Oh dere's trouble on de ol' man's mine."
We tried to stop him as he rode past us, but he pretended not to see or hear us, and rode away in the direction of the Major's quarters.
"Snake has a sorrowful mood upon him this evening," said Miss Carter, after the singing had died away in the distance.
"And by the same token, I reckon, there's some bad news ahead," I answered, "and we might as well go to the Major's and find it out."
When we reached there, we found that orders had just come for us to move to Norfolk and take part in the operations against the British. I was glad the news was no worse, and I must say I felt a great relief, in spite of those I must leave behind me.
This was my last evening to spend with my people, and I determined to know my fate in a certain direction, so I recalled a few things to Miss Carter that had passed between us.
"My dear Dick," she said, "you have a most charming cousin. Why don't you marry her?"
"In the first place, she would not marry me; and in the second, she is hardly to my way of thinking," I replied.