"'You dirty, greasy-looking Yankee,' said another, 'born in some northern poor-house.'
"'And both parents died in jail, I'll bet.'
"'If our Jim was only here, he'd handle the cowardly set in less time than one of them could pick up that limb.'
"'You chicken thief, you come by it honestly. Your father was a thief before you, and your mother—'
"This last roused me. I could hear nothing bad of her from man or woman.
"'You she-devil,' said I, turning to her, 'not one word more.' She turned toward the house.
"But they annoyed the men, and I concluded to keep them still.
"'Sergeant,' said I, addressing the orderly, and nearing the house, the women close at my heels. 'Sergeant, as our regiment will camp near here to-morrow, we might as well look out for a company hospital. How big is that house?'
"'Large enough, Captain; thirty by fifty at least.'