"Oh, haven't you heard?" she cried. "He is Clarence Colfax, of St. Louis, now a Colonel in the army of the Confederate States."
"Which army?" asked Mr. Lincoln. Virginia tossed her head in exasperation.
"In General Joseph Johnston's army," she replied, trying to be patient.
"But now," she gulped, "now he has been arrested as a spy by General
Sherman's army."
"That's too bad," answered Mr. Lincoln.
"And—and they are going to shoot him."
"That's worse," said Mr. Lincoln, gravely. "But I expect he deserves it."
"Oh, no, he doesn't," she cried. "You don't know how brave he is! He floated down the Mississippi on a log, out of Vicksburg, and brought back thousands and thousands of percussion caps. He rowed across the river when the Yankee fleet was going down, and set fire to De Soto so that they could see to shoot."
"Well," said Mr. Lincoln, "that's a good starter." Then he looked thoughtful.
"Miss Carvel," said he, "that argument reminds me of a story about a man I used to know in the old days in Illinois. His name was McNeil, and he was a lawyer.
"One day he was defending a prisoner for assault and battery before Judge
Drake.