xt7cc24qk39z https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7cc24qk39z/data/mets.xml Page, Thomas Nelson, 1853-1922. 1897  books b92-246-31689268 English Scribner, : New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Juvenile fiction. United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Fiction. Two little Confederates  / by Thomas Nelson Page. text Two little Confederates  / by Thomas Nelson Page. 1897 2002 true xt7cc24qk39z section xt7cc24qk39z 













TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES

 


































































THE OLD NIAN WALKED UP TO THE DOOR, AND STANDING ON ONE SIDE
                       FLUNG IT OPEN

 




Two LITTLE CONFEDERATES








               BY

       THOMAS NELSON PAGE



    ILL US TRA TED










    NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SO-NS
       189 7

 































   Copyright. rSS8, by
CHARLES SCRIHNER' S SONS.



THfE ( AXTON PRESS
   .NEW YORK.

 























TO MY MOTHER

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LIST OF ILLUSTRA TIONS.



The old man walked lip to the door, and standing on one
      side, flung it open .

 I'm in command,'' said the gentleman, smiling at him
      over the towel

  Gentlemen, marsters, don't teck mry horses, ef You
      please," said Uncle 'butila

Frank and Willy capture a member of the conscript-guard

The boy faced his captor, who held a strap in one han/d'
'Look! Look! They are running.     They are' beating our
      rnen ! ' exclaimed the boys

The boys sell their cakes to the Yankees  . . . . .

Some of the servants calne back to their ol/l bhnmne



Frontispiece.



Page



'5



      6,
      87

      119


      131

''    147

"1   1,53

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      TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES.


                    CHAPTER I.

r I HE "Two Little Confederates" lived at Oakland. It
     was not a handsome place, as modern ideas go, but down
     in Old Virginia, where the standard was different from
the later one, it passed in old times as one of the best plantations
in all that region. The boys thought it the greatest place in
the world, of course excepting Richmond, where they had
been one year to the fair, and had seen a man pull fire out of
his mouth, and do other wonderful things. It was quite
secluded. It lay, it is true, right between two of the county
roads, the Court-house Road being on one side, and on the
other the great " Mountain Road," down which the large
covered wagons with six horses and jingling bells used to go;
but the lodge lay this side of the one, and " the big woods,"
where the boys shot squirrels, and hunted 'possums and coons,
and which reached to the edge of " Holetown," stretched
between the house and the other, so that the big gate-post
where the semi-weekly mail was left by the mail-rider each
Tuesday and Friday afternoon was a long walk, even by the
near cut through the woods. The railroad was ten miles
away by the road. There was a nearer way, only about half
                                                 I

 
TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



the distance, by which the negroes used to walk, and which
during the war, after all the horses were gone, the boys, too,
learned to travel; but before that, the road by Trinity Church
and Honeyman's Bridge was the only route, and the other
was simply a dim bridle-path, and the "horseshoe-ford" was
known to the initiated alone.
   The mansion itself was known on the plantation as "the
great-house," to distinguish it from all the other houses on
the place, of which there were many. It had as many wings
as the angels in the vision of Ezekiel.
   These additions had been made, some in one generation,
some in another, as the size of the family required ; and
finally, when there was no side of the original structure to
which another wing could be joined, a separate building had
been erected on the edge of the yard which was called " The
Office," and was used as such, as well as for a lodging-place
by the young men of the family. The privilege of sleeping in
the Office was highly esteemed, for, like the toga viri/is, it
marked the entrance upon manhood of the youths who were
fortunate enough to enjoy it. There smoking was admissible,
there the guns were kept in the corner, and there the dogs
were allowed to sleep at the feet of their young masters, or
in bed with them, if they preferred it.
   In one of the rooms in this building the boys went to
school whilst small, and another they looked forward to
having as their own when they should be old enough to be
elevated to the coveted dignity of sleeping in the Office. Hugh



