There was no enemy of consequence along the line of march, and therefore no opposition was expected or offered. Here and there half-a-dozen horsemen were seen, but they were not considered worthy of attention. Forsyth was occupied until the army received a supply of stores and ammunition, which was sent from Springfield by a somewhat difficult road through the Ozark mountains.
Our young friends went with dispatches to the post commander at Springfield, but as the road was well guarded and no rebels or guerrillas were supposed to be in the neighborhood, they did not consider the journey of any serious moment, and did not disguise themselves. The distance is about fifty miles, and they took a part of two days for the ride, spending the night at Ozark, which is about half-way between the opposite ends of the route. There was so much up and down hill to the road that they did not find it an easy one to travel in a hurry, and besides, they were carrying out the orders of the general in spending the night at Ozark, where there was temporarily a garrison of fifteen or twenty men.
“It is a very pretty mountain country,” said Harry afterwards, when speaking of the journey, “and I wished I could make sketches of some of the landscapes along the road. In some places you look down a long distance in the valleys, and in others you are completely shut in and wonder how you will ever get out of there. An interesting feature of the country is the large springs that abound all through it; they are like the great springs we saw at Cross Hollows in Arkansas, and doubtless have the same sort of origin. There is one spring near the village of Ozark which forms the head of a good-sized brook, just as does the spring at the head of Sugar Creek.”
At Springfield they found very little change in the state of affairs since they passed through the town on their way to Sugar Creek and Pea Ridge. The garrison had thrown up earthworks to protect themselves in case of an attack by the rebels, as it was thought possible that a column of cavalry, or possibly some marauding expeditious like those of Quantrell and Todd, might take a notion to pay a brief visit to the place, and the commandant did n't propose to be caught napping. The supplies for General Curtis were being pushed forward as fast as possible, but the bad condition of the roads and the scarcity of draft animals greatly hindered the work. Mules and horses were in great demand, and considering the great numbers of these animals that had been completely worn out and used up in the arduous service of transportation in the southwest, the great wonder is that supplies could be sent forward at all.
They remained two days in Springfield and then started on their return to Forsyth. Not dreaming of any danger, they did not deem it worth their while to so time the journey as to spend the night under the protection of the guard at Ozark; instead of doing so, they passed through that town and lodged in a house several miles beyond, where they had an exciting adventure, as the sequel will show.
CHAPTER XXXV. A TREACHEROUS HOST—HOW THE BOYS TURNED THE TABLES.
The house where they asked for entertainment for the night was a two-story frame building, and belonged to a well-to-do farmer, who was the owner of ten or twelve negroes, and therefore one of the aristocracy of southwest Missouri. Being an owner of slaves, he was naturally in sympathy with secession, though he professed the most ardent unionism whenever he was visited by any party of soldiers wearing the federal blue. His family consisted of his wife and two daughters. His son had gone to join Price's army, and the father took great pains to explain that he had done so greatly against the parental will.
The pronounced unionism of the man did not arouse any suspicions in the minds of Harry and Jack, who talked freely with him during and after the supper which was set before them. They retired early to bed, as they were wearied with their day's ride and intended to be off at an early hour in the morning, so as to reach Forsyth in good season. On their arrival, before dark, they accompanied their horses to the barn and saw them fed and cared for by one of the negroes, whose good graces they secured by slipping a quarter into his hand. They took a general survey of the barn and its surroundings, more from habit than from any thought that such knowledge might be useful to them before the next morning.