
 " I don't want to leave my State." 
 
 "How are you going to help yourself? " de- 
 manded Rodney. "If you join the Confed- 
 
8Q EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 erate army you are liable to be ordered up to 
 Virginia or down to Florida. And you know 
 as well as I do what the people around here 
 will think of you if you make up your mind to 
 stay at home." 
 
 "Let's take the sense of the company on 
 it," suggested Lieutenant Percy. 
 
 "All right," answered the captain. "Put 
 the thing in the form of a motion and I will.' ' 
 
 This was quickly done, and to Rodney's 
 great disapj) ointment, though not much to his 
 surprise, the proi3osition w^as defeated by a 
 large majority. The Rangers were opposed to 
 deserting their State in a body and going into 
 another. 
 
 "I'll not stay at home, and that's all there 
 is about it," said one of the Rangers who had 
 voted with the minority. "Does anybody 
 here know what course w^e do w^ant to pursue ? 
 I have my doubts ; and in order to test the 
 matter I move you, Mr. Commander, that we 
 offer ourselves as a company to the Confederate 
 States." 
 
 The motion was received with such a howl 
 of dissent that if there was a second to it the 
 
A scHE:\rE THAT didn't woek. 87 
 
 captain did not hear it. Some of tlie Rangers, 
 to show what they thought of the proposition, 
 backed their horses out of the ranks and rode 
 away. Among them was Rodney, who re- 
 turned to the tree under which his father was 
 sitting. 
 
 " Isn't it rather unusual for a cavalry com- 
 pany to hold a business meeting on horse- 
 back? " inquired the latter, as the boy swung 
 himself from his saddle, " There seems to be 
 a big difference of opinion among the members, 
 and you look as though things hadn't gone 
 to suit you. What have you decided to do ?" 
 
 ''Nothing as a company," replied Rodney. 
 "In fact we are not a company any longer. It 
 is every one for himself now." 
 
 "What do you mean by that? Have you 
 disbanded ? " 
 
 Rodney explained the situation in a few 
 words, adding that he thought he might as 
 well be riding toward home so as to spend all 
 the time he could with his mother, for he was 
 going away bright and early on the following 
 morning. Mr. Gray looked very sober and 
 thoughtful when he heard these words. 
 
88 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ^'I'd rather you would stay at home," 
 said he. 
 
 "And I would much prefer to stay, but I 
 will not go into the service of the Confederacy. 
 This State is an independent Commonwealth 
 now, and is entitled to, and has a right to 
 demand the best service I can give her ; but 
 who cares for the Confederacy ? I think less 
 of it than I did this morning, for one of its 
 officers tried to rope us in without our con- 
 sent." 
 
 That was Rodney's first exjperience with the 
 duplicity and utter lack of fair dealing that 
 characterized all the actions of the Confederate 
 authorities, but it was bv no means the last. 
 We shall speak of this again when we see him 
 coming down the Arkansas Kiver, bound for 
 the Army of the Center, a Confederate soldier 
 in spite of himself. 
 
 Having given his comrades plenty of time to 
 vote uj)on the last proposition submitted to 
 them — that they should offer themselves as a 
 company to the Confederate States — Rodney 
 got upon his horse again and rode back to see 
 if they had determined upon any particular 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 89 
 
 course of action, bnt from all lie could learn 
 the matter was far from being settled. Some • 
 wanted to do one thing and some were in favor 
 of doing another ; but finding at last that they 
 could not agree, they began drawing away by 
 twos and threes, and finally Eodney Gray was 
 left alone with the commissioned ofiicers. 
 
 " I am at my wit's end," declared Captain 
 Hubbard, whose face wore a most dejected 
 look. " We don't want to remain at home, and 
 neither do we desire to put ourselves under the 
 control of such a man as General Lacey : but 
 there's nothing else we can do, unless we go 
 up to Missouri. Were you really in earnest 
 when you said you intended to start off to- 
 morrow ? " he added, addressing himself to 
 Rodney. "Your decision was made on the 
 spur of the moment, wasn't it ? " 
 . " Well, no. I made up my mind some time 
 ago that there was going to be a hitch of some 
 sort in our arrangements, and laid my plans 
 accordingly." 
 
 "How are you going to work it to reach 
 Price's army?" inquired Lieutenant Percy. 
 " Don't you know that there have been rioting 
 
90 RODNEr, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 and bloodshed in St. Louis, and that the 
 Dutchmen have got control of the city ? " 
 
 ' ' Of course ; but that' s all over now. I 
 shall telegraph to Dick Graham's father that I 
 am coming, and trust to luck when I reach St. 
 Louis. Perhaps he can make it convenient to 
 meet me there ; if not, I have a tongue in my 
 head and a good horse to ride, and I have no 
 fears but that I shall get through." 
 
 ^'Well, ni tell you what's a fact," said 
 Lieutenant Odell. " You can go alone for all 
 of me. There's altogether too much danger in 
 the step. You'll never get through the lines 
 without a pass, and how are you going to get 
 it? The first thing you know you will be 
 arrested and shoved into jail." 
 
 " I have thought of that," answered Eod- 
 ney, calmly, ^^but I'll take my chances on it. 
 It's go there or stay home, and I have decided 
 to go. Good-by, if I don't see you again, and 
 if you hear any of the boys say that they 
 would like to go with me, send them up to 
 the house." 
 
 This was said in the most matter of fact way, 
 as if Rodney were going to ride to Baton 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 91 
 
 Rouge one day and come back the next ; but 
 they all knew that the parting was for a longer 
 time than that, and each officer thrust his hand 
 into his pocket to find something that would 
 do for a keepsake. Odell handed over a big 
 jack-knife with the remark that the sergeant 
 might find it useful in cutting bacon or break- 
 ing up his hard-tack, so that he could crumb it 
 into his coffee. Percy gave him a ring which 
 he drew from his own finger, and the captain 
 presented him with a twenty-dollar gold piece. 
 Then they shook hands with him once more 
 and saw him ride away. 
 
 "It's like parting from a younger brother," 
 said the captain, sorrowfully. " I don't see 
 how his father can let him go. But he's got 
 nerve enough to carry him through any scrape 
 he is likely to get into, and besides he is going 
 among friends." 
 
 "But he's got the enemy's lines to pass 
 before he can get among friends, and that's 
 one thing that Avorries me," observed the first 
 lieutenant. "What a determined fellow he 
 is. He ought to make a good soldier." 
 
 "Didn't I tell you that that company of 
 
92 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Rangers would never amount to a row of 
 pins?" exclaimed Tom Randolph, when the 
 members rode straggling into town that after- 
 noon, and reported that their organization had 
 been knocked into a cocked hat by General 
 Lacey's attempt to muster it into the service 
 of the Confederacy. " I knew by the Avay the 
 election went that it would bust up sooner or 
 later, and I am heartily glad of it. Now 
 they've got to go into the army, and if I get 
 the second lieutenant's commission I am work- 
 ing for, perhaps I shall be placed over some of 
 the fellows who voted against me. So Gray is 
 going to Missouri, is he ? Good riddance. 
 He'll have to go in as private, and that will 
 bring him down a peg or two." 
 
 Yes, Rodney calculated to go in as private 
 if he got in at all, but the prospect did not in 
 the least dampen his ardor. Contrary to his 
 expectations his mother did not say one word 
 to turn him from his purpose ; but good 
 Southerner that she was, she heartilv con- 
 demned the circumstances which, according to 
 her way of thinking, made the parting nec- 
 essary. 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDX't WORK. 93 
 
 "I wish the Mayflower had been sunk 
 fathoms deep in the ocean before she ever 
 touched Plymouth Eock," she said to her 
 husband. " The spirit of intolerance those 
 Puritans brought over here with them is what 
 is taking our boy from us now. No punish- 
 ment that I can think of would be too severe 
 for them." 
 
 Rodney lived in hopes that some of the com- 
 pany would ride out to see him during the 
 course of the evening, but midnight came 
 without bringing any of them, and the disap- 
 pointed Barrington boy, giving his mother the 
 last good-night kiss he imprinted upon her lips 
 for more than fifteen long months, w^ent to bed 
 satisfied that he w^as to be left to work out his 
 own destiny, with no Moore ville friend to 
 encourage or advise him. He slept but little, 
 but appeared at the breakfast table as fresh as 
 a daisy and— dressed in citizen's clothing. 
 
 " This is a pill I don't like to swallow," said 
 he, opening his coat and looking down at him- 
 self. " I said I wouldn't take off my gray uni- 
 form until the South had gained her indepen- 
 dence ; but I didn't know at the time that I 
 
94 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 would find it necessary to pass through the 
 enemy's lines. Don't look so sober, mother. 
 I just know I shall come out all right. I'll 
 surely write when I reach St. Louis, and again 
 the very day I find Dick Graham." 
 
 That was not a cheerful breakfast table, 
 although every one tried to make it so. 
 Before the meal was half over the family car- 
 riage, with Rodney's small trunk inside and 
 his horse hitched behind, drew up at the door, 
 and a crowd of weeping servants gathered 
 about the foot of the wide stone steps to bid 
 "young moster" good-by. Eodney saw it all 
 through the window, and when he got ready 
 to start stood not on the order of going, but 
 cut short the parting and went at once. He 
 arose from his chair before he had finished 
 his second cup of cofi'ee, put on his hat 
 and light overcoat and turned toward his 
 mother. 
 
 " Good-by, my dear boy," she said, in tones 
 so firm and cheerful that Rodney was aston- 
 ished. " Whatever fate may have in store for 
 me, I hope I shall never hear that you failed to 
 do your duty as a soldier." 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN't WORK. 95 
 
 There were no tears in her eves — she was 
 past that now — but didn't she suffer ? 
 
 " The mother who conceals her g-rief 
 While to her breast her son she presses, 
 Then breathes a few brave words and brief 
 Kissing- the patriot brow she blesses, 
 With no one but her secret God 
 To know the pain that weighs upon her — 
 Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod 
 Received on Freedom's field of honor ! " 
 
 How many such partings there were all over 
 this fair land of ours, brought about by the 
 ambition of demagogues so few in number that 
 we can count them on our fingers ! 
 
 Rodney's heart was so full that he could not 
 reply to his mother's brave words. JSTow that 
 the test had come he found that he had less 
 fortitude than she had. He s-ave her one kiss, 
 gently disengaged himself from her clinging 
 arms and bolted for the door. 
 
 "De good Lawd bless young moster an' 
 bring him safe back," cried the tearful blacks, 
 when he appeared at the top of the steps. 
 ^'Dem babolitionists aint got no call to come 
 down here an' take him away from us. We- 
 uns never done nuffin' to dem." 
 
96 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN". 
 
 " That's just wliat I say," answered Rodney. 
 '^ And I am going to help lick them for bring- 
 ing on this trouble when we wanted peace. 
 Good-bv, one and all. I' 11 be back as soon as we 
 have run the Yankees out of Missouri, and that 
 will not take more than two or three months." 
 
 Rodney tried to get into the carriage, but the 
 black hands that were extended to him from 
 every side barred his way, and much against 
 his will he was obliged to linger long enough 
 to give each of them a hasty gras]3 and shake. 
 The onlj^ one who stood aloof was the black 
 boy who had been Rodney's playmate when 
 the two wore pinafores, and he leaned against 
 the corner of the house and howled piteously. 
 Rodney felt relieved when the coachman 
 banged the door of the carriage and mounted 
 to his seat and drove off. His only tmveling 
 companion was his father, who intended to 
 remain in Baton Rouge until he had seen the 
 boy start on his way up the river. 
 
 It was dark when they reached the city, and 
 after Rodney's horse and his trappings had 
 been left at a stable (civilian trappings they 
 were too, for Rodney was afraid that a mill- 
 
A SCHEME THAT DIDN'T WORK. 97 
 
 tary saddle and bridle would attract attention 
 and lead to inquiries that he might not care to 
 answer), the coachman drove them to the 
 house of a friend where they were to find 
 entertainment until a St. Louis boat appeared. 
 
 " I am glad you did not go to a hotel," said 
 their host, when he had given them a cordial 
 welcome. *' I heard last night that your entire 
 company was going ujj the river, and that the 
 authorities were thinking strongly of putting 
 the last one of you under arrest." 
 
 Rodney and his father were si)eechless with 
 astonishment. 
 
 " What business would they have to put us 
 in arrest?" exclaimed the former, as soon as 
 he found his tongue. 
 
 ''How did the authorities learn tliat the 
 Rangers had any notion of going up the 
 river?" asked Mr. Gray. 
 
 "I am sure I don't know," answered the 
 host. " But it was currently reported on the 
 street yesterday afternoon that the Mooreville 
 company had mutinied, and that the Baton 
 Rouge Rifles might have to go out there and 
 bring them to a sense of their duty." 
 
98 EODIS^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "Well, if that isn't tlie most outrageous 
 falsehood that was ever circulated about a lot 
 of honest men I wouldn't say so," exclaimed 
 Rodney, who had never in his life been more 
 amazed. "We didn't mutiny. We simjily 
 refused to be sworn into the service of the 
 Confederate States, and that was something 
 we had a right to do. I will tell you how 
 that story got abroad," he added, suddenly. 
 "There's some one in Moorveville who wants 
 to get us into trouble, and I think I know^ who 
 it is." 
 
 At this moment the door w^as softly opened 
 and a darkey put his head into the room to 
 announce : 
 
 "Da's a gentleman in de back pa' lor w^ants 
 to see Moster Eodney." 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN to see me?" repeated 
 Rodney, his surprise and indignation 
 giving xDlace to a feeling of uneasiness. 
 '' Who is he ? What's his name ? " 
 
 *'I dunno, sah," replied the servant. "I 
 never seen him round here afore." 
 
 Wondering who the visitor could be and 
 how he knew where to find him, seeing that 
 he and his father had not been in that house 
 more than half an hour, the Barrington boy 
 arose and followed the servant into the back 
 parlor. Whom he expected to meet when he 
 got there it is hard to tell, but it is certain 
 that he felt greatly relieved when he found 
 that the visitor was a Moore ville boy — a "stu- 
 dent" in the telegraph ofiice. His uneasy 
 feelings vanished at once only to return 
 with redoubled force when Griffin — that was 
 
 99 
 
100 KODXEY, THE PAKTISAX. 
 
 the visitor s name — said in a loud, earnest 
 whisper : 
 
 " Shut the door tight and come np close so 
 that vou can hear everv word I sav. I am 
 liable to oret mvself into the worst kind of a 
 scrai)e by trying to befriend you." 
 
 " The door is all right, and besides there are 
 no eavesdroppers in this house,'' answered 
 Rodney. ** What in the world is the matter, 
 and whv are you likelv to ^et vourself into 
 trouble bv comins: here i *' 
 
 " Have vou heard anvthino: since vou have 
 been in town?" asked Griffin, in reply. ''I 
 don t suppose any one will bother you, seeing 
 that vou are alone, but if vour whole company 
 had tried to go, you might have been stopped. 
 If vou hadn't, it wouldn't have been Ran- 
 dolpli's fault." 
 
 ••There now," thought Rodney. '*! said 
 there was some one in Mooreville who wanted 
 to get us into trouble, and Tom Randolph 
 was the verv fellow who came into mv 
 mind." 
 
 But he said nothing aloud. How did he 
 know that young Randolph was the only 
 
A WARNING. 101 
 
 enemy he had in Moore ville ? He looked hard 
 at Griffin and dropped into the nearest c?iair. 
 
 ^'Randoljjh is down on everybody who 
 voted against him for second lieutenant," con- 
 tinued Griffin, "and he declared when he 
 came home after the election that he would 
 break up that comjjany of Rangers if he could 
 find any way to do it." 
 
 '^ He laid out a pretty big job for himself," 
 said Rodney, when his visitor x^aused. " How 
 did he think he would go to work to accom- 
 plish it T' 
 
 ''Any way and every way. He didn't care 
 so long as he broke it up. You can't imagine 
 how tickled he was when he heard that you 
 had mutinied and refused to be sworn in." 
 
 '* Did Randolph start that ridiculous story 
 about the mutiny?" inquired Rodney. 
 
 '^ I don't know whether he set it going or 
 not, but he helped it along all he could and 
 had a good deal to say about it," answered 
 Griffin. ''Yesterday afternoon I was in the 
 office when he came in and wrote a dispatch to 
 the Governor ; and as I have got so that I can 
 read by sound, I had no trouble in spelling it 
 
102 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 out when Drummond the operator sent it off. 
 I always do that for practice. Between you 
 and me that Drummond is a fellow who ought 
 to be booted out of that position. He's just 
 too mean to be of any use." 
 
 ^'What was in the dispatch?" asked 
 Kodney. 
 
 " It contained the information that the Han- 
 gers had mutinied and were about to leave the 
 State in a bod v." 
 
 "That w^as a lie and Randolph knew it," 
 said Rodney, hotly. "But even if we had 
 decided to leave the State in a body, is there 
 any law to prevent it ? Such a thing was pro- 
 posed, but it was voted down by a big 
 majority, and that is why I am obliged to go 
 alone." 
 
 ' ' And that brings me to what I want to tell 
 you," said the operator. "I didn't pay very 
 much attention to that dispatch, although 
 Drummond said that if you tried to go up the 
 river you ought to be chucked into the cala- 
 boose, the last one of you ; but when Ran- 
 dolph came in again that evening and sent off 
 another dispatch that was all about you^ I 
 
 o 
 
A WARNING. 103 
 
 began to open my ears and think it was time I 
 was giving you a hint." 
 
 " What coukl he have to say about me ? It 
 wasn't I who defeated him for second lieuten- 
 ant." 
 
 "No, but you voted against him, and the 
 company gave you the position you wanted 
 without making any fuss about it, and pre- 
 sented you with a splendid sword, and all 
 those things made Eandolph pretty middling 
 mad, I can tell you." 
 
 " Did he tell the Governor in his second dis- 
 patch that I was getting ready to leave the 
 State, and that he had better be on the look- 
 out to stop me ? " 
 
 '' Eh ? No. He didn't send the second dis- 
 patch to the Governor. He sent it to his 
 father's cotton-factor in St. Louis, who is a 
 Yank so blue that the blue will rub off." 
 
 " The— mischief— he— did ! " exclaimed Rod- 
 ney, who began to feel blue himself even if he 
 didn't look so. ''And what did he have to 
 say to that Yankee about me ? " 
 
 ''He told him to watch the steamboats for 
 a Confederate bearer of dispatches— a young 
 
104 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 fellow, dark complexioned, slight mustaclie, 
 dressed in citizen's clothes and a roan colt for 
 company." 
 
 " It is his intention to have me arrested the 
 minute I get into St. Louis, is it ? " cried Rod- 
 ney, getting upon his feet and moving about 
 the room with long, angr}^ strides. 
 
 "It looked that way to me, and that's why 
 I am here," replied Griffin. 
 
 "I appreciate your friendship, and assure 
 you that I shall always bear it in mind," said 
 Rodney, stopping long enough to give the 
 operator's hand a cordial gripe and shake. 
 
 "That's all right," said the latter. "I 
 haven't forgotten the winter when I was down 
 with the chills and couldn't work, and that 
 mortgage of ours liked to have worried my 
 mother into a sick bed — " 
 
 "That's all right too," Rodney interposed. 
 "I was at school and had nothing whatever to 
 do with it." 
 
 ' ' No, but your father had something to do 
 with it, and it's all in the family. I know it 
 is Randolph's intention to get you into trouble 
 with the Yankees if he can, for I heard him 
 
A WARNING. lOo 
 
 tell Drumraond so. And he couldn't liave 
 taken a better way or a better time to do it," 
 continued Griffin. ' ' If all reports are true, 
 things are in .a bad way in St. Louis. You 
 know there are a good many Dutchmen there, 
 and they are mostly strong for the Union. 
 During one of the riots they fired into their 
 own ranks instead of into the mob, and that 
 made them so wild with rage that they are 
 ready to hang every Confederate they can get 
 their hands on, without judge or jury." 
 
 " A bearer of dispatches," repeated Rodney, 
 once more seating himself in his chair. " And 
 did Drummond send off that telegram when he 
 knew there wasn't a word of truth in it ? " 
 
 '^ Course. Don't I tell you that he's too 
 mean for any use ? He and Randolph are and 
 always have been cronies, and I heard them 
 talking and laughing over the dispatches as 
 though they thought they were going to get a 
 big joke on you." 
 
 "What other thing has Drummond done 
 that' s mean ? ' ' inquired Rodney. 
 
 " Let's talk about something else," replied 
 Griffin, evasively. 
 
106 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 a 
 
 Just as you please," answered the Bar- 
 rington boy. "But I shouldn't think you 
 would take the trouble to come to Baton 
 Rouge and run the risk of losing your position 
 in the telegraph office, unless you are willing 
 to trust me entirely. I asked for information 
 and not out of curiosity. If Drummond 
 attempts any foolishness with you, my father 
 may be able to checkmate him." 
 
 "Well, then," said the operator, with some 
 hesitation. " You musn't betray me. Drum- 
 mond has sent the names of all the Union men 
 in and around Moore ville to the Governor." 
 
 " Why, I didn't suppose there were any 
 Union men there," exclaimed Rodney, who 
 was greatly surprised. 
 
 "Of course you didn't. You wouldn't ex- 
 pect one of them to make himself known to as 
 hot a Confederate as you are known to be, 
 would you? There are plenty of people at 
 home who don't suspect such a thing, but I 
 don't mind telling you of it, for you are 
 not mean enough to persecute a man who dif- 
 fers from you in opinion." 
 
 Rodney thrust both hands deep into his 
 
A WARNING. 107 
 
 pockets, slid farther down in Ms chair, 
 and fastened his eyes on the carpet with- 
 out saying a word. What would his visitor 
 think of him if he knew that he had been 
 mean enough to do just that very thing — that 
 in order to punish his cousin for his Union 
 sentiments and drive him away from the 
 academy, he had written a letter to Budd 
 Goble which came within an ace of bringing 
 Marcy Gray a terrible beating ? The matter 
 came vividly to Rodney's recollection now, 
 and he w^ould have given everything he ever 
 hoped to possess if he could have blotted out 
 that one act. 
 
 '^Yes, there are Union men in Mooreville," 
 continued Griffin, getting upon his feet and 
 buttoning up his coat, '' and Randolph and his 
 friend Drummond are laying their plans to 
 bring sorrow of some sort to them. There was 
 still another telegram which was sent to this 
 place." 
 
 ''Was there anything in it about me?" 
 inquired Rodney. 
 
 "It was all about you. In it Drummond 
 asked the operator here to keep an eye on you 
 
108 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 if lie could conveniently, and send word to 
 Mooreville wlien you went up the river and 
 what boat you went on. Then he will send off 
 another dispatch to that St. Louis Yankee, 
 who will know just when to expect you." 
 
 '' He means to be revenged on me for voting 
 as I did, doesn't he?" mused Rodney. '^I 
 shall not have any dispatches about me, but I 
 don't want to be arrested. It would delay me 
 just that much, and might make it impossible 
 for me to get out of the city." 
 
 "Really I must be going," exclaimed 
 Griffin, '*or my cousin, who thinks I came 
 here on purpose to see him, will have his 
 suspicions aroused. Can you show me the 
 way out ? Remember I musn't be seen by any- 
 body." 
 
 The Barrington boy, who was as well ac- 
 quainted in that house as he was in his 
 father's, led the way to the front door, and 
 after again thanking his visitor for the trouble 
 he had taken and the friendship he had shown 
 in warning him of his danger, he ran down the 
 steps to the sidewalk and looked in both direc- 
 tions. There was no one in sight ; and 
 
A WAENING. 109 
 
 having made sure of it Eodney motioned to 
 G.riffin, who quickly disappeared in the dark- 
 ness. Then Rodney went slowly back into the 
 house and entered the room in which he had 
 left his father. He told him and their host 
 everything, even at the risk of hearing Mr. 
 Gray declare that he should not stir one step 
 toward St. Louis. That was just Avhat the boy 
 thought his father would say, and he was 
 ready for it, having hit upon a plan which he 
 was sure would throw his enemies off the 
 scent. 
 
 Rodney's father was as angry at Randolph 
 and Drummond as he was grateful to young 
 Griffin for the service he had rendered his son, 
 but all he had to say about it was that he 
 would remember them all. And we may 
 anticipate events a little by saying that he 
 kept his word so far as Griffin was concerned. 
 When the Confederate Congress passed that 
 famous conscription law "robbing the cradle 
 and the grave," that is to say, making every 
 able-bodied man in the South between the 
 ages of seventeen and fifty subject to military 
 duty, it did not neglect to provide for the 
 
110 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 exemption of those who were able to pay for 
 it, thus proving the truth of the assertion that 
 the war of the rebellion was a rich man's war 
 and a poor man' s fight. The fact that young 
 Griffin was the sole support of a widowed 
 mother made not the slightest difference to 
 the Confederate enrolling officers, who would 
 have forced him into the army if Rodney's 
 father had not come to his relief. According 
 to the terms of the law there was one exempt 
 on every plantation employing more than fif- 
 teen slaves. Mr. Gray owned four such plan- 
 tations and he gave young Griffin charge of 
 one of them, at the same time handing over 
 the hundred pounds of bacon and beef that 
 Griffin would have been obliged to pay as the 
 price of his exemption. Of course this made 
 Randolph angry, and the burden of his com- 
 plaint was : 
 
 "Griffin is Union and I know it; and old 
 Gray has no business to shield him from the 
 conscription in that fashion. My friend 
 Drummond had to run wdien the Yankees 
 came here, and now he is starving in the Con- 
 federate army ; and is this Griffin any better 
 
A WARNING. Ill 
 
 than Drummond ? My exemption is all right. 
 My father is free by reason of his age, and I 
 must look out for the plantation ; but Griffin 
 ought to be made to fight. I'd give something 
 handsome to know what made those Grays 
 take such a shine to him all of a sudden." 
 
 The knowledge that he was watched, and 
 that the telegraph was to be brought into 
 operation against him, did not keejJ Rodney 
 Gray awake ^\q minutes after his head 
 touched the pillow. He slept soundly, ate a 
 hearty breakfast, and in company with his 
 father took his way to the telegrax)h office and 
 wrote a dispatch, addressing it to Dick Gra- 
 ham's father at St. Louis. Mr. Graham did 
 not live in the city. His home was near 
 Springfield ; but Rodney knew from something 
 Dick said in his letter that his father was 
 sojourning in St. Louis watching the progress 
 of events. His first telegram had reached Mr. 
 Graham all right, and it was likely this one 
 would also. He made a great show of writing- 
 it, and even read it to his father in a tone loud 
 enough for the operator to hear it. 
 
 Will start for St. Louis by first steamer, 
 
 U ( 
 
112 RODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 and shall be glad to have you meet me at the 
 wharf -boat,' " was what he wrote in the dis- 
 patch. "Of course Mr. Graham can easily 
 find out what boats are due in the city, and 
 will know about what time to expect me. 
 How much?" 
 
 The operator, who seemed to take a deeper 
 interest in this dispatch and the sender than 
 operators usually take in such things, named 
 the price and gazed curiously at Rodney as 
 the latter brought out his purse and looked 
 for the money. 
 
 "That's the fellow Drummond wants us to 
 watch," said he to his assistant, when Rodney 
 and his father were out of hearing. "I won- 
 der what's up ? Do you suppose he has been 
 stealing anything? He's got a handful of 
 gold — big pieces, too." 
 
 "So far so good," said Rodney, as he and 
 his father went out upon the street. "Now 
 let that Yankee cotton-factor watch the St. 
 Louis wharf -boats ii he wants to, and see how 
 much he will make by it. I knew I could 
 throw them off the scent." 
 
 " You may not have done it as completely 
 
A WAENING. 113 
 
 as you think," replied Mr. Gray, '^ I shall not 
 draw an easy breath until I hear that you are 
 safe under Mr. Graham' s roof. When you get 
 aboard the steamer be careful what acquaint- 
 ances you make. Take warning by what Grif- 
 fin told you last night and take nobody into 
 your confidence." 
 
 That afternoon their host learned, through 
 business channels, that the steamer Mollie 
 Able w^as in New Orleans loading for St. Louis, 
 and might be expected to arrive at Baton 
 Rouge bright and early on the following morn- 
 ing, provided she was not impressed by the 
 Confederate quarter-master. She came on 
 time, and Kodney afterward learned that he 
 was fortunate in securing passage on her, for 
 she was one of the last boats that went up the 
 river. Navigation was closed soon after she 
 reached St. Louis, and all communication be- 
 ween the North and South was cut off by the 
 Confederate batteries that were erected along 
 the Mississippi. The telegraph lines, which 
 up to this time had been used by both Union 
 men and rebels alike, were seized by the 
 Government ; and if Rodney had been a week 
 
114 KODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 > 
 
 later, he would not liave been able to get tliat 
 dispatch through to St. Louis. But that 
 would not have interfered with his arrange- 
 ments, for he did not now expect to meet 
 Dick's father in St. Louis. He had used the 
 telegram simjDly to deceive Tom Randolph and 
 the Baton Rouge operators. 
 
 Rodney Gray and his father, as well as the 
 roan colt and a goodly supply of hay and 
 grain that had been provided for him, Avere on 
 the levee Avaiting for the Mollie Able Avhen she 
 turned in for the landing, and Rodney did not 
 fail to notice that in the crowd of lookers-on 
 there AA^as one young felloAv who made it a 
 point to keep pretty close to him, although he 
 did not appear to do so intentionally. 
 
 *'It's one of the operators Randolph set to 
 watch me," he Avhispered to his father. "I 
 hope he Avill follow us uj) to the clerk's office 
 and stand around Avithin earshot AA^hile I buy 
 my ticket." 
 
 His Avish Avas gratified, for that AA^as just 
 Avhat the young operator had been sent there 
 for — to find out whether or not Rodney 
 secured passage to St. Louis. When the latter 
 
A WARNING. 115 
 
 had seen his horse and forage disposed of on 
 the main deck he ascended to the office, and 
 there was the spy, standing with his hands 
 behind his back and his gaze directed across 
 the river. He stood close to the rail, but still 
 he could hear every word that passed between 
 Eodney and the clerk ; and when the latter 
 turned away with his ticket in his hand, the 
 spy ran down the stairs and started for his 
 office to tell Drummond the Moorville operator 
 that he had seen Rodney Gray pay his passage 
 to St. Louis. 
 
 " Good-by, my boy," said Mr. Gray, when 
 the steamer's bell rang out the warning that 
 the gang-plank was about to be hauled in. 
 
 " Write to us as often as you can, and re- 
 member your mother's parting words. As 
 often as I hear from you I shall expect to hear 
 that you did your duty. Eem ember too, that 
 you are fighting in a just cause. The North 
 has forced this thing upon us, and we would 
 be the veriest cowards in the world if we did 
 not defend ourselves. Good-by." 
 
 A moment later Rodney Gray was standing 
 alone on the boiler deck, waving his handker- 
 
116 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 chief to Ms father, and the MolUe Abie's bow 
 was swinging rapidly away from the landing. 
 Young as he was the boy had traveled a good 
 deal and was accustomed to being among 
 strangers ; but now he was homesick, and 
 when it was too late he began to wonder at the 
 step he had so hastily taken, and ask himself 
 how he could possibly endure a whole year's 
 separation from his father and mother. 
 
 ^Tve played a fool's part," thought he, 
 bitterly, " and now I am going to reap a fool's 
 reward. Why didn't I stay with the company 
 and share its fortunes, as I said I was going to 
 do, or why didn't father put his foot down and 
 tell me I couldn' t go to Missouri ? Heigh-ho ]_ 
 This is what comes of being patriotic." 
 
 Then Rodney tilted his chair back on its 
 hind legs, x^^^^^^^^ ^^is feet on the top of the 
 railing and fell to wondering what had become 
 of the rest of the boys in his class, and 
 Avhether or not all the Union fellows had been 
 as true to their colors as his cousin Marcy 
 Gray had tried to be. Some of the Barrington 
 students who were strong for the Union were 
 from Missouri, and they did not believe in 
 
A WARNING. 117 
 
 neutrality as Dick Graham did. They be- 
 lieved in keeping the rebellious States in the 
 Union by force of arms if they would not stay 
 in peaceably. Had they joined Lyon's army, 
 and would he and Dick have to meet them on 
 the fielji of battle ? He hoped not, but if he 
 did, he would be careful to follow the advice 
 Ed Billings gave his cousin Marcy and shoot 
 high. 
 
 The journey up the river was an uneventful 
 one. The tables were pretty well filled at 
 meal time, but Rodney coukl not have been 
 more alone if he had been stranded on some 
 sandbar in the middle of the stream. His 
 horse was the only companion he had, and the 
 animal seemed to be as lonely and homesick 
 as his master was. Rodney visited him a 
 dozen times a day to make sure that he did 
 not want for anything, and the colt always 
 rubbed his head against the boy's shoulder 
 and told him by other signs, as plainly as a 
 horse could tell it, that he was glad to see 
 him. There was an utter lack of that socia- 
 bility and unrestrained intercourse among the 
 passengers that Rodney had always noticed 
 
118 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 during his trips up and down the river. Some 
 of them were solitary and alone like himself, 
 while others, having formed themselves into 
 little groups, had nothing to do with the rest 
 of the passengers, but kept entirely on their 
 own side of the boiler deck. Rodney thought 
 they acted as though they were afraid of one 
 another. This state of affairs continued until 
 the MolUe Able reached Memphis, where the 
 Confederates were building a fleet of gunboats, 
 and then a remark made by one of the passen- 
 gers broke down all reserve, and showed some 
 of them, Rodney Gray among the rest, that 
 they had been keeping aloof from their 
 friends. 
 
 ''When these boats are completed," Rod- 
 ney heard the passenger say to one of his com- 
 panions, " you will see fun on this river. The 
 first point of assault will be Cairo, and then 
 we'll go on up and take St. Louis aw^ay from 
 Lyon's Dutchmen. Those Missourians are a 
 pretty set of cowards to let a lot of ignorant 
 foreigners take their city out of their hands." 
 
 Well, they couldn't help it, and besides, 
 the loyal Germans were by no means as igno- 
 
A WARNING. 119 
 
 rant as some of tlie men who fought against 
 them. They were good soldiers and hard to 
 whip ; and it was owing to their patriotism 
 and courage that such fellows as Rodney Gray 
 and Dick Graham did not succeed in their 
 efforts to "run the Yankees out of Missouri." 
 And as for the Confederate gunboats of which 
 such great things were expected, they were, 
 with a single exceiption, destroyed in a fight 
 of less than an hour's duration by the Union 
 fleet under the command of Flag Officer Davis. 
 The Van Dorn alone escaped, and she was 
 never heard of afterward. 
 
 When the Mollie Able resumed her journey 
 Rodney waited and watched for an oppor- 
 tunity to question the outspoken Confederate, 
 for he believed he could trust him. As he 
 had often told himself, he was "going it 
 blind," and a little information from some one 
 who knew how things were going on up the 
 river, might be of the greatest use to him. 
 The opportunity he sought was presented the 
 very next day. While he was feeding his 
 horse the Confederate sauntered along and 
 stopped and looked at the colt with the air 
 
120 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 of a man who knew a good thing when he 
 saw it. 
 
 ''There ought to be some 'go' in that fel- 
 low," said he. 
 
 "I think there is," replied Rodney. "But 
 I have never tried him at his best, and don't 
 expect to unless the Yankees get after me." 
 
 " Well, if you keep on up the river you will 
 go right where the Yankees are," said the 
 gentleman, Avho looked a little surprised. " If 
 you are on our side what are you doing here ? " 
 
 " Pardon me, but I might ask you the same 
 question," answered the boy cautiously. 
 
 " My business is no secret," was the smiling 
 reply. " I am going up into Ohio after my 
 family. I want to get them home while I can. 
 All our highways will be shut up after a 
 while." 
 
 " Do you think there will be any fighting ? " 
 
 " Lots of it, and I have promised to help " ; 
 and as the man said this he put his hand into 
 his pocket and drew out an official envelope. 
 He looked around the deck to make sure that 
 there was no one within earshot, and then pro- 
 duced a printed document which he unfolded 
 
A WARjS^ING. 121 
 
 and liand'ed over for Rodney's inspection. 
 " I knew you were a Southerner the minute I 
 saw you, and have several times been on tho 
 point of speaking to you, for you seemed 
 lonesome and downhearted," he continued, 
 '^But when one is about to beard the lion ir* 
 his den as I am, it behooves him to be careful 
 whom he addresses." 
 
 '' That was the reason I kept to myself," 
 answered Hodney, handing back the paper 
 which proved that his new acquaintance Avas a 
 captain in the Confederate army. "I should 
 think you would be afraid to have that com- 
 mission about you. I left all my soldier 
 things at home." 
 
 *' I reckon I am safe now, but I might not 
 be a week hence," said the captain. ''Who 
 are you any way, if it is a fair question, and 
 where are you going ? " 
 
 E-odney explained in a few hasty words, and 
 was sorry to hear the captain declare, as he 
 shook his finger at him : 
 
 "You are making a great mistake. The 
 place for a young man with a military educa- 
 tion is in the regular army ; not the volunteers, 
 
122 UODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 understand, but the regulars, wlio will be con- 
 tinued in the service after our independence 
 has been acknowledged. I am surprised that 
 your friends didn't point that out to you." 
 
 "I have gone too far along this road to back 
 out now," replied Rodney. "We'll get by 
 Cairo all right, wont we ? " 
 
 "I think so. There have been no restric- 
 tions placed upon travel yet that I have 
 heard of." 
 
 " How about Cape Girardeau 1 " 
 
 "That place is garrisoned. You mustn't 
 think of getting off there. How would you 
 get through the lines without a pass ? " 
 
 " Well, I must get off somew^here along the 
 Missouri shore, for it wouldn't be safe for me 
 to go on to St. Louis." 
 
 " Of course it wouldn't. That Union cotton- 
 factor would have you arrested the minute you 
 put your foot on the levee. I'll tell you what 
 I'll do," said the captain, after thinking a 
 moment. " The first clerk, with whom I have 
 a slight acquaintance, is solid, and I'll make it 
 my business to ask him if we are going to land 
 anywhere on the Missouri side between Cape 
 
A WARNING. 123 
 
 Girardeau and St. Louis. If we are, I'll tip 
 you the wink, and you can be ready to go 
 asliore." 
 
 ''Thank you, sir," said Rodney, gratefully. 
 
 "That young chap has no idea what he is 
 going into," said the captain, after he had 
 told Rodney's story to some of his friends on 
 the boiler deck. ' ' It's neighbor against neigh- 
 bor all through the southern and western parts 
 of Missouri, and for a week or two past there 
 has been the worst kind of a partisan warfare 
 going on. How he is going to get through I 
 don't know, for if he meets an armed man on 
 the way how is he going to tell whether he is 
 Union or Confederate 1 " 
 
 There was but one opinion expressed when 
 the captain finished his story, and that was 
 that Rodney Gray was a foolhardy young 
 fellow. 
 
CHAPTER yi. 
 
 UNDER SUSPICION. 
 
 FROM that time forward Rodney Gray had 
 no reason to complain of being lonely. 
 Captain Howard — that was the name of his 
 new acquaintance — introduced him to more 
 than a dozen gentleman, all of whom were 
 enthusiastic rebels and firm in their belief that 
 if the South did not have a " walk over" she 
 would have the next thing to it, for there was 
 no fight to sjjeak of in the Northern peoj)le. 
 They told Rodney that while they gloried in 
 his pluck, they were afraid he had undertaken 
 more than he could accomplish. 
 
 It may seem strange to some of our readers 
 that these enemies of the government should 
 have the audacity to show their faces among 
 loyal men, and that the authorities should per- 
 mit them to go and come whenever they felt like 
 it, but stranger things than this were being done 
 in the East, and right under the noses of the 
 
 124 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 125 
 
 President and his cabinet. Rebel agents in 
 Washington kept their friends in the South 
 posted in all that was said and done at the 
 capital, and Commander (afterward Admiral) 
 Semraes had made a business trip through the 
 Northern States, purchasing large quantities of 
 percussion caps which ' ' were sent by express 
 without any disguise to Montgomery," making 
 contracts for artillery, powder and other muni- 
 tions of war, as well as for a complete set of 
 machinery for rifling cannon, and had searched 
 the harbor of New York in the hoj^e of finding 
 a steamer or two that might be armed and used 
 for coast defense. None of these people were 
 molested, and that was one thing that led the 
 Southerners to believe that the North would 
 not fight. 
 
 Cairo was reached in due time, but there 
 was little in or around the jDlace to indicate 
 that there was a Avar at hand except the out- 
 lines of a small fort which was being thrown 
 up to command the river and Bird's Point on 
 the Missouri shore. There were a few soldiers 
 strolling about on the levee, and at that time 
 the garrison numbered six hundred and fifty 
 
126 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 men. A few months later there was a much 
 larger force in Cairo, and among the blue 
 coats there was one who was often seen walk- 
 ing along the levee with his hands behind him 
 and his eyes fastened thoughtfully upon the 
 ground. He generally wore an old linen dus- 
 ter, a black slouch hat, and a pair of light 
 blue pants thrust into the tops of heavy boots 
 which were seldom blacked, but often splashed 
 with Cairo mud. But everybody stepped 
 respectfully aside to let him pass, and the 
 spruce young staff officers never failed to 
 salute. It was General Grant. 
 
 Once more the Mollie Able swung out into 
 the stream, and at the end of half an hour 
 rounded the point below the fort and resumed 
 her journey up the Mississippi. Now Rodney 
 Gray began to show signs of excitement. 
 Every turn of the paddle wheels brought him 
 nearer to the place where he must leave the 
 boat, and the new-made friends who had 
 done so much to cheer him up since they 
 found out who and what he was, and set out 
 alone on a journey of nearly two hundred and 
 fifty miles. 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 127 
 
 ''Being a born Southerner jou are accus- 
 tomed to tlie saddle, and the ride itself would 
 be nothing but a pleasure trip ; but there are 
 the people you are likely to meet on the 
 way," said Captain Howard, seating himself 
 by Rodnej^'s side as the 3follle Able rounded 
 the point. "Are you armed ? " 
 The boy replied that he had a revolver. 
 " You may need it," continued the captain. 
 ''You see the pro-slavery men and abolition- 
 ists are scattered all over the State, and I 
 don't believe you can find a town or village in 
 it that is not divided into two hostile camps. 
 That's where I am afraid you are going to 
 have trouble, and you must be all things to all 
 men until you find out who you are talking 
 to. N"ow here are two letters of introduction 
 that one of my friends gave me for you this 
 morning, and they are addressed to parties 
 living near Springfield, one of whom is a 
 Union man and the other a Confederate. You 
 must use them — " 
 
 "Must I ask favors of a Union man and then 
 turn about and fight him ?" exclaimed Rodney. 
 The captain shrugged his shoulders. 
 
]28 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 *'You want to get tlirougb, don't you?" 
 said he. ''All's fair in war times, and if I 
 were in your place, and a reference to this 
 Springfield Union man would take me in 
 safety through a community of Yankee sym- 
 pathizers, I should not hesitate to use his 
 name. If you fall in with some of our own 
 people and they suspect your loyalty, why 
 then you can use the name of the Confederate. 
 It's all right." 
 
 The captain was called away at that mo- 
 ment, and Rodne}^, glancing at the envelopes 
 he held in his hand, was somewhat startled to 
 find that one of them was addressed to Eras- 
 tus Percival. 
 
 "I wonder if that can be Tom Percival's 
 father," said he. " If I thought it was, I 
 wouldn't present this letter to him for all the 
 money there is in Missouri. He would turn 
 me over to the Yankees at once." 
 
 We have had occasion to speak of Tom Per- 
 cival just once, and that was during the sham 
 fight which was started in the lower hall of the 
 Barrington Academy to give Dick Graham a 
 chance to steal the Union flag from the colo- 
 
UNDER SUSPICIOl^. 129 
 
 ners'room. We then referred to the fact that 
 Tom's father had cast his vote against seces- 
 sion with one hand while holding a cocked 
 revolver in the other. Rodney, of course, was 
 not sure that this letter of introduction was 
 addressed to this particular Percival, but still 
 he had no desire to make the gentleman's 
 acquaintance if he could help it. While he 
 was turning the matter over in his mind, the 
 captain of the Mollie Able stepped out of the 
 clerk's office and tapped him on the shoulder. 
 
 ''The very best thing I can do for you," 
 said he, '' is to set you ashore at Cedar Bluff 
 landing." 
 
 Rodney was surprised, but it was clear to 
 him that the captain knew who he was and 
 where he wanted to go. 
 
