"Are they Union or secesh?"
"Lor bless ye, we're all secesh here."
"You are? Well, we are Union. We'll take ye prisoner, then," said Corporal Grimm.
"Oh, but I ain't secesh."
"Well, then, you are a good boy," said the Sergeant. "Where are ye going?"
"Gwine to Snagtown to git the mail and buy some sugar and coffee."
"Well, you may go on," said the grim soldier, winking at the Corporal; the boy trotted on, looking curiously back at the men and their blue uniforms and big guns.
The cavalcade now galloped on towards the house of Ruben Smith. The steep gable roof soon loomed up in the distance, and after dashing down the lane, around a pasture, through a small wood, they pulled up in front of the house.
"Dismount!" commanded the Sergeant. The men were on the ground in an instant. "Now hitch where you can, and two of you stay on guard while the rest are eating."