"Wasn't his name Pike, instead of Spikes?" I inquired.
"Yes, yes; that was it; and they say he was a mighty hard case—a perfect savage," said she.
"But what was our cavalry doing," I asked, "that they didn't pursue and capture the villains?"
"Well; a lot of Colonel Young's home guard did get after them," was the reply, "but they killed the colonel in the night, and took to the mountains right away, and our men never found them."
She was eyeing me curiously now, and presently she asked:
"Stranger; what is your name?"
"Frank Barton, madam," I replied, without hesitation.
"Where are you from?" she inquired.
"Waco, Texas," said I; and I launched off into a description of Texas and its people, stock raising, agriculture, etc., and soon got her thoroughly convinced that I was really telling her the truth.