 " There are only a few ]3eople who live there, 
 and they are principally wood-cutters," con- 
 tinued the skipper. ''But they are true as 
 steel, and you can trust them with your life. 
 I have bought wood of them for years and 
 know them like a book. I will go ashore with 
 you and give you a good send-off. We shall 
 get there about ten o'clock to-night." 
 
130 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 > 
 
 ■ Rodney opened his lips to thank the cap- 
 tain for his kindness, but he was gone. The 
 old steamboat-man sympathized ^Yith the 
 South, and Captain Howard and his friends 
 had found it out, and induced him to do what 
 he could to help Rodney escape the expectant 
 Yankee cotton-factor at St. Louis. The boy 
 laughed aloud when he thought how aston- 
 ished and angry Tom Randolph would be to 
 learn that he had Avasted time and telegrams 
 to no purpose. He passed the rest of the day 
 in company with Captain Howard and his 
 friends, nearly all of whom held some position 
 of trust under the new government, and at 
 nine o'clock, in obedience to a significant Avink 
 and nod from the skipper, he went below and 
 put the saddle and bridle on his horse. Just 
 then the whistle sounded for Cedar Bluff land- 
 ing, and some of the j)assengers came down to 
 bid him good-by and see him safely ashore. 
 
 '^ A boy Avith your ability and pluck ought 
 to make his mark in the service, and I Avish I 
 could keep track of you," said Captain Hoav- 
 ard, giA'ing Rodney's hand a cordial shake. 
 ''But I shall most likely be ordered East, 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 131 
 
 hundreds of miles away from here, and possi- 
 bly I may never hear of you again ; but I shall 
 often think of you. Good-by, and good luck." 
 
 This was the way in which all his new 
 friends took leave of him, and if good wishes 
 were all that were needed to bring him safely 
 through, Rodney would have had no fears of 
 the future. When the Mollie Abie's bow 
 touched the bank and a line had been thrown 
 out, a gang-plank was shoved ashore, and the 
 skiiDper came down from the hurricane deck to 
 give his passenger a " send-off." The blazing 
 torch, which one of the deck-hands had placed 
 in the steamer's bow, threw a flickering light 
 upon half a dozen long-haired, roughly 
 dressed men who had been brought to the 
 bank by the sound of the whistle, and who 
 gazed in surprise when they saw a stout negro 
 coming off with Rodney's trunk on his shoul- 
 der, followed by Rodney himself, who was 
 leading the roan colt. It wasn't often that a 
 passenger was landed in that out-of-the-way 
 place. 
 
 "Set the trunk down anywhere, Sam, and 
 go aboard. A word with you, Jeff," said the 
 
132 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ) 
 
 Mollie Able' s captain, beckoning to tlie tallest 
 and roughest looking man in tlie party. 
 ''Where's Price?" 
 
 "Dunno. Jeff Thompson has just been 
 round behind the Cape pulling up the rail- 
 road, but some of the Yankee critter-fellers 
 went out there and run him off," replied the 
 long-haired Missourian. "Last I lieared of 
 Price he was down about the Arkansaw line." 
 
 (The "Cape" referred to was the town of 
 Cape Girardeau, and the "critter-fellers" 
 were the Union cavalry which at that time gar- 
 risoned the place. The "Arkansaw line " was 
 the southwestern part of Missouri where Price 
 raised his army, which grew in numbers the 
 nearer he marched with it to the Missouri River). 
 
 "That's bad news for my young friend 
 here," said the captain of the Mollie Able. 
 " Springfield is off in that direction, and that's 
 right where he wants to go. He is one of 
 Price's men, and is anxious to find his com- 
 mander. Say, Jeff, you take care of him and 
 see him safely on his Avay, and I'll make it all 
 right with you when I slop for my next load 
 of wood." 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 133 
 
 u 
 
 It's all right now, cap'n," answered Jeif. 
 " He'll be safe as long as he stays here, seeing 
 that he's a friend of your'n, but when he gets 
 back in the country — I diinno ; I dunno." 
 
 The steamboat captain didn't know either, 
 but he couldn't stop to talk about it. He had 
 done the best he could to keep Rodney out of 
 the clutches of that Yankee cotton-factor in 
 St. Louis, and now the boy must look out for 
 himself. He gave the latter's hand a hasty 
 shake, told him to keep a stiff upper lip and 
 give a good account of himself when he met 
 the Lincoln invaders in battle, and shouted to 
 the deck-hands to " let go and haul in." The 
 steamer gave him a i3arting salute from her 
 whistle as she backed out into the river. Cap- 
 tain Howard and his friends on the boiler 
 deck waved their hands to him, and Rodney 
 Avas left alone with the wood-choppers. A 
 Northern boy would not have been at all 
 pleased with the situation, for they were a 
 rough looking set, and probably there was not 
 one among them who did not plume himself 
 upon his skill as a fighter ; but Rodney was not 
 afraid of them, for he had seen such men before. 
 
134 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 J 
 
 *'One of you felfers put that boss under 
 kiver, and stranger, you come with me," said 
 Jeff, raising Rodney's trunk from the ground 
 and placing it upon his shoulder. "It's little 
 we've got to offer you, and you look as 
 though you might be used to good living ; but 
 you're welcome to such as we've got, and 
 we're glad to see you. Now we'd like to have 
 you tell us, if you can, what all this here furse 
 is about," he went on, when he had conducted 
 his guest into a log cabin tlmt stood at the top 
 of the bank, and deposited the trunk beside 
 the open fire-place. " What made them aboli- 
 tionists come down here all of a sudden to 
 take our niggers away from us ? " 
 
 "Because they are envious — jealous of our 
 prosperity," replied Rodney, drawing up a 
 nail keg and seating himself upon it. " They 
 have to work every day and we don' t ; and 
 that's what's the matter with them. They 
 don't care a cent for the negroes. They used 
 to own slaves themselves." 
 
 All the wood-choppers, with the exception 
 of the one avIio had taken it upon himself to 
 "put the boss under kiver," had followed 
 

 UNDER SUSPICION. 135 
 
 • 
 
 Jeff and Rodney into the cabin, and tliey 
 were profoundly astonished by tlie last words 
 that fell from the boy's lips. It was a mat- 
 ter of history that was quite new to them. 
 
 " Where be them slaves now ? " asked Jeff. 
 They were given their freedom." 
 Well, I always knowed them Yankees was 
 f ules, but I don' t for the life of me see what 
 they done that fur." 
 
 ''Oh, it wasn't because they w^ere sorry for 
 the negro," exclaimed Rodney. ''It w^as 
 because they couldn't use him. They would 
 have slaves to-day if they could make a dollar 
 by it. You let the Yanks alone for that. 
 Why, when these troubles began, we didn't 
 have percussion caps enough to fight a battle 
 with, and Captain Senimes went up North and 
 bought a big supply ; and the men of whom 
 he bought them knew what he was going to do 
 with them, and offered to make contracts with 
 him to send him all he wanted and could 
 pay for." 
 
 "What's the reason they couldn't use the 
 niggers up there?" asked one of the wood- 
 choppers. 
 
136 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ''Because their land is mostly mountains 
 and rocks, and they can't work it on as a big a 
 scale as we do," replied Rodney, trying to use 
 language that his ignorant auditors could 
 readily understand. " They gain their living 
 by catching codfish and herring, and by mak- 
 ing things, such as shoes for the niggers, and 
 cloth and axes and machinery and — Oh, every- 
 thing. And the blacks couldn' t do that sort 
 of work so that their owners could make any- 
 thing out of them, and that's the reason they 
 let them go free." 
 
 "And because they can't use the niggers do 
 they say that we-uns musn't use 'em nuther ? " 
 demanded Jeff, angrily. 
 
 "That's it exactly," said Eodney. "They 
 are dogs in the manger. They can't eat the 
 hay themselves and they wont let the critters 
 eat it." 
 
 Although the wood-choppers didn't quite 
 understand this, it was plain enough to the 
 Barrington boy that they were impressed by 
 his words. 
 
 "And what are we-uns going to do about 
 it ^ " inquired Jeff, after a little pause. 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 137 
 
 '' We're going to dissolve partnership witli 
 them— break up the firm and go into business 
 for ourselves," reiDlied Rodney, throwing so 
 much enthusiasm into his words that he suc- 
 ceeded in creating some excitement among the 
 wood-choppers. One, in particular, was so 
 dee]3ly interested that he pulled his nail keg 
 close in front of the speaker ; but whether he 
 was listening to his words, or making a mental 
 calculation of the value of his gold watch 
 chain, Rodney did not think to inquire. 
 
 "And do they say that we- uns mustn't do 
 it ? " Jeif demanded. 
 
 " You've hit it again," was Rodney's reply. 
 " That is just what they do say ; and they say, 
 further, that they wont give us our share of 
 the goods. See how they hung on to that fort 
 in Charleston Harbor until our gallant fellows 
 made them give it up ? That fort belonged to 
 South Carolina ; but when she broke up the 
 firm, by which I mean the Union, the Yanks 
 wouldn' t give it up. Who ever heard of such 
 impudence ?" 
 
 "I never," answered Jeff. "We did lick 
 'em sure enough, didn't we ? " 
 
138 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 a 
 
 Of course we did, and that isn't tlie worst 
 of it. We're going to whip them as often as 
 we get a chance at them. But what am I talk- 
 ing about. The Yankees wont fight." 
 
 ' ' Didn' t they have a sorter rucus up in St. 
 Louis ? " 
 
 *' Those were not Yankees. They were 
 Dutchmen — okl country soldiers, who don't 
 know enough about war to keep them from 
 shooting into their own men. Who's afraid 
 of such soldiers ? ' ' 
 
 ''We're mighty glad you stojDped off here, 
 stranger," said Jeff, at length. "We didn't 
 rightly know what all the furse was about, 
 and there wasn't nobody w^ho could tell us, 
 because the steamboat cap'ns who come here 
 for wood couldn't wait to talk about it. But 
 we know now, and I do think that some on us 
 had oughter have a hand in making them 
 Yankees stay where they b'long. I'd go in a 
 minute if it wasn't fur the ole woman and the 
 young ones." 
 
 " I aint got none of them things to hold me 
 back, and I'll go in your place, Jeff," said one 
 of the wood- cutters. It was the man who had 
 
ii 
 
 UNDER SUSPICIO]^. 139 
 
 drawn his seat close in front of Rodney, and 
 seemed to be so mucli interested in the boy's 
 watch chain. 
 
 "AYill you go with me and join Price?" 
 asked the latter, eagerly. 
 
 ''I reckon I might as well," replied the 
 man. 
 
 Do you know the country ? " 
 Well, no ; I can't say that I do. But I 
 know where to look to find the road that runs 
 from Jackson to Hartsville, forty miles this 
 side of Springfield, and when you get there, 
 mebbe you'll know where you are." 
 
 "No, I won't," answered Rodney. "I 
 have never been in this part of Missouri be- 
 fore. I have been in St. Louis two or three 
 times, but when I got out of sight of the 
 Planters' House I was lost completely." 
 
 " Why, didn't the cap'n of the 3foUie Able 
 tell Jeff that you was one of Price's men? 
 How could you have jined him if you haven't 
 been where he was ? ' ' 
 
 Rodney did not at all like the tone in which 
 this question was asked, and it w^as right on 
 the end of his tongue to tell the wood-cutter 
 
140 RODI^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 tliat it was none of his business ; but on 
 second tliouglit he decided that that Avouldn't 
 do. The man talked and acted as if he sus- 
 pected him of something ; and if the others 
 suspected him too, they might make trouble 
 for him. The steamboat captain did say that 
 he was one of Price's men, and Rodney wished 
 now that he hadn' t done it. 
 
 '' I suppose I could arrange all that by letter 
 or telegraph, couldn't I?" was the answer he 
 made, as he produced his note book and took 
 from it the dispatch he had received from 
 Dick Graham's father, and one of the letters 
 of introduction that had been given to him by 
 Captain Howard. These he passed over to the 
 suspicious wood-cutter, rightly believing that 
 the latter could not read a word of them. 
 ' ' You will see that that telegram reads, ' ' Price 
 will accept," continued Rodney. "I belong 
 to a company of Rangers that was raised down 
 the river, and at my captain's request I tele- 
 graphed to Price inquiring if he would take us 
 and let ns operate on our own hook, and he 
 said he would. Read it for yourself. What 
 are you afraid of ? " 
 
UNDER SUSPICIOTT. 141 
 
 *' Nothing much." 
 
 "You see," explained Jeff, who during this 
 conversation had sat with his elbows resting on 
 his knees and his eyes fastened upon the floor, 
 *' things is getting sorter ticklish down here 
 in this neck of the woods already. Nobody 
 don't know who he can trust." 
 
 "Don't you believe what the Able' s captain 
 said about me?" inquired Rodney, who had 
 little dreamed that he would become an object 
 of suspicion almost as soon as he set his foot 
 on Missouri soil. "He told me you were true 
 blue." 
 
 "And so we are, when we know the feller 
 we're talking to," said the man who was sit- 
 ting in front of him, and whom he afterward 
 heard addressed as Nels. "Now I Avant you 
 to answer me a few questions : where did you 
 board the Mollie Able .^ " 
 
 Rodney, who Avas not at all used to this sort 
 of thing, began to grow red in the face, but 
 fortunately he did not hesitate an instant. 
 I got on at Baton Rouge," he said. 
 Is that place this side of Cairo ? " 
 
 " No ; it is the other side." 
 
 
142 EODl^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 u 
 
 Did you stop at Cairo on your way up ? " 
 The Able was there perhaps half an hour." 
 Then I can see through some of it as plain 
 as daylight," exclaimed IS'els, straightening 
 up on his nail keg and shaking his hand at 
 Jeff. "He was at Cairo long enough to 
 change his clothes, swap hosses and have his 
 whiskers shaved off ; but why he should have 
 the cap'n of the Able set him ashore here at 
 this landing, beats my time. Don' t it your' n ? " 
 There were signs of excitement in the cabin, 
 and Rodney felt the cold chills creeping over 
 him. The wood-cutters were wofully ignorant, 
 * quite as open to reason as so many wooden 
 men would have been, and if they suspected 
 him of trying to play some trick upon them, 
 Rodney could not imagine how he should go 
 to work to set them right. He glanced at 
 their scowling faces and told himself that he 
 would not have been in greater danger if he 
 had been a prisoner in the hands of the 
 Yankees. 
 
 " I should like to know what you mean by 
 this foolishness?" exclaimed Rodney, grow- 
 ing excited in his turn. 
 
UNDER suspicioisr. 143 
 
 *' Mebbe you'll find that there aint no great 
 foolishness about it before we've got through 
 with you," answered Nels ; and Rodney no- 
 ticed that one of the wood-cutters moved his 
 seat so as to get between him and the door. 
 
 ^'I shall know more about that after you 
 have told me who and what you take me for," 
 continued Rodney. "Do you think you ever 
 saw me before ? ' ' 
 
 " Well, as to your face and clothes we might 
 be mistook," re lulled Nels, slowly. " But you 
 had oughter hid that watch chain before you 
 come back amongst we-uns." • 
 
 He reached out to lay hold of the article in 
 question, but the angry boy pushed his hand 
 away. 
 
 ' ' This watch and chain were a birthday 
 present from my mother four years ago," said 
 he, taking the watch from his pocket and 
 unhooking the chain, ''and the fact is recorded 
 on the inside of the case, if you have sense 
 enough to read it, which I begin to doubt. 
 You are at liberty to look at them, but you 
 mustn't try to get out of the door with 
 them." 
 
144 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Nels took the articles in question and looked 
 fixedly at Kodney, as if he did not know 
 whether to smile at him or get angry. He 
 decided on the former course when one of his 
 companions said, in an audible whisper : 
 
 "You sartingly be mistook, Nels. That 
 abolition hoss-thief was a mighty palavering 
 sort of chap, but he didn't have no such grit." 
 
 "Is that what you take me for," exclaimed 
 Kodney, — "a horse-thief and an abolitionist 
 besides ? You certainly are mistaken, for I 
 haven't got that low down in the world yet. 
 Jeff, 3^ou are the only man in the party who 
 seems to have a level head on his shoulders, 
 and I wish you would explain this thing to 
 me. Begin at the beginning so that I may 
 know just how the case stands." 
 
 Before Jeff could reply to the request one of 
 the small army of hunting dogs Avhich found 
 shelter in the wood-cutters' camp set up a 
 yelp, the rest of the pack joined in, and for a 
 minute or two there was a terrific hubbub. 
 When it lulled a little the hail rang oat sharp 
 and clear from some place in the surrounding 
 woods : 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 145 
 
 ''Hallo the house! Don't let your clogs 
 bite ! " 
 
 The words brought all the wood-choppers to 
 their feet and sent all except two of them — 
 Nels and the man who had taken his seat near 
 the door — out into the darkness. These 
 remained behind in obedience to a sign from 
 Jeff, and Rodney knew that they meant to 
 keep an eye on him. 
 
 " Who's out there ? " he inquired. 
 
 "Don't you recognize his voice?" asked 
 Nels in reply. "There's more'n one of 'em, 
 and they are the men who have been hunting 
 for you for a week past." 
 
 I am glad to hear it," said Hodney. 
 
 Perhaps they will be able to clear away 
 some of the ridiculous suspicions you seem to 
 have got into your heads concerning me." 
 
 "Get out, ye whelps," shouted Jeff, when 
 he stepped out of the door ; whereupon the 
 dogs ceased their clamor and slunk away 
 behind the cabin to escape the clubs he threw 
 among them to enforce obedience to his order. 
 " Come on, strangers. They wont pester you." 
 
 Then came a tramping of hoofs, as if a small 
 
 
146 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 body of cavalry was making its way througli 
 the bushes, and a minute afterward Rodney 
 could look through the open door and see half 
 a dozen men dismounting from their horses. 
 He saw Jeff exchange a few hasty w^ords with 
 the tall, black-whiskered man w^ho was the 
 first to touch the ground, and heard the 
 exclamations of surprise which the latter 
 uttered as he listened to them. He could not 
 understand what the man said, but the wood- 
 cutter near the door did, for he called out : 
 
 ''He's come back sure's you live, and Xels 
 has got his w^atch to prove it. He knowed 
 him the minute he seed the chain that's fast 
 to it." 
 
 " Well, if that is the case, whom have we 
 got here?" said the black-Avhiskered man; 
 and this time Rodney heard the words very 
 plainly. " Where is he ? Let me have a look 
 at him." 
 
 Jeff waved his hand toward the door and 
 the man stepjjed in and faced Rodney, w^ho 
 arose to his feet and met his gaze without 
 flinching. One glance brought from him a 
 sigh of relief. He had an intelligent man to 
 
UNDER SUSPICION. 147 
 
 talk to now — one who could be reasoned 
 with. 
 
 "There's the watch that has brought sus- 
 picion upon me in a way I cannot under- 
 stand," said Rodney, nodding toward Nels, 
 who promptly handed it over. "Will you be 
 kind enough to open it and read the inscrip- 
 tion you will find on the inside of the case." 
 
 The man took the watch, and while he was 
 opening it kept his eyes fastened upon Rod- 
 ney's face. He seemed both amused and 
 angry. 
 
 "Jeff," he exclaimed at length. "I never 
 knew before that you were such a blockhead. 
 There is about as much resemblance between 
 this young gentleman and that horse- thief 
 outside as there is between you and me." 
 
 " But, Mr. Westall, just look at the chain," 
 protested Jeff. 
 
 "Well, look at the chain. You're a Jack- 
 son man, I supx)ose?" he added, nodding at 
 Rodney. 
 
 " Every day in the week," replied the boy. 
 "And that's what brought me up herefrom 
 Louisiana. I belong to a company of partis- 
 
148 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 > 
 
 ans ; but our Governor wouldn't take us tlie 
 way we wanted to go, and liere I am. I want 
 to find Price as soon as I can. Kun your eye 
 over that telegram, if you please, and tlien 
 read this letter." 
 
 While, the man, who had been addressed as 
 Mr. Westall, was reading the documents Eod- 
 ney passed over to him, his four companions 
 came into the cabin bringing with them a fifth, 
 at the sight of whom Kodney Gray started as 
 if he had been shot. 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 THE EMERGENCY MEN. 
 
 "/^REAT Scott!" was Rodney Gray's 
 vX mental ejaculation. "That is Tom 
 Percival if I ever saw him." 
 
 If his own father had suddenly been brought 
 into the cabin a prisoner in the hands of 
 armed men, the Barrington boy could not 
 have been more amazed. He winked hard and 
 looked again, but his eyes had not deceived 
 him ; and even if there had been the slightest 
 doubt in his mind regarding the identity of 
 the prisoner who had been denounced as "an 
 abolition horse-thief," it would have vanished 
 when he saw the expression that came upon 
 Tom's face the moment their eyes met. Tom 
 was one of Dick Graham's firm friends, but 
 while a student at the Barrington Academy 
 he had often declared that if Dick ever so far 
 forgot himself as to enlist in the rebel army, 
 he (Tom) would go into the Union service on 
 
 149 
 
150 EODXEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 purpose to whip Mm back into a proper frame 
 of mind ; and his being there a prisoner led 
 Rodney to believe that he had kept his pro- 
 mise, so far as enlisting was concerned. But 
 there was one thing about it : Tom might be a 
 Union soldier, but he was neither an abolition- 
 ist nor a horse-thief. 
 
 "It is Percival, sure enough, but what in 
 the name of sense and Tom Walker is he 
 doing here?" was the next question that 
 came into Rodney's mind. 
 
 His first irajDulse was to seize his old school- 
 mate by the hand, proclaim his friendship for 
 him and assure Mr. Westall and the rest that 
 they had committed the worst kind of a blun- 
 der — that they had made as great a mistake in 
 arresting this boy for a horse-thief, as JSTels 
 and his fellow wood-cutters had made in sus- 
 pecting him of being Tom Percival, simply 
 because he happened to have in his possession 
 a watch chain that somewhat resembled 
 Tom's. But two things restrained him : the 
 first was the reflection that by following this 
 course he would put it entirely out of his 
 power to help Tom if the opportunity was 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 151 
 
 offered, and the second was the way in which 
 Tom himself looked and acted. He didn't 
 appear to know Rodney at all. The expres- 
 sion of joy and surprise that first overspread 
 his countenance vanished as if by magic, and 
 from that time forward he gave as little atten- 
 tion to his old friend as he might have given 
 to an utter stranger. Rodney was quick to take 
 the hint and governed himself accordingly. 
 
 " Percival always did have a level head on 
 his shoulders," said the latter, resuming his 
 seat upon the nail keg and placing himself as 
 far as possible out of reach of Tom's gaze, 
 " and he's got more pluck than any other fel- 
 low I ever saw. He needs it, poor fellow, if 
 Captain Howard told the truth when he said 
 that every little community in the State is 
 divided into two hostile camps. But his 
 father owns slaves, and Tom never stole a 
 horse." 
 
 It so happened that all the inmates of the 
 cabin were too much interested in what Mr. 
 Westall was doing to notice the swift glance 
 of recognition that passed between the two 
 boys when Tom Percival was brought in. 
 
152 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 > 
 
 They were waiting to hear what he had to say 
 regarding the papers Rodney had given him 
 to read. 
 
 ^'I suppose you are acting as a sort of 
 advance agent for your company to see what 
 arrangements you can make with General 
 Price 1 " said Mr. Westall at lengtli. 
 
 ^'No, sir. I am acting on my own hook, 
 and without any regard to the course the com- 
 pany may see fit to take," replied Rodney. 
 *'The members don't want to be sworn into the 
 service of the Confederate States, and the pro- 
 position to leave Louisiana in a body and offer 
 ourselves to Price, was voted down. I do not 
 know what the rest of the boys will do, but I 
 am going to Join the Missouri State militia if 
 they will take me." 
 
 "Oh, they'll take you fast enough," said 
 Mr. Westall, with a laugh. "They have 
 already taken everybody they can get their 
 hands on without stopping to inquire what 
 State he is from. We -^ve are some of Jeff 
 Thompson's Emerg'ency men." 
 
 " I don't think I ever heard of such men," 
 said Rodney doubtfully. 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 153 
 
 ''Probably not. You don't need them 
 down in 'Louisiana, and we may not have 
 much use for them here ; though, to judge 
 from the exploits of this young man Percival, 
 we may be called out oftener than we expected 
 to be." 
 
 Rodney hoped that Mr. Westall would go 
 on to tell what his friend Tom had been guilty 
 of to get himself into such a scrax)e, and what 
 they intended doing with him now that they 
 had got him into their power ; but in this he 
 was disappointed. The man handed back Mr. 
 Graham's telegram with the remark that he 
 had never heard of a person of that name, and 
 then proceeded to read the letter of introduc- 
 tion, which was addressed to a well-known 
 Confederate of the name of Perkins, who 
 lived somewhere in the neighborhood of 
 Springfield. 
 
 ' ' I am acquainted with this man Perkins in 
 a business way," said Mr. Westall, after he 
 had run his eye over the letter, "and know 
 him to be strong for Jeff Davis and the cause 
 of Southern independence. He will treat you 
 as though you were one of the royal blood if 
 
154 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 you can only get to him ; but there's the trou- 
 ble. He lives in the southwestern part of the 
 State, and that's a right smart piece from 
 here." 
 
 " I know it ; but I have a good horse some- 
 where outside," answered Rodney. 
 
 " So I supposed; but you can't depend 
 upon your horse to tell you whether you are 
 talking to a Yankee symx)athizer or an honest 
 Confederate, can you ? The ride wont 
 amount to anything, but you have a tough bit 
 of country to go through. Your short experi- 
 ence right here among friends will serve to 
 show you how very suspicious everybody is. 
 We don't trust our nearest neighbors any 
 more, and so you can imagine what we think 
 of a stranger, especially if he happens to own 
 a watch chain that looks something like one 
 that is worn by a horse-thief," said Mr. Wes- 
 tall, smiling at the boy as he handed his prop- 
 erty back to him. "Now, Jeff, how could 
 you have made such a mistake ? Can't you 
 see that they don't at all resemble each 
 other?" 
 
 " Now that I see them together I can," was 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 155 
 
 Jeff's answer. *' But don't lie look a trifle as 
 that thief might look if his duds was changed 
 and his whiskers took off ? " 
 
 Rodney thought from the first that his old 
 schoolmate did not look just as he did the last 
 time he saw him, and now he knew the reason. 
 To a very slight mustache Tom Percival, since 
 leaving the Barrington Academy, had added a 
 pair of what the students would have called 
 "side-boards;" but they Avere so very scant 
 that they could not by any possibility be 
 looked upon as a disguise. Mr. Westall 
 laughed at the idea. 
 
 " Jeff, you and your friends are too anxious 
 to do something for the cause," said he. " Of 
 course that is better than being lukewarm, but 
 you don't want to be too brash or you may get 
 yourselves into trouble. Can you give us 
 some supper ? But first we want to put this 
 prisoner where he will be safe." 
 
 "Couldn't you postpone that part of the 
 programme until / have had a bite to eat, or 
 do you think there's nobody hungry but 
 yourselves?" asked the iDrisoner, in the most 
 unconcerned manner possible ; and there was 
 
156 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN 
 
 no mistaking his voice. It was Tom Percival's 
 voice. 
 
 "I didn't think about you," answered Mr. 
 Westall. "And perhaps if you had your 
 dues, you would be left to go hungry. But we 
 are not savages, even if we are down on your 
 way of thinking and acting." 
 
 " Better give him a sup of coffee to keep the 
 cold out and then chuck him in the old corn- 
 crib," suggested Jeff. "He can lay down on 
 the shucks, and I will give him a blanket to 
 keep himself warm." 
 
 "Will he be quite safe there?" asked the 
 Emergency man. "No chance to get out, is 
 there ? Or will we have to put a guard over 
 him?" 
 
 " There aint no call for nobody to lose 
 sleep guarding on him," Avas Jeff's confident 
 reply. "There aint no winder to the corn- 
 crib, and the door fastens with a bar outside. 
 Some of the chinking has fell out atween the 
 logs, but he can't crawl through the cracks 
 less'n he can flatten himself out like a flying 
 squirrel. Furthermore, there's the dogs that 
 will be on to him if he gives a loud wink." 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 157 
 
 Kodney listened to every word of this con- 
 versation, and told himself that his friend's 
 chances for escape were very slim indeed. 
 
 " Take a keg and sit down over there," said 
 Mr. Westall, i^ointing to the farthest chim- 
 ney corner and addressing himself to the 
 prisoner, while Nels and one of the other 
 wood-cutters began making prej)arations for 
 supper. ''Now, if you have no objections, 
 Mr. Gray, we should like to hear the rest of 
 your story. You must be set in your ways, or 
 else you never would have come up here 
 simx3ly to carry out your idea of becoming a 
 partisan. You will find x)lenty of them in 
 these parts. Indeed, you will find more of 
 them than anything else." 
 
 It did not take Eodney long to make Mr. 
 Westall and his four com^Danions understand 
 just how matters stood with him, for there 
 was really little to tell. He was careful not to 
 let Ms auditors know that he had acted as 
 drill- sergeant, for Captain Hubbard's, company 
 of Rangers, for if he touched upon that sub- 
 ject, Mr. Westall might ask him where he 
 received his military education ; and if he 
 
158 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 answered that he got it at the Barrington 
 Academy, and Mr. Westall happened to know 
 that his prisoner had been a student at that 
 very school, then what would happen ? The 
 fat would all be in the fire at once, for the 
 Emergency man would very naturally want to 
 know why the two boys had not given each 
 other some sign of recognition when they first 
 met. That would never do ; so Rodney steered 
 clear of these dangerous points, and Tom Per- 
 cival sat in the chimney corner with his elbows 
 on his knees and listened to the story. When 
 it was finished and Mr. Westall and his com- 
 panions had asked him a few leading ques- 
 tions, Rodney ventured to inquire what an 
 Emergency man was. 
 
 ''He is a j)artisan in the truest sense of the 
 word," was Mr. Westall' s answer. "He is a 
 soldier Avho is liable to be called into the 
 ranks in an emergency, and at no other time ; 
 but that does not prevent him from getting a 
 few friends together and going off on an ex- 
 pedition of his own as often as he feels like 
 it." 
 
 "An exjpedition of his own ? " 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 159 
 
 ^'Yes. If the Union men in one connty 
 get to make themselves too promiscuous, and 
 their immediate neighbors haven't the strength 
 or 'the inclination to deal with them them- 
 selves, the Emergency men in the next county 
 can slip in some dark night and run the ob- 
 noxious characters out. See ? " 
 
 " And what does the Emergency man do 
 when his services are not needed?" inquired 
 Rodney, who was profoundly astonished. 
 
 "Why, he can stay quietly at home, if he 
 wants to, and cultivate his little crops while 
 he watches the Union men in the settlement 
 or acts as spy for the troops, if there are any 
 in the vicinity." 
 
 " But suppose the Union men find it out and 
 pop him over from the nearest canebrake ? " 
 said Rodney. 
 
 " He must look out for that, and so conduct 
 himself while he is at home that no one will 
 suspect anything wrong of him," answered 
 Mr. Westall indifferently. " His fate is in his 
 own hands, and if he doesn't know how to take 
 care of himself, he has no business to be an 
 Emergency man. You might call us a reserve 
 
160 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 to the state Guard, and tliat is wliat we really 
 are.'- 
 
 " I think you are really freebooters. That 
 is just the way the European brigands act," 
 were the words that sprang to the boy's lips. 
 
 Although he was as wild a rebel as he ever 
 had been, Rodney had a higher sense of honor 
 than when he wrote that mischievous letter to 
 Bud Goble for the puri30se of getting his 
 cousin Marcy Gray into trouble, and his whole 
 soul revolted at the idea of being such a 
 soldier as Mr. Westall described. If that was 
 the way a partisan was expected to act, Rod- 
 ney wished he had not been so determined to 
 become a partisan. Why didn't he stay in his 
 own State and follow the fortunes of the 
 Mooreville Rangers, as he had promised to do ? 
 Finally he said : 
 
 "Are the State Guards the same as the 
 Home Guards ?" 
 
 "Not much; any more than a good Con- 
 federate is the same as a sneaking Yankee," 
 replied Mr. Westall. ^ ' The Home Guards are 
 known to all honest men as Lyon's Dutchmen. 
 There is hardly a native born citizen among 
 
THE EMEEGENCY MEIS". 161 
 
 them, and yet they have the impudence to tell 
 us Americans what kind of a government we 
 shall have over us." 
 
 "Have you Emergency men had much to 
 do yet?" 
 
 "We haven't done any fighting, if that's 
 what you mean, for there hasn't been any to 
 speak of outside of St. Louis ; but we have been 
 tolerable busy making it hot for the Union 
 men in and around the settlements where we 
 live. How^ever — " 
 
 Here Mr. Westall stopped and nodded in 
 Tom Percival's direction, as if to intimate that 
 he did not care to say more on that subject 
 while the prisoner was within hearing. 
 
 The conversation ran on in this channel dur- 
 ing the half hour or more that JN'els and his 
 helper spent in getting ready the corn-bread 
 and bacon, but Rodney, although he appeared 
 to be listening closely, did not hear much of it, 
 or gain any great store of information regard- 
 ing the course he ought to pursue during his 
 prospective ride from Cedar Bluff landing to 
 the city of Springfield. The thoughts that 
 filled his mind to the exclusion of everything 
 
162 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 else were : What had Tom Percival done to 
 bring upon him the wrath of the Emergency 
 ihen, and how was he going to help him out of 
 the scrape ? For of course he was bound to 
 help him if he could ; that was a settled thing. 
 Tom Percival was Union all through, and Rod- 
 ney had seen the day when he would have 
 been glad to thrash him soundly for the 
 treasonable sentiments he had so often and 
 fearlessly uttered while they were at Barring- 
 ton together ; but that was all past now. 
 Tom was his schoolmate and he was in trouble. 
 That was enough for Rodney Gra}^, who would 
 have fought until he dropped before he would 
 have seen a hair of Tom's head injured. 
 
 ^'Now then, gentlemen, retch out and heliD 
 yourselves," exclaimed IN'els, breaking in upon 
 the boy' s meditations. ' ' We aint got much, 
 but you're as welcome as the flowers in May." 
 
 The invitation was promptly accepted, the 
 single room the cabin contained being so small 
 that the most of the hungry guests could reach 
 the viands that had been placed upon the 
 table without moving their nail kegs an inch. 
 Rodney had eaten one good supper aboard the 
 
THE EMERGENCY ME:N". 163 
 
 Mollie Able, but that did not prevent liim 
 from falling to with the rest. Tom Percival 
 kept his seat in the chimney corner and a 
 well-filled plate was passed over to him, and 
 his cup was replenished as often as he drained 
 it. Whatever else his captors intended to do 
 to him they were not going to starve him. Of 
 course the talk was all about the war, which 
 Mr. Westall declared wasn't coming, and the 
 high-handed action taken by the Washington 
 authorities in sending Captain Stokes across 
 the river from Illinois to seize ten thousand 
 stand of arms that were stored in the St. Louis 
 Arsenal. Of course this was done to keep the 
 weai)ons from falling into the hands of the 
 Confederates, who were already laying their 
 plans to capture them, but Mr. Westall looked 
 upon it as an insult to his State, and grew red 
 in the face when he spoke of it. 
 
 "That was what made the trouble here in 
 Missouri," said he, with great indignation. 
 ' ' Up to that time we were strong for the 
 Union, and took pains to say that the State 
 had no call to sever her connection with it ; 
 but at the same time we recommended, as a 
 
164 EODNET, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 sure means of avoiding civil war, that the 
 Federal troops should be Avithdrawn from all 
 points where they ^vere likely to come into 
 collision with the citizens. How was that 
 recommendation received ? With silent con- . 
 tempt, sir ; with silent contempt, and that is 
 something we will not stand." 
 
 Supper being over Mr. Westall, Nels and 
 Jeff left the cabin to shut Tom Percival up in 
 the corn-crib, the latter carrying upon his arm 
 a tattered blanket which the prisoner was to 
 use '' to keep himself warm." It was with a 
 heavy heart that Kodney saw him go, and as 
 Tom did not once look his way, the latter 
 could not even give him a glance of encourage- 
 ment. When the three men returned at 
 the end of ten minutes Mr. Westall was 
 saying : 
 
 "It's a slimpsy place to shut a prisoner uj) 
 in and I should be afraid to trust it, if it were 
 not for the dogs. He can' t crawl out between 
 the logs, that much is certain ; but the door is 
 almost ready to drop from its hinges, and has 
 a good deal of play back and forth behind the 
 bar. If he had a thin, stout stick he could 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 165 
 
 slip it through the crack, lift the bar and take 
 himself off." 
 
 *'But I tell you again that there aint the 
 first thing in the crib that he can stick 
 through that there crack," exclaimed Jeff, 
 earnestly. '' There aint nothing but corn ever 
 been in there." 
 
 '*I reckon he's safe enough," said Mr. 
 Westall. ' ' At any rate we will take our 
 chances on it and try to get a good night' s 
 sleejp. It might be well for whoever gets up 
 during the night to mend the fire, to step out 
 and take a look at him. IS'ow, Jeff, what 
 about sleeping arrangements ? There are not 
 bunks enough for all of us, and I reckon we'll 
 have to tote this table of yours out doors to 
 make room for us to lie down on the floor, 
 wont we? " 
 
 '' Now that your prisoner is out of hearing, 
 would you have any objection to telling me 
 what he has been doing?" inquired Rodney, 
 as Jeff and N"els pushed back their nail kegs 
 and got up to act upon Mr. Westall' s sugges- 
 tion. 
 
 ^'No objection whatever, and it will not 
 
166 RODNEY, THE PARTISATT. 
 
 take me long to do it," replied the latter. 
 ''He's Union." 
 
 "But he doesn't look like a horse -thief," 
 added Rodney. 
 
 *' Yes, he's Union the worst kind," repeated 
 the Emergency man. "We've been hearing 
 about his father's doings ever since the elec- 
 tion. We don't know him personally for he 
 doesn't live in our county ; but we know of 
 him, and we've been told that he is a danger- 
 ous man. He owns a lot of niggers, but last 
 election he walked up to the polls, as brave as 
 you please, and voted for Abe Lincoln; and 
 there wasn't a man who dared say a word to 
 him or lift a hand to stop him. What do you 
 think of that ? " 
 
 "I admire his courage," replied Kodney, 
 who had heard the story before. 
 
 "So would I, if it had been shown in a 
 good cause," said the Emergency man. " But 
 that's altogether too much cheek for a traitor, 
 and I don't see anything in it to admire. 
 This son of his is more to be feared than the 
 old man, for he has been off somewhere and 
 got a military education ; and the very first 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEN. 167 
 
 thing he did when he came home from school 
 was to get up a comjDany of Home Guards, 
 and send word to Captain Lyon that if he 
 wanted help all he had to do was to say so." 
 
 Mr. Westall proceeded to light his pipe, 
 which he had previously filled, and during the 
 operation he winked at Kodney and nodded 
 as if to ask him what he thought of that. 
 The latter felt a thrill run through every 
 nerve in him. He was glad to know that his 
 old schoolmate was not wanting in courage, 
 even if he did sympathize with the Yankee 
 invaders, and we may add that this feeling 
 was characteristic of the Barrington boys all 
 through the war. If they heard, as they 
 occasionally did, that some schoolfellow in 
 the opposing ranks had done something that 
 was thought to be worthy of praise, they felt 
 an honest pride in it. 
 
 ^^ I said that young Percival sent word to 
 Captain Lyon that he was ready to help him, 
 but that was not strictly correct," continued 
 Mr. Westall, taking a few puffs at his pipe to 
 make sure that it was well lighted. '^ He tooTi 
 word to him iDersonally to be certain he got it. 
 
168 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 riding alone on horseback all tlie way from 
 Springfield to St. Louis. What passed be- 
 tween him and Lyon we don't know yet, for 
 he wont open his mouth ; but we may find 
 means to make him tell all we care to hear. 
 When he got through with his business at St. 
 Louis he didn't go directly home, and that is 
 what got him into this difficulty. He came 
 back by the way of Pilot Knob, where he has a 
 Union uncle living; but that's where I and 
 my friends live, too." 
 
 ''And was it there he stole the horsed" 
 asked Rodney. 
 
 "Well, between you and me and the gate- 
 post, he never stole a horse," replied Mr. 
 Westall slowly, as if he were reluctant to 
 make the admission. 
 
 Rodney Gray crossed his legs, clasped his 
 hands around one knee and settled back on 
 his nail keg with an air that said, almost as 
 plainly as words : 
 
 " I knew it all the time." 
 
 "No, he never stole a horse or anything 
 else that we know of," repeated Mr. Westall. 
 " But he rides a critter that is so near like one 
 
THE EMEKGENCY MEN". 169 
 
 that was stolen from a Confederate by a Union 
 man of the name of Morehouse a few days 
 ago, that you could hardly tell them apart." 
 
 ''And I don't much blame Morehouse for 
 stealing that horse, either," said one of the 
 Emergency men, who had not spoken before. 
 "He had to get out of the country, he couldn't 
 do it without a horse to carry him, and so he 
 took the one that came first to his hand." 
 
 "I don't know as I blame him, either," 
 assented Mr. Westall. " But I do blame him 
 for holding the opinions he does." 
 
 ' ' Well, if another man stole the horse why 
 do you lay it on to Percival?" inquired Kod- 
 ney, who could hardly keep from showing 
 how angry he was. 
 
 ''You see the matter is just this way," 
 replied the Emergency man, as if he scarcely 
 knew how to explain the situation ! "If young 
 Percival had called upon his uncle for a visit, 
 and gone away again without taking so much 
 interest in the affairs of the settlement, we 
 wouldn' t have done any more than to give him 
 warning that he wasn't wanted there ; but 
 when we saw him and his uncle with their 
 
170 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 heads together, and learned from some of our 
 spies that Union men had been caught going 
 to and from old Percival's house at all hours 
 of the day and night, we made wp our minds 
 that there was something wrong about this 
 young fellow ; so we telegraphed to Si^ring- 
 field, and found out that he was an officer in a 
 company of Home Guards who had offered 
 their services to Lyon. Well, you bet we 
 were surprised to find that he was the son of 
 the onl}^ man in his county who dared to vote 
 for Abe Lincoln, and it made us afraid of him, 
 too." 
 
 "A whole settlement afraid of one boy?" 
 exclaimed Rodney. 
 
 "Exactly. We didn't know which way to 
 turn for the Union men are in the majority 
 in our county, as they are all through the 
 northern and eastern parts of Missouri, and 
 we didn't dare do anything openly for fear 
 of being bushwhacked. As good luck would 
 have it we succeeded in scaring Morehouse out 
 of the country about that time, and when he 
 went, he took one of the best horses in the 
 settlement with him. That gave us something 
 
THE EMERGENCY MEi^-. 171 
 
 to work on, and we made it up among our- 
 selves that we would lay the theft on to young 
 Percival, take him out of his bed that night 
 and serve him as the law directs." 
 ' '' Does that mean that you would have hung 
 him ? " asked Rodney, with a shudder. 
 
 *' That's generally the way we do with 
 horse-thieves uj) here," replied Mr. Westall. 
 ** How do you serve them in your part of the 
 country ? " 
 
 '' We put them in jail when they have been 
 proved guilty," answered Kodney. "But you 
 have said, in so many words, that this boy 
 didn't steal the horse — that he was stolen by a 
 man who ran away with him." 
 
 Before replying the Emergency man paused 
 to relight his pipe which he had allowed to go 
 out. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 EODI^EY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 IT seemed to take Mr. Westall a long time 
 to get his pipe going to his satisfaction, 
 and when at last he spoke, it was easy to see 
 that he was angry at Kodney for inquiring so 
 particularly into matters that did not in any 
 way concern him. 
 
 ''It is very strange that you fail to under- 
 stand me after I have taken such pains to go 
 into details," said he, impatiently. "The 
 fact that young Percival didn' t steal the horse 
 doesn't matter. We were bound to get rid of 
 him before he could have time to raise and 
 drill a company of Home Guards in our settle- 
 ment, and the only way w^e could do it was to 
 charge him with some crime that would make 
 everybody. Union and Confederate, mad at 
 him. See ? But somehow he got wind of our 
 plans (that shows how impossible it is to trust 
 anybody these times), and dug out." 
 
 173 
 
EODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 173 
 
 (( 
 
 On his own horse ? " asked Rodney. 
 
