“I know he is. No boy could talk as feelingly of his mother as he did and tell a lie about it. Now, if you will let me go down there and bring his family up here, we will make two good soldiers by the operation.”
“We will see about it when the time comes,” said Mr. Sprague.
That was enough for Leon, who reined his horse out of the road and halted until Dawson came up. Somehow he had taken a great fancy for the young rebel. There was something so honest about him that Leon put strong faith in everything he said. He drew up beside Dawson, and the latter’s face grew more radiant than ever when Leon said that his father would “see about it.”
“That is as good as saying that I may go, if something doesn’t turn up in the meantime. Now, the next thing will be to get Tom to go with us. I shall feel a heap better with him alongside of me.”
It was a long journey toward Ellisville, and the mules walked so slowly that it was almost midnight when they got there. Following the instructions of Mr. Sprague, the wagons were drawn up in a park in the grove, the mules were watered at the river and staked out where they had plenty of food, and the men left of their own accord and went to bed. There was no posting of sentries about the wagons to see that some backwoodsman did not slip up there to steal anything, for such a thing as theft was never heard of in that county. They knew that the things would be in the wagons in the morning in just as good shape as they were then. When Leon and Dawson, after hitching their horses and foddering them, turned to go to the opposite side of the grove, the place where that rebel was under guard, they came across Tom Howe, who had his coat off and was building a fire.
“Why, Tom, come with us,” said Leon. “I am going to get something to eat before I go to bed.”
“Well, sir, you can go and get it, for you are one of these hungry fellows who always want something,” replied Tom. “Do you see that muel? I ain’t a-going to take my eyes off of him until your father gives him into my possession.”
“You haven’t had any supper, have you?”
“Nary supper. And I ain’t a-going to have any, either, until I get that there muel in my hands.”
“You can come back here and sleep. Tom, this is Dawson, whom I want you to be friends with. He was in that squad, but he gave up his horse and weapons to me without being asked.”