y shadowed face. "Why, of course not; why
should I be?"

"But I am a stranger to you--a Yank. You are on the other side, are you
not?"

"Oh, of course," her lips revealing again the white teeth. "But I don't
think all Yankees are demons. I don't believe you are. I like your
voice. You see, I was educated in the North, and so am not prejudiced.
Please won't you take off your hat, just for a minute?"

I did so, almost mechanically, not even realizing why she asked, until
she bent forward, her eyes on my face.

"No, I am not frightened with you. I was just a little, at first, of
course, but not now. You look as though you would fight too, but not
with a woman." She stopped with an odd little shrug of the shoulders.
"What do you expect me to do--sit here all night?"

I looked about into the darkness, suddenly recalled to the absurdity of
our situation by this question. The stars were glittering overhead,
yielding a dim light, yet nothing around us afforded any guess as to
where we were. The pony stood with drooping head, his flanks still
heaving from his late run. To the right the ground appeared open and
level, a cultivated field, while upon the other side was a sharp rise of
land covered with brush. It was a lonely, silent spot, and my eyes
turned back inquiringly to my companion.

"Why, no," I replied rather foolishly. "But I confess I am all at sea
just now; where are we?"

It seemed very easy for her to laugh, and evidently my confession was
amusing.

"You must pardon me," she excused herself, "but I thought you were a
scout."

"I am," vexed at her propensity to poke fun. "I have been detailed for
that service for more than two years. Moreover, I was a good enough
scout to pass within the lines of your army to-night, and to travel the
whole length of your camp--"

"And then get lost an hour later," she interrupted archly. "Tell me, do
you know the points of the compass?"

"Certainly; that is north, and this road runs west, but I have no
recollection of it. What puzzled me was our failure to cross the river."

"Oh," with a quick glance toward me. "That is easily explained; we
turned the corner of the bluff instead. This is the old road to
Jonesboro, and has been used very little since the new road was opened.
I chose it because I thought I would be less likely to meet with any
chance travellers."

I began to comprehend more clearly where we were. The extreme right of
the position held by our army would