 *' Of course. We put after him, taking care 
 to cut him off from the old post-road which he 
 would have to follow to reach Springfield, and 
 making him stay in the river counties among 
 people who would do all in their power to help 
 us catch him. He's a sharp one, and there 
 aint no better critter than the one that has 
 kept him ahead of us for nearly ten days. He 
 has ridden that one horse all the time, while 
 we have had to change now and then. He 
 spent one night with Jeff in this cabin — " 
 
 ''And the way he did pall the wool over 
 our eyes was a caution," Nels interposed. 
 ''Why, if you could a heard him talk you 
 would a thought, as we did, that he had been 
 gunning for Union men and living on 'em ever 
 since the furse began. He let on that he was 
 in a great hurry to get over the river to see 
 about getting some guns for Price's men, and 
 we swallered every word he said." 
 
 " Tom always could tell a slick story," was 
 Rodney's mental comment. 
 
 "He had a watch chain that was adzactly 
 like your'n, and the minute I seen it I said to 
 
174 KODNEY, THE PARTISAK. 
 
 ) 
 
 myself that you was Mm," said Nels in con- 
 clusion. 
 
 " We were close upon his heels," continued 
 Mr. Westall. ''We arrived here the next 
 morning, about four hours after he left, and 
 when we told Jeff and his friends what a neat 
 trick had been played upon them, they became 
 not only angry but very suspicious." 
 
 ''Unreasonably suspicious," added Rodney, 
 in a tone of disgust. " Does Jeff or anybody 
 else suppose for a moment that I would have 
 come back to this camp if I had been in Per- 
 cival's j)lace ? " 
 
 "That was what beat my time and I said 
 so," answered Nels. "I never would have 
 suspicioned you if it hadn't been for that 
 watch chain of your'n, and the story you told 
 about not knowing the country around Si^ring- 
 field. The captain of the Mollie Able said you 
 was one of Price's men, and we took it for 
 granted that you had been riding with him. 
 But I am satisfied now." 
 
 "I am glad to hear it," answered Rodney 
 "But, Mr. Westall, it can't be possible that 
 you will stand by and see this young fellow 
 
EODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 175 
 
 punished, when you know him to be innocent 
 of the crime with which you have charged 
 him?" 
 
 *' ]N'o ; I don't reckon I'll stand by and see it 
 because I have sorter taken a shine to him, 
 even if he is a traitor," answered the Emerg- 
 ency man. ''There'll be enough to attend to 
 the business without any of my helj)." 
 
 ''And he will be hung, I suppose 1 " 
 
 " He'll never stick his meddlesome Union 
 nose into our settlement again, I'll bet you on 
 that," replied Mr. Westall, knocking the ashes 
 from his pipe and showing quite plainly by his 
 manner that he did not care to answer any 
 more questions. " I can't understand why the 
 folks living down Springfield way didn't 
 attend to his case long ago, and save us the 
 trouble." 
 
 So saying the Emergency man arose to 
 his feet and went after his blanket, which 
 had been left outside the door with his saddle, 
 and the movement was taken by the others as 
 a signal that it was time to go to bed. Rod- 
 ney's blankets were in his trunk, but he Avas 
 not ready to take them out just then. He 
 
176 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 } 
 
 followed Mr. Westall out of tlie door, believ- 
 ing that the latter would be sure to visit Tom' s 
 prison before retiring for the night. 
 
 '^ I must find out where that corn-crib is, for 
 I shall want to go to it before morning," said 
 Rodney to himself. "And then there are the 
 dogs, which I should like to have see and scent 
 me before I go prowling around among them. 
 Tom's got to have help this very night or he 
 is just as good as a dead cadet." 
 
 Mr. Westall undid the blanket which was 
 strapped behind his saddle, tossed it into the 
 cabin and then stretched his arms and yawned 
 as if he were very tired and sleepy. 
 
 " I am used to the saddle," said he, as Rod- 
 ney came out of the cabin and approached the 
 place where he was standing, ' ' but I must say 
 that that young fellow has given me a hard 
 pull. He must be made of iron, for he doesn't 
 seem to mind it at all. Let's go .and see how 
 he is getting on. I want to make sure that he 
 is safe before I go to sleep." 
 
 "Don't you think this is a cold-blooded, 
 heartless way to treat a boy who has never 
 done you any harm?" inquired Rodney, 
 
KODi^^EY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 177 
 
 stooping down to caress first one and then 
 another of the hirge pack of dogs which came 
 trooping up the minute the cabin door was 
 opened. "Have you a son about the same 
 age?" 
 
 "That's neither here nor there," replied Mr. 
 AYestall ; and Rodney thought from the nerv- 
 ous, jerky manner in which he faced about 
 and started for the corn- crib, that the words 
 had touched him in a tender spot. " Suppose 
 I have ; what then ? If he so far forgets the 
 training he has received ever since he was old 
 enough to know anything, let him take the 
 consequences." 
 
 "You say that young Percival's father is 
 strong for the Union," continued Rodney. 
 " If that is the case, didn't he train up his son 
 in the way he wanted him to go ? No doubt 
 he is just as honest in his opinions as we are." 
 
 " Honest ! " repeated Mr. Westall, in a tone 
 of contempt. ' ' Can a man honestlj^ hold 
 opinions that make him a traitor to his State ? 
 Percival is on the wrong side, but that is no 
 fault of ours. We can't and wont have 
 traitors in our midst preaching up their doc- 
 
178 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 trines and organizing military coniiDanies. 
 Why, do you know that they have bush- 
 whacked scores of our men all over the State — 
 called them to the door of their homes and 
 shot them down like dogs, or popped them 
 over while they were riding quietly along the 
 road ? You are a partisan, are you ? You 
 don't know the meaning of the word; but if 
 you will go home w^ith me I will teach it to 
 you in less than a week." 
 
 If Rodney had given utterance to his honest 
 sentiments he would have told Mr. Westall, in 
 pretty plain language, that he would face 
 about and go to his own home again before he 
 would be that kind of a partisan. Shaking 
 his fist under a Union boy's nose and fighting 
 him on the parade ground was one thing, and 
 shooting him down in cold blood was another. 
 But he did not have time to make any reply, 
 for just as Mr. Westall ceased si)eaking they 
 reached the corn- crib. 
 
 ''All right in there?" said the Emergency 
 man, laying hold of the door and giving it a 
 shake ; and as he did so, Rodney took note of 
 the fact that it opened as much as an inch and 
 
EODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 179 
 
 a half, so that if the prisoner on the inside 
 had anything with which he could reach 
 through the crack and throw the bar out of its 
 place, he need not stay there a moment longer 
 than he wanted to. ''Will one blanket be 
 enough to keep you warm?" 
 
 '' I don't call this fish-net a blanket," replied 
 Tom's voice. '' I suppose it will have to do, if 
 you are so poor you can't give me anything 
 better. But this is a cold, cheerless place to 
 shove a fellow into without any fire or light." 
 ''It's plenty good enough for a traitor," 
 answered Mr. Westall, with a coarse laugh ; 
 and then he turned about and led the way 
 back to the cabin. 
 
 Two of the Emergency men and all the 
 wood-cutters had come out to "take a look 
 at the weather," and make up their minds 
 whether or not the steamer they heard coming 
 up the river below the bend was going to stop 
 at the landing for fuel, and w^hile Eodney lis- 
 tened to their conversation he walked about 
 with his hands in his pockets, and kicked list- 
 lessly at the chips and sticks that were scat- 
 tered around the log on which Jeff and his 
 
180 RODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 men cut their fire- wood. Finally he picked 
 up one of the sticks and began cutting it with 
 his knife ; and a little later, when he thought 
 no one was observing his movements, he 
 shoved the stick into the sleeve of his coat. 
 This much being done he was ready to make a 
 demonstration in Tom Percival's favor. 
 
 "By the way, Jeff," said he, suddenly. 
 ' ' While you are waiting for that steamer to 
 make up her mind if she wants any wood or 
 not, will you tell me where I can find my 
 horse ? I always make it a point to say good- 
 night to him before I go to bed." 
 
 Resting one hand on the boy's shoulder Jeff 
 pointed with the other, and showed him the 
 building in which the roan colt had been 
 placed under cover. 
 
 "The dogs wont bother me, will they?" 
 asked E-odney. 
 
 "Oh, no. You've been round amongst 'em 
 and they know you." 
 
 Rodney posted off, and Jeff saw him disap- 
 pear through the door of the cabin that had 
 been pointed out to him ; but he was not look- 
 ing that way when Rodney came out a mo- 
 
ROD]^EY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP 181 
 
 ment later, and with noiseless steps and form 
 half bent directed his course toward Tom Per- 
 cival's prison. His face wore a determined 
 look, and his right hand, wdiich was thrust 
 into the pocket of his sack coat, firmly 
 clutched his revolver. He knew that he must 
 succeed in what he was about to attempt or 
 die in his tracks, for if he were detected, he 
 would stand as good a chance of being hanged 
 as Tom himself. But there were no signs of 
 w^avering or hesitation about him. He drew 
 a bee-line for the back of the corn-crib, and 
 began looking for the places Avliere the chink- 
 ing had fallen out. It did not take him many 
 minutes to find one, and then he set about 
 attracting Tom's attention by pulling the stick 
 from his sleeve, and rubbing it back and forth 
 through one of the cracks. The movement 
 was successful. There was a slight rustling 
 among the corn-husks inside the cabin, and a 
 second later the prisoner laid hold of the 
 stick. 
 
 *• All right," whispered Tom. " I was look- 
 ing for you, and I know what this stick is for. 
 Shake." 
 
182 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 The boys tried to bring their hands together, 
 but the opening between the logs was so nar- 
 row that the best they could do was to inter- 
 lock some of their fingers. 
 
 ''Here," w^hispered Rodney, pushing his 
 revolver through the crack butt first. ' ' Take 
 this, you Yankee, and remember that you will 
 surely be hung if you don' t get out of here 
 before daylight." 
 
 "I hope you are not disarming yourself," 
 said Tom. 
 
 "That's all right. This is for Dick Gra- 
 ham's sake and Barrington's ; but look out 
 for me if I catch you outside, for I am one of 
 Price's men." 
 
 Tom said something in reply, but Eodney 
 did not hear what it was, nor did he think it 
 safe to stop long enough to ask the prisoner to 
 repeat the words. He hastened away from 
 the corn-crib, and when Jeff and Mr. Westall 
 next saw him, he was standing in the stable 
 door pushing back his horse which was trying 
 to follow him out. He was doing more. He 
 was striving with all his will-power to subdue 
 the feelings of excitement and exultation that 
 
RODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 183 
 
 surged upon liim when he thought of what he 
 had done, and what the consequences to him 
 would be if anything happened to excite the 
 suspicions of the hot-headed Confederates who 
 had him completely in their power. 
 
 '' If they do anything to me and Tom finds 
 it out, he will make some of them suffer if he 
 ever gets the chance," thought the Barrington 
 boy, as he closed the door of the stable and 
 walked back to the wood pile. ^'But what 
 good will that do me when I am dead and 
 gone ? I declare I begin to feel as Dick Gra- 
 ham did : Dog-gone State Rights anyhow." 
 
 It was with no slight feelings of anxiety 
 that Rodney Gray joined the group of men 
 around the wood yard ; but fortunately there 
 w^as no light in the cabin other than that given 
 out by the blaze in the fire-place, and if his 
 face bore any trace of excitement, as he was 
 certain it did, nobody noticed it. The steamer 
 did not stop at the landing, and when she 
 passed on up the river, the wood-cutters and 
 their guests w^ent into the cabin and closed 
 the door. Then Rodney opened his trunk 
 and brought out his blankets, taking care to 
 
184 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 spread tliem as far from the door as he could, 
 so that when Tom's escape was discovered, no 
 one could reasonably suspect him of having 
 slipped out during the night and set him free. 
 
 "Good-night, everybody," said he cheer- 
 fully, as he laid himself upon his hard couch. 
 "I have made two mistakes — two big mis- 
 takes," he added, as he drew his head under 
 the blankets. " I forgot to warn Tom to look 
 out for the dogs (but being a Southerner he 
 ought to know enough for that without being 
 told), and I ought not to have said so much in 
 his favor to Mr. Westall. Now that I think 
 of it, that was a fearful blunder, and it may 
 be the means of bringing trouble to me. 
 Well, I can't help it. I detest Tom's princi- 
 ples and would be glad to see them thrashed 
 out of him ; but when it comes to hanging him 
 for something he didn't do — that's carrying 
 things just a little too far. There's not a wink 
 of sleep for me this night." 
 
 But, contrary to his expectations, Rodney 
 fell asleep in less than half an hour and slum- 
 bered soundly until he was awakened by one 
 of the Emergency men, who made considerable 
 
KODNEY PKOVES HIS I^RIENDSHIP. 185 
 
 noise in punching up the fire. Mr. Westall 
 was also aroused. Raising himself on his 
 elbow he said, drowsily : 
 
 " That you, Harvey ? Have you been out to 
 look at that friend of ours in the corn-crib ?" 
 
 " I have, and found him all right." 
 
 " Did you simply speak to him, or did you 
 go in where he was ? " 
 
 ''I took a piece of fat wood from this fire 
 and went in where he was," replied Harvey. 
 " He was covered up head and ears, but I saw 
 his boots sticking out from under the 
 blanket." 
 
 ''What time is it?" 
 
 " Two o'clock of a clear, starlight morning, 
 and all's well," answered Harvey ; and this 
 made it plain that if he was not a soldier he 
 was learning to be one, for he knew how to 
 pass the sentry's call. 
 
 " Well ; of all the dunderheads /ever heard 
 of that Tom Percival is the biggest," thought 
 Rodney, who had never in his life been more 
 astounded. " Two o'clock in the morning and 
 he lying fast asleep there in the corn-crib 
 when he ought to be miles away ! If I had 
 
186 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 known lie was going to act like that, I would 
 have seen him happy before I w^ould have 
 risked my neck trying to save his." 
 
 Rodney turned over on the other side with 
 an angry flop and tried to go to sleep again ; 
 but that was quite out of the question. He 
 could do nothing but rail at Tom for his 
 stupidity, and wonder if the latter would have 
 sense enough to hide the revolver before Mr. 
 Westall or some other Emergency man went 
 into his prison in the morning to bring him 
 out. Two other men got up and left the cabin 
 before day-light, and the Barrington boy knew 
 they visited the corn-crib, for he heard their 
 footsteps as they were going and returning ; 
 but as they both brought a few sticks of wood 
 with them and mended the fire without saying 
 a word, Rodney was forced to the conclusion 
 that Tom was still safe in his prison. 
 
 Jeff, who was an early riser, was stirring 
 long before the first signs of coming dawn 
 could be seen through the numerous cracks in 
 the walls of the cabin, and when he got out of 
 his bunk it was a signal to all his men, who 
 were prompt to follow his example. The 
 
 o 
 
EODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 187 
 
 Emergency men and Rodney arose also, for 
 of course it was useless to think of sleeping- 
 longer with so many j)airs of heavy boots 
 pounding the dirt floor on which their 
 blankets were spread. One of the wood-cut- 
 ters set off for the river with a bucket in each 
 hand to bring water for cooking and washing 
 purposes, others went to feed the stock, and 
 Nels, at Mr. Westall's request, went to arouse 
 Tom Percival. 
 
 ^' No doubt he will enjoy the fire after pass- 
 ing the night in that cold corn-crib," said the 
 Emergency man, spreading his hands over the 
 cheerful blaze upon the wide hearth. "But 
 whether or not he will enjoy the society into 
 which he will be thrown before he has another 
 chance to sleep, is a different matter alto- 
 gether." 
 
 "And I think I should enjoy a little exer- 
 cise," chimed in Rodney. "I am not much 
 of a chopper, but perhaps I can get up an 
 apjpetite for breakfast." 
 
 So saying he went out into the wood yard 
 and caught up an axe. His object was not to 
 get uj) an appetite (being in the best of health 
 
188 ROD:t^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 he always had that), but to place himself 
 where he could see his old schoolmate when 
 he was brought out of his prison. He would 
 have given something handsome if he could 
 have had a chance to ask Tom what his object 
 was in staying in that corn-crib after he had 
 been provided with the means of getting out, 
 and a revolver with which to defend himself, 
 but was obliged to content himself with the 
 reflection that he had done all he could, and 
 that if Tom wanted help he would have to 
 look for it somewhere else. 
 
 '* I wonder if he thinks the Union men at 
 Pilot Knob will rescue him when he is brought 
 there 1" thought Eodney, as he swung the 
 axe in the air. "If he is depending upon 
 them, why did he run away from the settle- 
 ment in the first place ? What was the reason 
 
 he-" 
 
 Eodney, who had kept one eye on ISTels, 
 paused with his axe suspended in the air and 
 looked at the corn-crib. He saw the man 
 throAV down the bar and open the door, and 
 heard him when he shouted : 
 
 "Come out of that and pay your lodging. 
 
An Astonishing Discovery. 
 
o 
 
EODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 189 
 
 We can't afford to keep a free hotel when 
 bacon is getting so scarce that we can't even 
 steal it. Out you come." 
 
 Rodney listened but did not hear any 
 answer. Neither did Nels. The latter bent 
 forward, stretched out his neck and seemed to 
 be intently regarding something on the inside 
 of the cabin. Then he straightened up and 
 marched in with a vicious air, as if he Avas re- 
 solved that he would not stand any more fool- 
 ing. He was gone not more than a minute, and 
 then he came back with a jump and a whoop, 
 holding Jeff's tattered blanket in one hand 
 and a pair of well-worn boots in the other. 
 
 ^' Wake snakes ! " yelled Nels, striking up a 
 war-dance and frantically flourishing the cajD- 
 tured articles over his head. "He's skipped, 
 that hoss-thief has ! He's lit out, I tell ye ! " 
 
 Almost at the same moment the wood-cutter 
 who had gone out to attend to the stock ap- 
 peared at the door of the stable and called out 
 to Rodney : 
 
 "Say, you Louisanner fellar, where' s your 
 critter ? " And then he stopped and looked at 
 Nels. " Do you say the prisoner has lit out ? " 
 
190 KODT^EY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 he sliouted. "Then he's done took another 
 hoss to holp him on his way." 
 
 ' ' If he has taken mine he has got the best 
 horse in the State," exclaimed Rodney, drop- 
 ping his axe and starting i^osthaste for the 
 stable. " You might as well give up now, Mr. 
 Westall, for the colt is Copper-bottom stock 
 and can travel for twenty-four hours at a 
 stretch." 
 
 Again Rodney told himself that he had 
 never been more astonished. He was de- 
 lighted, too, to find that his friend had not for- 
 gotten the tricks he had learned at the Bar- 
 rington Military Academy. He had not only 
 arranged a " dummy " in the dark — making so 
 good a job of it, too, that the man Harvey, 
 with the light of a pine knot to aid him, had 
 not been able to discover the cheat — but he 
 had left his boots sticking out from under the 
 blanket and gone off in his stocking feet. But 
 why had betaken Rodney's horse instead of 
 his own? It was all right, of course, for a 
 fair exchange was no robbery, but Rodney 
 would have liked to have had that question 
 answered. 
 
KODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 191 
 
 " It seems tliat Jeff's dogs are not worth the 
 powder it would take to 'blow them up," said 
 he to Mr. Westall, who had followed close at 
 his heels. ''Your man has gone off with my 
 horse, and I don't believe you have a nag in 
 your party that can catch him. Now what's 
 to be done ? ' ' 
 
 ''I was a plumb dunce for placing any de- 
 pendence on those dogs," replied the Emer- 
 gency man, as soon as his surprise and anger 
 would permit him to speak. " I might have 
 known that they would not pay the slightest 
 attention to Percival after they had seen him 
 with us about the camp. Nels, was there any- 
 thing in or around the corn-crib to show how 
 he got out?" 
 
 "Not the first that I could see," answered 
 the wood-cutter. "The bar was in its place, 
 and when I opened the door I was as certain 
 as I could be that I saw him laying there on 
 the shucks with his feet sticking out. When I 
 called and he did'nt say nothing, I thought I 
 would go in and snatch him up off'n them 
 shucks in a way that would learn him not to 
 play 'possum on me ary 'nother time ; but 
 
192 RODIS^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 wlien I snatched I didn' t get nothing but the 
 blanket and empty boots." 
 
 *' Harvey, he must have been gone when you 
 went in there with your light," said Mr. Wes- 
 tall, reproachfully. ''No doubt he threw the 
 bar up with his hand, and his object in closing 
 the door after him was to hide his escape as 
 long as possible. If he went about midnight 
 he has nearly six hours the start of us, on a 
 swift horse and along a road he knows like a 
 book. Let's go home, boys. We've done the 
 best we could, but next time we'll tr^^ and be 
 a little sharper." 
 
 While this conversation was going on Rod- 
 ney had leisure to recover his comx)Osure, and 
 was not a little relieved to see that there were 
 no side-long glances cast toward himself. Mr. 
 Westall seemed to think that he alone was to 
 blame for the j^risoners escape, his four com- 
 panions were quite willing that he should 
 shoulder the responsibility, and no one 
 thought of suspecting Rodney Gray. 
 
 "I am short a good horse by last night's 
 work, and supx)ose I shall have to take Perci- 
 val's to replace him, wont I? " said the latter. 
 
 It's that or go afoot, isn't it ? " 
 
 a 
 
EODXEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 193 
 
 ''I suppose it is," replied the Emergency 
 man. 
 
 " What sort of an animal is he and where is 
 he?" continued Rodney. "I should like to 
 have a look at him." 
 
 " He's out in the yard with the rest of the 
 critters," said Nels. "I thought it best to 
 keep yours in the shed because, being a stran- 
 ger, the others might have fell to kicking him 
 if they had all been turned in together." 
 
 ''You did perfectly right," answered Rod- 
 ney, who thought the man was trying to 
 excuse himself for having put the roan colt 
 where he could be so easily stolen. ''And 
 that's the reason Tom took him," he added, 
 mentally. "If he had gone into the yard 
 after his own nag, the others would have 
 snorted and raised a fuss, and that would have 
 started the dogs and prevented his escape. 
 It's all right, but I would rather have my 
 horse than that one." 
 
 The steed that was pointed out to him as the 
 property of the escaped prisoner was a fine 
 looking animal, and the fact that he had led 
 his pursuers so long a chase, proved that he 
 
194 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 was not only a "goer" but a "stayer" as 
 well ; but for all that Rodney wished his 
 friend Tom had thought it safe to take him 
 and leave the roari colt. 
 
 ~-*'I have very serious objections to riding 
 that horse through the counties back of here," 
 said he at length. "He is too well known ; 
 and how do I know but that somebody will 
 bounce me for a horse-thief ? " 
 
 "That's a most disagreeable fact," said Mr. 
 Westall, reflectively. "We gave a descrip- 
 tion of him to every man and boy we met 
 along the road." 
 
 "That is just what I was afraid of. Can't 
 you give me a trade for him ? " 
 
 "I don't see how we can, for if we should 
 take the horse back to the settlement with us, 
 the folks there would be sure to ask how we 
 came to get him without getting the thief, 
 too ; see? " 
 
 "AVell, could you give me a bill of sale 
 of him ? " asked the boy, after thinking a 
 moment. 
 
 "When I don't own a dollar's worth of 
 interest in himT' exclaimed the Emergency 
 
RODNEY PROVES HIS FRIENDSHIP. 195 
 
 man, opening his eyes. ' ' JS^ot m ucli I couldn't. 
 I tell you, young fellow, a liorse is a mighty 
 ticklish piece of property to have in these 
 parts unless you can prove a clear claim to 
 him." 
 
 '' I want some sort of a paper to show to our 
 friends along the road, don't I?" exclaimed 
 Rodney, who began to think that his chances 
 for seeing Price's army were getting smaller 
 all the time. 
 
 "Oh, that's what you want, is it?" said 
 Mr. Westall. " Well, 111 tell you what we'll 
 do : You ride with us as far as the road where 
 we turn off to go to Pilot Knob, and then I 
 will give you a letter that will help you if you 
 happen to fall in w^ith any of our side ; but 
 you must be careful to know the men before 
 you show the letter to them, for if you should 
 pull it on a Union man, you would get your- 
 self into trouble. JN'ow let's get a bite to eat 
 and start for home. 
 
 This made it evident that the Emergency 
 man had become discouraged with his ill-luck, 
 and did not intend to follow Tom Percival any 
 farther. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE ROAD. 
 
 THE breakfast wliicli Nels and his assistant 
 placed upon the table in due time was 
 eaten almost in silence, for those who sat down 
 to it had so much thinking to do that they 
 had no time for conversation. When Rodney 
 Gray had satisfied his appetite he opened his 
 trunk and took from it a pair of saddle-bags, 
 which he proceeded to fill with a variety of 
 useful articles. His thoughtful mother had 
 packed the trunk as full as it could hold, and 
 Rodney could not take a quarter of the things 
 with him. He knew he couldn't when he 
 started ; but the trunk was necessary to aid 
 him in the game of deception he played upon 
 the Baton Rouge telegraph operators. By 
 taking it aboard the Mollie Able^ together 
 wdth a liberal supply of hay and grain for his 
 horse, he led them to believe that he w^as 
 really going on to St. Louis. After filling the 
 
 196 
 
ON THE ROAD. 197 
 
 saddle-bags, he rolled his blankets into a com- 
 pact bundle so that he could strap them 
 behind him on his horse. 
 
 "I have left a good many things in there 
 that I can't take with me," said he, as he 
 locked the trunk and handed the key to Jeff. 
 "And if I don't come back and claim them 
 within a reasonable time, you are at liberty to 
 take them for your own. How much damage 
 have I done your commissary department 
 since I have been here ? " 
 
 * ' How much damage have you done 
 which?" exclaimed Jeff. 
 
 "How much do you want for the fodder I 
 and my horse and that Yankee's horse have 
 eaten?" repeated Rodney. 
 
 "Oh; why didn't you say so? You and 
 your horse are as welcome as the flowers 
 in May; and as for that thief's critter, I 
 wouldn' t let you pay a cent for him any way. 
 But I'm sorry you aint got your own hoss to 
 ride to Springfield." 
 
 "So ami. Mine is the better horse, and 
 besides I don't at all like the idea of having 
 every man I meet take me for a thief. Have 
 
198 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 you a revolver you would be willing to sell at 
 your own price ? " 
 
 " What kind of a fellow are you, anyhow ?" 
 exclaimed Mr. Westall, who stood by listen- 
 ing. "Do you mean to say that you have 
 come up here, intending to ride through these 
 turbulent settlements, without bringing along 
 something to defend yourself with ?" 
 
 ' ' That is the most dangerous article I have 
 about me," answered Rodney, putting his 
 hand into his pocket and drawing out the big 
 jack-knife Lieutenant Odell had given him the 
 day before he left home. At the same time he 
 wondered wdiat the Emergency man would 
 have said and done if he had been aware that 
 the boy to whom he w^as talking had brought 
 a revolver with him, and that he had given it 
 to Tom Percival to defend himself in case he 
 was attacked. 
 
 " I never heard of a more foolish piece of 
 business," exclaimed Mr. Westall, with an air 
 which said very plainly that he had no pati- 
 ence with such a fellow as Rodney Gray was. 
 " What sort of people did you think you were 
 going to meet, I should like to know. I sup- 
 
ON THE ROAD. 199 
 
 pose you have heard that there are JNJ'orthern 
 sympathizers in this State, and that they are 
 about the meanest folks you will find on top 
 of the earth?" 
 
 "I have heard all about it ; but I supposed 
 that I should find our own people in the major- 
 ity. This is a Southern State, isn't it ? " 
 
 "In some places they are in the majority 
 and in some they are not," replied Mr. Wes- 
 talL "Of course this is a Southern State; 
 but don't you know that those Dutchmen in 
 St. Louis have gone back on Governor Jack- 
 son, and that he and the members of the legis- 
 lature have had to run for their lives ? Why, 
 boy, you may be called upon to defend your- 
 self in less than an hour after we leave you. 
 Got a revolver to spare, Jeff ? ' ' 
 
 "Aint got none of that sort," replied the 
 wood-cutter. "There aint nothing but rifles 
 in the shanty." 
 
 "Then I shall be obliged to let you have one 
 of mine," said the Emergency man, taking a 
 belt down from a peg beside the door, and 
 drawing an ancient Colt from one of the hol- 
 sters. I may be able to replace it some time 
 
200 EODXEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 or otlier ; but whether I am or not, you 
 mustn't think of starting for Springfield with- 
 out a weapon where you can put your hand on 
 it. It is rather large and heavy for your 
 pocket and you have no belt ; so you will 
 have to shove it into your boot leg. That's as 
 handy a j)lace to carry it as any I know of." 
 
 When both parties are willing to trade it 
 does not take them long to come to an under- 
 standing, and in a very short time some of 
 Rodney's gold went into Mr. Westall's pocket, 
 and the revolver into the leg of the boy's boot. 
 In ten minutes more the horses had been 
 brought out of the yard and prepared for the 
 journey, Rodney placing his own saddle and 
 bridle on his neAv steed, and leaving Tom's for 
 Jeff to dispose of in any way he saw proper. 
 
 '' I reckon I'm just that much ahead of the 
 hounds," said the wood-cutter, with a grin. 
 ''Tliat hoss-thief wont never dare to come 
 after his saddle, and mebbe it'll bring me in a 
 few dollars for tobacker. Farewell, and be 
 sure and drop in as often as you come this 
 way. Look out for yourself, you Louisanner 
 feller." 
 
o:n' the road. 201 
 
 The path that ran through the woods to the 
 big road leading from Cape Girardeau to Les- 
 terville, the place where Rodney's companions 
 would take leave of him and turn toward Iron- 
 ton, was all of three miles long, and so narrow 
 that they were obliged to ride in a single 
 file. Mr. Westall remarked, with a careless 
 laugh, that it w^as a good thing for them that 
 the people living in the vicinity w^ere mostly 
 Confederates, for the woods on each side of the 
 path Avere thick, and would afford the nicest 
 kind of cover for a bushwhacking imrtj. 
 
 "I suppose there are plenty of Union i)eople 
 between here and your settlement T' observed 
 Rodney. 
 
 "Lots of 'em ; and they are not only dead 
 shots, but they know every hog path in the 
 woods and are as sneaking and sly as so many 
 Indians. They'll fight, too. We know that 
 to be a fact, for we've got some of them for 
 near neighbors." 
 
 "Then perhaps it is just as well that you 
 have me instead of Percival with you," said 
 Rodney. "If you had taken him a prisoner 
 to Pilot Knob, what assurance have you that 
 
202 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 you would not have been busliwliacked on 
 the way 1 ' ' 
 
 " None whatever ; but we would have been 
 willing to take our chances on it." 
 
 The Emergency man spoke carelessly 
 enough, but Kodney noticed that he had not 
 neglected to make preparations for a fight. 
 The single revolver his belt contained had been 
 transferred to the night holster, and the strap 
 that usually passed over the hammer to keep 
 the weapon in place, had been unbuttoned so 
 that the heavy Colt could be drawn in an in- 
 stant. This made Rodney feel rather uneasy. 
 Perhaps he would not have been so very 
 frightened at the prospect of a fair stand-up 
 fight, but the fear that somebody might cut 
 loose on him or some member of his party with 
 a double-barrel shotgun before any of them 
 knew there was danger near, was more than 
 his nerves could stand. He was glad when 
 they left the woods behind and rode out into 
 the highway ; but it wasn't half an hour before 
 he had occasion to tell himself that when the 
 Emergenc}^ men took leave of him and turned 
 off toward their own settlement, the woods 
 
 o 
 
ON THE ROAD. 203 
 
 would be tlie safest place for him. They were 
 riding along two abreast, Mr. Westall and 
 Rodney leading the way, when, as they came 
 suddenly to a narrow cross-road, they found 
 themselves face to face with a long-haired, un- 
 kempt native mounted on the leanest, hun- 
 griest mule Rodney had ever seen. He rode 
 bare-back, his spine bent almost in the form of 
 a half circle, his body swaying back and forth, 
 and with every step his beast took he pounded 
 its sides with the heels of his boots— not with 
 the object of inducing the mule to quicken 
 its pace, but because the motion had become 
 a habit with him. He was surprised and 
 startled when he found himself so close to the 
 Emergency men, and partly raised the muzzle 
 of the heavy double-barrel shotgun he carried 
 in front of him ; but a second glance seemed to 
 relieve his fears, for he grinned broadly, and 
 waited for the horsemen to come up. 
 
 "Wal, ye got him, didn't ye?" said he; 
 and the words went far to confirm the fear that 
 had haunted Rodney Gray ever since he 
 found that Tom Percival had gone off with 
 the roan colt, leaving his own well-advertised 
 
204 EODNEY, TJIE PARTISAN". 
 
 horse behind him. This ignorant backwoods- 
 man, who didn't look as though he knew 
 enough to go in when it rained, had recognized 
 the horse the moment he i^ut his eyes on him. 
 
 "Oh, this isn't the man at all, Mister — a — I 
 declare I have disremembered your name," 
 exclaimed Mr. Westall. 
 
 ''I don't reckon ye ever knowed it, kase I 
 never seed hide nor hair of none of ye afore 
 this day," replied the native, with another 
 grin. '' But it's Swanson, if it will do ye any 
 good to hear it. I live back here in the bresh 
 about a coui3le of milds." 
 
 " How does it come that you are so prompt 
 to recognize us if you never saw us before ? " 
 inquired Rodney. 
 
 "Oh, I hearn tell that there was some of 
 Jeff Thompson's men riding through the ken- 
 try looking for a hoss-thief, and I knowed the 
 hoss when I seen him. But ye say this aint 
 the thief," ansAvered the native, with an in- 
 quiring glance at Mr. Westall. 
 
 "That was what I said," replied the Emer- 
 gency man. " He is a friend of ours, belongs 
 to Price, and you want to take a good look at 
 
ON THE ROAD. 205 
 
 him and the horse too, so that you will know 
 them again if you happen to meet them any- 
 where on the road." 
 
 And then Mr. Westall went on to tell who 
 Tom Percival was and where he lived, not for- 
 getting to lay a good deal of stress on the 
 statement that he was not only a strong Union 
 man, but a horse-thief as well. This made 
 Rodney angry, but of course he couldn' t help 
 himself. 
 
 " You want to keep a bright lookout for a 
 young fellow in his stocking feet, riding a 
 bareback roan colt," said the Emergency man, 
 in conclusion. ''If you fall in with such a 
 chap, you will make something by bringing 
 him to Pilot Knob settlement and asking for 
 Mr. Westall." 
 
 'Til keep them words in mind," replied the 
 native, urging the mule forward by digging 
 him in the ribs with his boot heels. 
 
 "You'll have to look in the Avoods for 
 him," observed the man Harvey. " It isn't at 
 all likely that he Avill keep the road in day- 
 light when he hasn't a thing to defend himself 
 with." 
 
206 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 
 I aint thinking about that any more'n I 
 am about him having no boots on," said the 
 Missourian, looking back over his shoulder. 
 ' ' There's plenty of mean folks in this kentry 
 that'll give him we' pons and clothes for the 
 asking. If I can't get the drop on to him, I 
 wont say a word to him." 
 
 "This is just what I was afraid of," Rodney 
 remarked, when the man had passed out of 
 hearing. ''Every one who meets me on the 
 road will look upon me with suspicion, and 
 perhaps I had better take to the woods my- 
 self." 
 
 " Don't think of it," answered Mr. Westall, 
 hastily. " You would be sure to lose your 
 way and stand a fine chance of being bush- 
 whacked besides. You will find that the 
 boldest course is the best ; and that's danger- 
 ous enough, goodness knows," he added, in an 
 undertone. 
 
 When the party halted for dinner the scene 
 we have just described was re-enacted. Before 
 any of them had a chance to say a word the 
 planter at w^hose gate they stox)ped began 
 abusing Rodney in the strongest language he 
 
ON THE EOAD. 207 
 
 could command ; and he was such a rapid 
 talker that he succeeded in saying a good 
 many harsh things before Mr. Westall and his 
 companions could stop him. When he was 
 made to understand that he had committed a 
 blunder, and that the boy was as good a Con- 
 federate as he was himself, the planter was 
 profuse in his apologies. 
 
 "Alight," said he, giving Rodney his hand 
 and almost pulling him out of his saddle. 
 " I'm sorry for what I said, but that horse made 
 me suspicion you. I wouldn't ride him 
 through the country for all the money there is 
 in Missoury. You'd best give uj) trying to 
 find Price and jine in with Thompson's men. 
 You wont have to go so far to find 'em." 
 
 Rodney had thought of that, but there was 
 Dick Graham ! He could not give up the hope 
 of finding his old schoolmate and serving out 
 his year with him. 
 
 After the planter had given the Emergency 
 men a good dinner he brought out writing 
 materials, and Mr. Westall proceeded to write 
 the letter he had promised to give Rodney, 
 and which he hoped would be the means of 
 
208 ROD]S^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 taking him safely throiigli to Springfield. He 
 and all Ms friends, the planter included, 
 signed it, and the boy tucked it into his boot 
 leg. 
 
 " You may be sure that I shall not show it 
 to any Union man," said the latter, with a 
 smile. *' It would hang me." 
 
 When they passed through the little settle- 
 ment of Lesterville about three o'clock that 
 afternoon, Rodney and the horse he rode 
 attracted attention on every hand. All the 
 farmers in the country for miles around 
 seemed to have flocked into town to discuss 
 the latest news, and the streets were full of 
 loungers, every one of whom stared at the 
 party and had something to say regarding the 
 boy, who was supposed to be a prisoner. On 
 two or three occasions Mr. Westall thought it 
 prudent to stop and explain the situation ; 
 and every time he did so, the loungers came 
 running from all directions to hear about it. 
 Some of them thought that Tom Percival had 
 played a regular Yankee trick on Rodney in 
 running off with the roan colt and leaving him 
 a stolen horse to ride, and advised him to look 
 
ON THE ROAD. 209 
 
 out for himself. The story tliat Mr. Westall 
 and his friends had circulated about Tom 
 seemed to have made every one his enemy. 
 
 ''I suppose you think every man we have 
 been talking to is a Jackson man, don't 
 you?" said Mr. Westall, when they had left 
 the settlement behind and reached the open 
 country once more. '' Well, they aint. I saw 
 some Union men listening to what we said, 
 and if they see a roan colt and a boy without 
 any boots on, they'll halt them and give them 
 aid and comfort." 
 
 "lam very glad to hear that," said Rod- 
 ney to himself. "Tom needs help, if any one 
 ever did, and I hope he will get it. It's going 
 to be ticklish business steering clear of Union 
 men, is it not?" he said, aloud. 
 
 Mr. Westall thought it was, but still he did 
 not have very mu^h to say about it, for since 
 Kodney was resolved to go on, he did not 
 want to discourage him. As his journey pro- 
 gressed he would learn all about the obstacles 
 and dangers that lay in his course, and when 
 they came, he would have to surmount or get 
 around them the best way he could. A mile 
 
210 PwODNEY, THE PARTISAlSr. 
 
 or so farther on they came to another cross- 
 road, and there Mr. Westall drew rein and 
 held out his hand to Rodney. 
 
 ''Our course lies off that way," said he, 
 "and we must bid you good-by. You've got 
 money and letters, and know as much about 
 the road ahead of you and the people who live 
 on it as we know ourselves. Is there any- 
 thing we can do for you that you think of ? " 
 
 "Not a thing, thank you," replied the boy, 
 as he shook hands with each of the Emerg- 
 ency men. " You have been very kind, and I 
 believe the advice and information you have 
 given me will take me safely through. Good- 
 by ; and whenever you hear that Price has 
 whipiDed the Yankees, you may know that I 
 was there to help him do it." 
 
 "That's the right si)irit, anyway. I like 
 your pluck, and if we see you again, we shall 
 expect to see you wearing an officer's uni- 
 form." 
 
 The Emergency men lifted their hats and 
 galloped off down the cross-road, and Rodney 
 Gray was left alone in a strange country, and 
 with letters on his person that would comj)ro- 
 
ON THE ROAD. 211 
 
 mise him with any party of men into whose 
 company he chanced to fall. There was Tom's 
 horse, too. The animal was bound to bring 
 his rider into trouble of some sort, for of 
 course a descriiDtion of him had been carried 
 through the country for miles in advance. 
 He felt savage toward the innocent beast 
 which was carrying him along in an easy fox- 
 trot, and bitterly hostile toward Tom Percival 
 who had blundered into his way when he Avas 
 least expecting to see him. 
 
 " Why didn't he stay in his own part of the 
 State where he belonged?" thought Rodney, 
 spitefully. "I hope to goodness the Yan- 
 kees — but after all it was my own fault, for 
 didn't I hand him that stick and give him the 
 only revolver I had ? And he couldn't have 
 got his own horse out of that yard without 
 arousing the dogs. It's all right, and I wont 
 quarrel with Tom Percival." 
 
 To Rodney's great relief he did not meet a 
 man that afternoon (no doubt the farmers had 
 all gone into town to talk politics with their 
 neighbors), but there were plenty of Avomen- 
 folks in the houses along the road, and they 
 
212 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 had their full share of curiosity. They 
 flocked to the doors and windows and looked 
 closely at him as he passed, and Rodney knew 
 w^ell enough that the men would hear all about 
 him Avhen they came home at night. 
 
 When darkness came on Rodney Gray 
 began to realize the heli^lessness of his posi- 
 tion. It was time he was looking for a place 
 to stay all night, but what should he say to 
 the farmer to whom he applied for suj^per and 
 lodging ? If he told the truth and declared 
 himself to be a Confederate, and the farmer 
 chanced to belong to the opposite side, or if 
 he tried to pass himself oif for a Unionist and 
 the farmer proved to be a red-hot Jackson 
 man : 
 
 "Ay, there's the rub," thought Rodney, 
 looking down at the ground in deep per- 
 plexity. " There' s where the difficulty comes 
 in, and I don't know how to decide it." 
 
 He was not called upon to decide the matter 
 that night, for while these thoughts were pass- 
 ing through his mind, a voice a short distance 
 in advance of him began shouting : - 
 
 "Pig-g-e-e! pig-g-i-i ! pig-g-o-o ! " And a 
 
ON THE ROAD. 213 
 
 chorus of squeals and grunts, followed by a 
 rush in the bushes at the side of the road, told 
 him that the call had been heard, and that the 
 farmer's hogs were making haste to get their 
 sui)per of corn. Before Rodney could make 
 up his mind whether to stop or keep on, his 
 horse brought him from behind the bushes 
 which had covered his approach, and the boy 
 found himself within less than twenty feet of 
 a man in his shirt-sleeves, who stopped his 
 shouting and stood with an ear of corn up- 
 lifted in his hand. 
 
 ^' Evening," said Rodney, who saw that it 
 was useless to retreat. 
 
 'Til be dog-gone ! " said the man, throwing 
 the ear of corn with unerring aim at the head 
 of the nearest porker and beckoning to Rod- 
 ney with both hands. '' Come out of the road. 
 Come up behind the bresh and be quick about 
 it." 
 
 Rodney obeyed, lost in wonder ; but as he 
 rode across the shallow ditch that ran between 
 the road and the fence behind which the far- 
 mer stood, he did not neglect to give his right 
 leg a shake to loosen his revolver, which dur- 
 
214 RODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. . 
 
 ing his long ride had worked its way down 
 into his boot. Of course the farmer had made 
 a mistake of some kind, and Rodney was 
 rather anxious to learn what he would do 
 when he found it out. 
 
 ''I have been a-hoj)ing that you would come 
 along and sorter looking for it," continued the 
 man, as Rodney drew up beside the fence. 
 "But I didn't dast to look for such a streak 
 of luck as this. He's waiting for you." 
 
 ''He? Who?" asked Rodney; and then 
 he caught his breath and wondered if he had 
 done wrong in speaking before the man had 
 opportunity to explain his meaning. 
 
 " Tain' t worth while for you to play off on 
 me," replied the farmer, leading the way 
 along the fence and motioning to Rodney to 
 follow. " I know the whole story from begin- 
 ning to end, but I can't take you where he is 
 to night. You'll have to stop with me till 
 morning, but you and the critter' 11 have to be 
 hid in the bresh, kase Thompson's men aint 
 gone away yet." 
 
 Here w^as one point settled, and it wasn't 
 settled to the boy's satisfaction, either. The 
 
ON THE ROAD. 215 
 
 man on the other side of the fence, who now 
 stopped and let down a pair of bars so that he 
 conld ride through into the barnyard, was a 
 Union man ; and, to make matters worse he 
 took Rodney for the same. But what was that 
 story he had heard from beginning to end, and 
 who was it that was waiting for him ? Rodney 
 dared not speak for fear of saying something 
 he ought not to say, and so he held his peace. 
 When he had followed his guide through the 
 yard and into a small building that looked as 
 though it might have been fitted up for a cow- 
 stable, the latter continued, speaking now in 
 his natural tone of voice as if he were no 
 longer in fear of being overheard : 
 
 " He was looking for me all the time, and I 
 knowed it the minute I set eyes on to him." 
 
