In the Saddle

by Oliver Optic

The discipline which Knox had administered to Captain Titus had taken some of the obstinacy out of him, and he was willing to march with the other prisoners. All of them had been engaged in the "Battle of Riverlawn," as it was called, when the mob had been driven away from the plantation. They were placed between a couple of ranks of troopers, and no further attention was given to them till the company halted, a short distance from the mansion.

It was the camp for the night; and the horses were picketed, the tents pitched, and a cordon of sentinels stationed around the whole. The prisoners were provided for as comfortably as the soldiers, and the major had an opportunity to inquire into the situation. He had reached the point to which he had been ordered. The region in the vicinity of the railroad bridge had been examined by a large body of scouts, and nothing like an enemy had been discovered. A trio of negroes had been seen, and they were always ready to tell all they knew to persons wearing the national uniform.

There was no military force near the bridge. After Knox had sent back a messenger with the information obtained from Cato, that "a whole regiment" was encamped at the right of the road, Major Lyon had sent a couple of trusty men to examine the locality. These soldiers had crept cautiously into the woods, and found the force indicated; but it consisted of only a single company, as they could see by the light of the camp-fires. They had no tents, and most of the men were lying about on the ground.

It was now evident that this was Captain Titus's company. They were encamped near the railroad; but there were no bridges of any consequence near them, and they had doubtless postponed the work of the expedition till the next morning. Though the major had never even heard the name of Mr. Barkland, the planter, his brother must have had some information in regard to him, or he would hardly have visited his mansion and attempted to extort money from him.

Major Lyon did not care to meet his brother, for his conduct had been explained to him, and he was in a bad frame of mind even for him; but he ordered Knox to bring another of the party engaged in the outrage to his tent. He had selected one who appeared to be a reasonable man, and his manner was quite different from that of the captain. The major had seen him before, but he knew nothing about him.

"Do you belong to the company encamped in the woods farther down the road?" asked the major.

"How do you know there is any company there?" demanded the fellow, who seemed to be somewhat surprised at the question.

"I ask questions, but I don't answer them," replied Major Lyon with a smile.

"That's jest my case," replied the Home Guardsman with a capacious grin. "I don't tell all I know every day 'n the week."

"You don't know so much that you couldn't tell it as often as that," added Captain Gordon, who was present at the interview, and thought the major was more pleasant than the occasion required.