Lieutenant Tompkins, who had been out in search of scattered men, now returned with the sergeant's squad, the Sergeant's head bandaged.
A hundred curious eyes were turned toward Whimple's squad as they came in; but it was not so much the numbers of the squad that attracted their attention, as the mud covered object that walked in their midst, in regard to which various conjectures were hazarded.
About three hundred and seventy-five men were gathered around the Colonel's head-quarters, the hollow tree, before nightfall. Something must be done, all agreed. There were several men in the country, the Colonel said, who must either take the oath of allegiance to the Southern cause or suffer death for their disloyalty. Several names were mentioned, among them that of Dan Martin.
"The hunter of Twin Mountains?" asked Oleah Tompkins.
"Yes," said Lieutenant Whimple, who had suggested the name.
"He is an old friend of mine," said Oleah.
"Well, but, Lieutenant Tompkins, we can't afford to screen all your friends," said the Colonel.
"Of course, no one can blame you for saving your father, but you can't expect all your Abolition friends will be left unmolested. Lieutenant Whimple, take twenty men and wait on old Dan Martin to-morrow."
When morning came, nearly all the horses were needed for the work of collecting the balance of the scattered forces, foraging for provisions and for arms and horses.
Corporal Diggs was second in command of Whimple's force, and, as he mounted his tall horse, he heard Seth Williams making audible comments on his appearance.