 "Friend of yours?" said the boy, at a 
 venture. 
 
 "In a sartin way he are a friend, but I never 
 see him till this afternoon. I know his uncle 
 up to Pilot Knob, and when I see him riding 
 by the house and looking at it as though he'd 
 like to say something if he wasn't afraid, I 
 told him to 'light, and asked him wasn't he 
 
216 EODNEF, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 looking for Merrick. That's me, you know. 
 He said he was, and you might have knocked 
 me down with a straw when he told me he was 
 kin to okl Justus Percival^ Why don't you 
 'light?" 
 
 The farmer might have knocked Kodney 
 down with a straw too, if he had had one 
 handy, for the boy was very much surprised. 
 He got off his horse somehow and managed to 
 inquire : 
 
 " What did he tell you about me that made 
 you know me as quick as you saw me ? " 
 
 ''He told me everything about you — how 
 you had run awa}^ from Louisianner kase your 
 folks was all dead set agin the Union, and 
 come up to Missoury thinking to get amongst 
 people of your own way of thinking, and run 
 plum into a nest of traitors before you 
 knowed it." 
 
 " That was at Cedar Bluff landing, was it ? " 
 said Rodney. 
 
 "That's the place. And then he told me 
 how you played off on them wood- cutters till 
 you made 'em think you was hot agin the 
 Union, same as they was, and so they give you 
 
ON THE llOAD. 217 
 
 a chance to holp him outen that corn-crib and 
 shove him a revolver to take care of himself 
 with." 
 
 ''And how did he repay my kindness?" 
 said Rodney. " By taking my colt and leav- 
 ing me a stolen horse to ride." 
 
 ''This critter wasn't stolen no more'n your'n 
 was," replied the farmer, in tones so earnest 
 that Rodney began to fear he had stepped 
 upon dangerous ground. "That was a lie 
 that man Westall and amongst 'em got up to 
 drive him outen his uncle's settlement. This 
 is his lioss and he's got your'n." 
 
 " Where is he now ? " 
 
 Instead of answering the farmer gave Rod- 
 ney's arm a severe gripe and shake, and then 
 seized the horse by the nose. A second later 
 they heard a body of men riding along the 
 road in front of the cow-stable. 
 
 " Don't give a load wink," said the farmer, 
 in a thrilling whisper. "Them's some of 
 Thompson's critter-fellers." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 COMPARING NOTES. 
 
 RODNEY GRAY held his breath and 
 listened, and then he stepped close to 
 the side of the stable and looked through a 
 crack between the logs. It was almost dark 
 by this time, but still there was light enough 
 for him to count the men w^ho were riding by, 
 and he made out that there were an even dozen 
 of them. They knew enough to move two 
 abreast but not enough to carry their guns, 
 which were held over their shoulders at all 
 angles, and pointed in almost every direction. 
 
 "Are they guerrillas?" he asked, at 
 length. 
 
 '' Ger — which?" whispered the farmer. 
 *' Them's Thompson's men, and I don't like to 
 see 'em pointing t'wards the swamp the w^ay 
 they be." 
 
 " What's down there ? " inquired Rodney. 
 
 'JJWhy, lie^ s down there," replied Merrick, 
 
 218 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 219 
 
 in a surprised tone. "Tom Percival, I 
 mean." 
 
 " Anybody with him ? " continued Rodney. 
 
 " Half a dozen or so Union men, who had to 
 clear out or be hung by Thompson's men," 
 replied the farmer. " If you knowed just how 
 things stand here in Missoury, and how sot 
 every man is agin his nearest neighbor, I don't 
 reckon you'd ever tried to ride to Spring- 
 field." 
 
 "I am quite sure I wouldn't," answered 
 Rodney. " How do Thompson's men happen 
 to know that Percival is hiding down there in 
 the swamp ?" 
 
 "I reckon Swanson must a told 'em; and 
 he's the meanest man that w^as ever let live, as 
 you would say if you could have one look at 
 his face." 
 
 "I met him to-day Avhile I was riding in 
 company with Mr. Westall and his friends," 
 replied Rodney. "They made him believe I 
 was a good rebel, and told him to look out for 
 a boy in his stocking feet who was mounted on 
 a roan colt." 
 
 "And that's just what he done. I reckon 
 
-220 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 he must a ketclied a glimpse of Percival just 
 before I fetched him into the house, for I had 
 barely time to hide the roan colt and get the 
 boy into the kitchen before I seen Swanson 
 riding by. He didn't once look toward the 
 house but that didn't fool me, and I lost no 
 time in taking Percival into the swamp where 
 them Union friends of mine is hid. Swanson 
 went right on past, leaving word at all the 
 houses of the 'Mergency men that there was a 
 Yankee horse-thief loose in the kentry, and 
 they've went out to ketch him. They know 
 ■where he is, and think to surround him and 
 the rest of the Union fellers and take 'em in in 
 a lump ; but they'll get fooled. There's some 
 sharp men in that party, and they wont allow 
 themselves to be surrounded." 
 
 The farmer did not tell this story in a con- 
 nected w^ay as he would if there had been no 
 danger near. He kept moving from one side 
 of the stable to another, listening and peeping 
 at all the cracks, and talked only when he 
 stopped to take the horse by the nose to pre- 
 vent him from calling to those that were jDass- 
 ing along the road ; but he said enough to 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 221 
 
 make Rodney very uneasy. Tom Percival 
 had done him a great favor by telling Merrick 
 Avho he was, describing him and his horse so 
 minutely that the man knew tliem the instant 
 he saw them, and Rodney was very grateful to 
 him for it ; but that sort of thing must not on 
 any account be repeated. It must be stopped 
 then and there if there was any way in which 
 it could be done. It would never do to let 
 Tom keep ahead of him, spreading a descrip- 
 tion of himself and his horse among the farm- 
 ers who lived along the old post-road, for he 
 might, without knowing it, take a Confederate 
 into his confidence ; and suppose Rodney 
 should afterward fall in wdth that same Con- 
 federate and show him the letter addressed to 
 Mr. Percival, and which was intended for the 
 eyes of Union men only ? The Confedej^ate 
 would at once accuse him of sailing under 
 false colors, and trying to pass himself off for 
 one of Price's soldiers when he was in reality 
 a Lincolnite. The boy shivered when he 
 thought of the consequences of such a mis- 
 take. 
 
 "I'll tell you what's a fact," he said, to 
 
222 RODNEY, THE PARTISAIS". 
 
 himself, stamping about the stable with rather 
 more noise than he ought to have made, seeing 
 that the guerrillas had barely had time to get 
 out of hearing. ' ' The farther I go toward 
 S]3ringfie]d, the deeper I seem to get into 
 trouble. I must either find Tom and ride the 
 rest of the way with him, or else I must get 
 ahead of him. If I don't do one or the other 
 he will put me into a scrax3e that I can't work 
 out of." 
 
 " Now you stay here and I will go out and 
 snoop around a bit," said Merrick, when the 
 sound of the hoof-beats could be no longer 
 heard. " What I am afraid of is that they 
 will leave some of their men to watch the 
 house." 
 
 "Do your neighbors know that you are a 
 Union man ?" asked Rodney, as he stepped up 
 and took the horse by the bits. 
 
 "They know I'm neutral, and that's just 
 about as bad as though they knew I was 
 Union," was the reply. "They aint done 
 nothing to me yet but I know I'm watched, 
 and so I have to mind what I am about. If 
 the men who just went by knew how I feel, I 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 223 
 
 woaldn't dast to lift a hand to help you. 
 They'd have me hung to one of my shade trees 
 before morning." 
 
 As Merrick spoke he glided out into the 
 darkness, and Rodney Avas left alone to think 
 over the situation ; but Merrick had not been 
 gone more than live minutes when the horse 
 indicated by his actions that there was some 
 one approaching the stable. Presently a twig 
 snapi^ed, a hand was passed along the wall 
 outside and a figure appeared in the doorway. 
 It wasn't tall enough for Merrick, and besides 
 it had a coat on. Believing that it was one of 
 Thompson's men who had been left behind to 
 watch the house, Rodney drew his revolver 
 from his boot leg and cocked it as he raised it 
 to a level with his eyes and covered the 
 figure's head. 
 
 "Don't shoot, Merrick," said the intruder, 
 who had probably heard the click of the ham- 
 mer. "What's the good of helping a fellow 
 one hour if you are going to shoot him the 
 next?" 
 
 "Tom Percival 1 " exclaimed Rodney, in 
 guarded tones. 
 
224 EODNEY, THE PARTISAIST. 
 
 In an instant the figure sprang into the 
 stable and seized Rodney in his arms. 
 
 "Did anybody ever hear of such luck?" 
 said Tom, who was the first to recover his 
 power of speech. '^ Where are you going and 
 what business have you got up here in my 
 State, you red-hot rebel ? " 
 
 " I never expected to be on such terms with 
 a Yankee horse-thief," answered Rodney, 
 letting down the hammer of his revolver and 
 putting the weapon back in its iDlace. 
 
 "I knew just how much faith you would 
 put in that outrageous story," said Tom. "It 
 was got up against me on purpose to induce 
 the planters in my uncle's settlement to run 
 me out." 
 
 "To hang you, you mean," corrected Rod- 
 ney. "That's what they would have done 
 with you before to-morrow morning." 
 
 " If it hadn't been for you," added Tom ; and 
 he did not talk like a boy who had so narrowly 
 escaped with his life. " I heard your story 
 down there in Jeff's cabin, and knew that 
 you kept your promise and enlisted within 
 twenty-four hours after joii reached home. 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 225 
 
 And I know, too, that yonr company didn't 
 want to join the Confederate army or leave tlie 
 State. What did they want to do then? 
 They're a pretty lot of soldiers. Well, it's a 
 good thing for them that they stayed at home, 
 for you rebels are going to get such a licking — " 
 
 "Have you licked Dick Graham back into 
 a proper frame of mind yet ? ' ' interrupted 
 Rodney. 
 
 , ^'No. Haven't had the chance. He helped 
 raise the first company of partisans that left 
 the southwestern part of the State to join 
 Price, and I have scarcely heard of him since. 
 I had a lively time dodging Price's men when I 
 went UX3 to St. Louis to offer the services of my 
 company to Lyon, and when I heard you tell 
 Westall that you were going to undertake the 
 same kind of a journey, I felt sorry for you. 
 I am overjoj-ed to see and have a chance to 
 speak to you, Rodney, but I don't know 
 whether we ought to stick together or not. 
 Of course Merrick took you for a Union man," 
 added Tom, in a suppressed whisper. 
 
 " Certainly. I didn't have much to say to 
 him until I found out who he thought I was. 
 
226 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Did you go it blind when you addressed him 
 as a Union man ?" 
 
 *' Oh, no. I Ivnow the name of every man it 
 will do to trust for twenty miles ahead," 
 replied Tom. " But I've got his name in my 
 head. I haven't a scrap of writing about me, 
 and I am sorry to know that you have. Take 
 my advice and stick everything in the shajDe 
 of a letter you have in your pockets into the 
 lire the first good chance you get." 
 
 "I have been thinking about that all the 
 afternoon. What if I should fall in with a 
 party strong enough to search me? I've got 
 a letter addressed to Erastus Percival." 
 
 ''Where in the world did you get it?" 
 demanded Tom, who was greatly astonished. 
 ''Man alive, he's my father." 
 
 " So I supposed. It was given to me by 
 Captain Howard whose acquaintance I made 
 aboard the Mollie Able, and he got it from a 
 friend of his." 
 
 "My limited knowledge of the English 
 language will not permit me to do this subject 
 justice," declared Tom. He looked around 
 for something to sit down on, and then leaned 
 
COMPARING NOTES, 227 
 
 against the wall for support. '' My father has 
 heard of you and would have helped you at 
 the risk of his life. He wouldn't go back on a 
 Barrington boy any more than I would ; but 
 if you should be searched by rebels anywhere 
 between here and Springfield, that letter would 
 hang you. Burn it before you take the road 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "If your father is so well known, I don't 
 see why his neighbors haven't hung him before 
 this time," said Rodney. 
 
 "It's safer to try the bushwhacking game, 
 and he has been shot at three times already. 
 He doesn't expect to live to see the end of 
 these troubles, but he is like your cousin 
 Marcy Gray — he doesn't haul in his shingle 
 one inch. Burn that letter, I tell you." 
 
 " I didn't intend to present it unless I 
 had to," replied Rodney. "Now, then, what 
 brought you here ? I thought you were hid- 
 den in the swamp along with some other 
 refugees." 
 
 " So I was ; but I came back on purpose to 
 see if Merrick had heard anything from you. 
 I was on my way to the house when I thought 
 
228 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 I would stop and look in here. I was hidden 
 in the bushes when tliose Emergency men rode 
 down the road. Of course they are going to 
 the swamp, and I don't know whether I can 
 get back there to-night or not. I wonder how 
 they got on to my track so quick." 
 
 Rodney said that Merrick thought it was 
 through old man Swanson. Tom replied that 
 he had never heard of such a man, and Rod- 
 ney went on to tell of his accidental meeting 
 with him at the cross-roads, adding : 
 
 '' Mr. Westall told him that I and my horse 
 were all right, and not to be interfered with, 
 and that he would make something by keej)- 
 ing a bright lookout for a boy without any 
 boots on, and a roan colt. One of the party 
 also told him that you were unarmed, but 
 Swanson didn't take much stock in that. He 
 declared that there were plenty of people in 
 the country who would be mean enough to 
 give you clothes and weapons for the asking, 
 and I reckon he was about right. I gave you 
 a revolver and I see some one else has fur- 
 nished you with a pair of boots. Now, didn't 
 you know, when you ran off with my horse, 
 
COMPARING IS^OTES. 229 
 
 leaving yours for me to ride, that every man 
 I met would take me for you ? ' ' 
 
 " That's a fact," replied Tom, "but I never 
 thought of it before. But I couldn't get my 
 horse out of the yard without scaring the 
 others, and so I had to do the best I could. 
 ISTow that I think of it, perhaps we had better 
 let the trade stand a little while longer." 
 
 *'0h, do you ? " exclaimed Rodney. " You 
 have good cheek I must say." 
 
 ''It isn't cheek at all, but a desire to keep 
 you out of trouble as long as I can," answered 
 Tom. 
 
 "Making me ride a horse that has been 
 advertised all through the country as stolen 
 property is a good way to keep me out of 
 trouble, isn't it now?" said Rodney. "I 
 never should have thought of it if you hadn't 
 mentioned it." 
 
 "Hold on a bit," replied Tom. " ISTo one 
 in this section is looking for you now. You 
 can take the road and keep it, and the horse 
 you ride will not bring you into trouble ; but 
 if that roan colt shows his nose where any- 
 body can see it, he'll be nabbed quicker n a 
 
230 KODNEY, THE PARTISAi:^. 
 
 flash, and his rider too. See ? As I am a lit- 
 tle more experienced in dodging about in the 
 bushes than you are, you had better let me 
 take the risk." 
 
 " I never could look a white man in the face 
 again if I should do that," answered Eodney. 
 '' Don't you know what will be done with you 
 if you are caught ? " 
 
 '^ I shan't run anymore risk than you did 
 when you helped me get out of that corn- 
 crib," said Tom, reaching for his schoolmate's 
 hand in the dark and giving it a hearty squeeze. 
 " Don't you know what would be done to you 
 if you were caught with that roan colt in your 
 possession % You w^ould be taken back to Mr. 
 WestalPs settlement, and when he saw that 
 you were riding the same horse you rode when 
 you came to Cedar Bluff landing, wouldn't he 
 want to know where you got him ? Can j^ou 
 think of any answers you could give that 
 would satisfy him ? I'll trade revolvers, if 
 you want yours back (I know you've got one, 
 for I heard you cock it when I came to the 
 door), but I really think you had better let me 
 keep your horse a little while longer. I hear 
 
co:mparing notes. 231 
 
 somebody coming," he added, stepping to the 
 nearest crack and looking out. "It's Mer- 
 rick. I can see his white shirt." 
 
 A moment later the owner of the stable 
 came in. and was not a little surprised when 
 he heard himself addressed by the boy whom 
 he supposed to be snugly hidden in the deep- 
 est and darkest nook of the swamp. Tom 
 told him why he had come back instead of 
 keeping out of sight, and asked what had 
 become of the squad of men he saw riding 
 along the road a while before. 
 
 " They kept on as far as I could hear 'em," 
 replied the farmer, "and if they left any one 
 behind to watch the house, they were so sly 
 about it that I never seen it." 
 
 " Of course it was broad daylight when Tom 
 came to your house," said Rodney. "Well, 
 how do you know but that man Swanson saw 
 him when he went in ? " 
 
 " I don't know it," replied Merrick. " But 
 even if he did see Percival go in, these 'Mer- 
 gency men wont never say a word to me about 
 it, kase they know well enough that if they 
 should hurt a hair of my head, some of my 
 
232 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 friends would bushwhack 'em to pay for 
 it. They would send word over into the next 
 county, and some fellers from there would ride 
 over some dark night and set my buildings 
 a-going, or pop me over as quick as they 
 would a squirrel, if they could get a chance at 
 me. That's the way we do business nowa- 
 days, and that's the reason Ave don't never go 
 to the door when somebody rides up and hails 
 the house after dark." 
 
 *' Why, I wouldn't live in such a country," 
 said Rodney. 
 
 "What would you do, if everything you 
 had in the world was right here and you 
 couldn't sell it and get out?" replied the 
 farmer. "You'd stay and look out for it, I 
 reckon, and make it as hot as you could for 
 any one who tried to drive you away. But 
 driving is a game two can play at," added 
 Merrick, with a low chuckle ; and Rodney 
 noticed that he ceased speaking once in a 
 while and turned his head on one side as if 
 he were listening for suspicious sounds. "I 
 don't say I have rode around of nights myself 
 and I don't say I aint ; but I do say for a fact 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 233 
 
 that if you go over into the next connty, you 
 wont find so many men there who make a 
 business of shooting Union folks as there used 
 to be. Some jjarts of the kentry t'other side 
 the ridge looks as though they had been struck 
 by a harry cane that had blew away all the 
 men and big boys." 
 
 This was what Captain Howard must have 
 meant when he warned Rodney that every lit- 
 tle community in the Southern part of the 
 State was divided into two hostile camps. 
 This was partisan warfare, and Rodney wanted 
 to be a partisan. 
 
 ' ' Is that the sort of partisan you are, 
 Tom?" he inquired, when Merrick w^ent out 
 again to see if it would be safe for them to go 
 into the kitchen and get supper. ''I wish I 
 had had sense enough to stay at home." 
 
 ''I wish to goodness you had," said Tom 
 honestly. "Not but that you've got as 
 much sense as most boys of your age, but you 
 know as well as I do that the Barrington 
 fellows used to say you didn't always know 
 what you w^ere about. Why, wdien 1 heard 
 you telling your story to Mr. Westall down 
 
234 EODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 there in Jeff's slianty, it was all I could do to 
 keep from saying, right out loud, that such a 
 piece of foolishness had never come under my 
 notice before." 
 
 " Where would you be at this moment if I 
 hadn't been in Jeff's cabin last night?" re- 
 torted Kodney. 
 
 "Well, that's a fact," said Tom thought- 
 fully. " About the time I felt that stick and 
 revolver in my hands, I was miglity glad you 
 were around ; but as soon as I had used them, 
 I wished from the bottom of my heart that you 
 were safe back in your own State. But since 
 you are here, I am going to do my level best 
 for you ; and that's the reason I am going to 
 keep your horse a little longer. If I don't 
 give him back to you some day, you can keep 
 mine to remember me by." 
 
 "And every time I look at him, I shall be 
 reminded that I have been taken for a horse- 
 thief," added Kodney. 
 
 "You are no more of a horse-thief than I 
 am. Let that thought comfort you. How is 
 it, Merrick?" he went on, addressing himself 
 to the farmer who at that moment glided into 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 235 
 
 the stable with noiseless footstep. '^Can we 
 go in and get snipper, or will it be safer for 
 you to bring it out to us ? " 
 
 "You are to come right in," was the far- 
 mer's welcome reply. "It'll be safe, for I 
 have cleared the kitchen of everybody excex)t 
 the old woman. She's Secesli the very worst 
 
 ft/ 
 
 kind, but that needn't bother you none. She 
 knows how to get up a good supper." 
 
 " That is a matter that has a deeper interest 
 for us just now than her x^olitics," said Tom. 
 " But what shall we do with the horse ? " 
 
 "As soon as I have showed you the wav to 
 the table I'll come back and stay with him so't 
 
 «/ 
 
 he wont whinny," answered Merrick. "If 
 them 'Mergency men heard him calling they 
 might think it was one of my own critters and 
 then agin they mightn't ; so it's best to be on 
 the safe side." 
 
 That the farmer was very much afraid that 
 the horse might betray his presence to the 
 guerrillas was evident from the way he acted. 
 He took long, quick steps when he started for 
 the house, gave the two boys a hurried intro- 
 duction to his wife, saw them seated at the 
 
236 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 table and then ran out again. Mrs. Merrick 
 remained in the room to wait upon them, and 
 that was an arrangement that Tom Percival 
 did not like ; for although she proved to be a 
 pleasant and agreeable hostess and never said 
 a word about politics, Tom did not think it 
 safe to talk too freely in her presence, and 
 took the first opportunity that was offered to 
 give Rodney a friendly w^arning. 
 
 "After you have been in this country a 
 while, you will find that the women are worse 
 rebels than the men," said he, in an undertone. 
 .''I don't suppose she would lead the Emer- 
 gency men on to us, for that would get Merrick 
 into trouble ; but such things have been done 
 in the settlement where I live. We can't do 
 any more talking at present. Have* another 
 piece of the toast ? " 
 
 *' If I had passed through as many dangers 
 as you have and had as narrow an escape, I 
 don't think I could eat as you do," said Rod- 
 ney, who took note of the fact that his friend 
 had not lost any of his appetite since he left 
 Barrington. 
 
 ^Tve had three good meals to-day, and a 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 237 
 
 hearty lunch in the swamp ; but I don't know 
 when I have been so hungry," replied Tom; 
 and then seeing that Rodney cast occasional 
 glances toward the kitchen stove in which a 
 bright fire was burning, he continued, in an 
 earnest whisper, "This is as. good a chance as 
 you will have. Chuck 'em in, and you'll not 
 regret it ; but if you have no objections, I 
 should like to read them before you do it. 
 I'll keep mum." 
 
 Rodney knew that, and forthwith produced 
 the letters, which had been a source of anxiety 
 to him ever since they came into his possession, 
 and also Mr. Graham's last telegram. Tom 
 said he did not know either of the men whose 
 names were signed to the letters that came 
 through Captain Howard, but he was better 
 acquainted with Mr. West all and his four com- 
 panions than he cared to be. 
 
 "The man who wrote this letter to Erastus 
 Percival, my father, must be some one down 
 the river who has had business dealings with 
 him ; but I don't know the gentleman," said 
 he, after he had run his eye over the various 
 documents. "Put the whole business right 
 
238 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 into the stove. You don't want any sucli 
 i:)apers about you, for you don't know whom 
 you are going to meet on the road. Trust to 
 luck ; stare Fate in the face, and your heart 
 will be aisy if it's in the right place." 
 
 If Mrs. Merrick was surprised or suspected 
 anything when Rodney ^iit the letters into 
 her stove and stood over them long enough to 
 see them reduced to ashes, she made no 
 remark. As he was about to return to his seat 
 at the table there came a sound that arrested 
 his steps, and brought Tom Percival out of his 
 chair in a twinkling. The doors and windows 
 were all closed (the curtains were pulled down 
 as well, so that no one on the outside could see 
 into the room), but the words, which were 
 uttered in a muffled voice, came distinctly to 
 their ears : 
 
 » 
 
 "Hallo, the house!" 
 
 "There they are," whispered Tom, thrust- 
 ing his hand into his breast i^ocket and glanc- 
 ing toward Rodney as if to assure himself that 
 the latter could be depended on in an emer- 
 gency. 
 
 " Sit down and keej) perfectly quiet," said 
 
'X. 
 
 O 
 
 C 
 
 
COMPARING NOTES. 239 
 
 Mrs. Merrick, in a calm tone. ''They are 
 ready to shoot, and you mustn't move about 
 for fear of throwing your shadow upon one of 
 the window curtains." 
 
 "Are they looking for your husband?" 
 Kodney managed to ask. 
 
 " I suppose they are," answered the w^oman, 
 who did not even change color. ' ' I will go to 
 the door and find out." 
 
 "You mustn't," protested Rodney. "Mr. 
 Merrick said he didn' t take any notice of hails 
 after dark." 
 
 "He doesn't, but I do," replied the wife. 
 "Somebody must answer, or we couldn't live 
 in this country a day longer." 
 
 "Do you recognize the voice ? " 
 
 "Of course not," said Tom Percival. 
 "They are strangers from some other county." 
 
 "Why can't we go with her and return 
 their fire," exclaimed Rodney, as Mrs. Mer- 
 rick left the room and moved along the wide 
 hall toward the front door. "I'll not stay 
 here like a bump on a log and let her be shot 
 at, now I — " 
 
 "Come back here. Sit down and behave 
 
240 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 yourself or you'll play smash," said Tom, 
 earnestly. "They'll not harm her. It's her 
 husband they are after. Now listen." 
 
 Rodney sat down in the nearest chair, rested 
 the hand that held his revolver on the table, 
 and waited and listened with as much patience 
 as he could command. 
 
 V 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 KODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 
 
 *'"^"^0U are a pretty partisan, you are," 
 
 Y' 
 
 whispered Tom Percival, while they 
 were waiting for Mrs. Merrick to open the 
 frontdoor. ^' Those men outside are friends 
 of yours, and yet you stand ready to fight 
 them." 
 
 " I don't claim friendship with any cowardly 
 bushwhacker," answered Rodney hotly. "I 
 don't collogue"^ with any such." 
 
 "Then you'll have to do one of two things," 
 said Tom. *' Go home and stay there, or else 
 join the Confederate army. Nearly every man 
 in Missouri is a bushwhacker. Now listen." 
 
 Tom did not follow his own suggestion, for 
 when he heard the front door creak on its 
 hinges, he laid down his revolver and covered 
 his ears with his hands. This made Rodney 
 
 *Associate. 
 241 
 
242 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 turn as white as a sheet and get upon his feet 
 again, fully expecting to hear the roar of a 
 shotgun, followed by the clatter of buckshot 
 in the hall ; but instead of that, there came 
 the calm, even tones of Mrs. Merrick's voice 
 inquiring : 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "If I had that woman's pluck I'd be a 
 general before this thing is over," said Rod- 
 ney, "I've always heard that a woman had 
 more courage than a man and now I know it." 
 
 "Listen," repeated Tom, who had by this 
 time taken his hands down from his ears. 
 
 There was no immediate response, for the 
 party at the gate had looked for somebody 
 else to answer their hail. Presently the same 
 muffled voice inquired : 
 
 " Is Mr. Merrick to home ? " 
 
 " He was a few minutes ago, but he is not in 
 now," said his wife. "Have you any word to 
 leave for him ? ' ' 
 
 "No, I don't reckon we have. We'll 
 ketch — we'll see him some other time." 
 
 " Who shall I say called V 
 
 "It don't matter. We're friends of his'n 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. , 243 
 
 who wanted to see him on business. Good- 
 night." 
 
 ''Good-night," replied Mrs. Merrick, as if 
 her suspicions had not been roused in the 
 slightest degree ; and then she shut the door 
 and came back into the kitchen. She was 
 pale now and trembling ; and Eodney made 
 haste to offer her a chair while Tom poured 
 out a glass of water. 
 
 "I told you they wouldn't hurt her," he 
 found opportunity to say to Rodney. "But 
 if Merrick had gone to the door he would have 
 been full of buckshot now." 
 
 " They might as well shoot her as to scare 
 her to death," replied Rodney. "This is a 
 terrible state of affairs." 
 
 "I believe you. And Ave haven't seen the 
 beginning of it yet. What have they got 
 against your husband any way, Mrs. Mer- 
 rick 1" 
 
 The woman kept her eyes fastened upon 
 Tom's face while she drank a portion of the 
 water he had poured out for her, and then she 
 handed back the glass with the remark : 
 
 " Mr. Merrick is Union and so are you." 
 
244 KODNEY, THE PARTIS ATT. 
 
 '' How do you know that ? " demanded Tom. 
 *' Has he told yon my story ? " 
 
 ^ ' He hasn' t said a word ; but I have been 
 over to a neighbor's this afternoon, and while 
 I was there, I saw you and a roan horse go 
 into our cow-lot. A little while afterward old 
 Swanson rode up and told us about a Yankee 
 horse-thief who was going through the coun- 
 try, trying to reach Springfield. That shows 
 how fast news travels these times. And that 
 isn't all I know," she added, nodding at Rod- 
 ney. "You are as good a Confederate as 
 I am." 
 
 ' ' Then how does it come that I am collogu- 
 ing with a Yankee horse-thief?" exclaimed 
 Rodney, who wanted to learn how much the 
 woman really knew about him and his friend. 
 
 "That is something I do not pretend to 
 understand," was the answer. "But there 
 must be some sort of an arrangement between 
 you, for one is riding the other's horse. Now 
 perhaps you had better go. I will put wp a 
 bite for you to eat during the night, and will 
 try to get a breakfast to you in the morning. 
 I shall have to let you out of a side door, for 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 245 
 
 you would be seen if you went out of this well- 
 lighted room ; and if I were to put out the 
 lamp, it would arouse the suspicions of any 
 one who may happen to be on the watch." 
 
 ' ' This reminds me of the days I have read 
 of, when the women fought side by side wdtli 
 their husbands and sons in the block-houses," 
 thought Rodney, as he shoved his revolver 
 into his boot leg and waited for the lunch 
 to be put up. "What a scout she would 
 make." 
 
 Mrs. Merrick probably knew that the boys 
 w^ould not devote much time to sleeping that 
 night, for the " bite" she put up for them was 
 equal in quantity to the hearty supper they 
 had just eaten. She was aware, too, that they 
 would have to '4ie out," and anxious to know 
 if they had any blankets to keep them warm. 
 It might not be quite safe for them to build a 
 camp fire, and consequently they would need 
 plenty of covering. There was the lunch, and 
 Tom needn't be so profuse in his thanks, for 
 while she believed in fighting the Lincoln gov- 
 ernment, since it was bound to force a war 
 upon the South, she did not believe in starving 
 
246 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Union boys on account of their principles. 
 She hoped Tom would reach home in safety, 
 and advised him when he got there to turn 
 over a new leaf and go with his State. 
 
 "Do you remember what that British colo- 
 nel said to his commanding officer, after he 
 had visited General Marion in his camj) and 
 dined with him on sweet potatoes ? " inquired 
 Rodney, after the two had been let out at the 
 side door and were stealing along the fence 
 toward the cow-stable where Mr. Merrick was 
 patiently w^aiting for them. "The colonel 
 said, ' You can't conquer such people ; ' and 
 he was so impressed with the fact that he 
 threw u]) his commission and w^ent home to 
 England. That is what I say to you, Tom 
 Percival. The North can't conquer the South 
 while we have such women as Mrs. Merrick 
 in it.'' 
 
 " Now listen at you," replied Tom. "The 
 North doesn't want to conquer the South, and 
 you don't show your usual common sense in 
 hinting at such a thing. The people — and 
 when I say that, I mean the Union men both 
 North and South — say that you secessionists 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 247 
 
 shall not break up this government ; and if 
 you persist in your efforts, you are going to 
 get whipped, as you ought to be. Hallo, Mr. 
 Merrick," he added, stopping in the door of 
 the stable and trying to peer through the 
 darkness. "Did you hear those gentlemen 
 asking for you a while ago ? " 
 
 *'Iwas listening," replied the farmer, with 
 a chuckle. "But I disremembered the voice. 
 The feller talked as though he was holding a 
 handkercher or something over his mouth. 
 How many of them was there ? I seen three." 
 
 "We didn't see any, for Mrs. Merrick 
 wouldn't let us go to the door," replied Rod- 
 ney. "She was the coolest one in the 
 kitchen." 
 
 " She's got tol'able grit, ISTance has," replied 
 the farmer, and there was just a tinge of pride 
 in his tones when he said it. " I may happen 
 over t'other side the ridge some night, and 
 then the tables will be turned t'other way. 
 ]S'ow, if you are ready, we'll make tracks for 
 the swamp. The way is clear. Thompson's 
 men have give it up as a bad job and gone 
 home." 
 
248 EODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 ^' Did tliey pass along the road 1 " exclaimed 
 Kodney. "We never heard them." 
 
 ''I did, and seen 'em too. There was a 
 right smart passel of 'em — more'n enough to 
 have made pris'ners of all the Union fellers in 
 the swamp, if they hadn't been afraid to face 
 the rifles that them same Union men know 
 how to shoot with tol'able sure aim." 
 
 ''Why is it necessary for them to hide 
 ont?" asked Rodney. ''What have they 
 done?" 
 
 "I don't rightly know as I can tell you," 
 replied the farmer, in a tone which led the boy 
 to believe that he could tell all about it if he 
 felt so disposed. "But it seems that some 
 high-up Secesh has disappeared and nobody 
 don't know what's went with 'em ; and some 
 folks do say that them fellers in the swamp 
 had a hand in their taking off. I dunno, kase 
 I wasn't thar." 
 
 So saying, Merrick led the horse from the 
 stable and the boys followed without saying a 
 word, for they were by no means sure that 
 Thompson's men had all gone away. They 
 went through a wide field that had once been 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 249 
 
 planted to corn, and when tliey had passed a 
 gap in the fence by which it was surrounded, 
 they found themselves in the edge of a thick 
 wood. 
 
 "I don't see how you ever found your way 
 through here alone," said Rodney to his 
 friend. " It is as dark as pitch." 
 
 "Oh, I wasn't alone. One of those Union 
 men came with me as far as this gap, and then 
 I came on well enough," replied Tom. '' It's 
 a wonder those horsemen didn' t discover me. 
 I threw myself flat on the ground between the 
 old corn-rows, and saw them quite distinctly. 
 Mr. Hobson said he would wait here for me." 
 
 "And he has kept his word, although he 
 began to think you were never coming back," 
 replied a voice from the darkness. "Is this 
 the friend who helped you last night ? I can 
 just make out that there are three of you." 
 
 If it had been daylight there is no telling 
 how Rodney Gray would have passed through 
 the ordeal of shaking hands with a Union man 
 who was suspected of being concerned in the 
 " taking off " of some prominent secessionists 
 in his settlement. It was a large, muscular 
 
250 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 hand that grasped his own, and Rodney knew 
 that there was a big man behind it. He knew, 
 too, that Mr. Hobson (that was the name by 
 which the stranger was introduced) had no 
 reason for supposing that he was anything but 
 what Tom Percival represented him to be — a 
 Union boy who had run away from home and 
 come up North because his relatives were all 
 secessionists and opposed to his Union prin- 
 ciples. That was about the story Tom Per- 
 cival had told Merrick, and it was reasonable 
 to suppose that he had told Mr. Hobson and 
 his fellow fugitives the same. Indeed he 
 became sure of it a moment later, for Mr. Hob- 
 son said, while he continued to hold fast to 
 Rodney's hand and shake it : 
 
 ^'So it seems that we Missourians are not 
 the only ones who have to stand persecution 
 because we believe in upholding the Stars and 
 Stripes. I have heard something of your his- 
 tory from our young friend Percival, and 
 assure you that I sympathize with you deeply. 
 I want to compliment you on the courage and 
 skill you showed in helping him escape from 
 those guerrillas last night." 
 
RODN^CY MAKES A TRADE. 251 
 
 a 
 
 It is hardly worth speaking of," answered 
 Rodney, as soon as he could collect his wits. 
 " Tom' would have done the same for me." 
 
 "lam sure he Avould, but it was none the 
 less a brave act on your part. 'Now let us go 
 to camp. If I don't get back pretty soon my 
 friends will wonder what has become of me. 
 By the way, didn't I hear a body of men rid- 
 ing along the road going west, a short time 
 since?" 
 
 Merrick replied that they were some of 
 Thompson's men, who probably thought it 
 safer to keep to the big road than it would be 
 to attempt to cai:)ture half a dozen well-armed 
 Union men in a dark swamp. Hobson and his 
 party were not likely to be molested, but still 
 Merrick thought it would be best for them to 
 remain concealed a while longer, and depend 
 upon him for their provisions and news. Mer- 
 rick did not forget to tell of the three men 
 who had stopped at his gate and asked to see 
 him " on business." 
 
 "I reckon I might as well leave you boys 
 here," he added, placing the bridle in Rod- 
 ney's hand. 
 
252 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 J 
 
 '' And what shall Tom and I do in the morn- 
 ing?'' inquired the latter. "We ought to 
 make an early start, and do you think it 
 would be safe for us to kee j) together ? ' ' 
 
 "Not by no means it wouldn't," replied 
 Merrick, quickly. "Unless you can induce 
 somebody in Mr. Hobson's party to give you a 
 trade for that roan colt. You mustn't try to 
 ride him to Springfield. You ought to get rid 
 of him as soon as you can." 
 
 "Let's go to camp," repeated Mr. Hobson. 
 "We can talk 'the matter over after we get 
 there. And in the meantime, you boys had 
 better make up your minds to stay with us 
 until after Merrick brings us a breakfast. 
 Perhaps he will know by that time whether or 
 not it will be safe for you to continue your 
 journey." 
 
 Going to camp and spending the night with 
 half a dozen strangers who held opinions that 
 were so very different from his own, and who 
 might " catch him up " Avhen he wasn't look- 
 ing for it, was what Rodney Gray dreaded. 
 He didn' t like the idea of passing himself off 
 for a Union boy when he wasn't, and was 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 253 
 
 afraid he might let fall some expression that 
 would betray him. That would be most 
 unfortunate, for it would get Tom Percival 
 into trouble as well as himself. But there was 
 no help for it, and so he brought up the rear 
 leading the horse, while Mr. Hobson and Tom 
 led the way along a bliad path toward the 
 camp. Presently the former began whistling 
 at intervals, and when at length an answer 
 came from the depths of the forest, Rodney 
 knew that the camp was close at hand. Ten 
 minutes later he had been introduced to Mr. 
 Hobson' s companions, and was listening in a 
 dazed sort of way to their words of greeting 
 and sympathy. They knew just how he felt, 
 they said, for they had been obliged to leave 
 home themselves on account of their opinions, 
 and an indorsement from Tom Percival, with 
 whose uncle Justus they were well acquainted, 
 they assured him would bring all the aid and 
 comfort they could give him. 
 
 " Tom always could tell a slick story — he 
 was noted for that at school," thought Rod- 
 ney, as he motioned to his friend to set out 
 the lunch that Mrs. Merrick had put up for 
 
254 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 them. '' And if he hasn't shut up the eyes of 
 these Union men I don't want a cent. If I 
 hear this story many more times I shall begin 
 to believe I am Union without knowing it, and 
 that I left home because I had to." 
 
 As the refugees never once suspected that 
 Rodney was acting a part, and that Tom Per- 
 cival had deliberately deceived them, they 
 asked no leading questions, and the visitor was 
 very thankful for that. Of course they were 
 anxious to know how matters stood in Louisi- 
 ana, and Rodney could truthfully say that 
 the Union men were so very careful to keep 
 their opinions to themselves that they were 
 known only to their most trusted friends. He 
 had heard that there were a good many of 
 them in and around Mooreville, but had never 
 had the luck to meet any. If a man in his 
 X)art of the State had dared to hint that he Avas 
 opposed to secession, he would have stood a 
 fine chance of being mobbed. Rodney was 
 glad when the lunch had been eaten, the last 
 pipe smoked and the refugees stretched them- 
 selves on their beds of boughs with their sad- 
 dles for pillows, and drew their blankets over 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 255 
 
 them. Then he was at liberty to think over 
 the situation but denied the privilege of talk- 
 ing to Tom ; and that was what he most 
 desired. While he was wondering what his 
 next adventure was going to be he fell asleep. 
 
 "That's Merrick's signal," were the next 
 words he heard. 
 
 It didn't seem to Rodney that he had been 
 asleep five minutes, but when he opened his 
 eyes he found that it was just getting day- 
 light, and that all the refugees were sitting up 
 on their blankets stretching their arms and 
 yawning ; while, faint and far off but quite 
 distinct, he heard a familiar voice shouting : 
 
 " Pig-gee ! Pig-gii ! Pig-goo ! " 
 
 "That's breakfast," said Mr. Hobson. 
 "Now, while we are waiting for ifc, I suggest 
 that we take a look at that roan colt and make 
 up our minds what we are going to do with 
 him." 
 
 "That's business," said Rodney. "I don't 
 like to let him go, for he was the last thing 
 my father gave me." 
 
 " Then your father must be for the Union," 
 remarked one of the refugees. 
 
256 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 '*He thinks just as I do," answered Rod- 
 ney; and then he recollected that he had 
 never expressed an opinion. He had not been 
 asked, for Tom Percival had done it for him. 
 He followed the men to the place where the 
 horses had been x)icketed, and listened while 
 they talked and tried to make up their minds 
 whether it would be prudent to give him a 
 trade. There Avas not the slightest difference 
 of opinion regarding the good qualities of the 
 roan colt, for they could be seen at a glance ; 
 but here was where the trouble came in : They 
 hoped to return to their homes at no distant 
 day, and what woukl their neighbors say to 
 them when a horse that was said to have 
 been stolen was seen in their x)ossession ? It 
 was Mr. WestalFs argument over again. 
 
 " I would just as soon take Percival' s horse 
 to the settlement as to go back there with this 
 roan," said Mr. Hobson. "One is as danger- 
 ous to us as the other. You see, everybody. 
 Union as well as Secesh, is down on a horse- 
 thief, and the politics of the man who is 
 caught with this horse in his keeping will not 
 save him. After all I don't know that I can 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 257 
 
 be in a much worse mess than I am now, and 
 if you like, I will give you my horse for him. 
 It's a one-sided trade I admit, the roan is 
 worth two of mine, but see the risk I shall 
 run?" 
 
 "Til do it," said Rodney quickly. ^'I 
 shall be glad to see the last of that colt, and 
 hope he will not be the means of getting you 
 into difficulty. JSTow do you think Tom and I 
 can ride together ? ' ' 
 
 ^'I don't see why you can't, and I think it 
 would be a good thing for you, because Perci- 
 val has a general knowledge of the roads 
 ahead, and knows a few people who can be 
 trusted." 
 
 This matter having been settled to the satis- 
 faction of both the boys, one of the refugees 
 set up a peculiar whistle to let Merrick know 
 that the road to their camp was clear, and 
 twenty minutes later he came into sight, fol- 
 lowed by a darkey. The latter was mounted 
 on a mule and carried a heavy basket on each 
 arm. The first question that was asked, 
 '' Have you seen or heard anything more of 
 Thompson's men ? " was answered in the nega- 
 
258 EODNEY, THE PAKTISAI^. 
 
 live on both sides, and then the refugees and 
 their guests were ready for breakfast. Mer- 
 rick seemed relieved to know that the boys 
 had succeeded in getting the roan colt off 
 their hands, and told them that he had 
 brought the darkey along to act as their guide 
 until they were beyond the limits of his settle- 
 ment. 
 
 '^ After you w^ent away last night, IN'ance 
 said that there are some folks about here who 
 know I am harboring two chaps that I have 
 took some i^ains to keep out of sight, and so I 
 thought you had best keep to the bresh till 
 you had got past them peoples' houses," said 
 he ; but there was one thing his wife did not 
 tell him, and that was that one of the two boys 
 he was harboring was as good a Confederate 
 as any of the men wdio had ridden along the 
 road. That was a matter she kept to herself. 
 
 Breakfast being over the only thing there 
 was to detain the boys w^as to saddle their 
 horses. That did not take many minutes, 
 and then they were ready for the new dangers 
 that lay along the road ahead of them. After 
 thanking Mr. Merrick for his kindness, not 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 259 
 
 forgetting to send their best regards to his 
 wife, they shook hands with the refugees and 
 told their sable guide to go on. 
 
 " I never saw things quite so badly mixed 
 up as they are in this country," said Rodney, 
 when the camp and its occupants had been left 
 out of sight. "And neither did I dream that 
 you were such an expert story-teller. Sup- 
 pose I had said or done something to arouse 
 the susiDicions of the men w^e have just left ; 
 Avhere would we be now ? " 
 
 ''What else could I do?" demanded Tom. 
 "You didn't expect me to say out loud that 
 you are a Confederate on your way to join a 
 man who is getting ready to fight against the 
 government of the United States. You knew 
 I wouldn't do that, and so I had to put 
 you in a false position. It isn't my fault. 
 You ought to have had sense enough to stay 
 at home." 
 
