"I do not consider that I have any right to deliver the arms to you; for I understand that they were to be used to arm what you call the Home Guards, or, in other words, the ruffians who came over here to burn my house and lay waste my property. I shall not give up the arms to you, or to any other person representing the enemies of the Union. The insurrectionists have set the example of stealing arms, as you call it, and forts, and public buildings by wholesale; and the Secessionists of Kentucky are robbing the Union men of their arms. I hold that the precedent has been well established by those on your side of the question."
"I don't care for your precedents, and I wish my brother would deal with the one question between us."
"I am entirely willing to do so, Brother Titus. You wish me to furnish the brands with which you can burn my house and those of my neighbors."
"What sort of bosh is that?" demanded Titus, who did not see the point.
"If I should return to you the military supplies in my possession, they would be used to arm the horde of ruffians you marched over here to burn my property the other night."
"They would be used to arm my company of the Home Guards; and they are regular under the call of the Governor of Kentucky."
"The Legislature of the State repudiate him, and the people are enlisting the troops he refused to furnish."
"The Legislature is a fraud, and don't rightly represent the will of the people. I came over here with the Home Guard and other friends of the cause to get the arms. You turned our own weapons against us, and without arms we could do nothing against armed niggers."
"I have put my place in a condition to be defended, and I have called upon the United States government to send a body of troops here to protect the Union people from the outrages of your people."
"They will have a hot time of it when they get here," replied Titus with a sneer.