2

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



already slept there, and gave himself airs in proportion; but
Hugh they regarded as a very aged person; not as old, it
was true, as their cousins who came down from college at
Christmas, and who, at the first outbreak of war, all rushed
into the army; but each of these was in the boys' eyes a
Methuselah.  Hugh had his own horse and the double-
barrelled gun, and when a fellow got those there was little
material difference between him and other men, even if he
did have to go to the academy,-which was really something
like going to school.
   The boys were Frank and Willy; F-rank being the eldest.
They went by several names on the place. Their mother
called them her "little men," with much pride; Uncle Balla
spoke of them as "them chillern," which generally implied
something of reproach; and Lucy Ann, who had been taken
into the house to " run after " them when they were little
boys, always coupled their names as "Frank 'n' Willy." Peter
and Cole did the same when their mistress was not by.
   When there first began to be talk at Oakland about the
war, the boys thought it would be a dreadful thing; their
principal ideas about war being formed from an intimate
acquaintance with the Bible and its accounts of the wars of the
Children of Israel, in which men, women and children were
invariably put to the sword. This gave a vivid conception
of its horrors.
   One evening, in the midst of a discussion about the
approaching crisis, Willy astonished the company, who were



3

 
TWO LITTLIS CONFEDERA TES.



discussing the merits of probable leaders of the Union armies,
by suddenly announcing that he'd " bet they did n't have any
general who could beat Joab."
   Up to the time of the war. the boys had led a very unevent-
ful, but a very pleasant life. They used to go hunting with
Hugh, their older brother, when he would let them go, and
after the cows with Peter and Cole. Old Balla, the driver,
was their boon comrade and adviser, and taught them to make
whips, and traps for hares and birds, as he had taught them
to ride and to cobble shoes.
   He lived alone (for his wife had been set free years before,
and lived in Philadelphia). His room over "the old kitchen"
was the boys' play-room when he would permit them to come
in. There were so many odds and ends in it that it was a
delightful place.
   Then the boys played blindman's-buff in the house, or hide-
and-seek about the yard or garden, or upstairs in their den, a
narrow alcove at the top of the house.
   The little willow-shadow ed creek, that ran through the
meadow behind the barn, was one of their haunts. They
fished in it for minnows and little perch; they made dams
and bathed in it; and sometimes they played pirates upon
its waters.
   Once they made an extended search up and down its banks
for any fragments of Pharaoh's chariots which might have
been washed up so high; but that was when they were
younger and did not have much sense.



4

 








CHAPTER IL



T     HERE was great excitement at Oakland during the John
     Brown raid, and the boys' grandmother used to pray
     for him and Cook, whose pictures were in the papers.
   The boys became soldiers, and drilled punctiliously with
guns which they got Uncle Balla to make for them. Frank
was the captain, Willy the first lieutenant, and a dozen or
more little negroes composed the rank and file, Peter and
Cole being trusted file-closers.
   A little later they found their sympathies all on the side of
peace and the preservation of the Union. Their uncle was
for keeping the Union unbroken, and ran for the Convention
against Colonel Richards, who was the chief officer of the
militia in the county, and was as blood-thirsty as Tamerlane,
who reared the pyramid of skulls, and as hungry for military
renown as the great Napoleon, about wi horn the boys had read,
   There was immense excitement in the county over the
election. Though the boys' mother had made them add to
their prayers a petition that their Uncle William might win,
and that he might secure the blessings of peace; and, though
at family prayers, night and morning, the same petition was
presented, the boys' uncle was beaten at the polls by a large
majority. And then they knew there was bound to be war,

 

TTO  LITTLE CONFEDERA i-ES.