 " I can see it now," rei^lied Hodney. "But 
 what are we to do from this time on ? " 
 
 " I am sure I don't know. We'll be Union 
 all over for the next twenty miles or so, and 
 then perhaps you can show yourself in your 
 
260 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 true colors while I do the deceiving ; but you 
 must be careful and not speak my name. I 
 declare I had no idea that the Percivals were 
 so well known through this neck of the 
 woods. But I'll tell you what I honestly 
 believe : Price's cavalry is scouting all 
 through the central and southern parts of the 
 State, shooting Union men and picking up 
 recruits, and as soon as we begin to hear of 
 them, I think you had better desert me and 
 join them ; that is, unless you have come to 
 your senses, and made m^ your mind that you 
 had better cast your lot with the loyal people 
 of the nation." 
 
 " Don't you know any better than to talk to 
 me in that style T' exclaimed Kodney. "Do 
 you imagine that T have come up here just to 
 have the fun of going back on my prin- 
 ciples ? ' ' 
 
 "No ; I don't suppose you have, but I think 
 you ought to before it is too late. However, 
 let politics go. Have you heard from any of 
 the Barrington boys since we left school ? 
 Where is your cousin Marcy ? ' ' 
 
 This was a more agreeable tox)ic than tlie 
 
RODNEY MAKES A TPwADE. 261 
 
 one tliey had been discussing, but Kodney 
 had little information to impart. He had 
 written to Marcy but had received no reply, 
 and the reader knows the reason why. It was 
 because Marcy dare not write and tell Rodney 
 how matters stood with him, for fear that the 
 letter might be stopped by some of his Seces- 
 sion neighbors, — Captain Beardsley, for in- 
 stance, — who would use it against him. He 
 told of the letters he had received from 
 Dixon, Billings and Dick Graham, and they 
 were all in the army, or going as soon as they 
 could get there. He hadn't heard from any 
 other Barrington fellow, but he believed that 
 Tom Percival was the one black sheep in the 
 flock — that the others had gone with their 
 States. 
 
 "I don't believe it," said Tom, with decided 
 emphasis. ''lam not the only Union fellow 
 there was in the academy, by a long shot, and 
 I know that those who opposed secession didn't 
 do it to hear themselves talk. Your cousin 
 Marcy didn't go with his State, and there 
 are others like him scattered all over the 
 country." 
 
262 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "Say," exclaimed Rodney, bending for- 
 ward in his saddle and sx^eaking just loud 
 enough for Tom, who was riding in advance, 
 to catch his words. "Do you believe Mer- 
 rick's darkey can be dejDended on ? " 
 
 "Of course," answered Tom. "Why not? 
 What makes you ask the question ?" 
 
 ' ' I don' t like the way he has of looking 
 over his shoulder and listening to our conver- 
 sation. You are all right, of course, but I am 
 afraid I have said too much. I was so glad to 
 get a chance to talk to you that I never 
 thought of him." 
 
 "Didn't you once assure your cousin Marcy 
 that all the blacks in the South would go with 
 their masters against the abolitionists?" in- 
 quired Tom. 
 
 "Yes, I believe I did, and I think so yet. 
 I don't think we have a darkey on our place 
 who would accept his freedom to-day if it 
 were offered to him." 
 
 " There may not be one who would dare say 
 so, because they know better ; but give the 
 best of them the chance and see how quickly 
 he would skip over the border into abolition 
 
EODNEY MAKES A TRADE. 263 
 
 territory. If you think the darkies are loyal 
 to their masters, what are you afraid of? 
 According to your idea, if that darkey ahead 
 betrays anybody, he ought to betray me, for 
 I am Union and he heard me tell his master 
 so yesterday. But if you think he can't be 
 trusted to keep his mouth shut, we'll turn him 
 to the right-about in short order." 
 
 "And lose the benefit of his knowledge?" 
 said Kodney. "I wouldn't do that. Let him 
 stay as long as Merrick told him to, and in 
 the mean time I will talk as though I knew he 
 w^ould repeat every word I say." 
 
 This thing of being obliged to place a curb 
 upon their tongues when they wanted to 
 speak freely was annoying in the extreme ; 
 but it might have saved them some trouble 
 and anxiety if they had done it from the first. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TWICE SUEPRISED. 
 
 DURING the whole of their journey 
 through the woods, which did not come 
 to an end until long after four o'clock that 
 afternoon, the negro guide never once spoke 
 to the boys unless he was first spoken to, nor 
 did they see any living thing except a drove 
 of half- wild hogs, which fled precipitately at 
 their approach. The plantation darkies, as a 
 general thing, were talkative and full of life, 
 and this unwonted silence on the part of their 
 conductor finally produced an effect upon Tom 
 Percival who, when the noon halt was called, 
 took occasion to give the man a good looking 
 over. He was not very well satisfied with the 
 result of his examination. 
 
 "How much farther do you go with us, 
 boy?" said he. 
 
 "Notfurder'n Mr. Truman's house, an' dat 
 aint above ten mile from hyar," was the 
 answer. 
 
 264 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 265 
 
 *' Truman," repeated Tom. '* He's all right. 
 I was told to stop on the way and call upon 
 him for anything I might need. Hurry up 
 and take us there ; and when you do," he 
 added in a whisper, to Rodney, "we'll say 
 good-by to you. You were right ; he's 
 treacherous. He's a red-eyed nigger, and 
 when you see a nigger of that sort you want 
 to look out for him." 
 
 There was no need that they should "look 
 out" for their guide :jiow, because there was 
 no way in which he could betray them 
 secretly. The danger would arise when they 
 stopped for the night or after they parted 
 from him the next morning. Then he would 
 be at liberty to go where he pleased, and as he 
 was acquainted with every TTnion man for 
 miles around, it would not take him long to 
 spread among them the report that there was 
 a Confederate stopping at Mr. Truman's house 
 in company with a young Missourian who did 
 not want his name spoken where other folks 
 could hear it. If such a story as that should 
 get wind, it would make trouble all around — 
 for Mr. Truman as well as for themselves ; for 
 
266 EODI^EY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 y 
 
 Truman's neighbors would want to know why 
 he gave food and lodging to a Confederate 
 when he claimed to be a Union man himself. 
 The longer Rodney thought of these things, 
 the more he wished himself safe back in 
 Louisiana. 
 
 At half-jDast four by Tom Percival's watch 
 the negro stopx^ed his mule beside a rail fence 
 running between the woods and an old field, 
 on whose farther side was a snug plantation 
 house, nestled among the trees. That was 
 where Mr. Truman lived, and where Merrick 
 had told them to stop for the night. 
 
 "And I suppose you will stay also, wont 
 you 1 " said Tom, speaking to the darkey who 
 bent down from his mule and threw a few of 
 the toi3 rails off the fence so that the boys 
 could jump their horses over into the field. 
 
 "Who? Me? Oh no, sar," answered the 
 guide, with rather more earnestness than the 
 occasion seemed to demand. " Marse Merrick 
 done tol' me to be sure an' come home dis 
 very night, an' I 'bleeged to mind him, sar." 
 
 "I'll bet you don't mind him," thought 
 Tom, as he and Rodney rode into the field and 
 
TWICE SURPEISED. 267 
 
 waited for the negro to build up fhe fence 
 again. ''There's a bug under that chip and I 
 know it." 
 
 The appearance of three horsemen riding 
 up to the back door in this unex^Dected way 
 created something of a flutter among the 
 female portion of Mr. Truman's family, and 
 even the farmer himself, who presently came 
 to the door of one of the outbuildings, seemed 
 to be a little startled ; but when a second look 
 showed him that one of Mr. Merrick's negroes 
 was of the number, he came up to the pump 
 near which the boys had dismounted. 
 
 " This is Mr. Truman, I believe," said Tom. 
 
 "Well, yes; that's my name, but I don't 
 reckon I ever saw you before," replied the 
 man cautiously. 
 
 *'Do you know this boy who has been act- 
 ing as our guide ? " 
 
 ''Oh, yes. I know all of Merrick's boys, so 
 it must be all right. But you see in times like 
 these — ' ' 
 
 "I understand," Tom interposed, for Mr. 
 Truman talked so slowly that the boy was 
 afraid he might never get through with what 
 
268 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 he had to say. "In times like these you 
 don't know whom to trust. That's our fix, 
 exactly ; and w^e shouldn' t have thought of 
 stopping here if Merrick and Hobson had not 
 told us who and what you are. Go on, boy, 
 and tell Mr. Truman who and what we are, 
 where we came from, where we want to go, 
 and all about it." 
 
 The negro was talkative enough now, and 
 the boys had no fault to find with the way in 
 which he com^Dlied with Tom's request except 
 in one particular — he had too much to say 
 regarding Eodney Gray's loyalty to the 
 Union, and his undying hostility toward every- 
 body who was in favor of secession. He dwelt 
 so long upon this subject that Tom Percival, 
 fearing Mr. Truman's eyes would be opened to 
 the real facts of the case, thought it best to 
 interrupt him. 
 
 "Yes; we passed the night in company 
 Avith Mr. Hobson and five of his friends who 
 have been compelled to go into hiding," 
 said he, ' ' and while we were eating supper in 
 Mr. Merrick's kitchen, some of Thompson's 
 
 men came to the gate and asked for him. 
 
 5? 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 269 
 
 *' I reckon it's all right," said Mr. Truman, 
 who did not believe that his friend Merrick 
 would have taken these two young fellows 
 into his house if he had not had the best of 
 reasons for thinking that they could be 
 trusted. "What did you say your names 
 might be ? " he added, beckoning to one of his 
 darkies and indicating by a wave of his hand 
 that the horses were to be housed and fed. 
 
 While the guide was telling his story he had 
 not mentioned any names. He had simply re- 
 ferred to the boys as ''dese yer gentlemen," 
 designating the one of whom he hapi^ened to 
 be speaking by a nod or a jerk of his thumb. 
 Tom waited until the horses were led away 
 and then said, in a low tone : 
 
 ''My friend's name is Gray, and as you 
 have already heard he is from Louisiana. The 
 Secesh were too thick there to suit him and so 
 he came up here, hoping to find everybody 
 Union." 
 
 "Humph ! " said Mr. Truman. 
 
 "He has found out his mistake," continued 
 Tom. "Ever since he has been in the State 
 he has been dodging rebels, and has traveled 
 

 270 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 more miles in the woods than he has on the 
 highway. Do you know Justus Percival ? " 
 Do you ? " asked Truman in reply. 
 I ought to. He's my uncle, and Percival 
 is my name ; but I wish you wouldn't address 
 me by it unless you know who is listening." 
 
 "But when you left Cedar Bluff landing 
 you were riding a roan colt and had no boots 
 on," said Mr. Truman, first looking all around 
 to make sure that there was no one near to 
 catch his Avords. "I was sorter on the watch 
 for such a fellow, for I thought maybe he'd 
 need help." 
 
 " Great Scott ! " said Rodney, who was very 
 much surprised. "Has that man Swanson 
 been through here ? It can't be possible. His 
 crowbait of a mule couldn't carry him so far." 
 
 ' ' I don' t know anybody of that name, but I 
 know about the roan colt that wasn't stolen 
 from Pilot Knob," replied the farmer. "Let's 
 go in and see if the women folks can't scare 
 up a bite to eat." . 
 
 "One moment, please," Tom interposed. 
 "Do you know anything about Merrick's 
 boy ? Is he Union or Secesli ? " 
 
 o 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 271 
 
 "Union and nothing else. The niggers all 
 are, but of course they are afraid to say so." 
 
 ''That boy has got red eyes," said Tom. 
 '' And yon know as well as I can tell you that 
 a darkey of that sort is always treacherous. 
 We don't like the way he has been listening 
 to our talk ever since we left Hobson's camp. 
 Couldn't you make some excuse to keep him 
 here till morning ? " 
 
 "Job!" yelled the farmer; and when he 
 had succeeded in calling the attention of the 
 darkey who was attending to the horses, he 
 went on to say : " Tell Merrick's boy that he 
 mustn't go off the place to-night. The patrols 
 are picking up everybody who shows his nose 
 on the road after dark, white as well as black, 
 and Price's men burned two houses last night 
 not more'n five miles from here." 
 
 "Is that a fact?" inquired Tom, who for 
 the first time since Rodney met him began to 
 show signs of uneasiness. 
 
 "It's the gospel truth, m ore's the pity, and 
 we in this settlement don't know how soon we 
 may be called upon to defend our lives and 
 property. There are not many of us and we 
 
272 KODXEY, THE PAETISATT. 
 
 are not organized; but we're tolerable active 
 and know how to shoot. Now let's go in." 
 
 As Rodney Gray afterward remarked, Mrs. 
 Truman '^ seemed to know without any telling 
 just how the thing stood," for the welcome 
 she gave them was very cordial and friendly. 
 
 " We can give you plenty to eat," she said, 
 extending a hand to each, '' but I am not sure 
 that you would be safe in accepting lodging if 
 we were to offer it to you. Mr. Truman has 
 no doubt told you that Price's men were quite 
 close to us last night. We saw the fires they 
 lighted shining upon the clouds, and wondered 
 how long it would be before some of our friends 
 would stand and watch our burning houses." 
 
 Mrs. Truman continued to talk in this strain 
 while the supper w^as being made ready, and 
 Tom Percival now and then glanced at his 
 companion as if to ask him if he tliought Mr. 
 Merrick's Secession wife was the only brave 
 woman there was in Missouri. The calmness 
 with which she spoke of the troublous times 
 she saw coming upon the people of the nation, 
 was in direct contrast to the behavior of her 
 excitable husband, who more than once flew 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 273 
 
 into a rage and paced up and down the floor 
 shaking his fists in the air. Rodney had 
 often seen Confederates lash themselves into a 
 fury while denouncing the '' Northern mud- 
 sills," but he had never before seen a Union 
 man act so while proclaiming against the 
 demagogues who were bent on destroying the 
 government. It showed that one could be as 
 savage and vindictive as the other, and gave 
 him a deeper insight into the nature of the 
 coming struggle than he had ever had before. 
 Good Confederate that he was, he began ask- 
 ing himself if it wouldn't be money in the 
 pockets of the Southern people if they would 
 rise in a body and hang Jefferson Davis and 
 his advisers before they had time to do any 
 more mischief. In the days that followed, 
 Rodney Gray was not the only one who 
 wished it had been done. 
 
 When darkness came on there were no 
 lamps lighted to point out the position of the 
 house to any roving band of marauders who 
 might happen to be in the vicinity. The front 
 door was thrown open, and Mrs. Truman sat 
 just inside the room to which it gave entrance, 
 
274 RODNET, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 SO that she could see the road in both direc- 
 tions. She explained to the boys that there 
 had once been shade trees in the yard and 
 flowering shrubs growing along the fence, but 
 they had been cut away for fear that they 
 would afford concealment to some sneaking 
 Secesli Avho might take it into his head to creep 
 up and shoot through the window. Mr. Tru- 
 man had gone out to see that everything was 
 right about the place, and to shut up the boys' 
 horses, which had been turned loose in the 
 stable-yard. He wanted the animals where 
 they could be easily caught when needed, for 
 he did not think it prudent for Tom and his 
 companion to remain under his roof during 
 the night. They would have a better chance 
 to take care of themselves if they were camped 
 in the woods. This was the way he exj^lained 
 the situation when he came back to the house, 
 and then he went on to say : 
 
 '' There's something in the wind, and I wish 
 I knew what it is. I don't like the way Mer- 
 rick's boy has acted. I told him positively 
 not to leave the place before morning, and now 
 he's gone, mule and all." 
 
TWICE SUEPRISED. 275 
 
 " By gracious ! " tlioiight Rodney. "That 
 means harm to me. I was afraid I said too 
 much in his hearing, and when I found that he 
 had red eyes I was sure of it. He is going to 
 put some Union men on my trail before day- 
 light, and I must get out of here. He knew 
 that if he sjDoke to Truman he would have to 
 face me, and that was something he was afraid 
 to do." 
 
 ''How long has he been gone?" inquired 
 Tom, who Avas as impatient to leave the house 
 and take to the woods as Rodney was. 
 
 Mr. Truman couldn' t say as to that ; prob- 
 ably two hours at least. That was long enough 
 for him to tell a good many Union men that 
 there was a Confederate in Truman's house, 
 and the boys began to be really alarmed. 
 
 "This shows that there is no dependence 
 whatever to be placed upon the darkies," 
 declared Tom. ' ' They are divided in senti- 
 ment the same as the whites. Some side with 
 their masters and some don't. Of course I am 
 not sure that this boy's absence means any- 
 thing, but still I think we had better get out 
 while we can." 
 
276 EODNEY, THE PAETISAF. 
 
 But they had already delayed their depart- 
 ure too long, as they discovered a moment 
 later. When Tom ceased speaking he got 
 upon his feet, and just then there was a slight 
 commotion outside the house, and Mrs. Tru- 
 man uttered an ejaculation of surjDrise and 
 alarm as a couple of dark figures bounded up 
 the steps and stood upon the gallery. At the 
 same instant a back door opened and heavy 
 boots pounded the kitchen floor. The house 
 had been quietly surrounded, but by whom? 
 It was too dark to see. 
 
 ''Don't be frightened, Mrs. Truman," said 
 one of the men at the door. " You know us, 
 and you know that we wouldn't harm you. 
 We want a word or two with those young fel- 
 lows who have come here trying to impose 
 upon you and all of us." 
 
 "Then why couldn't you come to the door 
 and say so like a man, instead of sneaking up 
 like a cowardly Secession bushwhacker?" 
 demanded Mr. Truman, angrily. " Get out of 
 the house and come in in the proper way." 
 
 "Softly, softly," said one of the three 
 men who had entered by the kitchen door. 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 277 
 
 *' Harsh words butter no parsnips, and in times 
 like these one can't stand upon too much cere- 
 mony. We don't mean to intrude, but we do 
 mean to get hold of that Secesh and the other 
 chap, who for some reason of his own, is be- 
 friending him. Strike a light, please." 
 
 ** You have certainly made a mistake," said 
 Mrs. Truman, going across the room to a table 
 to find a match. *'Our guests are both 
 Union." 
 
 "Then there's no harm done," replied the 
 man at the door. ''We understand that one 
 of them claims to be some relation to old 
 Justus Percival. If he is, he can't have any 
 objections to riding over to Pilot Knob with 
 some of us and proving his claim." 
 
 The boys trembled when they heard these 
 ominous Avorks. A ride to Pilot Knob meant 
 death to Tom Percival at any rate, and per- 
 haps to his friend Rodney also. This was 
 the darkest prospect yet, and it looked still 
 darker when the lamp had. been lighted, and 
 its rays fell upon the set, determined faces of 
 the armed men who, with heavy shot-guns, 
 covered all the avenues of escape. Rodney 
 
278 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 thought they must be men Avho had suffered 
 at the hands of their secession neighbors, for 
 they looked as savage as Mr. Truman had 
 acted a while before. 
 
 "Which is the traitor?" demanded the 
 largest man in the party, who seemed to be 
 the leader. 
 
 "Neither one," replied Tom, settling back 
 in the chair from which he had arisen when 
 the men first ajDpeared. 
 
 " Which one is Union then, if that suits you 
 better ? " was the next question. 
 
 "I say we both are," answered Tom. "I 
 am Captain Percival, and I am now on my 
 way home after having offered the services of 
 myself and company to General Lyon. Justus 
 Percival, of whom you sjDoke a moment since, 
 is my uncle." 
 
 " And who is this friend of yours ? " 
 
 "He is a schoolmate who left his own State 
 because things didn't go to suit him, and who 
 intends to enlist the first chance he gets." 
 
 "On which side?" inquired the leader, 
 squinting up both his eyes and nodding at 
 Tom as if to say that he had him there. 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 279 
 
 ''Do you imagine that he would make a 
 journey of almost a thousand miles for the 
 sake of enlisting in the Confederate army 
 when he might have done that at home?" 
 asked Tom, in reply. " You must be crazy." 
 
 "Not so crazy as you may think," said the 
 leader, who seemed to be sure of his ground. 
 ' ' We have the best of evidence that he is 
 secesh." 
 
 " What sort of evidence ? " 
 
 "His own word." 
 
 "Is the man who heard me say that out- 
 side 1 ' ' asked Rodney, who thought by the 
 way Mr. Truman and his wife looked at him 
 that it was high time he was saying something 
 for himself. ' ' If he is, bring him in and let 
 me face him. You have no right to condemn 
 me until you let me see who my accuser is." 
 
 "That's the idea," said Tom. "Fetch 
 him in." 
 
 The boys played their parts so well, in spite 
 of the alarm they felt and the danger they 
 knew they were in, and looked so honest and 
 truthful that the leader was nonplussed, and 
 Mr. Truman and his wife were firmly convinced 
 
280 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 that tlieir visitors had made a mistake. There 
 were reasons why the latter could not produce 
 E-odney's accuser, and for a minute or two 
 some of them acted as though they might be 
 willing to let the matter drop right where it 
 was. But there is always some "smart man" 
 in every party who thinks he knows a little moro> 
 than anybody else, and it was so in this case ; 
 and when he spoke, he " put his foot in it." 
 
 " Didn't yon say to-day in the presence of^ 
 of—" 
 
 ''Merrick's red-eyed nigger," Tom ex- 
 claimed, when the man paused and looked 
 about as if afraid that he might have said 
 more than he ought. '' Why don't you speak 
 it right out ? What did I tell you, Mr. Tru- 
 man ? Didn't I say that boy would bear 
 watching ? Now, what I want to know of you 
 is, are you going to take that darkey's word 
 in preference to mine ? ' ' 
 
 This was bringing the matter right home to 
 the visitors, every one of whom was a slave- 
 holder, and would have taken it as an insult if 
 any one had so much as hinted that their evi- 
 dence was not as good as a black man's. 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 281 
 
 "Don't get huffy," said the smart man 
 before alluded to. "We haven't played our 
 best card yet. One of you two was riding a 
 roan colt when you came to Merrick's, and 
 there aint no such horse in Truman's stable." 
 
 "Did Merrick's nigger tell you that?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 His self-control was surprising. He sat up 
 in his chair and boldly faced his questioner, 
 while E-odney, wishing that the floor might 
 open and let him down into the cellar, told 
 himself more than once that he never would 
 hear the last of that roan colt the longest day 
 he lived. 
 
 "No matter who told us," was the rei)ly. 
 "We know it to be a fact. The roan was 
 taken into Merrick's w^oods, and he wasn't 
 brought out this morning. Did you make a 
 trade with Merrick, or with some of Hobson's 
 friends ? " 
 
 "If you want to know you had better ask 
 them," answered Tom. 
 
 "That's what we intend to do; and we 
 intend, further, that you shall stay with us 
 till we get to the bottom of this thing. There 
 
282 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 is something about you that isn't just right 
 and we mean to iind out what it is." 
 
 " I can tell you all about that horse," Rod- 
 ney interposed. 
 
 **It isn't worth while for you to waste your 
 breath, and besides this is a dangerous place 
 to stay, with Price's men scouting around 
 through the neighborhood," said the leader, 
 who now showed a disposition to resume the 
 management of affairs. "It wont take more 
 than two or three days to ride back to Mer- 
 rick's and from there to Pilot Knob, and 
 straighten everything out in good shape." 
 
 '' But we are in a hurry. We don't want to 
 go back," exclaimed Tom ; and it was plain to 
 every one in the room that the bare proposi- 
 tion frightened him. 
 
 '' I don't sui)pose you do want to go back," 
 said the leader, in a significant tone, ' ' but we 
 can't help that. It's time you Secesh were 
 taught that you can't go prowling about 
 through the country imposing upon Union 
 men whenever you feel like it. We have 
 stood enough from such as you, and more 
 than we ever will again, and I believe we 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 283 
 
 should be justified in dealing witli you here 
 and now. As for you," he added, shaking his 
 fist in Tom's face and fairly hissing out the 
 words, '' you are no more the man you claim 
 to be than I am. You're traitors, the pair of 
 you." 
 
 The man was working himself into a passion, 
 and it behooved the boys to be careful what 
 they said. He was in the right mood to do 
 something desperate, for when he ceased 
 speaking and stepped back, breathing hard 
 from the excess of his fury, he worked the 
 hammer of his gun back and forth in a way 
 that was enough to chill one's blood. 
 
 ''You'll be sorry for this and quite willing 
 to acknowledge it," was what Tom said in 
 reply. ' ' We don' t want to go back for we have 
 had trouble enough getting here ; but since 
 we must, I hope — " 
 
 Tom did not have time to say what, for 
 while everybody's gaze was directed toward 
 him, and no one thought of giving a look out- 
 side to see that all was right there, a couple of 
 new actors apjjeared upon the scene, glided 
 into the room off the porch as quickly and 
 
284 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 almost as silently as spirits. They were Con- 
 federate officers in full uniform, and each one 
 carried a drawn sword in his hand. At the 
 same moment two windows on opposite sides 
 of the room were shivered into fragments, the 
 curtains were jerked down and the black 
 muzzles of a dozen carbines were thrust in. It 
 was like a thunder-bolt from a clear sky, and 
 it was all done so quickly that no one had a 
 chance to move. The five Union men were as 
 powerless for resistance as though they had 
 held straws instead of loaded guns in their 
 hands. 
 
 '' Don't move an eye-lash," said the older of 
 the two officers, lifting his cap and bowing to 
 Mrs. Truman. '' No exx)]anation is necessary, 
 for we understand the situation perfectly." 
 And to the infinite amazement of the two 
 boys, though not much to the surprise of the 
 other occupants of the room, the speaker, 
 when he put his cap on his head again, turned 
 toward Rodney and Tom and gave them a 
 military salute. 
 
 ' ' What do you think of tliat, Mr. Truman % ' ' 
 said the leader of the Union men, whose 
 
TWICE SURPRISED. 285 
 
 courage did not desert him even if liis face did 
 change color. ' ' Are you satisfied now that 
 these are not the Union boys they pretended 
 to be?" 
 
 ''I am," answered Mr. Truman, while his 
 wife looked daggers at them. "If they are 
 not Secesh, how does it come that their friends 
 recognize them so quickly ? I suppose you 
 are Price's men?" he added, turning to the 
 ofiicer. 
 
 "Lieutenant, send in two or three fellows 
 to take these guns and sound the prisoners. 
 Yes, sir, we belong to Price." 
 
 ' ' And you came here expecting to find these 
 two boys ? " 
 
 "Right again," answered the officer. "If 
 we hadn't known they were here we shouldn't 
 have come." - 
 
 Of all the occupants of the room there were 
 none so thoroughly bewildered and dazed as 
 Tom and Rodney were. Was the oflSicer tell- 
 ing the truth or cooking up a story for reasons 
 of his own ? If he really expected to find 
 them in that house, he was certainly mistaken 
 in supposing, as he evidently did, that they 
 
286 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 were both Confederates. Tom had never set 
 eyes on him before, and hoped from the 
 bottom of his heart that the officer did not 
 know anybody in or around Springfield. He 
 hoped, too, and trembled while the thought 
 flitted through his mind, that no one in the 
 room would speak his name, for it was his 
 turn to sail under false colors now. . 
 
 Having sent his subordinate after some 
 soldiers to disarm the men of whom he had 
 spoken as prisoners, the officer dropped the 
 point of his sword to the floor, came to " par- 
 ade rest," and looked about the room 
 
 * 'With such a face of Christian satisfaction 
 As good men wear, who have done a virtuous action." 
 
CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 WITH price's men. 
 
 IJST obedience to the order of his superior the 
 lieutenant stepped upon the porch and 
 beckoned to some of his men, who at once 
 came in and began the work of disarming the 
 citizens. Although the latter gave up their 
 weapons without a show of resistance, they 
 scowled when they did it in a Avay that im- 
 pelled Tom to whisper to his friend : 
 
 ' ' Their looks prove how desperate and sav- 
 age they are, and we are lucky in getting out 
 of their hands ; but I don't know but I have 
 jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire. 
 Bear in mind that from this minute I go by 
 my middle name — Barton. As you value my 
 safety, don't say Percival once. I am not 
 sure that these Confederates ever heard the 
 name, but I mustn't run the slightest risk." 
 
 "Of course not," replied Rodney. "But 
 how in the world do you suppose they found 
 out that we were here ? " 
 
 287 
 
288 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 *' It will be your place to ask them about 
 that. You must do the talking now. Do 
 you want our guns, lieutenant ? " 
 
 The latter stood by his men while they were 
 disarming the citizens, and in moving about 
 the room came within reach of the two boys, 
 who produced their revolvers and held them 
 so that he could see them ; but when he smiled 
 and waved his hand as if to say ^'I don't 
 want them," they put the weapons back in 
 their places. 
 
 If it hadn't been for two things, Kodney 
 Gray would have been as happy as a boy ever 
 gets to be. He was among friends, the very 
 ones, too, he wanted to find, and from that 
 time on he could ajDpear in his true character ; 
 but he trembled for his friend and for the 
 safety of Mr. Truman's property. The latter, 
 remembering the lights he had seen on the 
 clouds the night before, and knowing how 
 deadly was the enmity that existed between 
 Union men and Confederates in his State, 
 could hope for nothing but the worst, and 
 Rodney thought from the expression on his 
 face and his wife's, that they were endeavor- 
 
 o 
 
AViTH price's men. 289 
 
 ing to nerve themselves for a most trying 
 ordeal. Would he have to stand by and see 
 their buildings ge up in smoke ? He hoped 
 not, and when the officer commanding the 
 squad came up and shook hands with him and 
 Tom, Rodney was ready to say something in 
 Mr. Truman's favor. 
 
 "You have been insulted, boys," said the 
 officer, in a tone which implied that now was 
 the time for them to take any revenge they 
 wanted. " When I was surrounding the 
 house I heard one of these Yankee sympathiz- 
 ers using rather strong language, and de- 
 nouncing you as Secessionists trying to impose 
 upon Union men." 
 
 "I don't hold that against him, for to tell 
 you the truth, that's just the Avay the thing 
 stands," answered Rodney. "I have been 
 playing Union man ever since I left Mr. West- 
 all and his squad of Emergency men near Cedar 
 Bluff landing. I had to, for somehow I didn't 
 fall in with any but people of that stamp." 
 That was all right," answered the officer. 
 
 You couldn't have got through any other 
 way. 
 
 ?5 
 
290 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 a 
 
 So you see that Merrick's darkey told you 
 nothing more than the plain truth," he added, 
 addressing the citizen who had shaken a fist 
 under his nose. 
 
 '*I was sure of it, and I am not sorry for 
 what I did or said," replied the Union man, 
 boldly. '' I am sorry that the thing happened 
 in Truman's house, and I wish to assure you 
 that he is in no way to blame for our being 
 here. You' ve got the power on your side now, 
 and I suppose you will use it ; but whatever you 
 do to us, I hope you will not harm Truman." 
 
 '' I say that a man w^ho can talk like that 
 when he is in danger himself, has pluck," 
 Rodney remarked, turning his back to the 
 citizen and speaking so that no one but the 
 officer and Tom could catch his words. 
 
 "Oh, they've all got pluck," replied the 
 officer. "And they hang together like a lot 
 of brothers." 
 
 "And I say further, that brave men ought 
 not to be harmed w^hen they are perfectly 
 helpless, as these men are now," continued 
 Kodney. " You haven't anything against 
 them, have you, colonel?" 
 
WITH price's men. 291 
 
 *' Captain," corrected the latter, pointing to 
 the insignia on his collar. ''You'll soon learn 
 how to tell one rank from another. N-o ; I 
 don't know that I have anything against 
 them, except their jDrinciples ; but some of 
 their neighbors I saw to-night while I was 
 coming here, declare that they are villains of 
 the very worst sort." 
 
 " What else could you expect in a commun- 
 ity like this where every man has turned 
 against his best friend?" exclaimed Tom. 
 " You are a Missourian and understand the 
 situation as Avell as I do." 
 
 "I have been urged to burn their houses; 
 and as I was sent out to harass the enemy as 
 well as to pick up recruits, I don't know but I 
 had better do it," replied the captain ; and the 
 boys saw plainly enough that having made up 
 his mind to carry out his orders, he did not 
 want to permit himself to be turned from his 
 purpose. 
 
 "But Rodney and I have been well enough 
 drilled in military law to know that an officer 
 on detached service is allowed considerable 
 latitude," chimed in Tom. "If you see any 
 
292 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 reason why you should not obey orders to the 
 very letter, you are not expected to do it." 
 
 "And in this case I hope you wont do it," 
 pleaded Rodney. "If those cowardly neigh- 
 bors, who tried to set out against these Union 
 men, want their property destroyed, let them 
 do the dirty work themselves. I don' t believe 
 in making war on people who don't think as 
 I do." 
 
 "I don't reckon there are any half -wild 
 Unionists in your settlement," said the cap- 
 tain, wdth a smile. 
 
 "I know it. I am from Louisiana where 
 Union men have to keep their tongues to 
 themselves," replied Rodney ; and then seeing 
 that the captain looked surprised he hastened 
 to add : "I came to Missouri to enlist under 
 Price because I couldn't join a partisan com- 
 pany where I lived ; and I was encouraged to 
 come by a telegram I received from Dick Gra- 
 ham' s father. Dick is one of Price's men and 
 perhaps you know him." 
 
 "Do youl" inquired the lieutenant, who 
 stood by listening. 
 
 "I ought to, and so had Tom, for Ave went 
 
WITH price's men. 293 
 
 to school with him, and belonged to his class 
 and company." 
 
 " Where was that ? " 
 
 ' ' At the Barrington Military Academ y. I 
 am Rodney Gray and my friend is Tom Bar- 
 ton." 
 
 Rodney said all this at a venture and was 
 overjoyed to hear the lieutenant say, as he 
 thrust out his hand : 
 
 '' Shake. I ought to know Rodney Gray, 
 for I have often heard the sergeant speak of 
 him as the hottest rebel in school ; but I dorr t 
 remember that I ever heard him mention Bar- 
 ton's name." 
 
 '* He w^asn't as intimate wdth Tom as he was 
 with me," Rodney explained. "There was a 
 difference in their politics." 
 
 " That accounts for it. Graham was neutral 
 until his State moved, and Barton here was an 
 ardent Secessionist from the start. That's just 
 the way my captain and I stand now. I began 
 shouting for Southern rights as soon as Caro- 
 lina went out, and he didn't." 
 
 "IN'o, Dick held back," said Tom, "but 
 Rodney did not. He was the first academy 
 
294 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 boy to hoist the Stars and Bars. But now, 
 captain, say that you Avill not harm these 
 folks. They haven't done anything, and as 
 for the strong language they used toward us a 
 while ago — we don't mind that." 
 
 "Who's your authorit}^ for saying that they 
 haven't done anything?" demanded the cap- 
 tain. "You seem to think that they are the 
 most innocent, inoffensive people in the Avorld ; 
 but I know that is not characteristic of Union- 
 ists in this part of the country. How do you 
 know but that they have ambushed scores of 
 Confederates? " 
 
 "We don't know it ; and seeing that you 
 don't know it either, why not give them the 
 benefit of the doubt and let their neighbors see 
 that they get their deserts ? Why not be sat- 
 isfied with what you have already done ? You 
 burned two houses last night." 
 
 " I am aware of it. The men to whom they 
 belonged are noted bushwhackers, and I went 
 miles out of my way to teach them that they 
 had better let our people alone — that burning 
 and shooting are games that two can play at. 
 But I have no heart for more work of that 
 
WITH price's men. 295 
 
 sort, and so I'll not trouble these men since 
 you seem to be so tender-hearted toward 
 them." 
 
 ''Thank you, sir; thank you," replied Rod- 
 ney, heartily. " IS^ow will you pass us out, 
 and send some men to the stable with us to get 
 our horses?" 
 
 "I'll go with you myself," said the lieuten- 
 ant ; but as he was about to lead the way out 
 of the house he stopped to hear what his cap- 
 tain had to say to Mr. and Mrs. Truman. 
 
 '' We shall not touch your property, and 
 you may thank these two 'traitors' for it," 
 said the officer ; and when he said "traitor," 
 he waved his hand toward Rodney and Tom 
 and paused to note the effect of his words. 
 
 The men, after the first shock of surprise 
 had passed, seemed ready to drop, Mr. Tru- 
 man leaned heavily against the nearest wall, 
 and his wife, who had borne up as bravely as 
 the best of them, behaved as women usually 
 do under such circumstances. She buried her 
 face in her handkerchief and sobbed violently. 
 
 " I hope you gentlemen will remember my 
 forbearance and be equally lenient toward any 
 
296 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 > 
 
 Confederate who may chance to fall into your 
 power," continued the captain, whose calm, 
 steady voice had grown husky all on a sudden. 
 '' We are not a bad lot, but we are going to 
 govern this State as we please, and you will 
 save yourselves trouble if you will stop fight- 
 ing against us. You'll have to do it sooner or 
 later. Of course I shall be obliged to deprive 
 you of your guns, for you might be tempted 
 to shoot them at some loyal Jackson man 
 when we are not here to protect him. I ha^e 
 saved these young gentlemen from your 
 clutches, and as that was what I came for, I 
 will bid you good-evening." 
 
 Rodney Gray did not hear much of this 
 polite address for a new fear had taken pos- 
 session of him, and he took the opportunity to 
 say to his friend Tom : 
 
 "You go with the lieutenant after the 
 horses, and I will stay with the cax)tain to say 
 a word in your defense in case any of these 
 Union people happen to speak your name, or 
 let out anything else you would rather keep 
 hidden." 
 
 Tom thought this a o-ood suo:o:estion. It 
 
WITH price's men. 297 
 
 would certainly be disagreeable, and perhaps 
 dangerous, to have the captain tell him when 
 he returned with the horses that he wasn't 
 Tom Barton at all — that his real name was 
 Percival, that he was the commander of a 
 company of Union men who had offered to 
 help Lyon at St. Louis, and all that. While 
 Tom did not think the captain would believe 
 such a story if it were told him, it might sug- 
 gest to him some leading questions that the 
 boys would find it hard to answer. So he left 
 Rodney to act as a sort of rear guard, and 
 went off to the stable with the lieutenant. 
 
 "Did you really know that we were in the 
 house ?" Tom asked, when he was alone with 
 the officer. " If you did, it can't be that Mer- 
 rick's boy told you." 
 
 " Of course he didn't. He would have kept 
 it from us if he could, but all the same the 
 information came from him in the first place. 
 The blacks in these parts are all Union — no 
 one need waste his breath telling me dif- 
 ferent — and that scamp of a boy lost no time 
 in spreading it among the Union men in the 
 neighborhood that there were a couple of 
 
298 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 J 
 
 ' disguised rebels,' as lie called you and 
 Gray, putting up at Truman's house. That 
 was the way those five fellows came to get on 
 your trail ; but, as good luck would have it, 
 the darkey told the story to too many. Xot 
 being as well acquainted in this settlement as 
 he probablj^ is in his own, he told it to a Jack- 
 son man, who rode to our camp and told us of 
 it. If it hadn't been for that we should be 
 miles away now ; but of course we couldn't 
 think of going oif and leaving some of our 
 own iDeox^le in the hands of the enemy." 
 
 "You rendered us a most important service," 
 replied Tom ; and he told nothing but the 
 truth when he said it. " It is necessary that I 
 should go home on business, but Rodney Gray 
 want's to enlist in an independent command 
 as soon as he can get the chance. Didn't you 
 speak of Dick Graham as a sergeant? " 
 " Mav be so. That's ^vhat he is." 
 " Does he belong to your comx^any ? " 
 " No ; but he belongs to our regiment, and 
 that's how I came to get acquainted wdth him. 
 He's got more friends than any other fellow^ I 
 know of, and he will be glad to see an old 
 
WITH price's men. 299 
 
 schoolmate once more. I have heard him tell 
 of Rodney Gray and the scrapes he got into 
 by speaking his mind so freely, and I am not 
 the only one in the regiment who thinks that 
 the Barrington Military Academy is a disgrace 
 to the town and State in which it is located. 
 The citizens ought to have turned out some 
 night and torn it up root and branch." 
 
 "They would have had a good time trying 
 it," said Tom. "The boys punched one 
 another s head on the parade ground now and 
 then, but it wasn't safe for an outsider to in- 
 terfere with our private affairs." 
 
 " Why, the Confederates wouldn't fight for 
 the Union boys, would they 1 " exclaimed the 
 lieutenant. "That's a little the strangest 
 thing I ever heard of. We don't do business 
 that way in Missouri, and I could see that our 
 boys didn't like it Avhen you and Gray stuck 
 up for those Yankee sympathizers back there 
 in the house." 
 
 Perhaps they wouldn't have liked it either, 
 if they had known how Tom and Rodney had 
 "stuck up" for each other ever since they 
 met at Cedar Bluff landing. But that was a 
 
300 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 piece of neAvs that Tom did not touch upon. 
 He intended to reserve it for Dick Graham's 
 private ear. 
 
 '' And in the meantime I mustn't neglect to 
 ascertain just when and where the lieutenant 
 expects to rejoin his regiment, so that I can 
 take the first chance that offers to get away 
 and strike out for home," thought Tom. 
 "Dick wouldn't expect to see me in Rodney 
 Gray's company, and might betray me before 
 he knew what he was doing." 
 
 Having saddled and bridled the horses Tom 
 and the lieutenant returned to the house, the 
 former somewhat anxious to know if anything 
 had been said during his absence that could 
 be brought up against him. But a glance and 
 a reassuring smile from Rodney were enough 
 to show him that he had nothing to fear on 
 that score. The guards stood at the windows 
 watching the party inside, the horses had 
 been brought into the yard in readiness for 
 the squad to mount, and Rodney and the cap- 
 tain were sitting on the front steps. The pris- 
 oners, if such they could be called, were too 
 sullen to exchange a word with the Confeder- 
 
WITH PRICE'S MEN. 301 
 
 ates, and the captain tliouglit it beneath his 
 dignity to talk to Union men ; and Rodney 
 was glad to have it so. 
 
 "Bring in the guards and get a-going," was 
 the order the captain gave when his lieuten- 
 ant came up ; and this made it evident to 
 the well-drilled Barrington boys that Captain 
 Hubbard's company of Rangers were not the 
 only Confederates who had a good deal to 
 learn before they could call themselves sol- 
 diers. But his men understood the order, and 
 it was the work of but a few minutes for them 
 to get into their saddles and set off down the 
 road, and they did it without pajing any 
 more attention to the men in the house. Rod- 
 ney rode beside the captain at the head of the 
 column, Tom and the lieutenant coming next 
 in line. The former thought it was a good 
 evening's work all around, and that Merrick's 
 red-eyed darkey could not have done him a 
 greater service if he had been a friend to him 
 instead of an enemy. He had had a narrow 
 escape from being taken into the presence of 
 men he hoped he might never see again, but 
 he was all right now. So was Tom, for if he 
 
302 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 wasn't already beyond the danger of betrayal, 
 he certainly would be by the time daylight 
 came. 
 
 "No ; we shall not march all night," said 
 tlie captain, in response to an inquiry from 
 Rodney. " We have been in the saddle pretty 
 steadily for the last week, and both men and 
 horses are in need of rest. But I shall take 
 good care to get out of this settlement before 
 going into camp. I don' t want to be ambushed. ' ' 
 
 "I don't think those men back there would 
 do such a thing," replied Rodney. "They 
 seemed very grateful to you for letting them 
 off so easily." 
 
 "Ha!" exclaimed the captain. "They 
 would do it in a minute if they thought they 
 could escape the consequences. You don't 
 know how bitter everybody is against every- 
 body else Avho doesn' t train with his crowd, 
 and you'll have to live among us a while 
 before you can understand it." 
 
 " When shall I have the pleasure of shak- 
 ing Dick Graham by the hand?" inquired 
 Rodney. " Does he stand up for State Rights 
 as strongly as he used ? " 
 
WITH price's men. 303 
 
 '' Yes ; and I am with him. You see, when 
 the election was held in '60, our people, by a 
 vote of one hundred and thirty-five thousand 
 to thirty thousand, decided against the ex- 
 treme rule-or-ruin party of the South, and 
 declai^ed that Missouri ought to stay in the 
 Union ; but at the same time they didn't deny 
 that she had a perfect right to go out if she 
 wanted to. If she decide'd to go with South 
 Carolina and the other cotton States, the gov- 
 ernment at Washington had no business to 
 send soldiers here to stop her ; neither had 
 those troops from Illinois any business to 
 come across the Mississippi and steal our guns 
 out of the St. Louis arsenal. That was an act 
 of invasion, and we had a right to get mad 
 about it. We decided to remain neutral, and 
 our General Price made an agreement with the 
 Federal General Harney to that effect ; but 
 that did not suit the abolitionists who want 
 war and nothing else. They took Harney's 
 command away from him and gave it to Lyon, 
 who at once proceeded to do everything he 
 could to drive us to desperation. He drove us 
 out of Jefferson City and Booneville, and now 
 
304 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 he has sent that Dutchman Siegel to Spring- 
 field to see what damage he can do there." 
 
