They turned just in time to see him encounter the toiling trooper from North Carolina.
The soldier's jaw suddenly dropped and his eyes kindled with joy. He stood squarely in the President's way and laughed good naturedly.
"Say—Mister!"
"Well, sir?"
"Say—now—ain't yo' name Jeff'son Davis?"
The President nodded in a friendly way.
"It is."
"I knowed it," the trooper laughed. "By Gum, I knowed it, the minute I laid my eyes on ye—"
He moved closer with insinuating joy.