and that it must be very wicked.  They almost felt the
" invader's heel," and the invaders were invariably spoken of
as cruel," and the heel was described as of " iron," and was
always mentioned as engaged in the act of crushing. They
would have been terribly alarmed at this cruel invasion had
they not been reassured by the general belief of the commu-
nity that one Southerner could whip ten Yankees, and that,
collectively, the South could drive back the North with pop-
guns. When the war actually broke out, the bovs were the
most enthusiastic of rebels, and the troops in Camp Lee did
not drill more continuously nor industriously.
   Their father, who had been a Whig and opposed secession
until the very last, on Virginia's seceding, finally cast his lot
with his people, and joined an infantry company; and Uncle
William raised and equipped an artillery company, of which
he was chosen captain; but the infantry was too tame and the
artillery too ponderous to suit the boys.
   They were taken to see the drill of the county troop of
cavalry, with its prancing horses and clanging sabres. It was
commanded by a cousin; and from that moment they were
cavalrymen to the core. They flung away their stick-guns in
disgust; and Uncle Balla spent two grumbling days fashioning
them a stableful of horses with real heads and "sure 'nough"
leather bridles.
   Once, indeed, a secret attempt was made to utilize the
horses and mules which were running in the back pasture; but
a premature discovery of the matter ended in such disaster to



6

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDE-RA TES.7



all concerned that the plan was abandoned, and the boys had
to content themselves with their wooden steeds.
   The day that the final orders came for their father and
uncle to go to Richinond,-from which point they were ordered
to "the Peninsula,"-the boys could not understand why
every one was suddenly plunged into such distress. Then,
next morning, when the soldiers left, the boys could not
altogether comprehend it. They thought it was a very fine
thing to be allowed to ride Frank and Hun, the two war-
horses, with their new, deep army saddles and long bits.
The) cried when their father and uncle said good-bye, and
went away; but it was because their mother looked so pale
and ill, and not because they did not think it was all grand.
They had no doubt that all would come back soon, for old
Uncle Billy, the "head-man," who had been born down in
" Little York," where Cornwallis surrendered, had expressed
the sentiment of the whole plantation when he declared, as he
sat in the back yard surrounded by an admiring throng, and
surveyed with pride the two glittering sabres which he had
allowed no one but himself to polish, that "Ef them Britishers
jest sees dese swodes dee'll run !" The boys tried to explain
to him that these were not British, but Yankees,-but he was
hard to convince. Even Lucy Ann, who was incurably afraid
of everything like a gun or fire-arm, partook of the general
fervor, and boasted effusively that she had actually "tetched
Marse John's big pistils."
   Hugh, who was fifteen, and was permitted to accompany



7

 

8  TWO LITTLE COXFEDERA TES.



his father to Richmond, was regarded by the boys with a
feeling of mingled envy and veneration, which he accepted
with dignified complacency.
   Frank and Willy soon found that war brought some
immunities. The house filled up so with the families of
cousins and friends who were refugees that the boys were
obliged to sleep in the Office, and thus the) felt that, at a
bound, they were almost as old as Huh.
   There were the cousins from Gloucester, from the Valley,
and families of relatives from Baltimore and New York, who
had come south on the declaration of war. Their favorite
was their Cousin Belle, whose beauty at once captivated both
boys. This was the first time that the boys knew anything
of girls, except their own sister, Evelyn ; and after a brief
period, during which the novelty gave them pleasure, the
inability of the girls to hunt, climb trees, or play knucks,
etc., and the additional restraint which their presence im-
posed, caused them to hold the opinion that "girls were no
good."



8

 







CHAPTER III.



IN course of time they saw a great deal of "the army,"-
    which meant the Confederates. The idea that the Yan-
    kees could ever get to Oakland never entered any one's
head. It was understood that the army lay between Oakland
and them, and surely they could never get by the innumerable
soldiers who were always passing up one road or the other,
and who, day after day and night after night, were coming to
be fed, and were rapidly eating up everything that had been
left on the place. By the end of the first year they had been
coming so long that they made scarcely any difference; but
the first time a regiment camped in the neighborhood it
created great excitement.
   It became known one night that a cavalry regiment, in
which were several of their cousins, was encamped at Honey-
man's Bridge, and the boys' mother determined to send a
supply of provisions for the camp next morning; so several
sheep were killed, the smoke-house was opened, and all night
long the great fires in the kitchen and wash-house glowed;
and even then there was not room, so that a big fire was
kindled in the back yard, beside which saddles of mutton
were roasted in the tin kitchens. Everybody was -rushing."
   The boys were told that they might go to see the sol-

