of a
regret, and I have thought that he was grieved at the spoiling of the
fight that he thought should have taken place to reward him for the
trouble of leaving home. The prisoners winced under his gaze, as his
eyes leaped about from one to another. But he said not a word; just
stood there, with his teeth hard-set.

Soon we heard the wagon, rumbling along the road that skirted the old
field, and we began to set our prisoners near the door, picking them up
and putting them down like upright sticks. The wagon drew up near the
door, the woman held a light for us and we began our work of loading.
And I was glad when the deputy said that he no longer needed our
assistance; I was afraid that he would ask me to drive to town with him.

"Well," he said, gathering up the lines and glancing back at his load,
"a pretty good haul for these hard times. Whoa, wait a minute. Say,
General, I suppose you have heard some talk of my candidacy for the
office of sheriff, and I reckon you have seen to-night whether or not I
am worthy of the trust. It's always well to put in a word in time, you
know. I reckon I've got you all right, Alf, and, big man, wish you could
vote with us this time. Well, I'll let you gentlemen know when you are
wanted at court."

Old Lim and the General led their horses and walked with Alf and me; and
we heard many a grunt and snort as we told of the burning of the
school-house. Old Lim swore that I ought to have let Alf kill Scott
Aimes, but the General sided with me. "That would have done no good,
Lim," said he. "It's far better as we now have it. I am glad to see, Mr.
Hawes, that you have so much discretion, a most noble quality, sir. Now
as to the loss of the house, that amounts to nothing. It ought to have
been set afire long ago. And I'll tell you what shall be done: A new
building shall be put up at once, not of logs, but of frame, and it
shall be neatly painted to show people that we are keeping up with the
times. Every neighborhood about us has a fine school-house; the old log
huts have disappeared, and we are going to march right in the van, sir.
But I want to tell you right now that it was in those log school-houses
that the greatest men in the nation have been taught; and when I see a
pile of logs out in the woods I fancy that I can hear the classics lowly
hummed."

"Gentlemen," said old Lim, "if it was day time instead of night I would
invite you to see some of the finest sport you ever run across, f