 ' ' But what was the reason Siegel w^as sent to 
 Springfield ? " inquired Tom, wdio, riding close 
 behind the captain, heard every w^ord he said. 
 '' Wasn't it to repel the invasion of McCul- 
 loch, w^ho was coming from Arkansas with 
 eight hundred bandits he called Texan Ran- 
 gers ? Has he any right to ride rough-shod 
 through our State, when some of our own 
 citizens are not permitted to stick their heads 
 out of doors ?" 
 
 "Hallo!" exclaimed the captain, turning 
 about in his saddle to face Tom, w hile Rodney 
 began to fear that his friend's tongue would 
 get them both into trouble. "You are about 
 the same kind of a Confederate I am, only I 
 don't blurt out my opinions in that style, and 
 you hadn't better do it, either. To be con- 
 sistent I am obliged to say that those Texans 
 had no business to come over the Missouri 
 line, but circumstances alter cases. We are in 
 trouble, we can't stand against the power of 
 the abolition government, and I shall be glad 
 to see that man McCuUoch." 
 
 o 
 
WITH price's MEN". 305 
 
 *' I understand that there had been no fight- 
 ing to speak of, and yet you say we have been 
 driven out of two places," said Rodney. 
 
 "Oh, we were not ready and the Yankees 
 were," answered the captain. " We had just 
 fighting enough to give us a chance to learn 
 how gunpowder smells. We are waiting for 
 McCulloch now, and when he comes, we'll 
 assume the offensive and drive Lyon out of 
 
 the State." 
 
 " That's the very thing I came here for, and 
 I am glad to know that I shall be in time to 
 help," said Rodney gleefully. '' But are you 
 a partisan and is Dick Graham one, also ? " 
 
 "Yes, to both your questions; but of 
 course we are sworn into the service of the 
 
 State." 
 
 " You couldn't be ordered out of the State, 
 
 could you ?" "- 
 
 "Not by a long shot, and we w^ouldn't go if 
 we were ordered out. If other States desire 
 independence, let them win it without calling 
 upon their neighbors for help. That's what 
 we intend to do." 
 
 "And that w^as another thing I wanted to 
 
306 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 know," said Eodney, with a sigh of relief. 
 "I am satisfied now, and wish my company 
 was here Avith me. Some of the members 
 seemed willing and even anxious to come, 
 but when the thing was brought before them 
 in the form of a resolution, they voted 
 against it." 
 
 And then he went on to tell the captain Iioav 
 it happened that he came to Missouri alone, 
 not forgetting to mention how he had fooled 
 the telegraph operators at Baton Kouge and 
 Mooreville. 
 
 "Those operators told that St. Louis cotton- 
 factor I w^as a Confederate bearer of dis- 
 patches," said he, in winding up his stor3^ 
 "But I haven't a scrap of writing about 
 
 me." 
 
 " You are a great deal safer without any," 
 replied the officer. " Suppose those Union 
 men at Truman's house had searched you and 
 found a letter of introduction to some well- 
 known Confederate living in these parts ! 
 They might have strung you up before we had 
 time to go to your relief. But how did you 
 fall in with your old schoolmate, Barton ? 
 
WITH price's men. 307 
 
 You couldn't have expected to meet him at 
 the landing ? " 
 
 This was a question that Rodney Gray had 
 been dreading, for you will remember that he 
 had had no opportunity to hold a private con- 
 sultation with Tom and ask him what sort of a 
 reply he should make when this inquiry was 
 propounded, as it was sure to be sooner or 
 later. He turned about in his saddle and rode 
 side way so that Tom could hear every word he 
 said. 
 
 *' He was the last j)erson in the world I ex- 
 pected to see when I left the steamer at Cedar 
 Bluff landing to get ahead of the Yankee 
 cotton-factor in St. Louis," said Rodney. 
 ' ' Tom had been over Cape Girardeau way on 
 business, and got a trifle out of his reckoning 
 when Mr. Westall and his party of Emergency 
 men picked him up and brought him to the 
 wood-cutters' camp. We slept there that 
 night and came out together in the morn- 
 ing." 
 
 This was a desperate story to tell, seeing 
 that they were not yet out of reach of men 
 who could easily prove that there was quite 
 
308 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 as mucli falsehood as truth in it, but Kodney 
 did not know what else to say. He rested his 
 hoi3es of safety ni)on the supposition that the 
 Confederate captain had done all his scouting 
 on interior lines, and that he had not been into 
 the river counties until he came to Truman's 
 house to rescue him and Tom from the power 
 of the Union men ; and there was where his 
 good luck stood him in hand. More than 
 that, Dick Graham was one of the best known 
 members of his regiment, and it would have 
 taken a pretty good taller to make the cap- 
 tain believe that there could be anything 
 wrong with one of Dick' s friends. 
 
 While this conversation was going on Rod- 
 ney noticed that the captain was constantly on 
 his guard, and that as often as they reached a 
 place where the woods came down close to the 
 road on each side, his men closed up the ranks 
 without waiting for orders. Every house they 
 passed was as dark as a dungeon, and no 
 sounds of music and dancing came from the 
 negro quarters. The people, white and black, 
 had gone into their houses and barred their 
 doors to wait until these unwelcome visitors in 
 
WITH price's men. 309 
 
 gray liad taken tliemselves out of the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Before the captain went into camp, which 
 he did about midnight, Tom Percival, as we 
 shall continue to call him, had ample time to 
 question the lieutenant and find out where his 
 regiment was stationed and when he expected 
 to join it. The last question, however, was 
 one that the young officer could not answer 
 with any degree of accuracy. 
 
 *' You see we have some men with us wdio 
 are not in uniform, do you not?" said he. 
 ' ' Well, they are the recruits we have picked 
 up since we have been out on this scout. They 
 have been terribly persecuted by the Union 
 men in their settlement, and want us to stop 
 on our way back long enough to burn those 
 Union men out. If we do, it will delay us a 
 day or two ; if we don't, and keep lumbering 
 right along, we shall be with the rest of the 
 boys in less than forty-eight hours." 
 
 This was w4iat Tom w^anted to know ; and 
 he decided that when the squad reached the 
 old post-rode and turned up toward the place 
 at which the regiment was stationed, he w^ould 
 
310 • RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 go south, toward Springfield, and so avoid the 
 risk of meeting Dick Graham. 
 
 "I suppose you know your own business 
 best," said the lieutenant, when Tom an- 
 nounced his decision. "But I'll never go 
 piking off through the country alone so long 
 as I know what I am doing. There^s too much 
 danger in it. When you get ready to go into 
 the service, remember that our regiment is one 
 of the very best, and that we are ready to wel- 
 come all volunteers with open arms." 
 
 The two boys slept under the same blankets 
 that night, but the talking they did was in- 
 tended for the benefit for those who were 
 lying near them, rather than for each other. 
 Tom sent numberless messages to Dick Gra- 
 ham, and wanted Rodney to be sure and tell 
 him that he (Tom) w^ould be a member of his 
 company before its next battle with the Yan- 
 kees ; all of which Rodney promised to bear 
 in mind. The squad broke their fast next 
 morning on provisions which they had "for- 
 aged" from the Union men whose buildings 
 they had destroyed two nights before, and at 
 eight o'clock arrived at the old post-road 
 
WITH price's men. 311 
 
 • 
 
 where the Barrington boys were to take leave 
 of each other, to meet again perhaps under 
 hostile flags and Avith deadly weapons in their 
 hands. But there was one thing about it : 
 They might be enemies in name, but they 
 never would in spirit. 
 
 " There goes one of the bravest and best fel- 
 lows that ever lived," said Rodney, facing 
 about in his saddle to take a last look at his 
 friend who rodo away with a heavy heart. 
 
 " Don't be so solemn over it," said the cap- 
 tain. '' Didn't he say he would come back as 
 soon as he could V 
 
 Yes, that was what Tom said ; but the 
 trouble was, that when he came again he 
 might come in such a way that Rodney could 
 not shake hands with him. 
 
CHAPTER Xiy. 
 
 *' HURKAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 
 
 HxiyiNG decided that lie would waste too 
 much time if he turned from his course 
 to i^unish the Union men who had persecuted 
 his recruits, the captain "kept lumbering 
 right along," and on the afternoon of the next 
 day came within sight of the town in which 
 his regiment had been encamped when he left 
 it to start on his scout ; but there was not a 
 tent, a wagon or a soldier to be seen about 
 the place now, and a citizen who came out to 
 meet him, brought the information that the 
 regiment had moved South to join Rains and 
 Jackson, who were marching toward ISTeosho, a 
 short distance from Springfield : and at the 
 same time he gave the captain a written order 
 from his colonel to join his command with all 
 haste. 
 
 ' ' If we had known this before, we might 
 have kept comxDany with your friend Tom," 
 said the captain, as he faced the squad about 
 
 313 
 
"hurrah for bull run!" 313 
 
 after a fashion of his own and started them on 
 the back track. ''Both sides seemed to be 
 concentrating in the southwestern part of the 
 State, and there's where the battle-ground is 
 going to be." 
 
 " !N'ot all the time, I hope," said Rodney. 
 
 "Of course not. We'll drive the enemy 
 back on St. Louis, and wind up by taking that 
 city. General Pillow will march u}^ from New 
 Madrid to co-operate with us, and perhaps he 
 will stop on the way to take Cairo. I hope he 
 will, to pay those Illinois chax^s for robbing 
 the St. Louis armory." 
 
 This was a very pretty programme but the 
 captain thought it could be easily carried out, 
 and the very next day he heard a piece of 
 news which caused him to make several 
 additions to it. As the squad was moving 
 past a plantation house an excited man, who 
 was in too great a hurry to get his hat, rushed 
 down to the gate flourishing a paper over his 
 head and shouted, at the top of his voice : 
 
 "Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Hurrah for 
 Johnston ! Hurrah for Bull Run and all the 
 rest of 'em ! " 
 
314 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 '* What's up? " inquired the captain, rein- 
 ing in his horse. 
 
 "Here's something that one of Price's men 
 slung at me yesterday while he was riding 
 along," rei)lied the planter, opening the gate 
 and placing the pa^^er in the officer's eager 
 palm. " Aint we walking over 'em rough- 
 shod though, and didn't I say all the while 
 that we were bound to do it? A Northern 
 mechanic has got no business alongside a 
 Southern gentleman." 
 
 " Have we had a fight ?" asked the captain. 
 " I wonder if my regiment was in it." 
 
 "No, I don't reckon it was," answered the 
 man, with a laugh. "You see it happened 
 out in Virginny, a few miles from Washington. 
 I wish I might get a later paper' n that, for I 
 calculate to read in it that our boys are in 
 Washington dictating — " 
 
 "Hey — youp ! " yelled the captain, who 
 began to understand the matter now. 
 
 "Price's men whooped and yelled worse' n 
 that when they went by yesterday," said the 
 man, jumping up and knocking his heels 
 together like a boy who had just been turned 
 
"hurrah for bull run!" 315 
 
 loose from school. " That's Davis's dispatch 
 right there. He went out from Richmond to 
 watch the fight, and got there just in time to 
 see the Yankees running." 
 
 The oflicer, who was worked up to such a 
 pitch of excitement that the paper rustled in 
 his trembling hands, glanced over the black 
 headlines to which the planter directed his 
 attention, and then read the dispatch aloud 
 so that his men could hear it. It ran as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " Night has closed upon a hard- fought field. 
 Our forces were victorious. The battle was 
 fought mainly on our left. Our forces were 
 fifteen thousand ; that of the enemy estimated 
 at thirty-five thousand." 
 
 "And when the Yankees got a-going," 
 chimed in the planter, clapping his hands and 
 swaying his body back and forth after the 
 manner of a negro who had been carried away 
 by some sudden enthusiasm, "they never 
 stopped. It was such a stampede that their 
 oflicers couldn't do nothing with 'em. The 
 soldiers who were running away from the 
 battle met the civilians who were riding out 
 
316 EODITEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 from Wasliington to see it, and the two living 
 streams of humanity, one going one way and 
 t'other going t'other way, got all mixed up 
 together ; and all the while there were our 
 batteries playing onto 'em and our cavalry 
 riding through 'em and sabering first one and 
 then another, till — Hey — youp ! I'll be dog- 
 gone if I can seem to get it through my head, 
 although I have read it more'n a hundred 
 times." 
 
 This astounding intelligence almost took 
 away the breath of the men who listened to it. 
 Of course they had known all the while that 
 whipping the North was going to be as easy as 
 falling oif a log, but to have their opinions 
 confirmed in this unexpected way almost over- 
 whelmed them. They knew it was bound to 
 come, but they hadn't looked for it so soon. 
 They gazed at one another in silence for a 
 moment or two, and then the shout they set 
 up w^ould have done credit to a larger squad 
 than theirs. The planter, wlio really acted as 
 though he had taken leave of his senses, 
 joined in, laughing and shaking his head and 
 slapping his knees in a w^ay that set Rodney 
 
"hurrah for bull run!" 317 
 
 Gray in a roar. It was a long time before the 
 captain could bring his squad to "attention." 
 
 "There's a good deal more in this paper," 
 said he, "and if you will let me have it, I 
 should like to read it to the boys when we go 
 into camp. We belong to Price, and want to 
 catch up with the men who went by here yes- 
 terday." 
 
 "Then you'll have to skip along right 
 peart," replied the man. "That's the way 
 they were going— stopped long enough to 
 drink my well 'most dry, and then went off in 
 a lope. As for the paper, take it along. You 
 don't reckon there's any chance for a mistake, 
 do you?" 
 
 "Not the slightest. President Davis knew 
 what he Avas doing when he sent that telegram 
 to Richmond." 
 
 "But fifteen thousand against thirty-five 
 thousand," said the planter, whose excitement 
 had not driven all his common sense out of his 
 head. " That's big odds, and it kinder sticks 
 in my crop. Well, good-by, if you must be 
 going, and good luck to you." 
 
 "It doesn't stick in my crop," replied the 
 
318 PwODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 captain. " I knew we could do it, and we'll 
 whip bigger odds than that, if they keep forc- 
 ing Avar upon us. Don't you know that the 
 man who looks for a fight generally gets more 
 than he wants ? Forward ! Trot ! " 
 
 Never before had Rodney Gray been thrown 
 into the company of so wild a set of men. If 
 such a thing were x'>ossible, they were wilder 
 than those his Cousin Marcy found on his 
 train when he boarded it at Barrington on his 
 way home. The first rational thought that 
 came into his mind was : What a lucky thing 
 that Tom Percival was well out of the way 
 when this news came ! Tom would have be- 
 trayed himself sure, for he never could have 
 pulled off his hat and shouted and whooped 
 with any enthusiasm w^hen he heard that the 
 cause in which he believed, and for which he 
 was willing to risk his life, had met with dis- 
 aster. At length the captain, who appeared 
 to have been awed into silence, said slowly : 
 
 *' I, too, would like to see a later paper than 
 this. If it is true that the Federals were 
 utterly routed and thrown into such confusion 
 that their officers could do nothing with them, 
 
u 
 
 HUKKAH FOR BULL RUN!" 319 
 
 our victorious troops must have followed them 
 into Washington, and I shouldn't wonder if 
 they were there at this moment, dictating 
 terms of peace to the Lincoln government." 
 
 The paper that had been given him, proved 
 to be a copy of the MoUle Register. As the 
 captain talked he ran his eye rapidly over its 
 columns, and finally found an editorial con- 
 taining a piece of news that caused him to 
 halt his squad and face his horse about. 
 
 '' Here's something I want to read to you," 
 said he. '' Come up close on all sides so that 
 you can hear every word of it. You know 
 that our governor proposed that Missouri 
 should remain neutral, and that a conference 
 was held at the Planter's House in St. Louis 
 to talk the matter over. This is what General 
 Lyon said in reply to the governor's proposi- 
 tion, Now listen, so that you may know who 
 is to blame for the troubles that have come 
 upon us : 
 
 *' 'Rather than concede to the State of Mis- 
 souri the right to demand that government 
 shall not enlist troops within her limits, or 
 bring troops into the State w^henever it please, 
 
820 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 or move its troops at its own will, I would see 
 every man, woman and child in the State dead 
 and buried. This means war.' 
 
 ''What do you boys say to that?" con- 
 tinued the captain. 
 
 '' I say that if the Yankees want war we'll 
 give them more than they'll care to have," 
 answered one of the squad ; and all his com- 
 rades yelled their approval. ''Now while 
 you're reading, captain, suppose you read 
 about that big battle. Let's hear just how 
 bad our fifteen thousand whij)ped the Yankee 
 thirty-five thousand." 
 
 The officer complied and read an account of 
 the battle of Bull Run, which was so highly 
 sensational and so utterly unreasonable, that 
 Eodney Gray's common sense would not let 
 him believe more than half of it. He hoped 
 and believed that the Southern soldiers had 
 gained a glorious victory over the Lincoln 
 hirelings ; but that there could have been so 
 great a difference in the size of the contending 
 armies, did not look reasonable. Bat the cap- 
 tain put implicit faith in the story. 
 
 ' ' It seems that the Federal success in the 
 
*' HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 321 
 
 beginning of the figlit was owing to their over- 
 whelming numbers," said he. "But the men 
 on our side were gentlemen who could not be 
 driven by a rabble, and of course they Avere 
 bound to win in the end. But here is an 
 article that may be of more interest to us. It 
 is entitled, ' The Situation in Missouri.' 
 You know that Governor Jackson went to 
 Jefferson City and issued a proclamation 
 calling the people to arms, and that Lyon came 
 up the river on steamboats and routed him 
 from there and from Booneville, too. You 
 know all about it, because you were there and 
 so was I. Well, the Northern papers think 
 that that was a blow that secured Missouri to 
 the Union, and that thousands, who have been 
 hesitating which side to take, Avill now enlist 
 to put down the rebellion. Rebellion! Ee- 
 member the word. That's what the Lincoln 
 hirelings call the efforts of a free peoi3le to 
 maintain their freedom. But listen to what 
 the Register has to say on this point : 
 
 " 'The Northern soldiers prefer enlisting to 
 starvation. But they are not soldiers, least of 
 all to meet the hot-blooded, thorough -bred, 
 
822 RODNEY, THE PAETISAIST. 
 
 impetuous men of the South. They are 
 trencher-soldiers who enlisted to make war 
 upon rations, not upon men. They are such 
 as marched through Baltimore, squalid, 
 wretched, ragged, half-naked, as the news- 
 papers of that city report them ; fellows who 
 do not know the breech of a musket from 
 its muzzle ; white slaves, peddling watches ; 
 small-change knaves and vagrants. These are 
 the levied forces which Lincoln arrays as can- 
 didates for the honor of being slaughtered by 
 gentlemen such as Mobile sends to battle. Let 
 them come South and we will put our negroes 
 to the dirty work of killing them. But they 
 will not come South. Not a wretch of them 
 will live on this side of the border longer than 
 it will take us to reach the ground and drive 
 them off.' 
 
 " Can we at the front be whipped while our 
 friends at home keep up such heart as that? " 
 cried the excited captain, pulling off his cap 
 and flourishing it over his head with one hand, 
 while he shook the paper at his men Avith the 
 other. " Three cheers for brave old Missouri, 
 and confusion to everybody who wants to 
 keep her down." 
 
 " Everybody except Tom Percival," thought 
 
u 
 
 HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 323 
 
 Rodney, as he threw up his cap and joined in 
 to help increase the almost deafening noise 
 that arose when the officer ceased speaking. 
 "Whatever happens to anybody else I want 
 Tom to come out all right." 
 
 After this short delay the squad rode on 
 again, and along every mile of the road they 
 traversed they found people to cheer them and 
 hurrah for the great victory at Bull Run. 
 There were no signs of Union men anywhere 
 along the route, but the blackened ruins they 
 passed now and then pointed out the sites of 
 the dwellings in which some of them had 
 formerly lived. Those ruins had been left there 
 by some of Price's men— scouting parties like 
 the one with which he was now riding. Rod- 
 ney had always thought he should like to be a 
 scout, but if that was the sort of work scouts 
 were expected to do, he decided that he would 
 rather be a regular soldier. He wouldn't mind 
 facing men who had weapons in their hands, 
 because that was what soldiers enlisted for ; 
 but the idea of turning women and children 
 out into the weather, by burning their houses 
 over their heads, was repugnant to him. 
 
324 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 There was one piece of news lie and the cap- 
 tain did not get, although they asked every- 
 body for it. No one could tell them for cer- 
 tain that the victorious Confederates had gone 
 into Washington and dictated terms of peace 
 to the Lincoln government. There were 
 plenty who were sure it had been done, but 
 they had received no positive information of 
 it. The only news they heard on which they 
 could x)lace reliance was that Price had with- 
 drawn from Neosho, and effected a junction 
 with Jackson and Rains at Carthage. That 
 was a point in the captain's favor, for instead 
 of being obliged to make a wide detour to 
 the east and south of Springfield, he turned 
 squarely to the west toward Carthage, and 
 saved more than a hundred miles of travel, as 
 well as the risk of being captured by a scout- 
 ing party of Yankee cavalry. 
 
 The squad reached Carthage without seeing 
 any signs of Siegel's troopers, who were sup- 
 posed to be raiding through the country in all 
 directions, and when Rodney rode into the 
 camp, which was pitched upon a little rise of 
 ground a short distance from the town, he re- 
 
*' HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 325 
 
 marked that he had never seen a stranger 
 sight. The camp itself was all riglit. The 
 tents were jDroperly pitched, the wagons and 
 artillery parked after the most approved mili- 
 tary rules, and all this was to be expected, 
 since the commanding general was a veteran of 
 the Mexican war ; but the men looked more 
 like a mob than they did like soldiers. There 
 w^ere eight thousand of them, and not one in 
 ten was provided with a uniform of any sort. 
 The guard who challenged them carried a 
 double-barrel shotgun, and the only thing 
 military there was about him, was a rooster's 
 feather stuck in the band of his hat. 
 
 "They're a good deal better than they 
 look," said the captain, when Rodney called 
 his a'ttention to the fact that the sentry 
 " slouched " rather than walked over his beat, 
 and that he didn't know how to hold his gun. 
 " They are not very well drilled yet, but they'll 
 fight, and that is the main thing. Think of 
 Washington and his ragamuffins at Valley 
 Forge the next time you feel disposed to criti- 
 cise the boys." 
 
 " Where is the enemy ? " inquired Rodney. 
 
326 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "He is supposed to be concentrating twenty 
 thousand men at Springfield, thirty-five miles 
 east of here," replied the captain. "When 
 McCulloch gets up from Arkansaw we'll have 
 a little more than fifteen thousand. But 
 that's enough. We'll be in St. Louis in less 
 than a month. That victory at Bull Run will 
 nerve our boys to do good work when they get 
 at it. Now where shall I go to find my regi- 
 ment ? The colonel is the man I want to re- 
 port to." 
 
 While the captain was looking around to 
 find an officer of whom he could make in- 
 quiries, there was a loud clatter of hoofs be- 
 hind, and a moment afterward a spruce young 
 fellow, handsomely mounted and wearing a 
 uniform that Rodney Gray would have recog- 
 nized anywhere, dashed by and held on his 
 way without once looking in their direction. 
 
 "There he is now," exclaimed the captain, 
 before Rodney had time to speak. ' ' Oh, ser- 
 geant ! ' ' 
 
 The horseman drew up and turned about 
 just as Rodney's hand was placed upon his 
 shoulder. The greeting was just such a one 
 
 o 
 
''hurrah for bull run!" 327 
 
 as any two boys would extend to each other 
 under similar circumstances, and so we need 
 not say any more about it. Rodney and Dick 
 Graham were shaking hands at last, and two 
 brothers could not have been more delighted. 
 
 "How in the world did you get through 
 St. Louis without being put in Jail, and wdiere 
 did you pick him up, captain?" were the 
 questions Dick asked when he recovered from 
 his surjprise. "Lyon is between us and St. 
 Louis, but we manage to get our mail pretty 
 regularly — Heard about Bull Run? Wasn't 
 that a victory though ? Fifteen thousand 
 against thirty-five thousand ! When we were 
 at school, captain — " 
 
 "Where's the regiment?" interrupted the 
 latter. ' ' I am ordered to rejiort to the colonel 
 at once." 
 
 " Over there," replied Dick, sweeping his 
 right arm around the horizon so as to include 
 the whole camp on that side of the street. 
 "Come on, and I will show you the way. 
 When we were at school the Union boys made 
 sport of us rebels because we shouted our- 
 selves hoarse over the victory in Charleston 
 
328 KODNEY, THE PAPwTISAN. 
 
 Harbor, and declared tliat we ought to be 
 ashamed of ourselves for it. Five thousand 
 men against fifty-one was not a thing to be 
 proud of. But they couldn't say that now if 
 they were here. We won a fair fight on the 
 field of Bull Run, although the enemy out- 
 numbered us more than two to one. I say Ave 
 are going to repeat the good work right here 
 in Missouri." 
 
 Are you Confederate ?" inquired Rodney. 
 
 Not much. I'm State Rights. That's 
 
 me. 
 
 5? 
 
 And you'll not be ordered out of your 
 State?" 
 
 ''I may be ordered but I wont go. That's 
 me. Seen Jeff Thompson's last proclamation? 
 In it he calls Lyon's Dutchmen Hessians and 
 Tories, and says our first hard work must be 
 to drive them from the State. After that has 
 been done, then we'll decide whether or not we 
 want to join the Confederacy." 
 
 ''If the Governor of Louisiana had talked 
 that way I would not be here now," said Rod- 
 ney. ''He tried to swear us into the Con- 
 federate service against our will, and that 
 
*^ HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 329 
 
 broke up the company. I have as much to 
 tell you as you have to tell me, and I propose 
 that we postpone our talking until we can sit 
 down somewhere and have it out with no fear 
 of interruption. Do you suppose I can get 
 into your company ? " 
 
 '' I suppose you can," replied Dick, with a 
 laugh. '' When the captain sees your writing 
 he will make you orderly so quick you will 
 never know it." 
 
 "Then he'll never see any of my writing," 
 said Rodney, earnestly. "If you so much as 
 hint to him that I know a pen-point from a 
 pen-holder, I'll never forgive you. Captain 
 Hubbard's men wanted to make me company 
 clerk, but I couldn' t see the beauty of it, and 
 so they elected me sergeant. But I don't 
 want any office now. I want to remain a i^ri- 
 vate so that I will have a chance to go with 
 you if you are sent out on a scout. But bear 
 one thing in mind," he added, in a lower tone, 
 "you needn't order me to burn any houses, 
 for I'll not do it." 
 
 " I am down on all such fighting myself," 
 rej)lied Dick, with emx)hasis. "If we ever go 
 
330 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 out together I will show you as many as half-a- 
 dozen houses that would be ashes now if it 
 hadn't been for me, and one of them covers 
 the head of one Thomas Percival — when he is 
 at home." 
 
 Dick thought Rodney would be much sur- 
 prised at this, but he wasn't. All he said 
 was : 
 
 "Does Tom know it?" 
 
 "I don't suppose he does, or his father, 
 either ; but I have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that I have done something to strengthen the 
 friendship that existed between Tom and my- 
 self W'hile we w^ere at Barrington. You will 
 know how hard a time I had in doing any 
 thing for the Percivals when I tell you that 
 Tom is suspected of belonging to a company 
 of Home Guards." 
 
 "Suspected, is he ? ^^ said Hodney, wath a 
 knowing wink. " Is that all you know" about 
 him? He's captain of a company he raised 
 himself, and rode all the way alone to St. 
 Louis to ask Lyon if he could join him. He 
 was afraid to trust the mails. He told me 
 that the Vigilance Committees had a way of 
 
u 
 
 HURRAH FOR BULL RUN ! " 331 
 
 opening letters from suspected persons, and he 
 didn't want to run any risks." 
 
 " Well now, I am beat," said Dick, who liad 
 listened to this revelation with a look of the 
 profoundest astonishment on his face. "But 
 how does it come that you know so much 
 more about him than I do ? Have you been 
 corresponding with him ? " 
 
 " I never heard a word from him from the 
 time I left Barrington until I met him at 
 Cedar Bluff landing in a nest of Confederates. 
 Tom was a prisoner, was known to be Union, 
 accused of being a horse-thief and in a fair 
 way of being hung ; but he got out of the 
 scrape somehow, and I hope is safe at home by 
 this time." 
 
 " Well, well," repeated Dick, growing more 
 and more amazed. "So do I hope he is safe 
 at home, and if he got within a hundred miles 
 of Springfield I reckon he is. The country is 
 full of Federal cavalry, and how your squad 
 came through without being molested is more 
 than I can understand. You wall find the 
 colonel in this tent, captain," said he, dis- 
 mounting and drawing some papers from his 
 
332 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 X)ocket. "I must rej^ort too, for I have been 
 on an errand for liim. I'll be out in a minute, 
 Kodney." 
 
 Dick followed the captain into the colonel's 
 tent, and R-odney sat on his horse and looked 
 around while he awaited his return. He 
 thought of what the captain had said regard- 
 ing the Continentals at Valley Forge, but did 
 not see that there could be any comparison 
 drawn between the two armies. Price's men 
 seemed to be well clothed, provisions were 
 plenty, and as for their arms, they had an 
 abundance of them such as they were, and a 
 charging enemy would find their double-barrel 
 shotguns bad things to face at close quarters. 
 But a few months later the comparison was 
 a good one. During the "little Moscow 
 retreat," after the battle of Pea Ridge (which 
 Van Dorn's ambition led him to fight contrary 
 to orders), along a route where there were 
 neither roads nor bridges, through a region 
 from which the inhabitants had all fled, leav- 
 ing the country "so poor that a turkey buz- 
 zard would not fly over it," with no train of 
 wagons, or provisions to put in them if there 
 
^'hurrah for bull run!" 333 
 
 had been, and no tents to shelter them from 
 the cold, biting winds and sleet and snow — 
 when Rodney Gray found himself and com- 
 panions in this situation he thought of the 
 Continentals, and wondered at the patriotism 
 that kej)t them in the ranks. But it wasn't 
 patriotism that kejpt Price's men together. It 
 vi2isfear and nothing else. 
 
 Bnt this dark picture w^as hidden from Rod- 
 ney's view as he sat there on his horse waiting 
 for his friend Dick Graham to come out of the 
 colonel' s tent. The martial scenes around 
 him, the military order that everywhere pre- 
 vailed, the companies and regiments drilling 
 in the fields close by, the inspiriting music 
 that came to his ears — these sights and sounds 
 tilled him with enthusiasm ; and if any one 
 had told him that the time would come when 
 he would think seriously of deserting the 
 army and turning his back upon the cause he 
 had espoused, Rodney Gray would have been 
 thunder struck. But the time came. 
 
CHAPTER XY. 
 
 A FULL-FLEDGED PAETISAT^. 
 
 HAYI]N"G transacted liis business with 
 the colonel, Dick Graham came out of 
 the tent and mounted his horse. 
 
 "Of course I had to wait until the captain 
 had made his report," said he, in a suppressed 
 whisper, "and in that way I happened to hear 
 a little about yourself and Tom Barton. I 
 knew enough to keep still in the presence of 
 my superiors, but I did want to ask the cap- 
 tain to say more about Tom Barton. Was it 
 Percival?" 
 
 Rodney winked first one eye and then the 
 other and Dick was answered. 
 
 "It's the strangest thing I ever heard of, 
 and I am in a hurry to know all about it. 
 Come on ; our company is up at the end of 
 the street. We occupy the post of honor on 
 the right of the line, because we are the only 
 company in the regiment that is fully uni- 
 
 334 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 335 
 
 formed. We'll leave our horses at the stable 
 line, and Captain Jones will make a State 
 Guard of you before you know it." 
 
 Not to dwell too long upon matters that 
 have little bearing upon our story, it will be 
 enough to say that Rodney was duly pre- 
 sented to Captain Jones, who was informed 
 that he had come all the way from Louisiana 
 to join a partisan company. He was a Bar- 
 rington boy, well up in military matters, and 
 desired to be sworn into the State service with- 
 out the loss of time. Dick was careful not to 
 say too much for fear that he should let out 
 some secrets that Rodney had not yet had 
 opportunity to tell him. Of course the cap- 
 tain was delighted to see the recruit from Lou- 
 isiana, shook him by the hand as if he had 
 been a younger brother, and sent for an officer 
 to take his descriptive list. He was not re- 
 quired to pass the surgeon, and the oath he 
 took was to the effect that he would obey 
 Governor Jackson and nobody else. This 
 being done Dick took him off to introduce 
 him to the members of his mess. 
 
 ^' But before I do that," said Dick, halting 
 
336 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 just outside the captain's tent and drawing 
 Kodney off on one side, " I want to know just 
 where you stand, and whether or not you ha\ e 
 had any reason to change your x>olitics since I 
 last saw you. Are you as good a rebel as you 
 used to be ?" 
 
 " I never was a rebel," exclaimed Eodney, 
 with some heat. '^ I am ready to fight for my 
 State at any time ; but I deny the right of my 
 Governor to compel me to obey such a man as 
 General Lacey. I didn't want to be sworn 
 into the Confederate army, and that was what 
 sent me up here." 
 
 *' That's all right," replied Dick. 'Tm 
 glad things turned out that way ; otherwise 
 you wouldn't be in mj^ company now. But 
 you don' t seem to be as red-hot as you used 
 to be. You say you don't believe in burning 
 out Union men." 
 
 "I certainly do not. I believe in fighting 
 the men, but not in abusing the women and 
 children." 
 
 '' The Union women are like our own— worse 
 than the men," answered Dick. "That is 
 what I was trying to get at, and I must warn 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 337 
 
 you to be careful liow you talk to anybody 
 but me ; and I, being an officer of the State 
 Guard, can't stand too mucli treasonable non- 
 sense," he added, drawing himself up to his 
 full height and scowling fiercely at his friend. 
 
 "I suppose not ; but I don't see that there 
 is anything treasonable in my saying that I 
 don't believe in making war upon those who 
 cannot defend themselves." 
 
 ''If some of those defenseless persons had 
 been the means of getting you bushwhacked 
 and your buildings destroyed, you might 
 think differently. But come on, and I will 
 make you acquainted with some of the best 
 among the boys." 
 
 There were only two "boys" in the tent 
 into which he was conducted, and they were 
 almost old enough to be gray-headed ; and as 
 they were getting ready to go on post, Rodney 
 had little more than time to say he was glad 
 to know them. Then Dick said he had some 
 waiting to do for the captain that would keep 
 him busy for half an hour, and in the mean- 
 time Rodney would have to look out for him- 
 self. 
 
338 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 "Here's a late copy of the Blclimond 
 Whig, if you would like to see it," said one 
 of his new messmates, who having thrown a 
 powder horn and bullet pouch over his 
 shoulder, stood holding a long squirrel riile in 
 one hand while he extended the paper with 
 the other. " There's an editorial on the inside 
 that may interest you. If the man who wrote 
 it had been trying to express the sentiments 
 of this mess he could not have come nearer to 
 them. Good -by for a couple of hours." 
 
 When he was left alone in the tent Kodney 
 hunted ui3 the editorial in question and read 
 as follows : 
 
 ' ' We are not enough in the secrets of our 
 authorities to specify the day on which Jeff 
 Davis will dine at the White House, and Ben 
 McCulloch take his siesta in General Siegel's 
 gilded tent. We should dislike to x^roduce 
 any disappointment by naming too soon or too 
 early a day ; but it will save trouble if the 
 gentlemen will keep themselves in readiness to 
 dislodge at a moment's notice. If they are 
 not smitten, however, with more than judicial 
 blindness, they do not need this warning at 
 our hands. They must know that the measure 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 339 
 
 of their iniquities is full, and the patience of 
 outraged freedom is exhausted. Among all 
 the brave men from the Rio Grande to the 
 Potomac, and stretching over into insulted, 
 indignant and infuriated Maryland, there is 
 but one word on every lip — ' Washington'' ; 
 and one sentiment in every heart — vengeance 
 on the tyrants who pollute the capital of the 
 Republic ! " 
 
 The paper was full of such idle vaporings as 
 these, but they fired Rodney Gray's Southern 
 heart to such an extent that he was almost 
 ready to quarrel with Dick Graham when the 
 latter came into the tent an hour later, and 
 began discussing the situation in his cool, 
 level-headed w^ay. 
 
 "Yes; I have seen the article," said he, 
 when Rodney asked him what he thought of 
 it, " and it is nothing but the veriest bosh." 
 
 '* Dick Graham, how dare you ? " exclaimed 
 Rodney. 
 
 " Oh, I have heard such talk as that before, 
 and right here in this tent from boys who 
 have known me ever since I was knee-high to 
 a duck, " replied Dick. " 'The tyrants who 
 pollute the capital of the Republic ! ' The 
 
340 KODKEY, THE PARTISAN". 
 
 J 
 
 men who are there, are there because they 
 got the most votes ; and in this country the 
 majority rules. That's me. Now mark what 
 I tell you : The majority of the people will say 
 that this Union shall not be broken up." 
 
 ' ' Then you believe that might makes right, 
 do you ? " 
 
 *' I don't know whether I do or not. If we 
 have the power, we have the right to rise up 
 and shake off the existing form of government 
 and form one that will suit us better. Abe 
 Lincoln said so in one of his speeches, and 
 that's his language almost word for word. 
 But whether the Northern peojple, having the 
 power, have the right to make us stay in the 
 Union when we don't want to, is a question 
 that is a little too deep for me." 
 
 ''They have neither the iDower nor the 
 right," said Rodney angrily. "But you 
 always were as obstinate as a mule, and we 
 can't agree if we talk till doomsday. Now 
 listen while I tell you what I have been 
 through since I said good-by to you in the 
 Barrington depot." 
 
 To repeat what he said would be to write a 
 
 o 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PAKTISAN. 341 
 
 good portion of this book over again. He told 
 the story pretty nearly as we have tried to tell 
 it, with this difference : He touched very 
 lightly upon the courage he had displayed and 
 the risk he had run in helping Tom Percival 
 out of the corn-crib in the wood-cutters' camp, 
 although he was loud in his praises of Tom's 
 coolness and bravery. Dick Graham found it 
 hard to believe some parts of the narrative. 
 
 "So Tom wasn't satisfied with risking his 
 neck by going to St. Louis to see Lyon, but 
 had to come back through Iron and St. Francois 
 counties and try to raise another company of 
 Home Guards there. He's either all pluck or 
 else plum crazy." 
 
 " He's got a straight head on his shoulders ; 
 I'll bear witness to that," replied Rodney. 
 ''What do you suppose he will do at home? 
 Where' s his company ? ' ' 
 
 " When the hunter blows his horn his 
 X)uppies will howl," answered Dick. "His 
 men are scattered here and there and every- 
 where ; but he knows where to find them, and 
 if we ever meet those troops that are concen- 
 trating at Springfield, we'll meet Tom Percival. 
 
342 rodj^ey, the partisan. 
 
 You did a neighborly act when you shoved 
 him your revolver. I wouldn't have given 
 much for you if that man — what's his name ? — 
 AVestall had found it out. Those Emergency 
 men are nothing but robbers and murderers." 
 
 '' That was about the idea I formed of them, 
 and I say they ought to be put down if this 
 war is going to be conducted on civilized 
 X)rinciples. Where were you when Lyon cap- 
 tured that camp at St. Louis ? " 
 
 ''I was getting ready to go to Booneville. I 
 was in that scrimmage and have smelled 
 powder on half-a-dozen occasions." 
 
 " Was that a Secession camp or not ? " 
 
 ''Not as anybody knows of," replied Dick. 
 " It was composed of the State militia which 
 the Governor had ordered out for drill. Under 
 the law he had a right to call them out." 
 
 " JSTow what's the use of your trying any 
 of your jokes on me?" demanded E-odney. 
 "You don't believe a word you have said, and 
 I know it. Be honest now, and have done 
 with your nonsense." 
 
 "Well, General Frost, who commanded the 
 camp, assured Captain Lyon that he was not 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 343 
 
 hostile to the government," answered Dick. 
 " But when Lyon got hold of it, he found that 
 the two main streets were named Davis and 
 Beauregard ; that a good portion of the men 
 were in rebel uniform ; and that they were 
 mostly armed with government muskets which 
 you Louisiana fellows stole out of the Baton 
 Rouge arsenal. Lyon's action in that matter 
 was what caused the riots. I'll say one thing 
 in your private ear : The old flag floats over 
 St. Louis and it's going to stay there." 
 
 "I'm not going to get into any argument 
 with you, but you wdll see that you are wrong. 
 We must have that city in order to command 
 the Mississippi to the Gulf. Wasn' t Jackson's 
 proposition and Price's, that the State should 
 remain neutral, a fair one 1 " 
 
 " That's a question that will be settled when 
 this war is over, and not before." 
 
 " How do you make that out ? " 
 
 " If there is such a thing as State Rights, it 
 was a fair proposition ; if there isn't, it wasn't. 
 It implies the right of a State to make terms 
 with the government ; and that is the very 
 point we are wrangling over. There's but one 
 
344 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 way to decide it, and that is by force of 
 arms." 
 
 ' ' Do you still tliink we are going to be 
 whipped ? ' ' 
 
 "I am sure of it." 
 
 ''And if we are, will you give up the doc- 
 trine of State Rights 1" 
 
 'Til have to. I can't do anything else. 
 But such talk will lead us into argument, and 
 you say you don't want to argue. I have been 
 in a fever of suspense ever since you sent that 
 second telegram to my father in St. Louis. In 
 it you said, in effect, that you would start up 
 the river on the first boat ; and father wrote 
 me that when he got it, he was ready to 
 dance." 
 
 " With delight ? " asked Rodney. 
 
 "Not much. With apprehension. He suj)- 
 posed you were coming up with your whole 
 company. You asked him, for the company, 
 if Price would accept you, and he met Price 
 on the street and showed him the dispatch. 
 Price said he would be glad to do it ; and 
 when you sent word that you were coming, 
 father thought, of course, that you were all 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 345 
 
 coming, and he knew that if you did, Lyon 
 would make prisoners of the last one of you 
 the moment you touched the levee." 
 
 *' Your father didn't give us credit for much 
 sense, did he ? " said Rodney, with some dis- 
 gust in his tones. " The boys wouldn't come 
 and so I had to come alone. I hope that 
 second dispatch did not put your father to 
 any trouble, but I was obliged to send it to 
 throw those telegraph operators off my track 
 and blind them to my real intentions. I su^d- 
 pose that St. Louis cotton-factor was on the 
 watch ? " 
 
 "Of course; and the minute he put his 
 eyes on that roan colt, he would have pointed 
 you and him out to the soldiers. Your second 
 dispatch frightened father, but it did not put 
 him to any trouble. About that time he 
 received a hint that he was being watched, 
 that he was believed to be hanging about the 
 city for the i)urpose of picking u}) information 
 that would do us rebels some good, and so he 
 dug out. He's at home now ; and if we get a 
 chance, we'll ride down there some dark night. 
 I should like to have you acquainted.' 
 
 55 
 
346 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 " Thank you. I'll go any time you say the 
 word ; but why do you persist in speaking of 
 our side as ' rebels ' ? I say we are not. We 
 simply desire to resume the powers which our 
 forefathers were foolish enough to delegate to 
 the general government. Why, the great 
 State of New York, in adopting the Federal 
 Constitution, reserved the right to withdraw 
 from the Union in case things were not run to 
 suit her." 
 
 "Yes; but the great State of New York 
 isn't foolish enough to try any such game as 
 that. She'd be whipjDed so quick that it 
 would make her head swim ; and that's just 
 what is going to happen to South Carolina. 
 But you always was as obstinate as a mule, 
 and I don't care to get into any argument 
 Avith you." 
 