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



diers, and as they had to get off long before daylight, they
went to bed early, and left all "the other boys "-that is,
Peter and Cole and other colored children-squatting about
the fires and trying to help the cooks to pile on wood.
   It was hard to leave the exciting scene.
   They were very sleepy the next morning; indeed, they
seemed scarcely to have fallen asleep when Lucy Ann shook
them; but they jumped up without the usual application of
cold water in their faces, which Lucy Ann so delighted to
make; and in a little while they were out in the yard, where
Balla was standing holding three horses,-their mother's
riding-horse; another with a side-saddle for their Cousin Belle,
whose brother was in the regiment; and one for himself,-
and Peter and Cole were holding the carriage-horses for
the boys, and several other men were holding mules.
   Great hampers covered with white napkins were on the
porch, and the savory smell decided the boys not to eat their
breakfast, but to wait and take their share with the soldiers.
   The roads were so bad that the carriage could not go;
and as the boys' mother wished to get the provisions to the
soldiers before they broke camp, they had to set out at once.
In a few minutes they were all in the saddle, the boys and
their mother and Cousin Belle in front, and Balla and the
other servants following close behind, each holding before
him a hamper, which looked queer and shadowy as they rode
on in the darkness.
   The sky, which was filled with stars when they set out,



To

 
TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



grew white as they splashed along mile after mile through
the mud. Then the road became clearer; they could see
into the woods, and the sky changed to a rich pink, like the
color of peach-blossoms. Their horses were covered with
mud up to the saddle-skirts. They turned into a lane only
half a mile from the bridge, and, suddenly, a bugle rang out
down in the wooded bottom below them, and the boys
hardly could be kept from putting their horses to a run, so
fearful were they that the soldiers were leaving, and that
they should not see them.  Their mother, however, told
them that this was probably the reveille, or " rising-bell," of
the soldiers. She rode on at a good sharp canter, and the
boys were diverting themselves over a discussion as to who
would act the part of Lucy Ann in waking the regiment of
soldiers, when they turned a curve, and at the end of the
road, a few hundred yards ahead, stood several horsemen.
   " There they are," exclaimed both boys.
   "No, that is a picket," said their mother; "gallop on,
Frank, and tell them we are bringing breakfast for the regi-
ment."
   Frank dashed ahead, and soon they saw a soldier ride
forward to meet him, and, after a few words, return with him
to his comrades.  Then, while they were still a hundred
yards distant, they saw Frank, who had received some direc-
tions, start off again toward the bridge, at a hard gallop.
The picket had told him to go straight ondown the hill, and
he would find the camp just the other side of the bridge.



II

 
TWO LITTLE CONVFEDERATES.



He accordingly rode on, feeling very important at being
allowed to go alone to the camp on such a mission.
   As he reached a turn in the road, just above the river,
the whole regiment lay swarming below him among the large
trees on the bank of the little stream. The horses were
picketed to bushes and stakes, in long rows, the saddles lying
on the ground, not far off; and hundreds of men were mov-
ing about, some in full uniform and others without coat or
vest.  A half-dozen wagons with sheets on them stood on
one side among the trees, near which several fires were
smoking, with men around them.
   As Frank clattered up to the bridge, a soldier with a gun
on his arm, who had been standing by the railing, walked
out to the middle of the bridge.
     Halt ! Where are you going in such a hurry, my young
man " he said.
   " I wish to see the colonel," said Frank, repeating as
nearly as he could the words the picket had told him.
   "WJhat do you want with him"
   Frank was tempted not to tell him; but he was so im-
patient to deliver his message before the others should
arrive, that he told him what he had come for.
   " There he is," said the sentinel, pointing to a place
among the trees where stood at least five hundred men.
   Frank looked, expecting to recognize the colonel by
his noble bearing, or splendid uniform, or some striking
marks.

