"That is what they may try to do next; and I shall advise your mother not to permit Miss Dorcas or Miss Hope to go outside of the plantation unless they are well guarded," added Levi. "If Captain Titus could get away with your two sisters, and hide them, he could have things all his own way with your father."
"We must keep a sharp lookout for the girls," said Artie.
"Buck Lagger, with his gang, must have gone ahead of the main body of the ruffians," continued the overseer thoughtfully, "or he could not have been in the cross-cut. He must have known about the party, and that the colonel's daughters were there."
"Where does this Buck live?" asked Deck.
"He has a shanty on the road to the village, just above the schoolhouse. He is a pedler when he does anything like work, and I suppose he knows about every family in the county," replied Levi. "He could easily have found out all about the party, and who were to be there."
"There is the breakfast-bell," said Deck, who was quite prepared by his night's work for the summons.
At the table the story of the night's adventures was repeated for the information of Mrs. Lyons and her daughters, and they wanted to hug Deck; first, because he had been so brave and vigorous in the rescue of Margie and Kate Belthorpe, and second, because he had not been killed or severely wounded in the encounter of which he had been the hero.
After the meal Major Lyon and his two guests retired to the library, while the boys went to bed. Before the former separated, they had arranged a plan for the enlistment of a company of cavalry which had been discussed at the meeting the evening before. But all concerned were tired out after the labors of the night. Colonel Cosgrove was sent to the place where he had left his team, and Squire Truman was driven to the village by Levi, who had chosen this duty himself, in order to "see what was going on," as he expressed it.
The ruffians who had formed the mob had been gathered from the region around Barcreek, and not a few of them lived in the village. There appeared to be no excitement there, and the overseer started for home. On his way he had to pass the shanty of Buck Lagger, where he lived alone when he was at home, which was not much of the time. His worldly wealth, consisting of his stock of miscellaneous goods, was contained in a couple of tin trunks, with which he tramped all over the county.
As Levi drove by the hovel a bullet whistled past his head; and, removing his soft hat, he found that the missile had passed through it, and within a couple of inches of the top of his head. It required no reasoning to convince him that Buck Lagger had fired the shot which had narrowly failed to send him to his long home. This particular kind of outrage was not an uncommon occurrence in Kentucky during the exciting period which followed the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Not a few who had enlisted in the armies of the Union were killed in this cowardly manner.