“Do you all come from the same part of Kentucky?” queried the Major, as he sat down on a chair, evidently prepared for a pleasant chat.
“From Fleming County,” said Watson carelessly, quite as if he knew every other county in the State. “I fear, sir, we must be moving on towards Chattanooga. We are in a hurry to enlist, and we have already been delayed too long.”
The Major completely ignored the latter part of this sentence. “From Fleming County,” he said. “Well, that’s pleasant news. I know Fleming County like a book. There is where my father lived and died. What part of the county do you come from?”
Had the Major asked them to tell the area of the United States in square inches he could not have propounded a more puzzling question.
“Dunder and blitzen;” thought Watson. “If I only knew more of Kentucky geography I might get myself out of this scrape.”
“We come from the southeastern part of the county,” said Macgreggor, after an awkward pause.
“Near what town?”
Another pause. Oh, for the name of a town in the southeastern part of Fleming County, Kentucky. The Major was looking at the visitors curiously. Why this sudden reticence on their part?
At last Watson spoke up, although evasively. “We were a long distance from any town; we worked on adjoining farms, and when the call to arms came we determined to rush to the rescue of our beloved Southland.”
The Major gave Watson one searching look. “Humph!” said he, “that’s all very pretty, and I’m glad you are so patriotic—but that won’t do. What is the nearest town to the places you live in?”