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



   " Where  " he asked, in doubt; for while a number of
the men were in uniform, he knew these to be privates.
   " There," said the sentry, pointing; "by that stump, near
the yellow horse-blanket."
   Frank looked again. The only man he could fix upon by
the description was a young fellow, washing his face in a tin
basin, and he felt that this could not be the colonel; but he
did not like to appear dull, so he thanked the man and rode
on, thinking he would go to the point indicated, and ask
some one else to show him the officer.
   He felt quite grand as he rode in among the men, who,
he thought, would recognize his importance and treat him
accordingly; but, as he passed on, instead of paying him the
respect he had expected, they began to guy him with all
sorts of questions.
   " Hullo, bud, going to jine the cavalry" asked one.
"Which is oldest; you or your horse  " inquired another.
   " How's pa-and ma "    " Does your mother know
you 're out" asked others. One soldier walked up, and
putting his hand on the bridle, proceeded affably to ask him
after his health, and that of every member of his family. At
first Frank did not understand that they were making fun
of him, but it dawned on him when the man asked him
solemnly:
   " Are there any Yankees around, that you were running
away so fast just now "
   " No; if there were I'd never have found you here," said



13

 

'T WO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



Frank, shortly, in reply; which at once turned the tide in his
favor and diverted the ridicule from himself to his teaser,
who was seized by some of his comrades and carried off with
much laughter and slapping on the back.
   -I wish to see Colonel Marshall," said Frank, pushing his
way through the group that surrounded him, and riding up
to the man who was still occupied at the basin on the stump.
   " All right, sir, I'm the man," said the individual, cheerily
looking up with his face dripping and rosy from its recent
scrubbing.
   " You the colonel !" exclaimed Frank, suspicious that he
was again being ridiculed, and thinking it impossible that
this slim, rosy-faced youngster, who was scarcely stouter
than Hugh, and who was washing in a tin basin, could be the
commander of all these soldierly-looking men, many of whom
were old enough to be his father.
   " Yes, I'm the lieutenant-colonel. I'm in command," said
the gentleman, smiling at him over the towel.
   Something made Frank understand that this was really
the officer, and he gave his message, which was received with
many expressions of thanks.
   "Won't you get down     Here, Campbell, take this
horse, will you " he called to a soldier, as Frank sprang
from his horse. The orderly stepped forward and took the
bridle.
   "Now, come with me," said the colonel, leading the way.
"We must get ready to receive your mother. There are



14

 





























































'I'M IN COMMAND SAID THE GENTLEMAN, SMILING AT HIM OVER THE TOWNM.

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             TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES                    17

some ladies coming-and breakfast," he called to a group
who were engaged in the same occupation he had just ended,
and whom Frank knew by instinct to be officers.
   The information seemed to electrify the little knot ad-
dressed; for they began to rush around, and in a few mo-
ments they all were in their uniforms, and surrounding the
colonel, who, having brushed his hair with the aid of a little
glass hung on a bush, had hurried into his coat and was
buckling on his sword and giving orders in a way which at
once satisfied Frank that he was every inch a colonel.
    ' Now let us go and receive your mother," said he to the
boy. As he strode through the camp with his coat tightly
buttoned, his soft hat set jauntily on the side of his head,
his plumes sweeping over its side, and his sword clattering at
his spurred heel, he presented a very different appearance
from that which he had made a little before, with his head
in a tin basin, and his face covered with lather. In fact,
Colonel Marshall was already a noted officer, and before the
end of the war he attained still higher rank and reputation.
   The colonel met the rest of the part)y at the bridge, and
introduced himself and several officers who soon joined him.
The negroes were directed to take the provisions over to the
other side of the stream into the camp, and in a little while
the whole regiment were enjoying the breakfast. The boys
and their mother had at the colonel's request joined his mess,
in which was one of their cousins, the brother of their cousin
Belle.
         2

