“When it was found that young Vernon was missing, with no trace of him anywhere, it was thought that he had been taken captive by a few of the Confederates who got away. Rebecca and I felt dreadfully lonesome after our friend was missing, and I wished, for the first time since I came South, that I could go home.
“Then one morning, Rebecca and I decided to go through the hole in the live-oak tree and crawl to the cave to see Imp. We had not dared to visit him for some days, as a Yankee sentry was stationed in the woods by the waterfall.
“Rebecca hid a small lantern under her cloak and we strolled unconcernedly down the lane toward the dell. We looked carefully about to make sure no spies were watching, and in another minute both of us disappeared. We groped along until we reached the opening into the cave and as we crawled out near Imp’s bed, he greeted us with a joyful whinny. Rebecca ran over and placed her hand over his mouth, so she did not see the apparition that stared at me from the mattress. Had I held the lantern I would have dropped it. As it was, I almost dropped myself, so frightened was I.
“I clutched Rebecca’s arm and she turned about to see what ailed me. In a second she recognized Vernon and ran over with the lantern. As he could not tell us how he came there, but confided that Tim and Mr. Crudup came daily to attend to him, we learned that they knew of his whereabouts. Rebecca snapped her teeth close and her eyes blazed at the thought of her father keeping this man a prisoner in such a suffocating place.
“While we were there, Tim and Mr. Crudup crept through the tunnel and found us talking to the sick man.
“‘Becky, better leave this business to us,’ suggested Mr. Crudup.
“‘Father, how could you keep this man in such a place?’ cried Rebecca, unguardedly.
“‘Ssh!’ warned Tim, apprehensively.
“Mr. Crudup told Rebecca how Tim had carried Vernon here to square accounts for Ed’s death; how he had shown Tim the folly of the deed, and that being done, it had to be made the best of, or disclose the secret of the cave. Tim was so repentant that he agreed to remain in the cave and nurse the prisoner.
“After our discovery, Rebecca spent several hours with Vernon each day reading or talking to him, while Imp began to show his fondness for Vernon in every way a horse can.