Two days afterwards he was conveyed out of the city concealed in a farmer’s wagon. He was passed on from the hands of one true Knight to another, and at the end of three days he found himself on the banks of the Ohio, a few miles above Madison. In the darkness of the night he was rowed over, and his feet once more pressed the soil of his native state. In his ecstasy he felt like kissing the ground, for was it not the soil of Kentucky?
At the house of a true Southerner he found refuge. His measure was taken into Carrolton, where a tailor made him a fine uniform. Purchasing a horse of the gentleman with whom he stayed, he bade him good-bye, and sprang into the saddle. The sun had just set, and the whole west glowed with the beauty which we ascribe to the Golden City. In the midst of the gold hung the new moon like a silver bow.
“See! see!” cried Calhoun, “the new moon, I saw it over my right shoulder. It means good luck.”
And while the happy omen still gleamed in the west, he galloped away.
CHAPTER XVI.
CALHOUN MAKES HIS REPORT.
By keeping off the main roads and avoiding the towns, Calhoun had no trouble in making his way back into Tennessee. He had been gone nearly a month, and was glad to see his old command, who gave him a royal welcome. He was showered with questions as to where he had been, but to each and every one he would laugh and say, “Be glad to tell you, boys, but can’t.”
“Thought you had deserted us,” said his scouts.