 Rodney Gray was now a full-fledged parti- 
 san ; but the company to which he was at- 
 tached Avas more like mounted infantry than 
 cavalry, for with the exception of the com- 
 missioned officers, there was scarcely one 
 among the men who was provided with a 
 saber. The most of Price's men were armed 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 347 
 
 with shotguns and hunting rifles, and in some 
 respects were superior to cavalry. They could 
 move rapidly, fight as infantry, and if worsted 
 in the engagement, jump on their horses and 
 make a quick retreat. Their uniform was 
 cadet gray with light blue slashings, and so 
 nearly like the one that had been worn by the 
 Barrington students, that all Dick Graham 
 had to do to pass muster on dress parade was 
 to add a sergeant's clievrons to the old uniform 
 he had worn at school. Rodney Gray w^as an 
 "odd sheep in the flock," but Dick had two 
 suits of clothes, one of which his friend Rod- 
 ney always wore w^hen he was on duty, for 
 Captain Jones w^as somewhat particular, and 
 wanted his men to appear well on post and 
 when they were ordered out for drill. The 
 mail-carrier who took Rodney's first letter to 
 his father from the camp, took also an order 
 for a full outfit which w^as addressed to a 
 merchant tailor in Little Rock. Being shut 
 off from St. Louis by Lyon's advancing troops, 
 all the mail, wdth the exception of some secret 
 correspondence which w^as kept up during 
 the whole of the war, w^as sent by courier to 
 
348 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Little Kock and New Madrid, and from these 
 places forwarded to its destination in tlie 
 South. 
 
 Eodney Gray arrived at Price's camp during 
 the latter part of June ; and almost immedi- 
 ately became aware that preparations were 
 being made for an event of some importance. 
 There was much scouting going on, although 
 he and Dick took no part in it, much to their 
 regret, and now and then there was a skirmish 
 reported. The junction of Price's forces with 
 those of Jackson and Rains, which Siegel hoped 
 to prevent by a rapid march upon Neosho, 
 took place at Carthage, as we have said ; but 
 in spite of this Siegel resolved to attack. He 
 left Neosho on the 4th of July, and on the 
 6th, fought the battle of Carthage against a 
 greatly superior force. Rodney's regiment 
 was in the thickest of it. It tried to outflank 
 Siegel in order to seize his wagon train, but 
 could not stand against the terrible cross-fire 
 of the Union artillery, which mowed them 
 down like blades of grass. The first man 
 killed in Rodney's company was the one who 
 had given him that copy of the Richmond 
 
o 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PAETISAN. 849 
 
 WJilg. While charging at Eodney's side he 
 was struck in the breast by a piece of shell, 
 and in falling almost knocked the Barrington 
 boy out of his saddle. There was no time to 
 be frightened or to think of lending a helping 
 hand to his injured comrade, for the line in 
 the rear was coming on, yelling like mad, and 
 anything that opposed its progress would have 
 been run down ; anything, perhaps, except 
 that well-managed battery on their right, 
 whose steady, merciless fire was more than 
 living men could endure. They broke and 
 fled, and were not called into action again that 
 day ; for when Siegel, finding that he could not 
 take the town, withdrew from the field for the 
 purpose of effecting a junction with another 
 Union force stationed at Mount Vernon, mid- 
 way between Carthage and Springfield, the 
 road he followed led through thick woods in 
 which mounted troops could not operate. 
 Here the Union commander, aided by his 
 superior artillery and long range rifles, held 
 his own until darkness came on and the Con- 
 federates retreated. It was a draAvn battle. 
 The Confederates did not dare renew the 
 
350 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 attack, and Siegel was afraid to hold tlie field 
 long enough to give his weary troops a chance 
 to rest. He marched all night and reached his 
 destination the next day. 
 
 A¥hen the orderly sergeant of Rodney's 
 company came to make out his report, he 
 found that there were six men missing out of 
 seventy-three. One out of twelve was not a 
 severe loss for an hour's fight (when Pickett's 
 five thousand made their useless charge at 
 Gettysburg they lost seven men out of every 
 nine), but it was enough to show Rodney that 
 there was a dread reality in war. He told 
 Dick Graham that as long as he lived he 
 Avould never forget the expression that came 
 upon the face of the comrade avIio fell at his 
 side, the first man he had ever seen killed. He 
 did not want to go to sleep that night, for fear 
 that he Avould see that face again in his dreams. 
 
 ' ' They say a fellow gets over feeling so after 
 awhile," was the way in wdiich Dick sought 
 to comfort and encourage him. " But I'll tell 
 you what's a fact : I don't believe that a man 
 in full possession of his senses can ever go into 
 action without being afraid." 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. * 351 
 
 General Lj^on's advance troops having been 
 forced to retreat, the boys began to wonder 
 what was to be the next thing on the pro- 
 gramme, and it was not long before they found 
 out. N'otwithstanding the confident predic- 
 tion of the captain who commanded the scout- 
 ing party that had rescued him from the 
 power of the Union men at Truman's house 
 (that fifteen thousand Confederates would be 
 enough to meet and whip the twenty thousand 
 Federals that Lyon was supposed to be con- 
 centrating at Springfield), Price began falling 
 back toward Cassville, striving as he went to 
 increase his force by fair means or foul. His 
 mounted troopers carried things with a high 
 hand. If a citizen, listening to their patriotic 
 appeals, shouldered his gun, mounted his 
 horse and went with them, he was a good fel- 
 low, a brave man, and his property was safe ; 
 but if he showed the least reluctance about 
 " falling in," he was at once accused of being 
 a Union man and treated accordingly. Price 
 wanted fifty thousand men ; but, as he after- 
 ward told the people of Missouri, less than 
 five thousand, out of a male population of 
 
352 * RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 more than two liundred thousand, responded 
 to his calls for help. It may or may not be a 
 fact that that small number comprised all the 
 men that were sworn into the State service ; 
 but it is a fact that he commanded more than 
 eight thousand men at the battle of Carthage, 
 and more than twenty thousand at the siege of 
 Lexington. Price's object in falling back 
 toward Cassville was to meet McCulloch with 
 his seven thousand four liundred men who 
 were coming up from Arkansas to reinforce 
 him, and to draw Lyon as far as possible from 
 his base of supplies. These forces met at 
 Crane Creek, and almost immediately there 
 began a conflict of authority between Price 
 and McCulloch, the former urging and the 
 latter opposing an attack upon the Union 
 troops at Springfield. The dispute was finally 
 settled by General Polk, who sent an order all 
 the way from Columbus, Kentucky, command- 
 ing McCulloch to advance at once. Observe 
 that he did not include Price in the order, for 
 at this period of the war the Confederate 
 authorities respected State Eights after a 
 fashion of their own (they did not even re- 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PARTISAN. 353 
 
 move their capital from Montgomery to Rich- 
 mond until Virginia had given them her 
 gracious permission to do so), and gave no 
 signs of a leaning toward the despotism which 
 they established in less than twelve months. 
 
 Meanwhile General Lyon, w^hose position 
 was one of the greatest danger, could not wait 
 to be attacked. He had weakened his army 
 by garrisoning all the places he seized during 
 his advance and now he had only seven thou- 
 sand troops left. Even this small force was 
 rapidly growing less, for as fast as their terms 
 of enlistment expired, they were permitted to 
 return to their homes ; provisions were getting 
 scarce ; and General Fremont, who had lately 
 assumed command of the Western Depart- 
 ment, could not send him any reinforcements 
 from St. Louis. So the only thing the Union 
 commander could do to stojD the Confederate 
 advance and extricate himself from the dan- 
 gers with which he was surrounded, was to 
 assume the offensive. 
 
 The historian tells us that there was some- 
 thing sublime in that bold march of Lyon on 
 the night of the 9 th of August, with a force of 
 
354 RODNEY, THE PAKTISAIs^. 
 
 five thousand men, to Wilson's Creek, to meet 
 in the morning an army numbering anywhere 
 between fifteen and twenty thousand. His 
 only hope of success lay in a surprise ; but 
 there was where he was disappointed, for it 
 so happened that at the time he made his 
 advance, the enemy was making preparations 
 to attack him on four sides at once ; but while 
 they were thinking about it, they were assailed 
 by two columns, one in front and the other on 
 the fiank. This brought about the battle of 
 Wilson's Creek, which, next to Bull Run, was 
 the severest engagement of the year. General 
 Lyon was killed Avhile leading a bayonet 
 charge at the head of an Iowa regiment. Major 
 Sturgis, on whom the command devolved, 
 ordered a retreat after six hours of useless 
 fighting, and the Confederates were too badly 
 cut up to prevent his leisurely withdrawal. 
 Bat, after all, that battle w^as a Union victory, 
 for it "interposed a check against the com- 
 bined armies of the Confederacy from which 
 they could not readily recover." This one 
 
 5 5 
 
 fight ta'Ught the "dashing Texan Ranger 
 McCulloch that there was a bit of difference 
 
A FULL-FLEDGED PAKTISAIT. 355 
 
 between meeting a sterling Union soldier like 
 Lyon, and a traitor like Twiggs who would 
 surrender on demand, and a short time after- 
 ward he withdrew into Arkansas, leaving 
 Price to continue the campaign, or disband 
 his State troops and go home, just as he 
 pleased. At least that is what history says 
 about it ; but when Rodney and Dick asked 
 their captain why it was that the two armies 
 separated after going to so much trouble to get 
 together, the reason given was : 
 
 '' We're waiting for orders from the War 
 Department at Richmond. It will take a good 
 while for them to get here, and in the mean- 
 time we don't want to impoverish the country. 
 Price will stay here to watch the enemy, wdio 
 have retreated toward Roll a, wdiich is a hun- 
 dred miles from here, and McCulloch will go 
 into Arkansas to recruit his army. When the 
 orders arrive we shall know what we are going 
 to do next." 
 
 Of course it goes without saying that Rod- 
 ney and Dick did soldiers' duty during the 
 fight at Wilson's Creek and in the subsequent 
 movements of Price's troops, which resulted in 
 
356 EODNEY, THE PAllTISAN. 
 
 tlie siege and capture of Lexington ; but tliey 
 did not see Tom Percival or hear of him, nor 
 did they find opportunity to visit Dick Gra- 
 ham' s home. 
 
 While General Fremont was fortifying St. 
 Louis so that he could hold it with a small 
 force, and use the greater portion of his army 
 in the movements he was planning against 
 Price, the latter heard a piece of news that 
 sent him Northward by rapid marches. 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 
 
 PEICE'S men had not been long on the 
 march before Dick Graham, who seemed 
 to have a way of finding out things that were 
 hidden from almost everybody else, told Rod- 
 ney, confidentially, that their objective point 
 was Warrensburg, and that Price's motive in 
 going there was to capture money to the 
 amount of a hundred thousand dollars, which 
 was being conveyed by a detachment of 
 Federal troops to Lexington. The prosj)ect of 
 securing so valuable a prize was an incentive, 
 and men who were so weary that the near 
 ax)proach of an enemy would not have kept 
 them from falling out of the ranks, marched 
 night and day without a murmur of comjplaint. 
 Some of the way they moved at double-quick ; 
 but they might as well have spared themselves 
 the pains, for when they reached ^yarrens- 
 burg they found the place deserted. 
 
 357 
 
858 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN". 
 
 ''This sliows how impossible it is to trust 
 aliybody these times," said Rodney, in deep 
 disgust. 
 
 Their regiment having gone into camp, the 
 two friends were strolling about the town to 
 see what they could find, and the first thing 
 they discovered was not at all calculated to 
 allay the indignation they felt at being out- 
 witted by the vigilant Federals. It was a 
 rough charcoal sketch on the wall of a build- 
 ing they passed during their walk. It repre- 
 sented a lean, long-haired, ragged rebel danc- 
 ing in an ecstacy of rage over an empty 
 money-box. The soldier who drew the sketch 
 was an artist of no mean order, and the picture 
 told its story as plainly as words. 
 
 "It proves that the Yankees knew we were 
 coming and what we were coming for," con- 
 tinued Rodney. "It's an insult, and I hope 
 we will not go back until we have thrashed 
 them for it most soundly." 
 
 The army rested for two days at Warrens- 
 burg, and then moved upon Lexington, 
 whither the money had been conveyed ; but 
 Rodney and Dick had no hopes of wearing the 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 359 
 
 new uniforms and wrapping themselves in the 
 warm blankets that their share of the hundred 
 thousand would i)urchase for them, if they 
 had it. They were afraid they wouldn't get 
 any of it, and this fear was confirmed when 
 their advance guard was severely repulsed by 
 less than half a regiment of Home Guards who 
 w^ere found strongly entrenched at Lexington. 
 The attack, which w^as renewed on the 12th of 
 Sei^tember, after Colonel Mulligan arrived wdth 
 his Irish brigade, bringing the strength of the 
 garrison up to twenty-five hundred men, w^as 
 even more disastrous than the first, and Price 
 retired to wait until his suxDplies of ammuni- 
 tion could be brought u^. He waited six 
 days, and during that time not a soldier Avas 
 thrown into the garrison, while Price saw his 
 own army growing daily. Every man in the 
 country for miles around, and every boy, too, 
 who was strong enough to handle a gun, 
 '' rushed to Lexington to take part in the 
 victory to w^liich Price invited them." The 
 few Union men there were left in that i^art of 
 the State came with the rest, because it was 
 the only thing they could do to save them- 
 
360 KODNEY, THE PAETISATT. 
 
 selves and their property from the vengeance of 
 the rebels. The real battle began on the 18th, 
 and on the afternoon of the 20th, after fifty- 
 two hours of constant fighting, when his 
 ammunition and provisions were almost ex- 
 hausted and his supply of water entirely cut 
 off, the brave colonel, who afterward died on 
 the field of Winchester 
 
 " And dying — ' Lay me down 
 And save the flag ! ' he cried," 
 
 gave ujD the struggle, and surrendered a Avorn- 
 out garrison of two thousand ^Ye hundred 
 men to an army of more than twenty thousand. 
 It was a grand victory — almost as grand as the 
 one Beauregard won over Anderson at Fort 
 Sumter. By it Price secured "a great number 
 of stands of arms, a considerable quantity of 
 ammunition, a vast amount of commissary 
 stores, and nine hundred thousand dollars in 
 hard cash." He did not abuse his power but 
 paid tribute to the courage of the men who 
 had so long resisted him by releasing the 
 soldiers on parole, and keeping the officers 
 only as prisoners. 
 
 Having accomplished his object and rallied 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 361 
 
 to his standard all the scattered bands of 
 partisans in Northern Missouri, and hearing 
 that Fremont was advancing upon him, while 
 Hardee, who was to support him by moving 
 up the river from New Madrid, had been 
 driven back. Price turned and ran, sending his 
 mounted troopers to threaten several points at 
 once, misleading the Federals who had hastily 
 assembled to harass his rear, and thus secur- 
 ing an almost unobstructed road for his retreat. 
 These advance troopers had a few engage- 
 ments, and Rodney and Dick took part in the 
 most of them, but Price could neither be over- 
 taken nor stopped. The two friends were 
 among the ' first to ride into Neosho, a little 
 town in the southwestern pa'rt of the State, 
 toward which the march had been directed, 
 and the first man they met gave them some 
 information that struck them dumb with sur- 
 prise and indignation. He was a farmer who 
 had just sold a load of provisions to the 
 soldiers, and he drove his empty wagon out of 
 the road to let the regiment pass. 
 
 "We're into the mud now as deep as the 
 rest of 'em," said he, as Rodney's company 
 
362 rod::^ey, the partisan. 
 
 rode by. '' If Caroliny gets stretched up by 
 tlie neck, we-uns will liave to be stretched, 
 too." 
 
 ''What do you mean by that?" inquired 
 Captain Jones. 
 
 " The Legislater is over there in that house," 
 rei)lied the farmer, "and they've just give out 
 some kind of a pax)er saying that this State of 
 Missoury don't belong to the old Union no 
 more, but is one of the Confedrit States of 
 Ameriky." 
 
 " Do you mean that the State has seceded?" 
 cried the captain, while his men looked at him 
 and at one another as if they could not under- 
 stand what the farmer was trying to tell them. 
 "There's cheek for you. Why, the whole of 
 the State, except this part of it right around 
 here, is over-run with Yankees." 
 
 " I don't know nothing about that," replied 
 the farmer ; and he was obliged to turn around 
 on his seat and shout the words, for Eodney's 
 company had been riding straight ahead all 
 the time. "It's only what I heard. Mebbe 
 you'll find somebody up the street that can 
 tell you all about it.' 
 
 5> 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 363 
 
 The story was so improbable that the boys 
 could not make up their minds to believe it. 
 The Legislature, which had run almost as far 
 as it could get without going over the line into 
 Arkansas, had no authority over the State, 
 three-fourths of whose territory was under the 
 control of the Union forces, and level-headed 
 Dick Graham did not hesitate to say, in the 
 presence and hearing of his captain, that if 
 the Legislature had passed an Act of Secession, 
 they were idiots, the last one of them. But 
 the Confederate authorities were given to 
 doing foolish things. Head the proclamation 
 Jefferson Davis issued from Danville while he 
 was running for his life ! 
 
 "If that is true we are in a pretty fix," said 
 Rodney, as soon as he could speak. ''I came 
 up here to keep out of the Confederate army, 
 and now I am made a Confederate in spite of 
 myself. And so are you. You are under con- 
 trol of the government at Richmond now, and 
 next week you may be ordered to Virginia. " 
 
 "But I'll not go," exclaimed Dick. "I'll 
 serve right where I am until my time is out, 
 and then I'll go home. But look here. The 
 
3G4 llODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 J 
 
 Hiclimond government can't order me out of 
 Missouri without violating the very principle 
 we are fighting for — State Rights. They can 
 asli me to go, but just see how utterly in- 
 consistent they will be if they try to compel 
 me to go." 
 
 *'I hope you are right, but I wouldn't be 
 afraid to bet anything I've got that you are 
 wrong," answered Rodney; and his friend's 
 words did not in the least encourage him. 
 ''That would be the right way to do things, 
 but you ought to see that it wouldn't be sensi- 
 ble. What's the use of having Confederate 
 soldiers if they are not to obey the orders of 
 the Confederate government \ If it suits them 
 to do it, those fellows in Richmond will ride 
 rough-shod over State Rights." 
 
 " Oh, they won't do that," exclaimed Dick, 
 waving his hands up and down in the air. 
 *' They can't do it. Their government Avill fall 
 to pieces like a rope of sand if they try it." 
 
 The boys w^ondered what their general would 
 think of the situation, and Avhen the artillery 
 came into town they found out. A few sections 
 of it wheeled into line at a gallop, and cele- 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 365 
 
 brated tlie secession of the State by firing one 
 hundred guns. Rodney and Dick were in- 
 tensely disgusted. They listened in a half 
 mutinous way when the adjutant read the act 
 the next day on dress parade, and tossed up 
 their caps and shouted with the rest ; but they 
 did these things for the same reasons that 
 impelled hundreds of others in camp to do 
 them— because they knew it would not be safe 
 to show any lack of enthusiasm. 
 
 The fact that they were no longer State 
 troops but full-fiedged Confederates Avas not 
 fully impressed upon Rodney and his fellow 
 soldiers until some months later, when the 
 Richmond government was all ready to put its 
 despotic plans into execution. Probably the 
 general commanding saw that there was much 
 dissatisfaction among his men, and did not 
 think it prudent to draw the reins too tight. 
 He drilled his troops a little of tener and a little 
 harder, and was rather more particular about 
 granting furloughs, and this gave the boys no 
 ground for complaint ; but they were con- 
 stantly harassed by the fear that the future 
 had something ominous in store for them. 
 
366 EODXEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 Price retreated as Fremont advanced, and a 
 second battle was fought at Wilson's Creek, 
 during which the commander of the Union 
 forces made a cavalrj^ charge that is still 
 spoken of as one of the most brilliant episodes 
 of the war. But when Fremont was displaced 
 by Hunter, the latter fell back toward Rolla, 
 thus allowing Price to recover the ground from 
 which he had just been driven. He was 
 prompt to take advantage of the opportunity, 
 this time directing his columns toward Kansas, 
 with the intention of getting supplies for his 
 troops, and cutting the State off from all com- 
 munication with St. Louis. But Halleck 
 succeeded Hunter on the 18th of IN'ovember, 
 and before a month had passed away Price in 
 turn was compelled to retreat, his men being 
 captured by the thousand, together with large 
 quantities of arms and supplies of ammunition 
 and provisions. It began to look now, to 
 quote from Dick Graham, as though the boot 
 was on the other foot. Instead of running the 
 Yankees out of Missouri, the Yankees had run 
 them out, fairly and squarely, for when Price 
 went into camp it ^vas over the line in the State 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 367 
 
 of Arkansas. Ev^ery one of the i)lans that the 
 Confederates had made for keeping the State 
 in their possession and caiDturing St. Louis, 
 had been broken up by the strategy of the 
 Union generals. The battle of Belmont, Avhich 
 took place in the month of November, has been 
 called a Confederate victory, but it was not so 
 in reality. General Grant didn't fight that 
 engagement because he cared a cent for Bel- 
 mont, for he knew he could not hold it if he 
 got it. ' All he wanted was to keep the Con- 
 federates from sending troox)s from Columbus, 
 Kentucky, to co-operate with Price in Missouri. 
 He accomplished his object by keeping Polk 
 busy at home, and Price was driven into 
 Arkansas. 
 
 "And we are here with him," said Dick to 
 his friend Rodney, as the two lay beside their 
 camp-fire at Cove Creek, talking over the situ- 
 ation. " We said we never Avould go out of 
 Missouri." 
 
 "That is what you said," replied Rodney. 
 "After the farce those old women went through 
 up there at Neosho, taking the State out of the 
 Union when they had no authority over it, I 
 
368 EODNEYj THE PAETISATT. 
 
 knew we were going to see trouble. And mark 
 my Avords : we have only seen the beginning 
 of it." 
 
 Either General Halleck's army was not as 
 strong as he would like to have had it, or else 
 he over-estimated the strength of the enemy, 
 for he fell back and the Confederates went 
 into winter quarters, Price at SiDringfield and 
 McCulloch just over the line into Arkansas. 
 Now the two friends had time and oj)portunity 
 for visiting, but there was no one for them to 
 visit. Dick showed Rodney where his father's 
 house and Mr. Percival's had once stood, but 
 there was nothing left of them but blackened 
 ruins. The rebels had "done the business" 
 for one, and Union men had "cleaned out" 
 the other. Dick fully ex^Dected to find it so, for 
 he had often seen such evidence of vandalism 
 and hatred during his long marches through 
 the State. The boys afterward learned that 
 Dick's father and mother had taken refuge with 
 friends in Little Rock, while Mr. Percival's 
 family had, in some mysterious way, succeeded 
 in reaching St. Louis. Rodney was depressed 
 by the sight of the ruins, and thanked his 
 
THE CONSCKIPTIOJN- ACT. 309 
 
 lucky stars that his father and mother lived in 
 a State in which such things never could be 
 done. The few Union men there were in and 
 around Mooreville would never dare trouble 
 his folks, and the Yankees would not be able 
 to penetrate so far into the Confederacy. 
 
 Garrison duty, as the boys called their life 
 in Avinter quarters, was most distasteful to 
 til em, and it was with great delight that they 
 listened to the rumors which early in Febru- 
 ary came up from McCulloch's camp, to the 
 effect that the two armies were to take the 
 field again at once, but that their campaign 
 was to be in a different direction. These 
 rumors did not say that the Richmond govern- 
 ment had decided to give up the struggle in 
 Missouri and turn its attention to more impor- 
 tant points, but the men, who talked freely in 
 the presence of their officers, declared that 
 that was what the new move would amount to. 
 They were to proceed to JNTew Madrid to oper- 
 ate with the Army of the Center in checking 
 the advance of the Federals, who were 
 threatening Island No. 10. 
 For once rumor told the truth and the move 
 
370 RODNEY, THE PAKTISAN. 
 
 was made, though not in the way Rodney 
 and Dick thought it would be. One Sunday 
 morning there was a terrible uproar made by a 
 scouting party which came tearing into camp 
 with the information that General Curtis' s 
 army, forty thousand strong, was close upon 
 Springfield and more coming. This rumor 
 was also true; and ^' Old Pap Price," as his 
 men had learned to call him, Avho was not 
 much of a lighter but a 'Mnaster hand at 
 running," made haste to get his wagon-train 
 out of the way. To quote once more from 
 Dick Graham, it was hardly worth the trouble, 
 for the oxen were so lean and weak that they 
 could scarcely walk, and the wagons, which 
 Avere fit for nothing but fire-wood, were loaded 
 with a lot of rubbish that was of little value. 
 But "Old Pap" was bent on saving every- 
 thing he had, and could not have worked 
 harder to take this train to a place of security 
 if it had been freighted with the money he 
 captured at Lexington. The retreat soon be- 
 came a rout. The whole country was thrown 
 into a state of alarm, and people came fiocking 
 from all directions, bringing with them the 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 371 
 
 few lioiiseliolcl effects that the different raiding 
 parties had left them. Price kept u^^ a run- 
 ning fight until some of McCulloch's troops 
 came up, and then the Federal advance was 
 checked. 
 
 If General Curtis intended this sudden 
 movement for a surprise he could not have 
 selected a better time for it, and if he had kei3t 
 his two columns together, instead of sending 
 Siegel off with thirteen thousand men to oper- 
 ate in another quarter, Price's army Avould have 
 "been eliminated from the problem of war," 
 and the battle of Pea Ridge would not have 
 been fought. McCulloch's army was divided, 
 and McCulloch himself was away in another 
 direction surveying a route for the march to 
 New Madrid ; and Price, relying upon the 
 inhabitants to keep him posted in regard to 
 the movements of our forces, as well as ujDon 
 the supposed impassable condition of the roads 
 in his front, was whipped before he knew 
 there was an enemy anywhere within reach of 
 him. Then followed a disastrous retreat of an 
 army without provisions or tents, along a 
 muddy road, through a snow storm so blind- 
 
372 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ing tliat one could scarcely see ten feet aliead 
 of him, and it went on until it was stopped by 
 a telegram from General Van Dorn, who had 
 been appointed to command the Confederate 
 Army of the West because Price and McCul- 
 loch could not agree. The new general, who 
 declared that '' all retrograde movements must 
 be stopped at once," and that "henceforth the 
 army must press on to victory," arrived on 
 the* 2d of March, drove Siegel out of Benton- 
 ville on the 5th, and on Friday and Saturday 
 fought the battle of Pea Ridge— a thing that 
 he might as well have let alone, for he did not 
 do what he set out to do. He retreated one 
 way, while General Curtis went another and 
 settled down to aw^ait reinforcements. Yan 
 Dorn gave his men to understand that he was 
 not beaten, but he couldn't stop to pursue 
 Curtis, because his orders compelled him 
 to at once proceed with all his available 
 force to join the Army of the Center on the 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Then came that dreary march to Van Buren 
 of which we have spoken, and which was a 
 little ahead of anything Rodney had ever 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 373 
 
 dreamed of. The weary and liungry soldiers 
 had long since ceased to expect anything from 
 the commissary department, which had disap- 
 peared as completely as though it had never 
 existed, and provisions of every sort were so 
 scarce that the different regiments and com- 
 X)anies were obliged to break into little squads 
 and forage on their own account, the only 
 instructions they received being to the effect 
 that they were to get to Van Buren as soon as 
 they could. As Dick and Rodney had the 
 reputation of being excellent foragers, and 
 were known to be well supplied with gold, 
 they had no difficulty in keeping the members 
 of their mess together. The gold brought 
 them corn bread, chickens and milk when 
 Confederate scrip would have failed, and when 
 they came to compare notes with the rest of 
 the regiment at Van Buren, they found that 
 they had fared very well. The bulk of 
 Price's army had passed on ahead of them, 
 going down into cellars and up into garrets, 
 and poking about in hay-mows and stacks in 
 search of provender that had been hastily con- 
 cealed by the anxious citizens, and Rodney 
 
374 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 often wondered how McCallocli's men, wlio 
 brought up the rear, managed to keep body 
 and soul together. 
 
 It was a dreary time taken all around, but 
 their troubles did not end when they arrived 
 at Van Buren, as they hoped they would. It 
 is true they again came within sight of a com- 
 missary department with an abundance of 
 provisions, a quartermaster's department with 
 a lot of mixed-up baggage and camp equip- 
 age, blankets and overcoats that had been 
 thrown oif and left at different places along 
 the route, and here they were allowed to rest 
 until the stragglers came up and reported ; 
 but their march was not ended. Tlieir desti- 
 nation was Pocahontas, which was nearly two 
 hundred miles farther on. 
 
 It was while they were enjoying a much 
 needed rest in camp at Yan Buren that they 
 heard one piece of news that raised them to 
 the highest pitch of excitement, and two 
 others that brought their spirits down to zero. 
 The first was brought to camp by a member of 
 Dick's mess who had somehow managed to 
 get hold of a i)aper containing a greatly exag- 
 
THE COXSCniPTION ACT. 375 
 
 gerated account of tlie first day's figlit at 
 Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 "Listen to this, boys," he sliouted, as the 
 mess gathered around him and tlie soldiers 
 came running from all directions to see what 
 the excitement was about. " 'If we've been 
 worsted here in the West, our friends in the 
 East have made uj) for it by sweeping every- 
 thing before them. Grant, the Yankee gen- 
 eral, has been surprised at Shiloh, his army 
 driven pell-mell through their camj) and down 
 under the bank of the river, where their 
 gunboats saved them. Johnston lived long 
 enough to see the Yankees in full Higlit and 
 then he was killed ; but Beauregard, who took 
 his place, telegraphs that ' certain destruction 
 awaits the enemy on the morrow.' ' That 
 would be — let me see. Why, this paper is 
 two weeks old," he added, in a disaj)23ointed 
 tone, glancing at the date. 
 
 " No matter ; we whipped them," exclaimed 
 Rodney ; and when some one jDrojiosed three 
 cheers for the Army of the Center, he luilled 
 oif his cap and joined in with a will. 
 
 Captain Jones, who brought with him a 
 
376 EODNEY, THE PAKTISAIS". 
 
 longer face than any of liis company had ever 
 seen him wear before, sauntered np while the 
 cheering was going on, and asked wliat it was 
 all about. When he learned that they were 
 happy over the glorious news from Shiloh, he 
 said, as he drew a couple of papers from his 
 pocket : 
 
 "You fellows are away behind the times. 
 That news is old, and Beauregard hollered 
 before he was out of the woods. Read this 
 later account," he continued, handing one of 
 the papers to Dick, and placing a finger upon 
 the column to which he wished to draw atten- 
 tion. "And after you have read that, take 
 the other paper and see what it says about 
 conscription." 
 
 The captain turned on his heel and walked 
 away, but looked back with an expression of 
 astonishment on his face when he heard one of 
 his men exclaim : 
 
 "Has the Richmond government really 
 passed a Conscription Act ? Then I say bully 
 for the Richmond government. There are lots 
 of sneaks in our town who shouted 'sick 'em,' 
 to us, but who were too cowardly to put on a 
 
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. 377 
 
 uniform themselves. If tliey have got to 
 come in whether they want to or not, I am a 
 Confederate from this minute. Read about 
 the battle first, sergeant, and then we'll hear 
 about the conscription law." 
 
 Dick complied, and before he got through 
 there were some angry and astonished men 
 standing around him. 
 
 X 
 
CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 RODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 
 
 SERGEAIN'T GRAHAM first read aloud 
 the account of the second day's fighting 
 at Pittsburg Landing ; but of course the fact 
 that Beauregard had sustained a crushing 
 defeat and been forced to retire from Corinth, 
 was carefully concealed. It was to be ex- 
 pected, the paper said, that twenty-five thou- 
 sand fresh men would turn the tide of battle 
 in favor of the enemy, but even against these 
 overwhelming odds the Confederates had held 
 their own until noon, and then left the field in 
 good order. 
 
 "I don't see anything to feel bad over in 
 that account," said Rodney, whose war-like 
 spirit arose every time he heard a glowing- 
 story of a fight. "We knew when we went 
 into this thing that the Yankees could raise 
 more men than we could, and we expected to 
 fight against big odds. Now for the con- 
 
 378 
 
RODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 379 
 
 scripts," and when Rodney said this, he 
 thought of Tom Randolj^h, and hoped that he 
 Avould be the first Moore ville citizen to "draw 
 a prize." 
 
 He thought he coukl imagine how Tom 
 would look and feel after he had made a cam- 
 paign with a foot or more of mud under his 
 feet, dripping storm-clouds over his head and 
 not so much as a crumb of corn bread in his 
 haversack, and laughed silently as he j^ictured 
 him at a smoking camp-fire with a lot of veter- 
 ans "looking fun" at him. His own term of 
 service would soon expire, and he hoped he 
 should reach home in time to see Tom march 
 out with the first squad of conscripts that left 
 Mooreville ; but as Dick proceeded to i^ad the 
 abstract of the Act as it ai3peared in the paper, 
 all the while i3ushing the sheet farther and 
 farther from him as his amazement and anger 
 increased, Rodney found that the situation 
 was not quite so amusing as he thought, and 
 that he, Rodney Gray, was in a worse box 
 than his friend, Tom Randolph. It was the 
 first general conscription law of the Confeder- 
 acy, and "it withdrew every non-exempt citi- 
 
380 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 zen, between tbe ages of eighteen and thirty- 
 five, from State control, and placed him abso- 
 lutely at the disposal of the President during 
 the war." When Dick had read this far he 
 looked at liis comrades to see wdiat they 
 thought of it. 
 
 "Why, it's — it's — the Czar of Russia 
 couldn't do worse," exclaimed the first one 
 who recovered control of his tongue. "It's a 
 fraud — a despotic act. Where are our State 
 Eights now, I should like to know ? " 
 
 " Go on," said Captain Jones, Avho stood on 
 the outskirts of the group but within hearing 
 distance. "There's worse to come." 
 
 Dick Graham, who did not see how any- 
 thing could be worse, went on with his read- 
 ing and found that the Act "annulled all con- 
 tracts made with volunteers for short terms, 
 holding them to service for two years addi- 
 tional, should the war continue so long ; and 
 all twelve months' recruits, below eighteen and 
 over thirty-five years, who would otherwise 
 have been exempted by this law^, w^ere to be 
 retained in service for ninety days after their 
 term expired." 
 
KODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 381 
 
 "Hey— youp ! " j^elled Dick, dcancing about 
 like one demented. "Our own government is 
 ten times worse than the one we are fierhtino: 
 against, and every one of us was a fool for ever 
 putting on a gray jacket. Why didn't they 
 tell us all this in the first place, so that we 
 might know what there was before us ? It's a 
 fraud and a cheat and a swindle and a — and 
 a — what are you about?" he added, turning 
 almost fiercely upon his captain, who elbowed 
 his way through the excited group and tried 
 to take the paper from his hand. "I'll not 
 obey the orders of the Richmond government, 
 and that's all there is about it." 
 
 "I was going to direct your attention to 
 something else," replied the captain, paying 
 no heed to the sergeant's rudeness. "But 
 since you are so nearly beside yourself I don' t 
 suppose you can read it, and so I had better 
 tell you what it is. You say you Avill not 
 obey the orders of the - Richmond govern- 
 ment?" 
 
 "That is what I said, and I will stick to it," 
 exclaimed Dick. " They have no right — " 
 
 "Hold on a bit," the captain intei'posed. 
 
382 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 " They may not have the right but they have 
 the x)ower, and you will have to give in. They 
 offer you inducements to re-enlist for two 
 years. You will be regarded as volunteers, 
 and be allowed the privilege of changing your 
 officers and electing new ones." 
 
 This was a big inducement indeed. The 
 men laughed derisively when they heard it. 
 
 ''If you don't volunteer, but insist on leav- 
 ing the army when your term of service ex- 
 pires, you will never get out of the camp," 
 continued the captain. " You will be con- 
 scripted." 
 
 "I don't care if I am," answered Dick, in- 
 dignantly. " I'll not do tluty." 
 
 ' ' Then you will be treated as a mutineer 
 and run the risk of being shot without the 
 benefit of a drum-head court-martial," said the 
 captain ; whereupon the men backed off, thrust 
 their hands into their jDockets and looked at 
 him and at one another. "I tell you, boys, 
 this is no time for foolishness," the captain 
 w^ent on, earnestly. "Ever since Bull Kun 
 the Northern people have been showing the 
 mettle that's in them. That defeat got their 
 
EODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 383 
 
 blood up and they mean business. They have 
 more volunteers than they want. Their armies 
 are growing stronger every day, while ours are 
 growing weaker every hour. To be honest, 
 there isn' t half the patriotism now there was 
 among us when these troubles first begun. 
 Desertions are alarmingly frequent, and volun- 
 tary enlistments are almost entirely suspended. 
 We must have men to figlit our battles, or else 
 surrender our cherished liberties to such Hes- 
 sians and Tories as Curtis brought against us 
 at Pea Ridge." 
 
 "And whipped us with," added one of the 
 men ; and the captain couldn't contradict him, 
 for it Avas the truth.* He could only look at 
 him reproachfully. 
 
 "'Is Sparta dead in your veins?'" ex- 
 claimed the captain, quoting from the sjoeech 
 of Simrtacus to his fellow gladiators. "Are 
 you willing to give up wdiipped and permit a 
 lot of Regicides and Roundheads to i^ut their 
 feet on your necks 1" 
 
 Taking this for his text the officer s^Doke 
 earnestly for ten minutes, drawing largely 
 from the fiery editorials of the Southern 
 
384 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 papers, whicli lie had read so often that he had 
 them by heart, and tr^dng his best to infuse a 
 little of his own spirit into the angry, scowling 
 men w^ho had crowded around him, but witli- 
 oat any very flattering success. There was but 
 one thought in their minds — they had been 
 duped by the Richmond government, which 
 had so suddenly developed into a despotism 
 that it w^as plain the machinery for it had 
 been prepared long before. They could not 
 go home even for a short time to visit their 
 friends after their term of service had exjiired, 
 and it is no wonder that they felt sore over it. 
 Seeing that he could not arouse their patriot- 
 ism, the captain next tried to arouse their 
 combativeness. 
 
 "On the same day that the battle of Shiloh 
 was decided against us, there was another 
 struggle settled a hundred miles nearer to us," 
 said he. "That too went against us. Island 
 No. 10, the stronghold that was to have kept 
 the enemy from going down the Mississippi, 
 has fallen, and the way is open to Memphis." 
 
 "But the Yankees will never get there," 
 exclaimed Rodney. "When I came up the 
 
RODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 385 
 
 river on the MoUie Able, I heard a man say 
 we had a fleet building there that would event- 
 ually take Cairo and St. Louis too." 
 
 "I certainly hope he was right, but things 
 don't seem to point that way now," replied 
 the caiDtain. 
 
 " That is good news for us in one respect," 
 Dick Graham remarked. " IS'ew Madrid must 
 have fallen too, and if that is the case, we'll 
 not be ordered there. It's too late. We'll 
 stay in our own State." 
 
 The captain shook his head, and his men 
 knew by the expression on his face that he 
 had something yet to tell them. 
 
 "There's where you are wrong," said he. 
 *'We are going to Memphis as quick as we 
 can get there, and from Memphis we shall go 
 to Corinth to join the army under Beauregard. 
 I am sorry you boys feel so about it, but I 
 really don't see how you are going to help 
 yourselves. jN'ow brace up and do your duty 
 like men, as you always have done it. I don't 
 want to see any of you get into trouble, but 
 you certainly will if you kick over the 
 traces." 
 
386 RODNEY, THE PAKTISAIS". 
 
 This last announcement was altogether too 
 much for the men, who turned iiway in a body, 
 muttering the heaviest kind of adjectives, 
 ' ' not loud but deep/ ' When the two boys were 
 
 left alone with the captain the latter inquired : 
 
 " How old are you ? " 
 
 " Seventeen," growled Rodney. 
 
 " Well, you will have to stay in ninety days 
 after your term exjpires. Will that make you 
 eighteen ? " 
 
 " IS'o, it wouldn't; and if it did they would 
 be careful not to say so." 
 
 " Then I don't see what reason you have to 
 get liujffy over a thing that can't be helped," 
 continued the officer. "We must have men, 
 and if they will not come in willingly, they 
 must be dragged in. We can't be subdued ; 
 w^e never will consent to be slaves. But you 
 two w411 get out all right." 
 
 "We knew it all the while; at least I 
 thought of it," re^Dlied Dick, "but I didn't 
 want to mention it Avliile the rest of the boys 
 were around. They are mad already, and it 
 might make them worse to know that we two 
 are better off than they are." 
 
RODNEY MEETS A FPwIEND. 387 
 
 " But I want to tell you that you will make 
 a big mistake if you accept your discharges," 
 the captain went on to say. " You ought by 
 all means to stay in until this thing is settled 
 and the invaders driven from our soil. You'll 
 Avish you had when you see the boys come 
 home covered with glory. And then think of 
 the possibilities before you ! You are bound 
 to be promoted, and that rapidly. If I had 
 your military education I would not be satis- 
 fied with anything short of a colonelcy." 
 
 "Well, you may have it, and since you 
 want it, I hope you will get it ; but I wouldn't 
 accept it if it were offered to me," answered 
 Dick, turning on his heel. "I'll not serve 
 under such a fraud of a government as this 
 has turned out to be a day longer than I can 
 help. I'll take my discharge as soon as they 
 will condescend to give it to me, and then they 
 can hunt somebody to fill my place. I'll never 
 volunteer again, and sooner than be con- 
 scripted I'll take to the woods." 
 
 "Now, sergeant, you know you wouldn't 
 do any such thing," said the captain. 
 
 Yes, I would," Dick insisted. "There is 
 
 u 
 
Q 
 
 88 EOD^EY, THE PARTISAT^. 
 
 a principle at the bottom of this whole thing 
 that is most contemptible ; bnt what more 
 conld you expect of men w^ho induced us to 
 enlist by holding out the promise of an easy 
 victory? 'The ISTorth wont fight!' This 
 looks like it. We're whipped already." 
 
 These were the sentiments of thousands of 
 men who w^ore gray jackets in the beginning 
 of 1862, but it wasn't every one wdio dared 
 express them as boldly as Dick Graham did, 
 nor was it every ofiicer who would have lis- 
 tened as quietly as did Captain Jones. Every- 
 thing went to show that the officers had been 
 drilled in the i)arts they were expected to per- 
 form long before the men dreamed that such a 
 thing as a Conscription Act ts-as thought of ; 
 for, as a rule, all discussion regarding the 
 policy of the Richmond government was 
 "choked off" with a strong hand. In some 
 armies, Bragg' s especially, the men were 
 treated "worse than their niggers ever were." 
 They dared not speak above a whisper for fear 
 of being shoved into the guard-house ; and 
 "when some regiments hesitated to avail 
 themselves of this permission (to volunteer) 
 
RODNEY MEETS A FKIEND. 389 
 
 they were treated as seditious, and the most 
 refractory soldiers, on the point of being shot, 
 only saved their lives by the prompt signature 
 of their comrades to the compact of a new en- 
 listment." Things were not quite as bad as 
 this in Price's army, but still Captain Jones 
 thought it best to tell his men, especially the 
 out-spoken Dick Graham, that they had bet- 
 ter be a little more guarded in their language, 
 unless they were well acquainted with those to 
 whom they were talking. They went to Mem- 
 phis, as the captain said they would, marching 
 over a horrible road and leaving some of their 
 artillery stuck in the mud at Desarc on White 
 Kiver, and from Memphis they went to Corinth 
 forty miles farther on, packed in box cars like 
 sheep, and on top like so much useless rub- 
 bish. Their train was rushed through at such 
 a rate of speed that the men on top shouted 
 to the engineer : 
 
 " Go it. Let out two or three more sections 
 of that throttle. Run us off into the ditch 
 and kill us if you want to. There are plenty 
 more men where w^e came from." 
 
 Rodney Gray afterward declared that he 
 
390 RODNEY, THE PAKTISA:N^. 
 
 had never seen a grander sight than Beaure- 
 gard's camp presented when the troops from 
 the West marched through it, greeted every- 
 where by the most vociferous cheering, to take 
 their positions on tlie rigiit. Their arrival 
 brought the strength of the army up to 
 more than a hundred thousand men, and, some- 
 w^hat to their surprise, they were introduced 
 to their new comrades as " Invincibles." At 
 any rate that was what General Bragg called 
 them in an address which he issued to his sol- 
 diers a few days afterward : 
 
 "The slight reverses we have met on the 
 sea-board have worked us good as well as 
 evil," was what he said in the vain hope of 
 blinding his troops to the real magnitude of 
 the disaster that had recently befallen the 
 Confederacy. "The brave troops so long re- 
 tained there have hastened to swell your num- 
 bers, while the gallant Van Dorn and invinci- 
 ble Price, with the ever-successful Army of 
 the AVest, are now in your midst, with num- 
 bers ahnost equaling the Army of Shiloh." 
 
