"Well, take care that they don't git you. Is any of our forces out on this yer road?"
"No. I've jist come eight miles without seeing any. They left for Raymond last night, an' they ar jist a gwine to kill the whole Lincoln army."
"We had better go this way, then," said I, turning back the way I had come.
"I reckon we had," said the Mississippian.
As we rode along, he kept up his boasting of how many Yanks he was gwine to turn up, little dreaming whom he was addressing. Fortunately for me, the road on which the column was moving passed through a piece of woodland, so as to hide all movements of troops. When we came to it, the rear-guard of the 17th Corps had passed along out of sight, and the advance of the corps next in line of march had not come up. As we turned into the right, where our troops had been passing, I caught sight of two Federal soldiers, sitting by the roadside, who had fallen back from their commands. Dropping a little to the rear, I drew my revolver and motioned to the soldiers to help me. I was a little afraid the old fellow would give me battle as soon as he discovered his mistake, and I wanted to make sure of him. The soldiers comprehended my meaning, and instantly leveled their pieces at him, which, discovering, he halted, and inquired, "Is them thar our forces?"
"Never mind whose forces they are," said I, presenting my revolver; "you go right along."
"I thought it was our forces," said the old man, quite crest-fallen at his discovery.
"Come in there, old fellow! come in!" shouted the two soldiers.
"Ride along, daddy, or those Yanks will bore you in a minute," said I.
He took my advice, and rode up to the soldiers, where I made him turn his horse over to one of them and his rifle to the other, and then marched him on, at a rapid pace, to overtake the command.