ohnston. "Wait until you hear from
me."

In a few days Calhoun received a message from General Johnston saying he
would like to see him. Calhoun lost no time in obeying the summons. He was
received most cordially.

"In the first place, Captain," said the General, "allow me to present you
this," and he handed him his commission as captain in the Confederate
army.

Calhoun choked, he could only stammer his thanks. But what came next
astonished him still more. "I now offer you the position of Chief of the
Secret Service of my army," said the General. "After listening to your
story, although you are young, I believe there is no officer in the army
more capable of filling it."

Calhoun knew not what to say; it was a place of the greatest honor, but he
hated to leave Morgan. "Will you let me consult my uncle before I give an
answer?" asked Calhoun.

"Most certainly," replied the General.

"Accept it, by all means, Cal," said General Shackelford when Calhoun
appealed to him. "In the first place, it is your duty to serve your
country in the place where you can do the most good. There is no question
but that at the head of the Secret Service you can render the country
vastly better service than you can riding with Morgan. In the next place,
I fancy it will not be exactly with Morgan as it was before his
unfortunate raid. His famous raiders are prisoners, or scattered. It will
be impossible for him to gather another such force. They understood him,
he understood them. This will not be the case with a new command. Then,
this is for your ear alone, Calhoun, the authorities at Richmond are not
satisfied with Morgan. In invading the North he disobeyed orders; and
this, those high in authority cannot overlook."

So, with many regrets, Calhoun decided to accept the offer of General
Johnston; but for many days his heart was with his old chieftain. The time
came when he saw the wisdom of his uncle's remarks. General Morgan never
regained his old prestige. It is true the Confederate government gave him
the department of Western Virginia, but they so hampered him with orders
that any great success was impossible.

In June, 1864, Morgan made his last raid into Kentucky. At first he was
successful, sweeping everything before him. He had the pleasure of taking
prisoner General Hobson, the man who had tracked him all through his
Northern raid. But at Cynthiana he met with overwhelming defeat, his
prisoners being recaptured, and he es