"I heard all about them. What of it?"
"They came to our house last night."
"That's all right. You treated them white, didn't you?"
"I treated them the best I knew how. I thought you and your father wouldn't care."
"Of course not. But we would care if you had treated them any other way. What of it?"
"They want me to guide them to Baton Rouge," continued Ned; and then Rodney noticed that the hand with which he held his bridle trembled like a leaf.
"That's all right too, and I don't see anything alarming in it. Why don't you do it?"
"I am perfectly willing to do it, but you see they have got Tom Randolph with them and won't give him up. They are bound to take him into the city as a prisoner, for they captured him in uniform."
This astounding information almost knocked Rodney over. He sat down on the topmost step, rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands, and looked at Ned without speaking.