The boys promised they would do their best, and at a signal from General Vandever they saluted and retired.
From a quantity of clothing in the hands of the quartermaster they selected two well-worn suits of common material of the country. Though well worn, the suits were clean, having been recently washed, and by order of General Vandever the garments were sent to General Curtis for his chief of staff to inspect. The inspection showed that they needed mending in several places, to insure their holding out through the journey, and they were accordingly submitted to the care of the headquarters' tailor for a few hours. To make sure that the work was properly done, the chief of staff had it performed in his own tent, and directly under his eye, being unwilling to trust the tailor out of sight.
Toward evening the patched and mended garments were ready, and were brought by an orderly to General Vandever's tent. Their hats and boots were in keeping with the rest of their wardrobe, and when fully rigged the boys looked the very picture of natives of the soil of Missouri or Arkansas. By General Vandever's order they did not show themselves about the camp in their new outfit, but remained closely concealed in a tent in the rear of his. They ate a hearty supper and went early into their blankets, so as to be up and off before the break of day.
Nearly two hours before daylight their horses, which had been tied close to the general's tent and well fed, were saddled, and the boys, after swallowing a hasty and very early breakfast, announced themselves ready to start. The general bade them good-bye, and said his adjutant would escort them out of the lines.
“But we have n't any dispatches yet,” said Harry. “We supposed General Curtis had some dispatches for us to carry.”
“Don't you remember, he said, 'Go to Fort Scott and do as the post commander directs you'? That's all. You 'll get your orders when you arrive there.”
Satisfied with the explanation, Harry returned the general's good-bye, and so did Jack. The adjutant appeared at this moment, and under the convoy of a single cavalryman they moved in the direction of the northern boundary of the camp.
Under the orders of the adjutant the picket allowed the two youths to pass, and in a few moments they were lost in the darkness. They jogged slowly along the road until daylight came, and then, as the country became visible, quickened their pace.
After riding about three hours, and meeting no interruption, they halted at the crossing of a small creek to eat some of the corn-bread they carried in their pockets, and give their horses a chance to graze. It was Harry's suggestion that they should provide themselves with corn-bread instead of dry biscuit or hard-tack, such as formed the rations of the soldiers. “You see,” he explained, “the hard-tack might give us away in case we are stopped and searched; but if we carry nothing but corn-bread, which everybody eats in this country, it won't be at all suspicious.” Jack agreed to the soundness of this argument, and accordingly corn-bread formed their sole supply of provisions, with the addition of a few slices of bacon.
While they were lying on the ground, indulging in their very plain meal, a party of ten or twelve men appeared suddenly, from the direction they intended to go. Their leader brought them to a halt, and they quickly surrounded the two boys.