ke the best of a bad bargain.

"Here's my hand on it," he said; and a little later we had dragged the
two troopers to the cabin, where the old man became surety for their
safe keeping, and were feeling our way cautiously westward at the heels
of the Catawba who had taken his directions from our patriarch.

We pressed forward in silence through the shadowy labyrinth of the wood
for a time, but at the crossing of a small runlet where we would stop to
let the horses drink, Tybee burst out a-laughing.

"'Tis as good as a play," he said. "Three several times I've had to
change my mind about you, Captain Ireton, and I'm not cock-sure I have
your measure yet. But I'll say this: if you've strung my Lord
successfully, you'll be the first to do it and come off alive in the
end."

"The end is not yet, my good friend; and I may not come off better than
the others," I rejoined. And with that we fared on again till we could
see the camp-fires of Ferguson's little army twinkling between the tree
trunks.

XXXVIII

IN WHICH WE FIND THE GUN-MAKER

As you may be sure, Major Patrick Ferguson was far too good a soldier to
leave his camp unguarded on any side, and whilst we were yet a far
cannon-shot from the glimmering fires a sentry's challenge halted us.

To the man's "Halt! Who goes there?" I gave the word "Friends," salving
my conscience for the needful lie as I might.

"Advance, friends, and give the countersign."

I confessed my ignorance of the night-word, saying that we were a
paroled prisoner and a bearer of despatches, and asking that we be taken
to Major Ferguson's headquarters. There was some little cautious
demurring on the part of the sentry, but finally he passed the word for
the guard-captain and we were escorted to the tent of the field
commander.

I marked the encampment as I could in passing through it. The little
army was three-fourths made up of Tory militia; and there was drinking
and song-singing and a plentiful lack of discipline around the
camp-fires of these auxiliaries. But a different air was abroad in the
camp of the regulars; you would see a soldierly alertness on the part of
the men, and there was no roistering in that quarter.

Major Ferguson's tent was on a hillock some distance back from the
stream, and thither we were conducted; we, I say, meaning Tybee and
myself, for Uncanoola had disappeared like a whiff of smoke at our
challenging on the sentry line.

Late as it was, the major