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



   The gentlemen could eat scarcely anything, they were so
busy attending to the wants of the ladies. The colonel, par.
ticularly, waited on their cousin Belle all the time.
   As soon as they had finished the colonel left them, and
a bugle blew. In a minute all was bustle. Officers were
giving orders ; horses were saddled and brought out ; and,
by what seemed magic to the boys, the men, who just before
were scattered about among the trees laughing and eating,
were standing by their horses all in proper order.  The
colonel and the officers came and said good-bye.
   Again the bugle blew. Every man was in his saddle. A
few words by the colonel, followed by other words from the
captains, and the column started, turning across the bridge,
the feet of the horses thundering on the planks. Then the
regiment wound up the hill at a walk, the men singing
snatches of a dozen songs, of which "The Bonnie Blue
Flag," "Lorena," and '"Carry me Back to Old Virginia
Shore," were the chief ones.
   It seemed to the boys that to be a soldier was the noblest
thing on earth; and that this regiment could do anything.

 








CHAPTER IV.



A   FTER this it became a common thing for passing regi-
       ments to camp near Oakland, and the fire blazed
       many a night, cooking for the soldiers, till the chickens
were crowing in the morning. The negroes all had hen-
houses and raised their own chickens, and when a camp was
near them they used to drive a thriving trade on their own
account, selling eggs and chickens to the privates while the
officers were entertained in the " gret house."
   It was thought an honor to furnish food to the soldiers.
Every soldier was to the boys a hero, and each young officer
might rival Ivanhoe or Cceur de Lion.
   It was not a great while, however, before they learned
that all soldiers were not like their favorite knights. At any
rate, thefts were frequent. The absence of men from the
plantations, and the constant passing of strangers made
stealing easy; hen-roosts were robbed time after time. and
even pigs and sheep were taken without any trace of the
thieves. The boys' hen-house, however, which was in the
yard, had never been troubled. It was about their only
possession, and they took great pride in it.
   One night the boys were fast asleep in their room in the
office, with old Bruno and Nick curled up on their sheep-

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES.



skins on the floor. Hugh was away, so the boys were the
only " men" on the place, and felt that they were the pro-
tectors of the plantation. The frequent theAts had made
every one very suspicious, and the boys had made up their
minds to be on the watch, and, if possible, to catch the thief.
   The negroes said that the deserters did the stealing.
   On the night in question, the boys were sound asleep
when old Bruno gave a low growl, and then began walking
and sniffing up and down the room. Soon Nick gave a
sharp, quick bark.
   Frank waked first. He was not startled, for the dogs were
in the habit of barking whenever they wished to go out-of-
doors. Now, however, they kept it up, and it was in a strain
somewhat different from their usual signal.
   "What's the matter with you  Go and lie down, Bruno,"
called Frank. " Hush up, Nick!" But Bruno would not lie
down, and Nick would not keep quiet, though at the sound of
Frank's voice they felt less responsibility, and contented
themselves with a low growling.
   After a little while Frank was on the point of dropping off
to sleep again, when he heard a sound out in the yard, which
at once thoroughly awakened him. He nudged Willy in the
side.
   "Willy-Willy, wake up; there's some one moving
around outdoors."
   " Umm-mm," groaned Willy, turning over and settling
himself for another nap.



20

 

TWVO LITTLE CON7FEDERATES.



   The sound of a chicken chirping out in fright reached
Frank's ear.
   "Wake up, Willy !" he called, pinching him hard. "There's
some one at the hen-house."
   Willy was awake in a second. The boys consulted as to
what should be done. Willy was sceptical. He thought
Frank had been dreaming, or that it was only Uncle Balla,
or " some one" moving about the yard. But a second cackle
of warning reached them, and in a minute both boys wvere out
of bed pulling on their clothes with trembling impatience.
   "Let's go and wake Uncle Balla," proposed Willy, getting
himself all tangled in the legs of his trousers.
    No; I'll tell you what, let's catch him ourselves," sug-
gested Frank.
   - All right," assented Willy. "We'll catch him and lock
him up; suppose he's got a pistol your gun maybe won't go
off; it does n't always burst the cap."
   " XVell, your old musket is loaded, and you can hold him,
while I snap the cap at him, and get it ready."
   " All right-I can't find my jacket-I'll hold him."
   "Where in the world is my hat" whispered Frank.
"Never mind, it must be in the house. Let's go out the back
way. We can get out without his hearing us."
   "\Vhat shall we do with the dogs  Let's shut them up."
   " No, let's take 'em with us. We can keep them quiet and
hold 'em in, and they can track him if he gets away."
   " All right; " and the boys slowly opened the door, and



