rne looked up inquiringly. Before more could be said Mrs. Osborne
announced that dinner was ready, and the Lieutenant sat down to a most
sumptuous repast.

"What was Lieutenant Haines's adventure you spoke of?" at length asked
Miss Osborne of her father.

"Better let the Lieutenant tell the story, for I know nothing of it,"
answered Mr. Osborne; "but he spoke of searching the house for a supposed
concealed Confederate."

As Mr. Osborne said this, Miss Osborne gave a little gasp and turned pale,
but quickly recovering herself, she turned a pair of inquiring eyes on the
Lieutenant--eyes that emitted flames of angry light and seemed to look him
through and through.

Lieutenant Haines turned very red. "Forgive me if I thought of such a
thing," he replied, humbly. "Your father has assured me he has neither
seen nor concealed any Confederate officer, and his word is good with me.
Make yourself easy. I shall not insult you by searching the house."

A look as of relief came over the face of Miss Osborne as she answered: "I
thank you very much. I shall never say again there are no gentlemen among
the Yankees. But tell us of your adventure. I thought I heard firing about
an hour ago. Was there any one hurt?"

"Only my poor horse; he was killed," answered Haines.

"Ah! in the days of knighthood to be unhorsed was to be defeated,"
exclaimed Miss Osborne, gayly. "You must admit yourself vanquished!"

Haines laughingly replied: "I am sorry to disappoint you; but as I
captured my enemy's horse and he fled on foot, I cannot admit defeat."

"Then your enemy was a solitary knight?" queried Miss Osborne.

"Yes, but to all appearances a most gallant one."

"Strange," she mused, "who he could be, and what he could be doing in this
section. The place for true knights, at this time, is at Corinth."

"From letters captured with his horse, I take it he was from Corinth,"
said Haines. "From those letters we learned that his name was Calhoun
Pennington, that he was a lieutenant in the command of Captain John H.
Morgan, a gentleman who has given us considerable trouble, and may give us
more, and that he was on his way back to Kentucky to recruit for Morgan's
command."

"You say you captured letters?" queried the girl.

"Yes, a whole package of them. They were from members of Morgan's command
to their friends back in Kentucky. The boys are having rare fun reading
them."

"I suppose it is according to military usages to read all com