“No, but we would soon have had them. There’s lots of guns in the President’s headquarters that haven’t got any owners. Tom didn’t have a muel, and now he’s got one.”
“And that’s what comes of touching his hat to those civilians,” said Cale, in disgust. “I bet you I wouldn’t do it. Why didn’t they give father a position like he ought to have had? We would have had muels by this time.”
“It’s my opinion that father has got his foot in it,” said Dan, with a knowing shake of his head. “He has said all along that the South was going to whip, and old Sprague and the other men don’t like it. I’ll[I’ll] bet you that if the truth was known half of them are on our side.”
This was the substance of the conversation that passed between Dan and Cale on their way to the creek. Boys as they were, they had every reason to believe that one county could not stand against the whole Southern Confederacy, that the Union men in the county were going to be easily whipped out, and they wanted to be on the winning side. Perhaps there was a little hope of plunder mixed in with it, as Cale finally said:
“I’ll tell you what, Dan: I don’t like the way that young Sprague had of throwing on style to-day. He rode up on that colt of his and saluted the old man as if he were the owner of the State. I’d like to have him go afoot for awhile and let me ride on that horse.”
“Well, he’ll have to do it,” returned Dan. “But he’s got some other things that I’d like to have—his revolver, for instance.”
Before long it began to grow dark, but the gloom that settled over the woods did not interfere with the movements of these backwoodsmen. They kept straight ahead as though it had been broad daylight, and finally arrived on the banks of the creek. Without saying a word they threw off their clothes and prepared to plunge into the stream. If they had known as much as Leon did they would have looked for that ford which was but a short distance from the place where they swam the creek. The water was somewhat cold, but they took it bravely, and in a few minutes more stood on the opposite side.
“That Leon is going to have a colder place than this,” said Dan, as he shiveringly put on his clothes. “I do wish they would turn him and Tom over to us.”
“What would you do with him?”
“I’d make him swim this creek.”