2 1

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



crept stealthily out, Frank clutching his double-barrelled gun,
and Willy hugging a heavy musket which he had found and
claimed as one of the prizes of war. It was almost pitch.
dark.
   They decided that one should take one side of the hen-
house, and one the other side (in suich a way that if they had
to shoot, they would almost certainly shoot one another!)
but before they had separated both dogs jerked loose from
their hands and dashed away in the darkness, barking
furiously.
    "There he goes round the garden," shouted Willy, as the
sound of footsteps like those of a man running with all his
might came from the direction which the dogs had taken.
   "Come or," and both started ; but, after taking a few
steps. they stopped to listen so that they might trace the
fugitive.
   A faint noise behind them arrested their attention, and
Frank tiptoed back toward the hen-house. It was too dark
to see much, but he heard the hen-house door creak, and was
conscious even in the darkness that it was being pushed slowly
open.
   " Here's one, Willy," he shouted, at the same time putting
his gun to his shoulder and pulling the trigger. The hammer
fell with a sharp " click " just as the door was snatched to with
a bang. The cap had failed to explode, or the chicken-eating
days of the individual in the hen-house would have ended
then and there.



22

 

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



   The boys stood for some moments with their guns pointed
at the door of the hen-house expecting the person within to
attempt to burst out; but the click of the hammer and their
hurried conference without, in which it was promptly agreed
to let him have both barrels if he appeared, reconciled him to
remaining within.
   After some time it was decided to go and wake Uncle
Balla, and confer with him as to the proper disposition of
their captive. Accordingly, Frank went off to obtain help,
while \Villy remained to watch the hen-house. As Frank
left he called back:
   " Willy, you take good aim at him, and if he pokes his
head out-let him have it!"
   This Willy solemnly promised to do.
   Frank was hardly out of hearing before Willy was surprised
to hear the prisoner call him by name in the most friendly
and familiar manner, although the voice was a strange
one.
   "Willy, is that you " called the person inside.
   " Yes."
   " Where's Frank "
   " Gone to get Uncle Balla."
   " Did you see that other fellow "
   " Yes."
   " I wish you 'd shot him. He brought me here and played
a joke on me. He told me this was a house I could sleep in,
and shut. me up in here,-and blest if I don't b'lieve it's



23

 

4  TWO LITTLE CONFEDERA TES.



nothin' but a hen-house. Let me out here a minute," he con-
tinued, after a pause, cajolingly.
    No, I won't," said \V7illN' firmly, getting his gun ready.
    There was a pause, and then from the depths of the hen-
house isstlecl the most awful groan:
   " Umm! Ummm!! Ummmm!! !"
   Willy was frightened.
   " U mm! Umm ! " was repeated.
   "What's the matter with you " asked Willy, feeling
sorry in spite of himself.
   " Oh ! Oh! Oh! I 'm so sick," groaned the man in the
hen-house.
     How   What 's the matter "
   "That man that fooled me in here gave me something to
drink, and it's pizened me; oh ! oh ! oh! I 'm dying."
   It was a horrible groan.
   Willy's heart relented. He moved to the door and was
just about to open it to look in when a light flashed across
the yard from Uncle Balla's house, and he saw him coming
with a flaming light-wood knot in his hand.



24

 








CHAPTER V.



INSTEAD of opening the door, therefore, Willy called to
   the old man, who was leisurely crossing the yard:
   "Run, Uncle Balla. Quick, run "
   At the call Old Balla and Frank set out as fast as they
could.
   " What's the matter  Is he done kill de c