 The " slight reverses " to which the general 
 so gingerly referred were the passage of Forts 
 
RODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 391 
 
 Jackson and St. Philip by Farragiit's fleet, 
 the annihilation of the Confederate gunboats 
 and the capture of New Orleans ; and these 
 "slight reverses" were almost immediately 
 followed by the defeat of the gunboats that 
 had been building at Memphis, and of which 
 the Confederates expected such great things. 
 But the rank and file of the army were not so 
 easily deceived. They knew well enough that 
 the accounts that came to them through the 
 papers were " doctored " on purpose for them, 
 and were fully sensible of the fact that the 
 loss of these important points, Memphis and 
 New Orleans, were disasters most discourag- 
 ing. When they were in the presence of 
 those to whom they knew they could speak 
 freely, they sneered at the efforts made by 
 their superiors to belittle the Union victories, 
 and laughed to scorn Mayor Monroe and the 
 " city fathers " for the attitude they had seen 
 fit to assume while Farragut's powerful fleet 
 held the Crescent city under its guns. If the 
 pompous little mayor, by folding his arms and 
 standing in front of that loaded howitzer 
 when the marines came ashore to hoist the 
 
392 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Stars and Stripes over the Custom House, 
 desired to show the people of New Orleans 
 and the country at large what a brave man he 
 was, he failed of his object, for the men who 
 had faced cannon on the field of battle had 
 nothing but contempt for him and his antics. 
 
 ' ' He has made himself a laughing-stock for 
 all time to come," was what Rodney Gray 
 thought about it. "That was all done for 
 effect, for there Avas not the slightest danger 
 that the Yankees would fire that howitzer at 
 him while he was going through his monkey- 
 shines. K he is such an awful brave man, 
 why didn't he follow that naval officer to the 
 roof of the Custom House and jerk the Union 
 flag down the minute it was hauled up ? " 
 
 " Or why doesn't he shoulder a musket and 
 fall in with us?" chimed in Dick. "One 
 short campaign through Missouri mud would 
 take some of that nonsense out of him." 
 
 There were a good many in the army who 
 thought that the constant maneuvering and 
 skirmishing that followed during the next few 
 weeks were not kept up because a great battle 
 was expected, but for the x:)urpose of giving 
 
KODNEY MEETS A FKIEND. 393 
 
 the men so much to do that they could not get 
 together and talk over the discouraging news 
 tliey had recently heard. There was one 
 engagement fought, that of Farmington, 
 which resulted in a victory for the Confeder- 
 ates, and taught them at the same time that 
 they were mistaken in sui)posing that our 
 troojDs would not venture so far into the coun- 
 try that they would be out of the reach of 
 help from the gunboats, Avhich had rendered 
 them such important service at the battle of 
 Pittsburg Landing. Of course Eodney and 
 Dick marched and skirmished and fought 
 with the rest, but they didn't care much 
 whether they whipped or got whipped, for the 
 feelings that took them away from home and 
 friends and into the army, had long since 
 given place to others of an entirely different 
 character. They didn't care as much for State 
 Eights and Southern independence as they 
 did once, and if they ever got home again the 
 Eichmond government might go to smash for 
 all they could do to save it. Two questions 
 engrossed their minds, and formed the princi- 
 pal subjects of their conversation: Would 
 
394 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 they be permitted to leave the service when 
 the year for which they enlisted expired ; and 
 if so, how was Dick Graham going to get 
 across the river into Missouri now that Mem- 
 phis had fallen, and the Mississippi as far 
 down as Yicksburg was in possession of the 
 Federals ? 
 
 In regard to the first question — there was one 
 thins; w^hich the bovs were afraid would work 
 against them. While nearly all the line officers 
 of the regiment remained with them, the field 
 officers who had come with them from the 
 West had disappeared, some being promoted, 
 some discharged and others being sent to the 
 hosx)ital, new ones had taken their places and 
 a new staff had been appointed. 
 
 "And a lovely staff it is," said Dick, ex- 
 pressing the sentiments of every man in his 
 comi3any. " I can see now w^hy that Con- 
 scription Act was passed. It was to make 
 room for a lot of government pets, who are too 
 fine to go into the ranks, but who are allowed 
 to come here and shove out veterans when they 
 cannot tell the difference between ' counter- 
 march by file right ' and ' right by twos.' Our 
 
KODNEY MEETS A FRIEND. 395 
 
 new colonel doesn't know who we are or what 
 we have done, and cares less ; and when we go 
 to him for our discharges, he will throw so 
 much red-tape in our way that we can't get 
 out. That's what I am afraid of." 
 
 As to the other question — how Dick Graham 
 was to get over the river — that was something 
 that could be settled when they had their dis- 
 charges in their pockets. First and foremost 
 Dick would go home with Rodnej^ ; and after 
 he had taken a good long rest, and learned all 
 about the means of communication between 
 the two shores (they were positive there must 
 be some regular means of communication, 
 because Dick had received two letters from 
 home since he had joined the Army of the 
 Center), Rodney would take his chances of 
 seeing him safely across the river. But their 
 discharges must be their first care, and they 
 came much easier than they dared hope for. 
 One day Rodney was detailed to act as guard 
 at brigade headquarters, and the first officer to 
 whom he presented arms was one whose face 
 was strangely familiar to him. It was his new 
 brigade commander, and a wild hope sprung 
 

 396 EODIS^EY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 up in Rodney's breast. The energetic, soldier- 
 like manner in which he handled his piece 
 attracted the notice of the general, who seemed 
 to be in good Immor, and who unbent from his 
 dignity long enough to remark : 
 
 You have been well drilled, sentry." 
 Yes, sir; at Barrington Military Acad- 
 emy," rei^lied Rodney, with a good deal of 
 emphasis on the last Avords. 
 
 This had just the effect the boy meant it 
 should have. The general stoi^ped and locked 
 curiously at him, and Rodney, instead of 
 keeping his eyes "straight to the front and 
 striking the ground at the distance of fifteen 
 paces," returned his superior's gaze with 
 interest. 
 
 "Haven't I seen you before?" the latter 
 asked at length. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; aboard the steamer Mollie AJble, 
 going uj) the river a year ago," answered Rod- 
 ney. " You were Captain Howard then." 
 
 The boy had no business to say all this, and 
 no one in the army knew it better than he did. 
 It was his place to wait and be questioned ; 
 but he couldn't do it. There was too much at 
 
KODNEY MEETS A FKIEND. 397 
 
 stake — his discliarge and Dick's. The general 
 did not appear to notice this breach of military 
 etiquette. On the contrary he smiled and said, 
 pleasantly: 
 
 "I remember you perfectly. You were on 
 your way to join Price, and your presence here 
 proves that you found him. When you are 
 relieved I want to see you." 
 
 " Very good, sir," replied Rodney, bringing 
 his piece to a shoulder and resuming his Avalk. 
 ^Tf that man's word is worth anj^thing," he 
 added, mentally, when the general disappeared 
 in his tent, "Dick Graham and I will be free 
 men when our year and three months are up, 
 and you just say that much to your folks and 
 tell 'em it's confidential. He as good as said 
 that he would do something for me if he could, 
 and now I will try him on; but there's one 
 thing I'll not promise to do: I wont re-enlist 
 until I get a good ready, and if I can help 
 myself, that time will never come." 
 
 Rodney walked his beat as if he were tread- 
 ing on air, and wished his friend Dick would 
 happen along about the time he was relieved, 
 so that he might tell him that he believed he 
 
398 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 had found a i:)0\verful friend in tlieir new 
 brigade commander. At the end of two hours, 
 having been relieved from post and obtained 
 the necessary permission from the officer of 
 the guard, Rodney presented himself at the 
 door of General Howard's tent, and sent his 
 name in by the orderly. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 . COI^CLUSION. 
 
 /^ ENERAL HOAVARD did not look or act 
 \IX like a man who was very badly over- 
 worked, nor did he seem to be at all anxious 
 over the result of the heavy firing that was 
 going on on the left of the line. He had pulled 
 off his coat and riding boots, and when the 
 orderly entered to tell him that Private Rod- 
 ney Gray of the — th Missouri Cavalry had 
 come there to see him by his orders, he was 
 filling his pipe preparatory to indulging in a 
 smoke. He greeted Rodney pleasantly, and 
 pointed with the stem of his pipe to an empty 
 cracker box. 
 
 *'Turn that up and sit down," said he; 
 whereupon the orderly opened his eyes in 
 wonder. There was a much wider gulf be- 
 between the officers and privates in the rebel 
 army than there was in our own, especially 
 after the war had been going on for about a 
 
 399 
 
400 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 year. The sons of ricli men, who had shoul- 
 dered a musket at the beginning, began work- 
 ing their way out of the ranks, leaving behind 
 them only those who were too poor or too low 
 in the social scale to command the influence 
 that was necessary to bring them a com- 
 mission. As a rule rich people in the South 
 did not think much of j)oor white trash. The 
 latter were good enough to fight and obey 
 orders, but scarcely good enough to be treated 
 with civility ; so when General Howard told 
 his visitor to turn up the cracker box and sit 
 down on it, the orderly straightway made up 
 his mind that Rodney Gray was a little better 
 than the common run of folks, even if he was 
 a private soldier. 
 
 '' I don't suppose you have thought of me 
 once since I bid you good-by at that wood- 
 cutters' camp," said the general, throwing 
 himself upon a rude couch and projDping his 
 head up with his hand. "But I have often 
 thought of you, and a few months ago I was 
 down Mooreville way on a scout. I i3assed 
 right by your father's plantation, and finding 
 out who he was, and beiug a trifle hungry 
 
CONCLUSIOJS". 401 
 
 besides, I dropped in and invited myself to 
 dinner with him and your mother." 
 
 Rodney was delighted to hear this, but all 
 he said was that he hoped the general had 
 enjo^^ed his visit. 
 
 " I assure you I did, and the dinner too," 
 w^as the smiling reply. "And during the 
 hour I passed there I learned a good deal con- 
 cerning your life in Missouri, and heard some 
 portions of your letters read. Your parents 
 were much surprised to know that I met you 
 on your way up the river, and I renewed to 
 them the promise I believe I made you on the 
 steamer — that if I could ever do you a fatherly 
 kindness I would. I am glad to see you in 
 my brigade, but I don't quite understand how 
 it comes that you are still a private. Haven't 
 you done your duty, or wouldn't your officers 
 push you?" 
 
 ''The fault is my own, sir," answered Rod- 
 ney. '' I might have gone higher but I didn't 
 care to." 
 
 Then he went on to tell the general about 
 Dick Graham. The latter was a Barring ton 
 boy too, he said, and they had made it up 
 
402 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 between tliem that it wouldn't be worth Avhile 
 for them to accept promotion, for they had 
 only a year to serve, and besides they did not 
 Avant to run the risk of being separated. 
 
 " Oh, as to that, you mustn't expect to stick 
 together all the time," replied the general. 
 "The exigencies of the service will not admit 
 of it ; you know that yourself. Still I will try 
 to do something for your friend too, if I find 
 upon inquiry of your regimental and company 
 officers that he is worthy. I lost four of my 
 staff at the battle of Farmington, and, if you 
 like, will order you and Sergeant Graham to 
 present yourselves for examination." 
 
 Kodney fairly gasi^ed for breath, and wished 
 that the general had not taken quite so deep 
 an interest in him. The crisis was coming 
 now, and he nerved himself for it. 
 
 "lam very much obliged, general," he fal- 
 tered. "But my time will be up in about two 
 weeks, and I should like to go home and see 
 my folks." 
 
 Kodney expected that his superior would be 
 surprised to hear this, and his actions showed 
 that he certainly was, and a little angry, as 
 
conclusiojN-. 403 
 
 well. He arose to a sitting posture on the 
 couch, and jammed the tobacco down in his 
 pipe with a spiteful motion as he said, rather 
 curtly : 
 
 "You must give up all such nonsense. I 
 am not going to deplete my brigade, at this 
 most critical time, by letting everybody go 
 home who takes a fool's notion into his head 
 that he wants to. According to law I am 
 obliged to discharge all one year's men when 
 their term of service expires ; but they shall 
 never get out of my lines. I'll conscript them 
 as fast as a provost guard can catch them." 
 
 The general settled back on his elbow again 
 and looked at his visitor as if to inquire what 
 he thought of the situation. Rodney thought 
 it was dark enough, and showed what he 
 thought by the gloomy expression that came 
 upon his face. He gazed down at the cap he 
 was twirling in his hands and said nothing. 
 The general relented. 
 
 ''I don't Avant to be hard on you, Eodney," 
 said he, speaking in much the same tone that 
 a kind and indulgent father might use in re- 
 proving an erring son, " but can't you see for 
 
404 EODXEY, THE PAKTISATs". 
 
 yourself wliat would happen to us and our 
 government if we should weaken our armies 
 by discharging troops at this juncture ? The 
 enemy has a hundred and forty thousand men 
 in our front at this minute, and more coming. 
 Memphis is taken, New Orleans has fallen, the 
 railroads, except those that run south of us, 
 are in Halleck's possession, and if the enemy 
 along the river moves quickly, the troops we 
 have sent to fortify Yicksburg will not have 
 time to lift a shovel full of dirt before the Mis- 
 sissippi clear to the Gulf will be lost to us. I 
 tell you the situation is critical in the extreme, 
 and if we don't look out, and fight as men 
 never fought before, the Lincoln government 
 will have us in the dust in less than two 
 months. I'll not let a man of you go, and 
 that's all there is about it." 
 
 The general puffed vigorously at his pijDe 
 and looked as though he meant every word he 
 said. Was this the man who had promised on 
 two different occasions that he would lend 
 Eodney a helping hand if the opportunity was 
 ever presented ? Discouraged and perplexed 
 as he was, the boy could still think clearly 
 
CONCLUSION. 405 
 
 enougli to draw a contrast between this arbit- 
 rary action of a so-called government, which 
 claimed to be fighting for the rights of its peo- 
 ple, to do as they pleased and the course pur- 
 sued by the Union General Lyon at the battle 
 of Wilson's Creek. Rodney learned through 
 some prisoners his regiment captured (and his- 
 tory to-day confirms the story) that Lyon had 
 seven thousand men when he reached Spring- 
 field ; two thousand short-term men demanded 
 their release and got it ; and the Union com- 
 mander went on and fought the battle with 
 five thousand. Perhaps the old government 
 was not quite so bad after all. 
 
 "But you see, sir," said Eodney, after a 
 moment's reflection, "my comrade and I do 
 not come under the terms of the Conscription 
 Act. W^are not yet eighteen years of age." 
 
 The surprised look that came over the gen- 
 eral's face showed very plainly that tliat was a 
 point that had slipped his mind entirely. 
 The boy had him there, and he hardly knew 
 whether to laugh or get angry over it. 
 
 ' ' And do you intend to take advantage of 
 that provision of the Act ?" he inquired. 
 
406 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 " We'd like to, sir," was all Rodney thought 
 it prudent to say in reply. His superior was 
 nettled, and the boy w^anted to leave him in 
 good humor and get out of his presence as 
 soon as possible. 
 
 "That settles it,'' said the general, getting 
 upon his feet and knocking the ashes from his 
 pipe in a manner which seemed to say that the 
 interview was at an end. "I'll take pains to 
 see your colonel, but I do hope there are not 
 many in my command whose ages are under 
 eighteen or over thirty-five. However, I may 
 be able to infuse a little patriotism into tliem^ 
 and shall have something to say about it in a 
 general order." 
 
 "I thank you, sir, for the assurance," 
 replied Rodney. 
 
 . He made his best salute and retired, but 
 during the rest of the day he was not as jubi- 
 lant as he had been when he came off post ; 
 and when he went back that night to do duty 
 at the general's tent, he took note of the fact 
 that his commander paid no more attention to 
 him than he would have paid to an entire 
 stranger. Rodney felt hurt at that, and as 
 
 o 
 
conclusio:n'. 407 
 
 soon as he could do so, after guard-mount the 
 next morning, he hunted up his friend Dick 
 and told him the whole story. He wanted 
 symj^athy and encouragement and got both. 
 
 ^'You did i^ierfectly right," said Dick, 
 emphatically. ' ' We could have passed the 
 exaniiination eas}^ enough, and in a week or 
 two might have been galloping around camp 
 covered with gold lace, and looking as sweet as 
 two government pets ; but we don't care half 
 as much for staff office as we do for our dis- 
 charges. You made the general mad and I am 
 sorry for that ; but after all it' s natural, for 
 the commander who discharges the smallest 
 number of men will stand highest in the good 
 graces of his superiors. See ? So long as he 
 keeps his troops in the service, it doesn't make 
 a particle of difference whether he keeps them 
 in by promises or threats. He's a bully fellow, 
 and the despots at Richmond will reward 
 him." 
 
 Some of the sergeant's words were confirmed 
 that very afternoon, and in a most startling 
 manner. For days it had been whispered 
 about among the men that there was trouble 
 
408 EODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 brewing in General Bragg' s corps, and on this 
 particular day it was brought to a head by the 
 mutiny of a Tennessee regiment, who stacked 
 arms and refused to do duty. The twelve 
 months for which they volunteered had ex- 
 pired and they w^anted to go home. Before 
 entering the service they made provision for 
 their families for just one year, and since that 
 time their State had been over-ran with raid- 
 ing parties from both armies, their crops had 
 been destroyed, their stock killed, their 
 buildings given to the flames, and their wives 
 and children turned out into the weather. 
 They wanted to see these helpless ones taken 
 to places of security, and then they would 
 return to a man, and stand by their comrades 
 until the last Yankee invader had been driven 
 into the Ohio river. But Bragg said they 
 shouldn't go, and fixed things so they couldn't. 
 He did just what Beauregard did when Hind- 
 man's Arkansas troops prepared to return to 
 their State to repel the "invasion" of General 
 Curtis. He told them that if they didn't pick 
 up those guns in less than five minutes he 
 would have the last one of them shot, and they 
 
CONCLUSIOIS'. 409 
 
 picked tliem up ; but in an hour's time it was 
 whispered through the camp that all the 
 service old Daddy Bragg would get out of 
 those Tennesseans wouldn't amount to much. 
 We shall presently see how much truth there 
 was in the report. 
 
 A few days after this the order of which 
 General Howard had spoken was issued, and 
 read to those regiments in the brigade whose 
 term of service was about to expire. They 
 were informed that they would now come 
 under the Conscript Act, and that every man 
 of them who was subject to service under that 
 Act would be summarily conscripted unless he 
 chose to re-enlist. The regiments to whom the 
 order was addressed had all performed gallant 
 service and gained imperishable honors, and 
 the general hoped they would preserve both 
 their name and organization by volunteering 
 in a body to serve for two years, or until the 
 end of the war. If they did, they would have 
 the privilege of electing their own officers, and 
 would be placed on the same footing as the 
 other volunteer regiments ; and those of their 
 number who, by reason of age, were not sub- 
 
410 "RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 ject to conscription, would serve until tlie 15tli 
 of July, when they would be discharged. 
 
 The order concluded with a fierce denunci- 
 ation of General Butler's rule in iS'ew Orleans 
 and a glowing appeal to their patriotism, all 
 of which the men cheered lustily ; but when 
 the ranks were broken and the different 
 ' ' cliques ' ' got together, they did not try to 
 keep u]3 any show of spirit. So far as Rodney 
 Gray could learn, there was not a man in his 
 regiment who would have volunteered if he 
 had seen a fair chance to desert and get across 
 the river. Desertion was a thing that had 
 never been talked of before among Price's men. 
 As volunteers, they would have died rather 
 than think of such a cowardly way of getting 
 out of the army, but it Avas different now. 
 Even if they re-enlisted under the provisions 
 of the Conscript Act, how much better would 
 they be than conscripts while bearing the 
 name of volunteers ? They would be forced 
 into the army against their will, wouldn't they 
 — and wouldn't that make them conscripts ? 
 They appeared to submit because they could 
 not help themselves ; but desertions took 
 
co:n^clusion. 411 
 
 place everj^ day. Some got safely off, but 
 those who were caught in the act were shot 
 without any trial at all. The men were sullen, 
 talked mutiny among themselves, and Rodney 
 Gray looked for nothing else but to see them 
 rise in a body, kill their tyrannical officers, and 
 disperse to their homes. It was a terrible 
 state of affairs, the nearest apiDroach to anarchy 
 there ever was or ever will be in this country, 
 and during those troublous days and the sub- 
 sequent retreat to Tupelo, G-eneral Halleck 
 received into his lines no less than fifteen 
 thousand deserters. 
 
 The farce of electing new officers and re- 
 organizing the various companies and regi- 
 ments in the brigade took place in due time, 
 and once more Dick Graham found himself in 
 the ranks. He was not a candidate for any 
 office and neither was Rodney, although they 
 might have had commissions if they had 
 chosen to accept them. They did not so much 
 as hint that they had been offered something 
 better than the com2:)any or regiment could 
 give them — a position on the general's staff— 
 for they did not think it would be policy to do 
 
412 EODXEY, THE PARTISAT^. 
 
 it. There were plenty of mean men in their 
 regiment, as there were in every one in the ser- 
 vice, and since they could not get discharges 
 themselves, they would have been glad if they 
 could have kept Rodney and Dick from get- 
 ting them ; and if they had susj^ected that 
 Rodney had a friend in the general of the 
 brigade, they would have re]3orted him every 
 chance they got, no matter whether he had 
 done anything wrong or not. After this the 
 two friends waited with as much patience as 
 they could for the time to come around when 
 they would be free once more. 
 
 During this time almost constant fighting 
 had been going on somewhere along the line, 
 and although Rodney and Dick coidd not see 
 the use of it, those in authority could, for 
 they w^ere quietly making preparations to with- 
 draw from a place which was no longer of use 
 to them. On the 26th, 27th, and 28th of the 
 month, the fighting was very severe, and Rod- 
 ney's regiment, wdiich was at the front, was 
 badly cut up. Although Dick Graham w^as 
 now^ a x^rivate he was called upon at times to 
 do duty as a sergeant, and on the afternoon of 
 
CONCLUSIOI^". 413 
 
 the 28th, he was sent with a small squad, one 
 of whom was Rodney Gray, to take charge of 
 an advanced post. It was much nearer our 
 lines than were the trenches in which the, regi- 
 ment was fighting, but it was also much safer, 
 for the shells from both sides went high over 
 their heads. Here they remained in perfect 
 security, talking, laughing and telling stories 
 while the roar of battle was going on all 
 around them, and waiting for their relief, 
 which was to come at six o'clock. It did not 
 come, however, until after nine, and by that 
 time it had grown so dark that it was only 
 after infinite trouble and bother that they suc- 
 ceeded in finding their way back to the main 
 line, only to learn after they arrived there, 
 that their regiment had been withdrawn three 
 hours before, and nobody could tell where it 
 was now. Dick Graham didn't care much 
 where it was, for he had no intention of go- 
 ing to it that night. It was more than three 
 miles to camp, and Dick saw, when he passed 
 that way three days before, that the road was 
 blocked with wagons, artillery trains and 
 stable-lines, and to these obstructions were 
 
414 rod:n"ey, the partisan. 
 
 now added sleeping men, who would not be 
 over civil to any one who chanced to stumble 
 against them in the dark. So Dick drew his 
 squad off into the woods out of the way and 
 went into camp ; that is to say, he ate the 
 little piece of hard tack he found in his haver- 
 sack, washed it down with a drink of warm 
 water from his canteen, rolled himself up in 
 his blanket and went to sleep. 
 
 "There goes reveille," exclaimed Rodney, 
 hitting him a poke in the ribs the next morn- 
 ing about daylight. " But it's in the enemy's 
 camp, and I don't think we'll pay much atten- 
 tion to it. I am going to sleep again." 
 
 " Say," said one of the men, " I reckon we'd 
 best be toddling along, for if I didn' t hear wag- 
 ons and troops moving all night, I dreamed it. 
 Let's get up and go as far as the diggings any 
 way, and get a bite to eat." 
 
 The ' ' diggings ' ' referred to was a pile of 
 hard-tack which, when Rodney first saw it, 
 was almost as long and high as the railroad 
 depot. There were several thousand boxes in 
 the pile, and there they had been beside the 
 road, exposed to all sorts of weather, ever since 
 
CONCLUSION. 415 
 
 they arrived in Corinth. Why they Avere not 
 served out to the men instead of lying there to 
 Avaste no one knew or cared to ask ; but every 
 squad that passed that way made it a point 
 to stop long enough to break open a few 
 boxes and fill their haversacks. Toward 
 these "diggings" Dick and his men bent their 
 steps, and before they were fairly out of the 
 woods in which they had slept, they became 
 aware that they had been deserted. There 
 was not a man in sight, and the guns which 
 looked threateningly at them over the top of 
 the nearest redoubt, they found on inspection 
 to be logs of wood. 
 
 " Beauregard's whole army has fallen back, 
 and done it so silently that they never awoke 
 us,' said Dick. "Let us hurry on and get 
 into our lines before some of the enemy's cav- 
 alry come along and gobble us up. What do 
 you see, Rodney?" 
 
 "I am afraid we are gobbled already," was 
 the answer, "I saw some men dodging about 
 in the woods over there. If they are not the 
 enemy's pickets they must be our rear guard, 
 and as we can't get away we had better 
 
416 EODNEY, THE PAETISAN. 
 
 go over and make ourselves square with, 
 them." 
 
 This proposition met with the approval of 
 his comrades, but it did not seem to suit the 
 men in the woods, for Dick's squad had not 
 gone many steps in their direction when some 
 one called out : 
 
 *'By the right flank, march ! " and the com- 
 mand was emphasized by the sudden aj)pear- 
 ance of half a dozen muskets which were 
 pointed straight at them. 
 
 *'Who are you, and what are you doing 
 there? " demanded Dick. 
 
 ''AVho are you, and what do you want of 
 us?" asked one of the men in reply. ''Are 
 you from Tennessee ? " 
 
 " No ; Missouri." 
 
 " By tlie right flank, then, and toddle right 
 along. You want no truck with us ; but if 
 you meet old Daddy Bragg tell him to come 
 and see us. We've got something for him." 
 
 "All right," answered Dick, as he and his 
 squad faced to the right and marched away. 
 "Good-by, and good luck to you. I don't 
 think old Bragg will come out," he added. 
 
CONCLUSION. 417 
 
 when the men had been left out of hearing. 
 " They'd shoot him as quick as they would 
 any other varmint. There must be two or 
 three hundred in that party, and they strag- 
 gled out of the ranks last night in the dark. 
 They'll stay there until the enemy's advance 
 passes, and then they'll come out and give 
 themselves up. Slick scheme, but I'd die 
 before I would do it myself." 
 
 The squad halted at the "diggings" long 
 enough to fill their haversacks, and then kept 
 on after the arinj, marching with a quick step 
 and keexDing a good look-out for the Federal 
 cavalry, which they knew would be sent out to 
 pick up stragglers as soon as Beauregard's 
 retreat became known to Halleck. They were 
 in no hurry to overtake their comrades, for 
 they were doing very well by themselves, and 
 neither did they want to be picked up and 
 treated as deserters by their own rear guard. 
 But if there was any rear guard they never 
 saw it, although they ran into another body of 
 Tennesseans, more than a thousand of them 
 this time, who told them that the army had 
 gone on toward Tupelo, thirty-five miles from 
 
418 KODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 Corinth. No one seemed to know why Corinth 
 had been abandoned, and it turned out after- 
 ward that the Richmond government disap- 
 proved of it, for the command was taken from 
 Beauregard and given to Bragg, the man 
 whom all his soldiers feared and hated, and 
 wiio, a few months later, said to the people of 
 Kentucky, ' ' I am here with an army which 
 numbers not less than sixty thousand men. I 
 bring you the olive-branch which you refuse 
 at your peril . ' ' But proclamations and threats 
 did not take Kentucky out of the Union. 
 
 It took the boj^s five days to cover the thirty- 
 five miles that lay between Corinth and Tupelo, 
 and they were by no means the last of the 
 stragglers to come in. The men Avho had been 
 left behind, and who had no intention of 
 deserting, were nevertheless bound to enjoy 
 their liberty while they had the chance, and 
 some of them did not arrive for two weeks. 
 
 In x^i'ocess of time the descriptive list and 
 discharges of those who came under the ex- 
 emption clause of the Conscription Act were 
 made out, but there was so much red tape to be 
 gone through with before all the provisions of 
 
CONCLUSION. 419 
 
 the Act could be carried out, that tlie two 
 friends were in a fever of suspense for fear 
 that something might hapi)en at the last 
 minute to blast their hopes. Their officers did 
 not want to let them go, and the slightest hitch 
 in the proceedings would have made conscripts 
 of them. But in their case everything worked 
 smoothly, and finally all they had to do was to 
 go to the paymaster and get their Confederate 
 scrip. Being provided with passes which 
 would take them as far as the lines of the 
 Confederacy extended, they took leave of their 
 friends, not without a feeling of regret it must 
 be confessed, and boarded the cars for Camp 
 Pincknev, which was located a hundred miles 
 from New Orleans. After they left the camp 
 their passes would be of no use to them, for it 
 was said that the country between there and 
 Mooreville, forty miles east of Baton Rouge, 
 was over-run with Federal cavalry. They 
 reached the camp without any mishap, ran 
 the guard in order to get out of it (but that 
 was not a difficult thing to do, for nearly all 
 the soldiers in camp were conscripts who had 
 not had time to learn their business), and 
 
420 RODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 before they had gone ten miles on their way 
 toward Mooreville, came plum^D upon a small 
 squad of Union cavalry, w^ho covered them 
 wdth their carbines and told them to ' ' come in 
 out of the rain." It was hard to be "gobbled 
 up" within two days' walk of home, but the 
 boys put a bold face on the matter. The 
 corporal and his three men seemed to be a 
 jolly, good-natured lot, and the ex-Confeder- 
 ates knew they would be sure of kind treat- 
 ment as long as they remained in their 
 hands. 
 
 "You've got us easy enough," said Dick. 
 " Now what are you going to do with us ? " 
 
 "Take you down to Baton Rouge and put 
 you where you'll not have a chance to shoot 
 any more Yanks," replied the corporal. 
 "Where's vour re2:iment ? " 
 
 " We don't know ; and not wishing to give 
 you a short answer, we don't care. We 
 never shot any Yanks, and neither do we 
 mean to go where they are again if we can 
 help it. We've got our discharges in our 
 pockets." 
 
 " Seeing is believing. Hand 'em out." 
 
CONCLUSION. 421 
 
 The boys complied, and as tliey did so 
 Rodney remarked that if they had known 
 that the corporal was as white a man as they 
 had found him, they wouldn't have " come in 
 out of the rain" so readily. They would 
 have taken to their heels and trusted to his 
 forbearance. 
 
 "lam glad you didn't try it," replied the 
 corporal, reading the discharges one after the 
 other and passing them over to his men. " A 
 gray-back streaking it through the bushes 
 would be a mighty tempting target, even to 
 fellows like ourselves who don't shoot only 
 when we have to. Have you got enough of 
 the service ? " 
 
 More than we want," answered Dick. 
 Well, you can't be forced into the army 
 until you are of the right age, and in the 
 meantime I don't suppose you will do us any 
 great damage. What do you say, boys ? " 
 
 " I say let 'em go home and see their mam- 
 mies," replied one of the squad ; and the 
 others nodding assent, the corporal jerked his 
 thumb over his shoulder and told them to 
 
 git.' 
 
 
 U r^i4. 5 J 
 
422 IIODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 " It is no more than we exi^ected of yon, bnt 
 we thank von all the same," said Rodney, 
 gratefnlly. ''I live down this way, three 
 miles from Mooreville, and if yon ever come 
 along onr road, drop in and we'll treat yon 
 right. The monse did the lion a favor once, 
 and wdio know^s bnt that a boy who is not 
 old enongh to be conscripted, may be able 
 to do something for one of Uncle Sam's 
 men ? " 
 
 "Good for yon, Johnny. Yon' re no reb. 
 Any np this way % " 
 
 " None nearer than Camj) Pickney. If there 
 are we did not see them." 
 
 With hearts full of thankf nlness the boys 
 resumed their journey, and on the afternoon 
 of the second day following, came within sight 
 of Rodney's home. It set his eyes to stream- 
 ing, and gave such elasticity to his step that 
 Dick could scarcely keep pace with him. As 
 he led his friend np the wide front steps he 
 recalled to mind the parting that had taken 
 place there more than fifteen months before, 
 and the confident words he had uttered about 
 "driving the Yankees out of Missouri." He 
 
CONCLUSION. 423 
 
 and his friends had been driven out instead, 
 and there was no hope that Missouri would 
 ever belong to the Confederacy. 
 
 *' Alabama — here we rest," exclaimed Eod- 
 ney, pushing Dick into an easy chair in the 
 parlor, which they found to be unoccu23ied. 
 *' Stay there till I find somebody." 
 
 "I don't look fit," began Dick, glancing 
 down at his dusty uniform ; but just then a 
 door opened, a lady came in, and the words 
 ^'Mother!" and ''Oh, my son, my son!" 
 told Dick that " somebody" had found Rod- 
 ney. 
 
 If ever a boy appreciated home and its com- 
 forts it was Rodney Gray, no longer a wild, 
 unreasoning partisan, but sober and thought- 
 ful beyond his years. Here we will leave him 
 until the time comes for us to tell how Dick 
 Graham got across the river, and take up the 
 history of the adventures and exploits of 
 our Union hero, ^farcy Gray, whom we left in 
 his home in North Carolina. Marcy's ^^ Secret 
 Enemies^^ and his determination to be " True 
 to Ms Color s^^^ brought him into difficulty 
 more than once ; and what those difficulties 
 
424 PwODNEY, THE PARTISAN. 
 
 were, and how lie came tlirougli tliem, sliall be 
 told in the third volume of this series, which 
 will be entitled " MaPvCY, the Blockade- 
 Runner." 
 
 THE END. 
 
famous Qastlemon H^ooNs. 
 
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 The Sportsman's Club among the Trappers. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold . . i 25 
 
 FRANK NELSON SERIES. By Harry Castle- 
 mon. In box containing the following. 3 vols. i6mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold 3 75 
 
 Snowed Up ; or, The Sportsman's Club in the Moun- 
 tains. Illustrated. i6mo ^ 25 
 
 Frank Nelson in the Forecastle ; or. The Sports- 
 man's Club among the Whalers. Illustrated. i6mo. i 25 
 
 The Boy Traders ; or. The Sportsman's Club among 
 
 the Boers. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 BOY TRAPPER SERIES. By Harry Castlemon. 
 In box containing the following. 3 vols. i6mo. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold 3 75 
 
 The Buried Treasure ; or. Old Jordan's " Haunt." 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo ... i 25 
 
 The Boy Trapper ; or, How Dave filled the Order. 
 
 Illustrated. l6mo I 25 
 
 The Mail Carrier. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
PORTER A COATES'S POPULAR JUVENILES. 3 
 
 ROUGHING IT SERIES. By Harry Castlemon. 
 In box containing the following, 3 vols. Cloth, extra, 
 black and gold $3 75 
 
 Oeorge in Camp ; or. Life on the Plains. Illustrated. 
 
 i6mo I 25 
 
 George at the Wheel ; or, Life in a Pilot House. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 George at the Fort ; or. Life Among the Soldiers. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 ROD AND GUN SERIES. By Harry Castlemon. 
 In box containing the following. 3 vols. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold 3 75 
 
 Don Gordon's Shooting Box. Illustrated. i6mo. i 25 
 
 Rod and Gun. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 The Young Wild Fowlers. Illustrated. i6mo. . i 25 
 
 FOREST AND STREAM SERIES. By Harry 
 Castlemon. In box containing the following. 3 vols. 
 Cloth extra, black and gold .3 75 
 
 Joe Wayring at Home ; or, Story of a Fly Rod. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo ^25 
 
 Snagged and Sunk ; or. The Adventures of a 
 
 Canvas Canoe. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Steel Horse ; or, The Rambles of a Bicycle. Illus- 
 trated. i6mo I 25 
 
 WAR SERIES. By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols. 
 
 Cloth, extra, three colors and gold. New Style , . 3 75 
 
 True to his Colors. 8 illustrations. i2mo. ... i 25 
 
 Rodney, the Partisan. In press. 
 
 OUR FELLCWS ; or, Skirmishes with the Swamp 
 
 Dragoons. By Harry Castlemon. Illustrated. i6mo. i 25 
 
J^lger's ^enotoneb j^^'^'^s- 
 
 Horatio Alger, Jr., has attained distinction as one of the most popular 
 writers of bojks for boys, and the following list comprises all of his best 
 books. 
 
 By Horatio Alger, Jr. 
 
 RAGGED DICK SERIES. By Horatio Alger, 
 Jr. In box containing the following. 6 vols. l6mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold $1 S^ 
 
 Ragged Dick ; or, Street Life in New York. Illus- 
 trated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Fame and Fortune ; or, The Progress of Richard 
 
 Hunter. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Mark the Match Boy ; or, Richard Hunter's Ward, 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Rough and Ready ; or. Life among the New York 
 
 New^sboys. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Ben the Luggage Boy ; or. Among the Wharves. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Rufus and Rose ; or, The Fortunes of Rough and 
 
 Ready. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 TATTERED TOM SERIES. (First Series.) 
 By Horatio Alger, Jr. In box containing the following. 
 4 vols. i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold .... 5 00 
 
 Tattered Tom ; or. The Story of a Street Arab. Il- 
 lustrated. i6mo. I 25 
 
 Paul the Peddler; or, The Adventures of a Young 
 
 Street Merchant. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Phil the Fiddler ; or. The Young Street Musician. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Slow and Sure ; or, From the Sidewalk to the Shop. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
PORTER & COATES'S POPULAR JUVENILES. $ 
 
 TATTERED TOM SERIES. (Second Series.) 
 In box containing the following. 4 vols. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold $5 ^^ 
 
 Julius; or, The Street Boy Out West. Illustrated. 
 
 i6mo I 25 
 
 The Young Outlaw ; or, Adrift in the World. Il- 
 lustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Sam's Chance and How He Improved It. Il- 
 lustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 The Telegraph Boy. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES. (First Series.) 
 By Horatio Alger, Jr. In box containing the following. 
 4 vols. i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold .... 5 00 
 
 Luck and Pluck ; or, John Oakley's Inheritance. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Sink or Swim ; or, Harry Raymond's Resolve. Il- 
 lustrated. i6mo. I 25 
 
 Strong and Steady ; or. Paddle Your Ovirn Canoe. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Strive and Succeed ; or. The Progress of Walter 
 
 Conrad. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES. (Second 
 Series.) In box containing the following. 4 vols. 
 i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold 5 00 
 
 Try and Trust ; or. The Story of a Bound Boy. Il- 
 lustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Bound to Rise; or, Harry Walton's Motto. Illus- 
 trated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Risen from the Ranks; or, Plarry Walton's Success. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 Herbert Carter's Legacy; or. The Inventor's Son. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 CAMPAIGN SERIES. By Horatio Alger, Jr. 
 
 In box containing the following. 3 vols. i6mo. 
 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold 3 75 
 
 Prank's Campaign ; or, The Farm and the Camp. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Paul Prescott's Charge. Illustrated. i6mo. . . i 25 
 Charlie Codman's Cruise. Illustrated. i6mo. . . i 25 
 
6 PORTER A COATES'S POPULAR JUVENILES. 
 
 BRAVE AND BOLD SERIES. By Horatio 
 Alger, Jr. In box containing the following. 4 vols. 
 i6nio. Cloth, extra, black and gold . ^^5 00 
 
 Brave and Bold ; or, The Story of a Factory Boy. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Jack's Ward; or, The Boy Guardian. Illustrated. 
 
 i6mo I 25 
 
 Shifting for Himself; or, Gilbert Greyson's Fortunes. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 "Wait and Hope ; or, Ben Bradford's Motto. Illus- 
 trated. i6mo I 25 
 
 PACIFIC SERIES. By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols. 
 
 ^ i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold 5 00 
 
 The Young Adventurer ; or, Tom's Trip Across the 
 
 Plains. Illustrated. i6mo I 25 
 
 The Young Miner ; or, Tom Nelson in California. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 The Young Explorer; or. Among the Sierras. Il- 
 lustrated. i6nio I 25 
 
 Ben's Nugget; or, A Boy's Search for Fortune. A 
 
 Story of the Pacific Coast. Illustrated. i6mo. . . . i 25 
 
 ATLANTIC SERIES. By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 
 
 vols. i6mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold 5 00 
 
 The Young Circus Rider ; or. The Mystery of 
 
 Robert Rudd. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Do and Dare ; or, A Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune. 
 
 i6mo, . . I 25 
 
 Hector's Inheritance ; or, Boys of Smith Institute. 
 
 i6mo. I 25 
 
 Helping Himself; or. Grant Thornton's Ambition. 
 
 i6mo I 25 
 
 NEW VOLUMES. 
 
 The Store Boy ; or. The Fortunes of Ben Barclay. 
 By Horatio Alger, Jr. Illustrated. i6mo. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold i 25 
 
 Bob Burton ; or, The Young Ranchman of the Mis- 
 souri. By Horatio Alger, Jr. Illustrated. i6mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold i 25 
 
PORTER & COATES'S POPULAR JUVENILES. 7 
 
 By C. A. Stephens. 
 
 Rare books for boys— bright, breezy, wholesome and instructive; full of 
 adventure and incident, and information upon natural history. They blend 
 instruction with amusement — contain much useful and valuable information 
 upon the habits of animals, and plenty of adventure, ftm andjoUity. 
 
 CAMPING OUT SERIES. By C. A. Stephens. 
 In box containing the following. 6 vols. i6mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold ^7 5° 
 
 Camping Out. As recorded by " Kit." With eight 
 
 full-page illustrations. i6mo i 25 
 
 Left on Labrador ; or, The Cruise of the Schooner 
 Yacht "Curlew." As recorded by " Wash." With 
 eight full -page illustrations. i6mo i 25 
 
 Off to the Geysers ; or. The Young Yachters in 
 Iceland. As recorded by "Wade." With eight full- 
 page illustrations. l6mo I 25 
 
 Lynx Hunting. From Notes by the Author of 
 "Camping Out." With eight full-page illustrations. 
 i6mo I 25 
 
 Fox Hunting. As recorded by " Raed." With eight 
 
 full-page illustrations. i6mo ^ 25 
 
 On the Amazon ; or, the Cruise of the "Rambler." 
 As recorded by " Wash." With eight full-page illus- 
 trations. i6mo I 25 
 
 By J. T. Trowbridge. 
 
 These stories will rank among the best of Mr. Trowbridge's books for the 
 young — and he has written some of the best of our juvenile literature. 
 
 JACK HAZARD SERIES. By J. T. Trowbridge. 
 In box containing the following. 6 vols. i6mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold 7 5° 
 
 Jack Hazard and His Fortunes. With wenty 
 
 illustrations. l6mo i 25 
 
 A Chance for Himself; or. Jack Hazard and his 
 
 Treasure. With nineteen illustrations. i6mo. . . . i 25 
 
8 PORTER & COATES'S POPULAR JUVENILES. 
 
 Doing His Best. With twenty illustrations. i6mo. $i 25 
 
 Fast Friends. With seventeen illustrations. i6mo. i 25 
 
 The Young Surveyor; or, Jack on the Prairies. 
 
 With twenty-one illustrations. i6mo i 25 
 
 La-wrence's Adventures Among the Ice Cut- 
 ters, Glass Makers, Coal Miners, Iron Men and Ship 
 Builders. With twenty-four illustrations. i6mo. . . i 25 
 
 By Edward S. Ellis. 
 
 A New Series of Books for Boys, equal in interest to the "Castlemon" 
 and " Alger " books. His power of description of Indian life and character 
 is equal to the best of Cooper. 
 
 BOY PIONEER SERIES. By Edward S. Ellis. 
 In box containing the following. 3 vols. Illustrated. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold $3 75 
 
 Ned in the Block House ; or, Life on the Frontier. 
 
 Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Ned in the Woods. A Tale of the Early Days in 
 
 the West. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Ned on the River. Illustrated. i6mo, i 25 
 
 DEERFOOT SERIES. By Edward S. Ellis. In 
 box containing the following. 3 vols. Illustrated. 
 i6mo. 3 75 
 
 Hunters of the Ozark. Illustrated. i6mo. ... i 25 
 
 Camp in the Mountains. Illustrated. i6mo. . . i 25 
 
 The Last War Trail. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 LOG CABIN SERIES. By Edward S. Ellis. In 
 box containing the following. 3 vols. Illustrated. 
 i6mo 3 75 
 
 Lost Trail. Illustrated. i6mo i 25 
 
 Camp-Fire and Wigwam. Illustrated. i6mo. . i 25 
 
 Footprints in the Forest. Illustrated. i6mo. . , i 25 
 
RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL 
 
 Wi liner 
 462