“The wounded were getting along beautifully, and nothing exciting had occurred for a fortnight. Foraging parties that stopped at the house and found Yankees in possession moved on. It seemed more like a house-party.
“But a change soon took place.
“It was afterward learned that Ed Crudup escaped during the transfer of the prisoners from the school-house to the army; he found out from some of the Crudup slaves that the Yankees who shot his brother and imprisoned himself were holding the premises until further orders from Headquarters. So he raised a small company at Nashville and drilled them for a few days, planning to surprise the men at the house and take them prisoners.
“One day, while some of the Yankees were out foraging, Ed and his men came upon them suddenly and a skirmish ensued.
“Ed was shot down and so was our young officer who was in command of the foragers that day. The others fought like madmen, hand to hand, until the men at the house, hearing the shots, ran out to their assistance.
“The Southerners, outnumbered, took flight, but were pursued and captured.
“The two men, Ed and Vernon, lay still as death in the tall grass, and no one missed them at the time of the pursuit.
“Tim, however, on his way to water Imp, found his young master shot through the heart, and the young Yankee unconscious. In his faithful loyalty to the family, he decided to make a prisoner of the Yankee, so he dragged Vernon over to the waterfall, carried him through the spray, and laid him down on the mattress in the cave. The cold water which had fallen upon Vernon’s face had partially revived him, and he moaned as if in pain.
“Tim lighted the lantern and examined him. He found a clean bullet hole in his chest, but very little bleeding. He decided the best thing to do would be to notify the master. So, after attending to Imp, he crept out of the cave and went over to the remains of the young master. He managed to carry him until he met some of the slaves, then had them improvise a stretcher to carry the body to the house.
“There was great sorrow in the household, and his death changed the attitude of the Crudups toward the Yankee officers.