head without hesitation."

"You are a generous enemy, to say the least," was the young captain's
comment; and without further words he moved off.

The colored man led the way through the hallway to the rear, where
there was an enclosed stairway to the cellar. The latter place was
gloomy, and the air far from wholesome. Soon the three stood before the
pantry which had been mentioned. It was a square affair, built of heavy
planking and with an equally heavy door. There was a bolt on the door,
and likewise a padlock.

"Now, Captain, you will step inside," said the guerilla, grimly. "And
let me utter a word of caution. One of the negroes shall stand guard,
and at the first attempt to escape he shall fire on you."

Artie entered the pantry, and the door was immediately closed, locked,
and bolted. A moment later Gossley walked away and returned upstairs.
What the negro Joe did, Artie did not know.

The cellar had been damp and unwholesome, the pantry was more so, and
the first breath of air he took into his lungs made Artie shudder. Was
it possible he would be kept in such a place as this for forty-eight
hours, and in his wet clothing?

"I must get out,--if such a thing is possible," he said to himself. "But
I must be careful what I do, or the guard will shoot at me. Those
negroes fear their master, and they are bound to obey orders."

Waiting for a while, to make certain he was really alone, Artie brought
forth a match and lit it. The tiny blaze revealed to him a long splinter
of pitch-pine board, and this he ignited into a tiny torch, not daring
to let it burn too freely for fear of being smothered by the smoke.

As has been said, the pantry was built of heavy planking. It was five
feet from front to back and side to side, and in the rear were several
shelves, now swept of their contents. Behind the shelving were several
small boards, put up as if they covered a cellar window. Overhead were
the beams and boards of the parlor floor of the mansion, and beneath was
a cement bottom as hard as stone.

The under shelf in the closet was quite low, and removing the shelves
above it, Artie used it as a seat, and gave himself up to his
reflections. It must be confessed that he felt decidedly blue. He was
caged like a rat in a trap, and what his captors intended to do next
with him there was no telling.

"I wonder if they will send to father for money?" he asked himself.
"Gossley intimated as much. This is a new way of han